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Chris Silk

Chris Silk Social media wizard, arts writer and theatre critic for Naples Daily News (@ndn). Starbucks devotee. Blogger & #sbuxdrama creator. Britcom lover. Snarky. +3 Twitter power.

Chris began reviewing local theater performances for the Daily News during the fall of 2007. His first review was of Queen Latifah's slamming performance at the Philharmonic, while his favorite so far has been "Eagle Fruit," British playwright Terry Johnson's scream-and-leap blast of performance art for the spiritually deprived from the Laboratory Theater of Florida in December 2009.





MOST POPULAR ARTICLES


Holiday Theater in Fort Myers, Naples and the Rest of Southwest Florida
BWW Reviews: Glowing VENUS IN FUR Unfolds at Gulfshore Playhouse
BWW Reviews: Glowing VENUS IN FUR Unfolds at Gulfshore Playhouse
October 8, 2013

The fur flew. Oh, come on. That pun wrote itself. The play is called 'Venus in Fur.' Caucasian sable from Kazakhstan. And subtext. Acres of subtext - even if we never get acres of skin. This isn't porn, after all. Unless you use your imagination. '…opening the fur to reveal her glories?'

Gulfshore Playhouse Offers $1 Pay-What-You-Can Preview for VENUS IN FUR
Gulfshore Playhouse Offers $1 Pay-What-You-Can Preview for VENUS IN FUR
September 28, 2013

Kristen Coury cannot wait to find out what Neapolitans think about the Gulfshore Playhouse season opener 'Venus in Fur.' She won't have long to wait for feedback. Walk into the Norris Center in downtown Naples on Wednesday night. Pay any amount you chose ($1 minimum) with cash, check or credit card. No chickens, please. Watch the show. Tell your friends.

BWW Reviews: Off-Broadway Palm's YOU SAY TOMATO, I SAY SHUT UP Offers Laugh-Out-Loud Comedy
BWW Reviews: Off-Broadway Palm's YOU SAY TOMATO, I SAY SHUT UP Offers Laugh-Out-Loud Comedy
September 28, 2013

Full credit to director Paul Bernier. He saw something in 'You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up' that I didn't - and then took his cast there, to hilarious effect. Rachael Endrizzi and Adam Clough deliver a charming, laugh-out-loud performance that bids to become the season's first must-see comedy.

BWW Reviews: BIRTH Labors to Show Engaging View of Delivery Process
BWW Reviews: BIRTH Labors to Show Engaging View of Delivery Process
September 10, 2013

Only the most oblivious could miss the symbolism of a play about birth being delivered on Labor Day weekend. 'Birth,' Karen Rachel Brody's dissection of popping out a baby, labors under the belief that audiences want to hear eight sometimes gut-wrenching stories about childbirth. Maybe we do.

BWW Previews: BBMann Bets Big on Small Musical ONCE
BWW Previews: BBMann Bets Big on Small Musical ONCE
August 26, 2013

Scott Saxon has a rather unique description for quirky musical 'Once.' He calls it 'the anti-blockbuster,' elaborating that the charming Tony-winner is the 'exact opposite' of shows like 'Wicked,' 'Jersey Boys,' 'Spamalot' or even rousing 'Rock of Ages.'

BWW Reviews: Broadway Palm Belts Bacharach in BURT & ME
BWW Reviews: Broadway Palm Belts Bacharach in BURT & ME
August 24, 2013

'Burt & Me' emerges really fun, if flighty, but John Ramsey leads a vocally talented, enthusiastic cast that puts an appealing spin on the thin material.

BWW Reviews: Beck Belts Tunes of Legend in A CLOSER WALK WITH PATSY CLINE
BWW Reviews: Beck Belts Tunes of Legend in A CLOSER WALK WITH PATSY CLINE
June 8, 2013

As Patsy would say, God bless Heather J. Beck. 'That girl can sing!' The songstress renders an uncanny vocal portrait of the country music legend up on the Broadway Palm stage in the early summer revue 'A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline.' She's 'Crazy' good.

BWW Reviews: STAGE 2 IMPROV Laughs into Naples
BWW Reviews: STAGE 2 IMPROV Laughs into Naples
June 8, 2013

Maybe improv does have a future in Naples. Stage 2 Improv - 'the next stage of comedy' (insert eye roll here) - served up a loud, lively, way-better-than-I expected debut in the Naples Players' black box space Friday night.

BWW Reviews: DREAMGIRLS Shimmies Into Naples
BWW Reviews: DREAMGIRLS Shimmies Into Naples
May 23, 2013

Shimmy shimmy. Shake shake. Dip. Croon. Sparkle. Wail. Ooooooh. 'We're you're 'Dreamgirls.' Delightful, delicious, feathery, fluffy musical 'Dreamgirls' floated into the Phil (sigh, Artis-Naples) Wednesday. There's a reason the show appears for 'One Night Only,' but the music of Motown makes it a speedy one.

Summer Stages: BWW's Top Summer Theatre Picks - Fort Myers/Naples
Summer Stages: BWW's Top Summer Theatre Picks - Fort Myers/Naples
June 14, 2013

Summer is just around the corner, and with its arrival comes a host of exciting entertainment options for the entire family. Here are our picks for the hottest performances that will hit the stages of northern New Jersey!

BWW Reviews: Gulfshore Playhouse Brings Callas to Life With MASTER CLASS
BWW Reviews: Gulfshore Playhouse Brings Callas to Life With MASTER CLASS
April 15, 2013

'Master Class,' Terrence McNally's play about the life of opera diva Maria Callas, seems tailor-made to continue the partnership between Gulfshore Playhouse and the Naples Philharmonic. Produced by Gulfshore, performed in the Daniels Pavilion, the show combines a larger-than-life character, smart writing, lush music and operatic arias.

BWW Reviews: FULLY COMMITTED Opens for Dinner at BIG ARTS on Sanibel
BWW Reviews: FULLY COMMITTED Opens for Dinner at BIG ARTS on Sanibel
April 2, 2013

There's one man (and a bunch of junk) on the stage. There's 40 characters on the stage. There's a laptop. A desk. A chair. A phone. An intercom. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. That. Incessant. ########## ####### ####### ######## ######## #######-ing RING! 'Good evening, 'Fully Committed;' could you hold please?'

BWW Reviews: SECOND CITY Delivers First-Rate Comedy in Naples
BWW Reviews: SECOND CITY Delivers First-Rate Comedy in Naples
March 27, 2013

There's a reason - a simple one - that Second City can fill an auditorium on a cold, windy evening in late March in Naples, when the sun is shining and the million distractions of a coastal resort town beckon. These guys are good. Very, very good.

BWW Reviews: FOX ON THE FAIRWAY Eagles Out with Laughs at Broadway Palm
BWW Reviews: FOX ON THE FAIRWAY Eagles Out with Laughs at Broadway Palm
March 25, 2013

Two rival golf clubs. A prodigy with a broken arm. A priceless vahze. A $200,000 wager. Granny's engagement ring. The Golf Channel. Oprah. Raw oysters. Champagne. There's even a couple putters, a driver and few golf balls knocking about the stage. Sounds like a recipe for a disaster on stage and laughter in the seats!

BWW Reviews: Sassy SETH RUDETSKY Entertains in Naples
BWW Reviews: Sassy SETH RUDETSKY Entertains in Naples
March 25, 2013

Thank you, Seth Rudetsky. The last thing you expect to hear on a wet Wednesday in March is a cover of 'I Dreamed A Dream,' that song from 'Les Miserables,' yes THAT song, as performed by Aretha oh please no Franklin. The tune. It … it … travels?

BWW Reviews: OTHER DESERT CITIES Explodes Onto Florida Rep Stage
BWW Reviews: OTHER DESERT CITIES Explodes Onto Florida Rep Stage
March 25, 2013

Florida Repertory Theatre scored a coup, grabbing the rights to red-hot Jon Robin Baitz play 'Other Desert Cities' for their 2012-13 season. In some ways a thinly veiled take on Ron and Nancy Reagan, the show features a daughter confronting conservative parents over long-buried family secrets.

BWW Reviews: Florida Rep Casts Magical Spell with FANTASTICKS
BWW Reviews: Florida Rep Casts Magical Spell with FANTASTICKS
March 25, 2013

Call. Now. Get tickets to the Florida Rep production of 'The Fantasticks.' You, dear readers, will love the show. The opening night audience cooed in delight and sheer merriment at streamers and confetti and the banging of a drum. The smooth glissando of a harp evokes a garden, washed in lunar rays, the rapid tapping of piano keys the gallop of brigands.

BWW Reviews: WHIPPING MAN Delivers Extraordinary Theatre Experience at Gulfshore Playhouse
BWW Reviews: WHIPPING MAN Delivers Extraordinary Theatre Experience at Gulfshore Playhouse
March 25, 2013

Gulfshore Playhouse explores the Civil War in frightening, fascinating, thrilling, daresay even extraordinary fashion in this Matthew Lopez show. 'The Whipping Man' covers a few days after Lee's surrender at Appomattox. A Jewish soldier returns home to find his house in ruins, just two former slaves left and his family gone. As the starving, uneasy trio celebrates Passover with a makeshift Seder, bitter truths come out.

BWW Reviews: LES MISERABLES Tour Thunders into Fort Myers
BWW Reviews: LES MISERABLES Tour Thunders into Fort Myers
March 25, 2013

Let's get to the point. 'Les Miserables' is back in Southwest Florida for the second time in fifteen months, playing through March 17 at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall in Fort Myers. Will you like it? That depends. I didn't. You will. Because Tuesday's opening night crowd went absolutely nuts. Two curtain calls and almost no one ran screaming for the exits as if Inspector Javert was hot on their heels waiting to toss them into the Bastile. If the seats don't empty during bows, you know the folks in the 239 have got some major love for what's on stage.



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