Joe Adler and the cast of Blasted, which won Best Play for GableStage at Monday night's Carbonell Awards.By Hap ErsteinLast night’s 35th annual Carbonell Awards ceremony had a curious, unscripted recurring theme -- actor Todd Allen Durkin’s private parts.I guess we should have seen it coming -- the theme, not the naughty bits -- since he did appear full … [Read more...]
Theater roundup: Two by Tracy Letts
The cast of August: Osage County, at Actors’ Playhouse. By Hap ErsteinIn order to maximize the chances of being produced in these precarious economic times, most writers now limit themselves in their plays’ cast size and physical requirements.But every now and again comes an Angels in America or a Coast of Utopia, from playwrights who dare to think on a grand … [Read more...]
ArtsBuzz: Maltz, Actors’ Playhouse lead Carbonell nods with 18 apiece
Carbonell nominees Bret Shuford, Tari Kellyand Tom Beckett in Anything Goes.By Hap ErsteinThat helicopter musical, Miss Saigon, at Actors’ Playhouse, received 11 Carbonell Award nominations, the most of any professional production in South Florida, according to an announcement made today.Sarah Kane’s sordid drama Blasted pulled in seven nominations for … [Read more...]
Theater roundup: A fine ‘Candida,’ an incomplete ‘Desire’
John Leonard Thompson and Kim Cozort in Candida.Candida(Palm Beach Dramaworks; through Nov. 21)Palm Beach Dramaworks, which recently announced plans to move into the vacant Cuillo Centre space a block away from its Banyan Boulevard playhouse in West Palm Beach, continues to take the high road of offering up the towering writers for the stage that other South Florida … [Read more...]
Theater reviews: Three shows demonstrate strength of South Florida season
Tom Beckett, Bret Shuford and Tari Kelly in Anything Goes.By Hap ErsteinDepression-era escapism proves to still be potent entertainment as Cole Porter’s 1934 enduring hit Anything Goes splashes across the stage of the Maltz Jupiter Theatre.Surely it cannot be because of the flimsy story line, even if it got a major overhaul in 1987 by Timothy Crouse and John Weidman, who simply … [Read more...]
Theater feature: ‘Les Miz’ leads Carbonell nominees list
The cast of Les Miserables at Actors' Playhouse.By Hap ErsteinThere was nothing miserable about the Actors’ Playhouse production of the epic musical Les Miserables, the nominating committee for the 34th annual Carbonell Awards said Tuesday as it showered the show with 12 nominations.The adaptation of Victor Hugo’s novel led the field vying for bragging rights of excellence in … [Read more...]