Tampa Theater Reviews

Review: THE BOOK OF MORMON at Straz Center
by Deborah Bostock-Kelley - April 17, 2024

If you're ready to laugh, cringe, and convert, THE BOOK OF MORMON pokes good (un)clean fun right into the heart of organized religion. This musical is a religious experience, a testament to the power of laughter, the spirit of musical theater, and a whole lot of heart....

Review: American Stage's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST IN THE PARK at Demens Landing
by Peter Nason - April 07, 2024

It's a perfect fit for the American Stage in the Park experience!...

Review: MRS. DOUBTFIRE IS A COMEDIC GEM, WITH A REFLECTIVE LENS at STRAZ CENTER
by Drew Eberhard - April 05, 2024

Mrs. Doubtfire, a new musical based on the 1993 hit family film of the same name, is actually based on the 1987 novel Alias Madame Doubtfire by Anne Fine. The stage musical in all its purposes features music and lyrics by Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick, with a book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farre...

Review: Dive Headfirst into the Upside Down with STRANGER SINGS: A MUSICAL PARODY at Straz Center
by Drew Eberhard - March 30, 2024

Stranger Sings! is a musical parody based on the adventures of some unlikely heroes set in the 1980’s in Hawkins, Indiana. Created in part to celebrate the fandom surrounding the Netflix behemoth, Stranger Things super fans Jonathan Hogue and Nick Flatto, whereas Flatto also serves as producer-direc...

Review: GIRL FROM NORTH COUNTRY at Straz Center
by Deborah Bostock-Kelley - March 28, 2024

What did our critic think of GIRL FROM NORTH COUNTRY at Straz Center? On March 27, I experienced GIRL FROM NORTH COUNTRY at the Straz Center, a production on stage until March 31. Conor McPherson's direction and Simon Hale's Tony Award-winning orchestrations breathe new life into 20 of Bob Dylan's l...

Review: A Breathtaking, Poignant Lens Shines On GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY at Straz Center
by Drew Eberhard - March 28, 2024

“Tonight’s story begins and ends at a guesthouse in Duluth, Minnesota, in the winter of 1934.” These were the opening words spoken by Dr. Walker, as he sets the scene. An evening of love, pain, suffering, interloped with a lush score based on the music of Bob Dylan. Girl from the North Country, is ...

Review: A Top Notch Cast Delivers with BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE at Jobsite Theater
by Drew Eberhard - March 17, 2024

What did our critic think of BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE at Jobsite Theater?...

Review: Stephen Sondheim's SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE at the Carrollwood Cultural Center
by Peter Nason - March 17, 2024

This Pulitzer Prize winner is as uncompromising and beautiful as musical theatre can get....

Review: A Powerful PARADE Sparks the Conversation at Manatee Players
by Drew Eberhard - March 10, 2024

From the moment the lights dim to the opening chords of the Prologue, the audience knew they were in for a treat. A haunting and stirring rendition of The Old Red Hills of Home, led by young actor Elijah Zurek as the Young Soldier, will have you in a chokehold from the very start....

Review: Breathtaking 50th Anniversary Tour of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR at Straz Center
by Drew Eberhard - March 07, 2024

An explosive 90-minute sung-through Rock Opera written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice, took the Carol Morsani Hall by storm Tuesday evening. This reimagined 50th Anniversary Tour, is the story loosely based on the Gospels’ accounts of the Passion. It works to interpret the psycholog...

Review: Societal Consciousness in A Political Era With GOD BLESS YOU, MR. ROSEWATER at freeFall Theatre
by Drew Eberhard - March 04, 2024

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater is Kurt Vonnegut’s fifth novel and was published in 1965. Its Post-Modern Satire context paved way for Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, arguably his most well-known work. In the novel, Vonnegut highlights the life and times of the consciously-bound multi-millionaire Elio...

Review: Find Yourself on 'Island Time' with ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE at Eight O'Clock Theatre
by Drew Eberhard - March 03, 2024

Escape to Margaritaville, is a 2017 Jukebox Musical written by Greg Garcia, and Mike O’Malley, and based on songs by Jimmy Buffett....

Review: BYE BYE BIRDIE at the Haines City Theatre
by Peter Nason - March 02, 2024

HCT is a small theatre with a big heart, and their production spotlights the show's strengths and weaknesses....

Review: A Powerhouse Performance by Rp Mclaughlin, a Story of Identity with I AM MY OWN WIFE at Stageworks Theatre
by Drew Eberhard - February 20, 2024

Doug Wright a Drama Desk Nominated and Tony Award-winning Playwright wrote I Am My Own Wife, based on his conversations with German Antiquarian Charlotte von Mahlsdorf. It premiered off-Broadway at Playwright Horizons in 2003....

Review: Land O Lakes High School Presents MAMMA MIA! at the Wesley Chapel Performing Arts Center
by Peter Nason - February 17, 2024

What did our critic think of MAMMA MIA! at the Wesley Chapel Performing Arts Center?...

Review: Lloyd Suh's Unforgettable THE CHINESE LADY at American Stage
by Peter Nason - February 13, 2024

A brilliant and thought-provoking production about the first Chinese woman to set foot on American soil....

Review: MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL at Straz Center
by Deborah Bostock-Kelley - February 10, 2024

Throughout the entire production, the energy remains electric, fueled by exceptional lead performers and a truly astonishing ensemble. The choreography, costumes, and sets weave together seamlessly, creating an irresistible tapestry of entertainment that demands the audience's undivided attention. I...

Review: MOULIN ROUGE! At Straz Center For The Performing Arts Is A Dazzling, Romantic, Bohemian Affair
by Drew Eberhard - February 09, 2024

What did our critic think of MOULIN ROUGE! At Straz Center For The Performing Arts....

Review: An Eye-Opening STRAIGHT WHITE MEN by Young Jean Lee Premieres at Tamparep
by Drew Eberhard - February 05, 2024

Young Jean Lee’s Straight White Men is a 2014 Dramatic Comedy that premiered off-Broadway at the Public Theatre in New York City on November 7, 2014. Directed by the playwright Lee, and featuring Austin Pendleton as “Ed”, Pete Simpson, James Stanely, and Gary Wilmes. Following its run off Broadway, ...

Review: New Tampa Players Production of DREAMGIRLS at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center
by Peter Nason - February 04, 2024

It's a dream of a musical with nightmarish sound issues....

Review: A Dynamic and Galvanizing CABARET at the Studio Theatre Tierra Del Sol in the Villages
by Peter Nason - February 03, 2024

Terrifically terrifying and timely!...

Review: WHISKEY & SODA at The Off-Central Players
by Drew Eberhard - February 03, 2024

“IMAGINE...” a table is set, where a meeting is to soon take place between Britain’s First Female Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, and an Ex-Beatle, John Lennon. This is what is laid forth in Ben Randall’s Whiskey & Soda currently onstage at the Off-Central Players....

Review: Shakespeare's TWELFTH NIGHT Proves to Be a Romantic Case of Mistaken Identities at Jobsite Theatre
by Drew Eberhard - January 28, 2024

Twelfth Night is a romantic comedy written by William Shakespeare. Its central story revolves around twins Viola and Sebastian who were separated in a shipwreck. Viola (disguised as Cesario) falls in love with Count Orsino, who also happens to be in love with Olivia. ...

Review: MAD Theatre Presents THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE at the Straz Center's Shimberg Playhouse
by Peter Nason - January 28, 2024

Quirky, irreverent, and so much fun, the show even offers audience members the chance to go onstage to be a part of the Bee....

Review: Adam Rapp's NOCTURNE Starring Drew Eberhard Will Break Your Heart
by Peter Nason - January 24, 2024

My father’s mom died in 1955.  After my own mother passed away fifty-one years later, one of my sisters asked my father the following question: “How long did it take you to get over the loss of your mother?”  My father, now an old man, pondered the question, remembering his mother who had died a hal...