Reviews
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 …
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.
MTC’s Inventive Staging Of Chekhov’s Three Sisters Is By Turns Brilliant And Bothersome
Miami Theater Center’s inaugural adult project, a fresh vision of Chekhov’s Three Sisters, is not a smoothly gelling work of art, let alone entertainment. The flaws are considerable, persistent and cannot be discounted. But they are outweighed by sustained bursts of dazzling imagination, passion, skill, craft, ingenuity and a commitment to creating a unique theatrical experience.
Mosaic’s Birds Is Insightful Sociological Drama Not Hitchcockian Thriller
Cannily, there is not a feather in sight during the entire 85-minute The Birds at the Mosaic Theatre — appropriate because the subject is not an eerie avian apocalypse, but how humanity reacts under extreme pressure. Conor McPherson’s adaptation is far more a sociological morality tale than Daphne du Maurier’s 1952 suspenseful novelette or Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 pure thriller.
Catch Me If You Can Entertains But Won’t Stick With You
Once upon the 1960s, there existed theatrical offerings on Broadway unapologetically called the tired businessman’s musical. They were well-made, well-executed but unassuming diversions that left audiences feeling they had been transiently entertained if not especially moved, inspired or provoked to reflection. Ironically set in the same period, the 2011 musical Catch Me If You Can unintentionally qualifies for the category as evidenced by the peppy road show making its South Florida debut at the Kravis Center’s stand-alone Broadway series.
Art Transforms Lives In Thinking Cap Theatre’s Haunting The Drawer Boy
The bonds of friendship and the power of art to transform lives are illustrated in The Drawer Boy by Michael Healey, now receiving a lovely production at Thinking Cap Theatre in Fort Lauderdale.
GableStage’s Venus In Fur Reveals Dazzling Dual Performance By Betsy Graver
In the case of GableStage’s production of the message comedy about sexual politics, Venus In Fur, the only thing to be certain of is the stunning performance by Betsy Graver.
Alliance’s roomies Is A Welcome Entry Of, By And For A New Generation Of Theatergoers
Alliance Theatre Lab’s world premiere “roomies” by Mark Della Ventura is a welcome entry in the fledgling development of a South Florida theater of, by and for young adults that focuses on their concerns, references their cultural touchstones and reflects their attitudes – not to mention giving them an artistic outlet that they can’t find in mainstream venues.
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