It’s not true that Chief Operating Officer Lorrin Shepard has been at The Straz so long the center was built around him. Just part of it. Lorrin may not have been here for The Straz’s 1987 opening but he’s been here since 1990. If he hasn’t seen it all, he’s seen more than anyone else.... Continue Reading →
The songs and stories heard in MJ the Musical, coming to The Straz Feb. 25 - March 2, are from throughout most of Michael Jackson’s life and career. It’s set two days before the beginning of his 1992-’93 Dangerous world tour and that would not seem to be a random choice. https://youtu.be/Hxgo-Qu-ZZE By the end... Continue Reading →
For some actors, the first time’s the charm. Maleah Joi Moon won Best Actress in a Musical at the 77th Tony Awards®, joining 100 other actors who took home a Tony® for their first Broadway role. https://youtu.be/aqjVWzANA8A Maleah, who starred in Hell’s Kitchen, is in excellent company as a debut winner. Others who won Tonys®... Continue Reading →
Summertime and the living is easy.Fish are jumpin’ and the cotton is high. DuBose Heyward’s lyrics to “Summertime,” from Porgy and Bess, conjure an idealized summer, warm but never too hot, when outdoors is the place to be. https://youtu.be/NghjBMn6ZJM Tampa summers are not idealized. They’re demonized. Summertime and the low’s in the 90sFeels-like temp is... Continue Reading →
Disney’s animated feature The Lion King had its premiere in 1994. That year, roughly 2 percent of Americans had access to the Internet. The 30th anniversary of that film’s release was celebrated in May with a pair of Hollywood Bowl concerts featuring songs from the soundtrack. In the three decades since its release, The Lion... Continue Reading →
BY CAMERON MACKINTOSH If I was to say what had happened to Les Misérables is the dream I dreamed, it would not be true – Les Mis has been a success beyond my wildest dreams. The show in 1985 that few people had booked in advance to see was coolly, if not hostilely, reviewed by... Continue Reading →
Maybe it’s all those years of playing a wizard but Daniel Radcliffe has pulled off something close to magical. He became the cinematic face of one of literature’s most beloved characters and came out the other side with his career and sanity intact. Radcliffe, 34, currently stars on Broadway in the revival of Stephen Sondheim’s... Continue Reading →
Dancers most commonly leave the profession around the age of 35. Dancer Kim Hale is 56. Do the math? There’s no math to do. Kim Hale is too old for a career as a dancer, as she’s likely been told before. Only she didn’t listen. In fact, she didn’t listen so well that she wound... Continue Reading →
There’s only one opportunity to make a first impression. The Patel Conservatory makes an indelible one. Passersby who glance at Patel’s front doors may not know what goes on behind them. But they could probably guess based on the 5-foot tall treble clef that serves as door handles. The frieze that runs across both doors... Continue Reading →
Clue, the 1985 film based on the board game, was not a smash hit upon release. Over time, thanks to cable, home video and word of mouth, the quirky black comedy finally found its audience. Its acclaim grew enough for it to make the jump from screen to stage as CLUE, which Straz audiences can... Continue Reading →
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. If a scorned woman dies of heartbreak, you better hope you aren’t the one who broke it. Your ex might be teaming up with the malevolent spirits of other jilted women and, brother, hell WILL be raised. That’s a very skeletal reading of Giselle, one of classical... Continue Reading →
It’s a sound that immediately brings to mind Oktoberfest, or at least Polka Night at the Elks’ Lodge. It’s two sounds, actually – one deep and low, the other notably higher. The latter tone is pah, the response to the former, which is oom. As each yang has its corresponding yen, every pah shares an... Continue Reading →
It might seem odd, doing all the things one does to have a night out – buying tickets, hiring a babysitter, finding parking – when it’s preordained that the evening will end in tears. In some cases, though, tears are part of the package. When the curtain falls on Opera Tampa’s production of La Traviata,... Continue Reading →
A parody of Netflix’s Stranger Things isn’t just an opportunity to salute and spoof the beloved sci-fi thriller series. “It also gave us an opportunity to give fans what they might have wanted, but that didn't happen in the show,” said Nick Flatto, producer-director of Stranger Sings! The Parody Musical, playing at The Straz now... Continue Reading →
In the realm of comedy, there are icons whose brilliance transcends generations, leaving their marks on the hearts and minds of audiences worldwide. Robin Williams, the definitive master of improvisation, stands tall among these legends. From his early days in stand-up, as Mork from Ork in the TV show Mork & Mindy to his unforgettable... Continue Reading →
If the notion of a Bob Dylan musical doesn’t pass your particular sniff test, you’re in good company. Twyla Tharp’s 2006 Dylan dance-musical, The Times They Are a-Changin’, was a critical disaster that limped its way to Broadway, from which it disappeared in less than a month. “A Bob Dylan musical is a terrible idea,”... Continue Reading →
By David M. Jenkins In 2003 we staged our first play by London-bred Irish playwright Martin McDonagh, The Beauty Queen of Leenane. During that run, Straz Center then-CEO Judy Lisi made us an offer to become their resident theater company and effectively take over programming of the Shimberg Playhouse. Now that our residency is old... Continue Reading →
Moses Pendleton grew up on a Vermont dairy farm and exhibited Holsteins at county fairs as a youngster. MOMIX was a feed supplement Moses fed to his cows. Pendleton appropriated the supplement’s name for the dance company he founded in 1980. He founded MOMIX after almost a decade dancing with Pilobolus, the company he co-founded... Continue Reading →
Jack Hopewell and the company of the North American Tour of Jesus Christ Superstar. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade. Since its 1971 Broadway premiere, Jesus Christ Superstar has been a Norman Jewison-directed feature film, been staged for live television with John Legend and Alice Cooper in the cast; and been revived, reprised and performed... Continue Reading →
When Noam Aviel began her quest for a career in music, the conductor’s podium wasn’t an end point she’d considered. Noam was a singer and jazz was her music. Classical music didn’t enter her picture until her late teens when she studied with classical singers to bolster her jazz singing skills. The teenage jazz hopeful... Continue Reading →