‘Pretty Woman’ adaptation wins us over anew in non-equity national touring production
Photo by Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade Chase Wolfe and Ellie Baker co-star in “Pretty Woman: The Musical” at the Adrienne Arsht Center. The touring stop in Miami runs through Sunday, Dec. 10. By AARON KRAUSE Fans of the hit 1990 romantic comedy film, Pretty Woman will be happy to...
‘The Berlin Diaries’ come to believable life at Theatre Lab
Photo by Morgan Sophia Photography Avi Hoffman and Niki Fridh are animated as they portray characters in The Berlin Diaries. By AARON KRAUSE Playwright Andrea Stolowitz found lost relatives as she developed her autobiographical play, The Berlin Diaries. And now, while watching the funny and moving piece, you have...
The Wick’s stirring ‘I Love a Piano’ will make you nostalgic
Photo by Amy Pasquantonio Cast members perform while surrounding the titular piano. By AARON KRAUSE If America’s favorite Little Orphan Annie were a real person, you couldn’t help but believe that the vibrant red-headed young girl would have befriended composer-lyricist Irving Berlin (1888-1989). And vice versa. Surely their shared...
An impressive South Florida co-production offers a peek into ‘Sordid Lives’
Photo courtesy of ArtBuzz Theatrics and Empire Stage The women of Sordid Lives are eccentric yet well-meaning. By AARON KRAUSE In a scene from the hilarious and moving hit play, Sordid Lives, a small-town Texas therapist in 1998 tries to “dehomosexualize” a gay male transvestite. The scene, which may...
Time travel, comedy make meaty play an engaging experience
Photo by Morgan Sophia Photography The titular character (Sarah Romeo) plots with her Uncle Craig (Troy Davidson) in the Florida premiere of The Many Wondrous Realities of Jasmine Starr-Kidd. By AARON KRAUSE Time travel sounds so tempting, doesn’t it? Indeed, if you regret something that you did, you simply...
MNM Theatre Company presents a vivacious ‘Five Guys Named Moe’
Photo by Amy Pasquantonio Michael L. Wallace, as Four-Eyed Moe, deftly executes part of Jacquez Linder-Long’s physical choreography in MNM Theatre Company’s production of Five Guys Named Moe. By AARON KRAUSE Art’s healing power, and its ability to affect change, are hardly secrets. So, you can understand why...
‘Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks’ charms, touches at ArtBuzz Theatrics
Photo by Amy Mahon Lily Harrison (Lory Reyes) is clearly not pleased as Michael Minetti (Larry Buzzeo) is comically over-the-top. By AARON KRAUSE Since its Los Angeles premiere and Broadway opening, Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks has undergone translations into 14 languages and traversed the globe with productions...
‘Medicine for the Soul’
Tony Award nominee Josh Young portrays Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Soul Doctor. By AARON KRAUSE Did you hear the one about the Orthodox rabbi who attended worship services at black churches and left inspired to compose a different kind of Jewish music?...
Palm Beach Dramaworks presents a shattering ‘Topdog/Underdog’
Photo by Alicia Donelan Booth (Jovon Jacobs, right) concentrates heavily as Lincoln (George Anthony Richardson) demonstrates how to deftly operate a three-card monte game in Palm Beach Dramaworks’ production of Topdog/Underdog. By AARON KRAUSE If a prize existed for malicious jokes, you would have to nominate the father of...
‘Tracy Jones’ is moving, funny at Island City Stage
Photo by Matthew Tippins Cast members Sara Grant, Irene Adjan, and Niki Fridh act out a comical scene from Island City Stage’s production of Tracy Jones. By AARON KRAUSE Comedy can be an effective tool for playwrights to deliver messages to audiences. Indeed, once we start at least...