From left: Ashtyn Simerl (Anna) and Morgan Forehand (Elsa). By KRISTIN SPRINGER BREVARD CULTURE Guest Critic This glistening cast and crew of tweens brought lovely voices and charm to their summer-camp production of Disney’s “Frozen, Jr.” at the Henegar Center for the Arts in downtown Melbourne. Running just a few months...
Review: RENT Will Rock You
RENT at Titusville Playhouse. Photo by Niko Stamos. By PAM HARBAUGH There’s something about the rock opera “Rent” that defies logic. Despite its thin story line, dated quality and frequently annoying characters, it abides. There’s certainly a reason why it became a Tony Award, Drama Desk Award and Pulitzer Prize winning...
Review: MOON OVER BUFFALO Is Perfect for Mom
By TERRENCE GIRARD Guest Critic You want to take Mom to a show for her big day … but musicals make you cringe, while you both enjoy a raucous comedy? MOON OVER BUFFALO at Surfside Playhouse in Cocoa Beach may fit the bill perfectly. Ken Ludwig has become today what Neil...
AUDITIONS May and June
There’s one more chance to audition before the dog days start biting your heels. PUTTING IT TOGETHER a Stephen Sondheim musical at Melbourne Civic Theatre. Auditions are 7 p.m. June 16 & 17. The show is scheduled to run Aug. 2 to Sept. 8. MCT is at 817 E. Strawbridge Ave.,...
Review: WEST SIDE STORY Wows
WEST SIDE STORY at the Henegar Center. Photo by director Niko Stamos. By JOAN TADDIE Brevard Culture Theater Critic As the “West Side Story” musical refrain goes, “We’re gonna rock it tonight.” And the Henegar Center does just that with its lively revival of the powerful, iconic musical. Based on the...
Review: LEGALLY BLONDE at Riverside
Kathryn Brunner as Elle Woods in LEGALLY BLONDE at Riverside Theatre. By PAM HARBAUGH Oh My God…Oh My God You Guys! Riverside Theatre and Walnut Street Theatre spent $1,390,513 to co-produce “Legally Blonde: The Musical.” Gulp. No worries. It’s Elle Woods to the rescue in her snappy pink suit and bedazzled...
Review: RED at Henegar Studio
From left: Steven Wolf and Zack Roundy in RED at the Henegar Center. Photo by Pam Harbaugh. By JOAN TADDIE Brevard Culture Theater Critic “What do you see?” is a question that Abstract Expressionist painter Mark Rothko asks his young assistant throughout playwright John Logan’s astute, powerful, and moving drama, “Red,”...
REVIEW: GHOST-WRITER at Riverside
Brian Sutherland and Robin Abramson in GHOST WRITER at Riverside Theatre By PAM HARBAUGH Riverside Theatre turns down the volume and ratchets up the intellect in its production of “Ghost-Writer,” performing now on the Waxlax Stage. It is a slow, studied play and Riverside’s production has a properly strong emphasis on...
Real People in THE COUNTRY HOUSE at MCT
Scene from THE COUNTRY HOUSE at Melbourne Civic Theatre. Photo by Max Thornton. By PAM HARBAUGH Throughout the sturm und drang raging between the characters in “The Country House,” audiences may have a difficult time distinguishing who’s right and who’s wrong. Those richly written, multi-layered characters drew Melbourne Civic Theatre director...
REVIEW: TARZAN at the Henegar
Joe Horton in the title role in The Henegar’s production of TARZAN The Musical. Photo by Niko Stamos. By KEENAN CARVER Brevard Culture Theater Critic David Henry Hwang’s musical “TARZAN” is open now at The Henegar Center. The stage version, produced by Disney, is adapted from the story “Tarzan of the...