The cast of Shuffle Along performs “Broadway Blues.” (Photo by Julieta Cervantes) The only suspense at this year’s Tony Awards was over whether Hamilton would set a new record for winning the most statuettes. (It fell short of The Producers’ 12-Tony total by one.) Still, it has sucked most of the air out of the Broadway season, so here is a look at some of the also-rans: … [Read more...]
Archives for June 2016
Radiant Brahms stands out at Mainly Mozart
Moran Katz. CORAL GABLES —The Carnegie Hall chamber music collective known as Decoda has developed a continuing relationship with the Mainly Mozart Festival, and on Sunday, two of the group’s members joined festival director Marina Radiushina for a strong program of works featuring the clarinet and cello. On hand for the last concert before the festival’s finale Friday night … [Read more...]
‘South Pacific’ set for concert performance Sunday at FAU
Aaron Kula and the Klezmer Chamber Orchestra. South Pacific, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II’s blockbuster musical of war and love in the islands, turned 67 earlier this year, and in some respects, you could argue it’s showing its age. It’s set in the Pacific Theater of World War II, for one, which every day fades from society’s living memory. For another, one of … [Read more...]
Slow Burn’s snarky ‘Heathers’ makes strong case for overlooked musical
From left: Sunny Gay, Leah Sessa and Cristina Flores in Heathers. (Photo by Lisa Nalven) If there is a quintessential Slow Burn Theatre show, it just might be Heathers: the Musical, the off-Broadway edgy romp based on the 1989 cult favorite film. But like so many Slow Burn shows, it never found a mainstream audience and never became a commercial success. What’s more, the show … [Read more...]
Theater roundup: Gripping ‘The Royale’; hit-and-miss ‘Hay Fever’
Ryan George, Andre Gainey, Gregg Weiner and Aygemang Clay in The Royale. (Photo by George Schiavone) There are many ways to tell a story, as demonstrated by the compact, yet high-energy The Royale, now receiving a knockout production at GableStage. It covers essentially the same ground as the sprawling, epic The Great White Hope, the 1969 Pulitzer Prize winner by Howard … [Read more...]
Scenes from new Matthew Shepard opera to premiere Friday
Matthew Shepard (1976-1998). If ever there were a time when a work of art coincides with current events, that time will be Friday, when sections of a new opera with an anti-bullying theme have their premiere as the air is still thick with the sorrow of the Orlando shootings. Not in My Town, an opera based on the 1998 torture and murder of gay Wyoming college student Matthew … [Read more...]
Tonys preview: Four plays focused on the serious
Reed Birney, Sarah Steele, Jane Houdyshell and Arian Moayed in The Humans. (Photo by Brigitte Lacombe) It was a relatively busy year for plays on Broadway, though it produced no widespread, runaway hit that will sustain itself much beyond the Tony Awards telecast Sunday. Still, considering the seriousness of most of these subject matters, maybe remaining open this long into … [Read more...]
Tony predictions for 2016 (a whole lot of ‘Hamilton’)
A scene from Hamilton, with creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, center, as the first secretary of the Treasury. OK, this is the year to jump into the Tony Awards pool. The problem is you have to find people who do not know that Hamilton is likely to sweep the musical categories. Or you have to know which of the three featured actors in Hamilton will emerge triumphant. Even if you … [Read more...]
Tonys to honor Miles Wilkin, who brings Broadway to America’s backyard
Miles Wilkin. Call it PACE Theatrical, SFX Entertainment, Clear Channel, Key Brand or its current corporate moniker, the John Gore Organization. Whatever you call it, for the past 35 years, through mergers, acquisitions and just plain name changes, Miles Wilkin has been helming the largest organization in North America dedicated to growing and protecting the network of stage … [Read more...]
A muscular, messy evening with the Led Zeppelin legacy
Jason Bonham. It seemed inevitable that drummer Jason Bonham would eventually put together an act paying tribute to Led Zeppelin, the band of his late father, drummer John Bonham. The primary reason that Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience didn’t launch until 2010 — a full 30 years after the senior Bonham’s death — was that the younger Bonham was the logical replacement … [Read more...]