TASTE at Straz Center returns April 18, turning our campus into a gourmand’s theme park. Tampa Bay’s top chefs will be on hand to serve you bites of delight while mixologists conjure new cocktails and craft beers to quench your thirst. Several bands will be playing throughout the evening as well. https://youtu.be/2o2TAhwE30g TASTE is Tampa’s... Continue Reading →
In the animated 2003 film Looney Tunes: Back in Action, a gun-toting Elmer Fudd chases Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck through a museum. The pursued pair try to escape by running through famous paintings such as Salvador Dali’s The Persistence of Time, Edvard Munch’s The Scream and Georges Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon on the Island... Continue Reading →
“Get up, stand up / Stand up for your right” sang Bob Marley on the Wailers’ protest anthem “Get Up, Stand Up.” The song was a call for the oppressed to demand justice, liberty and equality. https://youtu.be/RhJ0q7X3DLM?si=-TrQEcuZwQGfaOTp On March 12, 1990, 500 protesters marched from the White House to the Capitol, demanding passage of the... Continue Reading →
July is National Anti-Boredom Month. We don’t know who chose July, but their reasoning seems sound. It’s the middle of summer and going outside means being blinded by the sun and swamped by heat and humidity. Better to stay inside where it’s air-conditioned. Soon, though, staring at screens (or the walls) loses its luster. You... Continue Reading →
Clue, the 1985 film based on the board game, was not a smash hit upon release. Over time, thanks to cable, home video and word of mouth, the quirky black comedy finally found its audience. Its acclaim grew enough for it to make the jump from screen to stage as CLUE, which Straz audiences can... Continue Reading →
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. If a scorned woman dies of heartbreak, you better hope you aren’t the one who broke it. Your ex might be teaming up with the malevolent spirits of other jilted women and, brother, hell WILL be raised. That’s a very skeletal reading of Giselle, one of classical... Continue Reading →
It’s a sound that immediately brings to mind Oktoberfest, or at least Polka Night at the Elks’ Lodge. It’s two sounds, actually – one deep and low, the other notably higher. The latter tone is pah, the response to the former, which is oom. As each yang has its corresponding yen, every pah shares an... Continue Reading →
It might seem odd, doing all the things one does to have a night out – buying tickets, hiring a babysitter, finding parking – when it’s preordained that the evening will end in tears. In some cases, though, tears are part of the package. When the curtain falls on Opera Tampa’s production of La Traviata,... Continue Reading →
A parody of Netflix’s Stranger Things isn’t just an opportunity to salute and spoof the beloved sci-fi thriller series. “It also gave us an opportunity to give fans what they might have wanted, but that didn't happen in the show,” said Nick Flatto, producer-director of Stranger Sings! The Parody Musical, playing at The Straz now... Continue Reading →
In the realm of comedy, there are icons whose brilliance transcends generations, leaving their marks on the hearts and minds of audiences worldwide. Robin Williams, the definitive master of improvisation, stands tall among these legends. From his early days in stand-up, as Mork from Ork in the TV show Mork & Mindy to his unforgettable... Continue Reading →
By David M. Jenkins In 2003 we staged our first play by London-bred Irish playwright Martin McDonagh, The Beauty Queen of Leenane. During that run, Straz Center then-CEO Judy Lisi made us an offer to become their resident theater company and effectively take over programming of the Shimberg Playhouse. Now that our residency is old... Continue Reading →
Moses Pendleton grew up on a Vermont dairy farm and exhibited Holsteins at county fairs as a youngster. MOMIX was a feed supplement Moses fed to his cows. Pendleton appropriated the supplement’s name for the dance company he founded in 1980. He founded MOMIX after almost a decade dancing with Pilobolus, the company he co-founded... Continue Reading →
When Noam Aviel began her quest for a career in music, the conductor’s podium wasn’t an end point she’d considered. Noam was a singer and jazz was her music. Classical music didn’t enter her picture until her late teens when she studied with classical singers to bolster her jazz singing skills. The teenage jazz hopeful... Continue Reading →
The Mothership has landed at 6752 Hollywood Boulevard. That’s where George Clinton, the original Star Child, got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Friday, Jan. 19. Clinton, as every schoolchild should know, is the overlord of the Parliafunkadelicment Thang, a collective of funk outfits such as Parliament, Funkadelic, Bootsy’s Rubber Band and Brides... Continue Reading →
The Sydney Opera House is a stunning example of 20th-century architecture at its best, and one of the planet’s most identifiable modern landmarks. The story of its construction and completion, though, is a bit less lovely. In fact, that story, full of conflict and controversy, might seem operatic in scale. Composer Alan John and librettist... Continue Reading →
A performance at our Arts Legacy Remix: Hispanic Heritage Celebration in 2022. The impact and influence of Hispanic culture in Tampa is undeniable. Actually, make that Hispanic cultures, since the term Hispanic covers a lot of acreage, physically and socially. The description is applied to people from Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean and... Continue Reading →
The United Auto Workers has begun a series of targeted strikes which may expand to most or all of its 145,000 members walking off the job. The Writers Guild of America has been on strike since May, disrupting pretty much any show with a script. The strike has disrupted everything from the Emmys® to The... Continue Reading →
“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” Snow and gloom shouldn’t be issues but rain and heat? Hoo boy. Pictured: a typical summer day in the great state of Florida. The Patel Conservatory staff members (“these couriers”) responsible for couriering summer... Continue Reading →
Being a “weird” kid gave Eric D’Alessandro a leg up on his career as a comedian. “When I was 11 I had a video camera, which was strange to see back then,” said D’Alessandro, who brings his stand-up act to The Straz’s Jaeb Theater Friday, July 14. “Now, every junior high kid is making... Continue Reading →
Lizbeth A. Borden was a frequent theatergoer. Single and wealthy, Borden often attended performances in New York City and Boston, travelling from her home in Fall River, Mass. Ms. Borden passed in 1927. Had she lived a few years longer, she would have had the opportunity to see herself portrayed on stage. The Lizzie Borden... Continue Reading →