By Dale King Tommy rocks. The stellar performers at Lake Worth Playhouse pull out all the stops to stage an energetic version of the rock musical Tommy, based on The Who’s 1969 double album. The tale of the “deaf, dumb and blind kid” who became a pinball wizard explodes on stage with nearly two dozen players backed by the screaming guitar of Ben Brown and three other … [Read more...]
Community theater: ‘Sisters of Swing’ brings Andrews Sisters back, memorably
By Dale King Sisters of Swing, the musical biography of the famed Andrews Sisters now playing at the Broward Stage Door Theatre, is an entertaining bit of harmonious history, a tuneful testament to how three sisters from Minnesota broke free from the pack of mid-20th century vocal groups to create an unforgettable sound that captured the heart of a nation. The show wraps 20 … [Read more...]
Community theater: Dated ‘Barefoot in the Park’ holds up well at Delray Playhouse
By Dale King In just a few days, the Delray Beach Playhouse will close the doors on its 68th season. Summer camp kids will take over the venue for a while, then the theater opens again for its 69th season of live mainstage performances in October. There’s still time to catch the final show of the season. Barefoot in the Park, an endearing early-career effort from prolific … [Read more...]
Community theater: ‘Charming ‘Bell, Book and Candle’ at Broward Stage Door
By Dale King Were it not for playwright John Van Druten’s whimsical, witty, witch story, Bell, Book and Candle, our TV screens may never have had shows like Bewitched, Charmed or Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. Movie screens may have never seen the likes of Harry Potter’s world of wands and wizardry without a Van Druten connection. In the very capable hands of Broadway-schooled … [Read more...]
Community theater: Gritty, powerful ‘Cabaret’ closes LW Playhouse season
By Dale King If you’ve never seen the musical Cabaret, you still have time to catch the show at Lake Worth Playhouse before this well-tooled performance about sordid pre-war Berlin closes with a matinee Sunday. And if you’re already seen Cabaret, you are strongly advised — no, make that urged — to return. The Lake Avenue venue wraps up its 2014-2015 season with a production … [Read more...]
Community theater: Real-life couple energizes Delray Playhouse’s ‘They’re Playing Our Song’
By Dale King Playwright Neil Simon takes a well-aimed shot at musical comedy in They’re Playing Our Song, a sharp and witty production being staged through Sunday at the Delray Beach Playhouse. Actually, Simon wrote the book, then turned it over to songwriter Marvin Hamlisch and lyricist Carole Bayer Sager to provide words and tunes for a stage production. As it turns … [Read more...]
Community theater: Strong cast keeps ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’ wacky
By Dale King Lake Worth Playhouse is riding the crest of some first-class theatrical productions this season. The one that drops the final curtain on its three-week engagement Sunday is one of the best, a classic dark comedy from the 1930s that still packs lots of laughs today. Arsenic and Old Lace is one of a dozen plays by Joseph Kesselring — and easily his best. The 1941 … [Read more...]
Community theater: Grim but gripping ‘Cabaret’ excels at Stage Door
By Dale King The musical Cabaret is dark and forbidding, much like its setting, Berlin in the 1930s. Broward Stage Door Theatre’s rendition of the award-winning 1966 show masterfully mixes the hedonistic characters who inhabited backstreet Berlin with the hopeful souls who dreamed of something better, but often felt the sharp slap of failure. This stellar production, which … [Read more...]
Community theater: Four standouts lift Stage Door’s ‘I Love You’
By Dale King If you could capture TV’s Love American Style, move it intact to a theatrical stage and add some upbeat music with snappy, imaginative lyrics, you’d be close to recreating the funky and offbeat relationship comedy, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change. Based on a book by prolific playwright Joe Di Pietro, with music by Jimmy Roberts and lyrics by Di Pietro, … [Read more...]
Community theater: FAU delivers riveting ‘Holy Ghosts’
By Dale King Student dramatists at Florida Atlantic University are always finding plays that feature such bizarre themes and characters that they’re unlikely to end up on the stages of mainstream theatrical venues. So it is with Holy Ghosts, a production centering on mankind’s struggle to balance the need for religious tolerance with our strong inclination to reject faiths … [Read more...]