Dracula is revered as one of the founding fathers of modern horror, along with his buddies Frankenstein and the werewolf. The cape-wearing, fang-bearing bloodsucker has sunk his chompers into every medium of entertainment, even transcending the horror genre. This blog aims to briefly discuss the legacy of Dracula, from novel to film to stage. Bram... Continue Reading →
When a novel is adapted for film, there is one almost-certainty: Someone saying, “The book was better.” While the phrase can be used sincerely, it’s most often uttered by someone trying to impress a date by pointing out that they, unlike the common rabble, read books. And that this makes them more attractive as a... Continue Reading →
August, which is almost over, is/was Family Fun Month, which was probably chosen somewhere school doesn’t start the second week of August. The idea, though, is solid, as the waning days of summer provide some time for families to enjoy activities as a whole before the school year tightens up family schedules something fierce. No... Continue Reading →
Leslie Caron is one of a handful of actresses who danced on film with both Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. She said she felt as if she were floating while dancing with Astaire. Kelly, she said, danced closer to the ground. Leslie Caron and Gene Kelly in An American in Paris, 1951. That’s an incomplete... Continue Reading →
In the animated 2003 film Looney Tunes: Back in Action, a gun-toting Elmer Fudd chases Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck through a museum. The pursued pair try to escape by running through famous paintings such as Salvador Dali’s The Persistence of Time, Edvard Munch’s The Scream and Georges Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon on the Island... Continue Reading →
This is a column about Anne Hathaway. It’s also a column about Anne Hathaway. Anne the former was born and lived in the Elizabethan era. Aside from being married to the playwright William Shakespeare, little is known about her. Anne the latter lives in whatever era we’re in right now. Because she is a present-day... Continue Reading →
“Get up, stand up / Stand up for your right” sang Bob Marley on the Wailers’ protest anthem “Get Up, Stand Up.” The song was a call for the oppressed to demand justice, liberty and equality. https://youtu.be/RhJ0q7X3DLM?si=-TrQEcuZwQGfaOTp On March 12, 1990, 500 protesters marched from the White House to the Capitol, demanding passage of the... Continue Reading →
Next Generation Ballet’s Summer Intensive is a perennial event for Gabriella Yudenich. Since 2018, the former soloist with the Pennsylvania (now Philadelphia) Ballet has shared her talent and experience with the young dancers in Next Generation Ballet’s Summer Intensive. Gabriella Yudenich performing Myrta in Giselle. The culmination of the Summer Intensive is its showcase, Friday,... Continue Reading →
For every chosen one, there is a multitude of the non-chosen, the ones whose resumes will be kept on file in case something opens up. For every boy wizard destined to save the universe there is the rest of his magic school graduating class, competent spell-casters destined to pull rabbits out of hats at children’s... Continue Reading →
July is National Anti-Boredom Month. We don’t know who chose July, but their reasoning seems sound. It’s the middle of summer and going outside means being blinded by the sun and swamped by heat and humidity. Better to stay inside where it’s air-conditioned. Soon, though, staring at screens (or the walls) loses its luster. You... Continue Reading →
Future stars shone on Broadway Monday night as the Jimmy Awards saluted some of the most promising young thespians from across the U.S. Jimmy Awards showcasing young thespians across the US. Photo by Angela of York. Zayda Martin and Jayden Vega, this year’s winners of Straz Center’s Broadway Star of the Future Awards, were among... Continue Reading →
Late one cold Thursday afternoon, a seamstress boarded a Montgomery, Ala., city bus for the ride home from work. As the bus filled up with more passengers, African-American riders, including the seamstress, were ordered by the driver to move to the back to allow white riders to be seated. Nearly every aspect of life in... Continue Reading →
They aren’t called intensives for nothing. A class of Patel Conservatory theater students is currently immersed in rehearsals for a production of Shakespearean spoof Something Rotten! The rehearsals follow a week of master classes and guest artists, theater professionals with real-world experience. The students are enrolled in Patel’s Broadway Intensive, a four-week program that culminates... Continue Reading →
“I’m not an actor! I’m a movie star!” So protests Alan Swann, a past-his-prime film idol who discovers the television program on which he’s about to appear is broadcast live. https://youtu.be/eTbLkYmWZJo?si=akZMdQbCxWvbXVFZ The scene is from My Favorite Year, the 1982 film based on Mel Brooks’ experience as a young writer on Your Show of Shows,... Continue Reading →
With SHUCKED running in Morsani Hall now until June 8, what better way to enjoy the show all about corn than with a southwest-style corn chowder recipe? Curated by our own head chef Gunther Lopez, this recipe encapsulates all there is to love about mellow yellow maize. “This soup is rich and comforting, with a... Continue Reading →
June 6 is National Day of Sweden, which commemorates two historical events that took place on this date: the 1523 election of Gustav Vasa as Sweden’s king, which established Sweden as an independent nation; and the adoption of Sweden’s constitution in 1809. Gustav Vasa legally created the hereditary monarchy and organized the Swedish unitary state.... Continue Reading →
Shucked, the hit musical with all the corn jokes and a sneaky little message about inclusion, has drawn raves from audiences. The musical’s upcoming run in Morsani Hall could be extra special because, well, Tampa’s in the show. Not all of us, like everybody in Tampa, is in the show. But our city, our home,... Continue Reading →
Some are born to puppeteer. Some have puppeteering thrust upon them. Spencer Meyers falls into the latter category. Spencer Meyers, group sales manager at Straz Center. After Spencer successfully manipulated not one but two puppets – including the lead – in 2002’s Straz production of Avenue Q, Jobsite Theater’s Producing Artistic Director David Jenkins tapped... Continue Reading →
Stage fright is the scourge of many performers across all disciplines. Performers who suffer with it can at least know they’re in good company. Barbra Streisand flubbed some lyrics at a 1967 Central Park concert and didn’t perform live again for nearly 30 years. Laurence Olivier, the actor’s actor, became so rattled playing Othello that... Continue Reading →
When the works of renowned choreographers are staged, someone will be there to ensure they are staged to the choreographer’s specifications. That someone is a repetiteur, and Philip Neal is one. For our purposes, he’s two. Philip, chair of Patel Conservatory’s Dance Department and artistic director of Next Generation Ballet, is a repetiteur for the... Continue Reading →