Death and Harry Houdini amazes with captivating magic
By AARON KRAUSE MIAMI — It’s not every day that famed magician and escape artist Harry Houdini flings playing cards at you, interacts with you and even calls you up as a volunteer to participate in one of his tricks. Then again, it’s not every day that you witness a...
Slow Burn Theatre Company’s ‘Aida’ contains emotional depth
FT. LAUDERDALE — “Love Transcends Death” is a poem by Naoimh Spence, but it’s also a powerful premise in several theatrical shows, including “Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida,” a heartfelt, touching tale of honor, loyalty and forbidden love which is receiving a remarkable production by the Carbonell Award-winning, Ft. Lauderdale-based Slow Burn...
Touring ‘Matilda’ is a theatrical experience to remember and cherish
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. — You can associate any one of many ferocious animals with the formidable, fiendish, she-devil of a school headmistress, Agatha Trunchbull, in renown author Roald Dahl’s beloved tale “Matilda.” But it’s safe to say we all become mother bears whenever we watch adults – particularly of the...
Could Beckett’s world in ‘Godot’ be a preview of a bleak future world?
By AARON KRAUSE BOCA RATON, Fla. — With a Trumpian America in full swing, and the resulting uncertainty, fear and dread of many citizens, not just those of the U.S., perhaps it’s time to look at the much-analyzed and confounding “Waiting for Godot” through a dystopian, futuristic lens. Seeing Samuel...
‘No Way to Treat a Lady’ hampered by one-dimensional performance at Broward Stage Door Theatre
MARGATE, Fla. — There are times when we like bad, even horrible people. Look no further than musicals such as “Peter Pan” (who doesn’t like, or at least have fun with Captain Hook?) “Chicago,” “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder,” and “Sweeney Todd.” Characters in these types of shows...
Promising new play receives riveting world premiere by Ft. Lauderdale-area theater company
WILTON MANORS, Fla. — Like a speeding bulldozer crushing everything in its path, a nightmarish past comes barreling back into the lives of two lesbians about to get married in “Son,” a new work by playwright James L. Beller Jr. The promising new play, which needs work, is receiving its...
‘Jersey Boys’ music still resonates with audiences if Miami audience is any measuring stick
Their music has become so well-known and popular that a song barely begins before thunderous clapping fills the auditorium. During a recent performance, the audience’ clapping was so loud and sustained at various points that hands, no doubt, turned as red as roses offered with love on Valentine’s Day. Roughly...
LBJ depicted with vivid detail in Actors’ Playhouse powerful production of ‘All the Way’
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Imagine that a bunch of folks have hoisted you into the air with your stomach facing down. They’re engaged in a tug-of-war of sorts with you and the groups oppose each other: One group pulls you hard by the right arm, another by the left arm,...
Palm Beach Dramaworks lives up to its motto with lively staing of cerebral ‘Arcadia’
WEST PALM BEACH — Some plays require preparation before seeing them, even for the most sophisticated theatergoers. You can’t just walk into the theater knowing nothing about the work and expect to be able to easily follow it without getting frustrated. Tom Stoppard’s Olivier-Award-winning “Arcadia” is such a work. If...
‘Dry Powder’ isn’t dry theater as GableStage’s powerful production proves
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The two characters with opposing views in “Dry Powder,” a scorching, relevant, riveting and unpredictable comic-drama set in the high-stakes world of big-city finance, might as well wear protective helmets and faceguards. There’s enough verbal combat to leave the combatants bloody and bruised if the power...