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 honor of attending its opening weekend. At the play's center is a performance by Paul Potenza in the title role that should have anyone reading this sentence to stop what they're doing and obtain their tickets ASAP. THE ELEPHANT MAN runs at the HCC Studio Theater in Ybor City thru February 19th, so you better hurry.
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 Broadway later in 1979, but the production closed in 1981 after 916 regular performances. The Elephant Man received revivals in 2002 and 2014.
This production is especially poignant as it was a conversation between the late beloved C. David Frankel, co-founder and artistic director of TampaRep, and Paul Potenza that set the show in motion.
Under the direction of Stephanie Gularte, this award-winning comedy features a recognized cast of L. Peter Callender (Torvald), Emilia Sargent (Nora), Karla Hartley (Anne Marie), and Bria Matthews (Emmy.)
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 Dramatic works. His Broadway Debut and most notably his best work A Doll's House Part 2, debuted on Broadway in April of 2017 and closed in September later that year. Commissioned by South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, California, Hnath's contemporary spin/sequel to the Ibsen classic starred Laurie Metcalf, Chris Cooper, Jayne Houdyshell, and Condola Rashad. Metcalf later went on to win a Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play for her portrayal of Nora Helmer. Subsequently, Hnath's work was also a nominee for Best Play at the time.
Theatre is not theatre without an audience. Throughout the pandemic, many wondered when it would be safe to gather together again for the enjoyment and enrichment of a well-told story. Now that theatre lights are slowly rising to full again, TampaRep is extending an invitation to every household and budget level.
In the season opener for TampaRep, freedom, choice, and responsibility are on display. Playing four shows a week through Nov 20, 2022 A Doll's House Part 2 by Lucas Hnath will open wide the door to Nora, who famously left her husband and children in the original play by Henrik Ibsen. One doesn't need to know “Part 1” to enjoy this funny and compelling new look at divorce in the modern age.
John Patrick Shanley’s The Dreamer Examines His Pillow, is a complex and intricate story that dives not only into the depths of our subconscious but boldly sits on the surface level of our emotions as well. Allowing us as the audience to not only deep dive within the minds of these characters, but into our own past or current circumstances. Shanley’s piece while complex is told within the length of 3 scenes ultimately ending with the audience making up their own conclusion to not only the events of the story but our own lives as we’ve grown so accustomed. John Patrick Shanley achieves masterful work here even with this being an earlier part of his repertoire. Shanley, most famously known as the Pulitzer Prize/Tony Award-winning playwright for Doubt, and the Oscar-winning Moonstruck has written 23 plays most of which he has gone on to direct, and is a Screenwriter on 9 Feature Films. Out of his 23 plays few have been performed in the Tampa Bay area, so it’s a much-needed breath of fresh air that TampaRep has decided to produce one of his earlier works, and still find relevance in the piece today. Director Chris Marshall, who has wanted to direct a Shanley play for some time says it best in his Director’s Notes,
“...Our process has been about using the power of language to connect, though to do so is terrifying. It’s been equally about fierce listening and seeking to be affected as a listener, something we do less and less of these days. In these spaces (the theatre as theatre and as the room to hold scenic representations), we have finite opportunity, space, and time to connect, to learn, to discover. What a gift.”
Rehearsals have begun for the Tampa Repertory Theatre's production of The Dreamer Examines His Pillow by Tony Award-winning playwright John Patrick Shanley. The play has not been staged professionally anywhere in Florida since it was created in 1986.
Read our critic's review! Over the years and throughout the History of the stage musical, certain shows come along and start as films before moving into an adaptation for the stage. Shows such as Grease, The Bodyguard, Ghost, and more recently Moulin Rouge, Beetlejuice, and Back to the Future. One thing is true to most if not all of these....they sell tickets!
After two years of being shuttered due to the pandemic, American Stage in the Park is back at Demens Landing with the toe-tapping musical FOOTLOOSE from April 6- May 8, 2022.
Atlantic Theater Company has announced casting for the world premiere production of The Bedwetter, a new musical with a book by Drama Desk Award winner Joshua Harmon and Emmy Award winner Sarah Silverman, lyrics by Emmy Award winner Adam Schlesinger and Sarah Silverman.
As has happened in theatres from Broadway to Buffalo, the coronavirus has claimed another victim. TampaRep’s long-awaited production of Shakespeare’s iconic tragedy KING LEAR opened to a small but powerful house on Friday, February 4th, and subsequently enjoyed an engaged Saturday night crowd. The cast, crew, and administrative team had no idea that would be the final performance.
As has happened in theatres from Broadway to Buffalo, the coronavirus has claimed another victim. TampaRep’s long-awaited production of Shakespeare’s iconic tragedy KING LEAR opened to a small but powerful house on Friday, February 4th, and enjoyed an engaged Saturday night crowd. The cast, crew, and administrative team had no idea that would be the final performance.
KING LEAR is the debut of an educational collaboration between TampaRep and the USF School of Theatre and Dance. For this production, students will study and create under the guidance of professional designers working on the project. And In addition, late artistic director C. David Frankel will be memorialized with an annual scholarship at USF.
ThinkTank Theatre has set its casting for their upcoming production of The Giver, running at Stageworks Theatre in Channelside from November 19 through December 12, 2021, with a Relaxed Performance on Nov 20 at 3:00pm.
