From left: Sunny Gay, Leah Sessa and Cristina Flores in Heathers. (Photo by Lisa Nalven) If there is a quintessential Slow Burn Theatre show, it just might be Heathers: the Musical, the off-Broadway edgy romp based on the 1989 cult favorite film. But like so many Slow Burn shows, it never found a mainstream audience and never became a commercial success. What’s more, the show … [Read more...]
Slow Burn’s ‘Bonnie & Clyde’ hits the mark
Either from the 1967 Oscar-winning movie that starred Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway or from the 2013 television mini-series, you are probably familiar with the saga of Depression-era small time crooks Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. And if you subscribe to the notion that any story can be a musical if it is adapted well, you should be intrigued by what composer Frank Wildhorn … [Read more...]
‘Carrie’ packs a punch at Slow Burn
With a mission to produce underappreciated, short-lived shows, it was probably inevitable that Slow Burn Theatre Co. would get around to Carrie, the Musical. After all, it infamously lasted a mere five performances on Broadway in 1988 and became a symbol of commercial failure when it was used in the title of a compendium of theatrical flops. That would normally be the death … [Read more...]
Slow Burn’s ‘High Fidelity’ may be glib, but it’s fun
Habitual list maker Rob Gordon would probably never include High Fidelity on his “Top 5 All-Time Well-Written Musicals,” but that does not mean it lacks entertainment value. Or that it deserved to be panned so dismissively by the New York critics when it opened on Broadway in 2006 and closed 14 performances later. Because it was so negatively received there, High Fidelity … [Read more...]
Maltz, Slow Burn announce seasons; Fleming set for PB Opera fundraiser
In a study in contrasts, two Palm Beach County theater companies have announced their 2013-2014 seasons. One is based in north county, the other in south county. Both do mainly musicals, but one sticks to mainstream selections while the other prefers edgy fare. For its upcoming 11th season, the Maltz Jupiter Theatre will open with Frederick Knott’s classic mystery, Dial ‘M’ … [Read more...]
Slow Burn sees power in cult musical ‘Side Show’
The 1997 musical Side Show, about Daisy and Violet Hilton, real-life conjoined twins who exploited their congenital oddity in circuses of the 1930s, was either ahead of its time or simply too weird for a mainstream Broadway audience. It lasted a mere 91 performances in New York, losing its entire investment. It was nominated for four Tony Awards, including best musical, but … [Read more...]
Slow Burn troupe impressive in slight, silly ‘Xanadu’
A certain reverence is called for when adapting an admired film into a stage musical. No such respect is required, however, when the original movie is cheesiness personified, like, say, 1980’s pop-rock mortal-and-muse love story, Xanadu. So five years ago, playwright Douglas Carter Beane, with tongue planted firmly in cheek, and lots of comic attitude ― snap! ― transformed … [Read more...]