Comedy of Errors: This uneven take on Shakespeare’s early comedy is an odd mingling of the hapless and the intriguing. The old tale of mistaken identity among not one but two sets of identical twins is given a film noir look from the Forties, a choice that has visual appeal…
Any production of a Shakespeare play, no matter how flawed, can uncover unexpected layers of meaning. Take Hollywood Boulevard Theatre’s threadbare Comedy of Errors, now at the Hollywood Playhouse. Tyro director Paul Waxman utterly fails to get the most basic staging right; his direction sometimes consists of actors wandering pointlessly…
BecauseHeCan: Arthur Kopit’s cautionary tale of a New York couple plagued by a crazed computer hacker is only five or so years old, but it already feels very dated. It’s obvious from the start that the creep is hacking computers, yet this information is served up as the Big Surprise…
Anyone for numerology? Many cultures are keen on the study of numbers for their mystical powers. Visit certain immigrant neighborhoods in southern California, and you’ll find plenty of addresses with the number eight in them but none with the number four. That’s because eight is revered as a sign of…
Without a lot of fanfare but before an immensely appreciative crowd, the most exciting orchestra in town was born last weekend at the Byron Carlyle Theater in Miami Beach. Livio Tragtenberg’s Nervous City Orchestra, an only-in-Miami version of the Brazilian composer’s 2004 Neuropolis, was a premiere, a celebration of the…
Aida: A powerhouse trio of principals makes the Actors’ Playhouse Aida a fabulously entertaining evening of theater and one of the season’s happiest surprises. For those who already love the show, here is a chance to experience the Elton John-Tim Rice score persuasively, passionately sung and acted by Desmon N…
This is how it all begins: Night falls, a group of people — a family, a clan, a tribe — gathers around a campfire. The flames crackle, the wind whispers, and under the starry sky, one person begins to tell a story. As the tale unwinds, the tale teller shifts…
Going from strength to strength in the Light Box Studio, Here & Now 2005 radiates the unmistakable glow of success. Fast on the heels of new works by Octavio Campos and Joanne Barrett came two new pieces unveiled last week: a winning tap-dance fantasy with a hip-hop edge called What?!?…
Aida: A powerhouse trio of principals makes the Actors’ Playhouse Aida a fabulously entertaining evening of theater and one of the season’s happiest surprises. For those who already love the show, here is a chance to experience the Elton John-Tim Rice score persuasively, passionately sung and acted by Desmon N…
The latest edition of the Miami Light Project’s signature commissioning program designed to nurture Miami-based artists, Here & Now 2005, is also its first co-production with the incipient Miami Performing Arts Center. Unveiled last week and continuing with a second program through Monday, March 28, at the Light Box, this…
It can’t possibly be their fault, so don’t blame the stars. In fact give Lucie Arnaz and Elizabeth Ashley two points for doing everything humanly possible to try making Ann and Debbie work. All their glamour, presence, acting and overacting, terrific timing, gorgeous legs and distinctive voices, together with wishing,…
Aida: A powerhouse trio of principals makes the Actors’ Playhouse Aida a fabulously entertaining evening of theater and one of the season’s happiest surprises. For those who already love the show, here is a chance to experience the Elton John-Tim Rice score persuasively, passionately sung and acted by Desmon N…
A formidable trio of principals makes the Actors’ Playhouse Aida a fabulously entertaining evening of theater. For those who already love the show, here is a chance to experience the Elton John-Tim Rice score persuasively, passionately sung and acted by Desmon N. Walker, Christopher A. Kent, and Melanie Penn –…
Edward Albee’s Seascape is all talk and no action, but what talk it is. The Pulitzer Prize-winning play presents themes of evolution both in the literal, Darwinian sense as well as in the notion of the long relationship of married couple Nancy (Joanna Olsen) and Charlie (John Felix). Nancy and…
Edge: This one-woman show about the tormented life of poet Sylvia Plath features a startling, riveting performance by Angelica Torn that blazes as fiercely as Plath’s poetry. Paul Alexander’s play depicts Plath’s failed romances and suicide attempts, and excoriates her husband Ted Hughes as a controlling monster who profited mightily…
The Diaries, a mess of a play now being presented at the New Theatre in Coral Gables, begins with the suggestion of something much better. A young American scholar is about to give a talk on campus on the subject of his Nazi grandfather’s diaries, a controversial document that may…
Edge: This one-woman show about the tormented life of poet Sylvia Plath features a startling, riveting performance by Angelica Torn that blazes as fiercely as Plath’s poetry. Paul Alexander’s play depicts Plath’s failed romances and suicide attempts, and excoriates her husband Ted Hughes as a controlling monster who profited mightily…
With Saint Patrick’s Day on the horizon, the Irish are likely to briefly re-enter the public consciousness, even here in South Florida, which is hardly a Celtic stronghold. Beyond the usual beer and blarney, even the most casual thoughts of Ireland tend to center on its long struggle with foreign…
Good news. The Promethean Theatre is a young company to watch, and its debut production of Orange Flower Water is as exciting as it is promising. Directed by Margaret M. Ledford with a keen eye for detail, the local premiere of Craig Wright’s intense domestic drama treks through familiar territory…
Centenarian sisters Sadie and Bessie Delany fondly reminisce about their first 100 years in Having Our Say, a delightful though at times tiresome new production by the African-American Performing Arts Community Theatre. The setting couldn’t be more appealing: As the curtain parts, it unveils a modest, lived-in dwelling with a…
Action: Mad Cat Theatre Company’s new production of this Sam Shepard one-act play has a lot going on: screaming and chair-throwing, fish-filleting on stage, what looks like a Pollo Tropical chicken passing for a Christmas turkey, lots of drooly finger-licking, spiffy winter clothes, and the sounds of a nasty snowstorm…
To many, modern art is all about provocation. That was the case with gonzo journalist and novelist Hunter S. Thompson, whose booze- and drug-fueled rants were the stuff of popular legend for decades before he committed suicide last week. Trailing along in Thompson’s wake is Eric Bogosian, a theatrical provocateur…
