Flamingo Gardens (specifically the 10 acres when you enter) that’s normally closed at night is now open – and all lit up! This year, South Florida’s renowned botanical garden and wildlife sanctuary was chosen to host WINTER WONDERLAND and I, for one, consider these historic gardens to be an ideal location for resurrecting the sorely missed, family tradition of evening strolls through holiday light displays. All those magnificent tall trees along the winding paths serve as perfect limb “hangers” for shooting stars, lantern globes, and glittery iridescent streamers. And it’s so much fun to get lost – if only temporarily (because the roads circle back) – on hidden pathways of discovery. Like passing under an igloo-shaped work of art that looks like it dropped from outer space or suddenly confronting flashy-lit pink flamingos and other cute, bright LED-lit animals, clutching gift boxes or ornaments.
The Florida Intergenerational Orchestra encourages lovers of holiday music and dance and folks who cherish the most wonderful time of the year to celebrate the season of festivities with its ‘Holiday Concert Extravaganza’ on Sunday, Dec. 7 at 3 p.m. in O’Shea Hall at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, 22094 Lyons Road, Boca Raton. Doors open at 2:30 p.m.
On the surface, the story behind playwright Larry Gelbart’s (who is most well-known for creating the television series “M.A.S.H.) two act comedy “Better Late”, running now through November 30 at Empire Stage in Ft. Lauderdale, is about how husband Lee (played by actor Geoff Freitag) and wife Nora (Patti Gardner) have to cope with having a new resident in their home, Nora’s ex-husband Julian (Peter W. Galman) on a temporary basis.
Aristotle’s quote, “No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness,” seems right on the mark for Man of La Mancha, a story conceived by Miguel de Cervantes. What drives mankind to reach greatness: power, determination, perhaps even madness?
Miguel de Cervantes wrote Don Quixote in two parts: the first in 1605 and the second part in 1615.It is important to understand some background material to put the play in its proper perspective.
Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Twas the Night Before…, presented as part of the Kravis on Broadway series, arrives with all the trimmings one expects from a holiday spectacle. It is festive, colorful, family friendly, and polished in a quintessential one would expect from a world-renowned troupe like Cirque. Yet beneath the glitter, the show’s story is loosely sketched that, if you were to strip away every bauble related to Christmas, replace it with Alice in Wonderland or any other whimsical world, and very little would change. Whether this is a virtue or a missed opportunity depends entirely on what you want from your holiday outing.
When it comes to that all-American artform of “the musical,” you can’t go wrong by visiting or revisiting a blockbuster show from its heyday of the 1940s and 1950s. So when one happens to be playing in our area, run to see it because, no matter the subject, you’re guaranteed a highly entertaining and competently produced experience!
You might even be surprised – as I often am – at how many songs and ideas that have become an intrinsic part of our popular culture first appeared in a golden-age musical. The Pajama Game, based on Richard Bissel’s 1953 novel 7 ½Cents, debuted on Broadway in 1954, ran for 1,063 performances, and won three Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The popular creation of musical theater legends boasts a book by George Abbot and Richard Bissel, music & lyrics by Jerry Ross and Richard Adler, and dance by Bob Fosse in his choreography debut. Then, as if to prove the staying power of the show’s score, choreography, and message, The Pajama Game went on to win another Tony in 2006 for Best Revival of a Musical.
Although known largely for her comic roles, actress Jeni Hacker conveys anger, laughter and sadness as the quirky mother “Anne” in playwright Florian Zeller’s one act drama with comic overtones titled “The Mother”, running now through Sunday, Nov. 23 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Miami.
From the moment I set foot on Florida Atlantic University’s campus, I knew Monday, November 17 was going to be an unforgettable night. After all, for one glittering evening, the University Theatre was home to South Florida’s version of Broadway’s Tony Awards, the Carbonell Awards. This marked the 48th year of South Florida’s Theater & Arts Honors, and to make things even more exciting, this ceremony was the first to be held in Palm Beach County since 1997. Named for acclaimed sculptor Manuel Carbonell, who designed the bronze and marble award that is given to the winners, the Carbonell Awards aim to recognize excellent theater in the region, spanning Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade Counties. Their mission is to “foster the artistic growth of professional theater in South Florida by celebrating the excellence and diversity of our theater artists, providing educational scholarships, and building audience appreciation and civic pride by highlighting achievements of our theater community.” Needless to say, this awards ceremony was a beautiful encapsulation of that mission!
What happens when you get a group of our most talented local divas together in a musical that’s notorious for skewering the very genre that made their name? You get a mind-blowing explosion of show-stopper applause moments, that’s what, in a show that couldn’t get any better if it tried.
Most of the highly experienced, award-winning actors that Island City Stage’s artistic director Andy Rogow assembled for his 14th season opener, RUTHLESS! The Musical, have performed together before. So they’re old hats at tapping into extra creative energy from one another. And I could sense them having the time of their lives when they let it all rip – reaching for a personal vocal best when they burst into song. Winning still more “energy” and applause from their audience.
Lake Worth Playhouse’s production of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town leans into the melancholy that makes the play endure. It is not sad in a showy or theatrical way. Instead, it captures the quiet desperation of the masses, the accumulation of moments that Frankenstein a life. This staging understands that Wilder meant the play to be honest. What emerges here is a gently depressing but deeply humane portrait of love, time, and loss. It succeeds because it lets the world of Grover’s Corners be as bare or full as a memory.
