Drew Eberhard - Page 3

Mamet’s full-length comedy penned to appeal to young audiences premiered in 1978 at the Town Hall Performing Arts Center in Flushing, Queens a borough of New York City. The plot is messy, convoluted, and at some times almost mind-warping. The story follows the adventures of Binky Rudich, his friend Vivian Mooster and an almost human-like sheep Bob as they struggle to get the two-speed clock to work. Soon, Binky’s mother known as Mrs. Rudich calls for Binky to come down for lunch, Binky decides to hit the clock with a hammer one last time hoping to make it work. Suddenly the kids have blasted nearly 50 lightyears away from anything they’ve known to the planet of Crestview.

Ain’t Too Proud is a 2018 Jukebox Musical with original music and lyrics by the Temptations and a book written by Dominique Morisseau. It opened on Broadway at the Imperial Theatre in March of 2019.

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird was adapted for the stage by Aaron Sorkin and opened on Broadway at the Schubert Theatre in December of 2018. The play is set in 1930s Alabama and follows the story of Atticus Finch, a small-town lawyer in his defense trial of Tom Robinson, an African American man wrongfully accused of rape. However, Sorkin’s adaptation differs from the book by Lee, in which we see Atticus as the protagonist here, unlike the portrayal of Scout in Lee’s novel. Witnessing Atticus as the protagonist of the story we go on an emotional journey, and are able to see the change in Atticus as the show progresses. As Sorkin developed his adaptation, the production was faced with its own legal disputes. One being with the Lee estate in regards to its faithfulness to the original narrative, and the other to exclusivity rights regarding the use of the script by Christopher Sergel.

The Off-Central Players continue their Spring Season with Karen Zacarias’ “hot-button”comedy that packs all of the punches. Onstage from March 15-26, and directed by Jack Holloway, Native Gardens is not your average comedy. During its prologue, we meet Tanya and Pablo, a young “Millennial,” couple having just moved into a well-established neighborhood filled with the most unlikely of neighbors. Tanya is expecting a child anytime, and Pablo is on the partner track at the law firm in which he is dutifully employed. The house they decide to settle down in is a bit of a fixer-upper and is right next door to Frank and Virginia Butley. Frank and Virginia are of an older generation and have an established home in the neighborhood complete with a beautifully, meticulously kept garden.

Misery written by the incomparable “Master of Horror” Stephen King was first released via Viking Press on June 8, 1987. The story revolves around the main character, romance novelist Paul Sheldon, and his self-proclaimed number-one fan Annie Wilkes. Paul is seriously injured in a car crash, and Annie being a former nurse discovers Paul and brings him home for rehabilitation. While staying in Annie’s home, Paul receives treatment and pain meds and soon discovers he is prisoner and forced to adhere to all of his captor’s demands.

Shear Madness an audience interactive murder mystery whodunit play is the second of this seasons Straz-Produced productions produced fully in-house in the Straz Center’s Jaeb Theatre. Featuring a cast of local area talent, and spotlighting the incredible performers residing here in the bay area, Shear Madness is one of the longest-running non-musical plays in the world.

Michele Lowe’s calculated and chilly dark comedy The Smell of the Kill premiered at the Cleveland Playhouse in 1999. It later transferred to Broadway to the Helen Hayes Theatre in 2022 where it played only 40 performances.

This is Our Youth, is a play written by Playwright Kenneth Lonergan (The Waverly Gallery) and Screenwriter (Manchester by the Sea). Youth premiered off-Broadway in 1996, and since its premiere has seen productions all over the world on Broadway, in Sydney and Toronto. The most recent Broadway revival featured Michael Cera in the role of Warren and Kieran Culkin in the role of Dennis, featuring Tavi Gevinson as Jessica.

Falsettos, a primarily sung-through musical was written by William Finn and James Lapine and features two one-act installments March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland. The aforementioned are the last two additions to a trio of one-act musicals by Finn and Lapine, the other being called In Trousers.

Bernard Pomerance’s The Elephant Man, premiered at the Hampstead Theatre in London in November of 1977. Pomerance’s play also transferred to the National Theatre in London for an “In Rep” residency. From January to March of 1979 it played off-Broadway, and made a transfer to the Booth Theatre on Broadway later in 1979, but the production closed in 1981 after 916 regular performances. The Elephant Man received revivals in 2002 and 2014.

Over the past several years, jukebox musicals have taken the “Great White Way...” by storm. From shows such as “Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations,” “Jagged Little Pill,” “Moulin Rouge,” “Girl from the North Country,” and more recently “& Juliet,” “MJ the Musical,” all tell a story surrounded by a book of songs exploring the discography/career of musicians such as Alanis Morissette, The Temptations, Michael Jackson, and Bob Dylan to name a few.

The Agitators is a play that was created in 2017 by playwright Mat Smart, which was then later turned into a podcast. Commissioned by the New York State Council on the Arts, the play shows the friendly/and not-so-friendly relationship between Susan B. Anthony and Fredrick Douglass over the course of 45 years leading up to Douglass’s death. The play itself opens with Douglass playing the violin and Susan B. Anthony is at a picnic. After premiering shortly following the lifting of restrictions following the COVID-19 Pandemic, and being produced by the Alabama Shakespeare Festival in 2020. The play won the Edgerton Award in 2017 for New Play.

Next to Normal is a 2008 Rock Musical written by Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt. The plot tells the story of a mother (Diana) who struggles with progressive Bipolar Disorder and how managing the disease and its effects take a toll on her family. The award-winning musical covers such topics as depression, grief, suicide, drug abuse, and ethics of modern psychiatry all set against the backdrop of a suburban lifestyle.

Read BroadwayWorld's review of Hamlet at Jobsite Theater, and see how to purchase tickets.

The Wolves is a play written by Sarah DeLappe. It premiered off-Broadway in the 2016 season at The Duke at 42nd Street. The play has gone on to receive multiple awards and was a finalist in 2017 for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

From the opening drum sequence to the first note, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s behemoth musical that changed the course of the Modern American Musical as we have come to know it completely draws you in, and the silence of the room waiting with bated breath is almost extinguished by the deafening roar of excitement exuded from the audience.

Anyone who has ever taken the time to listen to Christmas Music, or thrust themselves into the droves of retail holiday shopping, has probably heard a familiar tune grace the airways. Throughout popular culture and even the likes of an M&M Candies commercial, cadences from The Nutcracker can be heard. So whether you grew up listening to classic Christmas tunes, or grew up near a big city, in some way shape or form you have heard of The Nutcracker. Always a go-to holiday event for families of all ages and generations, this classic story is brilliantly told through the art of dance, specifically in the form of Ballet.

Forever Plaid is an Off-Broadway Musical Revue that was first performed in 1989 in New York, and was written by Stuart Ross. Now the show is performed Internationally. The show itself featured Stan Chandler, Guy Stroman, Gabriel Barre, and Jason Graae in the 1989 New York Cast. While James Raitt was responsible for the Musical arrangement, vocal arrangements and music direction, the show was Directed and Choreographed by its writer Stuart Ross. The Musical Revue was produced into a feature film, which was released in 2009 starring two of the original cast members (Chandler, and Engel)and Larry Raben and Daniel Reichard as Sparky and Frankie respectively. Fans of the show will notice that in the film adaptation, “The Golden Cardigan,” and “Catch a Falling Star,” were omitted.

Allow me if you will a little indulgence as I set the scene. The year is 2020, the Global Pandemic that has riddled the world, and the country as we know it to shutter/ shelter in place. Like many Performing Arts Organizations, the folks at freeFall Theatre, known for their motto “Just escape awhile...” and their inventive way of producing live theatre, was struggling to find the best outlet to keep producing, while safely doing so for both performers and patrons alike. Producing Artistic Director Eric Davis and Director Matthew McGee began discussions about how to safely produce a Christmas Show that was full on Christmas versus just taking place around Christmas. In the past freeFall has produced works such as Peter & The Starcatcher, and The Lion in Winter that work for Christmas shows, but are not necessarily Christmas shows. They have also in the past produced A Christmas Carol, but being inventive, Eric Davis and company wanted to shake things up a little, and if any theatre is well known for doing just that, its freeFall. So you can say the show itself was born out of a challenge, and freeFall delivered ten-fold. The Night Before was such a hit, freeFall decided to bring it back this season for the second year in a row, with some new adaptations and new characters.

Yes, the Holiday Season is once again upon us. Time for merriment, gathering with friends, family, chosen family, and what have you to enjoy the sights, the sounds, and the food of the season. Amidst all of the hustle and bustle of the times, the Straz Center’s Carol Morsani Hall brings a different fable and tale of love, hope, and the courage to survive against all odds to its patrons following the close of Thanksgiving weekend, and ushering in the first week of December. Unlike Ghosts of both Past, and Present, patrons of the Straz Center are plunged head-first into a dark tale based on figures found in Greek Mythology, and the tale itself seems all too relevant and perfectly placed in our current climate. The Broadway Smash Hadestown takes the stage by storm and leaves no prisoners in its wake. I for one am thankful for this time, the time to sit in a sacred space and experience the undeniably beautiful event that is live theatre, and the Straz Center is the Gift that keeps on giving, not only during the holiday season but all year long. Their 2022/2023 Bank of America Broadway Season is one of the absolute best yet!