(Foreground to back) Kate Eastwood Norris, J. Fred Shiffmanand Lourelene Snedeker in Michael Hollinger’s play,Ghost-Writer, which premiered at Florida Stage in March. Florida Stage subscribers to get special offers in mid-JulyFollowing the unexpected news earlier this month that Florida Stage was filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and could not refund … [Read more...]
Appreciation: Florida Stage’s demise dims local arts scene’s light
Tina Fabrique in Ella, which was scheduled to open June 16.By Hap ErsteinYou’ll always remember where you were and what you were doing when you heard about JFK’s assassination. The attack on the Twin Towers on 9/11. Or Florida Stage declaring bankruptcy, closing its doors and ceasing operations forever.OK, that third one is not as momentous as the other two, but … [Read more...]
Theater news: Florida Stage files bankruptcy, shuts its doors
Eric Mendenhall and Elizabeth Birkenmeier in The Cha-Cha of a Camel Spider,the final production at Florida Stage.By Hap ErsteinNext week, Florida Stage was supposed to launch its 25th anniversary season, beginning with the return of the musical biography Ella and continuing with a slate of world and regional premieres.But the operative words are “was supposed to,” … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks June 3-7
A photo taken in Jackson, Mont.,from Alan Winslow and Morrigan McCarthy’s Project Tandem. Art: Two photographers – Alan Winslow and Morrigan McCarthy – traveled 11,000 miles by bicycle across the United States beginning in 2008 to gather opinions about the environment, get to know their fellow Americans, and, of course, take pictures of them.They … [Read more...]
Theater roundup: From Afghanistan war to Victorian sex
Eric Mendenhall and Elizabeth Birkenmeier inThe Cha-Cha of a Camel Spider.By Hap ErsteinWhether or not the pen is truly mightier than the sword, playwright Carter W. Lewis is out to prove in his enigmatically titled The Cha-Cha of a Camel Spider that slam poetry can trump a mercenary private army.If that sounds like an unlikely match-up, then you are grasping the … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: May 13-15
Richard Fleischman.Music: The instruments most musicians work with today are survivors or variations of the sonic armaments they had in other eras. Gone, for the most part, are the ophicleide, the serpent, the sarrusophone. Most of the viol family, with the exception of the double bass (and its modern derivative the bass guitar), also is gone, heard … [Read more...]
Theater feature: ‘Blasted,’ ‘Mack and Mabel’ win big at 35th Carbonells
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 preview: Tonight, Carbonells honor best in South Florida theater
By Hap ErsteinTonight, the South Florida theater community gets together for the 35th annual Carbonell Awards, the citations for excellence among area professional theaters that has been shrouded in controversy in recent years.Last year, as you may recall, the awards board of directors announced the program would be suspended to study and fix the perceived … [Read more...]
Theater roundup: Romance and its aftermath, on three stages
J. Fred Shiffman and Kate Eastwood Norris in Ghost-Writer.By Hap ErsteinA former musician turned playwright, Michael Hollinger is clearly fascinated with the music of words.Such an interest was evident in his earlier play, Opus, about the search for harmony among the members of a string quartet. A similar verbal playfulness is present in his latest work, … [Read more...]
Theater feature: Playwright sees spirit of art in ‘Ghost-Writer’
J. Fred Shiffman and Kate Eastwood Norris in Ghost-Writer, at Florida Stage.(Photo by Ken Jacques)By Hap ErsteinIf you knew that a book called The Iron Whim describes itself as “a fragmented history of typewriting,” you may not bother to pick it up. But you will be glad that Michael Hollinger did, for it led him to create Ghost-Writer, his latest work to be … [Read more...]