With a new year comes readings of new plays

With a new year comes readings of new plays

  South Florida residents and visitors will have several chances this month and in April to help develop new work for live theater. First, Palm Beach Dramaworks (PBD) will hold its annual Perlberg Festival of New Plays from Friday, Jan. 17 through Sunday, Jan. 19. The venue is the professional,...

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Modern version of ‘The Fantasticks’ soars at Island City Stage

Modern version of ‘The Fantasticks’ soars at Island City Stage

Photo by Matthew Tippins Kevin Hincapie and Jonny Lee played lovers in Island City Stage’s production of an LGBTQ rewrite of The Fantasticks.   By AARON KRAUSE Whether it’s between a man and a woman, two men, two women, two robots, or two animals, love is love. A modern version...

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PBD: Get lost in award-winning ‘Lost in Yonkers’

PBD: Get lost in award-winning ‘Lost in Yonkers’

  By AARON KRAUSE When you hear the name Neil Simon, perhaps the first thing that comes to mind is comedy. Indeed, the late great playwright’s early work is most notable for, among other things, snappy one-liners. But Simon’s talent extends beyond his ability to make people laugh. This is...

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Theatre Lab’s ‘The Last Yiddish Speaker’ is haunting

Theatre Lab’s ‘The Last Yiddish Speaker’ is haunting

Photo by Morgan Sophia Photography Chava (Patti Gardner) and Sarah (Gemma Berg) enjoy an easy rapport in The Last Yiddish Speaker.” Looking on is Sarah’s father, Paul (Stephen Schnetzer).    By AARON KRAUSE Forget ghosts and goblins. Deborah Zoe Laufer’s frightening and moving drama, The Last Yiddish Speaker, centers on...

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New Broadway Touring seasons announced for Miami, Ft. Lauderdale

New Broadway Touring seasons announced for Miami, Ft. Lauderdale

If you live in South Florida and fear that you won’t be able to get to New York City to see MJ The Musical on Broadway, you will have two chances to see the four-time Tony Award-Winning hit locally. Specifically, the Broadway touring production of MJ The Musical will come...

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Temptation to linger on Lincoln Road

Temptation to linger on Lincoln Road

Photo courtesy of Ernesto Sempoll Mia Matthews and Gerald McCullouch play sparring siblings in a play about greed, All I Want is Everything, part of Miami New Drama’s Seven Deadly Sins.   Miami Beach’s Lincoln Road will remain sinful for at least 15 more days. After weeks of sold-out performances, Miami...

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Which new plays will receive top national awards?

Which new plays will receive top national awards?

By AARON KRAUSE Six finalists for a prestigious national new play award share in common at least one timely theme, according to a new plays committee chairman. Specifically, The American Theatre Critics Association’s Lou Harry said that “a yearning for connectivity — and astute awareness of the challenges to forging...

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This ‘Forum’ is a hoot at MNM Theatre Company

This ‘Forum’ is a hoot at MNM Theatre Company

  Photo by Amy Pasquantonio Johnbarry Green (left) appears as Pseudolus and Michael Scott Ross as Hysterium in MNM Theatre Company’s production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.    By AARON KRAUSE WEST PALM BEACH — “Think of musical comedy, the  most glorious words in the English...

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Complex, relatable Precious Little succeeds in a big way at Thinking Cap Theatre

Complex, relatable Precious Little succeeds in a big way at Thinking Cap Theatre

  Photo by Nicole Stodard Brodie (Sabrina Lynn Gore, back) is intrigued — and comforted — by an ape, played by Carol Sussman in Precious Little.   By AARON KRAUSE FT. LAUDERDALE — Awww, isn’t it cute how the little monkey with sad, puppy-dog eyes is sucking on a pacifier?...

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Director learns from actors while staging complex classic ‘A Raisin in the Sun’

Director learns from actors while staging complex classic ‘A Raisin in the Sun’

(Ryan Arnst Photography/Courtesy) Walter Lee Younger (Jovon Jacobs) is in obvious agony. Jacobs plays a suffering, flawed offspring in New City Players’ powerful production of A Raisin in the Sun.   By AARON KRAUSE FT. LAUDERDALE — The prospect of directing A Raisin in the Sun thrilled Mary Elizabeth Gundlach....

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