Author Archives: Bill Hirschman
Dramaworks’ A Delicate Balance Delivers Uncompromising Thought-Provoking Drama
A nameless terror has upended the fragile homeostasis in Agnes and Tobias’ carefully-ordered uppercrust existence, all the more frightening because its anonymity makes it uncomfortably universal for the audience at Palm Beach Dramaworks’ production of Edward Albee’s A Delicate Balance. What starts in this laudable production as a play about a troubled family of privilege, which keeps our attention simply because they are engagingly hyper-articulate, then ends as a shattering indictment of self-deception and hypocrisy in human interaction.
Miami’s Janet Dacal Comes Home From Broadway For “The Last Five Years”
Actors Playhouse director David Arisco teasingly asks the reporter doing a story on the upcoming musical The Last Five Years, “Don’t you want to take a picture of our Broadway star?’ His joke is that while former Miamian Janet Dacal qualifies for the soubriquet, Dacal seems as far from a temperamental egotistical diva as you can imagine. With a honey warm smile, flashing eyes and an unaffected demeanor, Dacal looks like the girl next door — if your neighborhood is Hialeah and the girl is the kind of fetching vision who half the boys have a crush on.
Showtime’s [title of show] Is Theatre Geek’s Nirvana
If you’ve ever kicked in the chorus line of a community theater production of Mame, you’ll likely adore Showtime Performing Arts Theatre’s [title of show]. But if you’ve ever secretly practiced a Tony Award acceptance speech in your bathroom, then [title of show] is a must-see.
Caisley’s Happy Is Corrosive Flawed, But Intriguing Comedy About Self-Deception
New Theatre’s production of Robert Caisley’s sardonically titled Happy is not an evening you “like” watching an “emotional terrorist” spend 80 minutes mercilessly carving away a nebbish’s illusion of well-being. But even with a flawed mounting of a script that still needs work, Happy is undeniably an intriguing examination of modern man burying true feelings under a socially-acceptable but life-denying veneer.
Not Your Average Nutcracker
Darkness has often been an element of classic Christmas stories: A Christmas Carol, It’s A Wonderful Life, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. But leave it to the House Theatre of Chicago to come up with a quirky twist on The Nutcracker co-produced with the Adrienne Arsht Center.
Maltz’s Music Man Is Slam Bang Brassy Dancing Celebration
We’re entering another period of as many as six productions opening in one week. As a result, reviews may not remain in the center featured position more than one day. Please check out recent reviews by clicking on entries listed …
Maltz’s Harold Hill To Dance Through Town Like A Pied Piper
A con man has come to north Palm Beach County to steal your money. His name’s not Bernie Madoff; it’s Harold Hill. Well, actually, it’s the effervescent triple-threat performer Matt Loehr wearing the braided band leader’s uniform as he leads the citizens of River City, Iowa, in a parade through the Maltz Jupiter Theatre auditorium like a Pied Piper in The Music Man opening this week.
News: Silver Palms, Alliance Reading, Shear-ed Madness
Details on Theater League Holiday Party The time, date and place have been set for the South Florida Theatre League’s annual holiday party and membership meeting: 7:30-10 p.m. Monday, December 3, at the Copacabana Supper Club, 219 S. Andrews Avenue …
FGO’s La boheme Still Thrills
It shouldn’t work. Not anymore. Not in the 21st Century. That time-worn plot, the one-dimensional characters, the unabashed sentiment. But Florida Grand Opera’s production of La bohème underscores how Puccini’s masterpiece remains a moving, even relatable experience after more than a century of familiarity, lampoons and Broadway adaptations.
Misbegotten Sound Quality Cripples Outre’s Admirable Attempt To Do The Wild Party
Tragedy suffused opening night at Outré Theatre Company’s inaugural production of the dark musical The Wild Party, but it wasn’t the story of Jazz Age hedonists plummeting through a doomed love quadrangle. It was so many hard-working artists’ work going down the toilet because of the worst sound of any production since Actors Playhouse’s infamous Hairspray last season.
A PaperStreet Web Design
