Current Stage Shows

Air, Fire, Water: Jim Tommaney's three short plays range widely in subject and effectiveness but stick to a central tone of foreboding. In Air, a speaker opposed to the war in Iraq is threatened by shadowy government operatives. In Fire, a psychiatric patient menaces his therapist. In the best of...

September 30, 2004

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "19274298",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17482312",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18711090",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17482310",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18711090",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17482313",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

Air, Fire, Water: Jim Tommaney's three short plays range widely in subject and effectiveness but stick to a central tone of foreboding. In Air, a speaker opposed to the war in Iraq is threatened by shadowy government operatives. In Fire, a psychiatric patient menaces his therapist. In the best of the trio, Water, a modern-day Cassandra has a dire prediction for South Beach. The production suffers from Edge Theatre's usual bare-bones style -- no set design and awful lighting -- but Mitchell Carrey's professional direction is a decided plus, as is the performance of Kirsten Upchurch as Cassandra. -- Ronald Mangravite Through October 3 at the Art Temple, 7141 Indian Creek Dr., Miami Beach. October 8 through 17 at the Main Street Playhouse, 6766 Main St., Miami Lakes. Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00, Sundays at 3:00. 305-531-6083.

Once on This Island: Reviewed in this issue. Through October 17. Presented by the African-American Performing Arts Community Theatre. Liberty Square Community Center, 6304 NW Fourteenth Ave., Miami. 305-751-4043 or [email protected].

Wait and See: Peripatetic playwright Michael McKeever's latest effort has to do with a plane-crash survivor who appears to have acquired supernatural powers. His psychiatrist is sympathetic but skeptical while a defrocked nun thinks he's the son of God. What develops is a cautionary tale of media manipulation and religious chicanery. The production is graced by Barbara Lowery's simple, effective direction and an assured cast of four, but the didactic narrative structure (the play is staged as a formal investigation with flashbacks) tends to mute the story's emotional punch. -- Ronald Mangravite Through October 3. New Theatre, 4120 Laguna Street, Coral Gables. 305-443-5909 or www.new-theatre.org.

KEEP NEW TIMES FREE... Since we started New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Miami, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.