Paula Kiger

For 105 people per night over the course of eight performances, Rose-Mock brought to life Alfred Uhry’s book and Jason Robert Brown’s lyrics about Leo Frank, a Jewish factory superintendent who was tried, convicted and lynched after being accused of murdering Mary Phagan, a 13-year-old who had worked at the factory.

For Katy Fedore, costume designer for Southern Shakespeare Company’s 2023 production of “Antony & Cleopatra” in Tallahassee, Fla., the ability to tell a sewing machine’s bobbin apart from its presser foot is not as important as the capacity to absorb the story, understand the actors, and create moments with fabric that make audience members gasp. 

What did our critic think of INTO THE WOODS at Lichgate?

Many people lose themselves a little bit as middle age approaches. When “Becky’s New Car” at Theatre Tallahassee puts one woman’s experience of realizing she has worked too hard and (perhaps) played too little on stage, surprises await.

Is a broken story still a story? As brothers Roy and Ray talk at the back of Angela??s Bar after midnight in Maynard, Texas, Roy regales Ray with yet another round of a tale he has told before. Where will their story take them by the end of the night?

A pandemic may be an odd time to debut a play, but that's what The Perkins Players did. Their first play -- a comedy partially about the tensions that arise when two very different people live in close proximity to each other -- was performed in front of audience members who had very likely spent a significant part of the past few months being forced to live in close quarters with other humans (except for anyone who lives by themselves). Would that make audience members relate or yearn for an escape about anything except being trapped together in one apartment?

Put the stories of sisterhood to song, and those stories take on new dimensions. If you took away the period costumes and the set elements that represent the 1860s, the March sisters of The Monticello Opera House production of a?oeLittle Womena?? could be four sisters of 2020, each seeking her place in the world.

a?oeThis is a story of a boy whose dream came true,a?? sings Joseph at the beginning. The coat, the dynamic performers and the power of dreams contribute to a multicolor, melodious show.

Baby June and Baby Louise ask a?oeMay We Entertain You?a?? at the start of Uncle Jocko's Kiddie Show. There is so much more behind their question than a simple query about a performance. May we please our stage mother? May we put on makeup and costumes night after night, in town after town, in an effort to survive?

Have you ever 'trash talked' a fellow theater-goer as you passed each other in the aisle? Probably not, right?

If every performer's thought bubble were visible above their heads, onlookers would see a mixture of angst, tension, joy, insecurity, overconfidence and a host of other thoughts. "A Chorus Line" at Monticello Opera House puts all of those thoughts into motion.

"She" and "He" never quite get to the truth the audience may be hoping for, but they navigate to a real and candid place.

The Long Goodbye is a show for an audience member with the ability to empathize with the pain of losing someone dear, an appreciation for strong community ties, and a willingness to suspend a bit of disbelief in support of a mother who is having trouble letting go. 

Theatre Tallahassee's production of August: Osage County has what every dysfunctional family needs: multiple intermissions.

Watching New Stage Theatreworks' production of American Idiot is the equivalent of a theatrical energy drink. So much energy, so much angst, so much intensity.

The program for the Leon Performing Arts production of Les Miserables (School Edition) stipulates 'performed entirely by students,' but the 'student' part becomes an afterthought as the show proceeds. These performers brought a caliber of professionalism and expertise to the production that belies their years.

How can a marriage go from newlywed infatuation to conflicted misery in just four days? The viewer finds out in Theatre Tallahassee's production of Neil Simon's "Barefoot in the Park."

This play inspired by Argentinian poet Jorge Luis Borges explores how time can constrict, expand and confuse. Five characters grapple with the outcomes of choices and why relationships matter.

With curtains billowing so gently our eyes almost felt tricked, Forever Yours, Julita lured a small but enthusiastic audience into the story of Puerto Rican poets Luis Llor?ns Torres and Julia de Burgos at the play's Tallahassee premiere on January 25.

This show draws us in to the women's lives, but does not buttonhole itself into being a women's issues play. It would be easy to default to a caricature of southern women being southern, but this production doesn't do that, to its credit.