Critics group bestows thousands of dollars in new play awards
A national theater critics organization has presented more than $40,000 in awards to four playwrights to recognize their prestigious accomplishments. The American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA) presented Chiara Atik with the Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award for one of her plays, Poor Clare. The...
Perhaps you’ve never heard of this ‘Cowboy.’
Photo courtesy of Christa Ingraham Theater artist Layon Gray directs and stars as deputy U.S. marshal Bass Reeves in M Ensemble’s Cowboy. By AARON KRAUSE If I don’t tell the stories, who will? It’s not just a rhetorical question but an attitude through which multi award-winning theater artist Layon...
‘Black Theatre is for everyone’
By AARON KRAUSE WINSTON SALEM, N.C. — Larry Leon Hamlin, the late founder of The National Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, N.C., would likely have described the 2019 event using a favorite word he coined – “marvtastic,” a combination of “marvelous” and “fantastic.” Indeed, ticket sales were...
‘La Cage’ marks a remarkable debut for Stage Door Theatre at new venue
Photo by George Wentzler Some of the La Cage aux folles’ girls surround Georges (Jamie Michael Parnell) with feather-like materials. By AARON KRAUSE LAUDERHILL, Fla. — …So hold this moment fast…and make this moment last. Surely, these lyrics from La Cage Aux Folles are apropos for Stage Door Theatre’s...
Amid the remote Wisconsin countryside, a hidden theatrical gem beckons
Photo by Liz Lauren Billie Dawn (Colleen Madden) resists attempts by Harry Brock (David Daniel) to control her in American Players Theatre’s production of Born Yesterday. By AARON KRAUSE SPRING GREEN, Wisc. — It’s tucked away amid 110 acres of hilly woods and meadows near this town of about 1,600...
GableStage’s riveting ‘I’m Gonna Pray For You So Hard’ is a hit
(Photo by George Schiavone) David (Tom Aulino) seems more interested in his booze than his daughter, Ella, in GableStage’s production of I’m Gonna Pray For You So Hard. CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Our desire for affirmation that others value us is sometimes as strong as our hydration needs on...
New universally-relevant McKeever play receives strong world premiere
(Photo by George Wentzler) Mr. Parker (Michael McKeever) and Justin (Samuel Maya) enjoy a playful moment in the world premiere production of Mr. Parker. WILTON MANORS, Fla. — You don’t have to be gay to find resonance in Mr. Parker, a funny, touching play receiving its world premiere at Island...
Partnership between Cincinnati theater companies should appeal to Bard, history buffs
(Photos courtesy of Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati) Othello (William Oliver Watkins) tries to reason with Iago (Nicholas Rose) to no avail in Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s production of Othello. At right are cast members of Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati’s production of Red Velvet. CINCINNATI — Theater...
Simon’s one-liners are a nice respite in these frightening times
Photo by George Wentzler From left, Al Lewis (Peter Librach) and Willie Clark (Michael H. Small) don’t exactly see eye-to-eye in Broward Stage Door’s production of Neil Simon’s The Sunshine Boys. MARGATE — As you hear his one-liners zing from the mouth of one character to the ear of another,...
Playwright Lauren Gunderson wins prestigious critics award
Gunderson (photo by Charles Giuliano) Playwright Lauren Gunderson is officially the first repeat winner of a prestigious award from a group of theater critics . Four years after she received a top award from the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA) for her play I and You, the writer recently won...