Theater News

Florida Spotlight: June 2008

Superstar Summer

Ted Neeley in Jesus Christ Superstar
(© Joan Marcus)
Ted Neeley in Jesus Christ Superstar
(© Joan Marcus)

Broadway Across America will make a divine appearance this month with Jesus Christ Superstar (June 13-19) at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, starring Ted Neeley (who starred in the 1973 film) in the title role and Corey Glover as Judas. For more musical magic, get a taste of Jason Robert Brown at the Tamarac Theatre of Performing Arts with The Last Five Years (June 28-July 20), a musical montage that recalls the relationship between Jamie Wellerstein and Cathy Hiatt from their separate perspectives.

For Neil LaBute fans, Mosaic Theatre will present Wrecks (June 12-29), the story of one man’s unique love for his recently deceased wife. Rising Action Theatre will look at three Jewish women and their quest for love, self-definition, and fulfillment with Wendy Wasserstein’s Sisters Rosensweig (June 13-August 3).

Further north, Boca Raton has a few bits of comedy to wet your palette if you’re in the area. New Vista Theatre Company’s Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (June 12-29) will play at the West Boca Performing Arts Center with song parodies inspired by Allan Sherman’s catalog, including the Grammy winning album with the same name as the show. Also, check out the hilarious reunion of America’s swingin’ sweethearts years after their much publicized break-up in Pete N’ Keely (June 20-July 6) at the Caldwell Theatre Company.

If you’re in the West Palm Beach Area, you might want to venture up to Jupiter for a little entertainment. Formerly known as GC Comedy, the Jove will deliver another dose of sketch comedy, improvisation, and musical parody with Meet June Clever! (June 20-21) at the Atlantic Theater. For a bit of classic musical theater, don’t miss 42nd Street (June 27-28) at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre, presented by students of the Conservatory of Performing Arts Senior Conservatory.

In the Miami area, Gable Stage will explore a struggle between the living and the dead in Shining City (June 21-July 20). When a businessman keeps seeing the ghost of his dead wife, he seeks help from a therapist who is wrestling with his own demons. The drama will continue with the Jesus Quintero Studio production of The Sorrows of Young Werther (June 5-28) at Miami Light Project’s Light Box Studio. Using a combination of film projections, international music, dance, and dialogue in different languages, this piece tells the story of the narrator’s love triangle.

On the west coast, the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center will present Caryl Churchill’s adaptation of August Strindberg’s A Dream Play. The original surreal opera centers around a girl from another world who discovers why people complain so much.

Further south, the Manatee Players will bring back a hit from 2007 with Swing! (June 19-29) a musical dedicated to swing music in the 1940s at their theater in Bradenton. In Sarasota, four women at a lingerie sale have nothing in common but a black lace bra, memory loss, hot flashes, chocolate binges and everything else that comes with “the change” in Menopause: The Musical (Asolo Rep, June 13-July 13). The comedy continues with The Mystery of Irma Vep (June 25-July 13) at the Florida Studio Theatre. Don’t miss this satire on Wuthering Heights, Hitchcock’s Rebecca, The Mummy’s Curse and much more played by two actors who portray eight classic characters.

Also on the West Coast, explore Galileo’s life after being jailed in a tower in The Narrow Gate (June 19-29) by Scott Kopischke at the Venice Little Theatre. Enjoy the acidic wit and constant impatience of a brilliant mind trapped by his surroundings.

If you’re in the West Palm Beach Area, your little ones will enjoy Go Diego, Go Live! (June 18-19), based on the popular Nicolodeon television program, at the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts.