Author Archives: Bill Hirschman

A Gentleman’s Guide To Love And Murder And Laughter

We could tell you that A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder is a satire of the artificiality of the class system and an affectionate lampoon of British theater genres such as the music hall and Gilbert & Sullivan operettas. All of which would be accurate. But, actually, the Tony-winning musical touring at the Broward Center this month is simply deliciously devilish fun.

Posted in Performances, Reviews | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

African Americans Score Strongly In 2017 Carbonell Award Nominations

South Florida has long been home to minority-dominated theater companies as well as productions in which race was a central theme. But the Carbonell Award nominations for 2017 released this morning underscore how opportunities have grown specifically for African-American artists in the region and for audiences interested in their work.

Posted in News | Tagged | 2 Comments

Full List of 2017 Carbonell Award Nominations

2017 nominations for the 42nd annual Carbonell Awards

Posted in News | Tagged | Leave a comment

Report From New York: Come From Away & Anastasia, A Season Old; Fresh As Last Week

Two musicals open since March are still worth taking in any time you make to Manhattan. And if you can’t afford a trip up north, rest assured that these will tour in the next couple of years and should not be missed. One is the least likely to gather angels’ backing in an elevator pitch, Come From Away; the other is a surprisingly solid satisfying reinvention of an animated movie initially aimed at preteen girls, Anastasia.

Posted in Performances, Reviews | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Million Dollar Quartet Has A Whole Of Shakin ‘ Goin’ On

They may not look like their counterparts, but they sure sound like them. They’ve got the moves, the stylings and so much rock ‘n roll energy you’ll feel like you’re at a concert rather than the theater. Indeed, whether it’s tribute or jukebox, the musical Million Dollar Quartet at Riverside Theatre in Vero Beach is sure to entertain

Posted in Performances, Reviews | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Chicken Coop’s Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Is Not Equal To Script’s Potential

Christopher Durang initially wrote Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike to precisely match the inimitable talents of David Hyde Pierce, Sigourney Weaver and Kristine Nielsen. So it’s no surprise that the earnest, eager and ambitious Chicken Coop Theatre troupe based at the Levis JCC in Boca Raton only succeeds in brief flashes and rarely delivers the script’s potential

Posted in Performances, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Fine Voices Battle Miserable Script, Lyrics In Flashdance

Broward Stage Door’s production of Flashdance the Musical has aspects worth recommending such as two charismatic leads with powerful voices worthy of a brass band. That’s fortunate because the Stage Door crew is fighting a losing battle with miserable lyrics and a mediocre script awash in crocheted sampler homilies about taking chances, never giving up, believing in yourself, risking it all, finding your true worth, Remember the Alamo, etc. etc. etc.

Posted in Performances, Reviews | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

A Last Look Back At 2017, A Fine South Florida Theater Season

One pleasure of a theater critic’s job are these year-end retrospectives that require looking back at reviews and be reminded, “Oh, yeah, that was really great. And right, there was that. And how could I forget that one?”

Posted in Features | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Savor A Cup Of Memories At Stage Door’s Smokey Joe’s Cafe

Smokey Joe’s Café, the quintessential plotless rock n’ roll jukebox revue, is as dependable as light entertainment gets in the hands of experienced directors like Kevin Black at Broward Stage Door.

Posted in Performances, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Slow Burn Hosts Lovely Swirling Visit To The Secret Garden

Be grateful that Slow Burn Theatre Company with its audacious affection for large scale challenging musicals has decided to mount The Secret Garden, that ode to rebirth, memorable for its lush unconventional score that resembles streams of music intertwining into an aural waterfall.

Posted in Performances, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment