If the name “Trotsky” barely rings a bell, blame Stalin. Trotsky was a major player in Russia’s 1905 Revolution, 1917’s October Revolution, and on, a lifelong agitator for permanent, worldwide social revolution, Marxist political theorist, journalist and war correspondent. In his day, the Trotsky name was as recognized as Lenin’s. Leon Trotsky never stopped advocating for the working class … from prison, from exile, wherever he landed. He accumulated quite the extensive resume.
We can all use a little more Harvey Fierstein in our lives. The multi-Tony (and more) award-winning actor and playwright who many of us recognize from recent local productions of “La Cage Aux Folles,” “Kinky Boots,” and “Newsies,” and from his film work in everything from “Hairspray” and “Mrs. Doubtfire” to the Emmy Award-winning documentary, “The Times of Harvey Milk,” first made his name with “Torch Song Trilogy,” a three-act play that runs over four hours. Nonetheless, this underground hit about the life, loves, and woes of a Jewish drag queen living in New York City transferred to Broadway in 1982 where it achieved landmark status for the LGBTQ community by winning two Tony Awards – for Best Play and Best Actor – the latter also going to the playwright, who starred in the lead role.
Playwright Peter Quilter’s one act comedy “Step By Step”, a tale about how three women honor their friend who died recently by climbing a mountain, is running now through August 10 at Actors Playhouse in Coral Gables.
The imaginative mind of Area Stage Artistic Director Giancarlo Rodaz continues to thrill audiences as the stage captures the sights and sounds of an African jungle in the Area Stage production of the two-act musical “Tarzan: The Stage Musical”, running now through August 10 in South Miami.
As was the case with Rodaz’s company staging the musicals “Annie”, “Beauty and the Beast” “Oliver” and “The Little Mermaid”” over the years, the unforgettable memories audiences take away from Rodaz’s productions is the feeling you are part of the world of the stage setting, In “Tarzan The Stage Musical” you can feel and hear the jumping, thumping and aerial dynamics of the gorillas and Tarzan moving and leaping in so many scenes.
You can tell it’s the Age of Aquarius by the sounds currently emanating from Lake Worth Playhouse. With the “unofficial” opening of their 2025-2026 season, the community theater has decided to take down their buns and ponytails while picking up joints and tabs with Hair. A musical set in the times of burgeoning counterculture, the production embraces a different way of life; one more familiar with the arts and aesthetics, one desperately needed now.
In June, I reviewed FAU’s Festival Rep’s delightful production of Neil Simon’s rarely produced 1988 couples farce, Rumors. And now, in July, I have the privilege of reviewing Pembroke Pines Theatre of Performing Arts (PPTOPA)’sexcellent presentation of Simon’s 1968 megahit, PLAZA SUITE,whose rather recent (2022) Broadway revival was enthusiastically received by both audiences and critics. That one starred real-life superstar couple Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker. Of course, back in the day, many of us watched the 1971 film headlined by Walter Matthau with Maureen Stapleton, Barbara Harris and Lee Grant. Though Simon served as screenwriter, he wasn’t all that happy with the results.
“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes” is a maxim I’ve been hearing far too often. We live in a world that’s blasting headfirst toward what many see as a sci-fi future … yet also appears to be falling off a societal cliff into our troubling past. The “rhymes” of warning are coming at us at lightning speed – but how many of our populace care about poetry, rhyming or not? How many study history, read essays, think deeply about editorials by distinguished academics and politicos?
Growing up in a family with a strong appreciation for music and an enjoyment of songs across genres and decades, I recall loving The Temptations’ music from a young age. Since they’re one of Motown’s most iconic groups with a catalog full of chart-topping tracks, it’s safe to say that many people over many years had the same experience as I did! As the Kravis Center closes out its spectacular 2024-25 season, I could truly think of no better production to end it with than Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations, running through June 29. Energetic, powerful, and heartfelt, this show will have audience members dancing in their seats throughout, whether they only know a few of the group’s songs or all 30+ that are featured in the show. “Get Ready” to immerse yourself in the unforgettable journey of The Temptations and celebrate their enduring legacy.
Despite being on Broadway and various tours around the world for 50 years, the musical “Chicago” still endures. Written in 1975 with music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, the latest incarnation of “Chicago” is still a razzle dazzle hit musical, playing only this week at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Miami through Sunday, June 22.
When America’s most recognized and awarded and prolific TV and theater comedy writer – I’m speaking, of course, of the incomparable four-Emmy and 14Tony, plus Pulitzer Prize-winning giant Neil Simon – decides to cheer himself up while “going through difficult times” by writing his “first farce” … We can expect it to be a doozy. RUMORS opened on Broadway in 1988 and ran for two years. All the while (at least in my opinion) setting a new, high bar for fast-paced, zany drawing-room comedy.
