In 2022, Angelica Ross took on the role of Roxie Hart in Chicago, making her the first openly trans woman to play a lead role on Broadway. Earlier that same year, L Morgan Lee became the first openly trans woman to be nominated for a Tony® (Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical)... Continue Reading →
June 13 is National Sewing Machine Day and if you’re wondering what that has to do with the arts, meet Anne Rosato. Anne makes and designs costumes for a living. Straz audiences first saw her work in the recent production of Little Shop of Horrors. Like any professional, the tools of her trade are important... Continue Reading →
The Audrey II puppet and Kevin Ryan Cole as Seymour in TheatreWorks Florida's production of Little Shop of Horrors. Scott Cook owes his career to a man-eating plant. OK, let’s back up a bit. Scott Cook owes his career to a play about a man-eating plant. Let Scott explain it: “It was the very first... Continue Reading →
Crowns, a celebratory musical about church hats, kicks off a series of Straz-produced shows Photo: Joseph Brown Apostle Paul was adamant about this point. When a man prays or prophesizes, his head must not be covered. Women, on the other hand … "But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her... Continue Reading →
It’s not unusual to see favorite songs from Broadway productions on the pop charts. Beloved compositions have made the transition from the stage to mainstream culture’s consciousness since The Great White Way’s ‘40s and ‘50s heyday. Those looking for distinctive or quirky reinterpretations of musical-theater classics sometimes have to look a little deeper, though —... Continue Reading →
With its roots in ancient culture, including ivory and clay figures found in Egyptian tombs, puppetry has long been employed in storytelling including the theater. Terracotta Ancient Greek dolls. Exhibited in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, Room 56. Picture by Giovanni Dall'Orto, November 11 2009. Both Aristotle and Plato in ancient Greece, referenced puppets in their... 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 →