The word “Boeing” is a well-known trademark — the nameplate of a famous airplane manufacturer known throughout the world, particularly for its “7”-class aircraft designations — 707, 737, 747 and so on. (It’s also renowned for doors falling off in mid-flight, but that’s another issue).
The acclaimed production, Fiddler on the Roof,winner of nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical, has been entertaining audiences since the tune- and tale-filled saga first took to the stage in 1964.
With only 2 weeks into 2024, LakehouseRanchDotPng kicks off the new year with an insightful new play; PUSH. by Mackenzie Raine Kirkman. Directed by Artistic Director Brandon Urrutia, this new play takes on the age-old issue of divorce – the failing of a relationship and what it means for each person.
There’s a reason why Greek myths, and their gods, continue to resonate and inspire through the ages. Classical deities – depicted as more “human” than their successors – both glorify and condemn all the great passions of human nature. Love, hate, jealousy, ambition, determination, trust and faith. But perhaps more than anything, by the mere act of telling and retelling their stories, we solidify the power and salvation of “the arts.”
Actress/comedienne Vicki Lawrence, beloved for decades for portraying television’s “Mama Thelma Harpe”’, first on “The Carol Burnett Show” and later in the television situation comedy “Mama’s Family” will be bringing both herself and ‘Mama’ live on stage in “Vicki Lawrence and Mama: A Two Person Show’ on Wednesday, January 10 at 8 pm at The Parker in Ft. Lauderdale.
Another hit jukebox musical is currently on at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami with the arrival of The Cher Show, running from January 2nd through the 7th. Cher, the icon, has become an iconic musical, packed with your favorite songs to hum along to. The singer’s entire life was displayed on stage throughout the course of the performance, and it’s quite the presentation; it’s amazing.
To end out the 2023 year, Slow Burn Theatre Company is currently performing one outstanding production through New Year’s Eve: The Little Mermaid at the Amaturo Theater, Broward Center, wows and amazes its audience through its production value and uncanny ability to stir up some nostalgia. South Florida Theater Magazine was there on opening night to catch a glimpse of a life under the sea, and I was pleased to have a kids’ musical bring me as much joy as those kids around me in the audience.
Our holiday season may be coming to a close but “Tom Dugan season,” in what’s fast becoming a regular feature of South Florida theater, lives on. The popular, LA-based playwright/actor who critics describe as “a national treasure” is best known for his breakout, multi-award-winning, one-man show Wiesenthal, where he portrays the life and ideals of the world’s most famous Nazi hunter. I saw Dugan play the lead in an awe-inspiring performance years ago. But you can still catch the play periodically (last seen at Miami’s GableStage, featuring David Kwiat, in 2019). And it’s coming up next month at the Pompano Beach Cultural Center, with Dugan again in the starring role. (Wiesenthal’s mission lives on, as well, through The Simon Wiesenthal Center, dedicated to fighting “the ever-morphing scourge of antisemitism” in the US and abroad.)
It’s no longer an insider secret that Slow Burn Theatre Company, the resident professional theater company of the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, has been delivering outstanding, often family-oriented musicals, for the past nine years. In addition to multiple local awards, the company recently garnered a major Carbonell (South Florida’s Tonys) in the category of Theatrical Excellence. Which they well deserve. For just when you might think they’ve reached the pinnacle in stagecraft and acting expertise, they come out with a new, blockbuster winner.
Though Tyler Johnson Grimes hasn’t always been the biggest fan of A Christmas Carol, he also didn’t find it hard to start getting excited about putting his own spin on the classic story. After his successful, Carbonell-nominated turn as the sound and Foley designer of last season’s radio play version of It’s A Wonderful Life, Grimes was tapped by New City Players’ team of artistic leaders to write an original adaptation of Charles Dickens’ famous holiday tale, a task for which his extensive background in playwriting left him exceptionally well prepared.
