Imaginative play about autistic youngster also raises awareness
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Many parents who speak about their special-needs children would probably rather talk about what their youngsters can do. In other words, they’d prefer to stress “ability” in the less-than-politically-correct phrase “disability” – even while acknowledging that their sons and daughters have limitations. Similarly, the stage...
Powerful world premiere of topical play in production at Miami’s Zoetic Stage
MIAMI, Fla. — “Now what?!” The uncomfortably-spoken words hover disturbingly in the air as though the speaker’s future shroud hung above her. “Now what” are the words we don’t hear after the sadness, shock and horror caused by school shootings and bullying-related suicides have subsided…and the lives of the immediately-affected...
Through silence, trauma is passed down like a genetic disease in gripping Holocaust play
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. — Ironically, in order for us and others to heal and look toward a brighter future, sometimes we need to re-open old wounds — even though they may still feel as raw as recently-inflicted, fresh injuries. Seventy-nine-year-old Esther Gold arrives at that realization in “From Silence,”...
Production features a rich portrait of artist ahead of her time
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. — Some authors may no longer be alive, but their spirit and work will endure with fans and literature aficionados forever. One such writer is Zora Neale Hurston, the writer and anthropologist whose skill and indomitable spirit lives on 125 years after her birth. She’s perhaps...
Off-Broadway production of ‘One Flea Spare’ captures language’s beauty, relevance to our times
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. — You might not want to wear your best shoes to Playhouse Creatures Theatre Company’s riveting Off-Broadway production of Naomi Wallace’s play “One Flea Spare.” Your footwear will get muddied before the afternoon or evening is over, due to a smart directorial choice by Caitlin McLeod,...
A well-tuned ‘Song’ playing at Boca Raton’s Wick Theatre
BOCA RATON, Fla. — She originated the role of Annie in the musical with the same name in 1977. Today, almost 40 years later, you’ll find Andrea McArdle on the Wick Theatre stage, co-starring in a musical that made its Broadway debut just about two years after her Broadway bow....
Slow Burn Theatre Company’s ‘Hunchback of Notre Dame’ mostly triumphs
Slow Burn Theatre Company’s ‘Hunchback of Notre Dame’ mostly triumphs FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. — If artistic directors follow Ft. Lauderdale-based Slow Burn Theatre Company’s lead in staging the excellent musical version of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” it might not be long before the show plays Broadway. That will please...
GableStage displays fine touch with humorous, off-beat ‘Hand to God’
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The charming, seemingly innocent puppet appears in the light and starts to speak in a Sesame Street-like sweet tone. If you only heard the tone of his voice, you’d find it harmless to bring your 4-year-old to the show. This could be a great introduction to...
Outre Theatre’s ‘The Normal Heart’ is gripping theater
BOCA RATON, Fla. — Gripping, immediate theater has the potential to make a horrific period in history seem as though it’s happening in real time, making us tremble with fear all over again. That’s the case with Outre Theatre Company’s top-notch production of “The Normal Heart,” Larry Kramer’s largely autobiographical...