If ever there were a popular movie that begged to be turned into a live theatrical production – already known for its great songs, memorable characters, and a riveting storyline, it would be 1985 sci-fi sensation and audience favorite Back to the Future starring a young Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd. Directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, it won numerous awards – including an Academy Award, three Saturn Awards and a Hugo, and became the highest grossing film in 1985 worldwide, inspiring two sequels. As the years went by, its fan base only increased, with critics and audiences now considering Back to the Future as one of the greatest science fiction films, and even one of the best films ever made!
Playwright Nilo Cruz challenges audiences to use their imagination in recreating a tragic love story set in 1939 in a two act drama “Sotto Voce”, running now through February 15 at GableStage in Coral Gables.
MY FAIR LADY, the iconic Lerner & Lowe musical of the 1950s, was the soundtrack of my childhood. Famous and beloved as the longest running Broadway musical in 1956 (with book & lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, and music by Frederick Loewe), it won six Tonys, including Best Musical, was turned into an eight-Academy-Award-winning film (including Best Picture) in 1964 and has had a lasting influence on the trajectory of musical theater ever since. Believe it or not, everyone in America and the UK (where it held highly successful tours next) who grew up during the mid-20th century – whether they’d seen the show or not – could likely sing the lyrics to all the songs with glee! When has this ever happened … before or since?
The Adolph & Rose Levis JCC will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Judy Levis Krug Boca Raton Jewish Film Festival this year when it opens a dynamic two-week lineup of more than 40 Israeli and Jewish-themed films. The screenings will run from Feb. 7 to Feb. 22 and will take place at the Movies of Delray in the plaza at 7421 W. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach.
Valentine’s Day, Slow Burn Theatre Company invites audiences to celebrate love, friendship, and the power of music with Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, the Tony® and Grammy® Award-winning Broadway phenomenon, running Friday, February 14 through Sunday, March 1 in the Amaturo Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts as part of MD Now® Slow Burn Theatre Company’s 2025/2026 season presented by United Community Bank, with additional support from Funding Arts Broward and the Broward Cultural Division.
Lake Worth Playhouse’s current production of ‘Kiss Me, Kate’ arrives with the polish and ambition of a company that clearly loves musical theatre, even as it wrestles with the inherent contradictions of this particular show. Framed through the lens of a 1990s revival, the production attempts to sand down some of the sharper, more dated edges of Cole Porter’s backstage romp, nudging it toward something that feels more self aware and contemporary. The effort is evident and often admirable, but even with its modernization, Kiss Me, Kate remains, at heart, a cheesy musical. In this staging, it plays like a glossy B movie, entertaining in flashes, impressive in parts, but never quite convincing as a unified whole.
Samuel D. Hunter’s Intimate Drama Explores Male Friendship, Fatherhood, and the Search for Connection.
New City Players proudly presents the Florida premiere of Samuel D. Hunter’s deeply moving drama, A Case for the Existence of God, starring Carbonell-nominated actors Ryan Didato and Randall Swinton in a tender exploration of two fathers from different worlds who discover that their survival might depend on the unlikeliest of things—each other.
Legendary singers Frank Sinatra and Barbra Streisand have never performed live on stage over their long careers, but an imagined concert titled “The Way We Were” featuring singers Dorian Clara and Frank Frizalone will team the duo performing the music of Streisand and Sinatra in two dinner concerts starting at 6 p.m. this weekend on Friday, Jan. 16 and Saturday Jan. 17 at The Wick Theater Supper Club in Boca Raton. Tickets for each show is $180 which includes dinner, gratuities and the concert The Saturday Jan. 17 show is sold out.
Some may say that the first show one sees in the new year might just set the tone for the 12 months ahead. If that’s the case, then I’m certainly in for a treat after the Kravis Center’s fabulous production of Some Like It Hot! I was already familiar with the story, having seen the 1959 MGM film it was based on, a crime comedy classic starring Old Hollywood legends Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon. Nonetheless, the musical absolutely stands on its own as a fresh, sparkling take on the popular story, with its book by Matthew López and Amber Ruffin, music by Marc Shaiman, and lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman. After accidentally witnessing a brutal mafia murder in 1933 Chicago, best friends and jazz musicians Joe (Matt Loehr) and Jerry (Tavis Kordell) are desperate to escape. Their plan? Disguise themselves as women—Josephine and Daphne—and join an all-female band headed for California. With mistaken identities, unexpected romances, and self-discovery journeys at play—and a group of gangsters hot on the duo’s heels—will their scheme succeed?
There are popular, stand-up comedy acts, and there are musical-theater revues by Broadway-caliber vocalists. And then there’s TOVAH FELDSHUH. I could say, with this multi-award-winning actress/singer/comedienne’s one woman show you get a twofer: a beautifully sung musical theater revue plus non-stop original comedy sketches, all perfectly interspersed. But then there’s more … SOOO much more! Because Tovah doesn’t just tell jokes, she quickly switches attire to become her comedic characters – in looks, speech, and mannerisms that span all ages, ethnic groups and nationalities. In addition to various American accents, she’ll talk like an Italian, Russian, or Turkish/Sephardic Jew. And she sings in pitch-perfect Yiddish, Hebrew, and Spanish.
