Our readers set the nominees, and now voting is open for the 2021 BroadwayWorld Tampa Awards! The 2021 Regional Awards honor productions which had their first performance between October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021.
Our readers set the nominees, and now voting is open for the 2021 BroadwayWorld Tampa Awards! The 2021 Regional Awards honor productions which had their first performance between October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021.
In 1983, Sally Ride, or as proclaimed in the play, “She should be called Dr. Ride,” an Astrophysicist became the first and youngest American woman in Space aboard the Orbiter Challenger. Liza Birkenmeier’s play is not about Sally Ride, even though her name is mentioned throughout the 85 minutes. However, under the veil of the ’80s in St. Louis, Missouri we meet four women living out their lives and by a matter of opinion telling stories that boldly go where none of them have gone before so to speak. At its heart, Birkenmeier’s script is compelling, enlightening, and stunning from top to bottom, a true marvel of live theatre. In her script, we get to meet characters that are not as often displayed on-stage, and that is what makes this show so endearing. Being that this show is set in the 80’s smartphones, and other things like social media, don’t exist yet; which renders the compelling humanity shown throughout the script. It’s a breath of fresh air as we learn of these women, and how they may or may not enjoy their current way of life, and yet so different in a matter of opinions and lifestyle they are all one and the same.
“WHAT BECOMES OF A CHILD THAT STARVED FOR AFFECTION?”
-M.C. IN SHOCKHEADED PETER
“YOU’VE GOT TO BE CRUEL TO BE KIND, IN THE RIGHT MEASURE. CRUEL TO BE KIND, IT’S A VERY GOOD SIGN....”
-NICK LOWE FROM “JESUS OF COOL” ALBUM (1978).
Once every so often audiences of a theatre-going persuasion are treated to something a little out of the ordinary. Something that may just have to be experienced before allowing it to fully sink in. Jobsite revels in the strange, the unorthodox, the Masterclass of all things twisted and warped; and these are some centralized moments of Shockheaded Peter or its namesake Der Struwwelpeter.
Having personally never heard of Der Struwwelpeter or William Maloney’s The Worst of Everything, I had no idea what I was in store for. Which made this particular show more zany, exciting, and mentally stimulating than most seen as of late. From every angle, there was something to watch, something to leave our mouths agape and make you just think what the hell?
Jobsite, the independent resident theater company of the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Tampa, continues their annual Shakespeare tradition with HENRY V, on stage now through Apr. 25 in the reconfigured-for-distance Jaeb Theater. The show enjoyed a SOLD OUT opening week, with all future dates all filling fast.
Jobsite the Independent In-Resident Theatre Company of the Straz Center as by annual tradition brought Shakespeare to Tampa Bay once again with the first of Shakespeare’s History offerings to be staged locally. For me, Jobsite is the “Cream of the Crop” when it comes to presenting Shakespeare’s works. No one in this region “Rocks the Bard” as hard, as relevant, and as daring as Jobsite and their players. David Jenkins and Giles Davies have outdone themselves here. To a rocking, and pulse-inducing score by Jeremy Douglass and flashes of projections making you feel like you’re in a different time frame this production has it all. Henry V normally not the most sought-after of the History offerings is a stellar and triumphant display of magnanimous proportions and this cast is in true form.
ED WARREN: “The devil exists. God exists. And for us, as people, our very destiny hinges on which we decide to follow.”- from the 2013 film, THE CONJURING
While preparing to see the irreverent and shockingly funny Hand to God, I did not know what to expect. I did however know going in that this is the absolute perfect play for Jobsite Theater to tackle, as I feel that no other theater company in the bay-area could tackle its humor more effortlessly than what the fine folks at Jobsite have accomplished. Robert Askins' foreword in the script says it best, “...this is a blueprint. It is a suggestion. It is a speech bubble in a long conversation. It is an invitation to play.” Jobsite hit their mark with this blueprint and has etched in our memories a ballsy, hilarious, and heartbreaking spectacle that is a provocative piece of unabashed panoramic-thrusted vulgarity and humanity that I will soon not forget.
After a shortened live run in the reconfigured-for-distance Jaeb Theater, Jobsite is happy to offer a digital stream of DOUBT: A Parable for a one-week run Feb. 5-11.
27 Characters, 1 performer, allow me to say it again…27 DIFFERENT CHARACTERS, 1 PERFORMER. Over the course of a 2 Hour span, 1 Performer has the daunting task of honing in on 27 different perspectives, different accounts of a real event. A real event that happened in 1992 but hits just as hard at the core today as it did a mere 28 years ago. Think about that for a minute; an event that happened 28 years ago is just as real, just as haunting today as it was back then. In a world surrounded by testimony on all sides of the spectrum, in a world surrounded by opinions where does the grey area fall? Why are events so controversial then be just as relevant in the world we know today? This brings back to memory the prologue from Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, “Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean…” Now 28 years later this has very much become, “…the two-hour traffic of our stage.”
The nominees have been announced for the 2020 Theatre Tampa Bay Awards! 25 plays and 5 musicals were eligible for nomination before the remainder of the 2019-2020 season was cancelled in March.
Jobsite Theater, resident theater company at the Straz Center in downtown Tampa, is a thrilled to announce Jobsite Digital Shorts for this fall! The series launched on Sep. 4 with Across the Stardust, a magical musical mash-up set against a backdrop of astrophotography that fans of the Fab Four and Picasso of Pop do not want to miss. Across the Stardust will be joined in the coming weeks by a variety of new releases.
Jobsite Theater continues their 21st season, “a great reckoning in a little room,” with Shakespeare's magical romantic comedy, A Midsummer Night's Dream. Join Jobsite Jan. 15 – Feb. 9, 2020, for another intimate Shakespearean spectacle featuring aerial and circus choreography, high-def video projection, songs, an original score, and some of the region's finest actors.