Sparks fly in New Normal Rep’s riveting ‘Lines in the Dust’

Sparks fly in New Normal Rep’s riveting ‘Lines in the Dust’

  © New Normal Rep The cast of New Normal Rep’s production of Lines in the Dust comprises (from left) Lisa Rosetta Strum as Dr. Beverly Long, Melissa Joyner as Denitra Morgan, and Jeffrey Bean as Mike DiMaggio.   By AARON KRAUSE All Denitra Morgan wants is for her daughter,...

Read more
New Normal Rep triumphs with ‘Two Sisters and a Piano’

New Normal Rep triumphs with ‘Two Sisters and a Piano’

  © New Normal Rep Florencia Lozano and Daphne Rubin-Vega appear as Maria Celia and Sofia, respectively, in New Normal Rep’s production of Two Sister and a Piano.       By AARON KRAUSE The power of art to heal, transform, offer hope, and inspire in a seemingly hopeless world...

Read more
ICS’ ‘The Niceties’ neatly captures the zeitgeist

ICS’ ‘The Niceties’ neatly captures the zeitgeist

Photo by Matthew Tippins Zoe (Rachel Michelle Bryant) is clearly unhappy with her professor (Lisa Kay King) in Island City Stage’s production of The Niceties.   By AARON KRAUSE “What are you doing to promote equality?” a black college student demands of her white professor in Eleanor Burgess’s taut, intense,...

Read more
Playwright peels away ‘The Niceties’ from her piece

Playwright peels away ‘The Niceties’ from her piece

  “We spend so much of our time berating the far right for being racist,” Island City Stage (ICS) Associate Artistic Director Michael Leeds says. However, “we don’t often look to ourselves to see how we might be perpetuating the system. We’re always the ‘nice’ guys. But what happens when...

Read more
Safe, live theater returns to Miami Beach with ‘Seven Deadly Sins’

Safe, live theater returns to Miami Beach with ‘Seven Deadly Sins’

Photo courtesy of Ernesto Sempoll Jessica Farr and Caleb Scott appear in the sultry Amsterdam Latitudes in Miami New Drama’s production of Seven Deadly Sins.     By AARON KRAUSE MIAMI BEACH — You’ll rarely find people celebrating in purgatory. Then again, you probably won’t find elsewhere the kind of...

Read more
A moving, scary ‘A Christmas Carol’ is streaming

A moving, scary ‘A Christmas Carol’ is streaming

            Photo by Chris Whitaker Ebenezer Scrooge (Jefferson Mays) looks as though he’s freefalling in a streaming version of Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol.   By AARON KRAUSE At times, one of the newest adaptations of A Christmas Carol sounds and looks more like...

Read more
‘Gifts’ focuses on the power of story during dark moments

‘Gifts’ focuses on the power of story during dark moments

Photo courtesy of Irish Repertory Theatre (From left) Marty Rea, as Tom, Sean McGinley as Larry, and Marie Mullen as Rose.   By AARON KRAUSE What are some “gifts” that you’ve brought to dark, anxiety-inducing times, places, or situations? Perhaps you smiled brightly while visiting a lonely, scared person forced...

Read more
Powerful ‘American Son’ prevails at Zoetic Stage

Powerful ‘American Son’ prevails at Zoetic Stage

Photo by Justin Namon A struggle breaks out between a father and a police officer in the riveting drama, American Son. Here, the officer, Paul Larkin (Ryan Didato) tries to restrain the dad, Scott Connor (Clive Cholerton). Flanking the strugglers are Scott’s ex, Kendra Ellis-Connor (Karen Stephens) and Lt. John...

Read more
A shattering ‘Streetcar’ at Palm Beach Dramaworks

A shattering ‘Streetcar’ at Palm Beach Dramaworks

  Photo by Samantha Mighdoll Stanley Kowalski (Danny Gavigan) pleads with his wife, Stella (Annie Grier) to forgive him in Palm Beach Dramaworks’ stellar production of A Streetcar Named Desire.   By AARON KRAUSE WEST PALM BEACH — Brutal reality shatters sensitivity, fragility and illusion with the force of a monster...

Read more
‘Wiesenthal’ is a winner at GableStage

‘Wiesenthal’ is a winner at GableStage

Photo by George Schiavone Simon Wiesenthal (David Kwiat) takes some time to reflect in the one-character play, Wiesenthal.   By AARON KRAUSE CORAL GABLES — An admirable quality of one-person plays is their ability to establish an especially intimate connection between the audience and the character. Such a bond can...

Read more