Longtime followers of Florida Stage may recall Peter Sagal, whose plays Denial and What to Say were produced in the 1990s by the now-defunct theater company that specialized in new American works. These days, however, Sagal is more widely known as the host of the popular National Public Radio current events quiz show, Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me. For the past 20 years, Sagal … [Read more...]
Gregory’s ‘Motherland’ compelling, but lacks Brecht’s weight
As Constable Dogberry once observed, “Comparisons are odious.” So do what you can to resist pitting Allison Gregory’s new work, Motherland, in your mind against the play that inspired it, Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children. The former, a contemporary tale of a wily, maternal ghetto merchant, has plenty to recommend it, but it is lightweight stuff compared to … [Read more...]
‘Motherland,’ at FAU, takes Brechtian look at War on Poverty
Allison Gregory set out to write a play inspired by Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children, generally considered one of the great stage works of the 20th century. The only thing is she knew almost nothing about it. “I had never read it or seen it. I knew zero about Brecht, really,” concedes Gregory. “I’ve never even seen a Brecht play. I’ve never studied Brecht. … [Read more...]
Chekhov meets Beckett in Laufer’s provocative ‘Three Sisters of Weehawken’
What do you get when you cross an iconic play by Anton Chekhov with those of Samuel Beckett, by way of Christopher Durang and his puckish touch? Such a stew would probably resemble Deborah Zoe Laufer’s The Three Sisters of Weehawken, an amiably nutty and ultimately touching new work now receiving its world premiere at Florida Atlantic University’s Theatre Lab. As her title … [Read more...]
2016-17 Season Preview: Theater
“You can’t keep a good man down,” goes the saying, and Lou Tyrrell is the proof. After championing new work at Florida Stage, he moved his operation to Delray Beach with Theatre at Arts Garage, a smaller version of the company he ran for almost 25 years. Last season, he moved a little further south to the campus of Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, still introducing … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: May 6-8
Pianist Shuree Enkhbold. Music: If you’ve ever heard the music of Sembiin Gonchigsumlaa, who lived from 1915 to 1991, you’re in exclusive company. But if you haven’t, tonight is your chance to hear music by Mongolia’s most eminent composer, played by a young Mongolian pianist studying with Roberta Rust at Lynn University. Munkshur Enkhbold, who prefers the name Shuree, is, … [Read more...]