The 2023-24 theater season in South Florida is in full gear with shows opening regularly. Below is a round-up of just a few offerings in the region.
YI Love Jewish presents a reading of A People by LM Feldman, and starring Avi Hoffman, who is also directing.
The show, according to a press release, is a “magical, lyrical journey into heritage, tradition, religion, and humanity. Through vignettes, music, and monologues, Lauren Feldman holds up a mirror to 4,000 years of Jewish history, reminding us that we’re all descendants from somewhere, and we choose to embrace our lineage, deny it, or wrestle with it.”
In all, 10 performers take on a mass of old and new world personalities to create snippets of life the way we see it, the way we want it to be, and the way it is. Tickets are free and donations are encouraged.
Performances will take place from Oct. 10-12 at different locations.
At 7:30 p.m. Oct. 10, the venue will be the Adolph & Rose Levis Jewish Community Center, 21050 95th Ave. South in Boca Raton.
At 2 p.m. Oct. 11, the venue will be Alper JCC Miami, 11155 S.W. 112th Ave. in Miami
At 7:30 p.m. Oct. 11, the venue is Miami Beach JCC, 4221 Pine Tree Drive in Miami Beach.
At 7:30 p.m. Oct. 12, the venue is Soref JCC at Plantation, 6501 W. Sunrise Blvd. in Plantation.
For tickets, go to YI Love Play Readings (yilovejewish.org).
Also, Silent Tears: The Last Yiddish Tango will take place at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 5 at the Aventura Arts and Cultural Center, 3385 N.E. 188th St. in Aventura.
Dr. Paula David launched a poetry program to help elderly Holocaust survivors deal with long-term trauma from horrific crimes such as sexual violence, human experimentation, and forced sterilization.
From inspiring songs about survival to mournful laments, this award-winning program showcases songs inspired by the poetry of women who are Holocaust survivors. The program “conveys an almost indescribable depth of emotion rarely sung about,” reads a press release.
To buy tickets, which start at $52, go to Silent Tears, The Last Yiddish Tango | Aventura Center.
****
Award-winning guerilla theatre group Citizens of The Universe (also known as COTU) will present a production of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot at the Bhetty Waldron Theatre in West Palm Beach.
As with all COTU productions, the show will be free to all audience members. Performances will take place for only one weekend from Oct. 12th-14th at 8 p.m. each day, plus an additional matinee at 2 p.m. on the 14. Doors will open one hour before the show, which will run about 2 hours and 15 minutes, including one intermission.
First performed in 1953 and having had its American premiere at Miami’s Coconut Grove Playhouse, Waiting for Godot is a historic play that has been recognized worldwide as a seminal work of absurdist theatre, having even been voted the “most significant English-language play of the 20th century” by the British Royal National Theatre. The vaudeville-inspired piece follows two main characters, Vladimir (Didi) and Estragon (Gogo), as they engage in a variety of amusing antics, bizarre encounters, and philosophical ponderings, all to pass the time as they await the arrival of the mysterious figure referred to in the play’s title.
The cast will include Phil Amico as Estragon, Rogelio Perez as Pozzo, David Tumarkin as Lucky, Sudhir Jain as Boy and COTU founder James Cartee as Vladimir.
The theater is located at 1000 N. Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach.
***
The Wick Theatre will open its 2023-2024 season with a celebration of its 10th anniversary by bringing back a beloved musical featuring an extravagant array of Irving Berlin’s greatest songs.
I Love a Piano, directed by D.J. Salisbury, is the critically acclaimed musical tribute to one of America’s greatest composers and lyricists, with beloved songs such as “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” “Anything You Can Do” and “God Bless America.”
Conceived by Ray Roderick and Michael Berkeley, the show captures the American spirit and tells the touching stories that connect us all.
I Love a Piano runs Oct. 19-Nov. 12, with evening shows at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and matinees at 2 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Tickets are $94 and are available at
www.thewick.org or by calling the box office at (561) 995-2333.
The Wick Theatre is located at 7901 N. Federal Highway in Boca Raton.
***
Miami’s City Theatre will return to Books & Books in Coral Gables for a free 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12 event titled City Reads: Identity. This reading of short plays will explore identity with musical accompaniment by Angelina Lopez Catledge and Paul Curtis, the world pop duo known as Hola Hi.
The Café at Books & Books in Coral Gables features an array of offerings, from roasted coffee and locally freshly-baked pastries to sandwiches, salads, as well as coffee, beer, and wine.
After the readings, stick around for a community conversation led by Artistic Director Margaret M. Ledford, who will dive into the plays and themes with patrons.
Books & Books in Coral Gables is located at 265 Aragon Ave. To RSVP for free, go to City Reads: Four Short Plays about Identity Tickets, Thu, Oct 12, 2023 at 8:00 PM | Eventbrite.
Meanwhile, tickets are on sale for City Theatre’s upcoming production of La Gringa. This Miami premiere will be an immersive bilingual experience featuring dialogue and captioning in English and Spanish.
This Obie Award-winning comedy follows a young woman’s search for identity in her parents’ homeland.
Performances will take place in the Carnival Studio Theater within the Adrienne Arsh Center for the Performing Arts, 1300 Biscayne Blvd. in downtown Miami.
***
The weather may not be cooling just yet, but it’s beginning to look a lot like A Broadway Christmas in South Florida. That is because local performer Christopher Calhoun with Friends has organized a concert titled A Broadway Christmas.
Under Bob Nation’s direction and Cheryl Barth’s musical direction, the concert will star Calhoun and also feature performers Kalli Courakos, Spensyr Krebsbach, and Rachel O’Hara. Also, the event’s producer is Calhoun, who will provide choreography with Jamie Mattocks.
The performers will sing and dance to some of the most joyous songs of Broadway and your favorite holiday classics.
The venue will be the newly-established 40-seat black box theater, “Behind The Scenes Theatricals LLC,” 1303 SW 1st Ave. in Ft. Lauderdale.
Performance times and dates are 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1 and Saturday, Dec. 2 as well as 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 3.
The event promises to be “an interactive, flamboyant, and deeply personal holiday experience with some of the most famous songs of American musical theater.”
Tickets are $30 each and will include a drink ticket for a beverage of the buyer’s chooser.
The direct link to buy tickets is Christopher Calhoun with Friends: A Broadway Christmas 2023 Tickets, Multiple Dates | Eventbrite.
About author
Aaron Krause
