Deborah Bostock-Kelley - Page 15

In a train depot beautifully created and dressed by Chelsie Camaro Smith and props by Shirley Overton, not a detail is missed - from the ornate corners on the ticket booth to the weathered wood and grey concrete interior to the vintage magazines, telephones and stored luggage. Heather Cleveland's costumes add to the feel that the place looks like something that time passed over. And perhaps it has. This way station for the hesitant houses souls unable to make the transition from life to the afterlife, whichever direction the train may go.

Conversations in Bed at Powerstories Theatre was like taking a tape recorder to the audience, me included and writing down the serious, heartfelt and other times furious and ridiculous conversations we've had with our significant others before putting our heads on the pillow. Oohs, ahhs, and groans from the audience – proving just how relatable the mingled storylines were – stayed as a backdrop throughout the run of the 90-minute show.

As a way to honor the diversity in Tampa Bay, The Straz Center created The Straz Arts Legacy REMIX Project, where writers, actors, musicians, singers, and dancers join together to perform for at a free monthly event. On May 3, The Straz Arts Legacy REMIX Project will celebrate global storytelling. Sponsored by Publix and Tampa Downtown Partnership, the special event includes The Korean Association of West Florida, The Kuumba Dancers and Drummers, Tampa City Ballet, Shreyas Arts, and The Fred Johnson Jazz Ensemble.

When vocalist Rob Evan and conductor Randall Craig Fleisher got the idea to artistically fuse classical compositions with iconic rock and roll, do you think they ever imagined that their brainchild Rocktopia would be a beloved international music sensation 8 short years later? Direct from its smash-hit run on Broadway, on Tuesday, May 14, Rocktopia's one-of-a-kind musical arrangements return to Carol Morsani Hall at The Straz Center of Performing Arts.

Veterans of Broadway, Jana Robbins and Haley Swindal bring We Just Move On-The Songs of Kander and Ebb to Straz Center for the Performing Arts on May 19. Named one of the Top 9 Nightclub Cabaret Acts in New York in 2018, featuring some of the composer/lyricist's most iconic tunes from the extensive catalogue like 'Maybe This Time,' 'How Lucky Can You Get,' 'Life Is,' 'A Quiet Thing,' 'All That Jazz,' Jana and Haley tell the story of two women seeking fulfillment on Broadway.

Combine the whimsical world of Dr. Seuss with 47 eager student actors and you are in for a grand time when The Cat in the Hat, Horton, the Whos, and the other jungle animals bring the heartwarming tale of Seussical Jr. to life. The Patel Conservatory will present the toe-tapping musical at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts' TECO Theater April 25 through 27, with a special sensory-friendly performance on April 27.

Is an assumption not corrected, an invention born out of best intentions, a fabrication of truth that gives solace to a grieving family, still wrong? What if the lie unintentionally metamorphosizes into a voice for the silent, hope for the hopeless, a place where the invisible feel seen? On Tuesday night, April 9, the audience at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts was left pondering those questions during the emotional nuanced three-hour performance of the six-time Tony Award-winner in 2017 (including best musical), DEAR EVAN HANSEN.

If you enjoyed the 2008 and 2018 MAMMA MIA! movies, you are going to love the original musical from which the Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried-vehicle came. Running April 10 through May 12, featuring toe-tapping, danceable songs from the Swedish supergroup ABBA, American Stage has created the Greek island of Kalokairi at Demens Landing Park for its production of MAMMA MIA! under the direction of American Stage's artistic director Stephanie Gularte.

As its first production as part of the award-winning Penguin Project, with a huge cast of 68 members, New Tampa Players will bring Aladdin Jr. to stage at University Area CDC on April 5-7.

Tour-de-force performer Storm Large is happy to say there is nothing quote, unquote normal about her interactive, bawdy storytelling concert. She said that the audience can expect really good music, great performance, and musicianship when her show arrives at Straz Center of the Performing Arts on April 4.

Ever wonder if the Catholic nuns really make you put gum on your nose if you're caught chewing in class? On April 5-7, Mary Zentmyer will provide all those answers and so much more when "Late Nite Catechism" returns to Straz Center for the Performing Arts.

Actor Amadeo Fusca puts an original spin on the famous off-Broadway one-man show Men an Are From Mars. Women Are From Venus LIVE! at the Straz Center on March 28-31. Part theatre, part stand-up and based on the best-selling book by John Gray, Amadeo covers the stages of a relationship in a series of vignettes intermixed with real-life anecdotes and male and female characterizations.

On March 14, over 75 Patel Conservatory music students, fourth grade through adult, will join Patel Conservatory faculty on a variety of small chamber works. The music event will culminate in the performance of Antonio Vivaldi's 'Gloria' at The Portico, 1001 N Florida Ave, Tampa at 7pm.

Helmed by Kristin Clippard in her American Stage directorial debut, "The Roomate" by Jen Silverman opens at American Stage on March 13 through April 7. Dubbed "Breaking Bad meets Grace and Frankie," this breakout 2015 two-person dramedy, emerged from the prestigious Humana Festival of new American plays. In "The Roommate," Sharon (Annie Fitzpatrick) and Robyn (Amy Resnick) are perfectly incompatible roommates that become unlikely friends.

Throughout the month local playwrights and poets will showcase their original female-centric works. The lineup consists of: • 'SheVolution III' - March 7 and 8, 8pm • 'Twirling in the Woods - Nature Poem and Stories' - March 9, 8 pm • 'The Lady from Havana' - Mar 10, 8pm • 'It's About Time' - March 15, and 21, 3pm • 'C'est La Vie' - March 16, 2pm and 7pm • 'NINE' - March 17, 3pm • 'Shattering the Silence' - March 22, 8pm • 'The ThinkFast Experiment' - March 24, 6pm

Like Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper radiating adoration and raw sexual chemistry, singing "Shallow" at the Oscars, as Sheriff Ed Earl Dodd's hand roved up Miss Mona Stangley's lace stockings while they nuzzled on the couch, Angel Tuider Frale and Michael c De Baca scorched the stage at Carrollwood Players. The yearning for something more, an unrequited love was palatable. That's called great acting.

As a way to celebrate diversity in Tampa Bay, The Straz Center created The Straz Arts Legacy REMIX Project, where writers, actors, musicians, singers, and dancers join together to perform for a free event showcasing a particular culture. During March 1, The Straz Arts Legacy REMIX Project will celebrate the Asian culture.

The President is an incompetent, corrupt, egocentric, misogynistic, homophobic, racist, avaricious, foul-mouthed, extortionist, buffoonish, equivocator a-hole…. And in three acts, it is absolute perfection to watch Steven Bucko's portrayal in NYNE's timely production of David Mamet's NOVEMBER.

In September 2018, Katie Welch had a dream - create a theatre company that educates while entertains. With a Masters in Exceptional Student Education and a Bachelors in Theatre, Katie wanted to form a community theatre that is a safe haven to kids, teens and young adults with all levels of experience, abilities or special needs.

What more can be said about the juggernaut "Hamilton" that hasn't already been written? An ornate, elaborate leveled wooden backdrop and mobile staircases with minimal, simple set pieces and turntables floors showcased the exquisitely and insanely-talented lead actors and the equally-matched ensemble that brought each note to vivid life. The superb music - a blend of hip-hop, jazz, blues, rap, and traditional Broadway tunes - was complemented by nearly nonstop, furiously-paced choreography.