By PAM HARBAUGH With its resonating and masterfully acted production of Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman,” Mad Cow Theatre reminds us of the depth and power of classic American drama. The 1949 drama won a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award for its depiction of an American tragedy embodied by...
Review: MCT’s ‘Laughter on the 23rd Floor’
By PAM HARBAUGH The humanity behind the humor echoes in MCT’s funny and affectionate production of Neil Simon’s “Laughter on the 23rd Floor.” That’s as it should be. For propelling the jokes, the comic bits and zany characters is the pathos of fighting the good fight while you feel like you’re...
Review: Henegar Center’s “Spring Awakening”
By Pam Harbaugh There is real theater art happening right now on the second floor of the Henegar Center. It’s the intimate and stirring production of “Spring Awakening.” Based on the late 19th century drama by German playwright Frank Wedekind, the rock musical “Spring Awakening” is set in a small, provincial...
Review: “The Heiress”
By PAM HARBAUGH The proper, unyielding culture that was New York society in the mid-1800s reveals itself in Melbourne Civic Theatre’s handsome and sure-footed production of “The Heiress.” Adapted by Ruth and Augustus Goetz from the Henry James novel, “Washington Square,” this high mannered drama examines love and duty, or at...
Review: “Chesapeake”
By PAM HARBAUGH Like the estuary after which it is named, the one-man play “Chesapeake” brings together opposing forces to create something new and wonderful. Here, those opposites are art and politics and what they create when mixed is potent. Stirring these brackish waters is prolific playwright Lee Blessing. As he...
Review: “All Shook Up”
By Pam Harbaugh The Henegar Center has a hunk-a burnin’ love on its stage right now — its fun and endearing production of “All Shook Up.” The musical was written by Joe DiPietro, the same man who wrote two very popular shows produced at the old Phoenix Theatre and at Melbourne...
Review: ” ‘night, Mother”
By PAM HARBAUGH Yes, it’s called show business, but sometimes we just gotta have the art. That’s what’s happening now at Surfside Playhouse where Marsha Norman’s devastating ” ‘night, Mother” is leaving audiences limp with emotion. This 1983 Pulitzer Prize winning drama is played in real time and concerns Mama and...
Review: “Grease” at Riverside Theatre
By PAM HARBAUGH Sometimes it takes a solid production to realize just how lacking a show is. That’s the case with “Grease,” on stage now at Riverside Theatre in Vero Beach. Make no mistake: Riverside’s production is slick. It’s filled with sensational choreography, bright costumes and fun performances. As you do...
Review: “Faith Healer” at Riverside Theatre
BY CATHY MATHIAS Riverside Theatre’s intense production of “Faith Healer” puzzles, mystifies and intrigues. “Faith Healer” was written in 1979 by Ireland’s foremost playwrights, Brian Friel, who has been hailed as the greatest living dramatist in the English language. The play is presented via three actors’ monologues. It centers on charismatic...
Review: “Steel Magnolias” at Titusville Playhouse’s Emma’s Attic
. By CATHY MATHIAS There are only two more weekends to catch “Steel Magnolias” playing at Emma’s Attic, the upstairs black box theater at Titusville Playhouse in downtown Titusville. But, hurry because the shows are selling out fast! Prepare yourself for lots of laughter and a few tears at the Titusville...