![Goldberg Variations 2 Peter Librach, Ryan Didato photo by George Wentzler[1]](http://www.theatrecriticism.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Goldberg-Variations-2-Peter-Librach-Ryan-Didato-photo-by-George-Wentzler1-300x225.jpg)
By AARON KRAUSE WILTON MANORS, Fla. — Shakespeare wrote “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” But have you ever found yourself wishing that you were the director of your life – one with the power to say something like, “OK, let’s stop right there and take it from, […]
For those who truly love classic Broadway theatre, there are few shows that pack as much firepower as Irving Berlin’s Annie Get Your Gun. It was a tour de force for Ethel Merman, perhaps the greatest belter known on the Great White Way, and has since provided vehicles for the likes of Bernadette Peters, Reba […]
By ALAN SMASON, Theatre Critic, WYES-TV (“Steppin’ Out”) Although he only lived to be 39, Thomas “Fats” Waller produced one of the most impressive volumes of popular music during the swing period of the 1930s and 1940s. With his characteristic stride style on the piano, he took jazz and popular music to new heights it […]
By AARON KRAUSE CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Go ahead, poke fun at drag queens all you want. Call them weirdos, freaks or any other name to express your disapproval at their lifestyle or your inherent dislike of them, for whatever reason. The bottom line is that at least twice now in the make-believe world of theater, […]
By AARON KRAUSE FT. LAUDERDALE — For the majority of us, our parents are among the closest, most familiar, dear and rock-solid support in our lives. They made us, after all. Without us even knowing it, however, parents can take on other characteristics: unpredictable, mystifying and scary. We may wonder: Which characteristics and genes of […]
By ALAN SMASON, Theatre Critic, WYES-TV (“Steppin’ Out“) Suzan-Lori Parks based a good portion of Father Comes Home from the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3), her tale of slavery set during the Civil War, on the ancient Greek tale of “The Iliad. ” As if to hammer the point home, she even went so […]
By AARON KRAUSE WEST PALM BEACH — If he were a real person, Johnnypateenmike O’Dougal would never win a “Citizen of the Year” award. Guaranteed. He talks incessantly, regardless of whether anyone in the room wants to hear his babble. He’s a self-centered, rude, loud, crotchety, curmudgeon. Picture an individual walking into a community newspaper […]
By AARON KRAUSE CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Even if everything’s calm and orderly “behind the scenes,” moments before a bride and groom walk down the aisle, you never know what drama might be unfolding among the guests. Aunt Delores might be a wreck in a happy kind of way, crying profusely as she recalls her […]
By HARRY DUKE It’s 1648 and the splendiferous Taj Mahal awaits its opening. Humayun and Babur, the two lowliest members of Emperor Shah Jahan’s royal guards, are assigned the lowliest duty at the worst post. They are stationed at the gate and forbidden to look in. Humayan dreams of being reassigned to the Emperor’s harem. […]
By ALAN SMASON, Theatre Critic, WYES-TV (“Steppin’ Out“) Channeling the great jazz singer Billie Holiday has proven to be Sharon Martin’s forte. When she last performed the title role in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill five years ago, Martin garnered raves for her performance as the beaten-down and drug-addled singer. The setting of […]