Ryan George, Andre Gainey, Gregg Weiner and Aygemang Clay in The Royale. (Photo by George Schiavone) There are many ways to tell a story, as demonstrated by the compact, yet high-energy The Royale, now receiving a knockout production at GableStage. It covers essentially the same ground as the sprawling, epic The Great White Hope, the 1969 Pulitzer Prize winner by Howard … [Read more...]
Community theater: Delray Playhouse ends season with classic Christie whodunit
From left, Joshua Matheney, Mark Hetelson and Brianna Frank in Black Coffee, at the Delray Beach Playhouse. By Dale King Delray Beach Playhouse brings its 2015-16 season to an end with the first production that murder mystery maven Agatha Christie wrote for the stage. And it’s an excellent fit for both. The Playhouse engages 13 fine actors to perform Christie’s deadly drama, … [Read more...]
Community theater: Fine cast animates ‘Little Shop’ at Delray Playhouse
Audrey II (center) is flanked by Sergio Cannata (left) and Jim Tyminski in Little Shop of Horrors at the Delray Beach Playhouse. By Dale King The comedy rock musical Little Shop of Horrors has a way of growing on you, especially the production now being staged at the Delray Beach Playhouse. Veteran director and artistic boss at DBP, Randolph DelLago, has drafted a talented … [Read more...]
At Dramaworks: Laughs, and love at last, in ‘Outside Mullingar’
Alex Wipf and Nick Hetherington in Outside Mullingar. (Photo by Samantha Mighdoll) For its fourth play of its 16th season, Palm Beach Dramaworks serves up a change of pace. For starters, John Patrick Shanley’s Outside Mullingar is a comedy, in fact a romantic comedy. And rather than “theater to think about,” the West Palm Beach company’s motto, it is more theater to touch … [Read more...]
Theater roundup: ‘Will Rogers Follies,’ ‘Diva Diaries,’ ‘South Pacific’
If I were programming the Maltz Jupiter Theatre, I would also be looking for vehicles for the dynamic Matt Loehr, who has earned Carbonell Awards for each of his three previous appearances there (Crazy for You, Hello, Dolly!, The Music Man). While he is too high-energy to be an ideal fit to play cowboy-humorist-philosopher Will Rogers, the laconic “poet lariat” of the nation, … [Read more...]
Community theater: Singing stands out in ‘High Society’ at LW Playhouse
By Dale King Lake Worth Playhouse goes all out for its first show of 2016, High Society, the tale of a Long Island socialite who waxes blasé on the night before her wedding when two suitors try to nudge her away from the groom-to-be. It’s an interesting mix of highbrow banter and scatterbrained hijinks that is well worth seeing. Jodie Dixon-Mears, the artist boss at the … [Read more...]
The year in review: The theater’s top 12
Several theater companies went out of business in 2015, while others moved to more comfortable digs, hoping their audiences would follow. Of those that stayed put, many pushed themselves by producing challenging works, particularly mega-musicals and powerful new dramas. There was too much quality happening to contain the year in 10 productions, so here instead (in my … [Read more...]
Theater roundup: ‘Daniel’s Husband’ and ‘Constellations’
What South Florida’s theater community has long needed were playhouses where a hit show could transfer for an extended run. Now suddenly, just in time for the holiday season, we have two such gifts. The Arts Garage has moved its sensual season opener, Sex with Strangers, to the new Palm Beaches Theatre, a/k/a the former Florida Stage and Plaza Theatre in Manalapan. And Fort … [Read more...]
At Delray Playhouse, Russell winningly summons sass of Hattie McDaniel
By Dale King Hattie McDaniel packed a lot of living into 57 years. She wrote songs, sang on stage, radio and TV, performed in movies and on television, and is perhaps best known as the first African-American to win an Academy Award, for her stellar supporting role as “Mammy” in Gone with the Wind. Singer-actress Evelyn Russell assumes the heart, soul and voice of the smart, … [Read more...]
Community theater: The play’s the very funny thing at LW Playhouse
By Dale King The latest production at the Lake Worth Playhouse, I Hate Hamlet, is a mixture of factoids and fantasy, a whimsical frolic that seems to encourage every performer to overact. Be prepared to suspend your disbelief for this skewing of Shakespeare at the downtown Lake Worth venue. IHH, which opened on Broadway in 1991, is an over-the-top tale of a successful but … [Read more...]