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...]
At Boca Stage, ‘Grand Horizons’ goes for the laughs
In the prologue to Bess Wohl’s Grand Horizons, before we learn that Nancy and Bill French have passed their 50th anniversary, we watch as they wordlessly ready their breakfast as a team, the familiar exercise of a much-married couple. So it is more than a little surprising when the first words out of her mouth are “I think I would like a divorce.” Responding without … [Read more...]
With strong central performance, Wick’s ‘Cinderella’ still works its magic
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, which first enchanted TV audiences in 1957, is based on a fairy tale by Charles Perrault that has been captivating children of all ages since it was first written in 1697. Nevertheless, when the musical was poised to make its Broadway debut in 2013, playwright Douglas Carter Beane was enlisted to give the script a makeover, injecting … [Read more...]
For cast, ‘Music Man’ is a feel-good show with heart
By Hap Erstein Frequent Wick Theatre director Norb Joerder has forgotten how many times he has staged Meredith Willson’s The Music Man. But he can recall a lot of the prominent performers who have played the traveling salesman who cons town after town into buying instruments and band uniforms for their music-challenged youngsters. “This is probably my eighth or … [Read more...]
At GableStage, a somber, powerful ‘The Children’
Lucy Kirkwood has life-and-death issues on her mind in her clever, thought-provoking drama The Children, but she is wily enough to wrap her themes inside a very human character study. And at GableStage, which is giving the work its area premiere, director Michael Leeds brings this somber little play to life with Laura Turnbull, Angie Radosh and David Kwiat – three of the … [Read more...]
Maloney sensational as Fanny Brice in Wick’s ‘Funny Girl’
Barbra who? For more than half a century, theater companies have shied away from producing Funny Girl, the biographical musical of Ziegfeld Follies star Fanny Brice, in part because whoever plays the leading role would be subjected to comparisons with Ms. Streisand. Apparently Boca Raton’s Wick Theatre was unfazed by that hurdle and, boy, have they found an … [Read more...]
‘Breadcrumbs’ skillfully explores deteriorating memory
As artistic director Keith Garsson’s Primal Forces stage company returns to Boca Raton this season, he is up to his usual opaque theater tricks with the area premiere of Jennifer Haley’s two-character play, Breadcrumbs. The audience is disoriented from the start as we meet Alida (Angie Radosh), a writer struggling with her thoughts, grasping to find the words she wants … [Read more...]