Photo by Lindsey Walters

Isabel Lee Roden as Juliet, Angela Iannone as Friar Lawrence, and Nick Ericksen as Romeo in American Shakespeare Center’s professional production of Romeo & Juliet

By AARON KRAUSE

Bill von Maurer Award to GableStage

GableStage will receive the Bill von Maurer Award at this year’s Carbonell Awards ceremony in November. The award honors a theater company that “exemplifies the totality of its programming: productions, educational outreach, developmental programs, and audiences served.” The award’s namesake is Bill von Maurer, a longtime theater writer and journalist for the Miami News and Sun Sentinel.

The award-winning GableStage’s mission is to produce “theatrical works of artistic excellence that explore today’s issues and ideas. The company serves South Florida’s culturally rich communities by creating bold, thought-provoking productions that inspire conversation and connection.”

Originally founded as Florida Shakespeare Theatre, the nonprofit organization assumed the current name when it moved to the historic Biltmore Hotel in 1998. After the 2021 death of the legendary Joseph Adler, Bari Newport joined GableStage as Producing Artistic Director. The company’s extensive community outreach, distinctive roster of educational offerings, and ambitious mainstage programming have cemented the theater’s outstanding reputation. GableStage has won eight Carbonell Awards since 2023 (for a total of 72) and Miami New Times named GableStage “Best Theatre Company” several times.

“When I consider which companies are truly delivering excellence across all areas of programming, GableStage is the first that comes to mind,” wrote resident dramaturg Ali Tallman. “Their educational and developmental programming for both youth and adults is unmatched in South Florida. Their programming this season was extremely savvy and led to a widening and deepening of the audiences they served and drawing in many first-time theatergoers.”

Meanwhile, GableStage Director of Operations Katie Ellison praised the company for “constantly striving to improve all theatrical aspects and education/outreach programs. We are constantly wanting to raise our bar, to welcome new audience members, to build our subscribers, to increase our production value, to inspire with our education programs, (and) to create new developmental programs.”

Previous Bill von Maurer Award winners include Area Stage (2024); Slow Burn Theatre Company (2023); Theater Lab (2022); Palm Beach Dramaworks (2020); City Theatre (2015); Maltz Jupiter Theatre (2011); and Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre (2007).

Previously announced Carbonell Special Awards recipients are as follows:

• The George Abbott Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts: William Hayes & Sue Ellen Beryl, Co-founders of Palm Beach Dramaworks
• The Jan McArt Award for Outstanding Achievement by a Small Theatre: New City Players
• The Vinnete Carroll Award for Advancing Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion in South Florida Theatre: Michel Hausmann
• The Charlie Cinnamon Award for Supporting the Arts in South Florida and the Carbonell Awards: Mary Damiano
• The Ruth Foreman Award for Contributing to the Development of South Florida Theatre: Alex Kuve
• The Bill Hindman Award: Beverly Blanchette
• The Howard Kleinberg Award: Harvey Burstein/MiamiArtZine

Still to be announced on Sept. 16: 128 Carbonell Award Finalists in 20 Categories.

Nominations for the 2025 Special Award recipients came from members of South Florida’s theater community, with the Carbonell Board of Directors making the final selection.

This year’s Carbonell Awards ceremony will take place at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 17 at FAU’s University Theatre in Boca Raton.

The Carbonell Awards foster the artistic growth of professional theater in South Florida by celebrating the excellence and diversity of theater artists, providing scholarships, and building audience appreciation and civic pride by highlighting achievements of the theater community. More than 20 professional theater companies in Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach Counties participate in the awards process every year. The Carbonell Awards also celebrate the accomplishments of local artistic leaders by presenting various Special Awards.

Along with New York’s Drama Desk and Chicago’s Joseph Jefferson Awards, the Carbonell Awards are among the nation’s oldest regional arts awards and predate others, including Washington, D.C.’s Helen Hayes Awards.

The Carbonell Awards’ namesake is internationally renowned sculptor Manuel Carbonell. He designed the signature solid bronze and marble award given annually to Carbonell Award winners. Over nearly half a century, the Carbonell family has donated more than $250,000 in awards. For more information, visit www.carbonellawards.org.

This season’s Carbonell Awards will be presented at a glittery ceremony on November 17 that is South Florida’s Tony Awards. Hundreds of actors, musicians, performers, writers, directors, backstage technicians, producers, reviewers, designers, specialty artists, and diehard theater fans are expected to attend the event under the leadership of Executive Producer and Director Andrew Kato, Coordinating Producer Eloisa Ferrer, and Associate Producer/Musical Director Caryl Fantel. Tickets for the ceremony and afterparty will go on sale to the public in mid-October for $45.

Leadership Changes at GableStage and Palm Beach Dramaworks

Rudina Toro, who has been PBD’s first Chief Financial & Operations Officer since March 2023, assumes the role of Executive Director.

Rachel Burttram Powers, an Alabama producer-arts administrator who has acted at GableStage and Florida Repertory Theatre, will become an Interim Managing Director at the Coral Gables company.

When PBD hired Toro two years ago, it was with the understanding that she would succeed Managing Director Sue Ellen Beryl’s successor. Beryl was preparing to step down as managing director – the company retired that title – to spend more time with her children and grandchildren.

Toro’s association with PBD dates back two decades when she collaborated with Beryl on PBD’s inaugural audit, and remained audit manager for the next 12 years. The two women became friends, and Toro worked closely with Beryl on operational and financial structures, and was an advisor, sounding board, and resource.

Toro had a long career in finance, accounting, and business. A certified public accountant, she holds a dual Bachelor of Science in applied finance and accounting from Palm Beach Atlantic University and a master’s degree in taxation from Florida Atlantic University. She grew up surrounded by theater. Her mother was a producing artistic director, and her uncle was an actor and director with the National Theatre of Albania. This early exposure instilled in her a lifelong passion for the performing arts.

Beryl remains at PBD in a new capacity: Founder in Residence. This gives her fewer day-to-day responsibilities and more flexibility. Her goal is “to help secure the company’s next 25 years, which includes starting an endowment, deepening relationships with donors and partners, and bringing new people into the PBD family.”

People may recognize Burttram from her performances in GableStage’s productions of Appropriate and A Doll’s House, Part 2. In addition, she is an arts leader with decades of experience in the theater field. Her past work has run the gamut from intimate productions to large-scale events. She is also a grant recipient of the Alabama State Council on the Arts Individual Artists Fellowship Cohort for 2025–2026.

University of Miami Fall Theater Schedule

The drama Twelve Angry Jurors and the musical Titanic will comprise The University of Miami’s theater performance schedule this fall.

Students will perform Twelve Angry Jurors at 8 p.m. Sept. 26, 2 and 8 p.m. Sept. 27, and 8 p.m. Oct. 3 and 4, while performances of Titanic will take place at 2 and 8 p.m. Nov. 15, 8 p.m. Nov. 19, and 8 p.m. Nov. 20. The venue is The Jerry Herman Ring Theatre, an intimate “in the round” space in which the audience surrounds the stage on all sides.

Twelve Angry Jurors is a licensed adaptation of Reginald Rose’s jury room drama, Twelve Angry Men. The text is essentially the same in both. However, Twelve Angry Jurors allows for mixed-gender casting. This version makes it easier for schools, community theaters, and modern productions to stage the play without being restricted to an all-male cast.

In both, 12 jurors must decide a young man’s fate. Accused of brutally murdering his father, the young man’s life hangs in the balance as a jury of his peers battle reasonable doubt, prejudice, and their own morality in a cramped, overheated deliberation room. Tempers flare as the reality of a death sentence weighs on the minds of these 12 strangers, the life or death of the accused foisted upon them. Guilty or not guilty. Life or death. Freedom or damnation. Each juror must vote.

Meanwhile, Titanic captures the stories of officers, crew members, and passengers of the ever-fascinating catastrophe of the most luxurious ocean liner in the 1900s. From crew in the boiler room to first-class passengers, from the poorest families who scraped together their life savings to purchase third-class tickets, to some of the wealthiest men of the Victorian Age, Titanic captures the entire range of humanity aboard the ship of dreams.

To purchase tickets to Twelve Angry Jurors and Titanic, visit https://theatre.as.miami.edu. The Jerry Herman Ring Theatre is located at 1312 Miller Drive on the University of Miami campus in Coral Gables. For more information, call (305) 284-3355. Or, send an email to theatre@miami.edu.

Experiencing the Blackfriars Playhouse

Stepping into the Blackfriars Playhouse is like traveling back in time. The playhouse is the world’s first and possibly only re-creation of William Shakespeare’s original indoor theater. It is located inside the American Shakespeare Center (ASC) in Staunton, Va., a charming, hilly small town nestled in the Shenendoah Valley and filled with culture and quaint, diverse shops, located about 108 miles northwest of Richmond, Va.

A warm, inviting aura envelops you as you take in the rich brown hue of the stage, ceiling, and railings dividing the bottom floor from the top. You will also notice chandeliers containing candles. These help illuminate the stage, just as they did during Shakespeare’s time (1564–1616). In fact, a motto of the ASC is “We Do it with the Lights On.” This refers to performing with full, natural illumination, as was common during Shakespeare’s time. This is opposed to the dark, dim “lights down” style of many contemporary theater productions.

While inside, you also marvel at how close the audience is to the stage. Some audience members even sit onstage. Such proximity often results in visceral productions. This is especially true when the performers are at the top of their game. The actors sense the audience’s reactions to their performances to a larger degree in such an intimate space, which in turn influences the performances. The playhouse features a thrust configuration, with audiences seated on three sides of the performers.

The ASC features rotating repertory theater, where a company of versatile actors performs multiple plays in rotation throughout the year. The ASC’s fall season comprises productions of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and The Two Gentlemen of Verona, as well as the world premiere of The Pirate Ballad of Bonny & Read.

During my time in Staunton, I was able to experience ASC’s excellent production of Shakespeare’s towering tragedy, Romeo and Juliet. Under K. P. Powell’s astute direction, the cast nails the playful, lighthearted tone that suffuses the early part of the play, as well as the dark, tragic latter parts of the drama. The contrast is marked. Also, the production includes mood-enhancing live music.

Due to the timeliness and timelessness of Shakespeare’s plays, directors often set the pieces in more modern times. That is also the case with ASC’s Romeo and Juliet, which the director has set during the early 2000s. Significantly, the actors speak Shakespeare’s English with ease and clearly convey the meanings and emotions behind the words.  In fact, these performers make Shakespeare’s often poetic language sing. Also, famous phrases receive the emphasis they deserve. As you observe them, these characters initially seem like over-caffeinated, rowdy and playful college kids drunk with giddiness. Perhaps they are celebrating, in part, because the Y2K bug never struck. But as the play progresses, the tone subtly and fluidly shifts from celebratory to tragic. Also, fighting scenes and moments of intimacy seem real.

The success of any production of Romeo and Juliet hinges highly on the chemistry (or lack thereof) between the young, star-crossed titular characters. Nick Ericksen and Isabel Lee Roden believably seem instantly attracted to each other. You sense between them an awe that each other exists. Contrastingly, convincing tension exists between the Capulets and Montagues, the warring families at the heart of Romeo and Juliet.

One of the interesting things about this production is that female performers play some of the male roles. You may recall that in Shakespeare’s time, women were forbidden from performing onstage. So, casting females in male roles seems like a defiant, unapologetic rebuke of the practice of forbidding female performers.

While the audience sits close to the performers even if they are seated in the upper level, the director’s staging is even more intimate. He often positions the actors toward the edge of the stage, closer to the audience. In fact, the performers even proceed into the audience seating area and sit on the stage’s edge. This directorial choice not only makes the performances that much more visceral, but reinforces the notion that this play carries relevance to modern times. On stage, you’ll find minimal scenery that sets us in the early 2000s, such as posters of movies set during that decade. The minimal scenery allows our focus to be more on the characters and story.

If you want to feel like you’re part of history, a visit to historic Staunton and the ASC should be on your bucket list.

For more information about the ASC and its productions, visit https://americanshakespearecenter.com.