John Leonard Thompson and Dennis Creaghan in American Buffalo.By Hap ErsteinAfter some of playwright David Mamet’s recent anemic attempts at whimsy (Romance, November), it is a pleasure to be reminded by his 1977 Broadway breakthrough, American Buffalo, how visceral and, yes, poetic he can be.The poetry is of the fragmentary, high-profanity, elliptical street type, but at Palm … [Read more...]
Theater review: Challenging ‘Copenhagen’ deserves to be seen
Elizabeth Dimon, Christopher Odenand Colin McPhillamy in Copenhagen.By Hap ErsteinTheatergoers who feel they know playwright Michael Frayn from the evidence of his most successful stage work, the backstage farce Noises Off! -- or even from his thoughtful drama on the architecture of relationships, Benefactors, which Palm Beach Dramaworks produced in 2008 -- are bound to be … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Dec. 18-20
Elizabeth Dimon, Christopher Oden and Colin McPhillamy, in Copenhagen. Theater: Opening tonight is Palm Beach Dramaworks’ much-anticipated production of Michael Frayn’s Tony Award-winning Copenhagen, a cerebral look back at a mysterious 1941 meeting between two nuclear physicists that may have changed the course of World War II. Based on fact, but then stretched into … [Read more...]
Theater review: ‘Doll’s House’ effective, but play has outlived its moment
Michael St. Pierre and Margery Lowe in A Doll's House.By Hap ErsteinAh, to have been in Copenhagen’s Royal Theatre that night in late December 1879, when Henrik Ibsen elicited shock and outrage with his new play, A Doll’s House, and particularly the final door-slamming, convention-flaunting exit of its heroine, Nora Helmer.Watching what she endures through 21st-century eyes, … [Read more...]
ArtsPreview 2009-10: The season in theater
Billy Crystal. (Illustration by Pat Crowley)By Hap ErsteinDespite the still rocky economy, the region’s professional theaters appear to remain bullish on programming, with few signs of caution or budget-pinching in the season ahead.All eyes remain on Caldwell Theatre Company, which is coming off of a critically acclaimed summer under new artistic director Clive Cholerton, who … [Read more...]
Theater review: ‘Private Lives’ a witty, pleasant summer tonic
Caroline Strong and Wynn Harmon in Private Lives.By Hap ErsteinPerhaps as important as romance to a successful relationship is a well-matched pair of witty bickerers. And maybe that is as good a definition of love as you could hope to find.At least that is the philosophy of Noel Coward in his 1930 classic comedy, Private Lives, now receiving a robust, satisfying production at … [Read more...]
Theater feature: Dramaworks betting on classic Coward for summer
Noel Coward and Getrude Lawrence in the original Private Lives (1930).By Hap ErsteinPalm Beach Dramaworks is committed to producing modern classic theater, an ambiguous term that gets stretched even further in the summertime.Though the West Palm Beach company has succeeded with revues of work by Jacques Brel, Kurt Weill and Stephen Sondheim, this summer is it gambling on a move … [Read more...]
Appreciation: Shelly Gross, wisecracking lion of the theater
Shelly Gross (1921-2009).By Hap ErsteinTo know Shelly Gross was to put up with his jokes.A compulsive entertainer, he began as a radio and television personality in his native Philadelphia, before becoming a prolific producer of Broadway shows and national tours. Never one to shy away from a challenge, he frequently produced major musicals headlined by some of the theater’s … [Read more...]
Theater review: Albee’s ‘At Home at the Zoo’ half of a great evening
Todd Allen Durkin, left, and Christopher Swan in At Home at the Zoo.By Hap ErsteinThree-time Pulitzer Prize winner Edward Albee is nothing if not meticulous, in his writing, his word choice and his self-criticism.And for most of the past 50 years, he has felt that his 1958 one-act play The Zoo Story, the bold Central Park confrontation that first brought him recognition, was … [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...]