Prolific, award-winning and long-lived (he died in 2020 at the age of 81) American playwright/writer/actor/director Israel Horovitz boasts over 70 produced plays in the US and internationally. He’s also the most produced American playwright in France, ever, (where he often directed French versions of his work). Not all that surprising, given that he divided his time between France and the States for most of his life.  

  It is not only nostalgia, but a salute to the art of songwriting and the ability of making anecdotes come alive through melody that is most appealing of the South Florida premiere of “Both Sides Now’, starring singers Robbie Schaefer and Danielle Wertz, running now through January 5 at GableStage in Coral Gables.

For a special Christmas and New Year’s run, Slow Burn Theatre Company is in the midst of its 15th Anniversary Season, and their current production of “Anastasia the Musical” is perfect for December. A take on the beloved animated Disney movie from 1997 with the same name, the production features a wintery Russia and an aristocratic Paris; snowy and cozy both are general feelings with which you leave. Taking fairly major diversions from the movie musical with which we all fell in love with Anya and Dimitry, the musical encapsulates the feeling of family and December, but ultimately misses on the magic from the film.

Oh Anastasia – the last, lost princess of Imperial Russia’s Romanov dynasty. Is her story a legend?… A fairy tale?… A wish?… A dream? 

A maddened leader surrounded by flattering sycophants and slipping into senility. Betrayal, backstabbing, a nation under siege. No, I’m not describing King Lear, though the similarities are by no means coincidental. I’m describing The Dresser, a 1980 play by Ronald Harwood that revolves around a dysfunctional British theatre troupe’s performance of the aforementioned tragedy—in January of 1942. 

Written By Michelle F. Solomon

Originally published on artburstmiami.com.

Two stuffed chairs with a guitar leaning against one of them; a small table between with a large retro ceramic lamp with a white shade; two microphone stands; at stage right is a baby grand piano; Oriental rugs of different sizes are underneath. This is the atmosphere that sets the scene for GableStage’s “Both Sides Now: The Music and Lives of Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen.”

Premiering the week before Christmas at the Au-Rene Theater of the Broward Center, Broadway Across America presents Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical to excited fans of the South Florida area. At a showing only available in Broward, the production is 90-minute, no intermission musical jammed pack with everything you love about the green menace, the spirit of Christmas, and classic Seussian rhymes. The story of the musical combines elements of Dr. Seuss’ book alongside visual aesthetics that stem from the Jim Carrey live-action film from 2000, and while rushed to feel at moments, I was in awe of the product unveiling before me.

Just about every ballet company performs a rendition of “The Nutcracker” ballet, and it is for good reason. Not only is it one of the most recognizable Christmas stories, drawing in crowds of the holiday and the craft at once, but it also heavily features dancers of all ages. Miami City Ballet’s version, the George Balanchine version that caught like wildfire after its New York City Ballet premiere, but with minor South Florida additions, is everything a viewer could want: happy kids, beautiful dancing, spectacular visual effects, and Christmas, of course.

As we approach the holidays in a world where families and nations are often disrupted, if not destroyed, we can all use a reminder that “God works in mysterious ways.” To get to that second chance at happiness – like the four life-scarred (aren’t we all?) characters in Jason Odell Williams’ HANDLE WITH CARE – it can’t hurt to laugh, to weep, and even to connect with a person “who doesn’t speak your language.” 

My heart is warmed (and my hot-chocolate-filled belly too), while my head is in a jolly swirl after seeing THE LAST CHRISTMAS, New City Players’ ninth season opener, last Sunday. There are so many ways to describe NCP ensemble member (and playwright and sound & Foley designer extraordinaire) Tyler Johnson Grimes’ uniquely original, world premiere play. Warm and fuzzy, hilarious, inspiring, emotional, nostalgic, surprising, magical, relatable, well-acted, exquisitely designed and… always absolutely delightful! And that’s just from my initial rush – you really need to come and discover what you love most (and I promise there will be lots!) in this pre-Y2K time capsule of a live radio play brimming with crazy characters, touching stories, and nonstop action (both silly and exciting).