After a successful summer debut at the Kravis Center, Florida Stage unveils its first subscription season in the Rinker Playhouse, including several world premieres. Meanwhile, there is a new Miami company with its own troupe of actors, the Caldwell continues to dig out of its money woes with a second look at a Carbonell-winning show it is developing, the Maltz Jupiter cracks … [Read more...]
‘Gin Game’ at Dramaworks like two hands of solitaire
Without the safety net of their subscriber bases, South Florida theaters often ease up on their missions in the summer with lighter fare. A case in point is Palm Beach Dramaworks, which just came off its most challenging season in its 10 years of existence, lowering its sights with the playing card-thin serio-comedy, The Gin Game. The play brought instant recognition to its … [Read more...]
First PB chamber festival concert shows group establishing canon
Pieces of music come and go, sometimes just once before disappearing, sometimes aired out only every once in a while like an unfashionable sweater found in the depths of Grandfather’s closet. But many of these works are pieces of real merit, and it’s up to performing organizations to start turning old and new rarities into repertory. The musicians of the Palm Beach Chamber … [Read more...]
Broadway season was strong in new plays, weak in musicals
You know the drill by now. Sunday night’s Tony Awards ceremony will do its best to put a happy face on the Broadway season, but in fact, this was the worst year for musicals in a long time. Note the Best Score category, which could only find two musicals to nominate and had to settle for singling out two plays for their incidental music. Of the four shows nominated for Best … [Read more...]
‘Fela!,’ ‘La Cage’ lead Tony nominees in lackluster season
This season’s Tony Award nominations were announced this morning. So let the gripes and snipes begin, as well as the closing notices for the snubbed shows. No one -- except the consistently upbeat Tonys, a marketing cheerleader for New York’s commercial theater -- is going to try and claim that this was a strong season on Broadway. But at least there were enough shows so that … [Read more...]