‘Tootsie’ tickles the funny bone, inspires in national tour

‘Tootsie’ tickles the funny bone, inspires in national tour

Photo by Evan Zimmerman Jeff Slater (Jared David Michael Grant) looks on amusingly as Michael Dorsey (Drew Becker) argues with Sandy Lester (Payton Reilly) in a non-equity national touring production of Tootsie.    By AARON KRAUSE There is at least one time for celebration in Tootsie, the engaging and compelling,...

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‘Joe Papp at the Ballroom’ offers an up-close look at a legend

‘Joe Papp at the Ballroom’ offers an up-close look at a legend

Photo by Magnus Stark Avi Hoffman appears as Joe Papp   By AARON KRAUSE If you wish to catch The Music Man on Broadway, a seat about four rows from the stage will cost you $714. That is not a misprint. And if you decide instead to sit in the...

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‘Shakespeare is a White Supremacist’ a timely wake-up call

‘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...

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Inaugural Broadway in Broward season starts with compelling ‘West Side Story’

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...

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Stage adaptation of ‘Tootsie’ improves upon the film

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...

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New City Players’ bleak ‘Macbeth’ reflects the zeitgeist

New City Players’ bleak ‘Macbeth’ reflects the zeitgeist

      Photo courtesy of New City Players Macbeth (Seth Trucks) makes a point to his wife, Lady Macbeth (Laura Plyler) in New City Players’ production of “The Scottish Play.”   By AARON KRAUSE FT. LAUDREDALE — If you ask most people, they may tell you that they’ve always...

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Florida Shakespeare Theater’s uneven Romeo and Juliet is on the move  

Florida Shakespeare Theater’s uneven Romeo and Juliet is on the move  

Logo taken from https://www.shakespearemiami.com. By AARON KRAUSE PINECREST, Fla. — While Florida Shakespeare Theater’s current production of Romeo and Juliet offers strong moments, the production mostly fails to touch – and break – one’s heart. Any successful mounting of this play requires heartfelt, passionate chemistry between the title characters. Unfortunately, there’s practically no...

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Prolific theater artist finds a welcoming permanent working home in Wilton Manors

Prolific theater artist finds a welcoming permanent working home in Wilton Manors

  Larsen  (Photo by Christian Caroll)   By AARON KRAUSE For renowned theater artist Ronnie Larsen, “the roots are setting very deep” in Wilton Manors. “It just feels right to stay here,” said the 50-year-old affable man. Larsen has worked in theater in a variety of capacities for most of his life....

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Love, Linda offers a stylish, charming recollection of the Porters’ starry marriage

Love, Linda offers a stylish, charming recollection of the Porters’ starry marriage

  Photo courtesy of publicist Daniel Demello Stevie Holland as Linda Porter in Love, Linda: The Life of Mrs. Cole Porter By AARON KRAUSE NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. — By Linda Porter’s own admission, the 1946 film Night and Day portrays the “perfect” love story between Porter and her husband,...

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Playwright Lauren Gunderson wins prestigious critics award

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...

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