Musical Archives – Theatrical Musings
MARGATE, Fla. — There’s a moment during the Tony-Award-winning musical “Nine” when a cacophony of voices drifts through the air, belonging to women speaking, or even shouting, on top of one another. The resulting noise vividly symbolizes the chaos racing through the mind of renown but struggling Italian filmmaker Guido Contini,…
Read more
MIAMI — “The King and I,” to borrow King Mongkut’s words, is a puzzlement. How can two people who’ve irritated each other so much, two people who seemingly have nothing in common, have such a profound effect on each other? That surprisingly strong, life-changing effect is at the heart of…
Read more 
By AARON KRAUSE MIAMI — It’s not every day that famed magician and escape artist Harry Houdini flings playing cards at you, interacts with you and even calls you up as a volunteer to participate in one of his tricks. Then again, it’s not every day that you witness a…
Read more
FT. LAUDERDALE — “Love Transcends Death” is a poem by Naoimh Spence, but it’s also a powerful premise in several theatrical shows, including “Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida,” a heartfelt, touching tale of honor, loyalty and forbidden love which is receiving a remarkable production by the Carbonell Award-winning, Ft. Lauderdale-based Slow Burn…
Read more 
Their music has become so well-known and popular that a song barely begins before thunderous clapping fills the auditorium. During a recent performance, the audience’ clapping was so loud and sustained at various points that hands, no doubt, turned as red as roses offered with love on Valentine’s Day. Roughly…
Read more
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The two characters with opposing views in “Dry Powder,” a scorching, relevant, riveting and unpredictable comic-drama set in the high-stakes world of big-city finance, might as well wear protective helmets and faceguards. There’s enough verbal combat to leave the combatants bloody and bruised if the power…
Read more
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Ft. Lauderdale-based Slow Burn Theatre Company demonstrates why it received 12 Carbonell Award nominations this year through its strong production of “Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” It’s easy to gloss over the musical’s flaws with the talent on display on the Broward Center for…
Read more
FT. MYERS, Fla. — As many recent South Florida productions have proven, live theater can powerfully mirror the ails of today. But there’s a limit as to how much dark, disturbing fare, however timely, we can take before we become overwhelmed. At certain points, we require pure escapism. Broadway Palm…
Read more
The program for Florida Repertory Theatre’s powerful production of “To Kill a Mockingbird” lists Maycomb, Ala., 1935 as the time and setting. That is partially correct: Director Robert Cacioppo’s smart staging of the classic, based on Harper Lee’s 1960 Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel, takes place as much in 2017 in Anytown, USA…
Read more