Reviews and Links


  • Washington Post (Peter Marks, 4/26/2019): "I am philosophically opposed to beginning a review with the blunt suggestion that you go see the show I just saw. But really, go see the show I just saw. And please, be quick about it. Director-choreographer Josh Rhodes’s Kennedy Center production of 'The Who’s Tommy,' the musical that began as a 1969 studio album by the Who, is close to rock-musical perfection. . . . Aided by a dynamic wall of digital images by set designer Paul dePoo, Rhodes stages number after number with a showman’s instinctive lean into pizazz. The superb musicianship of the eight-member onstage rock band, conducted by Lynne Shankel, doesn’t hurt, either."


  • Broadway World/Baltimore (Charles Shubow, 4/26/2019): "From the beginning strumming of the electric guitars (Manny Moreira, Jim Roberts and Paul Henry) from the fabulous Kennedy Center Orchestra's 8-piece orchestra (Joe Mowart on Drums, Geoffrey Pilkington on Horn, and on Keyboards Michael Gacetta, Anthony Nalker, and Alex Tang) I was hooked."


  • MD Theatre Guide (Susan Brall, 4/26/2019): "The music is probably the most important element of this production. Lynne Shankel is the Musical Director and Conductor of a true rock band. The wonderful musicians are Joe Mowat on drums, Paul Henry on electric bass, Manny Moreira and Jim Roberts on guitar, Geoffrey Pilkington on horn and Michael Gacetta, Anthony Nalker and Alex Tang on keyboard. The band is on center stage the whole show and that seems right as this is all about the music and the songs of one of the greatest rock bands. "


  • DC Metro Theaters (David Friscic, 11/14/2017): "The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC has just offered the DC Metro Theatre Region an alternately wistful, romantic, and humorous cabaret review entitled It Takes Two . . . . Special Kudos to Artistic Director Thea Kano’s vision and Music Director/Pianist Alex Tang’s beautiful elegance on the piano. Their leadership combined with these talented cast members made for a very intriguing artistic endeavor."


  • DC Metro Theater Arts (Gary McMillan, 11/16/2016): "I can’t vouch for the truth of the confessions, at Let’s Misbehave! True Confessions of GMCW (The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC), but having each performer bare a bit of his soul as lead in to his song worked very well as a unifying theme for the cabaret. Their stories were wide-ranging: funny (lots of humor), sexy, and poignant. First, I have to note that their accompanist, Alex Tang, was superb on the piano."


  • DC Metro Theater Arts (Michael Poandl, 11/16/2015): "Alex Tang, on the piano, is almost preternaturally good at knowing exactly what his singers [in the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington's S* Show Cabaret] are going to do, when – and following them with every keystroke."


  • Communities Digital News (Terry Ponick, 9/10/2014): "[T]he current edition of [the InSeries' Cole Porter Project] is just as fresh and topical as it was just a few months ago. * * * [T]his production’s music director and pianist Alex Tang was understated perfection in his role as the show’s accompanist, giving a real boost to the musical fabric with a nice assist from returning bassist Ephriam Wolfolk."


  • DC Metro Theater Arts (Ramona Harper, 9/7/2014): "I am ridin’ high after seeing the delightful, delectable The Cole Porter Project: It’s Alright [sic] With Me!, a cabaret-style show now playing at The In Series performing at Source. . . . Musical Director and pianist Alex Tang with Ephraim [sic] Wolfolk on upright bass provide musical accompaniment that is as magical as the music itself."

  • MD Theatre Guide (Elliot Lanes, 9/7/2014): "The In Series is making a case for this * * * remount of their earlier hit production called The Cole Porter Project: It’s Alright [sic] with Me. * * * With Alex Tang on piano and Ephriam Wolfolk on bass, the accompaniments backed the singers perfectly rather than overpowering them."

  • Washington Post (Peter Marks, 10/20/09): Studio Theatre's ADDING MACHINE: A MUSICAL is an "intense, inventive," "blistering," and "astonishing" production, with a cast of "stellar actors" and a "band, conducted by Alex Tang, that is efficient accompaniment as well."

  • Potomac Stages (Brad Hathaway, 10/22/09): “ It[’]s hard to imagine a better, stronger or more satisfying production of this unorthodox, unsettling and often unpleasant new musical. * * * Behind the audience in Studio's rough-hewn experimental space on the fourth floor is Alex Tang leading a trio of two keyboards and percussion, the sound of which fills the space very well.”

  • DC Theatre Scene (Tim Treanor, 10/21/09): "the first-rate musicians (conductor Alex Tang and Mary Sugar are brilliant on keyboards, and Mark Carson is a fine percussionist)" for ADDING MACHINE: A MUSICAL.

  • Washington City Paper (Glen Weldon, 10/21/09): ADDING MACHINE: A MUSICAL is a "caustic little gem of a show . . . it's the music, though, that gets in your head and stays there—a pleasing and diverse grab-bag of styles expertly tailored to whatever emotion’s getting expressed."

  • CABARET HOTLINE ONLINE #000903 (Wednesday, September 13, 2000): Since 1990 Your First, Best, and Only Source of Cabaret News * * * The sun was just setting when we arrived at PULCINELLA'S (6852 Old Dominion Boulevard, McLean, VA - 703-893-7777) - after getting just a little lost once or twice. This was the DCCN (DC Cabaret Network) GALA membership meeting, and we were among the last to arrive. There were about 35 or 40 members and guests in this lavishly decorated basement space, and DCCN President Wendy Lane Bailey opened the meeting around 7:30 or so, welcoming the group, and introducing the other officers of the organization who were present. There were door prizes, and an open mic where anyone could take a turn singing a song. I have to mention the great work of pianist Alex Tang - he never had a chance to rehearse with any of the performers, and was handed the music charts moments before they sang. He did an outstanding job. * * *

To read what it's like to play in a pit orchestra, click here to read a Washington Post article (Sun. 12/14/03) that includes two shows I've played (FORUM and MAMMA MIA!).