Drew Eberhard - Page 7

Just shy of a year ago which seems crazy to think about now, myself and other patrons sat in the familiar space surrounded by familiar faces to embark on a journey with a group of characters outside our normalcy. Think about that sentence for a minute. Almost a year later and we are still trying to grasp our ideals of what “normalcy” truly means. Nonetheless, the fine staff at Stageworks Theatre in Tampa’s Channelside District opened their doors once more to present an evening of live, socially distanced in person performances to remove our weary minds of the mundane, and help us escape what has now become our new normal. With names delegated on seats socially distanced away from other patrons, and masks donned by staff and audience alike, it had the welcoming feeling of being home once more. Aside from the temperature checks and socially distanced restroom protocols, the welcoming feeling of old and new friends gathering in a familiar place was comforting and much needed. The staff at Stageworks should be commended here for their top-notch protocols in place there was not an uneasy feeling to be had. Producing Artistic Director Karla Hartley welcomed everyone in her speech and with candor and compassion welcomed us back into the doors of a space we all know and love. A beautiful homage to those personally affected...stars have been placed across the front row of the audience which made for a touching tribute in these times.

Webster defines DOUBT as; “to call into question the truth of: to be uncertain of or in doubt about.” Webster further applies the following definitions for DOUBT as, “ a lack of confidence, an inclination not to believe or accept, as uncertainty of belief or opinion that often interferes with decision making, and finally a deliberate suspension of judgement.”

27 Characters, 1 performer, allow me to say it again…27 DIFFERENT CHARACTERS, 1 PERFORMER. Over the course of a 2 Hour span, 1 Performer has the daunting task of honing in on 27 different perspectives, different accounts of a real event. A real event that happened in 1992 but hits just as hard at the core today as it did a mere 28 years ago. Think about that for a minute; an event that happened 28 years ago is just as real, just as haunting today as it was back then. In a world surrounded by testimony on all sides of the spectrum, in a world surrounded by opinions where does the grey area fall? Why are events so controversial then be just as relevant in the world we know today? This brings back to memory the prologue from Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, “Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean…” Now 28 years later this has very much become, “…the two-hour traffic of our stage.”

Whether you grew up in the 1960s, an adult in the 1960s, or a child of any decade after; you have probably heard most of the music that was popular in yesteryear. Whether you grew up listening to the songs in the car, on the radio, or raced home to catch your favorite TV personality singing on TV, the songs probably bring up fond memories. Every once in a while a musical comes along that makes you a?oeForget all your troublesa??.a?? and take a break from reality. The five incredible women making up the company of Shout: the MOD Musical on stage at the Straz Center Jaeb Theatre have done just that. They have taken songs from yesteryear and brought them into our atmosphere in a groovy and relevant way, and the cast did so with gusto, grace and poise. Director Alison Burns put together a tight knight cast and a toe-tapping band, that had the audiences dancing in their seats shortly after the first number. The big thing on Broadway currently is the a?oeJukebox Musicala?? with musicals such as Ain't Too Proud: Life and Times of the Temptationsa??, TINA: The Tina Turner Musical, and the upcoming MJ: The Musical chronicling the life and greatest hits of Michael Jackson. With this and more being a huge hit on Broadway and Tours across the globe, it gave the STRAZ an opportunity to tap into the market and bring the a?oeJukebox Musicala?? Bayside and allow us to experience all that reminiscing has to offer.

Imagine for a minute going home... moving away, and coming back to the town you once knew. The town you grew up in, fell in and out of love, and yet something still calls you back home. This ideal and the centralized themes that lessons from our past will continue to haunt our futures is the heart of the story found deep within the roots of Josh Tobiessen's Lone Star Spirits on stage at freeFall Theatre after its transfer from the Hippodrome in Gainsville. Josh Tobiessen's script is smart, edgy and full of laughs and is a thrilling comedy keeping you tuned in from the first beer to the last shot of whiskey. Director Stephanie Lynge and the entire producing team at the Hippodrome have put together a top notch show that is so fine-tuned you feel just as much a part of this small town as the characters at its center. Something very intriguing about this story is the dialogue and the flow in which its delivered. I think Director Stephanie Lynge said it best in her Director's Notes by saying, 'When you read the script, you can hear the pattern of the dialogue and how it trips along, builds to a joke, and then tops it again with another. And each individual character has their own voice, even in the writing. You can hear the dry humor of Jessica and the stumbling nature of Walter just from reading off the page. A truly gifted comedic writer like Mr. Tobiessen is a gift to a director and the actors as well, guiding us into the world he has created.' This is just one very true testament of what makes this show great.

Topher Payne's witty, smart, and sharply fine-tuned work Morningside gives an ingenious glimpse into the lives of eight women some friends, but mostly family. Grounded deep in Southern Pride, heartfelt lessons, and the idea that above all family is what matters most proves to be the heart of this side-splitting a?oemother of all baby showers.a?? In 2015 Topher Payne was interviewed for Backstage Magazine where he described his writing style by saying, a?oeIf you can make someone laugh, they listen. And they lean in and they want to hear more. And once you have that level of engagement, then you can start layering in a message that you want them to take away. You can do that in film. You can do that in a book. But the act of being in the same room with the storyteller is just fundamentally different. It lands differently.a?? The cast, crew and entire company making up the ensemble of Morningside should be exceptionally proud of the work that was shown onstage; for the a?oeMother of all Baby Showers,a?? turned out to be one of the finest displays of ensemble acting to come from one company of outstanding actresses. Everyone in the audience and the Tampa theatre community respectively didn't quite know but over the course of two-hours found this to not be the show they wanted but to be the show they needed.

Anyone with connections to any form of Pop Culture within the last two decades is sure to have come into contact with the 2004 smash-hit Mean Girls the film of the same name, which was written by Tina Fey and Mark Waters. From the moment Queen-Bee Regina George portrayed in the film by Rachel McAdams terrorized North Shore High and victimized not only girls but boys alike Mean Girls earned its Cult-worthy status. With quotable lines such as, a?oeThat's so Fetch..a?? and a?oeOn Wednesdays We Wear Pinka??a?? and moments like Jingle Bell Rock, Tina Fey, and cast produced a Comedy-Hit that is still relevant two decades later. Now a full year and a half later Mean Girls which is still in residence at the August Wilson Theatre in New York City where the Broadway Cast has been continuously blowing the roof off of North Shore High since August of 2018, audiences all across the U.S. get to experience this relevant and outstanding cultural phenomenon.

Marley (freeFall favorite Marissa Toogood) is back in her small Texas hometown for what she hopes to be an easy trip to deal with some family business. When she arrives at her estranged father's liquor store with her hipster fiancé, there is a collision between who she is and where she comes from. By the time Marley finally manages to reveal to her father the real reason for her visit, things are further complicated by the ghost of the bear-wrestling pioneer who used to live in the store. LONE STAR SPIRITS is a fast-paced comedy with hairpin turns that takes a hilarious and sympathetic look at family, spirituality, those who stay and those who leave, and the ghosts that haunt us either way.

The time is 2008, the place Detroit...this and more sets the stage for a hard hitting, knockout Tour de Force that chills you to the bone. Dominique Morisseau's Skeleton Crew is a searing, eye opening look into the workforce division between blue-collar and white-collar and what might happen when the division of power crosses the line. I think director L. Peter Callender sums it up best in his director's notes by saying, 'Dominique Morisseau's 'Detroit Project' plays: DETROIT '67, PARADISE BLUE, and SKELETON CREW, not unlike August Wilson's 'Century Cycle' or Shakespeare's History plays, offer a sharply focused, raw, sometimes harsh, always heart-wrenching, beautifully penned look at the rigors of survival when driven souls must make high stakes, life or death choices. Dreams, hope, despair, mystery and secrets all fill the hearts and minds of her characters in the poetic and humorous Skeleton Crew.' The tight knit ensemble of four of the finest actors to hit the stage in some time do Morisseau's words justice and do so with gusto. From the moment the music is heard, to the first words spoke you are gripping on every breathtaking moment in this top-notch performance, that left you winded and exaspirated in all the best ways possible. The chill left down my spine from this show still lingers even days later.

Like an ode that harkens back to the great a?oeAlma Mater'sa?? of yesteryear one truth rings out loud above them all, and that is a?oelove an acceptance above all.a?? Love what you have and work with what you got, and make your best in the world no matter what life throws your way. This and more is the centralized theme surrounding the story of the not-much done and surprisingly overlooked busking type musical BKLYN which took center stage at the HCC Ybor Campus Friday night. SLT or more formally known as Spanish Lyric Theatre pulls out all the stops in this Tour de Force which is aptly carried in the hands of five amazing performers and aptly dealt from the hands of his appropriately penned a?oeStory-tellera?? hands Derek Baxter, and all involved should be commended. Baxter has become a staple in the Tampa Bay Theatre scene with such visionary productions of Jekyll & Hyde, and Disney's The Little Mermaid. He does the same here with the no-nonsense, no-frills but completely captivating production of this musical which can be described as The Field of Dreams of Musical Theatre, where if you build it they will come! Going back to pulling out all the stops, SLT even invited Broadway Star and the Original Brooklyn from the Broadway production Eden Espinosa to opening night. After listening to Eden last night speak about how emotionally moved she was from this performance, I knew SLT had a Golden Ticket with BKLYN.

A special VIP event on February 7, will be held at 7pm at the HCC Mainstage Theatre prior to the Tampa debut of Brooklyn, the Musical. After the show, Miss Espinosa will share her thoughts on the production during a talkback.  Then on February 8, Miss Espinosa will conduct a master class from 9am-12 pm also at HCC. This intimate experience will allow 14 performers to sing a song of their choice and receive individualized feedback from Miss Espinosa. Observer tickets are also available for purchase. Observers will be able to watch the entire session, as well as participate in the Q & A.

The time is 1946, the place a showroom in a modest funeral home. Let me reitterate; the time is 1946, a time where Racism is alive and well. 2 actresses take the stage and for the next 95 uninterrupted minutes we are strapped in for a ride unlike any other through faith, Gospel, love, family, and coming to grips with who you are, 1946 feels a lot like today in a show so resonating and moving if you blinked you'd miss everything. A modest funeral home amongst the casket sits an upright piano, a guitar case, an amplifier, a podium adorned with sheet music and numerous suitcases with clothes strewn about. This sets the scene for the pivotal and moving story laid before us. Eric Davis Artistic Director of freeFall in his opening curtain speech informed the audience that an immediate replacement was needed for the role of Rosetta Tharpe and within 4 rehearsals the replacement took the stage in front of a sold-out crowd on opening night. Now in times like these you sit and wonder about the forthcoming endeavor, but all worry subsided when the ladies playing Rosetta Tharpe and Marie Knight graced us with their presence and incapsulating beautiful vocals that rendered the room speechless with every note.

Auntie Mame not to be confused with Mame the popular musical version tells the story of the life of Mame Dennis and her orphaned nephew Patrick over the course of 18 years of time. Mame Dennis a swinging and very progressive woman with a zest/zeal for the finer things in life is left to be the guardian of her late brothers young boy. Teaching the boy about the finer things in life and a laundry list of new vocabulary Mame leaves nothing to the imagination for this young boy to be brought up in a world unlike that of which he's known. The script by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee is based on the novel by Patrick Dennis; which lends itself to some funny, touching, and endearing moments.

From a Kabuki drop and into the world of Agrabah the audience Friday night was completely swept up in a glamorous spectacle that continued throughout the evening. From moving set pieces, a flying carpet, and stunning costumes all the stops were pulled out for this production. Not one minute of this high flying production allowed for the audience to be underwhelmed. The choreography was perfectly in sync, and the voices matched and blended so seamlessly, it was hard to catch your breath from all the jaw dropping performances laid before you, as this cast truly like a well-oiled machine left everything on the stage.

3 tapestry panels, of multi-color and tribal patterns adorn the backdrop of a minimalized set surrounding the story of two women of color in their 30's. The women subliminally named SBF 1 and SBF 2 enter the space and like a conversation over Friday night cocktails with friends the show commences. A 90 minute riff on Modern Pop culture references touches on several decades in the young women's lives. The 19 century Modern woman in the 1970's, 80's, and 90's are described through comedic and sometimes endearing vignettes. Fluid Expressions a newer Theatrical Company in the Tampa Bay area who's missions is, a?oeArt for the conscious mind,a?? chose Lisa B. Thompson's script for their season opener, and through solid performances by the two women, the audience enjoyed their evening.

An old fashioned hearing aid and a strong willed woman at its helm with dreams as big as the universe she wishes to discover is one of many centralized themes presented in this brilliant staging of Lauren Gunderson's Silent Sky at American Stage Theatre. At the center of the stage two desk faced by numerous books on shelves in a workspace for women at Harvard University, where women are paid a mere .25 cents on the hour to a?oecomputea?? and manually log the patterns of stars in the galaxy given on glass plates by their male counterparts. At this point in Harvard's history women were not allowed to work alongside the men no matter their prior education or status. Men had their place, and women had theirs and men liked to make sure the women knew their place in the hierarchy. It was one women's dream to be credited amongst the likes of men in the Astrology department, and through sheer will power she set out to prove just that.

Upon entering the space the audience is immediately surrounded by the dwellings of a castle. The beautiful set design by Tom Hansen lent itself well to this harkened tale of Christmas in England. Henry II, King of England and his ward Alais are seen talking about their love and the King donning a Blood Red Crown that has been exquisitely crafted to the finest detail. Soon we meet the three sons of King Henry, Richard Lionheart, John and Geoffrey. All three are bastards in the eyes of King Henry and all three feel their stake at the Crown is higher, and more deserving than the others. Whether written into the script or a Directors choice, the use of Christmas carols, both modern and Baroque was a nice touch and lent itself well to the story and made scene changes seamless. A nice touch from the set design was having the pieces of the King's table fly in from up above and added nicely to the set. The texture of having the candles on every inch of the set, gave the castle a warm feeling and made it also feel very elegant and regal.

Gothic, Spooky, and down right Mind-Bending are just three words used to describe the deeply affecting, and resonating performance during freeFall Theatre's enigmatic opening to their 19/20 Season a?oeGhostlight.a?? Upon entering the theatre the audience is immediately incapsulated in a world of Gothic Noir. Like something bursting out of a?oeMidnight in the Garden of Good and Evila?? and blended well with real water, the stage was set and the mood was placed for an eerie and beautiful trip. Over the next enthralling 75 minutes two actors of supreme grandiose proportions took the audience on an unforgettable trip across the pond to Essex, and the opening night audience in mere sell out lingered on every word. Even a chill in the air lent itself to the spooky good time set before us. A true tour-de-force helmed exceptionally well by Director Timothy Saunders, two characters simply named a?oeMana?? and a?oeWomana?? took our breath away and left a chill down our spine that still resonates with me days later.

There's always onea??one slight chance of a failed attempt at a good thing. Like the end of a show that has been so climactic up and down, left and right, that binging the entire season in one sitting is a no brainer. Only to find that the ending you have been longing fora??the ending you've spent countless hours trying to reach is a mere upset, and for that the entire plight of sitting on the sofa or in the lazy boy connecting with the characters seems like time you'll never get back.