By Dale King Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, the author’s legendary tale of a wretched money-hoarding soul who finds lifesaving redemption with help from ghostly apparitions who appear to him on a fateful Christmas Eve in 1840s London, is back in Palm Beach County, offering a spirited lift to folks looking forward to the arriving holiday season. The famed fable opened … [Read more...]
‘Berlin Diaries’ gets first premiere at Boca’s Theatre Lab
As she began to write what became The Berlin Diaries, Andrea Stolowitz knew two things. One, the play would be based on the journals of her great-grandfather, Max, who escaped Germany in 1939 and came to New York. And two, it would need to be told in an unconventional format to prevent it from seeming like just another Holocaust play. Developed in part by Florida … [Read more...]
‘Chicago’ at the Kravis still has plenty of razzle-dazzle
Musicals are rarely cynical, but then there is Chicago, a snarky look at our justice system as seen through a pair of accused murderesses awaiting trial in the Cook County jail, circa the late 1920s. Perhaps the show’s appeal stems more from its Bob Fosse-inspired choreography and its John Kander-Fred Ebb score than from the snide script Fosse co-wrote with lyricist Ebb. … [Read more...]
‘Orient Express’ gets brilliant stage treatment at Maltz
There is no mystery why the Maltz Jupiter Theatre has become South Florida’s preeminent stage company over the course of its 20 years of existence. The clues are all on display in the expert ensemble cast and stunning design elements that add up to a production of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express that must be seen to be believed. Christie’s 1934 novel, a most … [Read more...]
Irving Berlin revue sparkles at Wick thanks to stellar cast
Creative limitations can lead to positive results. Take, for instance, I Love a Piano, a revue built from the song trunk of pop composer-lyricist Irving Berlin which dates back to 1990, the year after he passed away at the age of 101. Applying to the Berlin estate for the performance rights of his musical library for a one-night AIDS benefit, the show’s co-creators Ray … [Read more...]
‘Wait Until Dark’ comes up short at Boca Stage
Murder mysteries and suspense plays, like Frederick Knott’s 1966 Broadway hit Wait Until Dark, are by definition gimmicky contrivances. But if they are tightly written and carefully staged, they can be quite entertaining. As revived by Boca Stage, which has moved its operations to the Delray Beach Playhouse, this saga of blind housewife Susan Hendricks --- menaced by … [Read more...]
Beloved whodunit ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ to open Maltz season
JUPITER — What do you get when you cross a popular murder mystery by Dame Agatha Christie with the comedy of Tony and Olivier Award-winning playwright Ken Ludwig? You get a serio-comic stage version of Murder on the Orient Express, the often-filmed whodunit, chosen to open the season of the Maltz Jupiter Theatre on Thursday, Nov. 2. What explains the enduring … [Read more...]
Slow Burn shows its worth with outstanding ‘Into the Woods’
Of the many musicals by the late, great Stephen Sondheim, some are more grisly (Sweeney Todd), more esoteric (Pacific Overtures) and more personal (Merrily We Roll Along), but few are as audience-friendly and ultimately profound than Into the Woods. Collaborating with James Lapine, the master composer-lyricist mashes up several familiar fairy tales – Cinderella, Red … [Read more...]
Ethical dilemmas on the ground floor: First-rate cast lifts Dramaworks’ ‘Lobby Hero’
Four flawed characters populate the otherwise vacant lobby of a Manhattan residential apartment building in Kenneth Lonergan’s compelling if meandering comic drama Lobby Hero. Each of them has justification for his moral transgressions, but we soon begin to question whether any of them deserves the designation of hero. Unlikely to merit hero status is the play’s … [Read more...]
First-class ‘Rent’ opens LW Playhouse’s 71st season in high-energy style
By Dale King Lake Worth Playhouse brings forth a Broadway blockbuster — the breakthrough musical Rent — as its official 71st season opener at the venerable showhouse in downtown Lake Worth Beach. LWP already presented a special performance of West Side Story to get the audience juiced for its autumnal theatrical kickoff. Set in the East Village of New York City, Rent is … [Read more...]