Tampa Theater Reviews Page 5

Review: THE SMELL OF THE KILL at Stageworks Theatre
by Drew Eberhard - February 12, 2023

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....

Review: THIS IS OUR YOUTH at The Off-Central Players
by Drew Eberhard - February 12, 2023

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 reviva...

Review: GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER? at the Carrollwood Players
by Peter Nason - February 11, 2023

Based on the classic 1967 film, it's mightily entertaining with a great message and a strong cast led by Kym Welch....

Review: Paul Potenza Will Break Your Heart as THE ELEPHANT MAN at The Tampa Repertory Theatre
by Peter Nason - February 06, 2023

Sometimes a show comes along that is so powerful, at times shattering, with a top-flight cast, that it deserves two Broadway World reviews. Tampa Rep's production of THE ELEPHANT MAN certainly fits into that category. My BWW colleague, Drew Eberhard, saw the show at its final preview, and I had the ...

Review: FALSETTOS at MAD Theatre of Tampa
by Drew Eberhard - February 04, 2023

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. ...

Review: THE ELEPHANT MAN at TampaRep
by Drew Eberhard - February 04, 2023

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 Bro...

Review: TINA: THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL IS “SIMPLY THE BEST...” TICKET IN TOWN at Straz Center For The Performing Arts
by Drew Eberhard - February 03, 2023

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 sto...

Review: Mat Smart's THE AGITATORS at FreeFall Theatre Company
by Drew Eberhard - January 29, 2023

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...

Review: LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS at the West Coast Players
by Peter Nason - January 29, 2023

You've never seen a LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS quite like this!...

Review: NEXT TO NORMAL Asks the Hard Questions at Manatee Players
by Drew Eberhard - January 28, 2023

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,...

Review: Tackling One of The Bard's Most Famous Tragedies, HAMLET, at Jobsite Theater
by Drew Eberhard - January 16, 2023

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

Review: THE WOLVES at ThinkTankTYA
by Drew Eberhard - January 15, 2023

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....

Review: The Angelica Tour Puts You 'In the Room Where It Happens...' with HAMILTON at the Straz Center
by Drew Eberhard - December 31, 2022

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 exc...

Review: A DAZZLING PRODUCTION OF “THE NUTCRACKER” TAKES CENTER STAGE THIS HOLIDAY SEASON at Straz Center For The Performing Arts
by Drew Eberhard - December 19, 2022

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 hear...

Review: Matt McGee in American Stage's WONDERFUL LIFE
by Peter Nason - December 18, 2022

A perfect cup of Christmas cheer, thanks to one of our area's most essential artists!...

Review: FOREVER PLAID: PLAID TIDINGS USHERS IN THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS at Straz Center For The Performing Arts
by Drew Eberhard - December 07, 2022

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...

Review: THE NIGHT BEFORE is the Perfect Gift at FreeFall Theatre Company
by Drew Eberhard - December 03, 2022

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 awhil...

Review: THE ROAD TO HELL IS A BEAUTIFUL RELEVANT JOURNEY WITH HADESTOWN at Straz Center For The Performing Arts
by Drew Eberhard - December 02, 2022

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 ...

Review: Kander & Ebb's Brilliant, Terrifically Terrifying CABARET at the Asolo Rep
by Peter Nason - November 25, 2022

It's a technical marvel from all aspects, with an outstanding cast beautifully directed by Josh Rhodes....

Review: GEORGE C WOLFE'S “THE COLORED MUSEUM” ON EXHIBIT at American Stage
by Drew Eberhard - November 13, 2022

The Colored Museum a play with music was written by George C. Wolfe. The play premiered at the Crossroads Theatre in 1986 and was directed by L. Kenneth Richardson. Wolfe’s work is the focus of 11 individual sketches or “exhibits” and through these revues, recounts satirical and prominent themes and...

Review: Caryl Churchill's A NUMBER at Studio Grand Central
by Drew Eberhard - November 13, 2022

A Number written by British Playwright Caryl Churchill first premiered in September of 2002 at the Royal Court Theatre in London, England. The play starred Michael Gambon in the role of Salter, and Daniel Craig in the role of Bernard (Et al.). Under critical reception, Churchill’s play was lauded fo...

Review: Rick Elise's Wildly Inventive PETER AND THE STARCATCHER at the Stage West Playhouse
by Peter Nason - November 13, 2022

An all-star ensemble with Ryan Bintz soaring to the top as the evil Black Stache!...

Review: Lucas Hnath's A DOLL'S HOUSE PART 2 at Tampa Repertory Theatre
by Drew Eberhard - November 05, 2022

Playwright Lucas Hnath was born and raised in Orlando, Florida. Later his move to New York led him to study Pre-Med, but soon he changed his major to Dramatic Writing, where he studied at Tisch School for the Arts earning a BFA, and subsequently following an MFA. Hnath is the playwright of 10 Dramat...

Review: SIX! THE MUSICAL SPARKLES AND DAZZLES at Straz Center For The Performing Arts
by Drew Eberhard - November 02, 2022

On Tuesday evening a packed house at Carol Morsani Hall at Tampa, Florida's Straz Center for the Performing Arts sat waiting in anticipation for the Broadway Season Opener SIX to begin. I myself have stayed relatively neutral to the show, and going in blind only hearing one or two songs, I was eager...

Review: Arthur Miller's ALL MY SONS Proves to Be a Relevant Classic at Berkley Preparatory School
by Drew Eberhard - October 29, 2022

Arthur Miller's subliminal masterpiece in a Three-Act structure All My Sons is what Miller considered his last-ditch effort at writing a commercially successful play. You see Miller's first play The Man Who Had All the Luck failed miserably on Broadway lasting a total of four performances. Miller co...