Provocative dark comedy seeks to light a fire under audiences regarding climate change
(Photo by George Schiavone) MIAMI SHORES — A “hurricane party” hardly refers to a celebration involving University of Miami sports teams in the new, clever, satirical comedy Firemen are Rarely Necessary, set partly in Miami in a not-too-distant future. Normally when a mammoth hurricane is about to make landfall in...
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...
Pollution, Power, and the People: ‘A Class Act’ Hits Hard
Pictured from left are Rick Prada as John Dubliner, Ben Paryz as Ignatio Perez, Carey Brianna Hart as Dorothy Pilsner, and Johnbarry Green as Edward Duchamp. By AARON KRAUSE “These big corporations are getting away with murder,” declares a character in Norman Shabel’s gripping play, A Class Act....
City Theatre’s Summer Shorts returns with satire, scripts in hand, and a new venue
Jannelys Santos as Rhonda Sanchez in Summer Shorts Festival Hosted by Rhonda Sanchez. By AARON KRAUSE This year’s Summer Shorts Festival, presented by City Theatre, will look different from previous editions. For instance, this year’s version will run just four days—down from more than two weeks in 2024. Actors will...
Island City Stage Delivers a Precise, Potent ‘Dying Gaul’
Photo by Dennis Dean A complicated romantic triangle develops between (from left) Jeffrey (Amir Darvish), Elaine (Autumn Kioti) and Robert (Jorge Amador) in Island City Stage’s impressive production of Craig Lucas’s play, The Dying Gaul. By AARON KRAUSE The set design for Island City Stage’s (ICS) intense, believable, and...
Fornés’s ‘Mud’ Dares to Show Us the Brutality Beneath Poverty
Photo by Nat Ordonez Juan Gamero and Calia Katz in Latine Theater Lab’s inaugural production of Maria Irene Fornes’s powerful play, Mud. By AARON KRAUSE Launching a new theater company with a live production can be frightening. But Latine Theater Lab founding artistic director Alex Gonzalez shows courage by...
Nature and nostalgia unite in POW’s Innovative Staging of ‘The Sound of Music’
Maria Rainer (Abbey Alder) embraces nature and music in POW’s production of The Sound of Music. By AARON KRAUSE The von Trapp children energetically circle Maria Rainer in a fresh, believable South Florida production of The Sound of Music—one that is as smart as it is lively. But the...
Palm Beach Dramaworks co-founders to receive prestigious honor
Photo by Curtis Brown Photography William Hayes and Sue Ellen Beryl In December 2000, in a rundown, soon-to-be-demolished theatre at Palm Beach Atlantic University, a new nonprofit theatre company staged its first-ever production. Its apt title: Greetings! Starting out with a shoestring budget of $10,000 — which included...
‘Dangerous Instruments’ is a harrowing, human story we cannot afford to ignore
Photo by Curtis Brown Photography “Cool Mr. P” (Matt Stabile) comforts single mother Laura Hammond in Palm Beach Dramaworks’ world premiere production of Dangerous Instruments by Gina Montet. By AARON KRAUSE The determined and desperate mom in playwright and educator Gina Montet’s new play, Dangerous Instruments, shakes with despair....
Latiné Theater Lab launches in South Florida with Fornés’s Mud
By AARON KRAUSE Alex Gonzalez is “thrilled to be back where I belong – creating art and building something meaningful through theater.” Specifically, the Miami native is building Latiné Theater Lab, one of South Florida’s newest nonprofit, professional theater companies. The group is preparing for its debut production: Mud...
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ ‘Purpose,’ Rob Ulin’s ‘Judgement Day’ earn top honors from critics
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins Rob Ulin Playwrights Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and Rob Ulin are among this year’s recipients of major national awards presented annually by theater critics. Jacobs’ play, Purpose, has received the 2025 Pulitzer Prize...