Sometimes you just need to laugh. And laugh…and laugh. No matter how silly and, well, “corny” the humor. Even at puns, lots of puns – outrageously bawdy ones, at that. It was only a few years ago that SHUCKED: A New Musical Comedy created a gee-whiz stir on Broadway for being so unprecedentedly silly yet sweet, lewd but not offensive, and always absolutely hilarious! The musical received nine Tony nominations in 2023 and won an award for Best Actor.
Singer Diane Lynn sings 20 plus songs from the career of Barbra Streisand in her third Boca Black Box Center for the Arts show in Boca Raton for her 90-minute show titled “Hello Gorgeous: A Tribute to Barbra Streisand” on Friday, June 13, marking her third appearance at Boca Black Box over the past year.
Carnivorous houseplants. Homicidal barbers. Psychotic wives and mothers. Miserable lives lived in figurative and literal Hell. Sometimes it feels like there’s no place too dark or outrageous for contemporary musical theater. If presented well, with talent to match, audiences will embrace any “horror” and clamor for more. But sometimes what sounds like a scary plot (like a mad killer on the loose?) is packed with so much musical talent and yes, joy, that it defies classification. Unless one is looking for colorful, beautifully executed, concert-level escapist fun.
The brutality exposed by poverty and ignorance as experienced by three individuals is the focus of the 75-minute one act drama “Mud” by playwright Maria Irene Fornes. The play, running now through Saturday, June 14 at Empire Stage in Ft. Lauderdale, marked an impressive opening to Latine Theater Lab, the new South Florida regional theater company.
‘I’m Rooting for the Theatre’: Audra McDonald Sends Well-Wishes to Broadway Ahead of the 2025 Tonys. The six-time Tony winner is up for another prize for her performance as Rose in Gypsy.
It’s Only Life, a revue featuring the sophisticated, deeply felt music and lyrics of John Bucchino, will be performed by six talented teenagers at Palm Beach Dramaworks from June 27-29. The show is being staged by theAcademy@pbd, a summer program that offers rigorous, professional-level training for both teen actors and stage managers and creates a safe and positive environment for optimal learning. In addition to the performers, two students are working on the production as assistant stage managers.
Compromise your principles for the almighty dollar. Would you do it? How far would you go? What about the repercussions? … For yourself? Your family? Society at large? Nowadays, it feels like we’re confronted with this question daily – especially when it comes to actions taken by our government and industry leaders. Twenty-seven years ago, award-winning playwright and screenwriter/director Craig Lucas (best known for his 1991 Pulitzer-nominated “Prelude to a Kiss”) proposed this quandary, and a whole lot more, in THE DYINGGAUL: a groundbreaking psychological thriller set in the high-stakes world of traditional Hollywood and nascent online chat rooms.
Five Productions Celebrate a Decade of Connection, Growth, and Community Building.
As New City Players marks its 10th anniversary, the ensemble-based theatre company unveils an ambitious 2025-2026 season alongside a refined vision that positions the organization as striving to be “a vital public square in Broward County—where stories spark change, artistry shapes understanding, and a diverse ensemble leads the charge toward a more empathetic, curious, and connected society.”
The Florida premiere of the two act drama “The Girl On The Train” at Actors’ Playhouse in Coral Gables will not disappoint fans of both the 2015 novel by British author Paula Hawkins or the 2016 British film starring actress Emily Blunt with the same title. Running through June 8, the two hour play written by Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel proves to be the equal of both the Hawkins novel and the 2016 film. The suspense-filled story centers on Rachel Watson, a troubled woman who is struggling to remember the facts of a murder in Great Britain.
Only in South Florida (I admit I’m biased) are we lucky enough to experience spectacular world premieres, see the best of Broadway and off-Broadway, and also get to enjoy many local-talent revivals of enduring classics. We appear to have a special knack for mounting musical favorites from the distant past … to the delight of senior fans and fresh audiences who might have missed the initial run and want to see what all the fuss is about!
