Reviews

The D*Word From Creator Of Menopause The Musical Tries To Mine Similar Vein Of Sisterhood

The D*Word is a mélange of a Lifetime movie, Harlequin romance, Mamma Mia and the racy banter of Sex in the City. But if you can ignore feeling drowned with maxims from self-help books, the darn thing succeeds in its goal of being a pleasant, diverting girls’ night out with its share of chuckles and that feeling that someone knows exactly how you feel.

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

Homophobia and Anti-Semitism Clash In Island City Stage’s Triumphant The Timekeepers

Director Michael Leeds and stars Michael McKeever and Mike Westrich triumph in Island City Stage’s production of The Timekeepers by mostly navigating quietly and gingerly through the halting lessons in human connection that Fort Lauderdale playwright Dan Clancy has sketched for them

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

Beachy Keen: Fine Performances Highlight Brighton Beach Memoirs At Plaza Theatre

It’s hard to do Neil Simon well. The Plaza Theatre in Manalapan does not fall into that trap. They do Neil Simon very, very well. Earlier this year the Plaza produced a fine Chapter Two, and now they’ve raised the Simon bar with their current show, Brighton Beach Memoirs.

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

UM/Arsht Metamorphoses Awash In Stunning Visuals, But Doesn’t Quite Land Solidly

The University of Miami/Arsht Center production of Metamorphoses is akin to a daring young gymnast attempting a difficult advanced maneuver: admirably brave, visually arresting, but not quite landing as solidly on his feet as you’d hope.

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

Showbiz Lampoon Ruthless Is A Bit Long, But Wickedly Funny

Everything about Ruthless! The Musical at Actors Playhouse from dripping furs to the Ethel Merman voices, everything is over the top. Way over the top. Thank goodness. Well, actually, don’t thank goodness. Ruthless is a gleefully uninhibited celebration of greed, venality, ambition and ego. In other words, show business.

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

Dramawork’s Mice And Men Is Muted But Moving Revival

Human beings have to dream – no matter their likelihood, no matter the cost. This sampler cliché find its truth in the tactile tragedy that is Palm Beach Dramaworks’ muted but moving revival of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice And Men.

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

Surprisingly, One More Time, Chicago Razzle Dazzles ‘Em

Productions of some musicals are like Original Cast Recordings that you don’t play too often for fear they might get stale. When you do revisit them, you say, “Oh, right, that’s why I liked it.” Such is the current national tour of Chicago kicking off the Broadway Across Fort Lauderdale series.

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

Whimsical Premise, Energetic Acting Can’t Support Half-Hour Skits In The Monster Project

Imagine if the writers at Saturday Night Live created an evening of comedy skits with a Twilight Zone/Rocky Horror sensibility. They’d probably produce something akin to The Monster Project, a quartet of playlets by local writer Brian Harris mounted by Playgroup LLC.

Posted in Performances, Reviews | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Theater Shelf: New CDs Of Pippin, Annie, Hands On A Hardbody & Mordden’s Latest

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.

Posted in CDs / DVDs, Reviews | Leave a comment

Andrews Living Arts Studio Explores Female Psyche In Evening of One-Act Plays

Andrews Living Arts Studio’s An Evening of 1-Acts pairs two decidedly different plays, offering interesting book ends with an eye on how women think, feel and perceive themselves.

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