Tag Archives: Island City Stage

2021-22 SoFla Theater Will Be A Season Of Asterisks (Part 1 of 3)

The show will go on for SoFla theater, but 2021-22 will be a season of asterisks, what ifs and when. In a three-part series, we talk to artistic and managing directors about why this season will be unlike any other: from COVID to diversity. While local theaters survived the past 17 months the coming season may determine whether every Florida company will still be here a year from now.

Posted on September 10, 2021 by Bill Hirschman

Posted in Features | Tagged Actors Playhouse, Andrew Kato, Andy Rogow, Barbara Stein, Boca Stage, Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Island City Stage, Keith Garsson, Kelley Shanley, Maltz Jupiter Theatre, Marilynn Wick, Martin Childers, Matt Stabile, Michael McKeever, Palm Beach Dramaworks, Patrick Fitzwater, Slow Burn Theatre Company, Sue Ellen Beryl, Theatre Lab, Wick Theatre, William Hayes, Zoetic Stage | Leave a comment

Studying Themselves Instead Of Lines, SoFla Artists Look At Lessons From Pandemic

Many artists define themselves by a calling that relies on faith that their art form will always be there. But in 2020, the foundation of their sense of who they were and what they believed made their lives worthwhile vanished. They were forced into introspection about the primacy of their profession and their art in their lives. Here, they reveal what they learned about South Florida theater and especially themselves.

Posted on June 28, 2021 by Bill Hirschman

Posted in Features | Tagged Adalberto Acevedo, Amy London, Anna Lise Jensen Arvelo, Barbara Bradshaw, Beth Dimon, Boca Stage, Elizabeth Price, Gaby Tortoledo, Geoffrey Short, Island City Stage, Jeffrey Bruce, Jessica Sanford, John Thomason, Keith Garsson, Martin Childers, Palm Beach Dramaworks, Patti Gardner, Shelley Keelor, Theatre Lab, Tom Wahl, Wayne LeGette | 1 Comment

Bright Colors Is Manic Tour de Force for Island City Stage

Drew Droege’s Bright Colors and Bold Patterns deftly avoids common tropes of the solo show in its compulsively watchable regional premiere at Island City Stage, a fringe festival-style tour de force for actor Thomas Mark.

Posted on June 6, 2021 by Bill Hirschman

Posted in Performances, Reviews | Tagged Bright Colors and Bold Patterns, Drew Droege, Island City Stage, Michael Leeds, Thomas Mark | Leave a comment

Island City To Deliver Williams’ Summer, Ludlam, Premiere

Island City Stage celebrates its tenth season with the anticipated Tennessee Williams’ Suddenly, Last Summer sidelined by the pandemic, plus a world premiere, a Charles Ludlam classic, a return of an earlier success and a contemporary play described as “an unflinching portrait of being Black and gay in America today.”

Posted on May 13, 2021 by Bill Hirschman

Posted in News | Tagged Island City Stage | Leave a comment

Island City Stage Dives Deep Into Current Racial Divide

In an exceedingly timely appearance, Island City Stage mounts a scathing production mirroring current tumult about race in America — a taut, intense, drama The Niceties.

Posted on April 12, 2021 by Bill Hirschman

Posted in Performances, Reviews | Tagged Eleanor Burgess, Island City Stage, Lisa Kay King, Michael Leeds, Michelle Bryant, The Niceties | Leave a comment

Island City’s “Compensation” Pregnant With Potential

Every emotion associated with pregnancy and pending parenthood is present in the 95 minutes of Hannah Manikowski’s smart and promising play Compensation. In fact, most of them appear on the playbill cover photo for Island City Stage’s world-premiere production, an image that encapsulates the disconnected expectations that propel the drama.

Posted on February 12, 2021 by Bill Hirschman

Posted in Reviews | Tagged Compensation, Gaby Tortoledo, Hannah Manikowski, Island City Stage, Israel Vinas, Stephen Kaiser | Leave a comment

2020 SoFla Theater: What A Long Strange Trip It’s Been

A look back at 2020: Yes, South Florida theater was crippled by the pandemic. But its acolytes remained driven to express their artistry, and patrons remained ravenous for their work. They continued to explore projects, create avenues and seek paychecks with efforts ranged from filmed full-fledged productions to monologues newly penned in bedrooms.

Posted on December 8, 2020 by Bill Hirschman

Posted in Features | Tagged Actors Playhouse, Alan Nash, Alvin Entin, American Son, Andrew Kato, Area Stage Company, Christopher and Justin Swader, Christopher Demos-Brown, Clay Cartland, Coconut Grove Playhouse, Elizabeth Dimon, Florida Sings Showtunes, Giancarlo Rodaz, Groundhog Day, Happy Days, Holly Budney, Island City Stage, Joe Adler, Joseph McDonough, Karen Stephens, Keith Garsson, Kimmie Johnson, Leah Marie Sessa, Mamma Mia, Matt Stabile, Miami New Drama, Michael Ursua, My Name Is Asher Lev, New City Players, Nicole Stodard, Ordinary Americans, Palm Beach Dramaworks, Patrick Fitzwater, Paul Reekie, Peter & Wendy, Peter Librach, Primal Forces, Ronnie Larsen, Seth Trucks, Shelley Keelor, Spencer Landis, Stuart Meltzer, The Cubans, The Wick Theatre, Theatre Lab, Thinking Cap Theatre, Tom Regnier, West Boca Theater Company, Zev Buffman, Zoetic Stage | 1 Comment

Imagination, Determination Mark SoFla Theaters’ Varied Efforts To “Re-Open” — In A Way

Drive-in theater, theater behind storefront glass, podcasts: In spurts over 7 months, South Florida theater artists have been preparing experiments online and live, for free, for pay or donations. As many are coming into view this fall, they are coalescing into a new if temporary paradigm that holds out hope for the survival of the genre.

Posted on October 11, 2020 by Bill Hirschman

Posted in Features | Tagged Actors Playhouse, Arts Garage, Island City Stage, Kravis Center, Miami New Drama, Miami-Dade County Auditorium, Michael Ursua, New City Players, Palm Beach Dramaworks, Slow Burn Theatre Company, The Wick Theatre, Theatre Lab | Leave a comment

Act Two For SoFla Theater: A 2-Part Portrait One Month In

PART TWO: One month into the nation-wide shutdown of live communal theater due to COVID-19, South Florida companies, like those in so many other regions, are trying to write Act Two with little clue how Act Three will play out. In this first of two parts, leaders from local companies and venues a limn this tale of confident hope and chilling fear, cold balance sheets with seven digits in the red, and blue sky imagining what theater will look like in two, three, 18 months.

Posted on April 19, 2020 by Bill Hirschman

Posted in Features | Tagged Actors Playhouse, Andrew Kato, Andy Rogow, Arsht Center, Barbara Stein, Bree-Anna Obst, Broward Center, Christopher Demos-Brown, COVID-19, David Arisco, Island City Stage, Judith Mitchell, Kelley Shanley, Kravis Center, Maltz Jupiter Theatre, Marilynn Wick, Miami New Drama, Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, Michael McKeever, Michael Spring, Michel Hausmann, Nicole Stodard, Palm Beach Dramaworks, Patrick Fitzwater, The Wick Theatre, Theatre Lab, Thinking Cap Theatre, William Hayes, Zoetic Stage | Leave a comment

Act Two For SoFla Theater: A 2-Part Portrait One Month In

PART ONE: One month into the nation-wide shutdown of live communal theater due to COVID-19, South Florida companies, like those in so many other regions, are trying to write Act Two with little clue how Act Three will play out. In this first of two parts, leaders from local companies and venues a limn this tale of confident hope and chilling fear, cold balance sheets with seven digits in the red, and blue sky imagining what theater will look like in two, three, 18 months.

Posted on April 18, 2020 by Bill Hirschman

Posted in Features, General | Tagged Actors Playhouse, Andrew Kato, Andy Rogow, Arsht Center, Barbara Stein, Bree-Anna Obst, Broward Center, Christopher Demos-Brown, COVID-19, David Arisco, Island City Stage, Judith Mitchell, Kelley Shanley, Kravis Center, Maltz Jupiter Theatre, Marilynn Wick, Miami New Drama, Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, Michael McKeever, Michael Spring, Michel Hausmann, Nicole Stodard, Palm Beach Dramaworks, Patrick Fitzwater, The Wick Theatre, Theatre Lab, Thinking Cap Theatre, William Hayes, Zoetic Stage | Leave a comment