What can you say about a performer who willingly takes on 23 roles in a one-person show? If you replied, “probably the same sort of performer who would run a marathon followed with a stand-up comedy set, every day for a month” that would be oddly specific. But you’d be correct. Eddie Izzard ’s acclaimed... Continue Reading →
Batsu means “punishment” in Japanese. That will come as no surprise to anyone who has witnessed BATSU! in which comedians compete to avoid punishment. How hard will they try to avoid punishment? Well, punishments dished out can include but are not limited to: Being shot with a paintball gun Electrical shocks Plunging a hand into... Continue Reading →
Queen of the Night (Disambiguation) Queen of the Night may refer to: “Queen of the Night,” Whitney Houston jam with Living Colour’s Vernon Reid on lead guitar; from The Bodyguard (Original Soundtrack Album) Queen of the Night, villain in Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute. Her aria in the second act has become known as the... Continue Reading →
With SHUCKED running in Morsani Hall now until June 8, what better way to enjoy the show all about corn than with a southwest-style corn chowder recipe? Curated by our own head chef Gunther Lopez, this recipe encapsulates all there is to love about mellow yellow maize. “This soup is rich and comforting, with a... Continue Reading →
For its first decade or so of existence, Detroit-based record company Motown was the American Dream in excelsis. Founder Berry Gordy nurtured his small, local business into a worldwide success. Gordy was smart, resourceful and hard-working. Most importantly, he knew white kids could dig R&B just as much as the black kids. The label’s slogan,... Continue Reading →
Sometimes, things need to be said that should never need to be said. This is one of those times and this is one of those things. Don’t throw cellphones at performers. Also, don’t throw candy, flowers, jewelry or, well, anything. If you didn’t already know not to do that, please reconsider attending any performance anywhere... 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 →
National Tap Dance Day is May 25. The date commemorates the birth of Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, one of tap’s greatest practitioners. He may be best known for his stair dance routine with Shirley Temple in 1935’s The Little Colonel. But his career stretched back to vaudeville and minstrel shows and continued through Broadway, movies, radio... Continue Reading →
All they wanted was a play that had a role for each of them. The play they created has been running for more than 40 years. It’s probably being staged even as you read these words. It’s an interactive-whodunit-murder mystery-comedy that was first produced before anyone used the word “interactive” to describe a theatrical experience.... Continue Reading →
The ‘new’ Straz is designed to have something for everyone The Straz’s expansion project will do more than give the performing arts center a bold new appearance. The philosophy behind the project sets The Straz’s direction – outward. Key concept artwork for the redesigned Straz Center campus. The $100 million project is designed to open... Continue Reading →
“What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?" Groundbreaking playwright Lorraine Hansberry drew the title of her most famous work – A Raisin in the Sun – from the powerful poem Harlem, written by Langston Hughes about the promise of freedom in the Emancipation Proclamation remaining a... Continue Reading →
Dirty Dancing was the little movie that could. Made for $5 million, Dirty Dancing grossed more than $200 million worldwide. Released on VHS early in 1988, it became the first movie to sell a million copies. Everyone remembers VHS's right? . . . Anyone? . . . okay, we'll see ourselves out. The movie also... Continue Reading →
Hip-hop, the “fad” that parents, teachers, government officials and close-minded rockers couldn’t wish away fast enough 40 years ago, now has its own government-sanctioned month. (Pictured above) A dramatic reenactment of the public hearing a hip-hop song for the first time. Last year, Congress designated November as National Hip-Hop History Month, a sign not only... Continue Reading →
College basketball enthusiasts are in a lather because it is that time of year – MARCH MADNESS. Many of your friends – or maybe even YOU – will be on pins and needles to see if this Gonzaga’s year or how far Duke’s Coach K will get in the tournament before he dribbles into retirement.... Continue Reading →
Broadway was about the only place Donna Summer’s music didn’t dominate during her late ‘70s hit-making heyday. The jukebox musical Summer: The Donna Summer Musical finally brought the Queen of Disco’s catalog to the Great White Way. It would be difficult to overstate Summer’s popularity from the mid-‘70s through the early ‘80s. She had 11... Continue Reading →
Jobsite Theater’s latest production, Doubt: A Parable, features wife-and-husband team of Summer Bohnenkamp directing and David Jenkins in a lead role. How do they do it? This week, Caught in the Act takes a deep-dive into the working-life-partners relationship of Summer Bohnenkamp and David Jenkins. The pair talks about the tricky business of work-life-love balance and... Continue Reading →
A Straz Center exclusive interview with National Geographic LIVE! wildlife photographer Shannon Wild. On Jan. 21, our popular National Geographic LIVE! speaker series kicks-off with Australian-born photographer Shannon Wild. Caught in the Act writer Marlowe Moore caught up with Shannon via phone at her home in Africa, where Shannon is currently working on a documentary... Continue Reading →
You probably know him as Ron Swanson from Parks and Recreation and as a sublimely convincing Dick McDonald in The Founder opposite Michael Keaton. Nick Offerman can also make a super fine cedar-strip canoe by hand out of his woodshop in east L.A., which you may not have known. He also co-wrote the book The... Continue Reading →
National Geographic photographer Florian Schulz arrives with stunning images of his love affair with the Arctic. As you know, we here at Caught in the Act usually bring you life-changing interviews with the speakers in our Nat Geo LIVE! series each season. But, these are busy people traversing the globe in herculean efforts to get... Continue Reading →
The performing arts are big business. In this industry, we have a lot of super important jobs for people who love the theater but who may have no interest in performing professionally. This week, we sat down with Gerard Siegler, Straz Center director of production services, who plays a huge part in making sure the... Continue Reading →