In unsettling times like these, ‘Hairspray’ is a balm…and a call to action
Photo courtesy of Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre Tracy Turnblad (Adee David), center, introduces herself as the newest dancer on the “Corny Collins Show” in Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre’s production of Hairspray. I saw and reviewed the production at the Indianapolis theater last fall. By AARON KRAUSE My...
Artist and advocate during the AIDS crisis dies at 84
Larry Kramer Photo by David Shankbone via Wikimedia Commons Larry Kramer, a fiercely passionate playwright, screenwriter, and advocate whom many credited with jump-starting the response to the HIV/AIDS crisis in America, has died in Manhattan. He was 84 and less than a month from his 85th birthday. His husband,...
Drama Desk Awards postponed
Due to “breaking news events” in New York this weekend, “Spectrum News NY1″ and the Drama Desk organization postponed the Drama Desk Awards. Officials will re-schedule the ceremony. They had originally planned the broadcast for Sunday, May 31. “The Drama Desk celebrates all that’s outstanding in...
This theatrical experience allows you to safely ‘travel’ around the world.
Photo by PopUp Theatrics June Romero awaits you in Miami. By AARON KRAUSE In a matter of hours, you can laugh in Miami, sing “Happy Birthday” in Paris, and kick some butt in Singapore. To zoom from one destination to another, you don’t need a passport, a suitcase...
Online exhibition showcases the lone artist, performer
Self Portrait in Barber Chair, 1989 © The Al Hirschfeld Foundation. All rights reserved. www.AlHirschfeldFoundation.org There is an art to being alone. And at least when it comes to the theater, few have captured that art on paper better than the legendary Al Hirschfeld. Hirschfeld (1903-2003) was an...
National award-winning play shows “How the Light Gets In.”
By AARON KRAUSE “It’s about finding the courage to reach each other during the darkest and most difficult times,” said the winner of a national new play award for her piece, How the Light Gets In. From her description, it sounds like playwright E.M. Lewis penned her award-winning play...
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...
Creating scenes of intimacy safely, seamlessly and convincingly on stage
Photo by Kiaa Janell Spencer Landis as Usnavi and Lauren Horgan as Vanessa appear in a scene from Measure for Measure’s production of In the Heights. Obviously, the scene required a moment of intimacy, which Intimacy Choreographer Nicole Perry staged. By AARON KRAUSE Even before the current strain...
Renowned playwright Terrence McNally dies at 81
By AARON KRAUSE SARASOTA, Fla. — Five-time Tony Award recipient Terrence McNally, the world-renowned playwright who received the Tony Awards’ Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre honor last year, died March 24 in Sarasota. He was 81 . Photo via Wikimedia McNally succumbed to complications from COVID-19, the disease caused by...