Reviews

Actresses’ Efforts Inject Passion Into Stilted Talky Mamet Philosophy-Fest, The Anarchist

Not every show is a home run. But that doesn’t deprive the audience of an interesting night when talented actresses make a flawed script land as well as can be hoped. Patti Gardner and Jacqueline Laggy are worth watching spar in David Mamet’s decidedly difficult mess of a script, The Anarchist.

Posted on March 9, 2014 by Bill Hirschman
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Bway Across Miami 2014-2015: Newsies, Mormon, Cinderella, Sister Act & (Really) I Love Lucy

Three of Broadway’s most popular hits come to the Arsht Center next season through the Broadway Across Miami series: the irreverent satire The Book of Mormon, the exuberant Disney’s Newsies and the exquisite Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella.

Posted on March 9, 2014 by Bill Hirschman
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Spamalot Is Supremely Silly And Delightfully Demented Fun

A delightfully demented cast enhanced by the inventive imagination of chief jester/director David Arisco and choreographer Ron Hutchins make Actors’ Playhouse’s Spamalot a satisfying pleasure even on its fourth or fifth visit.

Posted on March 8, 2014 by Bill Hirschman
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No Argument: Fighting Over Beverley Shouldn’t Be Missed

Entirely well-acted, thoughtfully directed, in a evolved play about past loves we can’t leave behind, Fighting Over Beverley by Israel Horovitz has its way way off Broadway tryout at Theatre at Arts Garage.

Posted on March 6, 2014 by Bill Hirschman
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The Musical Rags at The Plaza Theatre Is In Need Of Alteration

It is wonderful to see creativity in approaching a work that isn’t usually staged; the bad news is, when it doesn’t come together, all of the inventiveness is lost. Such is the case with The Plaza Theatre’s mounting of Rags.

Posted on March 3, 2014 by Bill Hirschman
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Actress, Director Make Lukewarm Patriot Red Hot

Among the reasons to see The Women’s Theatre Project’s Red Hot Patriot are Carbonell Award-winner Barbara Bradshaw as she holds court for 68 minutes in a one-woman show about Texas journalist Molly Ivins. Secondly is to see Genie Croft’s brilliant direction. The least inviting is Margaret Engel and Allison Engel’s cobbled together script.

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Bill Hirschman
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Florida Grand Opera’s No Exit Ascends Hot Damn Perfection

With its ingenious, acrobatic score, and exceptional singers who could handle both the drama and the demands, FGO’s No Exit may have been a depiction of hell, but the production was hot damn perfection. The only regret was that this was a three-day run. If you must, go through heaven and hell to get to the final performance of this production tonight. It’s a once in lifetime experience.

Posted on March 1, 2014 by Bill Hirschman
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Dramaworks’ Season: Our Town, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Buried Child, Zorba, Lady Day,

Palm Beach Dramaworks’s 2014-2015 season will continue its tradition of presenting classic American and British dramas and musicals, a few familiar, some rarely if ever done by professional theaters in South Florida.

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Bill Hirschman
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Wick’s Full Monty Isn’t Half-Bad

The Full Monty is one of those scruffy street mongrels that are undeniably cute and even inexplicably winning for short periods, but not a stray you want to take home. The Wick Theatre’s production of the musical is competent, perhaps one of the better renditions you’ve seen of it, but its not equal to the recent triumph with 42nd Street.

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Bill Hirschman
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Thinking Cap’s Pool (No Water) Dives In Artistic Schadenfreude

Jealousy, ego and unbridled schadenfreude that exist in any human being seem to be intensified among the rarefied spirits we call artists – at least that seems to be thrust of Mark Ravenhill’s droll little satire, Pool (No Water) enjoying a hoot of an outing thanks to Thinking Cap Theatre.

Posted on February 23, 2014 by Bill Hirschman
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