By AARON KRAUSE FT. LAUDERDALE — If you ask most people, they may tell you that they’ve always known their life can change– or end – in less time than it takes an assault riffle’s bullet to reach its target. Even so, before recent years, these folks were able to keep such knowledge out of…
By AARON KRAUSE FT. LAUDERDALE — A couple of reviews of A Bronx Tale, the Broadway musical, describe the show as a blending between Jersey Boys and West Side Story. Many might rightly agree. However, we should add to that mix Guys and Dolls as well as Memphis the Musical. True, A Bronx Tale features a fictional fledgling singing group. Perhaps, if they were real, one…
By AARON KRAUSE WILTON MANORS, FL. — The senator proclaims his vision for America in a sunny, hopeful voice. However, the audience’s reaction is shades darker. In fact, the groans sound like die-hard fans of a beloved home team reacting with pavlovian jeers as soon as they see the arch-nemesis’ uniforms. Of course, the senator…
By AARON KRAUSE WEST PALM BEACH — As anyone familiar with John Guare’s The House of Blue Leaves knows, Hollywood songwriter wannabe Artie Shaughnessy poses a question in one of his songs. Specifically, he wonders, “Where is the devil in Evelyn?” Well, here’s another question – where is the darkness in Palm Beach Dramaworks’ production…
By AARON KRAUSE FT. LAUDERDALE — Awww, isn’t it cute how the little monkey with sad, puppy-dog eyes is sucking on a pacifier? It’s just precious! Surely, you can’t miss the image on the cover of Thinking Cap Theatre’s program for its current, impressive production of the odd, yet intriguing and relevant play, Precious Little. But…
By AARON KRAUSE He is entering his 50th and final season as TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s Artistic Director and has garnered many awards for his work with the Bay Area company. And to top off Robert Kelley’s five decades at its helm, one of the longest of any professional regional theater, the founding artistic director recently…
By AARON KRAUSE MIAMI LAKES — Parts of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tracy Letts’ Superior Donuts are as sweet as a sinful confection in the shop bearing the play’s title. Indeed, these moments will make you grin from ear to ear like the ambitious Franco Wicks, one of the main characters. The scenes, which for the…
By AARON KRAUSE CORAL GABLES, FL. — Our desire for affirmation that others value us is sometimes as strong as our hydration needs on a sweltering day. Playwright Halley Feiffer illustrates this with penetrating insight in I’m Gonna Pray For You So Hard. But praying may not be enough when others reject us. Such rejection…
By AARON KRAUSE WEST PALM BEACH — Some plays require preparation before seeing them, even for the most sophisticated, knowledgeable theatergoers. You can’t just walk into the theater knowing nothing about the work and expect to be able to easily follow it without getting frustrated. Tom Stoppard’s Olivier-Award-winning Arcadia is such a work. If you haven’t…
