South Florida theater company offers a winning production of It Shoulda Been You
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Even if everything’s calm and orderly “behind the scenes,” moments before a bride and groom walk down the aisle, you never know what drama might be unfolding among the guests. Aunt Delores might be a wreck in a happy kind of way, crying profusely as she...
LCT’s ‘The King and I’ is an emotionally-rich experience, as national tour proves
MIAMI — “The King and I,” to borrow King Mongkut’s words, is a puzzlement. How can two people who’ve irritated each other so much, two people who seemingly have nothing in common, have such a profound effect on each other? That surprisingly strong, life-changing effect is at the heart of...
Death and Harry Houdini amazes with captivating magic
By AARON KRAUSE MIAMI — It’s not every day that famed magician and escape artist Harry Houdini flings playing cards at you, interacts with you and even calls you up as a volunteer to participate in one of his tricks. Then again, it’s not every day that you witness a...
Slow Burn Theatre Company’s ‘Aida’ contains emotional depth
FT. LAUDERDALE — “Love Transcends Death” is a poem by Naoimh Spence, but it’s also a powerful premise in several theatrical shows, including “Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida,” a heartfelt, touching tale of honor, loyalty and forbidden love which is receiving a remarkable production by the Carbonell Award-winning, Ft. Lauderdale-based Slow Burn...
Touring ‘Matilda’ is a theatrical experience to remember and cherish
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. — You can associate any one of many ferocious animals with the formidable, fiendish, she-devil of a school headmistress, Agatha Trunchbull, in renown author Roald Dahl’s beloved tale “Matilda.” But it’s safe to say we all become mother bears whenever we watch adults – particularly of the...
Could Beckett’s world in ‘Godot’ be a preview of a bleak future world?
By AARON KRAUSE BOCA RATON, Fla. — With a Trumpian America in full swing, and the resulting uncertainty, fear and dread of many citizens, not just those of the U.S., perhaps it’s time to look at the much-analyzed and confounding “Waiting for Godot” through a dystopian, futuristic lens. Seeing Samuel...
This ‘Little Mermaid’ largely sinks
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The mostly dull theme park attraction which opened Wednesday at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts isn’t without merit. Diana Huey, who plays the lead role of mermaid Ariel in the second-rate attraction (sorry, musical) “Disney’s The Little Mermaid,” can sing pleasantly, powerfully and clearly. She...
Chief villain of ‘Newsies” can bring to mind our current commander-in-chief
It’s probably not popular to brand a journalist a villain during these early days of the Trump presidency, what with his attacks on the media. Champions of the First Amendment surely will cast journalists in a positive light and “The Donald” in a negative one. But flash back to the...
Carousel’s emotions, moods vividly depicted in Actors Playhouse outsanding production
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Many would argue that, in today’s troubled world, we especially need to hear the comforting song “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” The moving, majestic, memorable melody is one of many Richard Rodgers’ and Oscar Hammerstein II’s gems that stick in our mind and soul once we’ve heard...
Award-winning producer steers August Wilson’s ‘Jitney’ to Broadway
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. — Chalk up another success for award-winning Broadway producer Ron Simons — putting on Broadway the only August Wilson “Pittsburgh Cycle” play that has yet to appear on the Great White Way. Simons doesn’t have a definitive answer as to why Wilson’s play “Jitney” had never...
