Guest Blogger Deborah Kobritz, assistant to the VP of marketing and programming, dives into an emotional battlefield of love songs, revealing a vulnerable sweet center before emerging a Valentine's warrior. Anti-Valentine’s Day - sad love songs. That was the assignment. The opposite of love. The anti-love. I like music. I grew up in a home... Continue Reading →
Dear “The Star-Spangled Banner,” why are you so hard to sing? WHY. Back in July of 2019, Caught in the Act posted a slightly different version of this in-depth story delving into the technical aspects of performing our national anthem. In the wake of last week’s presidential inauguration – which included a dynamite version of... Continue Reading →
As if the job they have didn’t draw enough attention, presidents of the United States have been in the spotlight on Broadway in both plays and musicals. And yes, more than a few of the actors-in-chief have broken into song or tripped the light fantastic on Broadway boards. There have been a few fictional presidents... Continue Reading →
One of the greatest partnerships in musical theater was gravely wounded by a fight about carpet. What a shaggy predicament. Sir William Schwenck Gilbert and Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan. The duo of librettist W.S. Gilbert and composer Sir Arthur Sullivan was a collaboration that lasted a quarter century, creating a body of work, according to... Continue Reading →
The Recording Industry Association of America has certified 21 of her single and album releases as Gold or Platinum. She has had 25 songs reach number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. She has 42 career Top 10 country albums and 110 career-charted singles. Sales of her music have topped 100 million records around the world. She’s been... Continue Reading →
Somewhere between Mariah Carey and Wham! on your holiday playlist are likely a few tunes that have their roots in Broadway. Whether it’s shows devoted to celebrating the season, such as A Christmas Story, or others where Christmas is just part of the story as in Meet Me in St. Louis, we’ve got a rundown of some of the shows that featured favorite holiday... Continue Reading →
The Dog has Bitten. The Bee has Stung. As 2020 finally comes to a close, Caught in the Act offers up Holiday gift ideas inspired by the Broadway showtune and unconventional Christmas classic Here’s a query: Why is the song “My Favorite Things” -- from the Broadway show The Sound of Music and its subsequent movie adaptation – so closely associated with Christmas? ... Continue Reading →
Stage combat choreographer Teresa E. Gallar discusses how to safely create fight scenes. Caught In the Act: How did you get started in this line of work? Teresa Gallar: Like any other physical endeavor, there is a thrill from a well-executed fight. Similar to a home run or field goal. It is even more satisfying to have a fight you choreographed... Continue Reading →
If you consult your online dictionary for the definition of “turkey” you will find -- tur·key /ˈtərkē/ a large mainly domesticated game bird native to North America, having a bald head and (in the male) red wattles. It is prized as food, especially on festive occasions such as Thanksgiving and Christmas.something that is extremely or... Continue Reading →
ONE YEAR LATER: David and Catherine Straz Editor’s note: We conducted this interview at the home of David and Catherine Straz two weeks before Mr. Straz’s passing on Monday, Nov. 18, 2019. Like the Strazes themselves, the interview was heartfelt, full of laughter and a testimonial to their commitment to supporting arts and education. Below... Continue Reading →
A teenager in a foreign land during a global pandemic, Hector Jain is well beyond his years. The Next Generation Ballet (NGB) alum and Lakeland, Fla., resident has been studying at Les Ballet de Monte Carlo’s Princess Grace Academy since early in 2020 and soaking up all the experience has to offer. Caught in the... Continue Reading →
In April 1992, widespread rioting, looting and assaults broke out in South Central Los Angeles after a jury acquitted four white L.A. police officers of excessive force in the roadside arrest and beating of a black man, Rodney King. The six-days of riots, which resulted in 63 deaths, nearly 2,400 injuries, 12,000 arrests and more... Continue Reading →
Oh, the drama of Halloween, this year made a cauldron more scary with COVID-19 hanging around on our doorstep like a rotting Florida pumpkin overstaying its welcome. Long before the pandemic wreaked havoc with our psyche, Broadway had tapped into the spookiness and magic the holiday has to offer. Here’s a selection of the best... Continue Reading →
Patsy Cline’s biggest hits were about heartbreak, lost love and loneliness. You can feel the pain coming through that magnificent contralto voice on songs like “Crazy,” “I Fall to Pieces,” “Sweet Dreams” and “She’s Got You.” Once she was asked to explain the emotion in her songs and she replied, “I just sing like I... Continue Reading →
Actor, director and teacher Giles Davies has happily been working with Jobsite since the 2011 production of Quills. He has been seen in the company’s productions of Othello, 1984, The Tempest, Cloud Nine, Twelfth Night, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Macbeth, Fahrenheit 451, his one-person show POE and the Job-side project Check (which he co-wrote).... Continue Reading →
Jobsite’s Theater’s first performance of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised] on our Riverwalk Stage. (Fotoset by James Luedde) While emphasizing health and safety and mandating socially distanced seating configurations and the wearing of masks, on Friday, Oct. 2, the Straz Center cautiously and thoughtfully began a slate of live, in-person performances -- the first performances... Continue Reading →
Recently appointed to the position of interim director of education and community engagement, Straz staffer Alice Santana has a lifelong love of the arts and deep-rooted passion to make an impact in her community. Her journey with the Straz Center began in January 2016 when she was hired to work in the Patel Conservatory as the student affairs and community relations coordinator. As she flourished... Continue Reading →
Over the loud lightning strikes from our seemingly daily thunderstorms we’ve heard your cries: “Break’s OVER.” The Straz Center and its resident theater company, Jobsite Theater, have worked during our COVID-19 intermission, with intermittent pauses to lounge on our chaises of course, to bring performances back to our stages with appropriate social distancing and cleaning... Continue Reading →
Ahoy, me hearties! As you might have come to recognize, we love celebrating national days here at The Straz, and September 19 is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. And being in Tampa, this is one holiday we cannot pass up, since no one knows and loves pirates quite like those from the home of the legendary Jose Gaspar. Oh, and those Buccaneers. The... Continue Reading →
Of the 16 EGOT winners – those who have won an Emmy®, Grammy®, Oscar® and a Tony® – three of them won the grand slam before it was actually dubbed an EGOT. The first three winners of the big four entertainment awards were: Richard Rodgers, second from left, in rehearsal for South Pacific in 1949.... Continue Reading →
