What is there left to be said about Marilyn Monroe? Almost 60 years after her death from a drug overdose at the age of 36, the Hollywood sex goddess still is a subject of fascination for us. Particularly for those who were alive while she was, which happens to also be the primary audience of Boca Stage. So one can understand why the company chose to produce … [Read more...]
‘The People Downstairs’ is a smart new take on Anne Frank’s story
One of the great works of literature of the 20th century is The Diary of Anne Frank, a saga of courage and endurance in the form of a journal by a 14-year-old Jewish girl who hid from the Nazis with her family and others in a cramped Amsterdam attic. But what about those non-Jews in the office below who heroically risked their lives abetting these stowaways? That is the … [Read more...]
Deft ‘Spamilton’ parody also a love letter to theater
For nearly 40 years, Gerard Alessandrini has been poking fun at the shows and stars of the musical theater in his Forbidden Broadway revues. Along the way he came to realize that the more successful the show, the more satirical he could be. So not only was it inevitable that he would get around to lampooning that hip-hop megahit, Hamilton, the hottest ticket in a … [Read more...]
‘Spamilton’ takes loving dig at Miranda and his musical
The more successful a show is, the more it deserves to be spoofed. That is the philosophy of Gerard Alessandrini, the creator and writer of Forbidden Broadway, which has been poking the commercial theater in the ribs for nearly 40 years. And with Hamilton, arguably the most successful musical in a generation, he decided it deserved an entire evening’s parody — which he … [Read more...]
Appreciation: Sondheim made the musical into fine art
In 1994, a stark black-and-white cover of New York magazine asked, “Is Stephen Sondheim God?” The cheeky question tacitly acknowledged that the then 64-year-old was the reigning composer-lyricist of Broadway, perhaps of all time, and implied with a bit of wishful thinking that maybe he was immortal. Certainly his musicals, ranging from 1957’s West Side Story to 2008’s … [Read more...]
At LW Playhouse, ‘Earnest,’ with an LGBTQ Palm Beach twist
By Dale King Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest has been modified and repackaged in many different ways since it first hit the London stage on Valentine’s Day 1895. Lake Worth Playhouse has made its own modifications to the three-act production, pulling it into the 21st century, relocating it from England to Palm Beach County and toying with some of the gender … [Read more...]
‘Fully Committed’: At Levis JCC, one man’s scheduling nightmare
Did you ever try to get a 7:30 reservation to a trendy, high-end restaurant only to be told, somewhat derisively, that the establishment is “fully committed” for the next two months? Chances are, while wallowing in your disappointment, you never gave much thought to the travails of the out-of-work actor/reservations clerk on the other end of the phone. Well, playwright … [Read more...]
At Kravis, heartwarming ‘Come From Away’ packs emotional punch
Grab your vaccination card and your mask, the Kravis Center is back in business. And since its Broadway series is opening with Come From Away, the true-life tale of a tiny Canadian town that welcomed the bewildered passengers of 38 diverted airplanes on 9/11, you might as well pack a box of Kleenex too. The attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon have inspired … [Read more...]
Boca Stage’s ‘Warrior Class’ a sharp lesson in The Swamp
Scratch the surface of a politician and chances are you will find scandal or at least dirty laundry that will render him unelectable for higher office. That is the cynical premise of Kenneth Lin’s taut, tight 80-minute civics lesson, Warrior Class, now receiving its area premiere at Boca Stage (formerly Primal Forces). The play’s battlefield ricochets between a … [Read more...]
Intimate pages: FAU Theatre Lab premieres ‘To Fall in Love’
A study by a Stony Brook University professor theorizes that if two people answer 36 probing and personal questions, then stare into each other’s eyes for four minutes, they will fall in love. Perhaps, but that is all playwright Jennifer Lane (Harlowe) had to hear to write a play dramatizing such an unusual exercise. That two-person play, To Fall in Love, receives its … [Read more...]