The world of rock ‘n’ roll was, pardon the expression, all shook up when in 1958 Elvis Presley put his hip-swiveling act on hold to enlist in the Army. But music’s loss was the musical theater’s gain, as Lee Adams, Charles Strouse and Michael Stewart used that news as their inspiration for their show biz-meets-Middle America satire, Bye Bye Birdie. Classically trained … [Read more...]
At Boca Stage, ‘Grand Horizons’ goes for the laughs
In the prologue to Bess Wohl’s Grand Horizons, before we learn that Nancy and Bill French have passed their 50th anniversary, we watch as they wordlessly ready their breakfast as a team, the familiar exercise of a much-married couple. So it is more than a little surprising when the first words out of her mouth are “I think I would like a divorce.” Responding without … [Read more...]
‘The Thin Place,’ at Boca Stage, is more puzzling than creepy
Unlike horror movies, which want to scare the bejesus out of us, Lucas Hnath’s cerebral ghost story The Thin Place merely wants to creep us out and perhaps have us think about the possibility of an afterlife. Whether or not you are persuaded by this curiously structured play, which demands several leaps of faith by its audience and ultimately ends on theatrical gimmickry, … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: May 3-5
Music: The very last concert Franz Joseph Haydn attended in his life was in March 1808, about a year before he died, when he was carried, seated on an armchair, into the University of Vienna to hear his oratorio The Creation, in a performance conducted by Antonio Salieri. Haydn was too ill to stay for the whole piece, but the reverence he was shown that day was due in part to … [Read more...]
‘Patsy Cline’ sparkles as Wick’s season-ender
Long before show business personalities had to worry about stalkers, fledgling country music star-to-be Patsy Cline forged a friendship with an emotionally needy Texas divorcee. The latter, a bubbly redhead named Louise Seger, became enamored of Cline’s twangy song stylings, heard on the radio and seen on television, never guessing where her musical obsession might lead. … [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...]
Actors Playhouse offers beautifully sung ‘Carousel’
By Hap Erstein Of the many shows by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II that pushed the boundaries of the musical theater in the mid-20th century, they often remarked that Carousel was their favorite. You will get no argument from me about the score, which is so rich in character-laden melodies and topped by their single best musical number, the booming and delicate … [Read more...]