Review: THE NIGHT BEFORE is the Perfect Gift at FreeFall Theatre Company
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 awhile...” and their inventive way of producing live theatre, was struggling to find the best outlet to keep producing, while safely doing so for both performers and patrons alike.
Producing Artistic Director Eric Davis and Director Matthew McGee began discussions about how to safely produce a Christmas Show that was full on Christmas versus just taking place around Christmas. In the past freeFall has produced works such as Peter & The Starcatcher, and The Lion in Winter that work for Christmas shows, but are not necessarily Christmas shows. They have also in the past produced A Christmas Carol, but being inventive, Eric Davis and company wanted to shake things up a little, and if any theatre is well known for doing just that, its freeFall. So you can say the show itself was born out of a challenge, and freeFall delivered ten-fold. The Night Before was such a hit, freeFall decided to bring it back this season for the second year in a row, with some new adaptations and new characters.
Photos: First Look at Urbanite Theatre's THE BURDENS
Urbanite Theatre will begin its 2022/23 Season with a twisted and inventive dark comedy, The Burdens by Matt Schatz, from October 22 - November 27, 2022. The Burdens, directed by Urbanite Theatre Artistic Director Brendan Ragan, will follow a set of clumsy siblings plotting to address a problematic grandfather. Check out the photos here.
Urbanite Theatre to Kick Off 2022/23 Season With THE BURDENS This Weekend
Urbanite Theatre will begin its 2022/23 Season with a twisted and inventive dark comedy, The Burdens by Matt Schatz. The Burdens, directed by Urbanite Theatre Artistic Director Brendan Ragan, will follow a set of clumsy siblings plotting to address a problematic grandfather. The production runs October 22 - December 4, 2022.
Rupert Holmes Penned RBG Play Makes Its World Premiere In St. Petersburg
This fall, freeFall continues their American Character Series with All Things Equal: The Life and Trials of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Other popular freeFall shows that have saluted the unique and enduring legacies of American Masters have included productions featuring the stories of James Beard, Judy Garland, Billie Holiday and Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
Review: An Experimentally Avant-Garde Staging of Jonathan Larson's RENT at Eight O'Clock Theatre
Jonathan Larson a name synonymous with American Musical Theatre in the 90s penned this phenom of a Musical based on the Puccini Opera La Boheme. Featuring a rock and roll score unlike anything heard on Broadway at its time, Rent received critical and mass acclaim following the untimely passing of its creator, who passed prior to its premiere.
With such recognizable songs as, “Take Me or Leave Me,” “Will I,” “Out Tonight,” and probably the biggest musical theatre anthem of its time “Seasons of Love,” Rent went on to achieve Tony and Pulitzer claim and won the world over with its unique score and storyline of unlikely characters who were mirror images of very real people in its time. Still a musical that has many outdated references manages mass appeal today.