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.
Sometimes you just need to laugh. And laugh…and laugh. No matter how silly and, well, “corny” the humor. Even at puns, lots of puns – outrageously bawdy ones, at that. It was only a few years ago that SHUCKED: A New Musical Comedy created a gee-whiz stir on Broadway for being so unprecedentedly silly yet sweet, lewd but not offensive, and always absolutely hilarious! The musical received nine Tony nominations in 2023 and won an award for Best Actor.
Carnivorous houseplants. Homicidal barbers. Psychotic wives and mothers. Miserable lives lived in figurative and literal Hell. Sometimes it feels like there’s no place too dark or outrageous for contemporary musical theater. If presented well, with talent to match, audiences will embrace any “horror” and clamor for more. But sometimes what sounds like a scary plot (like a mad killer on the loose?) is packed with so much musical talent and yes, joy, that it defies classification. Unless one is looking for colorful, beautifully executed, concert-level escapist fun.
The brutality exposed by poverty and ignorance as experienced by three individuals is the focus of the 75-minute one act drama “Mud” by playwright Maria Irene Fornes. The play, running now through Saturday, June 14 at Empire Stage in Ft. Lauderdale, marked an impressive opening to Latine Theater Lab, the new South Florida regional theater company.
Compromise your principles for the almighty dollar. Would you do it? How far would you go? What about the repercussions? … For yourself? Your family? Society at large? Nowadays, it feels like we’re confronted with this question daily – especially when it comes to actions taken by our government and industry leaders. Twenty-seven years ago, award-winning playwright and screenwriter/director Craig Lucas (best known for his 1991 Pulitzer-nominated “Prelude to a Kiss”) proposed this quandary, and a whole lot more, in THE DYINGGAUL: a groundbreaking psychological thriller set in the high-stakes world of traditional Hollywood and nascent online chat rooms.
The Florida premiere of the two act drama “The Girl On The Train” at Actors’ Playhouse in Coral Gables will not disappoint fans of both the 2015 novel by British author Paula Hawkins or the 2016 British film starring actress Emily Blunt with the same title. Running through June 8, the two hour play written by Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel proves to be the equal of both the Hawkins novel and the 2016 film. The suspense-filled story centers on Rachel Watson, a troubled woman who is struggling to remember the facts of a murder in Great Britain.
