Tag Archives: Stuart Meltzer
Like the Country It Unravels, ‘American Rhapsody is Complicated, Ambitious & Flawed
American Rhapsody, Michael McKeever’s sprawling premiere at Zoetic Stage, is a history play, a bildungsroman, a tribute to fluid families, a cautionary tale about where the zeitgeist might be headed. It spans more than 60 years and feels, perhaps like the American experiment itself.
Ethics, People Are Dispensable In Hnath’s Scathing Red Speedo
A tattoo of a sea serpent is playwright Lucas Hnath’s damning metaphor for the grip of ambition to the point that betrayal of anyone is an accepted expedient in the scathing Red Speedo from producer Ronnie Larsen at The Foundry. Using competitive sports as a milieu, Hnath depicts people willing to violate moral codes and personal loyalties in pursuit of the American Dream — as ingrained today as it was when Arthur Miller decried it in 1949.
Dark, Funny Rollercoaster Ride Through Adolescence In Zoetic’s Our Dear Dead Drug Lord
Miami native Alexis Scheer’s Our Dear Dead Drug Lord, a stygian dark and terribly funny play about modern day adolescence executed by Zoetic Stage, is a stunning – a carefully chosen word – piece of pure theater. A scene can be downright hilarious then suddenly blood-chilling, and then, as the blood is still chilling, there are laugh lines.
Zoetic’s Sondheim: It Doesn’t Get Much Better Than This
Some of the most skilled theater artists in the region deliver a gloriously funny and moving celebration of the work of the finest musical theater genius of the 20th and 21st Century in Zoetic Stage’s do-not-miss-this production of Side by Side by Sondheim with more emotional depth and directorial touches than in any of the many other revues.
There’s No Place Like Homeland, Not Even What Was Once
The concepts of home and homeland—especially when they are no longer the same place— have become even more complicated in the 21st Century for Cuban-Americans highlighted in Hannah Benitez’ world premiere GringoLandia commissioned by Zoetic Stage, a gentle comedy woven with the struggles of a past that no longer exists.
Hilarious, Moving ‘Fuacata’ Returns Even More Relevant
Fuácata! has been tweaked by star Elena Maria Garcia and director Stuart Meltzer with references to non-binary, Uber and “draining the swamp.” But the exuberantly hilarious and moving work from 2017 already had elements echoing the subsequent rise of #MeToo, hardening of ingrained bigotry, explosion of immigration crises, renewed uproar over Cuba and other topics. This production at Actors’ Playhouse is cause for celebration.
Faced With Pandemic, Zoetic’s Improv Troupe Soldiers On
As live arts and entertainment return in fits and starts, and our culture continues its tortoise crawl toward normal, one thing has become apparent: Face masks may be vital in impeding the spread of COVID-19, but they equally hamper the spread of comedy. The debut of Zoetic Schmoetic showed the more physical the show becomes—the more the actors’ bodies, not their voices, drive the storytelling—the better it gets.
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