We love live theater. Well, we would, wouldn’t we? Live theater is the biggest part of why The Straz exists in the first place. We believe that the potential for transcendence is greatest when the audience and the performance are under the same roof. We are also realists. We know that there are countless situations... Continue Reading →
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yW2weVPToec Imelda Marcos turned 94 on July 2. The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported that the country’s former first lady was feted with “a night of singing, dancing, and socializing.” The article did not reveal whether the birthday girl cut a rug, nor did it mention if the evening’s musical soundtrack included the thumping disco beat... Continue Reading →
The audiences attending the upcoming Patel Conservatory productions of The Little Mermaid Jr. likely will include many youngsters already familiar with the story, either from Hans Christian Andersen’s book or from the beloved 1989 animated Disney film. Disney’s had a good deal of success with stage adaptations of hit animated films such as Mermaid and... Continue Reading →
An earnest and heartfelt original romance between two gay men set in an accepting vision of 1930s Europe? It’s more likely than you think. Everyone remembers that groundbreaking historical moment from December 1936 when then-British King Edward VIII abdicated his throne to marry an American divorcee – well, if not everyone, for sure devoted superfans... Continue Reading →
Bill Berloni estimates he has trained and shined a spotlight on nearly 400 dogs over the last 45 years. Your purebreds and your designer breeds are all well and good, but if you want the job done right – and if that job is acting – get yourself a mutt. That’s the advice of Bill... Continue Reading →
Wicked will finally appear on the big screen on Christmas day 2024. That’s about 12 years after the film was said to be “in development,” 20 years after the musical’s Broadway premiere and 29 years since Gregory Maguire published Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, the novel from whence... Continue Reading →
Before you paint the town and see CHICAGO at The Straz, check out these fun facts and all that jazz about the long-running musical. CHICAGO is the longest-running American musical in Broadway and West End history. The Ambassador Theatre in New York City has been home to CHICAGO since 2003. CHICAGO is the second longest... Continue Reading →
AN EXCLUSIVE FROM INSIDE, THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE STRAZ CENTER Yana Perrault’s career is soaring. Yana may be soaring herself, soon. She’s been picked to play the coolest Powerpuff Girl, Buttercup, in Powerpuff, a live action reboot of the ‘90s animated favorite. She’ll be at The Straz Dec. 28 through Jan. 22, holding down... Continue Reading →
Caught in the Act celebrates Tina who last week, on Nov. 26, 2022, celebrated her 83rd birthday. When Tina Turner’s solo star finally ascended with the 1984 hit “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” it felt like a victory for anyone who had been hurt or held back in pursuit of a dream. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGpFcHTxjZs... Continue Reading →
If Anais Mitchell chronicles her journey from indie-folk artist to Tony-award winning playwright and composer, she might call it How to Get to Broadway in 15 Grueling, Setback-Filled Years. Mitchell’s work places Greek mythological figures Orpheus and Eurydice in a dystopian world where the lure of stability draws desperate souls to the grim, cruel factory... Continue Reading →
The Straz Center’s resident mixologist draws inspiration from the shows in our Broadway series lineup, concocting one-of-a-kind signature highballs to salute and celebrate each production. When the Broadway production plays the Straz Center, the performers onstage aren’t the only ones flexing their talents. Out in the lobby behind the bar, the creative handiwork of Straz... Continue Reading →
The Asiatic Black Bear has the longest average lifespan of any bear species. They live between 25-30 years in the wild, more than 40 years in captivity. However, one bear, the only one of his species that we know of, has lived an amazing 96 years. The species, of course, is Pooh Bear, and its... Continue Reading →
SHE COULD HAVE SUNG ALL NIGHT She was the voice of Deborah, Natalie and Audrey. Her lilting soprano delivering “Somewhere,” “Wouldn’t it be Loverly” and “Hello Young Lovers” in the film versions of West Side Story, My Fair Lady and The King and I, respectively. For her work on The King and I, Nixon was... Continue Reading →
There weren’t just nuns on stage Thursday night at Nunsense: A-Men’s return to the Jaeb Theater. Members of the Tampa Bay Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence attended the Straz-produced musical comedy which features misters as sisters cracking wise and singing their habits off to raise money to bury fellow nuns who succumbed to a bad batch... Continue Reading →
‘Mozart of Madras’ to play The Straz With his concerts at The Straz nearly sold out, renowned composer A.R. Rahman, two-time Oscar® winner for soundtrack and original song from Slumdog Millionaire (2008) is still an unknown to many, though many recognize his music when they hear it. So, in the spirit of putting everyone on... Continue Reading →
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crOyhjL2e9s Pretty Woman: The Musical celebrated the first anniversary of its premiere by adding the Roy Orbison number from which it took its name to the curtain call. That’s right – a whole year of performances were staged minus the rock ‘n’ roll classic after which the show was named. Where the movie soundtrack featured... Continue Reading →
Call them what you want, rags-to-riches or fairy tales – either way, My Fair Lady and Pretty Woman, both playing The Straz over the coming weeks, are contemporary variants of a familiar plot. An uptight man of particular stature brings under his wing a woman who many considered tarnished and makes her over. During the... 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 →
Idina Menzel is Broadway’s contemporary Queen of the Showstoppers. With "Take Me or Leave Me" from RENT, and then with “Defying Gravity” from Wicked, Menzel turned songs into events, thrilling theater audiences and even more listeners via original cast recordings. Her most celebrated hit, though, originated in the Disney animated film Frozen. That song, “Let... 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 →