New City Players to tackle race, resistance, and resilience in ‘Confederates’
Cast members Gemma Berg, Toddra Brunson, Nai Fairweather, and Denzel-McCausland. By AARON KRAUSE When you think of live theater during the summer, lighthearted, escapist fare may spring to mind. Understandably so — in the sweltering heat, who wouldn’t want to sit back, relax, and simply enjoy the show? But while...
Pollution, Power, and the People: ‘A Class Act’ Hits Hard
Pictured from left are Rick Prada as John Dubliner, Ben Paryz as Ignatio Perez, Carey Brianna Hart as Dorothy Pilsner, and Johnbarry Green as Edward Duchamp. By AARON KRAUSE “These big corporations are getting away with murder,” declares a character in Norman Shabel’s gripping play, A Class Act....
City Theatre’s Summer Shorts returns with satire, scripts in hand, and a new venue
Jannelys Santos as Rhonda Sanchez in Summer Shorts Festival Hosted by Rhonda Sanchez. By AARON KRAUSE This year’s Summer Shorts Festival, presented by City Theatre, will look different from previous editions. For instance, this year’s version will run just four days—down from more than two weeks in 2024. Actors will...
Island City Stage Delivers a Precise, Potent ‘Dying Gaul’
Photo by Dennis Dean A complicated romantic triangle develops between (from left) Jeffrey (Amir Darvish), Elaine (Autumn Kioti) and Robert (Jorge Amador) in Island City Stage’s impressive production of Craig Lucas’s play, The Dying Gaul. By AARON KRAUSE The set design for Island City Stage’s (ICS) intense, believable, and...
Nature and nostalgia unite in POW’s Innovative Staging of ‘The Sound of Music’
Maria Rainer (Abbey Alder) embraces nature and music in POW’s production of The Sound of Music. By AARON KRAUSE The von Trapp children energetically circle Maria Rainer in a fresh, believable South Florida production of The Sound of Music—one that is as smart as it is lively. But the...
Palm Beach Dramaworks co-founders to receive prestigious honor
Photo by Curtis Brown Photography William Hayes and Sue Ellen Beryl In December 2000, in a rundown, soon-to-be-demolished theatre at Palm Beach Atlantic University, a new nonprofit theatre company staged its first-ever production. Its apt title: Greetings! Starting out with a shoestring budget of $10,000 — which included...
‘Dangerous Instruments’ is a harrowing, human story we cannot afford to ignore
Photo by Curtis Brown Photography “Cool Mr. P” (Matt Stabile) comforts single mother Laura Hammond in Palm Beach Dramaworks’ world premiere production of Dangerous Instruments by Gina Montet. By AARON KRAUSE The determined and desperate mom in playwright and educator Gina Montet’s new play, Dangerous Instruments, shakes with despair....
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ ‘Purpose,’ Rob Ulin’s ‘Judgement Day’ earn top honors from critics
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins Rob Ulin Playwrights Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and Rob Ulin are among this year’s recipients of major national awards presented annually by theater critics. Jacobs’ play, Purpose, has received the 2025 Pulitzer Prize...
It’s showtime: ‘Beetlejuice’ blends weirdness, whimsy, and a whole lot of heart
Photo by Matthew Murphy The titular character (Justin Collete) appears in a scene from an equity national touring production of Beetlejuice the Musical. By AARON KRAUSE Beetlejuice the Musical may resemble a freaky carnival or haunted house, but at its core, the show is about a lonely, grieving...
Aging, memory, art collide in Pigs Do Fly’s ‘Painting Churches’
Photo by Carol Kassie Mags (Ana Marie Calise), Gardner (William Mahone) and Fanny (Laura Turnbull) in Pigs Do Fly Productions’ staging of Tina Howe’s poetic play Painting Churches. By AARON KRAUSE Like an eager child, a septuagenarian gazes in wonder at a paper airplane in Pigs Do Fly...