Even if the world premiere play’s title, The Cancellation of Lauren Fein, did not give away the fate of its central character, there is an inevitability to the metaphorical noose relentlessly tightening around her neck. Justice may not be well-served by the escalating accusations against the renowned genetic biology professor, but theatrical impact certainly is. For more … [Read more...]
‘Cancellation of Lauren Fein’ brings culture wars to Dramaworks in world premiere play
Cancel culture, the effort to hold prominent individuals accountable for perceived verbal slights or deeds, has become increasingly prevalent in contemporary life. So perhaps it was inevitable that the phenomenon would make the leap from the headlines to the stage, as it does in The Cancellation of Lauren Fein, premiering at Palm Beach Dramaworks beginning this Friday, Feb. … [Read more...]
Green messiah: At Theatre Lab, Laufer’s ‘Rooted’ to explore mob mentality
Deborah Zoe Laufer gets a lot of ideas for her plays by listening to National Public Radio. That is certainly the case with Rooted, receiving its Florida premiere at FAU Theatre Lab, beginning this Saturday, Feb. 3. “I was listening to Radio Lab and there was a scientist, Monica Gagliano, on, talking about plant consciousness,” the idea that plants have innate … [Read more...]
Boca Stage’s take on 1960s sex farce charms at Delray Playhouse
Moving further away from its original mission of producing edgy, offbeat theatrical fare, Boca Stage — now in residence at the Delray Beach Playhouse — serves up a popular commercial sex farce from the 1960s, Boeing, Boeing. If that title sounds familiar, perhaps you recall a 1965 movie version that starred Tony Curtis and Jerry Lewis, or a 2008 Broadway revival in which … [Read more...]
‘To Life 4’ doesn’t innovate, but does please Willow Theatre audience
Why is To Life 4 different from all other previous editions, asks director/writer/narrator Shari Upbin in a phrasing that brings to mind a Passover seder. The answer is that it isn’t at all different and that seems to please the show’s fans just fine. The revue celebrating Jewish songwriters and performers, currently playing at the Willow Theatre in Boca Raton’s Sugar Sand … [Read more...]
Standout lead performance makes Carole King bio ‘Beautiful’
The beginning and ending of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical depict the legendary singer-songwriter at Carnegie Hall performing numbers from her multiple Grammy Award-winning album, Tapestry. If those scenes are the standout highlights of the Maltz Jupiter Theatre’s new production, that is because they show King at the peak of her writing talent, because the stunning … [Read more...]
Wick’s ‘Fiddler’ stays with tried-and-true, and it works
Wherever the late Jerome Robbins is, he should be smiling down on the Wick Theatre. The Boca Raton stage company has mounted that perennial favorite, Fiddler on the Roof and, as the program acknowledges, Norb Joerder has reproduced Robbins’ original direction and Robert Abdoo has reproduced his original choreography. Many have tried to improve on Robbins’ deft, … [Read more...]
Ageless, universal ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ comes to The Wick
In the early 1960s, when the creators of Fiddler on the Roof were developing a musical about Tevye the dairyman and his rebellious daughters in 1905 Russia, they assumed it would have limited appeal. To their surprise, Fiddler was embraced by theatergoers far beyond the Jewish community, becoming at one point the longest-running show in Broadway history and an … [Read more...]
Maltz takes on ‘Beautiful’ look at classic pop songwriter
From a shy Brooklyn teenager who composed chart-topping songs that others recorded to a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical chronicles the career and life of one of the pop music world’s most acclaimed singer-songwriters. Following the show’s five-year Broadway run, it now arrives at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre in its South Florida regional … [Read more...]
‘Mockingbird’ still makes strong impact in Sorkin adaptation
It is rare these days for a non-musical to receive a national tour. It has to have a superior script and production or a bankable name in the leading role. Aaron Sorkin’s stage adaptation of Harper Lee’s enduring novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, has both of the former and Richard Thomas as Alabama attorney Atticus Finch provides the latter. Now at the Kravis Center … [Read more...]