Four flawed characters populate the otherwise vacant lobby of a Manhattan residential apartment building in Kenneth Lonergan’s compelling if meandering comic drama Lobby Hero. Each of them has justification for his moral transgressions, but we soon begin to question whether any of them deserves the designation of hero. Unlikely to merit hero status is the play’s … [Read more...]
Challenging two-hander ‘Topdog/Underdog’ packs punch at Dramaworks
Playwright Suzan-Lori Parks has more important things on her mind, but one takeaway from her 2002 Pulitzer Prize winner, Topdog/Underdog, is surely to be careful when you name your children. For their father, as a perverse joke, named his two African-American sons Lincoln and Booth. As a result, they have been pitted against each other throughout their lives and … [Read more...]
A history lesson with love and nuance: Dramaworks cast, director prep ‘Intimate Apparel’
Be Boyd, an associate professor in the theater department of Orlando’s University of Central Florida, teaches the plays of two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage, but has yet to stage one of her plays professionally. That is until now, when she directs Intimate Apparel at Palm Beach Dramaworks, opening Friday, April 1. She eagerly agreed to the assignment, calling … [Read more...]
At Theatre Lab, quirky ‘Glass Piano’ intrigues
Legend has it that a Princess Alexandra of Bavaria once ingested – or believed she ingested – a grand piano made of glass. Intrigued by the notion, playwright Alix Sobler has turned it into a fairy tale for adults, The Glass Piano, now receiving its U.S. premiere at Florida Atlantic University’s Theatre Lab. There is much to like about the play and its production, even if, … [Read more...]
‘Good Girl’ gives intriguing look at intersection of sex and technology
Why are futuristic robots usually depicted as doing domestic chores like vacuuming carpets, when what we really want them for is readily available sex? If that conundrum strikes a chord with you, you may want to check out the lean and steamy playlet, The Good Girl, by Australia’s Emilie Collyer, receiving its South Florida premiere through Oct. 29 from Fort Lauderdale’s … [Read more...]
‘Informed Consent’ nimbly explores intersection of science and ethics
Science has come under fire of late, most notably in the political arena. The rise of science deniers makes Informed Consent, the latest densely packed, morally ambiguous drama by Deborah Zoe Laufer particularly timely, while its core conflict between scientific truth and cultural belief systems give the play a timeless quality. Laufer, whose work has been championed by … [Read more...]
With ‘Mystery of Love & Sex,’ Arts Garage launches quirky new theater season
By all measures, the theater program at Delray Beach’s Art Garage had a very good season, the first one guided by Keith Garsson and his resident director, Genie Croft. Their edgy slate of plays was critically well received, two of the four productions had extended runs and overall the season turned a profit. The question now is can they continue their success or will they fall … [Read more...]