We didn’t plan it this way, but this year’s Hapster Awards for (mostly dubious) achievement in South Florida theater has a running theme of companies closing their doors or curtailing operations. And you thought we only had the presidency of Donald Trump to depress us.
WE’D BETTER BE REALLY PATIENT
Sign posted over the water fountain at The Palm Beaches Theatre in Plaza del Mar, Manlapan, spotted in February: “Be Patient. Water Will Return Soon.” Don’t believe it. The former home of Florida Stage and the Plaza Theatre, most recently leased by the Palm Beach International Film Festival, shut its doors this fall and will soon be plowed under and replaced by a Publix supermarket. We have nothing against Publix, just prefer playhouses.
FROM CUDDLES TO CURDLES
We thought producing plays about vampires was a surefire way to make money. Then we saw Cuddles, a neck-biting allegory by Joseph Wilde at The Arts Garage in Delray Beach. Few others bothered to attend, however, causing newly appointed CEO Marjorie Waldo to suspend the rest of the storefront performance space’s theater program for this season at least in an attempt to halt the financial bleeding. Waldo, who describes herself as a theater fan, concedes that she was erring on the side of caution, even though the next show on the schedule, Blues in the Night, featuring the popular Avery Sommers and Laura Hodos, looked likely to turn a profit.
SO MUCH FOR THE CLEMATIS THEATER DISTRICT
A year and a half ago, Miami theater company Naked Stage announced it was moving to West Palm Beach, to a retail store on Clematis Street that would be converted to a performance space. Putting up the money — reportedly $2 million for the purchase, another $3 million for renovations — was Michael Paul, father of co-artistic director Katherine Amadeo. Suddenly there was talk of a West Palm theater district, anchored at one end by Palm Beach Dramaworks and Naked Stage at the other.
Just as abruptly, though, those plans were called off in September, when Amadeo and her husband Antonio decided to relocate to Colorado. It is unclear whether availability of recreational marijuana was a factor.
BEST OF TIMES, WORST OF TIMES, CUTLER BAY STYLE
The champagne corks were popping at New Theatre this spring when its artistic director, Ricky J. Martinez, was given the prestigious Margo Jones Award, a national honor that recognized his impact on the art of playwriting. The company went to work trying to raise much-needed funds off the award, but it could not counteract the loss of its audience suffered when the 30-year-old organization moved far south to Cutler Bay. With his salary suspended and his duties increased, Martinez resigned on May 23 and in late June, New Theatre closed its doors permanently.
TRUTH IN ADVERTISING NOTICE
Heard at the Kravis Center in January, the following pre-show announcement for the musical Bullets Over Broadway: “This production contains theatrical haze, strobe lights and garter belts.”
IN MEMORIAM
Of the many in the arts who died in 2016, two late-year passings come to mind.
Charlie Cinnamon, press agent extraordinaire for Broadway series and touring shows throughout the region died in November at 94, just days before his 95th birthday. From such clients as the Coconut Grove Playhouse to the Royal Poinciana, he helped put South Florida theater on the map.
Dennis Sims, longtime drama teacher and director at Dreyfoos School of the Arts and briefly at G-STAR School of the Arts, trained hundreds of students and sent many on their way to careers in the theater. Died in mid-December after a long battle with cancer.