With very few exceptions, the composers of the Broadway theater during the 20th century were of Jewish heritage, some of them immigrants from Eastern Europe. That cultural anomaly was examined in song a year ago in a revue dubbed To Life, named for a number in Fiddler on the Roof. Since it proved popular with the audience at Boca Raton’s Willow Theatre, that show has now … [Read more...]
Maltz’s new ‘Dracula’ successfully Stokers the fires of silliness
To paraphrase that renowned philosopher Monty Python, “And now for something completely silly.” To open its 2019-20 season, the Maltz Jupiter Theatre has commissioned a new spoofy take on Bram Stoker’s classic vampire tale, Dracula. Or more accurately, on the general idea of Dracula, since co-adaptors Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen gleefully concede that they never read … [Read more...]
Kultur Fest’s ‘My Fair Lady’ proves delightful
By Dale King When the Florida Atlantic University Libraries and the Jewish Cultural Society join forces to put together their annual Kultur Festival, they always come up with a fascinating sample of musical theater to kick off the event on FAU’s Boca Raton campus. The co-sponsors’ selection of My Fair Lady to open this year’s 10th annual celebration of Jewish music and … [Read more...]
FAU summer rep’s ‘Cabaret’ proves masterful
By Dale King The musical Cabaret is dark and forbidding, much like its setting, Berlin in the 1930s, when Adolf Hitler and his minions began their horrific mission of turning Germany into a gutter of hate. Grad students from Florida Atlantic University’s Department of Theatre and Dance wrap up their two-play Festival Rep series this summer with a masterful retelling and … [Read more...]
Score, singing rescue Wick’s ‘Brigadoon’ from missteps
Long before lyricist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe cemented their places as musical theater icons with My Fair Lady and Camelot, the scored their first Broadway hit with an original romantic fable, Brigadoon. Although it ran a respectable 581 performances in the 1947-48 season, it has since been overshadowed by the songwriting team’s other shows and is … [Read more...]
Strong leads, lively production make ‘Guys and Dolls’ sparkle at the Wick
The eccentric underworld characters of Damon Runyon fit comfortably in the realm of musical comedy. For while they are obsessed with gambling on everything from the ponies to craps to cheesecake consumption, they are also preoccupied with romance. At least they are in Guys and Dolls, a 1950 confection from Frank Loesser and Abe Burrows, considered one of a handful of perfect … [Read more...]
‘Guys and Dolls’ to bring fun, and Lady Luck, to the Wick
Composer-lyricist Frank Loesser has written more artistic shows (The Most Happy Fella) and more commercially successful shows (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying), but his 1950 adaptation of Damon Runyon’s tales of the denizens of Times Square, Guys and Dolls, is widely considered to be a perfect musical. “It is the perfect example of a book and a score that go … [Read more...]
With ‘Mystery of Love & Sex,’ Arts Garage launches quirky new theater season
By all measures, the theater program at Delray Beach’s Art Garage had a very good season, the first one guided by Keith Garsson and his resident director, Genie Croft. Their edgy slate of plays was critically well received, two of the four productions had extended runs and overall the season turned a profit. The question now is can they continue their success or will they fall … [Read more...]