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. 

The South Florida premiere of & Juliet, which arrived at the Adrienne Arsht Center on December 30 as a New Year’s celebration, positions itself as a bold corrective to one of Western literature’s most fatalistic romances. The musical opens by asking a simple question: what if Juliet did not kill herself at the end of Romeo & Juliet? From that divergence, the show launches into a high-energy jukebox musical built around pop anthems written by Max Martin (& friends), framed as a battle for narrative control between William Shakespeare and his wife, Anne Hathaway. The result is a production that is head-bobbing and often well performed, but conceptually muddled, offering spectacle and charm where it ultimately needs conviction and emotional clarity.

On December 23, The Choir of Man arrived at the Kravis Center as part of its official U.S. tour, transforming the Dreyfoos Hall stage into a working pub, inviting the audience to order a pint. Nine men gather in a bar, they drink, they sing, they tell stories, and they invite the audience into the ritual. Over the course of ninety-some minutes, the show presents a sequence of musical numbers drawn from rock, folk, and pop, each loosely anchored to one of the men, the Joker (Conor Mellor), the Hard Man (RJ Griffith), the Poet (Conor Hanley), the Bore (Lewis Bennett), the Romantic (Tristan Whincup), the Beast (Rob Godfrey), the Handyman (Adam Hilton), the Barman (Mark Loveday), and the Maestro (Lee O’Reily). There is no narrative arc in the traditional sense. Instead, the evening unfolds as a night at the pub would, with songs, banter, toasts, moments of vulnerability, and a collective closing number and last call.

Looking to extend some holiday cheer? You can’t do better than take the whole family to see Slow Burn Theatre Company’s magical, brrr…shivery, snowy (bring sweaters – if anything, the suggestive power of winter is real!) production of Disney’s FROZEN: The Broadway Musical. But you need to act fast! This extremely popular show closes on January 4. Happily, because all Slow Burn musicals are mounted in Broward Center’s midsize Amaturo Theater, no seat is too far for a great view of all the magic onstage. 

Connor McPherson’s “The Seafarer,” now on stage at Palm Beach Dramaworks, arrives as a fitting addition to the company’s season, offering audiences a work that is as unsettling as it is humane. Set on a bleak Christmas Eve in a small seaside town in Ireland, the play unfolds largely in one room, yet its emotional and metaphysical reach extends far beyond its modest physical confines. McPherson’s text blends folklore, existential dread, and dark humor, creating a quiet but persistent tension that lingers long after the final scene.

Given our daily international news shockers, homeless and addiction numbers, soaring unemployment, not to mention the constant threat of gun violence, climate disasters, pandemics and poverty, many in our country would say we currently live in “miserable” times. Why rush to see more misery in LES MISÉRABLES, despite its exalted reputation as the “world’s most popular and beloved musical”? The musical is based on renowned French writer and activist Victor Hugo’s sensational (and banned by the Catholic Church) 1862 novel about the mistreatment and hopeless lives endured daily by the French underclass – especially, the number-tattooed, and thus marked-for-life as felons, incarcerated “criminals” who are routinely debased and used for slave labor. 

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, the author’s celebrated tale of a wretched skinflint named Ebenezer Scrooge who finds lifesaving redemption with help from a bevy of ghostly apparitions on a fateful Christmas Eve in mid-19th century London, has returned for his attitude adjustment.

Only this time, the makeover is filled with song and dance. The version at the Wick Theatre in Boca Raton is a dynamic musical adaptation of Dickens’ original novella. The production, told in a single act split into multiple scenes, is drawn from a book by Mike Ockrent and Lynn Ahrens. It features a dozen delightful songs by master composers Ahrens and Alan Menken. 

We all love the many joys that modern trends bring us over the holiday season. Netflix’s wintery romcoms? Add to watchlist immediately. Seasonal tunes sung by the radio’s favorite pop artists? On repeat, of course. However, there’s something so magical about embracing the holiday traditions of yesteryear, too. This winter, the Delray Beach Playhouse does just that with their festive production of Winter Wonderettes. Directed by Elizabeth Guerra, the jukebox musical takes audience members back to 1968, where Harper’s Hardware Store is hosting its annual company Christmas party. When Santa goes missing, best friends Betty Jean (Lili Mueller), Cindy Lou (Hannah Almanzar), Missy (Jessica Perry) and Suzy (Amber Arevalo) step in to save the day, regaling the crowd with their honeyed harmonies and catchy renditions of popular holiday songs! Can the Wonderettes make the party a success after all?

I love how ONE SUMMER IN BROOKLYN: The Musical’s producer Lisa Walkowitz (who’s also the founder/president of Not Your Average Theater Group that is presenting this world premiere) introduced the show on their Facebook page: “They say you can never go home again … so … we brought Brooklyn to Boca.” It certainly was a delight for many former New Yorkers (like myself), or anyone who remembers the 1960s, to enter Boca Raton’s Willow Theatre at Sugar Sand Park and be met by early sixties’ tunes and a looming full-stage projection of the Brooklyn Bridge. Followed by revolving photos of happy, mostly young couples on Coney Island Beach and Steeplechase Park with its famous Ferris wheel and rides.