Tag Archives: Dan Kelley

Broward Stage Door’s Brighton Beach Memoirs Stumbles A Bit, But Is Genuinely Touching

Acknowledge that Broward Stage Door’s revival of Neil Simon’s thirty-year-old warhorse Brighton Beach Memories is uneven and stumbles. Then acknowledge, at least this critic will, that Stage Door’s edition frequently reaches into that moldy storehouse of decades-old memories of family relationships — and makes the throat close up, the eyes mist and starts a sudden epidemic of sniffling around the auditorium.

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

Stage Door’s Jeffrey Feels Dated, But Funny And Touching

It’s weird but wonderful that two full decades after the height of the AIDS crisis that Paul Rudnick’s touching but hilarious satire Jeffrey now revived at Miami Beach Stage Door Theatre feels a bit like a period piece. The reason Jeffrey still works, Rudnick’s uninhibited wicked wit aside, is that the underlying themes are universal and timeless.

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

Broward Stage Door’s Damn Yankees Is Just A Base Hit

With the upfront caveat that we saw an early preview, Broward Stage Door’s Damn Yankees is a base hit but no triple. The cast needs to pitch with a little more spin on the ball, even with talent in the dugout plus a delightful score that qualifies as a solid run batted in.

Posted in Performances, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

This Show Boat Has Lovely Music But Uninspiring Acting

Warm, full-singing voices swiftly carry a happy audience down the Mississippi through a glorious score in Broward Stage Door’s Show Boat, but the acting and directing are so pedestrian that they rob the masterpiece of the magic it is capable of delivering. The magic is missing because Show Boat is more than its music. Still, audiences just wanting to hear Kern’s rich melody and sweeping underscoring tied to Hammerstein’s deceptively simple but deeply evocative lyrics will relish what Stage Door has wrought.

Posted in Performances, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Hey, Pssst, Did You Hear About Neil Simon’s Rumors?

Broward Stage Door’s production proves Rumors may be one of the funniest Neil Simon plays you’ve never heard of. But it also underscores what your mother warned you: an unrelieved diet of the most delicious candy will eventually lose its punch.

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

Paulette Dozier’s Superb As Billie Holiday At Stage Door

Built around a superb performance by Paulette Dozier, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill mounted at Broward Stage Door intersperses more than a dozen Holiday classics with the jazz chanteuse telling long stories about her tragic spiral.

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

Stage Door’s Backwards In High Heels Is Energy Packed Song-And-Dance Story

Broward Stage Door Theatre in Coral Springs presents a super-energized rendition of the nostalgic musical Backwards In High Heels that follows the life of Ginger Rogers.

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

Stage Door’s Six Dance Lessons Needs Evenly Matched Partners

By Bill Hirschman Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks is a gentle message comedy about lonely people reaching out somewhat obliquely for human contact. But this occasionally charming pas de deux at Stage Door’s Miami Beach venue is thrown out …

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

Broward Stage Door’s Little Shop of Horrors Is Tasty Snack

Sometimes, when the material is strong enough, success means just getting out of its way. For the most part, that’s what a cast of strong singers and the director do to make Broward Stage Door’s Little Shop of Horrors a smile-inducing entertainment.

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

Unfunny Guys and Dolls at Broward Stage Door is a Flat Sucker Bet

While Broward Stage Door’s edition of Guys and Dolls has some talented artists named in the playbill, this is no one’s best work, to be kind about it. The most glaring problem is that only one performer has even a clue to classic comic timing, despite being presented with some of funniest lines ever written for the stage.

Posted in General | Tagged , | Leave a comment