The Band's Visit at Straz Center for the Performing Arts

Review: THE ROAD TO HELL IS A BEAUTIFUL RELEVANT JOURNEY WITH HADESTOWN at Straz Center For The Performing Arts

December 02, 2022

Yes, the Holiday Season is once again upon us. Time for merriment, gathering with friends, family, chosen family, and what have you to enjoy the sights, the sounds, and the food of the season. Amidst all of the hustle and bustle of the times, the Straz Center’s Carol Morsani Hall brings a different fable and tale of love, hope, and the courage to survive against all odds to its patrons following the close of Thanksgiving weekend, and ushering in the first week of December. Unlike Ghosts of both Past, and Present, patrons of the Straz Center are plunged head-first into a dark tale based on figures found in Greek Mythology, and the tale itself seems all too relevant and perfectly placed in our current climate. The Broadway Smash Hadestown takes the stage by storm and leaves no prisoners in its wake. I for one am thankful for this time, the time to sit in a sacred space and experience the undeniably beautiful event that is live theatre, and the Straz Center is the Gift that keeps on giving, not only during the holiday season but all year long. Their 2022/2023 Bank of America Broadway Season is one of the absolute best yet!

Review: SIX! THE MUSICAL SPARKLES AND DAZZLES at Straz Center For The Performing Arts

November 02, 2022

On Tuesday evening a packed house at Carol Morsani Hall at Tampa, Florida's Straz Center for the Performing Arts sat waiting in anticipation for the Broadway Season Opener SIX to begin. I myself have stayed relatively neutral to the show, and going in blind only hearing one or two songs, I was eagerly awaiting the performance. As the curtain speech began anticipation grew stronger, and it was announced,' the show would begin in just under SIX minutes.' With book, music, and lyrics by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, SIX is a modern retelling of the lives of the six wives of Henry VIII. The show is performed in a pop concert style, with each performer singing about her time with Henry and battling it out to see who suffered more, and can become the lead singer of the group. Therefore not making the plot overly complicated, SIX is a high-energy spectacle that is a good time from start to finish.

BWW Review: A Visually Stunning THE BAND'S VISIT Makes a Stop at Straz Center For The Performing Arts

May 06, 2022

'Do yourself a favor, DO NOT miss this incredibly sobering production.' says BWW's critic.

JAGGED LITTLE PILL Cast Will Reunite for Live Concert, Streamed From NYC!

November 09, 2020

For the first time in nearly 10 months, the Broadway cast of the 15-time Tony Award-nominated musical Jagged Little Pill is reuniting on stage for one night only - in a special performance live from New York City on Sunday December 13 at 8:00PM ET.

BWW Previews: “CHRISTOPHER JACKSON: LIVE FROM THE WEST SIDE,” A ONE-NIGHT-ONLY ONLINE EVENT via Straz Center For The Performing Arts

August 12, 2020

Alongside his socially-distanced masked band, Christopher Jackson will be performing Broadway show tunes, pop hits, original songs, and sharing personal stories about his involvement in many popular musicals including IN THE HEIGHTS and HAMILTON.

BWW Previews: SHOUT! THE MOD MUSICAL SHIMMIES BACK into Jaeb Theatre At Straz Center For The Performing Arts

February 25, 2020

Returning August 17 is Shout! The Mod Musical at Straz Center's Jaeb Theatre. Shout! The Mod Musical is a nostalgic and fun jukebox musical revue into the subculture of 60s London that helped define a decade, showcasing many of the iconic songs that captivated the UK and the US.

BWW Previews: CURRENT AND FUTURE BALLET STARS PERFORM TOGETHER IN STARS OF TODAY MEET THE STARS OF TOMORROW GALA at Straz Center For The Performing Arts

January 13, 2020

Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP), the world's largest ballet student scholarship competition and global dance network a?" is kicking off its 21st season with the Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow Gala performance, on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020, at 8 p.m. in Ferguson Hall, as a co-presentation with the Straz Center for the Performing Arts.

BWW Previews: FOREMOST BRITISH PHYSICAL COMEDY THEATRE COMPANY SPYMONKEY HAS AMERICAN DEBUT, HYSTERIA at Straz Center For The Performing Arts

September 17, 2019

If you mix Monty Python and the Marx Brothers with a dose of Hitchcock, you will not come close to the surreal madcap comedy that is about to take center stage in their Straz Center American debut. Spymonkey's Hysteria from September 19 - November 3 in Jaeb Theater showcases the talents of the internationally-renowned comedy and physical theatre company, Spymonkey.

BWW Previews: NOTHING BUT A GOOD TIME WITH ROCK OF AGES at Straz Center For The Performing Arts

June 10, 2019

Nominated for five Tony Awards, Rock of Ages showcases the iconic era of 80s Hollywood. Featuring the music of hit bands such as Whitesnake, Styx, Poison, Twisted Sister, and others, this tenth-anniversary production promises to get the audience singing along and dancing in their seats.

BWW Previews: ROCK AND CLASSICAL FUSE FOR ROCKTOPIA'S RETURN TO at The Straz Center For The Performing Arts

April 30, 2019

When vocalist Rob Evan and conductor Randall Craig Fleisher got the idea to artistically fuse classical compositions with iconic rock and roll, do you think they ever imagined that their brainchild Rocktopia would be a beloved international music sensation 8 short years later? Direct from its smash-hit run on Broadway, on Tuesday, May 14, Rocktopia's one-of-a-kind musical arrangements return to Carol Morsani Hall at The Straz Center of Performing Arts.

BWW Previews: EVAN TYRONE MARTIN SHOWCASES NAT KING COLE THROUGH MUSIC AND STORIES AT The Straz Center For The Performing Arts

December 06, 2018

If a time machine could bring Chicago crooner Evan Tyrone Martin back to the decades where Nat King Cole, hailed as one of the best and most influential vocalists, pianists and small-group leaders of the swing era, was brilliantly entertaining audiences, the question he would ask the American legend is simple: Am I doing this right?

BWW Previews: EVAN TYRONE MARTIN SHOWCASES NAT KING COLE THROUGH MUSIC AND STORIES AT The Straz Center For The Performing Arts

December 06, 2018

If a time machine could bring Chicago crooner Evan Tyrone Martin back to the decades where Nat King Cole, hailed as one of the best and most influential vocalists, pianists and small-group leaders of the swing era, was brilliantly entertaining audiences, the question he would ask the American legend is simple: Am I doing this right?