By Sharon Geltner The 101-year-old Lake Worth Playhouse is being fast-tracked for a $1 million state grant by next September, said Rick Gonzalez, a West Palm Beach architect and a member of the Florida Historic Commission — which selects the recipients. He said the momentum is due to the Playhouse’s historic importance and how it boosts the city’s economy. “I’ve … [Read more...]
The season in theater, 2025-26: A rich offering of Broadway standouts and provocative world premieres
By Sharon Geltner Area stages are planning an exciting season of TV stars, Netflix writers, off-Broadway actors, European festival standouts, and innovative productions. The contrasts range from Broadway musicals and brand names such as Neil Simon and Stephen King to Southeastern United States premieres of thought-provoking plays. Below, in geographical order, from north … [Read more...]
Perlman’s plays: Ex-Delray mayor finds new success writing for the stage
By Sharon Geltner There are 64,000 plays registered on a national clearinghouse for budding playwrights. The vast majority will never be staged. Yet, since 2024, Jeff Perlman, former mayor of Delray Beach, has seen three plays produced. “The odds of being produced are very low. I was told this by several veteran playwrights,” Perlman said. “Many people [who write … [Read more...]
Palm Beach’s new Glazer Hall means more than a theater’s rebirth
In the 21 years since the Royal Poinciana Playhouse closed its doors, several groups have tried unsuccessfully to bring the former jewel box performance space back to life. Now, however, on the site of the dormant theater, a much-redesigned multi-purpose arts center in Palm Beach is under construction, poised to launch by the end of this year. The difference this time? … [Read more...]
Veteran South Florida theater critic Hap Erstein dies at 76
Harris Alan Erstein, known to his decades of readers and to family, friends and colleagues as Hap, died Saturday in Aventura. He was 76. Erstein had long suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He was taken ill Monday night after a showing of the latest Jurassic Park film and transported to Aventura Hospital. Doctors there were able to stabilize him, but his … [Read more...]
For this year’s PB Shakespeare Festival, a story that ends happily
By Elisabeth Gaffney This summer, Trent Stephens thought everyone could use a break. “There’s a lot of conflict in the world. So we thought that our community might benefit from a romance, a story where everything turns out OK in the end,” said Stephens, who is the artistic director of the Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival. And that’s why the festival is bringing back … [Read more...]
‘Ain’t Too Proud’: Motown supergroup’s story compelling, but songs are the real draw
For a singing group known for their close harmonies, the saga of The Temptations is full of discord. Anyone who lived through the 1960s and 1970s surely knows the hits of this Detroit-bred rhythm and blues group, but they probably do not know the story of their rise to fame and ultimate implosion. That is the essence of Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The … [Read more...]
Hap’s fearless Tony predictions
It was a good season for quantity of productions. Not so much for quality. But there were a few standout shows (Maybe Happy Ending, Purpose, Yellow Face), some nail-biter head-on clashes (Audra McDonald vs. Nicole Scherzimger) and complete toss-ups (We're looking at you, design categories). So, the chances are I will get a lot of these wrong, but here are my picks to … [Read more...]
At Dramaworks: ‘Dangerous Instruments’ is a harrowing look at a broken system
From the opening alarm bell signifying an institutional lockdown, Gina Montet’s Dangerous Instruments, now playing at Palm Beach Dramaworks, foreshadows the all-too-familiar inevitability of gun violence in America. Told as a gripping case study of a young, mentally troubled boy and his mother’s battle to save him from being dismissed by an inadequate social services system, … [Read more...]
Broadway roundup: Reviews from the New York spring season
Here is a look at a handful of shows from Broadway’s spring season, in a run-up to the Tony Awards, which will be broadcast June 8. Real Women Have Curves: Although based on Josefina Lopez’s 1990 play and the subsequent HBO movie starring America Ferrera from 2002, the newly arrived musical, Real Women Have Curves, seems extremely timely in the current days of … [Read more...]