By Dale King The Delray Beach Playhouse has historically done a very good job producing mystery thrillers. Wait Until Dark comes to mind immediately. So does Agatha Christie’s A Murder Is Announced, which opened the 2018-2019 season. And folks with a longer theatrical memory may recall Blackout, an original work that premiered at the DBP in 1988 and encored just a few … [Read more...]
Good performances highlight DBP’s ‘Lost in Yonkers’
By Dale King Performers, sets, lights and activity have returned to the long-empty stage of Delray Beach Playhouse. And while coronavirus continues to stymie lifestyles, the DBP staff has “taken this shutdown to work behind the scenes, planning, cleaning, installing state-of-the-art air purification systems and many other items to cope with the new normal,” said … [Read more...]
Delray Playhouse takes loving look at Rodgers and Hammerstein
By Dale King Some Enchanted Evening is a celebration honoring one of the most noted and notable duos in the history of the American musical — Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Delray Beach Playhouse has dusted off the show conceived 37 years ago by Jeffrey Moss. The assortment of tunes from Rodgers & Hammerstein’s best shows – and a few of their duds – was first … [Read more...]
Community theater: Delray Playhouse offers fun night of farce
By Dale King If your fancy runs to lively, energetic stage productions, See How They Run is likely your cup of tea. As with most British farces, the operative word in the title is “run.” And that’s what the characters do in this raucous, whimsical story at the Delray Beach Playhouse. For its second show of the season, the Playhouse taps an interesting cadre of performers … [Read more...]
Community theater: Fine cast delivers strong ‘Carnage’ at Delray Playhouse
By Dale King Delray Beach Playhouse drops the curtain on its 2018-2019 theatrical season with the comedy God of Carnage, a 90-minute one-act that has entertained audiences around the world and received both the Tony Award and London’s Olivier Award as Best Play of the Year. The performance slowly but steadily morphs from a sophisticated discussion between two upwardly … [Read more...]
Community theater: DBP scores big with ‘California Suite’
By Dale King If you’re searching for some laughs to squelch the winter blues, look no further than the Delray Beach Playhouse. The venerable theater company has assembled an exceptional ensemble of actors to present Neil Simon’s California Suite, a quartet of playlets set in Suite 203-204 of the Beverly Hills Hotel. The show is regularly filling nearly every seat of the … [Read more...]
Community theater: ‘1940s Radio Hour’ proves stylish entertainment at DB Playhouse
By Dale King If you’re searching for a slice of holiday entertainment that’s sweet as a Christmas cookie, smooth as a glass of eggnog and nutty as the proverbial fruitcake, The 1940s Radio Hour is colorfully packaged and ready to regale you at the Delray Beach Playhouse through this weekend. This engaging production created by Walton Jones includes a variety of World War … [Read more...]
Community theater: DB Playhouse opens with sharp Christie whodunit
By Dale King Soon after summer departed South Florida, a strange sensation of mystery enveloped the area of Delray Beach at the far end of Lake Ida, in the vicinity of the Delray Beach Playhouse. It doesn’t take a Miss Marple, a Hercule Poirot or even a Sherlock Holmes to realize this sensation must be emanating from the showplace itself, where the 2018-2019 season opened … [Read more...]
Season Preview 2018-19: Community theater
By Dale King Autumn has officially arrived in South Florida, a sure sign that community theaters throughout Palm Beach County are readying their performance schedules for a new slate of programs. Most open this month. Delray Beach Playhouse has launched its 72nd season, said executive director Kevin Barrett, who’s entering his second year at the helm of the showplace … [Read more...]
Community theater: 30 years later, ‘Blackout’ still delivers the whodunit goods
By Dale King The stage production of Rick Harlowe’s mystery thriller, Blackoutis back where it all began three decades ago – at the Delray Beach Playhouse. Harlowe’s whodunit – which meanders into who-might-do-it-again territory – will conclude its three-week run Sunday at the theatrical center on the east shore of Lake Ida. The play actually made its world premiere in … [Read more...]