Creative limitations can lead to positive results. Take, for instance, I Love a Piano, a revue built from the song trunk of pop composer-lyricist Irving Berlin which dates back to 1990, the year after he passed away at the age of 101. Applying to the Berlin estate for the performance rights of his musical library for a one-night AIDS benefit, the show’s co-creators Ray … [Read more...]
‘Wait Until Dark’ comes up short at Boca Stage
Murder mysteries and suspense plays, like Frederick Knott’s 1966 Broadway hit Wait Until Dark, are by definition gimmicky contrivances. But if they are tightly written and carefully staged, they can be quite entertaining. As revived by Boca Stage, which has moved its operations to the Delray Beach Playhouse, this saga of blind housewife Susan Hendricks --- menaced by … [Read more...]
Beloved whodunit ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ to open Maltz season
JUPITER — What do you get when you cross a popular murder mystery by Dame Agatha Christie with the comedy of Tony and Olivier Award-winning playwright Ken Ludwig? You get a serio-comic stage version of Murder on the Orient Express, the often-filmed whodunit, chosen to open the season of the Maltz Jupiter Theatre on Thursday, Nov. 2. What explains the enduring … [Read more...]
Slow Burn shows its worth with outstanding ‘Into the Woods’
Of the many musicals by the late, great Stephen Sondheim, some are more grisly (Sweeney Todd), more esoteric (Pacific Overtures) and more personal (Merrily We Roll Along), but few are as audience-friendly and ultimately profound than Into the Woods. Collaborating with James Lapine, the master composer-lyricist mashes up several familiar fairy tales – Cinderella, Red … [Read more...]
Ethical dilemmas on the ground floor: First-rate cast lifts Dramaworks’ ‘Lobby Hero’
Four flawed characters populate the otherwise vacant lobby of a Manhattan residential apartment building in Kenneth Lonergan’s compelling if meandering comic drama Lobby Hero. Each of them has justification for his moral transgressions, but we soon begin to question whether any of them deserves the designation of hero. Unlikely to merit hero status is the play’s … [Read more...]
2023-24 Season in Film: Rich cinema bounty for 2023, but strike will affect 2024
There’s good news and bad news for the strike-riddled film industry. The good news is that the fall release schedule should not be adversely affected, since the work by screenwriters and actors on films slated to open by the end of this calendar year was all completed before their guilds called them to strike. (They will open, mostly on schedule, but with a lot less … [Read more...]
2023-24 Season in Theater: A post-COVID lineup full of promise
With COVID safely in the rear mirror and audiences back attending theater, the 2023-2024 South Florida season looks quite promising, with full schedules, numerous world premieres and several companies celebrating significant anniversaries. Here’s how the theater scene is shaping up, moving geographically from north to south. With its playhouse expanded, the Maltz … [Read more...]
‘Jasmine Starr-Kidd’ needs some tinkering, but lead actress is a keeper
Regret can be a powerful emotion, but usually one that has little positive value. That is among the lessons learned by Jasmine Starr-Kidd, a 12-year-old computer whiz who deeply regrets her parents’ divorce and believes she can employ her scientific savvy to bring them together again. So it goes in The Many Wondrous Realities of Jasmine Starr-Kidd, a whimsical and somewhat … [Read more...]
Dramaworks takes ‘natural’ step, hires in-house playwright
At a time when many regional theaters are decreasing their staffs because of COVID, the economy and shrinking attendance, Palm Beach Dramaworks has a new hire. Producing artistic director William Hayes has announced the addition of the company’s first resident playwright, Jenny Connell Davis, whose Holocaust-themed drama The Messenger will have its world premiere at the … [Read more...]
PB Shakespeare Festival makes good case for ‘Measure for Measure’
Now in its 33rd year, Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival — the oldest professional theater company in continuous operation in Palm Beach County — is getting around to some of its namesake playwright’s less popular works. Plays like Measure for Measure, a dark comedy of judicial and sexual politics, categorized as a comedy chiefly because it concludes with couples sorted … [Read more...]