Actress Ella Olesen shines in the one person, one act dark satire WEATHER GIRL about a television meteorologist in Fresno, California who gives a day-by-day prognosis of unusual weather patterns in her city and state.

Playwright Brian Watkins created a satire rather than a serious drama on the perils of climate change by having “weather girl” Stacey Gross (Olesen) be both narrator and a victim of the events to be shared with the audience.

It really says something about the health of South Florida’s theater community – and the staying power of an award-winning local theater company – when they open their 15th season with a revival of their own world premiere of a decade past. Awarded “Best New Work of 2016” by Broward/Miami New Times, Michael Leeds’ WHO KILLED JOAN CRAWFORD? was Island City Stage‘s most popular show at the time. And now’s the perfect time for this killer comedy’s distinguished, highly active and multiple award-winning playwright and director Michael Leeds (also Island City’s associate artistic director) to direct a “revitalized” version of his delightful parody of classic murder mysteries that also raucously skewers show business in general. Once again, showcasing all the drama, intrigue, and hilarity exhibited by outrageous and outrageously gay characters, of course! 

Buena Vista Social Club makes me acutely aware of how we can communicate beyond words. As a music lover, I was transfixed by the cast performing at the Adrienne Arsht Center, their sense that melody carries life. The touring Broadway musical that played in Miami through October 4th, gives this production a particular resonance. Cuba is close enough to feel almost within reach, yet the distance between the island and this city has been complicated by generations of displacement. There is a regional romance in hearing this music here, where Cuba is woven into so many family histories.

We often don’t know how good we had it till that time has long passed. Those of us who came of age in the 1960s, despite the latter part of the decade’s Vietnam war protests and assassination horrors, can’t help but look back fondly at a time when we were young, passionate, and rebellious for equality. When we actually believed gathering and singing about border-free peace, love, and “Flower Power” could change the world.

For young women fighting for equal rights and pay, along with the freedom to choose a rewarding future not defined by marriage, the women’s liberation movement of the 1960s could be life changing. Maybe we all need to, as the Beatles’ song goes, “Get back to where you once belonged” and reclaim our better selves with more than fond nostalgia.

It never ceases to amaze me how the world turns from irrational prejudice and hate to a brief 1960’s “Summer of Love” and acceptance, and then suddenly we’re jolted back to being hounded by narrow-minded authoritarians. But at least, for now, we can still shout and make our voices heard. Ironically, many of today’s arguments for sexual identity acceptance were first given voice onstage by a gifted, empathetic Dutch female novelist and playwright who specialized in early 20th  century family dramas. 

Magic, mayhem, history and mystery like you’ve never experienced is astounding audiences of all ages at Theatre Lab‘s expanded new home at the Marleen Forkas Studio One Theatre of Florida Atlantic University. That’s where our most popular, family-oriented local playwright Gina Montét (of last year’s Heebie Jeebies fame) was once again commissioned to create a new play for the Lab’s annual Heckscher Theatre for Families series. Her play would also serve as Theatre Lab’s 2026/27 inaugural season opener, marking the notable new-play destination’s 21st world premiere production!

We are living in what many might consider “the best of times and the worst of times” and once again history “rhymes.” One of our most savvy, socially aware contemporary playwrights, Jonathan Spector, premiered his lovingly sardonic satire (yes, this brilliant playwright manages to walk that fine line) about privileged progressive parents debating vaccine mandates at a high-minded “woke” elementary school in Berkeley, CA, in 2018. EUREKA DAY was first staged pre-Covid, but just after the infamous measles outbreak in California’s Disneyland. Ironically, here we are again with anti-vaccination and anti-science politics dominating the scene, and measles, which was effectively “eliminated” in 2000, coming in at 2,500 cases thus far for 2026, including several deaths.

As a theater critic, there’s nothing I love more than discovering a talented new theater company who’s come to town with great enthusiasm and an original outlook that can only add to our highly rated, established drama scene. Another thing I love is when a rarely produced classic is chosen by one of our local companies … and then suddenly appears as the hottest show on Broadway. I got to see a Sondheim Merrily We Roll Along revival at Delray Beach Playhouse in the spring of 2024 … while the play was still creating a sensation on the Great White Way. And now find myself amazed and delighted to discover playwright Jon Robin Baitz (a new personal favorite) and his 2011 Broadway hit, OTHER DESERT CITIES, playing at Fort Lauderdale’s Empire Stage … just about a month before the show opens at the Hudson Theatre for its first-ever Broadway revival. Yup! Our South Florida theater community definitely has its finger on the pulse of Broadway and Off-Broadway … making sure those of us who can’t regularly travel north don’t miss out (too much)! 

Retirement: a long-awaited phase of life that promises privacy, tranquility, and autonomy from the responsibilities of work and parenthood. If their paradise is jeopardized, one could resort to extremes to maintain their leisurely lifestyle. Perhaps even become nudists.