While the extended intermission continues at The Straz and the earliest Broadway will open is January 2021, all due to COVID-19, performing arts administrators have been working with national health professionals to formulate reopening plans and safety protocols to put patrons back in the seats. Since April, Straz COO Lorrin Shepard has chaired the Performing... Continue Reading →
It wasn’t surprising but certainly disappointing when it was announced late last month that Broadway would remain closed the remainder of the year due to COVID-19. Theaters closed on March 12 – the first time Broadway has shut down due to a health pandemic. The ripple effect of going dark registered at The Straz as... Continue Reading →
In a recent post we discussed recording artists, such as Bruce Springsteen and David Byrne, making their mark on Broadway, but many more have weaved musical magic from behind the scenes. And a few have even popped in to play roles or have brief cameos in shows they’ve composed. Whether it is Sting, Cyndi Lauper... Continue Reading →
All the press of late about recording stars on Broadway has been about Bruce Springsteen and David Byrne -- and for good reason. Those two shows energized audiences and possibly brought to the Great White Way an audience who might never have thought to touch foot in a Broadway theater. But Springsteen and Byrne were... Continue Reading →
The Straz Center’s Broadway investments return Tony Award®-winning shows to our stages and keep new shows in the works. The Straz Center isn’t just a tour stop for big Broadway show-stoppers. Most of the time, we’ve been on the ground floor as a producer, investing in the show and banking on its success. Every year,... Continue Reading →
With performing art centers, such as The Straz, temporarily shuttered due to the COVID-19 pandemic, cable networks and streaming services are tapping into a large bank of available documentaries centered on the performing arts so we can satisfy our appetite for theater, dance, opera and more. And though documentaries generally don’t bring in Marvel box... Continue Reading →
Editor’s Note: Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, its Straz run rescheduled due to the COVID-19 crisis from May 5-10, 2020 to July 13-18, 2021, was to be featured in the Straz Center’s publications this month. The article features Tampa DJ Ann Kelly of WDUV-105 FM, who accompanied The Straz team last year to preview the... Continue Reading →
Theater is about telling stories, and it’s hard to tell a story that doesn’t have a mother involved in some way. After all, they’re how we come into this world and can often greatly affect the outcome of our lives, directly or indirectly, which is why they make such great characters in musicals. Broadway has... Continue Reading →
The essential guide to cult classic catch phrases This week, Caught in the Act welcomes guest blogger Alex Stewart, media relations manager for The Straz and a big fan of the Mean Girls movie. Our resident subject matter expert on the most memorable lines from the film, Alex agreed to take us through this Mean... Continue Reading →
Fiddler on the Roof is arguably one of the most important musicals ever staged. Let’s talk a little about this show, and then we have some Fiddler fun facts we’d love to share. The show opens here on Nov. 5. “You want us to put up how much money for a show about a Jewish... Continue Reading →
Patel Conservatory theater instructor Joe Herrera teaches students at Burnett Middle School that you can find yourself (and change the world) with a little imagination. Caught in the Act welcomes Straz Center media relations manager Alex Stewart as our guest blogger this week. by Alex Stewart, guest blogger Let’s play a theater game. I want... Continue Reading →
In honor of Roald Dahl’s CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY opening in a month, we thought we’d give you a head start on some delectable chocolate recipes you can make at home. We asked our renowned pastry chef Jamie Paultre for his three favorites, and here they are. We don’t mean to brag, but—well, we... Continue Reading →
The next Broadway blockbuster to hit Morsani stage is ANASTASIA, a tale of bravery and finding one’s place in the world spun from a shocking turn of events in 1920, a mere two years after the brutal assassination of the entire Romanov royal family. 2019 marks 100 years since the Bolsheviks murdered Russian royals Nicholas... Continue Reading →
Broadway offers a passel of snortingly good times with its unending parade of parodies. The latest on our roster of roastables is Spamilton: An American Parody, which opened last week and runs until May 12. Behind every iconic work of entertainment lurks a laughing matter waiting to be born. Whether those matters manifest as films... Continue Reading →
The explosive partnership of Broadway star Gwen Verdon and choreographer/director Bob Fosse finally goes mainstream in a new miniseries from F/X starting Tues., April 9. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs_j-xUhxJS/ Even if you know absolutely NOTHING about Broadway, you know about “jazz hands.” And if you know a little about Broadway, you know the man responsible for crystallizing the... Continue Reading →
And other Valentine’s Day sentiments from Broadway songbooks Broadway boasts a canon of funny romantic songs, some thinly veiled innuendos (see title of this blog, a lyric from “Baptize Me” in The Book of Mormon) and others outrageously explicit (“You Can Be as Loud as the Hell You Want” from Avenue Q). Here are just... Continue Reading →
By now, Hamilton’s meteoric rise from Broadway musical to cultural phenomenon fills many-a-page from magazine articles to blog posts to Instagram accounts. Its singular effect was solidified last year as the Kennedy Center decided to award the musical an unheard-of special Honors for being such a groundbreaking work of art. What remains unfathomable – even... Continue Reading →
Chazz Palminteri took a moment of his childhood and parlayed it into the cultural phenomenon known as A Bronx Tale. We’ve seen him in The Usual Suspects, Bullets Over Broadway, Analyze This and as a cop, mobster or some form of tough guy in a ton of other film and TV roles. We caught up... Continue Reading →
Here we go, Strazzers. The public on-sale for HAMILTON starts Friday morning at 9 a.m. This handy FAQ guide tells you what to do to get ready and what to expect the day-of. Whether you’re planning to buy online, in-person or on the phone, this official information will help you be as prepared as possible... Continue Reading →
Conventional wisdom holds that if you say something three times you’ll remember it. The safest, most affordable tickets to Straz Center shows come from only one place: “Strazcenter.org” “Strazcenter.org” “Strazcenter.org” With sold-out season ticket packages for the huge Broadway season ahead featuring a four-week run of Hamilton, we’re trying to get you the best information... Continue Reading →
