By AARON KRAUSE MIAMI — People attend live theater because they “feel other people’s emotions, see the world like they do,” opines a character in Dancing Lessons. The character, Senga Quinn, could easily be talking about the play in which she appears. The taut, yet meaty piece by Mark St. Germain is running through March…
By AARON KRAUSE NEW YORK CITY — You might call them “The Hope Musicals.” The Broadway shows Come From Away and The Band’s Visit offer hope — hope that goodness still exists within humanity during a time when cynicism, division and hate seem rampant. The Band’s Visit is a gem of a heartfelt, emotionally-complex musical which recently…
By AARON KRAUSE NEW YORK CITY — If you’re the father of a young boy or young man, you can relate to Lorenzo’s predicament: You want to instill wholesome, moral values in your son, whom you feel is learning from you. Then he meets and becomes fascinated by a man with violent tendencies, but deep down,…
By AARON KRAUSE NEW YORK CITY — The Play That Goes Wrong should be titled The Play That Goes Right. Oh, it’s understandable why authors Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields came up with their title. Practically nothing the characters do in this play-within-a-play, now on Broadway, seems to be correct. That’s likely quite…
By ALAN SMASON, Theatre Critic, WYES-TV (“Steppin’ Out”) There are many reasons why John Kander and Fred Ebb’s Chicago is the longest-running American Broadway show on the Great White Way. First of all, it is a thoroughly satisfying adult comedy with a remarkable book by the late Ebb and the immortal Bob Fosse. The songs…
By AARON KRAUSE POMPANO BEACH — There’s no question “Big Brother” is staring at us in Outre Theatre Company’s production of the disturbing, thought-provoking George Orwell classic 1984. It runs through July 30 at the Pompano Beach Cultural Arts Center. Several images on stage show an elderly, cross, if not outright intimidating man looking straight at us. This…
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,…
Dear Evan Hansen won the Tony Award for Best Musical at the 2017 Tony Awards ceremonies at Radio City Music Hall. In addition the musical about teenage angst, social media captured Best Score awards for the songwriting team of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul and Best Book for scriptwriter Steven Levenson. Star Ben Platt won the…
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…
The nominations for the 2017 American Theatre Wing’s Tony Awards® presented by The Broadway League were announced on May 2, 2017: Best Play A Doll’s House, Part 2 Author: Lucas Hnath Producers: Scott Rudin, Eli Bush, Barry Diller, Universal Stage Productions, The John Gore Organization, James L. Nederlander, Ambassador Theatre Group, Peter May, Seth A….
By AARON KRAUSE FT. LAUDERDALE — If you need extra incentive to advocate for arts funding in the wake of the proposed elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities as part of President Trump’s budget, what better way to receive that added drive than by experiencing the Renaissance?…
By ALAN SMASON, Theatre Critic, WYES-TV (“Steppin’ Out”) By all things reasonable, Waitress, the Broadway musical currently serving its fare at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre in New York, should have never made it to Broadway. It is a story of improbabilities. The musical was based on an independent film directed by Adrienne Shelly, a striking…
