Author Archives: Bill Hirschman

Race & Diversity Honored in Return of Live Carbonell Awards

Concerns about race and diversity in South Florida theater – issues that absorbed its leaders’ attention during the pandemic – garnered considerable attention at the 45th Carbonell Awards Monday recognizing excellence. In 10 of the 20 competitive categories, the statues were won by African-Americans, Latinx artists or productions centered on diverse cultural issues.

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Winners, Nominees and Stats for the 45th Carbonell Awards

Winners and Nominees of the 25 Annual Carbonell Awards competitive categories

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Seniors Revitalize Their Lives In The Savannah Sipping Society.

The Savannah Sipping Society from Pigs Do Fly Productions is a hilarious, moving, and rejuvenating play about older women determined to live life to the fullest by seeking out new adventures.

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‘Thin Place’ Explores a Conduit ‘Tween the Living & the Dead

The hard truth is that virtually no live theater is really chilling. A moment might make you jump, but a production likely will not haunt you. Okay, the London production of The Woman in Black. Now there’s a new contender, Boca Stage’s discomfiting mounting of The Thin Place, a kind of late Halloween gift.

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Not the Retelling of the Elian Saga You Might Expect

The world premiere Elián at Miami New Drama is not remotely what you expect. Elián is not really about Elián. It’s about the political, social and moral firestorm fueled by ego, pride and bureaucracy that created one of the community-defining incidents in Cuban-American history — told with passion, yes, but shot through with satire, one-liners, a Castro puppet and sex jokes.

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Uncertainty is the Desired Hallmark in Heisenberg

There is a delightful irony to Heisenberg, GableStage’s enthralling play about uncertainty: When you leave it, you’re not quite sure what it was really about. The reward is you can debate it in the car ride home and theorize about it the next morning. About the only thing you can be really sure of is, if were willing to open yourself, you have had an engrossing night of thought-provoking, challenging theater.

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Like the Jersey Boys Sang, ‘Oh, What A Night’ at the Maltz

Much of the audience at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre’s opening night of Jersey Boys was its traditional well-heeled well-coiffed crowd. But their increasingly unfettered applause, then cheers, then standing ovation while clapping to their music reflected a specific message. “Our time, our music, our youth mattered.”

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Blow, Winds: Florida Theaters Return After Hurricane Ian

Hurricane Ian inflicted severe multi-million-dollar damage to the Florida Repertory Theatre in Fort Myers and the Venice Theatre as well a some damage to Gulfshore Playhouse in Naples. But all of them are soldiering on.

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Butterflies Are Free Once Again at Riverside In Vero Beach

Riverside Theatre in Vero Beach opened its 50th season with Butterflies Are Free, a charming romantic comedy harkening back to the years of the theater’s beginning. While it may not be the big-name musical with which Riverside usually launches a season, it’s a frothy of-its-time favorite with appealing characters and plenty of laughs.

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A Musical Beauty ‘Pageant’ Like None You’ve Seen – Probably

The musical comedy Pageant at Island City Stage delivers a lush array of talented contestants in carefully coifed wigs and gowns — except they’re all men.

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