Avi Hoffman did not take long to decide when the offer came from Boca Raton’s Wick Theatre to be in Milk and Honey, Jerry Herman’s 1961 Broadway debut. He has a special affection for this musical about a romance between a middle-aged couple, set against the turmoil of the early days of the state of Israel. For starters, he grew up in Israel, living there from 1969 to 1977, … [Read more...]
Guest troupe’s ‘La Cage’ a crowd-pleaser at Delray Playhouse
By Dale King A theatrical production long delayed by the COVID pandemic has finally opened for a two-weekend run at the Delray Beach Playhouse. Three months before DBP officially begins its 75th season, the venerable venue on Lake Ida turns its stage over to the Barclay Performing Arts Theater for a run of Jerry Herman's gender-bending musical, La Cage aux Folles. A … [Read more...]
Appreciation: Jerry Herman, proudly old-fashioned man of the theater
In describing Broadway composer-lyricist Jerry Herman, who died Dec. 26 in Miami of pulmonary complications at the age of 88, most use the terms “optimist” and “old-fashioned.” And throughout his long, illustrious, lucrative career, he embraced both labels. As he commented to me back in 1985, as his final mega-hit show, La Cage aux Folles, was beginning its victory lap … [Read more...]
Touring ‘Dolly!’ reminds us just how strong this show is
The year was 1964 when composer-lyricist Jerry Herman, playwright Michael Stewart and director-choreographer Gower Champion adapted Thornton Wilder’s The Matchmaker into one of the high points of what we now look back on as the golden age of the musical theater. The show, of course, was Hello, Dolly!, which became, for a while at least, the longest-running production … [Read more...]
Stage Door’s new venue outshines uneven ‘La Cage’
You want the good news first? The 26-year-old Stage Door Theatre has moved from Margate, across Broward County, to a gorgeous new $11.6 million playhouse, the 1,100-seat Lauderhill Performing Arts Center. With ample wings and fly space, plus all the bells, whistles and amenities that its former home lacked, the complex should be the envy of every other resident company in South … [Read more...]
Wick’s ‘Jerry’s Girls’ iffy, but Herman’s songs hold up
In its five seasons of existence, The Wick Theatre has gone to the well of composer-lyricist Jerry Herman and his audience-friendly shows four times, but with mixed results. Its current production, the musical revue Jerry’s Girls, is aided considerably by the rewriting and restructuring from its director, Lee Roy Reams, only to be let down by its ostensible box office star, … [Read more...]
Anton happy to be one of ‘Jerry’s Girls’ at The Wick
The shows of Broadway composer-lyricist – Hello, Dolly!, Mame, La Cage aux Folles – have been some of the most popular productions at The Wick Theatre. So it was not surprising that the Boca Raton playhouse chose to end its season with the musical revue Jerry’s Girls – a celebration of Herman’s prolific output – and to import Lee Roy Reams to direct it. Reams, who … [Read more...]
MNM’s ‘La Cage’ falls short, but packs a relevant punch
A few years ago, as same-sex marriage was becoming legal all across the nation thanks to the evolved support of the president, the once daring 1983 musical La Cage aux Folles – which features two gay main characters and Broadway’s first male-male kiss – was looking a little dated. But as MNM Productions correctly points out in its program notes for the show, its message of … [Read more...]