By Dale King If you’re searching for some laughs to squelch the winter blues, look no further than the Delray Beach Playhouse. The venerable theater company has assembled an exceptional ensemble of actors to present Neil Simon’s California Suite, a quartet of playlets set in Suite 203-204 of the Beverly Hills Hotel. The show is regularly filling nearly every seat of the … [Read more...]
Community theater: 30 years later, ‘Blackout’ still delivers the whodunit goods
By Dale King The stage production of Rick Harlowe’s mystery thriller, Blackoutis back where it all began three decades ago – at the Delray Beach Playhouse. Harlowe’s whodunit – which meanders into who-might-do-it-again territory – will conclude its three-week run Sunday at the theatrical center on the east shore of Lake Ida. The play actually made its world premiere in … [Read more...]
Kander and Ebb catalog gets entertaining take at Delray Playhouse
By Dale King Musical revues have become popular fare at community and regional theaters of late. They’ve been staples the past few years at Broward Stage Door Theatre, particularly themed compilations created by Michael Leeds and/or Kevin Black. The Wick Theatre had such success with a show called Beehive last year that one of its performers, Mallory Newbrough, has been … [Read more...]
Solid cast gives ‘Vanya and Sonia’ sparkle at Delray Playhouse
By Dale King Christopher Durang's comedy Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike – the season finale playing two more weekends at the Delray Beach Playhouse – covers a lot of outlandish and humorous territory in a 2½-hour block of time. The show actually taxes the audience’s mental capabilities more than it does their capacity to follow a plot. Author Durang – whose … [Read more...]
Community theater: Veteran actors (and spouses) offer engaging ‘I Do! I Do!’ at Delray Playhouse
By Dale King The musical comedy, I Do! I Do! is remarkably entertaining, considering its simplicity and minimalism. The plot – a story about the first 50 years of a couple’s married life – is sparse on its face, but pleasant in its unfolding. Music rounds out the production, now at the Delray Beach Playhouse. The show requires only a two-person cast and a single stage … [Read more...]
Community theater: ‘Odd Couple’ still works at Delray Playhouse
By Dale King Just Google “The Odd Couple” and you’ll find that Neil Simon’s 1965 comedy is still being produced for television. It’s the seventh screen incarnation for Simon’s 52-year-old Broadway baby, an assemblage that includes a 1968 movie, a cartoon adaption and a reunion film — not to mention a female-version stage play. The current CBS sitcom stars Matthew Perry … [Read more...]
Community theater: Delray’s ‘I Love You’ full of laughs for holiday
By Dale King I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, the musical comedy that wraps up its three-week run at Delray Beach Playhouse this weekend, has brought some unusual trappings to the Lake Shore Road venue this time around – in addition to a bag full of laughs for the audience’s holiday entertainment. The four-person cast includes a married couple – actor/singers Jim … [Read more...]
Community theater: Delray Playhouse’s ‘Senator’ offers amusing electoral dysfunction
By Dale King Talk about art imitating life. The Delray Beach Playhouse is opening its 70th theatrical season with The Sensuous Senator, a rollicking romp about a presidential candidate who staunchly stands for morality, family and the sanctity of marriage. But when the wife isn’t around, he’s ready to bed down his sexy secretary or spend a lusty night with a … [Read more...]