What’s a mother to do? Big-haired, small-town Texas mom Trisha Lee is taken aback when her teenage daughter Jolene announces to her that from now on she should no longer be considered a girl but gender-neutral, so please call her “Jo(e)” and refer to her by the pronoun “they.” The semantics of gender politics is the least of Trisha’s problems, once her unconditional-love, … [Read more...]
With quirky ‘Be Here Now,’ FAU Theatre Lab has a major play
What causes some of us to see joy in the world and others to see pure gloom? And if the difference between the two perspectives were caused by a brain tumor, would you accept a potentially fatal condition for a temporarily rosy outlook? That is the dilemma facing Bari, a former professor of nihilism and avowed cynic, in Deborah Zoe Laufer’s quirky and ultimately … [Read more...]
Powerful acting brings quirky souls of ‘Inishmaan’ to vivid life
On the tiny, isolated island of Inishmaan, off the western coast of Ireland, either there is something peculiar in the water or the residents are genetically predisposed to quirkiness. Either way, few ever escape from their homeland. But at least Billy Claven, the so-called Cripple of Inishmaan, a 17-year-old orphan with a body mangled since birth, can dream of leaving his … [Read more...]
‘Cripple of Inishmaan’ leavens bleakness with dark humor
Palm Beach Dramaworks’ audiences can relax a little after the cerebral workout of Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia. The West Palm Beach stage company ends its 17th season with the less heady, but perhaps more emotionally involving, dark comedy The Cripple of Inishmaan by acclaimed Irish playwright – and occasional screenwriter – Martin McDonagh. “This is a narrative story in the Irish … [Read more...]