Picture a cozy cottage lying deep in the heart of Provence, France. It’s 1939, and the ever-present threat of World War II looms. Yet nothing can disturb English couple Peter (Daniel Anderson) and Suzy (Ashley Bourget) from their state of serene idyll, not even their mysterious neighbor Josef (Todd Caster) and his penchant for showing up at their house at some quite inconvenient times. That is, until a long-buried betrayal threatens to upend everything: Suzy’s discovery that Peter may not be the man he professes to be, and instead could be someone capable of ruthless crimes, now on the run to avoid persecution. As the plot unfolds and new visitors Ross (Brandon Goldsmith) and Miriam (Dana Leigh Segal) arrive, the audience must keep reevaluating their view of these characters…because not everything is what it seems and not everyone can be trusted in this twisty thriller.
Playwright Nicholas Griffin refreshed South Floridians, especially those residing in Miami-Dade County, on the conflicting times in 1980 in his one act drama “English Only”, a Miami New Drama production running now through February 22 at the Colony Theatre in Miami Beach.
Dating has never been easy. Back in the old days when parents and/or matchmakers set up the kids, the pressure to be liked was still there, but the voices in young people’s heads were few. Nowadays, when a swipe or a click reveals a blind date’s entire dating history – not to mention hearing internal, opinionated voices of friends and family – a first date can be sabotaged before it ever gets off the ground. Playwright Austin Winsberg, who wrote the book for the new(ish) Broadway musical, FIRST DATE, admits he based his highly recognizable scenarios on his own experience and those of his friends.
If ever there were a popular movie that begged to be turned into a live theatrical production – already known for its great songs, memorable characters, and a riveting storyline, it would be 1985 sci-fi sensation and audience favorite Back to the Future starring a young Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd. Directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, it won numerous awards – including an Academy Award, three Saturn Awards and a Hugo, and became the highest grossing film in 1985 worldwide, inspiring two sequels. As the years went by, its fan base only increased, with critics and audiences now considering Back to the Future as one of the greatest science fiction films, and even one of the best films ever made!
Playwright Nilo Cruz challenges audiences to use their imagination in recreating a tragic love story set in 1939 in a two act drama “Sotto Voce”, running now through February 15 at GableStage in Coral Gables.
MY FAIR LADY, the iconic Lerner & Lowe musical of the 1950s, was the soundtrack of my childhood. Famous and beloved as the longest running Broadway musical in 1956 (with book & lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, and music by Frederick Loewe), it won six Tonys, including Best Musical, was turned into an eight-Academy-Award-winning film (including Best Picture) in 1964 and has had a lasting influence on the trajectory of musical theater ever since. Believe it or not, everyone in America and the UK (where it held highly successful tours next) who grew up during the mid-20th century – whether they’d seen the show or not – could likely sing the lyrics to all the songs with glee! When has this ever happened … before or since?
Lake Worth Playhouse’s current production of ‘Kiss Me, Kate’ arrives with the polish and ambition of a company that clearly loves musical theatre, even as it wrestles with the inherent contradictions of this particular show. Framed through the lens of a 1990s revival, the production attempts to sand down some of the sharper, more dated edges of Cole Porter’s backstage romp, nudging it toward something that feels more self aware and contemporary. The effort is evident and often admirable, but even with its modernization, Kiss Me, Kate remains, at heart, a cheesy musical. In this staging, it plays like a glossy B movie, entertaining in flashes, impressive in parts, but never quite convincing as a unified whole.
Some may say that the first show one sees in the new year might just set the tone for the 12 months ahead. If that’s the case, then I’m certainly in for a treat after the Kravis Center’s fabulous production of Some Like It Hot! I was already familiar with the story, having seen the 1959 MGM film it was based on, a crime comedy classic starring Old Hollywood legends Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon. Nonetheless, the musical absolutely stands on its own as a fresh, sparkling take on the popular story, with its book by Matthew López and Amber Ruffin, music by Marc Shaiman, and lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman. After accidentally witnessing a brutal mafia murder in 1933 Chicago, best friends and jazz musicians Joe (Matt Loehr) and Jerry (Tavis Kordell) are desperate to escape. Their plan? Disguise themselves as women—Josephine and Daphne—and join an all-female band headed for California. With mistaken identities, unexpected romances, and self-discovery journeys at play—and a group of gangsters hot on the duo’s heels—will their scheme succeed?
There are popular, stand-up comedy acts, and there are musical-theater revues by Broadway-caliber vocalists. And then there’s TOVAH FELDSHUH. I could say, with this multi-award-winning actress/singer/comedienne’s one woman show you get a twofer: a beautifully sung musical theater revue plus non-stop original comedy sketches, all perfectly interspersed. But then there’s more … SOOO much more! Because Tovah doesn’t just tell jokes, she quickly switches attire to become her comedic characters – in looks, speech, and mannerisms that span all ages, ethnic groups and nationalities. In addition to various American accents, she’ll talk like an Italian, Russian, or Turkish/Sephardic Jew. And she sings in pitch-perfect Yiddish, Hebrew, and Spanish.
The South Florida premiere of & Juliet, which arrived at the Adrienne Arsht Center on December 30 as a New Year’s celebration, positions itself as a bold corrective to one of Western literature’s most fatalistic romances. The musical opens by asking a simple question: what if Juliet did not kill herself at the end of Romeo & Juliet? From that divergence, the show launches into a high-energy jukebox musical built around pop anthems written by Max Martin (& friends), framed as a battle for narrative control between William Shakespeare and his wife, Anne Hathaway. The result is a production that is head-bobbing and often well performed, but conceptually muddled, offering spectacle and charm where it ultimately needs conviction and emotional clarity.
