Author Archives: Bill Hirschman
Theater Shelf: Merrily, Call Me Madam, Pipe Dream, Gentlemen Prefer & NYTimes On Musicals
Theater Shelf, a recurring feature, reviews recently-released books, CDs and DVDs of interest to theater lovers. Some are popular titles like a new Original Cast Recording, others are works you’ll be intrigued by, but didn’t even know about.
Fela! Is A Stunning Homage To Meld Of Music & Social Activism
Fela! is stunning in both senses of the adjective: exhilarating to the point of paralyzing the observer with elation and overwhelming to the point of numbing the observer. Powered – and we do mean powered – by a supremely talented cast of singers/dancers/musicians executing thrilling choreography and song, the national tour settling for one week at the Arsht Center doesn’t just immerse the audience in the riches of African culture, it floods you until you fear you might drown.
Harriet Oser Is the Reason To Travel GableStage’s 4000 Miles
GableStage’s production of Amy Herzog’s play 4000 Miles is a puzzle. We can tell you the intriguing premise, we can sketch out the plot, we can describe the engaging characters, we can praise the strong performances and even identify the touching and funny moments. But we can’t tell you what the play is about or the pattern those jigsaw pieces create.
Arts Garage’s Lungs Is Stunning Look At Modern Relationships
Lungs at Arts Garage seems to be about a young couple debating whether to bring a baby into this perilous, even doomed world. But in the wake of plot twists, Duncan Macmillan’s breathtaking script comes clear as an examination of the fragility and tensile strength of relationships, featuring brilliant performances by Betsy Graver and Cliff Burgess.
Up & Coming — New Theatre’s Boomfrog & FIU’s New Plays
New Theatre has announced its second entry in its Boomfrog Series of theater works with a bit of an edge and aimed at a younger, diverse audience: Bird in the Hand by Jorge Ignacio Cortiñas slated for March 22-April 7. …
Breaking News: FIU Proposes Partnership With County And GableStage To Operate Closed Coconut Grove Playhouse
By Bill Hirschman Another option has emerged for the future of the Coconut Grove Playhouse — a partnership among Miami-Dade County, Florida International University and GableStage to operate a 300-seat theater with an annual $2.6 million budget. The arrangement was …
Alliance’s Brothers Beckett Is Even Better Second Time
The initial production two years ago of Brothers Beckett, an insider’s reportage on Millennial angst, was not an artist’s sketch at the Alliance Theatre Lab. But its current revival feels far more like a fully-realized, finely-detailed work as if the painter went back in to enhance its virtues.
Stage Door Hosts Tuneful Revue Of Jerry Herman Showstoppers
But legendary Broadway composer/lyricist Jerry Herman has spent his life as an unapologetic champion of leaving audiences after two hours feeling diverted. So diverting is the right word for the venerable revue of his ouvré, Jerry’s Girls, at Broward Stage Door, a procession of 38 hits and lesser-known songs from at least eight shows including Hello, Dolly! and Mame .
Funny But Baffling Body Awareness Bows At Island City/Empire Stages
This observer had trouble sussing out the cerebral depths that playwright Annie Baker intended in her quite funny meditation Body Awareness at the Island City Stage/Empire Stage production. Fortunately, witty dialogue, intriguing performances and insightful guidance from director Michael Leeds make for an entertaining evening if not a completely comprehensible or cohesive one.
Joy In The ‘Hood; Dreaming In The Heights
It’s been a long, long time since a locally-produced musical has thrust inside an audience’s collective chest to touch its heart like Actors’ Playhouse’s triumphant production of In The Heights. Several shows this season have produced near raves among critics and audiences, but this production is cause once again for recalibrating your standards.
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