Thursday, December 18, 2008

The Boys are Back in Town

Christine Dolen reports that Gary Waldman and Jamison Troutman are back.

The partners have produced shows all over South Florida and now they have returned to the 26th Street Theater in Wilton Manors. True to form, they are hyping the 30 year old building as "South Florida's Historic Playhouse."

Originally a small movie theater, the space was converted to a legitimate stage house in 1988 by Brian C. Smith. After his organization closed, it was a second facility for Broward Stage Door until two years ago. Stage Door rotated between mounting their own shows and renting the space out to other companies. Several of those companies were reportedly in negotiation for the space at one time or another, but nothing came of that - until now.

Waldman and Troutman have a ..colorful...history in South Florida. Insiders might describe them as having had a string of failed companies, and would probably ponder the list of designers and technicians left unpaid in the wake of unannounced closings. One hopes that those tales are exaggerated.

They are kicking off operations with a show titled The Sounds of Simon -- The Music of Paul Simon in Vision and Light, which as the title suggests is a revue of Paul Simon hits. It starts previews on Christmas eve, and opens on January 1st for a run through January 11th.

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