Monthly Archives: February 2014
Maltz’s ’14-’15 Season: Fiddler, Les Miz, Les Wiz, Les Shue And @#$%^ Glengarry Glen Ross
The Maltz Jupiter Theatre has been nudging its mainstream audience for years toward relatively riskier fare, but the slate announced today for its 2014-2015 season includes one entry that will never be mistaken for Oklahoma: David Mamet’s scorching drama Glengarry Glen Ross.
M Ensemble’s Knock Me A Kiss Is Uneven But Has Electric Acting
Some vibrant performances – one of them pure electricity – rescue M Ensemble’s uneven production of Charles Smith’s intriguing but flawed script about boldface names from the Harlem Renaissance, Knock Me A Kiss.
Once Is Touching Bittersweet Love Song Of Joy And Sorrow
A yearning so palpable it almost becomes corporeal and a heartache without a shred of self-pity pour unapologetically from the stage in the legitimately affecting musical Once touring through Miami this week only. The tears and smiles are honestly earned in this bittersweet romance leavened with the humor that only chastened challenged souls can muster.
Parade’s The Last Schwartz Doesn’t Quite Meld, But Features Vivid Performances
Deborah Zoe Laufer’s The Last Schwartz poses a difficult mélange of tones, and Parade Productions’ production doesn’t smoothly meld Laufer’s various parts. That said, the stand-alone strands of farcical comedy, subtler black humor and heart-rending pathos are delivered independently with quite satisfying results through skilled performances molded and guided by director Kim St. Leon.
Pippin And Motown Headline 2014-2015 Season At Bway Across America In FTL
“Something old (sort of), something new” characterizes the 2014-2015 season for Broadway Across America-Fort Lauderdale. Two current Broadway hits, Pippin and Motown the Musical, will be joined be a refurbished The Phantom of the Opera, last season’s revival of Annie, an older revival of Anything Goes, and the unrefurbished but indestructible The Lion King.
Sondheim’s Dark Musical Assassins Is A Triumphant Bullseye From Zoetic
Zoetic Stage director Stuart Meltzer and a superb collection of actors and designers have scored, forgive me, a bull’s eye with this production of Assassins. . Any Stephen Sondheim fan understands that his work is not everyone’s cup of saltpeter. But for those who seek intelligent, thought-provoking musical theater, there are few pieces as superb as this.