JeffandTerry. Acclaimed photographer Jeffrey McCabe and so-so novelist Terry Parker were inseparable companions for 30 years – and married for six of them. They were so close they were like one word, and fully expected to grow old together. But Jeff died seven months ago in a car crash, and 54-year-old Terry is still grieving over his loss. He relates this to … [Read more...]
Stage Door offers touching ‘From Door to Door’
By Dale King It’s no secret that Broward Stage Door Theatre will vacate its current premises on West Sample Road in Margate and move to newer, more modern and technologically advanced digs at the Lauderhill Performing Arts Center this fall. So, it’s a bit touching that the next-to-the-last production at Broward Stage – James Sherman’s From Door to Door – is very much a … [Read more...]
Turnbull carries off a tour de force in ‘Pink Unicorn’
What’s a mother to do? Big-haired, small-town Texas mom Trisha Lee is taken aback when her teenage daughter Jolene announces to her that from now on she should no longer be considered a girl but gender-neutral, so please call her “Jo(e)” and refer to her by the pronoun “they.” The semantics of gender politics is the least of Trisha’s problems, once her unconditional-love, … [Read more...]
‘I’m Gonna Pray’ serves up dark, compelling father-daughter strife
Is there a yearning more primal than for the approval of a parent? Well, if you happen to be in the theater, the approval of critics comes in a close second. Both are captured, pitfalls and all, in Halley Feiffer’s dark, probably autobiographical, disturbing tale of father-daughter struggles, I’m Gonna Pray for You So Hard, now in its area premiere at GableStage. … [Read more...]
Strong performances redeem middling Coward play at FAU
Noel Coward would become one of Great Britain’s wittiest, most successful high-style playwrights, known for such enduring comedies of manners as Private Lives, Present Laughter and Design for Living. In 1925, though, at the age of 25, he wrote the less well-known, lesser Easy Virtue, a dark-toned tale of an American divorcee who marries into a well-heeled British family, most … [Read more...]
Tony predictions: ‘Harry Potter,’ ‘Band’s Visit’ to take top honors
Your fearless prognosticator goes out on a limb once again, predicting this season’s Tony Award winners for Broadway excellence. The winners will be announced this Sunday at Radio City Music Hall (broadcast on CBS-TV, beginning at 8 p.m.) A lot of the imminent recipients are obvious, thanks to a fairly anemic season with a lot of categories filled with blatant … [Read more...]
#MeToo and the young actress: Three FAU thespians view the road ahead
By Janis Fontaine The #MeToo movement that exploded onto the cultural scene in 2017 with allegations of sexual misconduct against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein – who was indicted this week on rape charges in New York – has upended the careers of major figures in entertainment, media and government, among other professions. Palm Beach ArtsPaper sat down in April with … [Read more...]
MNM’s brings care, skill to edgy ‘Avenue Q’
As long as there is latent racism, widespread fixation on internet porn and young people stumped by their purpose in life – three subjects explored in bouncy, infectious songs – then Avenue Q, the adult Sesame Street-inspired show populated by puppets, will probably be around. And if it is produced with the care and skill that MNM Theatre Company brings to the task, … [Read more...]
What’s on in New York: The Broadway season in review, Part Two
Here is Part Two of my survey of the current Broadway season in New York: Summer: The Donna Summer Musical – There were surely biographical jukebox musicals before 2005’s Jersey Boys, which celebrated the music of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. But it was the enormous success of that show that begat Beautiful about Carole King’s life, next season’s Cher musical and this … [Read more...]
What’s on in New York: The Broadway season in review, Part One
There are standout exceptions, but this was largely a disappointing season on Broadway, with the nominating committee challenged to fill all the Tony Award categories. In general, the revivals were better than the new work, in both plays and musicals. Here is my report from a week in New York, where I saw 14 shows in 10 days (Oh, the things I put myself through for you … [Read more...]