From left, front: Christina LaFortune, Adrian Cahlll and Michael Fiore in “Tartuffe” at Melbourne Civic Theatre. Photos by Max Thornton. By PAM HARBAUGH Talk about perfect timing. Melbourne Civic Theatre couldn’t have planned it better than to produce Moliere’s comedy about the hypocrisy of the pious than during this crazier than...
REVIEW: Cocoa Village Playhouse ‘SUGAR’
From left: Jonathan Goforth and Lawrence Mazza in Cocoa Village Playhouse production of “Sugar.” Photo by Goforth Photography By PAM HARBAUGH Cocoa Village Playhouse spins an empty-calorie story into a cotton candy treat with its adorable production of the musical “Sugar.” With music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Bob Merrill,...
STEINBERG/ATCA New Play Award Finalists
By PAM HARBAUGH Here’s this year’s batch of plays which will probably draw attention on our national stages: the six finalists for the Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award. This award recognizes the best plays which had their professional premiere outside of New York City during 2015....
REVIEW: Superb HELLO DOLLY at Riverside Theatre
Michele Ragusa and Adam Heller in Riverside Theatre’s production of “Hello, Dolly!” By PAM HARBAUGH You don’t get any better, any more professional, any more resplendent than Riverside Theatre’s production of “Hello, Dolly!” Directed and choreographed by James Brennan, this production is a dazzling bouquet of theater delights. Mr. Brennan takes...
REVIEW: TOMMY at Surfside Playhouse
By PAM HARBAUGH Normally, when you think rock opera, you think Big, Wild and Loud. But Surfside Players’ production of “The Who’s Tommy” puts the singers in focus. Unfortunately, those singers do not perform with benefit of body microphones, forcing the recorded music to be played at a very low, frequently...
AUDITIONS March 2016
By PAM HARBAUGH COCOA VILLAGE PLAYHOUSE will hold auditions for the Lin-Manuel Miranda musical “IN THE HEIGHTS” at 7 p.m. Sunday, March 13 and Monday, March 14. The Tony Award winning musical is set in the Dominican-American neighborhood in New York City’s Washington Heights. The show runs April 29 to May...
Commentary: NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT at the Henegar
“Nice Work If You Can Get It” at the Henegar Center. Photo by Dana Niemeier By PAM HARBAUGH Although the Henegar’s musical comedy starts with a big production number, “Nice Work If You Can Get It” keeps unfolding as something even bigger, into a toe-tapping, wanna sing-a-long (but don’t please), mile...
IT’S RAININ’ RAIN at Titusville Playhouse
Patrick Ryan Sullivan in Singin’ in the Rain at Titusville Playhouse. Photo by Doug Lebo By PAM HARBAUGH Titusville Playhouse has opened the musical “Singin’ in the Rain.” It conjures up all sorts of things — romance, music and dance. There’s also the story about silent movies giving way to the...
EXCITING NEW SEASON at Dr. Phillips Center
National Touring Company. The cast with John Rapson as Lord Adalbert D’Ysquith (red) in a scene from “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder.” Photo credit: Joan Marcus. By PAM HARBAUGH The Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, the Florida Theatrical Association and Broadway Across America has announced its next...
REVIEW: ‘Venus in Fur’ at the Henegar
By JOAN TADDIE There was an electrifying buzz in the black box theatre of The Henegar Center for the Arts as the audience arrived to see a production of “Venus in Fur” by playwright David Ives. The play is based on the novel of the same name written by the 19th...