TAMPA THEATER REVIEWS

“She wanted them the way she needed the earth and the flowers and the sky and the sea from her tower room and food and sleep and warmth and light and nights by the fire and poetry and the stories of going out in the world and almost being destroyed by it and returning to find comfort and the real ...

“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 audien...

The acting is all over the place, hit and miss, in this production of an American classic....

Based on a notoriously deranged German children's book, it's a theatrical marvel...but will audiences get it?...

“Things get better. They may not always get brilliant, but they get better.” -Narrator, Every Brilliant Thing In its first Live-Audience mounting since the novel-Coronavirus Pandemic shut down the world as we know it, TampaRep has chosen a marvel of a production. In doing so invited a...

Like the classic movies and tv shows of yesteryear, every once in awhile something comes along that takes you down memory lane and allows you for even just a fleeting moment to live outside of your present tense. Like a warm blanket just out of the dryer the memories envelop themselves around you an...

Every so often we in the Theatre-going community find a show or two that “makes its rounds” so to speak within the area. Godspell happens to be one of those shows. Having been done numerous times, a show that could be considered timeless, can also pose the question, “how are they going to make...

Familiar faces, familiar characters, and a familiar red dog house with a delightful white beagle and a fleeting yellow bird make up the musical sequel to the ever so popular You’re a Good Man Charley Brown. This time the tables are turned on Charley Brown and the gang and we hear the story of Snoo...

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�...

Much like the films of Gregg Araki’s career that defined the movement of New Queer Cinema, a new-ish Theatre Company plans to make its mark on the local theatre scene. No stranger to the stage and consequently the director’s chair Local area performer/Director Derek Baxter introduces his brand o...

As the lights descend on the stage set on the inside of the Coral Gables Police precinct, not a sound is heard. With bated breath, I and the sold-out opening night audience awaited what was to be on display in a matter of seconds. At rising we see Kendra a woman alone in the police station, only the...

Twilight, Los Angeles, 1992 is an unflinching look at race relations from the voices of the people that were there, whether in the heart of it or bystanders portrayed by one woman: Andresia Moseley....

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 th...

I swear, my hand to God, that you’ve never seen anything quite like it....

Friday evening I had the pleasure of experiencing a story loosely based on fact of the wonderful Louis Armstrong celebrated Jazz trumpeter and singer. Understandably hesitant at first with the idea of a “Virtual Performance” I sat in the comfort of my home with an open mind willing and ready to ...

Just shy of a year ago which seems crazy to think about now, myself and other patrons sat in the familiar space surrounded by familiar faces to embark on a journey with a group of characters outside our normalcy. Think about that sentence for a minute. Almost a year later and we are still trying to ...

Webster defines DOUBT as; “to call into question the truth of: to be uncertain of or in doubt about.” Webster further applies the following definitions for DOUBT as, “ a lack of confidence, an inclination not to believe or accept, as uncertainty of belief or opinion that often interferes with...

An enjoyable show in less-than-ideal circumstances (thanks to the pandemic)....

It's the fastest 85-minutes that you'll experience in the theater....

From the Bedford Playhouse stage in New York, back curtains bathed in red and green light, and beautifully decorated with poinsettias and a Christmas tree, one of Broadway's most celebrated songstresses welcomed in the holiday season. Liz Callaway performed a delightful mixture of classic carols, an...

Expertly directed by Aaron Washington, MAS Theatre’s staged radio play, an adaption of It’s a Wonderful Life, the trials and tribulations of George Bailey came wonderfully to life on stage and virtually, online....

In Rick Foster's play, Kate: The Unexamined Life of Katharine Hepburn at American Stage, actress Janis Stevens simply is Kate. She channeled the spirit of 92-year-old Katharine and wore her as easily as one puts on a sweater. From the warble in her speech to the essential tremor, wheelchair-bound in...

If you’re told a lie long enough, you begin to believe it, says the riveting Katherine Stenzel as federal prisoner up for a second parole hearing, Lorelei Beatrice Beckmann. Along with her inexperienced public defender, Benny, expertly brought to life by William Statzer, we fall prey to her exploi...

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 ...

A love letter to Patsy Cline with goosebump-inducing vocals by Heather Krueger....