Tag Archives: Patti Gardner

BRTG Spinoff Primal Forces To Stage Mamet’s The Anarchist

A brand-new troupe, Primal Forces, is targeting a group previously left to fend for themselves: the Boomers who came of age during the political and social tumult of the 1960s and 1970s. The company opens with David Mamet’s The Anarchist at Andrews Living Arts Studio in Fort Lauderdale

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Pippin May Feel A Bit Threadbare, But BRTG Delivers Vibrant Performances

Those big budget companies make productions with much smaller budgets such as Boca Raton Theatre Guild seem to be missing something – when, in fact, their Pippin this season has outstanding elements that are just as fine as those found in better heeled-companies.

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Laughing Through The Pain Suffuses Sons of the Prophet

GableStage’s Sons of the Prophet is a comedy about suffering. It’s a serio-comedy, to be sure, a wry compassionate look at the inescapable downside of being human. But humor drawn from the awkward collision of quirky characters suffuses Stephen Karam’s Pulitzer-nominated script, even though every major character is in emotional and even physical pain.

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Talkin’ In The Green Room With Myself (And Patti Gardner Etc.)

When actress Patti Gardner suggested that it would only be fair if I was on the receiving end of a Green Room questionnaire, I took refuge in the journalist’s centuries-old rationalization : .” just like to watch.” But she persisted with a single-mindedness that would make Christiane Amanpour envious, to the point of collecting questions from folks across the profession. So I agreed, so long as I could edit out questions about my obsession with Angora sweaters and any reference to those embarrassing videos involving Giant Pandas.

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BRTG’s Chicago Is Entertaining But Needs More Razzle Dazzle

A muted clarinet makes beautiful music, but sometimes what’s called for is the blare of a clarion trumpet and the insolent snap of a snare drum. That’s the problem facing the almost but never quite satisfying Boca Raton Theatre Guild production of the Kander & Ebb musical Chicago.

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The Interview Is Even Better The Second Time Around

Four years ago, The Women’s Theatre Project mounted Faye Sholiton’s The Interview about the persisting damage that the Holocaust wreaked across generations. As solid as the first production was, this edition is a significantly deeper, more moving rendition elevated by acting that has only become richer with time. This likely stands among the company’s finest offerings.

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Plaza Theatre’s Oddball “Luv” Allows Avi Hoffman Full Rein

Back during the Cold War, a theatrical genre flourished called the American absurdist comedy. Perfected by Herb Gardner and Bruce Jay Friedman, it took hip unconventionality to an extreme degree of kookiness, one crucial millimeter short of being a living cartoon. Perhaps the most popular entry was Murray Schisgal’s hilarious Luv, hauled out of mothballs this holiday season by the fledgling Plaza Theatre in Manalapan for an older audience that remembers the original production in 1964.

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Laggy And Gardner Are Beguiling In Sylvia, But BRTG’s Comedy Turns Sluggish

Boca Raton Theatre Guild’s production of A.R. Gurney’s comedy has some virtues starting with a delightful performance from Jacqueline Laggy and an admirably solid one from Patti Gardner. But the laughs peter out because of less stellar performances from the two male actors who dampen what should be an effervescent comedy.

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Boca Raton Theatre Guild Announces 2012-2013 Season

The Boca Raton Theatre Guild has announced its ’s 2012-2013 season: the A.R Gurney thinking man’s comedy Sylvia from Sept. 28-Oct. 14 and Kander & Ebb’s acerbic musical Chicago in March 1-17.

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Women’s Theatre Project Rises Again In Boca Raton

When The Women’s Theatre Project leaders announced in February that they had lost their performing space in Fort Lauderdale, some pessimists feared its unique voice would slide into limbo. But the 11-year-old company has slated two shows at the Willow Theatre in Sugar Sand Park in Boca Raton in November and January.

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