If the term “orphans” conjures up those adorable tykes from the musical Annie, playwright Lindsey Ferrentino asks us to adjust our sights and consider the more common situation of adults whose parents have died, leaving them with clean-up chores, both physical and emotional. That is how it is in Ferrentino’s Andy and the Orphans for siblings Maggie (Patti Gardner) and … [Read more...]
Snedeker gives master class in acting with chilling ‘Blonde Poison’
There are six million stories in the Holocaust, but few as vivid and complex as that of Stella Kubler Goldschlag, the so-called Blonde Poison. That is also the title of Gail Louw’s one-person performance piece currently receiving its area premiere at Primal Forces. From her Berlin apartment in the 1990s, where Stella is preparing to be interviewed by a German-born, … [Read more...]
One-woman ‘Blonde Poison’ explores Holocaust ambiguity
In searching for plays for Primal Forces’ return to Boca Raton this season, artistic director Keith Garsson wanted to find a Holocaust-themed work, but not the usual downbeat drama in shades of black and white. He has found it in Blonde Poison by Gail Louw, based on the true story of Stella Kubler, who looks back on her younger self in Nazi Germany when she both saved many … [Read more...]
‘Breadcrumbs’ skillfully explores deteriorating memory
As artistic director Keith Garsson’s Primal Forces stage company returns to Boca Raton this season, he is up to his usual opaque theater tricks with the area premiere of Jennifer Haley’s two-character play, Breadcrumbs. The audience is disoriented from the start as we meet Alida (Angie Radosh), a writer struggling with her thoughts, grasping to find the words she wants … [Read more...]
Fine performances lift new ‘Accident’ at Primal Forces
“Write what you know,” goes the old adage to playwrights, so Lydia Stryk wrote a play about the aftermath of a debilitating car accident. Like her fictional character Libby, Stryk was the victim of a collision between herself and an automobile driver. Or as Libby puts it with her dark, bitter humor, she met Anton by accident. In An Accident, the latest area … [Read more...]
‘Communion,’ at Primal Forces, deftly explores issues of character
Although the word "communion" brings to mind the Catholic ritual of accepting the body and blood of Christ, Canadian playwright Daniel MacIvor seems more interested in its alternate definition, “the sharing or exchanging of mental or spiritual thoughts or feelings.” For there is plenty of such sharing – as well as withholding – in MacIvor’s Communion, receiving its regional … [Read more...]
Three strong women aim for ‘Communion’ at Primal Forces
Keith Garsson and his Primal Forces theater company are on the move again. After a season and a half at Delray Beach’s Arts Garage, which then dropped its theater program, he returned to Andrews Living Arts in downtown Fort Lauderdale. But after one show there, it too suspended production. So Garsson packed up again and moved across town to Empire Stage, where he opens the … [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...]
Director Garsson revives Primal Forces company with full season
“If you miss (theater at) Arts Garage, we’re back! We’re back with a vengeance.” So says Keith Garsson, who directed the theater program at the Delray Beach storefront performance complex for a season and a half, until the drama component was abruptly curtailed in December because of huge financial losses. And with the end of his quirky, sexy productions there, Garsson’s … [Read more...]
New Arts Garage CEO promises theater will return this year
"I like fixing things. I’m drawn generally to things that need my help. I like the process and I love small nonprofits.” So says Marjorie Waldo, who has found a small nonprofit that needs her help and has jumped head-first into the fray as president and CEO of Delray Beach’s beleaguered storefront performance complex, The Arts Garage. Waldo, on the job since Nov. 1, has … [Read more...]