Michelle Pereira, Dana Dawson, Eric Collinsand Irene Adjan in Some Kind of Wonderful.By Hap ErsteinFor no particular reason other than its aging Baby Boomer audience — of which I am one, by the way — Florida Stage has commissioned a musical revue of the pop song hits of the years 1960 to 1965 to fill its summer show slot. The result is called Some Kind of Wonderful, a … [Read more...]
Theater feature: Florida Stage gives look of love to soundtrack of the ’60s
Dana Dawson and Chris McGovernin Florida Stage's Some Kind of Wonderful.(Photo by Ken Jacques)By Hap ErsteinWhere were you from 1960 to 1965, and what were you listening to on the radio?That's what Florida Stage is asking audiences with its world premiere revue, Some Kind of Wonderful, opening Friday in Manalapan. In celebrating those Camelot years, the company reaches slightly … [Read more...]
Theater review: 100-proof paranoia, deliciously served
Antonio Amadeo, left, and William McNulty in Yankee Tavern. By Hap ErsteinA guy walks into a bar and orders two beers, one for himself and one for his absent buddy.Yes, it sounds like the set-up for a joke, but with his chilling new play, Yankee Tavern, the prolific Steven Dietz has something darker and more sobering in mind. Chances are he would be pleased if his paranoid yarn … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: May 14-17
A scene from Every Little Step.Film: A documentary about any Broadway show’s auditions would be an interesting look at the lives of performers and what they have to put themselves through to gain a job, but James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo apply that notion to the ultimate backstage musical, A Chorus Line, in their must-see film, Every Little Step. The subject is ostensibly the … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: May 1-May 3
Ranchos Church 1 (1929), by Georgia O'Keeffe. As the season evaporates, several important shows are closing this weekend or in the next few days:Art: Georgia O'Keeffe and Ansel Adams: Natural Affinities, at the Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach. An important show of paintings and photographs by two leading American landscape artists, which ArtsPaper's Katie Deits said in … [Read more...]
2009 Carbonell Awards ceremony: Downsized by necessity, and better off for it
Beth Dimon, who won a Carbonellfor her portrayal of Florence Foster Jenkinsin ‘Souvenir’ (above), sang at the awards ceremony.By Hap Erstein You can argue all night long about the relative merits of the winners at Monday evening’s 33rd annual Carbonell Awards — and don’t think that members of the South Florida theater community won’t expend the energy to do exactly that. … [Read more...]
Theater review: ‘Cagney!’ overshadowed by its star
Robert Creighton in Cagney!By Hap ErsteinSometimes it takes decades for an actor to stumble upon the role of a lifetime, and sometimes it can happen early in his career. It is hard to say what lies ahead for singer-dancer Robert Creighton, but it seems unlikely he will ever have a part as well suited to his considerable talents as Jimmy Cagney.That is not to say that Cagney!, … [Read more...]
Theater commentary: Miami mayor tale stands out at 1st Stage New Works Festival
By Hap Erstein Fewer and fewer theaters these days devote themselves to producing new plays, as Florida Stage does, because they take nurturing and development, which is hard work.But the Manalapan company has come up with a entertaining way to include its audience in the process with its 1st Stage New Works Festival. Now in its third year, the festival gave six new … [Read more...]
ArtsBuzz: Florida Stage to air six new plays in 1st Stage festival
Playwright Israel Horovitz.By Hap ErsteinOne of the best ideas that Florida Stage has had in the past few years -- besides opening a full bar in its lobby -- is 1st Stage, its festival of new plays. Six hot-off-the-duplicating-machine scripts will be read Monday and Tuesday, and there will be an opening reception Sunday to showcase the new lobby bar.And if things go as well as … [Read more...]
Theater review: ‘Blowing Rock’ yarn full of hot air
Laurel (Susan Cato) with The Bridegroom (Donte Bonner). By Hap Erstein The dual quests for love and for vengeance — two strong emotional urges — are at the heart of Catherine Trieschmann’s The Bridegroom of Blowing Rock, an 8-year-old drama now receiving its professional premiere at Florida Stage.The time is 1865, just after the end of the Civil War, and the farmers of … [Read more...]