TAMPA THEATER REVIEWS

Beads! Flowers! Freedom! Happiness!...

Harrowing & Hilarious, the play's comedy is pitch black and the show itself is pitch perfect....

It's a celebration of our city and local black history, marvelously acted in a thrill ride of a show....

A stellar cast brings its A-game to this wonderful, tight production....

This evening, or rather last evening, during their “Final Preview,” I was once again regaled to my seat with baited breath as I waited for the lights to fall on McDonagh’s masterpiece and, forthrightly, my favorite play, The Pillowman....

Now that we are a quarter of the way through the 21st Century, the serious debate can begin: What is the best stage musical of this century so far? There are several contenders, including The Producers, Hamilton, Waitress, Wicked, Spring Awakening, Fun Home, Next to Normal and In the Heights. High o...

Every princess delivers powerful notes that could shatter glass, making each number a thrilling experience. Playwrights Dennis Giacino and Fiely Matias' were in the audience, and it was as much fun watching them react to the actors as it was for this reviewer to watch the show and introduce her best...

Sondheim deserves the best, and that's what freeFall has certainly delivered!...

After experiencing it, and after the cast and crew put on one hell of a show, I just couldn’t shake my disdain for the actual material.   It sometimes seemed unworthy of these delightful performers....

A Beautiful Noise is a Jukebox musical centered around Neil Diamond’s life, times, and music. It celebrated its Opening Night on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre on December 4, 2022. Garnering much acclaim, the musical grossed more than $1 million at the Box Office leading up to its official ope...

It's a balls to the walls, big-hearted but empty-headed jukebox musical that celebrates the 1980s hair bands. Guaranteed to make you escape the world's current tumult!...

Whether you're a lifelong fan or new to Cher's legacy, The Cher Show, currently running at the Straz Center through this Sunday, is a musical that doesn't just celebrate her life—it captures the enduring spirit and resilience of one of the greatest icons of our time, making it an unforgettable the...

Local theatre saved me in 2024, which turned out to be an extremely rocky year--with statewide and national political maelstroms and two hurricanes hitting our area weeks apart....

What did our critic think of USHERING IN THE HOLIDAYS WITH ITS A WONDERFUL LIFE: A LIVE RADIO PLAY at TampaRep?...

A young cast brings Disney's most iconic musical to life, led by two scene-stealers: Larkin Mainwaring as Madame de la Grande Bouche and (especially) Ruby Ricardo as a boisterous LeFou....

Cody Farkas is stunning as the title character in Brecht's frightening and funny work....

A marvelous cast of River Ridge students breathes the Bard to life!...

Jobsite Theater once again dives headfirst into a world only they know how to portray. A world reveling in the strange, the unorthodox, and yet proving to be a masterclass of all things twisted and warped. This production which harkens back to their production of Shockheaded Peter, a few seasons bac...

There is no one in pop and rock like Laura Nyro, and Erica Garraffa is spellbinding as the great singer-songwriter....

Somewhere in a world on a road less traveled, between the likes of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, American Psycho, Carrie, and the more recently conceptualized Beetlejuice lies the twisted campy world in which the characters of Evil Dead the Musical reside. First performed in 2003 in Toronto, this c...

A song cycle featuring six incredibly talented actors. Not to be missed!...

You'll be hard-pressed to find a better production of this iconic musical!...

Alice Paul...remember her? In 1920, she was THE WOMAN, THE SUFFRAGIST, who secured the right to vote for women, and wrote the unratified Equal Rights Amendment. Further explanation of her movement can be found in the recent musical Suffs, Shaina Taub’s musical which more recently won Best Book of ...

It has a lot going for it, but it's a hit and miss affair, with moments that make us soar and moments that make us cringe....

In researching and marinating the events that played out in my head following the opening night performance of the Off-Central Player’s production of David Harrower’s Blackbird, I ran across this quote. The quote in which I will speak about is actually fitting to the play itself. I’m going to ...