By Dale King If you’re searching for a slice of holiday entertainment that’s sweet as a Christmas cookie, smooth as a glass of eggnog and nutty as the proverbial fruitcake, The 1940s Radio Hour is colorfully packaged and ready to regale you at the Delray Beach Playhouse through this weekend. This engaging production created by Walton Jones includes a variety of World War … [Read more...]
Community theater: DB Playhouse opens with sharp Christie whodunit
By Dale King Soon after summer departed South Florida, a strange sensation of mystery enveloped the area of Delray Beach at the far end of Lake Ida, in the vicinity of the Delray Beach Playhouse. It doesn’t take a Miss Marple, a Hercule Poirot or even a Sherlock Holmes to realize this sensation must be emanating from the showplace itself, where the 2018-2019 season opened … [Read more...]
Season Preview 2018-19: Community theater
By Dale King Autumn has officially arrived in South Florida, a sure sign that community theaters throughout Palm Beach County are readying their performance schedules for a new slate of programs. Most open this month. Delray Beach Playhouse has launched its 72nd season, said executive director Kevin Barrett, who’s entering his second year at the helm of the showplace … [Read more...]
Community theater: 30 years later, ‘Blackout’ still delivers the whodunit goods
By Dale King The stage production of Rick Harlowe’s mystery thriller, Blackoutis back where it all began three decades ago – at the Delray Beach Playhouse. Harlowe’s whodunit – which meanders into who-might-do-it-again territory – will conclude its three-week run Sunday at the theatrical center on the east shore of Lake Ida. The play actually made its world premiere in … [Read more...]
Kander and Ebb catalog gets entertaining take at Delray Playhouse
By Dale King Musical revues have become popular fare at community and regional theaters of late. They’ve been staples the past few years at Broward Stage Door Theatre, particularly themed compilations created by Michael Leeds and/or Kevin Black. The Wick Theatre had such success with a show called Beehive last year that one of its performers, Mallory Newbrough, has been … [Read more...]
Community theater: ‘Annie Get Your Gun’ enlivens Delray Playhouse
By Dale King Delray Beach Playhouse steps back to the 19th and early 20th centuries to revisit an American icon, sharpshooter Annie Oakley, in its presentation of the Broadway favorite, Annie Get Your Gun, which boosted singer Ethel Merman’s status and gave composer extraordinaire Irving Berlin a chance to notch what many consider to be his best show score. Director Helen … [Read more...]
Community theater: ‘Amorous Ambassador’ launches Delray Playhouse season in excellent style
By Dale King Delray Beach Playhouse kicks off its 71st season on a farcically comic note as it brings The Amorous Ambassador to the main stage in the spiffed-up venue on the east shore of Lake Ida. Those who caught last year’s season opener shouldn’t worry if they suffer an intense feeling of déjà vu. The Amorous Ambassador is, in fact, the sequel to The Sensuous Senator, … [Read more...]
Solid cast gives ‘Vanya and Sonia’ sparkle at Delray Playhouse
By Dale King Christopher Durang's comedy Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike – the season finale playing two more weekends at the Delray Beach Playhouse – covers a lot of outlandish and humorous territory in a 2½-hour block of time. The show actually taxes the audience’s mental capabilities more than it does their capacity to follow a plot. Author Durang – whose … [Read more...]
Community theater: Veteran actors (and spouses) offer engaging ‘I Do! I Do!’ at Delray Playhouse
By Dale King The musical comedy, I Do! I Do! is remarkably entertaining, considering its simplicity and minimalism. The plot – a story about the first 50 years of a couple’s married life – is sparse on its face, but pleasant in its unfolding. Music rounds out the production, now at the Delray Beach Playhouse. The show requires only a two-person cast and a single stage … [Read more...]
Community theater: ‘Odd Couple’ still works at Delray Playhouse
By Dale King Just Google “The Odd Couple” and you’ll find that Neil Simon’s 1965 comedy is still being produced for television. It’s the seventh screen incarnation for Simon’s 52-year-old Broadway baby, an assemblage that includes a 1968 movie, a cartoon adaption and a reunion film — not to mention a female-version stage play. The current CBS sitcom stars Matthew Perry … [Read more...]