Approaching Anne Frank from another angle
Photo by Tim Stepien Amy Miller Brennan plays Miep Gies in the world premiere production of Michael McKeever’s play, The People Downstairs. By AARON KRAUSE Whenever Palm Beach Dramaworks (PBD) Producing Artistic Director William Hayes read or watched Anne Frank’s story play out on stage or screen, he wondered...
New City Players’ ‘Lungs’ is eye-opening
Photo by Ryan Arnst Marlo Rodriguez and Denzel McCausland appear in one of the more upbeat scenes in Lungs By AARON KRAUSE In Duncan Macmillan’s devastating drama, Lungs, a woman and her lover’s decision to have a kid could come with dire consequences. Let her explain. “I could fly...
Boca Stage’s riveting ‘Warrior Class’ exposes the underbelly of political campaigns
Photo by Amy Pasquantonio Political “fixer” Nathan Berkshire (Wayne LeGette) comforts assemblyman Julius Lee (Paul Wong) in Boca Stage’s production of Warrior Class. By AARON KRAUSE Early on in Kenneth Lin’s fierce, fast-paced, at times humorous political drama, Warrior Class, a character explains how a particular restaurant makes a...
Frankenstein is a triumph at Miami’s Zoetic Stage
Photo by Justin Namon Gabriell Salgado shines as the creature in Zoetic Stage’s production of Frankenstein By AARON KRAUSE During an age in which some folks are swatting away science as though it were a mosquito, it makes sense to revisit a story that strongly suggests that we cautiously...
Main Street Players presents strong world premiere of intense ‘Wolf and Badger’
Photo courtesy of Olimac Media Landon (Brandon Hoffman, middle) tries to impart a message to his half-brother, Maddox (Joshua Lyons) as Landon’s ex-girlfriend, Ainsley (Melissa Bibliowicz) looks on disgustedly. By AARON KRAUSE Wolf and Badger, a taut, intense drama receiving a mostly strong world premiere production at the professional...
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,...
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...
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,...
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...
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...