Review by CATHY MATHIAS. Perfectly timed with the Easter season, Cocoa Village Playhouse is now presenting “Jesus Christ Superstar.” It’s also timely because the theater world is celebrating 40 years of the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber with a new international arena tour, a UK television special and a Blu-Ray DVD...
Review: “Into the Woods” at MCT
By Pam Harbaugh There’s something scary out there. And your children won’t listen. And your lovers leave you when you’re only halfway through. But despite the fear, the reality and the promise of death, you can’t avoid going into the woods. After all, it’s life. Those are only some of the...
U.S. THEATER CRITICS NAME SIX FINALISTS FOR NATION’S LARGEST NEW PLAY AWARD
Here is a press release announcing six new plays selected as finalists in this year’s Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award: The American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA) has selected six finalists for the Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award, recognizing playwrights for the...
Review: “Les Miserables” at Riverside Theatre
By Pam Harbaugh From the depths of despair to the heights of nobility, the epic tale of redemption resonates with power and an almost religious zeal in Riverside Theater’s magnificent production of “Les Miserables.” With book by composer Claude-Michel Schonberg and lyricist Alain Boublil, English adaptation by Trevor Nunn and John...
Review: Orlando Shakespeare Theatre’s “Sense and Sensibility”
Orlando Shakespeare Theatre serves up a delectable theatrical confection with its sterling production of “Sense and Sensibility.” Adapted by Jon Jory from the Jane Austen novel, the play is set in the English countryside during the early 1800s. The setting is of exacting importance. It informs the action, the characters, theme...
Review: “Last Call” at Upstairs at the Henegar
Comic actress and improvisation coach Jessica Taylor reveals yet another side of her talents with her original play “Last Call,” on stage now at the intimate Upstairs at the Henegar venue. Set in a nondescript bar in what you might call an “every town,” the comedy concerns bartender Hank (the always...
Review: “Build Me Up Buttercup: The Musical”
By Pam Harbaugh Cocoa Village Playhouse sets the stage with what could evolve into a smash “jukebox musical” with the world premiere of Tony Macaulay’s fun, colorful and engaging “Build Me Up Buttercup: The Musical.” With the appeal of big musicals like “Mamma Mia!” and “Jersey Boys,” the theater is a...
Review: Riverside Theatre’s “Red”
By PAM HARBAUGH Riverside Theatre, so very well known for its sumptuous, professional mainstage productions, proves it has the dramatic stuff as well with its artful, smart and sophisticated second-stage production of John Logan’s brilliant play, “Red.” This Tony Award winning drama revolves around painter Mark Rothko, known for his works...
Review: “On Golden Pond”
Actors Bill Lembeck and Linda Lawson Jones show how it’s done in Melbourne Civic Theatre’s top rate production of “On Golden Pond.” Written by Ernest Thompson, this 1979 play concerns an aging couple — Norman and Ethel Thayer. Every year, they spend the summer at a lakeside home at Golden Pond...
Review: “Funny Girl”
“Funny Girl,” on stage now at Riverside Theatre in Vero Beach, has the professional theater’s insistence on good music well sung, fun and frothy production numbers, and a handsome look, especially in the costume design. However, it lacks the “pop” we have come to expect from Riverside. Written by Isobel Lennart...