The issue with social issue theater? Telling a story as worthy as the message

Dave Begel saw 13 plays in March and four of them were plays that dealt with social issues, some more successfully than others. One of the key issues is how these plays are marketed to potential audiences and subscribers.

Enchantment abounds in First Stage's production of "Ella Enchanted"

Imagine the classic heroine Cinderella, not just bedeviled by her evil stepmother and equally evil stepsisters, but also cursed with a spell that requires her to always obey what someone says to her. That's the conundrum of "Ella Enchanted."