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If you’re in Sarasota, be sure to check out the Asolo Repertory Theatre production of Working (May 14-June 8), re-imagined with new material from Stephen Schwartz and Lin-Manuel Miranda that will include additional characters that expand the scope of this musical which shows how work can degrade the worker’s self-worth and cultural legacy. Also at Asolo Repertory, Craig Wright’s Lady (May 9-June 1) follows three boyhood friends on a hunting trip as they discover that their common thread is being stretched to the breaking point.
Closer to Tampa Bay, the Manatee Players will bring turn of the century American life to the stage this month with their production of Ragtime (May 8-25) in Bradenton. Neil Simon’s Pulitzer-Prize winning comedy, Brighton Beach Memoirs (May 15-June 1), will open at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center with the playwright’s memories of his family in 1930s Brooklyn.
Also on the Western coast, get another dose of Neil Simon at the Venice Little Theatre in Venice with Come Blow Your Horn (May 13-25). Buddy leaves home to live with his playboy brother, but he soon finds that the carefree life has more cares than he wishes. The Hobbit (May 8-18) will also play at the Venice Little Theatre, a dramatization of J.R. Tolkien’s novel by Patricia Gray. Join Bilbo Baggins on his adventure of epic proportions.The Florida Repertory Theatre will present Visiting Mr. Green in Fort Myers, May 2-18, Jeff Baron’s award winning play about a young business executive, an old Jewish widower, and what they can teach each other about life and love.
On the opposite coast in the West Palm Beach area, enjoy the sharp comic lines of Carter W. Lewis in Ordinary Nation (May 9-June 15) at Florida Stage in Manalapan. Between his poker playing daughter and his bookie father, Nation Jones has to go all-in. If you have a taste for courtroom drama, take a trip further south to the Delray Beach Playhouse for their production of Reginald Rose’s Twelve Angry Men (May 16-June 1). Best known from the Henry Fonda film, the play follows the attempts of one man to convince eleven other jurors to spare the life of a young man charged with the murder of his own father. Further south you’ll find an equally serious dramatic slice in Makeover (opens May 2) at the Hollywood Playhouse in Hollywood. The play follows Valerie and her deal with the devil for the dream of being beautiful and the complications that ensue.
For the more comedic palette, Sixth Start Studios will be Combing Through Life’s Tangles (May 23-June 8) in Boca Raton with songs, short films, and most importantly drama. In Fort Lauderdale, the South Florida Theater Festival has I’m Not Rappaport (May 1-18) at the New Vista Theater, a serio- comic play about two octogenarians determined to fight off any attempt to put them out to pasture.
Moving further down the east coast, Lee Blessing’s A Body of Water (May 8-June 1) at the Mosaic Theatre in Plantation is a trip into the unknown with a couple who wake up one morning to find themselves in a strange house atop a mountain surrounded by water with no idea who they are or how they got there. The surreal circumstances continue further south in Miami with Shakespeare Miami’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (May 1) in the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens. Enjoy a balmy evening in the garden for a staged reading of this classic story of love crossed and re-crossed again with the help of a few fairies along the way.
Also in the Miami area, take a chance with Rupert Holmes’ new mystery comedy Thumbs (May 7-25) at the Actor’s Playhouse. Set in an isolated cabin in Vermont, this is the story of two equally clever women from two very different walks of life who will need all their wit and will to survive a cat-and-mouse game with a devious killer. The Adrianne Arsht Center has several short offerings this month, starting with Low: Meditation Trilogy, Part One (May 9-10). Written and performed by Rha Goddess, the show dives right into the mind of a creative young girl who is spiraling into madness. The Broadway Across America tour of Avenue Q will also make a stop at the Arsht Center (May 13-18) with all their mix of smart risqué humor and lovable puppets. This show is recommended for ages 13 and up.
There are plenty of shows for children this month, including Madeline and the Bad Hat (May 3) at the Duncan Theatre in Lake Worth, the Miami’s Childrens’ Theater production of Pajama Game (May 8-18) at the Dave and Mary Alper JCC, Seussical: The Musical (May 9-11) at the Dillard Center for the Arts in Ft. Lauderdale, and Fantasy Theatre Factory will call in Nick Tickle: Fairy Tale Detective (May 8-16) for a short tour through Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Tampa.
