Inaugural Broadway in Broward season starts with compelling ‘West Side Story’
Photo by Carol Kassie Jacob Tarconish appears as Tony and Alexa Lopez as Maria in West Side Story at the Lauderhill Performing Arts Center By AARON KRAUSE LAUDERHILL — It is virtually impossible to walk away from West Side Story without vividly remembering something. Indeed, whether it’s the strongly...
Stage adaptation of ‘Tootsie’ improves upon the film
Photo by Matthew Murphy The cast of “Tootsie” with Santino Fontana, center, as Dorothy Michaels. By AARON KRAUSE NEW YORK, N.Y. — Dorothy Michaels is unstoppable. We learned that much in the Tony Award-nominated Broadway musical adaptation of Tootsie. It is based on the popular Academy Award-nominated 1982 movie with the...
Song and dance are strong points in Broadway bio-musical ‘Ain’t Too Proud.’
Photo by Matthew Murphy The core group as depicted in Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations. By AARON KRAUSE NEW YORK, N.Y. — If you want to hear current members of the famed musical group The Temptations perform live this year, you’re out of...
Faithful, fervent Oklahoma! revival reveals a darker tale
Little Fang Photo Ado Annie (Ali Stroker) and Ali Hakim (Will Brill) share a moment in the current revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! By AARON KRAUSE NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. — The wording on the Playbill at Circle in the Square Theatre does not deceive your eyes:...
Adaptation of Thornton Wilder’s ‘Bridge’ triumphs at Miami New Drama
By AARON KRAUSE MIAMI BEACH — In David Greenspan’s winning adaptation of Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer-Prize winning 1927 novel, “The Bridge of San Luis Rey,” the adapter describes a Peruvian performer as possessing “wit and grace, intelligence, elegance and command of rhyme.” Of course, one can attribute the same qualities to...
Measure for Measure’s ‘In the Heights’ is touching, electric
Photo by Kelly Johnson Abuela (Sophia Molfetas) and Usnavi (Spencer Landis) perform in Measure for Measure Theatre Company’s production of In the Heights. By AARON KRAUSE SUNRISE — A strong sense of culture, community and camaraderie pervades Washington Heights in the award-winning Measure for Measure Theatre Company’s solid...
New City Players rise to the challenge of presenting the touching, honest play, ‘Falling’
Photo courtesy of New City Players Tami (Arlette Del Torro) comforts her 18-year-old severely autistic son, Josh (Timothy Davis) in New City Players’ production of Falling. By AARON KRAUSE FT. LAUDERDALE — Characters either prepare sweet foods or eat them in Falling, Deanna Jent’s heartfelt, empathy-building and beautifully-written play....
Les Miz remains a favorite due to upbeat messages, breathtaking songs
Photo by Mattthew Murphy Nick Cartell appears as a transformed, polished Jean Valjean in a U.S. touring production of Les Miserables. By AARON KRAUSE FT. LAUDERDALE — Even after witnessing Les Miserables for the umpteenth time, this beloved British megamusical from the 1980’s somehow re-assures us anew...
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...
‘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...
