Monday, February 28, 2011

Caldwell Theatre Company: Next Fall (4 reviews)

The Caldwell Theatre production of Geoffrey Naufft's Next Fall on February 20, 2011.
The play is about two gay men in a committed relationship with a twist, with one being devoutly religious and the other a militant atheist. Next Fall portrays the ups and downs of this unlikely couple’s five-year relationship (and how they make it work despite their differences) with sharp humor and unflinching honesty. And when an accident changes everything, Adam must turn to Luke’s family and friends for support… and answers. Next Fall paints a beautiful and funny portrait of modern romance, asking the hard questions about commitment, love, and faith. This timely and compelling new American play forces us all to examine what it means to "believe" and what it might cost us not to.
Michael Hall directed a cast that included Joshua Canfield, Tom Wahl, Christopher Kent, Irene Adjan, Dennis Bateman, and Pat Nesbitt.

Roger Martin reviewed for Miami ArtZine:
Although Next Fall, directed by Michael Hall and written by Geoffrey Nauffts, gives us nothing new or particularly enthralling in its arguments over Christianity and atheism and the political left and right, Tom Wahl as Adam and Josh Canfield as Luke are strong and well backed by Pat Nesbit as Luke's mother, Dennis Bateman as his father, Christopher Kent as Luke's former lover and Irene Adjan as a candle shop owner, a role that seems superfluous to the story.

So what's to like? The appealingly clever set by Tim Bennett, the large video screen and sound by Dustin Hamilton, the original piano music by John Fitzgibbon during the scene changes and the lighting by Thomas Salzman.

Hap Erstein reviewed for The Palm Beach Post:
Director Michael Hall has taken a break from retirement to stage Next Fall with such efficiency and delicacy that he deserves to be brought back for such duties on a regular basis.
Tom Wahl’s Adam is a likable neurotic... The extremely buff Canfield refuses to settle for a caricature of a religious zealot, and while Nauffts never quite makes the case for why these two men have been able to get beyond their differences for so long, Wahl and Canfeld radiate an affection that is undeniable.
Dennis Bateman also manages to make Luke’s dad, Butch, a fully dimensional character rather than a mere stereotypical bigot. But the standout performance comes from Pat Nesbit as his former wife Arlene, a tough cookie who is still making apologies for Butch long after she has to.
Bill Hirschman reviewed for South Florida Theater Review:
...under Michael Hall’s sensitive direction at the Caldwell Theatre Friday night Next Fall expanded its vision, becoming a powerfully moving examination of the
difficulty of maintaining the most intimate relationships despite
profound differences between human beings.
Next Fall is a validation and valediction of Hall’s career: his excavating depths of meaning from scenes, his ability to nurture nuanced performances from actors, his impeccable timing of comic repartee, his willingness to let dramatic scenes breathe and his courage to let silences speak of characters’ unspoken words and bonds. The quality of Hall’s production here rivals the New York edition and sometimes surpasses it.
A popular leading lady under Hall’s tenure, Nesbit creates a quirky, lovable creature who has paid a long-term price for her excesses but still exudes a genuine love of simply being alive. While Nesbit disappears into the character, her acting technique is a marvel for fellow professionals to dissect.
This is Wahl’s best work since he played in Bent for Hall years ago. Often cast as a light comedian, Wahl is completely convincing as a deeply troubled man... While Adam is an annoyingly neurotic and self-destructive hypochondriac, Wahl injects him with a woebegone charm that keeps us from wanting to slap him upside the head.
Canfield pulls off a minor miracle in keeping Luke’s faith simple, sincere and credible.
Especially impressive is Bateman who, with Nauffts’ help, never makes the homophobic racist father into a two-dimensional monster. Like Luke with his faith, Bateman’s bigotry is just who the man is, surprising absent any conscious malice...
Christine Dolen reviewed for The Miami Herald:
Staged by Michael Hall, the company’s retired cofounder, Next Fall serves as a reminder of the graceful touch the director so often brought to topical, hot-from-New York plays. The production, staged on Tim Bennett’s beautifully autumnal abstract set, is wittily engaging and heart-wrenching.
The richness of Next Fall comes from the way the playwright deftly mixes laughter and loss, and from the Caldwell cast’s artful performances.

Wahl and Canfield easily underscore Adam and Luke’s fundamental bond. Bateman is both a little scary and fearless, particularly in the moment when Butch’s homophobic attitude becomes a knife to his son’s heart. Adjan and Kent do their things, she as the woman Adam might have loved were he straight, he as a guy who cannot come to the same mental accommodation Luke has. And Nesbit? She is so gloriously funny, so moment-to-moment real, so able to exude the tenderness everyone else seems to be seeking that you wish Arlene were a far larger presence in Next Fall.
Next Fall plays at The Caldwell Theatre through March 27.

Mondays are Dark

You can tell that the season is in full swing - here's a well-populated reading list -

No Big Deal
Broadway World reports that Mosaic Theater is presenting the perfect companion piece to The Irish Curse; a staged reading of Mark Della Ventura's Small MembershipCurse has been playing to sold-out houses, even with additional performances; if you haven't seen it yet, buy your tickets now.  As for Small Membership - it's free, this Tuesday.

Mad Cat on The Beach
The Gables Home Page talks with Paul Tei about The Preservation Society, the play he wrote for Mad Cat Theatre Company to present at this year's South Beach Comedy Festival.  The show goes up on March 4 at the Jackie Gleason Theatre (which they are now calling the Fillmore).

Over the Top at Broward Center
TheaterMania reports that the Broward Center will be presenting Cirque Dreams Broadway, the latest creation of Neil Goldberg.  The celebration will feature Broadway Stars Linda Eder and Marc Kudisch, as well as the Cirque Dreams artists, a marching band, and a dozen young South Florida performers.  Kudisch is from South Florida, and an alumni of the FAU theatre program.  Oh, and Playbill reports on Linda Eder's new album.

Asolo Comes to Town
The Drama Queen reports that Sarasota's Asolo Repertory Company, one of Florida's oldest regional theaters, is bringing its production of Lynn Nottage's Las Meninas to the new South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center in Cutler Bay.

A Visit with Tony
South Florida Gay News interviews playwright and enthusiastic theatre supporter Tony Finstrom.

McKeever Gets Published
One of South Florida's most prolific playwrights has gotten two of his scripts published, according to The Miracle Theatre Examiner.

Broadway in Miami
The national tour of Jersey Boys stops in at the Arsht Center, March 2 - 20, and BroadwayWorld has the cast list.

Zero Family
Living in the Bonus Round gives us a peek behind the scenes of Zero Hour, which just wound up a limited  - and critically acclaimed - run at the Aventura Arts and Cultural Center.

Friday, February 25, 2011

Everybody's Talkin'...

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/drama_queen/images/2008/03/19/michael_hall_12707sigvision_2.jpg...about Michael Hall returning to the theater he founded to direct its latest play.  Next Fall opens today at the Caldwell Theatre Company, and both the South Florida Theater Review and The Palm Beach ArtsPaper have stories up about it.

The ArtsPaper reveals how Hall found the play:
As he often did on scouting trips to New York,‭ ‬he called up two of his favorite actresses‭ ‬--‭ ‬Pat Nesbit and Vicki Boyle‭ ‬--‭ ‬who had appeared often on the Caldwell stage over the years,‭ ‬and asked them what they should see.‭

“Nesbit said,‭ ‬‘Well,‭ ‬a friend of mine has written a play.‭ ‬I was on tour with him in‭ ‬‘Biloxi Blues.‭’’‬ So they bought tickets and we went,‭ ‬not knowing anything about it.‭ ‬At intermission,‭ ‬we just kind of looked at each other,‭ ‬saying,‭ ‬‘Wow,‭ ‬this is‭ ‬wonderful,‭’‬ ” and Hall began working on getting the performance rights to‭ ‬Next Fall for the Caldwell.
The Theater Review tells us that it's the play is a reunion of sorts:
The proverbial icing is that Nesbit agreed to return in the role of the stricken man’s vivacious mother and, in yet another surprise, Seattle actor Dennis Bateman returns as the man’s born again father. Bateman also was in the Caldwell’s first season’s South Pacific.
And the ArtsPaper on what it's like to be back:
If there is one thing that Hall is certain of,‭ ‬it is that he has enjoyed getting back into the director‭’‬s chair.‭ “‬It‭’‬s sort of like old times,‭ ‬because I never really left.‭ ‬I‭’‬m usually here once or twice a week,‭”‬ he says of the Caldwell.‭ “‬(New artistic director‭) ‬Clive‭ (‬Cholerton‭) ‬and I find ourselves e-mailing at‭ ‬3‭ ‬o‭’‬clock in the morning.‭ ‬It‭’‬s been really good to be able to do the things that I have wanted to do,‭ ‬and then be able to step back and direct a play.‭”
Next Fall plays at the Caldwell Theatre Company through March 27.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

The Scene for February 25, 2011

Remember last week when we commented that it seemed too quiet?  Well, this week several regional theatres open shows, and there's a bunch of other stuff, too.


opening...

Caldwell Theatre Company
opens the award-winning play Next Fall, which runs through March 27, 2011.  Preview audiences are raving about it.

Jolson at the Winter Garden
opens at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre, through March 13. Word from the invited dress is "HOT TICKET!"

Palm Beach DramaWorks opens Dinner with Friends, which will play through April 17.  Their production of Freud's Last Session sold out even though it was extended.  You might want to line up your tickets early.

Grey Gardens makes its South Florida Premiere at the Rising Action Theatre, through April 3.

The Boca Raton Theatre Guild offers Cabaret through March 13, 2011.

The Light in the Piazza
opens at The Stage Door Theatre, through April 10.


you still haven't missed...

The Promethean Theatre Company presents A Bearded Lover  at Nova Southeastern University's Black Box Theater through March 6, 2011.

The Irish Curse plays at The Mosaic Theatre through March 6.

Eclipsed plays at The Women's Theatre Project through March 12, 2011.

Empire Stage apparently opened The Houseboy last weekend, and didn't tell anyone.  It's playing through march 12, 2011.

The Stage Door Theatre  production of Plaza Suite runs through March 20.

Laffing Matterz  serves up the laughs at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, through May 14, 2010


passing through...

West Side Story
plays in the Au-Rene Theatre at the Broward Center through February 27.

Jim Brochu returns with Zero Hour, at the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center, through February 27.

ELLA plays at the Parker Playhouse through February 27.


for kids...

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day plays at Actors' Playhouse through March 12.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Women's Theatre Project: Eclipsed (3 reviews)

The Women's Theatre Project opened the southeastern premiere of Danai Gurira's Eclipsed on February 17, 2011.
The captive wives of a Liberian rebel officer form a hardscrabble sisterhood, their lives set on a nightmarish detour by civil war.  With the arrival of a new girl who can read - and the return of an old one who can kill - their possibilities are quickly transformed.  Drawing on reserves of wit and compassion, these defiant survivors ask: when the fog of battle lifts, could a different destiny emerge?
Genie Croft directed a cast that included Renata Eastlick, Lela Elam, Karen Stephens, Elvire Emanuell and Carey Hart.

Roger Martin reviewed for Miami Artzine:
This is an excellent ensemble of five good actors handling a tense story about an horrific subject. Written by Dana Gurira, a Zimbabwean born in the U.S., Eclipsed is relentless in its portrayal of the rebel life.
Elvire Emanuelle is the one to watch here.  She excels in this piece and that's a hard thing to do when  acting with Karen Stephens, Lela Elam, Renata Eastlick and Carey Hart.
Eclipsed is undoubtedly one of The Women's Theatre Project's better productions.
Bill Hirschman reviewed for South Florida Theater Review:
Dania Gurira’s script and The Women’s Theatre Project’s production may not be especially subtle; occasionally, it’s so rudimentary as to risk being simplistic. But their ultimately affecting portrait of the intentional dehumanization of people during wartime is a shattering indictment of cruelty, especially violence against women.

Director Genie Croft and an ensemble of five fine actresses deliver an unnerving examination of the complex fallout when humanity is jettisoned as a luxury.
Croft has elicited gut-wrenching performances from her cast, but her staging is crippled by the tiny, tiny stage. Some key scenes are played off to the side in an area barely two yards across and a yard deep. This inserts the audience so intimately into the scene that you could reach out to intervene; it’s like watching a film closeup. But the static set up is distracting for being so artificial; the scenes would have had even more impact Croft had some room to move her characters around
But otherwise, the cast is solid in their soul-baring performances whether it’s Stephens’ stolid, wary vigilance for signs of the predatory commandant’s approach or her joy when Rita teaches her to write her name in the dirt with a stick. The blood freezes in sympathetic terror as Eastwick excoriates Number Four when the girl’s resolve flags in executing heinous orders.
But Emanuelle is the find. The Philadelphia native who trained at Barry University only has a handful of credits, but that will change if area directors see her in this production. We watch her evolve from a helpless victim to someone determined to escape this hell by any means possible.... never letting us forget that this child-woman is 15 years old throughout.
Christine Dolen reviewed for The Miami Herald:
Just opened in an impressively acted production, Eclipsed focuses on the captive “wives” of a Liberian rebel commander trying to oust President Charles Taylor in 2003. In truth, the women are sex slaves in the rebel camp, prisoners who pass the time talking, dividing the spoils of war and awaiting a signal to bring food or themselves to satiate the big boss.
Under Genie Croft’s direction, the actors are thoroughly believable as strong African women caught up in the ongoing hell of war. Hart’s accent is sketchy, but the others sound authentic. And deeply, memorably moving.
Eclipsed plays at The Women's Theatre Project through March 13, 2011.

Mondays are Dark

It's a varied reading list this week: enjoy!

Merit Vs. Math
The Artful Manager examines the current struggle between arts funding and the need for government to cut spending.
...it's not necessarily that the programs up for cuts aren't successful (at least, according to the rhetoric), they're just swimming in the tiny 'discretionary spending' puddle that's politically expedient to cut.
Ultimately, arguing about the merits of the project won't help; we need to work to lower the cost of the "untouchable" budget items to make room for other causes, including the arts.

Fire from the Sky

The Miami Herald sits down with The Promethean Theatre Company as the troupe enters its seventh season.
The Davie-based troupe is poised to begin its seventh season this weekend with the world premiere of Juan C. Sanchez’s The Bearded Lover, a play about three fire-scarred sisters set in small-town Cuba in 1953. This is Promethean’s third world premiere by its resident playwright, underscoring its commitment to new work and a particular writer. But at the same time, the story of Promethean’s founding, evolution and nimble survival during such lean years for all small arts groups is also an inspiring drama.
Penumbral
While we wait for the reviews to come out, The Fort Lauderdale Theatre Examiner tells us about Eclipsed, which opened Thursday at The Women's Theatre Project.  It was The Herald's Stage Pick last week.

Say, Anybody Seen Nick?
If you've been wondering what South Florida actor Nick Duckart has been up to, The Naples News Stage Door reports that he's been cast in the Gulfshore Playhouse production of Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge.

A Weekend of Women and Song
Broadway World tells us about RESPECT, playing at the Coral Springs Center for the Arts,  while The Miami Herald tells us about Ella, playing at The Parker Playhouse.

Celebrity Bartenders?
Palm Beach DramaWorks reports that it is holding an interesting fundraiser; a Celebrity Bartending event.  So who'd they get?  Well, click through and find out.

But Wait, There's More!
Tiles, Mosaic Theatre's Blog reports that the company has been selling out shows... But Wait, There's More: they've added performances to the schedule to give you an opportunity to see it!   But Wait, There's Still More: playwright Martin Casella was so impressed with the notices that he re-arranged his schedule to see the show.  Now how much would you pay?  But Wait, There's More: he's agreed to participate in a talkback after the show, before he flies out that evening.

Speaking of Critics
The Naples News Stage Door notes that South Florida critics might have liked the national tour of West Side Story a little bit more than the Southwest Florida contingent did when it played in Fort Myers.

Don't Feel Like a Twit about Twitter
Do you feel like you "don't get" Twitter?  Are you wondering how to effectively make use of this microblogging tool?  The Minnesota Playlist has a great article about how to get Twitter working for you.
...for theaters who are not only in the business of putting on shows, but in the business of audience building (all of you, right?), social media is a miracle for anyone with little to no PR budget. Social media offers free, direct access to the audience you already have as well as to the potential audience members. Like actors to free food, theaters should flock en mass to social media.
Michael Hall Returns
The Palm Beach Post reports that Michael Hall returns to The Caldwell Theatre to direct Next Fall.  The Tony-nominated play by Geoffery Naufft started previewing on Sunday, and will open this Friday, February 25.
Hall had seen (the play) by chance when it was off-Broadway. Frequent Caldwell actress Pat Nesbit had suggested it, because she once toured the country with Naufft in Neil Simon’s Biloxi Blues.
“So we went, not knowing anything about it,” recalls Hall. “At intermission, we just kind of looked at each other, saying, ‘Wow, this is wonderful,’ and Hall began trying to acquire the performance rights for the Caldwell.
BroadwayWorld gives us the cast list, the design team, and more about the play, and Michael Hall:
"It is a play that I have such a passion for and when you combine that with the dream cast I was able to assemble, it's just a perfect scenario to come back to."
A good script, a powerful cast, and Michael Hall; sounds like a winner to me.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Promethean Theatre: A Bearded Lover (5 reviews)

The Promethean Theatre opened its world premiere production of A Bearded Lover, a new play by Juan C. Sanchez, on February 18, 2011.
A dark and heartwarming play about three eccentric sisters who are preparing for a long journey into the sea -- Sibling rivalry ratchets up; love and loyalty are tested; even the bond of sisterhood is challenged, pushed to the limit, and changed forever.
Margaret M. Ledford directed a cast that featured Ursula Cataan, Gladys Ramirez, and Deborah L. Sherman.


John Thomason reviewed for The Miami New Times:
In the second act of A Bearded Lover, Lucia, the youngest sister in this three-character opus, delivers one of the play's most telling lines: "I'm not lifeless anymore, like the two of you."

For much of the protracted duration of this production, set in prerevolutionary Cuba, it's an insult that might apply to the play itself. This world premiere from Miami playwright Juan C. Sanchez is a lumbering, unpolished play, brimming with ideas but sorely in need of an editor and, yes, some life.
Deborah L. Sherman plays her part as the melodramatic, self-described "poetess" Dolores with gusto. Ursula Cataan drips icy, repressed hurt with every sentence as middle sister Ines. And Gladys Ramirez, as the uncouth Lucia, deserves credit for what little pulse A Bearded Lover sustains in its first act.
It takes a story about a young, unknown rebel named Fidel Castro for the rest of the play to catch up with Ramirez's energy. Lucia offers a salacious narrative describing how Castro recently ravaged her virginal loins. From here on out, A Bearded Lover displays a pulse, a libido, and a soul...
Some good ideas occasionally peek out from this overwritten epic, mainly from the ongoing theme of the sisters' escape from their miserable realities via the solace of myths, books, fairy tales, and fantasies...
Dolores reveals this repressed lust in the play's meatiest and most moving soliloquy, the closest Sanchez comes to pure poetry. It proves that, if it didn't spend so much time to find its dramatic footing, this could have been a hefty piece of theater.
Mary Damiano reviewed for South Florida Gay News:
While the plot of A Bearded Lover is steeped in tragedy, it’s a very funny play.  SanchezMargaret M. Ledford and the cast deftly navigate these emotional swings, creating believable familial bonds.
knows women, and he knows that catty remarks and vicious barbs are often followed by intense loyalty and hugs.  Director
Sherman, Cataan and Ramirez work beautifully together. Sherman and Cataan have played sisters on stage before, and their performances benefit from chemistry and shorthand. Newcomer Ramirez is a breath of fresh air, adorably goofy one moment, a fierce interrogator the next.
A Bearded Lover needs some refining to go to the next level. There are noticeable scissor marks from over zealous editing, references that need more explanation, moments that need the gaps filled in to up the emotional ante.  

Still, A Bearded Lover is a quirky story that requires much suspension of disbelief, but it is ultimately riveting.
Roger Martin reviewed for Miami ArtiZine:
...Sanchez can be a very funny writer and despite the blood and guts there's a lot of humor in this piece. Gladys Ramirez, a good physical actor with a fine comic touch, excels here as Lucia. Ursula Cataan, in the least sympathetic role of Ines, does what she can as an annoyingly whiny manipulator and Deborah L. Sherman as the heavily scarred Dolores easily conveys her sense of craziness.
Bill Hirschman reviewed for South Florida Theater Review:
The play that had its world premiere Friday at The Promethean Theatre is simultaneously satisfying and schizophrenic: 75 percent broad hilarious comedy, 25 percent harrowing family drama. Each facet thoroughly succeeds on its own, yet each undercuts the other enough that the piece doesn’t land as solidly as it might.
But even with these and other flaws, there’s little doubt that Sanchez’s theatrical imagination, the propulsive direction of Margaret M. Ledford, the vibrant performances of Deborah L. Sherman, Ursula Cataan and Gladys Ramirez all coalesce into a terribly funny and ultimately affecting evening that is well-worth seeing.
Sanchez has created a compelling swirl of family dynamics, but credit Ledford and the actresses for creating even more multi-dimensional creatures. Some scenes are immensely funny, due to what Ledford and the actresses do with the script.
Sherman, co-founder of Promethean, adds another unique portrait to her resume. Dolores, the eldest sister, is a would-be poet ecstatically over-dramatizing every emotion to hilarious effect.
Cataan... nails Sanchez’s creation of Ines, the embittered middle sister who punctures her sisters’ rosy outlook with cold, clear-eyed assessments.
Ledford again proves her skill at eliciting strong performances and creating stage pictures without you noticing it. If Sanchez’s script runs a shade too long, Ledford never lets up the pace except for variety.
Christine Dolen reviewed for The Miami Herald:
...the languishing women of Three Sisters and the tragic trio of King Lear seem positively dull compared to Dolores, Ines and Lucia.
... As girls, the three were badly burned in a suspicious fire that killed their parents. And tart-tongued Ines is determined that this night – July 26, 1953 – will be their last.

Sounds somber, right? But The Bearded Lover doesn’t play out that way, not at all. Nor, despite its setting and time period, does the play come off as a Cuban memory piece. Sanchez’s language is completely contemporary, so much so that it’s sometimes hard to believe women of that era would choose the words these sisters do.
Though Sherman occasionally flirts with melodramatic delivery, all three actors achieve strong performances and work together beautifully. Set designer Dan Gelbmann, costume/makeup designer Ellis Tillman, lighting designer Robert Coward and sound designer Matt Corey help anchor Sanchez’s story in time and place. And though Dolores, Ines and Lucia don’t seem headed toward the enduring impact of drama’s other sister-trios, spending time with them at Promethean is surprisingly pleasurable.
The Promethean Theatre Company presents A Bearded Lover at the Black Box Theater at Nova Southeastern University through March 6, 2011.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Mosaic adds to Irish Curse

Mosaic Theatre's production of Martin Casella's Irish Curse have been so strong that they've added performances to try and keep up with demand.  They are unable to extend the run, so it will still end on March 6.

And that would be good news enough for most companies. 


But since the reviews have also been so positive, the playwright has decided to come and see what the fuss is about. 

And THAT would be pretty good news, but he's also agreed to participate in a post performance discussion following the 3:00 matinee on March 5th.   This will sell out quickly, so order now if you want to see the show and then talk to the playwright about it.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Aventura Arts Center: Zero Hour (3 reviews)

ZERO_HOUR_WebThe new Aventura Arts & Cultural Center opened Zero Hour on February 16, as part of its Double Chai Series.
Mostel is remembered for his comedic genius and his definitive roles, but in the 1950's, he was equally known for his place on the infamous Hollywood blacklist. Directed by three-time Oscar-nominated film star Piper Laurie, Jim Brochu's striking portrayal brings all of Mostel's swagger, ferocity, intelligence and fantastic wit back to the stage in this volcanic tour-de-force.
The AACC website forgot to mention that Jim Brochu has one a shelf full of awards himself, including the Carbonell for Best Actor when he did this show at The Stage Door Theatre.  The show also played a limited engagement at The Maltz Jupiter Theatre.

Chris Joseph reviewed for the Miami New Times:
The bombastic Mostel, who is regarded as one of the funniest entertainers to ever hit Broadway and Hollywood, is stunningly brought to life by Brochu in a performance that channels all of Zero's larger-than-life mannerisms, quirks, and fiery discourses.
Brochu's transformation is so remarkable, it was jarring when the curtain rose, the man-mountain turned around, and the lights shone down on him.
Christine Dolen reviewed for The Miami Herald:
Mostel’s life was rife with drama, and actor-playwright Jim Brochu mines it to the fullest...
Zero Hour, which played the Broward Stage Door Theatre in 2008, has won Brochu a trio of prestigious prizes – South Florida’s Carbonell Award, Washington, D.C.’s Helen Hayes Award and the New York Drama Desk Award. Venture to Aventura and you’ll easily see why.
Bill Hirschman reviewed for South Florida Theater Review:
Not since George C. Scott has an actor impersonated righteous outrage with the skill and intensity that Jim Brochu brings to Zero Mostel’s paint-blistering jeremiad against colleagues naming names during the 1950s in Zero Hour.

Brochu’s railing against the betrayal of choreographer Jerome Robbins and the fatal fallout for blacklisted actor Philip Loeb qualifies as a pure Category 5 hurricane.
Brochu doesn’t impersonate but inhabits the mercurial actor whose passionate loves, hatreds and obsessions are emblematic of a voracious appetite for life that threatens to consume everything around him including the audience.
...Brochu delivers a textbook example of how top spin, charisma and sheer skill can carry a show – just like Mostel himself would have done.
Zero Hour plays at the Aventura Arts and Cultural Center through February 27.

Hate Group to picket ALAS

The South Florida Daily Blog reports that Westboro Baptist Church is once again planning on visiting Broward County, this time to picket the tiny Andrews Living Arts Studio for having the audacity to perform The Laramie Project.

The play is about the the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, in Laramie, Wyoming.  It is culled from hundreds of interviews conducted by Moises Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theatre Project.  It is an effective exploration of a how a seemingly tight knit community of decent people could foster blind hatred resulting in a senseless and brutal murder by a group of its children.  It has been produced thousands of times around the world, and was even made into a film that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and aired on HBO.


Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church also picket the funerals of soldiers killed in the current struggles in the middle east, in addition to their anti-homosexuality activities.  But The Laramie Project is one of their favorite targets of opportunity, and they regularly target productions across the country, particularly if the production involves students.

Theatre Scene readers may recall that Westboro Baptist Church had threatened to picket the Rising Action Theatre production of The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, but Phelps canceled once he learned that an actor in the show had contacted him to generate publicity for the show.

Phelps may be the most vile man walking the earth today, and his Westboro Baptist Church the most repugnant organization since the Nazis.  His insistence on describing himself as a Christian is an affront to Jesus, his characterization of his band of thugs as a church is an insult to the Lord God Almighty.

The South Florida Daily blog has suggested that a show of support for ALAS would send a message to the world that Phelps and his band of hatemongers are not welcome in South Florida.  And the South Florida Theatre Scene agrees; but even if you can't show up that night, you can really lash out at Phelps simply by going to see the show.  Tickets are cheap, and you'll really be sticking it to WBC.  And helping a freshman theater company at the same time.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

The Scene for February 18, 2011

It seems like there should be more playing this weekend; there's a couple of openings, but it "reads" light this week.  Which can only mean that NEXT week will be a busy one.

So here's what's playing this weekend...


opening...

Eclipsed opens at The Women's Theatre Project, and runs through March 12, 2011.

A Bearded Lover, a new play by Juan C. Sanchez, opens at The Promethean Theatre, and runs through March 6, 2011.


you still haven't missed...

The Irish Curse plays at The Mosaic Theatre through March 6.

The Stage Door Theatre  production of Plaza Suite runs through March 20.

Laffing Matterz  serves up the laughs at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, through May 14, 2010


passing through...

West Side Story
plays in the Au-Rene Theatre at the Broward Center through February 27.

Jim Brochu returns with Zero Hour, at the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center, through February 27.

RESPECT plays at the Coral Springs Center for the Arts through February 27.

An Evening with Lucille Ball plays in the Amaturo Theater at the the Broward Center, through Sunday.

Tim Conway and Friends
plays one night only, February 18 at The Kravis Center.


for kids...

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day plays at Actors' Playhouse through March 12.

Stage Door Theatre: Plaza Suite (2 reviews)

The Stage Door Theatre opened its production of Neil Simon's Plaza Suite on February 4, 2010.
Hilarity abounds in this Neil Simon play about three couples successively occupying a suite at the Plaza. “Wonderfully funny…the wildest and most uproarious farce I have seen on a stage!” New York Daily News. “Set the Town Laughing”…New York Times...
Michael Leeds directed a cast that included Derelle "Dee" Bunn, Kevin Reilly, Bill Dobbins, Courtney Cameron Reed, Margie Elias Eisenberg, Danielle Tabino, Michael Douglass (not THAT one), and Sam Sherburne.

John Lariviere reviewed for Talkin' Broadway:
Derelle Bunn captures the essence of Karen Nash despite the occasional line that sounds a bit stiff. She has a sweet vulnerability mixed with the quiet, long-suffering nature of the character... Kevin Reilley as husband Sam has good chemistry with her as an actor, but is missing some of the spousal warmth Bunn sends his way...
...Bill Dobbins adeptly portrays the shallow and smarmy playboy Jesse Kiplinger in the second scene. As his romantic prey Muriel, Courtney Cameron Reed doesn't quite settle into her role believably, missing some well written comedic acting opportunities. She needs to channel her tension as a actress into her character's tension.
In the final scene of the show, Margie Elias Eisenberg and Michael Douglass work as a well-oiled acting machine as longtime husband and wife Norma and Roy Hubley... Simon's writing in Plaza Suite is some of his best, and is certainly at its best in this production when handled by Eisenberg and Douglass.
Michelle F. Solomon reviewed for South Florida Theater Review:
Plaza Suite has been staged a multitude of times... The challenge today for any theater group that would take on a production of the Neil Simon comedy would be to bring freshness to a play that’s been done to death.

Surprisingly, Broward Stage Door Theatre in Coral Springs accomplishes this, and then some. The production owes its success to well-paced direction by Michael Leeds and an eager cast that approaches each character with originality.
In Act One, Derelle “Dee” Bunn and Kevin Reilly play Sam and Karen Nash, a middle-aged couple who are spending the night at the hotel while their house is being painted... Bunn has a breezy style that pairs well with Reilly’s uptight portrayal of the harried Sam Nash. Both bring the necessary roller-coaster of emotions that are required of this scene, which is the most serious of the three acts.
Act Two... Bill Dobbins is “big time Hollywood producer” Jesse Kiplinger... He’s rung up his old girlfriend, Muriel Tate (Courtney Cameron Reed)...
Dobbins’ appearance creates the first burst of hilarity in a tie-dyed leisure suit and white patent leather shoes. Reed, with a red flip hairdo, wearing a pink and green shift dress, plays the suburban housewife to the hilt. The two play well off of each other, and both are able to find just the right balance to ensure that the stereotypes don’t escalate into caricatures.
In Act Three...setting for bridal preparations. All should be progressing as it should until the mother-of-the-bride, Norma (Margie Elias Eisenberg) realizes that bride-to-be, Mimsey (Danielle Tabino), has locked herself in the bedroom suffering from a case of cold feet.
Michael Douglass plays the father-of-the-bride who is called to coax Mimsey out of the bedroom. Douglass could have taken the easy way out and phoned in a carbon copy of (Walter) Matthau’s (characterization)... But here Douglass gives audiences a wholly original portrait full of physical comedy to guarantee heaps of belly laughs. Eisenberg holds her own, making sure that Norma’s lines get the attention they deserve amid the raucous chaos.
Plaza Suite plays at The Stage Door Theatre through March 20, 2011.

Broward Center: West Side Story (5 reviews)

The National Tour of the revitalized West Side Story opened at The Broward Center for the Performing Arts on February 15, 2011.
Directed by its two-time Tony Award®-winning librettist Arthur Laurents, WEST SIDE STORY remains as powerful, poignant and timely as ever. The new Broadway cast album of WEST SIDE STORY recently won the 2010 Grammy Award® for Best Musical Show Album.

The Bernstein and Sondheim score is considered to be one of Broadway's finest.
David Saint directed the new version first staged by Aurthur Laurents in 2009, with a cast that included Kyle Harris, Ali Ewoldt, Alexandra Frohlinger, Michelle Aravena, Joseph J. Simone, and German Santiago. Jerome Robbins' original choreography was reproduced by Joey McKneely. Additional Spanish dialogue by Lin-Manuel Rodriguez.

Bill Hirschman reviewed for South Florida Theater Review:
For the huge percentage of Broadway audiences unfamiliar with modern dance or ballet, Robbins’ genius for propelling plot and exposing character through seemingly abstract motion was a revelation Tuesday at the Broward Center.
This tour directed by David Saint is based on the 2009 revival helmed by Laurents himself. They have infused every aspect of the production with a vitality and a flow that mirrors Robbins’ vibrance and drive.
This production has inventive touches of its own. The most moving is a scene missing from the film: a dream ballet in which Tony and Maria imagine a world without hate, normally danced while one of the Puerto Rican women off stage sings the haunting Somewhere. But in this version, the song is given to Anybodys, the “tomboy” whose likely future as a closeted lesbian will be fraught with pain. The yearning in Alexandra Frohlinger’s clear strong singing voice – intentionally different from her character’s defensive growl – elicits a catch in your throat.
The actors, singers and dancers throw themselves unreservedly into what middle-class theatergoers once thought was a gritty documentary and now can only be seen as a quaint fable with a timeless message.
Kyle Harris as a slightly dopey, basically decent Tony (think Finn in Glee) and Ali Ewoldt as a dewy Maria make audiences believe not just in their
love-at-first-sight, but in their naive conviction that their love can
conquer the ethnic hatred and crushing violence surrounding them.
Sometimes it is a period piece with Laurents’ jarring slang (some phrases reportedly invented for the show for fear that whatever real jargon they used would date quickly). But other times, Laurents comes up with dialogue that could have been penned by Tupac Shakur.
Other than missing the full sound of the large orchestras of yore, the production’s only shortcoming is its most publicized element. The revival hired Lin-Manuel Miranda (creator of In the Heights) to translate some of the dialogue and lyrics into Spanish... Anglo crowds did not understand key moments and some of the new work was dumped a few months into the New York run. But enough has been retained to continue to baffle non-Spanish speakers...

What does comes across both in the production and the source material is a purity of spirit in the yearning of humanity to put aside the hatred that only creates blood in the street.
Christine Dolen reviewed for The Miami Herald:
...its run... serves as a reminder of just how innovative its inspired creators were in 1957 when they transformed Shakespeare’s great young-love tragedy into their own brilliant meditation on the terrible price of pointless hatred.
As director this time, Laurents brought this new West Side Story to fruition in 2009, collaborating with In the Heights creator Lin-Manuel Miranda to get the Puerto Rican Sharks and their girls expressing some of their dearest, fiercest feelings in Spanish. Used judiciously, the Spanish lends authenticity and (for those who aren’t bilingual) doesn’t much detract from the storytelling, as key points are restated in English.
This touring version... isn’t perfect in every respect. But it is undeniably thrilling.
...set designer James Youmans and lighting designer Howell Binkley create simple yet varied environments, including evocatively oppressive ones that help fuel the characters’ restlessness.
The touring company is full of athletic, balletic dancers who gloriously deliver the show’s famous choreography...  a standard-setting reminder of just how great Broadway choreography can be but too seldom is.
The sizzling Michelle Aravena and swaggering German Santiago make for a way caliente couple as Anita and Bernardo, easily conveying the idea that these two can’t wait for the fighting to be over so their bedroom rumble can begin. Conversely, though the crazily smitten Tony and Maria do get one tender night together, Kyle Harris and Ali Ewoldt play the doomed lovers with a preternatural giddiness.
The Sentinel's fashion editor, Rod Stafford Hagwood, weighed in for the Sun-Sentinel;
The touring production of West Side Story now at Broward Center of the Performing Arts doesn't — thankfully — go splat, but it does wobble a bit from serviceable to sweet.
One of Laurent's innovations was to inject Spanish dialogue and lyrics (with the help of Lin-Manuel Miranda of In the Heights fame) into the script, attempting to give some street cred to the backdrop of gangs in a blighted urban landscape. Especially in the second act whole swaths... are in Spanish, leaving Anglos in the audience outside peering in. The instincts may have sounded right on the drawing boards, but it just isn't as effective as one might think.
...there are jaw-dropping moments — simulated masturbation, attempted gang rape — that are incongruent with the Gap ad costumes and colorful "Glee" backdrops. But if it's menace that you're missing from other countless productions, it is here. There are times when there is real blood pumping through West Side Story.
...Ali Ewoldt as Maria is mesmerizing with a top spin to her voice that thrills. Although waaay too clean-cut for Tony, Kyle Harris is a capable Tony and although he never really connects with Something's Coming or Maria, he comes tantalizingly close.
Anita, the most fully-developed character, is played adeptly by Michelle Aravena. Somewhere is sung oh-so-sweetly by Alexandra Frohlinger as the tomboy Anybodys.
Skip Sheffield reviewed for the Boca Tribune:
... this “West Side Story” is a fresh look at a musical theater classic more than 50 years old.
...Kyle Harris ...is in a word, terrific... vocally Harris is the strongest Tony I've seen...sufficiently believable as the tough guy...
Ali Ewoldt, a lovely soprano who thrills the most when she is hitting operatic high notes.
Anita... is played with passion and depth by Michelle Aravena.
...this is proof that there is a lot of life yet in this contemporary classic.
Laura Souto Laramee wrote a review worthy of a middle school student for The Palm Beach Post:
Although the production set was minimalistic at best, the talented cast kept your attention focused on the incredible story, showing the mix of different worlds and cultures and combining Spanish and English in a way no other show has.
Jupiter native Michael Scirrotto, in his role as Pepe, was the hometown favorite and incredible on stage. However, there were many other enjoyable moments and highlights during the show.
OK, even the Theatre Scene isn't this SoFla Centric.
It was interesting to watch the culture clash while knowing that today most people have embraced the idea of diversity. But even more interesting was the fact that there is still so many key themes that lyricist Sondheim captured in the songs that ring true today...
I think Ms. Laramee should take some remedial writing classes, and the Post should hire a real theatre critic, because these reviews are some of the worst writing we've seen.  Even Rod Hagwood writes better.

West Side Story plays at The Broward Center through February 27.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

2010 Carbonells Analysis (Updated)

Updates; added some National coverage here and there.

On "equitability"
The Drama Queen calls this year's nominations " a little more equitable" but immediately comments:
(That is, unless you're associated with the Caldwell Theatre Company, New Theatre, The Naked Stage, The Promethean Theatre or the Women's Theatre Project, which got a single nomination apiece.)
Of course, they STILL got at least a single nomination apiece.

South Florida Theater Review notes:
Thirteen theaters – virtually every major troupe in the region – received nominations, led by the major musical production houses, Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre in Coral Gables and the Maltz Jupiter Theatre, each with 18 nominations. In the past, one or two theaters had been shut out.
Palm Beach ArtsPaper also comments on the distribution:
Although the two most nominated shows both came from Coral Gables companies,‭ ‬Palm Beach theaters tied Miami-Dade with a total of‭ ‬36‭ ‬nods.‭ ‬Broward,‭ ‬which perennially trails the other bordering counties,‭ ‬earned‭ ‬27‭ ‬nominations.‭ ‬
But Anonymous goes far beyond any mere journalist, and leaves a list of what could be an alternative lineup for the Carbonell Awards in the Theatre Scene's own comments section.

On Surprises
The South Florida Theater Review notes a "wildcard" production:
Among the names of the usual suspects was one wild card. Motherhood the Musical, the hit shepherded by local GFour Productions but not associated with any theater, earned four nominations including best new work and best musical.
The Review then goes on to note three suprises:
One was that GableStage’s Blasted received six nominations. Although one of the most critically acclaimed works of the season, some audience members were upset by Sarah Kane’s unsparing vision of man’s predilection for violence. But Carbonells are recommended and judged by panels comprised mostly of critics and theater professionals, not general audiences.

The second surprise was that Academy, the original musical penned by Maltz artistic director Andrew Kato and John Mercurio, was tapped for best musical but not best new work – even though the judges nominated four contenders instead of five.

The third was the 11 nominations captured by Broward Stage Door for Mack and Mabel and The Drowsy Chaperone. The nods are sweet vindication for the non-Equity company that struggled for years with a reputation for unchallenging fare recognizable to its condo and snowbird audiences, mounted in unimpressive productions. But recently, Dee Bunn and David Torres have been salting their seasons with meatier shows such as A Little Night Music that have been smartly directed, produced and performed.
I feel that he missed a fourth surprise, or at least, something that surprised me; the venerable Caldwell Theater Company only garnered a single nomination - for Michael McKeever as a supporting actor in Distracted.  The company has been struggling financially, hard-hit by the economy, a forced move,  and the fact that many of their donors had invested with Bernie Madoff.  A change in leadership has generally been regarded as bringing much needed artistic freshening, but it didn't pan out in the awards nominations in a field of fierce competition.

On Gay-ness
Of course, South Florida Gay News notes that gay-themed productions and portrayals are included in the nominations.
The Maltz Jupiter Theatre’s production of La Cage Aux Folles received six nominations, including Best Musical, as well as for its director, Mark Martino; Mark Jacoby, Best Actor; musical director Phil Reno; choreographer Denis Jones; and costume designer Jose M. Rivera.

Goldie, Max & Milk, a world premiere at Florida Stage about a lesbian mom and the Orthodox Jewish lactation specialist she consults, received two nominations, one for playwright Karen Hartman and one for Deborah L. Sherman, as Best Supporting Actress. Sherman also received a nomination for her portrayal of a lesbian in hell in No Exit, produced by Naked Stage.

GableStage’ production of Speech and Debate, a comedy set in high school about a loquacious girl, a nerd and an openly gay guy who join forces to disclose the truth about a teacher who preys on his male students, received two nominations, one for Best Ensemble and a Best Supporting Actress nod for Jackie Rivera.

Ricky Waugh received a nomination for Best Actor for his double role as a soldier and his gay twin brother in Dying City at Mosaic Theatre in Plantation.
On Being Ten
Tiles, the Mosaic Theatre Blog, notes that on this, their tenth anniversary, they earned 10 nominations.  And then bestows their own awards...
It’s only fitting that Mosaic Theatre earned 10 nominations in year 10.  It’s a tribute to the hard work of so many people and we are very proud of this accomplishment.  That said, here is a list of our nominations this year and also, 10 Golden Wickatacki’s that I am happy to bestow.
On Artistic Health
The Playbill story notes the Best New Work category:
...the category of Best New Work, an award that suggests the health of a theatre community because audiences and theatres are willing to take risks on brand-new work...
Other Stories

Palm Beach ArtsPaper is notably Palm-Beach-Centric in its coverage.

The Sun-Sentinel, no surprise, ran the Herald's story.  So no link for them.  And from here on out, we will be calling them "The Stunned-Senseless," just to ensure our ire is known.

The Miami NewTimes Cultist is even more enthusiastically pro-Miami-Dade:
If things go well, Actors' Playhouse and GableStage is gonna kick all other South Florida theaters in the pants this year.
BroadwayWorld just published a list, but a lot of names are hyperlinked to the BroadwayWorld database; see what they're saying about your favorites.

TheatreMania seems more interested in people who don't actually work in the South Florida theatre scene on a regular basis.

The Miracle Theater Examiner (which, as far as I can tell, has nothing to do with the actual Miracle Theater in Coral Gables) feels that the sprawling South Florida metropolitan region isn't vast enough.
One theatre we would like to see included is Broadway Palm located on the westcoast which causes a great traveling distance for the adjudicators.
I suspect we'll be adding the Riverside Theatre in Vero Beach loooooong before we add anything on the Gulf Coast.  But The Naples Stage Door Blog sends its best wishes:
Congratulations to the nominees of the Carbonell awards on the other coast. I only recognized a few names, who've occasionally been in productions here.
I still don't think anyone's going to be moved to drive Alligator Alley a couple of times a week, even to add ALL the Gulf Coast theatres.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

35TH ANNUAL CARBONELL AWARD NOMINATIONS

That's right, it's that time of year again! The Carbonell Awards have announced the nominations for plays in the calendar year 2010. Here is the complete list of the nominations; the awards ceremony will be held on April 4, 2011 at 7:30 pm, in Amaturo Theater the at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, centrally located in Fort Lauderdale.

COMBINED  (Plays and Musicals)


Best New Work  (Play or Musical, award to author)
  • Christopher Demos-Brown, When the Sun Shone Brighter, Florida Stage
  • Sue Fabisch, Motherhood the Musical, GFour Productions   
  • Karen Hartman, Goldie, Max & Milk, Florida Stage
  • Michael McKeever, Unreasonable Doubt, Actors’ Playhouse

Best Ensemble, Play or Musical  (citations to cast and director):
  • 12 Angry Men                                    Maltz Jupiter Theatre
  • The Complete Hollywood(abridged)     Mosaic Theatre
  • The Dumb Waiter                              The Promethean Theatre
  • Motherhood the Musical                     GFour Productions
  • Speech and Debate                            GableStage

PLAYS


Best Production of a Play (award to producing organization)
  • 12 Angry Men             Maltz Jupiter Theatre
  • 50 Words                   GableStage
  • American Buffalo        Palm Beach Dramaworks
  • Blasted                      GableStage
  • Collected Stories         Mosaic Theatre
Best Director, Play
  • Joseph Adler            50 Words                GableStage
  • Joseph Adler            Blasted                    GableStage
  • Frank Galati            12 Angry Men                Maltz Jupiter Theatre
  • William Hayes        American Buffalo            Palm Beach Dramaworks
  • Margaret M. Ledford        Collected Stories            Mosaic Theatre
Best Actor, Play
  • Dennis Creaghan     Freud’s Last Session   Palm Beach Dramaworks
  • Todd Allen Durkin        Blasted                    GableStage
  • David Hemphill        Equus                    New Theatre
  • Ricky Waugh            Dying City                Mosaic Theatre
  • Gregg Weiner            50 Words                GableStage

Best Actress, Play
  • Barbara Bradshaw        Collected Stories            Mosaic Theatre
  • Beth Dixon            Three Tall Women            Palm Beach Dramaworks
  • Erin Joy Schmidt        50 Words                GableStage
  • Erin Joy Schmidt        Dying City                Mosaic Theatre
  • Karen Stephens        Bridge and Tunnel            The Women’s Theatre Project

Best Supporting Actor, Play
  • Marckenson Charles        Groundswell                Mosaic Theatre
  • Will Connolly            Candida                Palm Beach Dramaworks
  • Erik Fabregat       A Behanding in Spokane        GableStage
  • Erik Fabregat            Blasted                    GableStage
  • Michael McKeever        Distracted                Caldwell Theatre Company

Best Supporting Actress/Play
  • Kim Morgan Dean        Collected Stories            Mosaic Theatre
  • Angie Radosh            Three Tall Women            Palm Beach Dramaworks
  • Jackie Rivera            Speech and Debate            GableStage
  • Deborah L. Sherman        Goldie, Max & Milk            Florida Stage
  • Deborah L. Sherman        No Exit                Naked Stage

MUSICALS


Best Production of a Musical  (award to producing organization)
  • Academy            Maltz Jupiter Theatre
  • The Drowsy Chaperone    Stage Door Theatre
  • La Cage Aux Folles        Maltz Jupiter Theatre
  • Mack and Mabel        Stage Door Theatre
  • Miss Saigon            Actors’ Playhouse

Best Director, Musical
  • David Arisco            Miss Saigon                Actors’ Playhouse
  • Dan Kelley            The Drowsy Chaperone       Stage Door Theatre
  • Michael Leeds            Mack and Mabel             Stage Door Theatre
  • Mark Martino            La Cage Aux Folles            Maltz Jupiter Theatre
  • Marcia Milgrom Dodge    Anything Goes                Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Best Actor, Musical
  • Mark Jacoby            La Cage Aux Folles            Maltz Jupiter Theatre
  • Dan Kelley            The Drowsy Chaperone         Stage Door Theatre
  • Herman Sebek            Miss Saigon                Actors’ Playhouse
  • Bret Shuford            Anything Goes                Maltz Jupiter Theatre
  • Shane R. Tanner        Mack and Mabel             Stage Door Theatre

Best Actress, Musical
  • Irene Adjan            Dr. Radio                Florida Stage
  • Mara Gabrielle         Mack and Mabel            Stage Door Theatre
  • Tari Kelly                Anything Goes                Maltz Jupiter Theatre
  • Laura Oldham         The Drowsy Chaperone        Stage Door Theatre
  • E.J. Zimmerman      Miss Saigon                Actors’ Playhouse

Best Supporting Actor, Musical       
  • Tom Beckett            Anything Goes                Maltz Jupiter Theatre
  • Ken Clement            Oliver!                    Actors’ Playhouse
  • Nick Duckart            Dr. Radio                Florida Stage
  • Chris-Ian Sanchez        Miss Saigon                Actors’ Playhouse
  • Shane R. Tanner        Oliver!                    Actors’ Playhouse

Best Supporting Actress, Musical
  • Eileen Faxas            The Drowsy Chaperone       Stage Door Theatre
  • Elizabeth Dimon              Oliver!                    Actors’ Playhouse
  • Lisa Manuli            Motherhood the Musical        GFour Productions
  • Amy Miller Brennan        Miss Saigon                Actors’ Playhouse
  • Amy Miller Brennan        Oliver!                    Actors’ Playhouse

Best Musical Direction
  • Eric Alsford            Miss Saigon                Actors’ Playhouse   
  • Helen Gregory            Anything Goes                Maltz Jupiter Theatre
  • Phil Reno            La Cage Aux Folles            Maltz Jupiter Theatre
  • Johnny Rodgers        Motherhood the Musical            GFour Productions
  • Alexander Rovang        Academy                Maltz Jupiter Theatre

Best Choreography

  • Chrissi Ardito            The Drowsy Chaperone       Stage Door Theatre
  • Chrissi Ardito            Mack and Mabel                  Stage Door Theatre
  • Chrissi Ardito                  Oliver!                         Actors’ Playhouse
  • Denis Jones                La Cage Aux Folles            Maltz Jupiter Theatre
  • Marcia Milgrom Dodge    Anything Goes                Maltz Jupiter Theatre

DESIGN  (Plays and Musicals)


Best Scenic Design, Play or Musical

  • Michael Amico       American Buffalo     Palm Beach Dramaworks
  • Lyle Baskin           50 Words                GableStage
  • Tim Connolly         Blasted                   GableStage
  • Douglas Grinn       Collected Stories     Mosaic Theatre
  • Sean McClelland     Miss Saigon            Actors’ Playhouse

Best Lighting, Play or Musical

  • Ron Burns           The Gin Game      Palm Beach Dramaworks
  • Suzanne Jones     Cane                   Florida Stage
  • Jeff Quinn            Blasted                GableStage
  • Jeff Quinn            The Quarrel          GableStage
  • Patrick Tennent    Miss Saigon          Actors’ Playhouse
Best Costume Design, Play or Musical
  • Gail Baldoni        Anything Goes            Maltz Jupiter Theatre
  • Brian O’Keefe        Candida                  Palm Beach Dramaworks
  • Jose M. Rivera    La Cage Aux Folles      Maltz Jupiter Theatre
  • Ellis Tillman        Miss Saigon                Actors’ Playhouse
  • Ellis Tillman           Oliver!                    Actors’ Playhouse
Best Sound Design
  • Matt Corey              Blasted                GableStage
  • Matt Corey              Groundswell         Mosaic Theatre
  • Alexander Herrin      Miss Saigon          Actors’ Playhouse
  • Matt Kelly                Dr. Radio             Florida Stage
  • Matt Kelly                Cane                    Florida Stage