How can you tell that the pot-bellied, antenna-eared green ogre named Shrek and assertive, yet incurably romantic Princess Fiona are meant for each other? They fart and burp with compatible pride. In the shorthand of musical comedy – well, in Shrek, the Musical at least – that means love. Chances are you know that already from the 2001 Oscar-winning Dreamworks … [Read more...]
Theater: The 2019 Summer Season
Summer used to be a time when local theaters went on vacation and area performers, directors and designers recharged their batteries. Nowadays, many South Florida theaters run year-round or at least have one hot weather show and/or showcases for its student training programs. So consider avoiding the summer superhero movies in favor of live theater, like the following … [Read more...]
The Hapsters 2017: The lowlights and bright spots
There are many ways to look back on the past year in local theater, and with The Hapster Awards, now in their 28th year, we have chosen the (mostly) snide route. The envelopes, please. Remember Blues in the Night? You know, that critically acclaimed musical revue starring Avery Sommers and Laura Hodos? Of course you don’t remember, because the management of Delray’s … [Read more...]
2017’s Top 10 in local theater
2017 was a strong year for theater in South Florida, particularly for musicals, though it wasn’t until I started to compile my 10 best list that I noticed how many musicals were among the standouts. Here is my highly subjective look back on the past 12 months from where I sat. 1. Arcadia, Palm Beach Dramaworks – Thermodynamics, mathematical algorithms, chaos theory and … [Read more...]
Slow Burn’s ‘Titanic’ stuns with beautiful singing
By a curious coincidence, 20 years ago — in 1997 — movie theaters saw the arrival of the epic film Titanic and Broadway’s big hit musical was also about the flagship of the White Star Line, the “largest moving object in the world.” Spoiler alert: In both works, the mammoth ocean liner hits an iceberg on its maiden voyage and sinks. (What, you knew that already?) But that … [Read more...]
Theater in 2016: The year’s 10 best
The best in theater for 2016 throughout South Florida yields a healthy mix of new work and classic scripts. Of course, any such list is by definition a subjective opinion, so your mileage may vary, but by any measure, it was a good year at the theater: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Kravis on Broadway) — The five-time Tony Award winner from the … [Read more...]
Slow Burn’s ‘Avenue Q’ shines in Broward venue
For its new home at the Broward Center and presumably a new audience, Slow Burn Theatre Company is remounting a couple of popular shows from its former West Boca venue. And in the case of the current Avenue Q redo, again directed and choreographed with assurance by Patrick Fitzwater, the more casual and intimate environment of the Adbo River Room helps the subversive puppet … [Read more...]
Slow Burn makes a success out of ‘Hunchback’
Now in its second season at the Broward Center’s Amaturo Theater, Slow Burn Theatre Company has grown assured enough to tackle four large-scale musicals, including Titanic, Big River and Aida. All three of those were long-running Broadway hits, the opposite of what the adventuresome company used to consider its mission to be, apparently a bow to more mainstream commercial … [Read more...]
2016-17 Season Preview: Theater
“You can’t keep a good man down,” goes the saying, and Lou Tyrrell is the proof. After championing new work at Florida Stage, he moved his operation to Delray Beach with Theatre at Arts Garage, a smaller version of the company he ran for almost 25 years. Last season, he moved a little further south to the campus of Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, still introducing … [Read more...]