The concept, at least, of I Hate Hamlet is a refreshingly original one. After moving into the former home of deceased legendary actor John Barrymore, TV soap star Andrew Rally is resisting efforts by his girlfriend and agent to persuade him to take the title role of Hamlet in a Shakespeare In The Park production.

When tallying the shows that I’ve been to as a critic that I probably never would have gone to see otherwise, Cats definitely has to top the list. In fact, I don’t think I was even aware that Cats was still on tour until I received an invite to the production currently playing at the Kravis Center. 

There is certainly something to be commended in Slow Burn Theatre Company’s selection of Once On This Island for this slot in its season, a musical that, despite being written by a white composer and lyricist, calls for an entirely non-white cast. 

Just when you start to worry that Be More Chill might be shaping up to be a conventional coming of age comedy, it instead takes a turn for the gloriously insane. This is Area Stage Company’s first show as a tenant of the Adrienne Arsht Center, and the partnership is definitely getting off to a smashing start with this high-strung high school musical. 

If the Lake Worth Playhouse is already something of a hidden gem compared to the mainstream SFL theatre scene, its Black Box series is an even smaller and lesser known but arguably more intriguing offering than its mainstage counterpart. Trafficking in plays “whose subjects or themes are both thought provoking and relevant to today’s world,” the series is offering one more weekend of its current production of God Of Carnage.

If you intend to follow in the footsteps of powerful-voiced actress/singer Ethel Merman, you’d best do more than vocalize.  You’ve got to BELT!

If you’re looking for a group of great belters and a show inspired by the likes of Ms. Merman and her flock, check out the Wick Theatre’s production of Gypsy that continues through Feb. 13.