New City Players to tackle race, resistance, and resilience in ‘Confederates’
Cast members Gemma Berg, Toddra Brunson, Nai Fairweather, and Denzel-McCausland. By AARON KRAUSE When you think of live theater during the summer, lighthearted, escapist fare may spring to mind. Understandably so — in the sweltering heat, who wouldn’t want to sit back, relax, and simply enjoy the show? But while...
‘Some Like it Hot’ sizzles as it tours Florida
Photo by Matthew Murphy Tavis Kordell as Jerry/Daphne plays opposite to Matt Loehr’s Joe/Josephine in the equity touring production of Some Like it Hot. By AARON KRAUSE No offence to Marilyn Monroe, but her likable character in the 1959 classic comedy film Some Like it Hot is still little...
Palm Beach Dramaworks presents a shattering ‘Topdog/Underdog’
Photo by Alicia Donelan Booth (Jovon Jacobs, right) concentrates heavily as Lincoln (George Anthony Richardson) demonstrates how to deftly operate a three-card monte game in Palm Beach Dramaworks’ production of Topdog/Underdog. By AARON KRAUSE If a prize existed for malicious jokes, you would have to nominate the father of...
‘Intimate Apparel’ is a fine fit at Palm Beach Dramaworks
Jason Nuttle Photography George Armstrong (Jovon Jacobs) and Esther Mills Armstrong (Rita Cole) share an intimate moment in Palm Beach Dramaworks’ current production of Intimate Apparel. By AARON KRAUSE The nonprofit, professional company, Palm Beach Dramaworks (PBD), has fashioned a fine production of Lynn Nottage’s award-winning play, Intimate...
New touring ‘Hairspray’ is mostly a hit
Photo by Jeremy Daniel Tracy Turnblad (Niki Metcalf) and Edna Turnblad (Andrew Levitt) appear in a scene from a new non-equity national touring production of Hairspray. By AARON KRAUSE Ever since Niki Metcalf witnessed the original 2002 Broadway production of the hit musical comedy, Hairspray, the young New York-based...
‘Shakespeare is a White Supremacist’ a timely wake-up call
Photo courtesy of Olimac Media Actress (Erin Christine Wilbanks) and Macbeth (Roderick Randle) act out a tense moment. By AARON KRAUSE In his eye-opening, smart, incisive, and drily funny new play, Shakespeare is a White Supremacist, Andrew Watring doesn’t mince words while describing the problem live theater, and...
Sparks fly in New Normal Rep’s riveting ‘Lines in the Dust’
© New Normal Rep The cast of New Normal Rep’s production of Lines in the Dust comprises (from left) Lisa Rosetta Strum as Dr. Beverly Long, Melissa Joyner as Denitra Morgan, and Jeffrey Bean as Mike DiMaggio. By AARON KRAUSE All Denitra Morgan wants is for her daughter,...
‘A Bronx Tale’ shines in Ft. Myers
Photo courtesy of Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre. Characters are in heavy concentration in Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre’s production of A Bronx Tale. By AARON KRAUSE When it comes to musicals, A Bronx Tale is not one of the great ones. Still, it’s a crowd-pleasing, familiar tale populated...
ICS’ ‘The Niceties’ neatly captures the zeitgeist
Photo by Matthew Tippins Zoe (Rachel Michelle Bryant) is clearly unhappy with her professor (Lisa Kay King) in Island City Stage’s production of The Niceties. By AARON KRAUSE “What are you doing to promote equality?” a black college student demands of her white professor in Eleanor Burgess’s taut, intense,...
Watch the world premieres of five short musicals
Could the next Hamilton or Dear Evan Hansen emerge from a musical theater partnership in the Cleveland area? A collaboration between the Beck Center for the Arts and the Baldwin Wallace University Music Theatre Program has existed for 10 years. And this month, the collaborating partners will present five...