Tag Archives: John Leonard Thompson

A Century Later the Issues Remain in Dramaworks’ Camping With Henry and Tom

Thirty years ago, Mark St. Germain wrote a play Camping With Henry and Tom fictionalizing an actual meeting among Ford, Edison and President Harding. Given the politics, religion, racism, civic responsibility, and technology issues set in 1921, then the production at Palm Beach Dramaworks this month, he might have written it last week.

Posted on April 15, 2025 by Bill Hirschman

Posted in Performances, Reviews | Tagged Camping With Henry and Ton, John Leonard Thompson, Mark St. Germain, Palm Beach Dramaworks, Rob Donohoe, Tom Wahl, William Hayes | Leave a comment

Cast of Region’s Top Actors Triumph in 12 Angry Men

A baker’s dozen actors we’ve seen in myriad roles over the past decade or more submerge themselves so deeply in their characters that they are nearly unrecognizable. An unequalled assemblage of A-list talent and accumulated skill merge into a single ensemble in Palm Beach Dramaworks’ vibrant revival of the classic jury room drama 12 Angry Men.

Posted on December 13, 2022 by Bill Hirschman

Posted in Performances, Reviews | Tagged 12 Angry Men, Bruce Linser, Cliff Goulet, David Kwiat, Dennis Creaghan, Gary Cadwallader, J. Barry Lewis, Jim Ballard, John Leonard Thompson, Matthew W. Korinko, Michael McKeever, Palm Beach Dramaworks, Rob Donohoe, Tim Altmeyer, Tom Wahl, William Hayes | Leave a comment

Dramaworks’ Duration Poses Troubling Questions About Who We Are Post 9/11& Today

Bruce Graham’s world premiere The Duration developed at Palm Beach Dramaworks is an intellectually and emotionally powerful drama rooted deep in a post 9/11 world, but also in a timeless inquiry into how human beings cope with limitless tragedy. It asks who we are – and the answers suggest upsetting revelations about dealing with grief, prejudice, fear and anger.

Posted on February 22, 2022 by Bill Hirschman

Posted in Performances, Reviews | Tagged Bruce Graham, Caitlin Duffy, Elizabeth Dimon, J. Barry Lewis, John Leonard Thompson, Palm Beach Dramaworks, The Duration | Leave a comment

Stunning Excoriating Equus Gallops Across Dramaworks

Mere hours before the opening night of Equus at Palm Beach Dramaworks – a drama prompted by the true story of a troubled teen who blinded five horses – another troubled teen murdered 10 people in a nightmarish school shooting. But independent of that, its Equus stands among the most effective, perfectly executed productions that this company has wrought in its mission to deliver “theater to think about.”

Posted on May 19, 2018 by Bill Hirschman

Posted in Performances, Reviews | Tagged Anne-Marie Cusson, Domenic Servidio, Equus, Frank Vomero, J. Barry Lewis, John Leonard Thompson, Julie Rowe, Mallory Newbrough, Meredith Bartmon, Nicholas Lavalvo, Palm Beach Dramaworks, Peter Simon Hilton, Robert Richards Jr., Steve Carroll | 1 Comment

Dramaworks Delivers Harrowing Long Day’s Journey Into Night

At the marrow of Eugene O’Neill’s masterpiece Long Day’s Journey Into Night at Palm Beach Dramaworks is its compassionate sorrow that the ultimate human tragedy is the death of hope. The final tableau of four devastated souls irrevocably adrift in the fog-bound damnation of inescapable failures and unconquerable frailties is an endgame so harrowing that the audience can hardly breathe.

Posted on February 8, 2016 by Bill Hirschman

Posted in Performances, Reviews | Tagged Carey Urban, Dennis Creaghan, Eugene O'Neill, John Leonard Thompson, Long Day's Journey Into Night, Maureen Anderman, Michael Stewart Allen, Palm Beach Dramaworks, William Hayes | Leave a comment

Maltz Sells Scorching, Atypically Profane Glengarry Glen Ross

The Maltz Jupiter Theatre delivers a courageous and skilled revival of Glengarry Glen Ross that depicts a group of foul-mouthed cutthroat Chicago real estate for whom nothing is out of bounds in order to make a sale.

Posted on February 13, 2015 by Bill Hirschman

Posted in Performances, Reviews | Tagged Cliff Burgess, Dan Leonard, David Mamet, Glengarry Glen Ross, J. Barry Lewis, John Leonard Thompson, Kirk Bookman, Marty Mets, Peter Allas, Rob Donohoe | 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 on October 12, 2013 by Bill Hirschman

Posted in Performances, Reviews | Tagged Betsy Graver, Dennis Creaghan, Frank Converse, J. Barry Lewis, John Leonard Thompson, John Steinbeck, Of Mice And Men, Palm Beach Dramaworks, Ricky Waugh, Wayne Steadman | Leave a comment

Dramaworks’ Dancing At Lughnasa Is Slow Sweet Elegy

Amid blockbuster musicals and dysfunctional family dramas, one of the disappearing genres of theater and much of art is the slow, sweet sad song. And as Palm Beach Dramaworks’ slow, sweet sad production of Brian Friel’s Dancing at Lughnasa shows, nobody sings them like the Irish.

Posted on May 25, 2013 by Bill Hirschman

Posted in Performances, Reviews | Tagged Brian Friel, Cliff Burgess, Dancing at Lughnasa, Gretchen Porro, J. Barry Lewis, John Leonard Thompson, Julie Rowe, Margery Lowe | Leave a comment