Deborah Bostock-Kelley - Page 15

My husband loathes plays and yet I still dragged him out to Jaeb Theatre Sunday night to experience Spymonkey's Hysteria. After interviewing Toby last week, I knew it was our warped sense of humor and we'd love it. Not five minutes into the play at Klaus's unexpected greeting to Laura, he is tapping my knee mouthing, 'you were right.'

Having its preview in October, Gretchen is reaching out to the community via a Kickstarter fundraiser https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/melinamusical/melina-a-steampunk-musical-tragedy through October 25 for a demo recording to submit to festivals. In October, Melina will have its first official Table Read at Just Write, Lakeland and have a five song preview in Mount Dora at the Renningers Flea Market Industrial Steampunk Festival. On March 7, 2020, the musical is scheduled to have a full stage reading at the Carrollwood Cultural Center.

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.

Clavico! is a musical comedy that centers on the residents of a no-name town, surrounded by a seemingly impenetrable wall that was built by El Duque, a foul swordfighter of long ago. A group of residents attempts to escape, but their plot is regularly destroyed by the evil dictator. When Clavico comes to town, is he the hero the town has been praying for or just an El Duque replacement?

At the close of the performance, my face hurt from laughing, but what else would you expect from a musical with the name Mel Brooks attached. This over-the-top and exquisitely offensive masterpiece, with everything from the producer's casting couch, grossly stereotypical ultra-sexy foreign female secretary/actress, sex-crazed old ladies to syrupy-sweet gay characters to literally, singing and dancing Nazis, this show is the antithesis to today's political correctness. The Producers at Carrollwood Players has something to make everyone do a little squirm in their seats and I loved every purposely-uncomfortable minute of this madcap story that revels in Mel Brook's irreverent humor.

In Yasmina Reza's God of Carnage, after a boy injures another in a schoolyard confrontation, the parents meet to discuss the course of action in a civilized manner. Civility quickly crumbles as the conversation escalates in this savage comedy, the inaugural production of the semiprofessional theatre company Vivid Theatre Production, opening at Stageworks on Friday, September 6 through 15.

On Friday, August 31, VetArtSpan, a year-long creative collaboration with area veterans, civilians and local and national organizations will showcase personal stories, spoken word, dance, choreography, and artwork like painting and blown glass at The Straz Center's TECO Theatre from 7 a?" 8:30 pm.

In a time where bullying is national crisis, leading to children as young as nine years old taking their own lives, Innovocative Theatre's production The Hundred Dresses is opening at Stageworks Theatre on August 4. Sadly, this play is as timely today as when Eleanor Estes wrote the book in 1944. Set during the Great Depression in 1938, The Hundred Dresses is a play by based on the true experiences of the book author about a poor Polish girl named Wanda Petronski who is bullied by her classmates because she is different.

Let me lead by saying I absolutely love The Little Mermaid and Cirque Du Soleil, so going into the theatre, my expectations were extremely high for the perfect romantic story of man and mermaid at New Tampa Players. And visionary director Derek Baxter and a stellar huge cast of all ages and abilities did NOT disappoint. Using the magical talents of Jeremy Dorsey, Hippie Griswold, Becki Mallett, and Will Rickard, aerial artists from Shinobi School on ropes, fabric, and a lira hoop, this version of the fairytale was fresh, innovative, and never boring.

New Tampa Players and director Derek Baxter are putting a fresh, new spin on the classic love story of mermaid and man. Utilizing his circus background and passion for Cirque du Soleil, The Little Mermaid debuting at on July 26 will incorporate aerial and parkour choreography to capture life on land and sea.

In collaboration with the Hillsborough County Alliance for Citizens with Disabilities and Tampa Mayor's Alliance for Persons with Disabilities, on July 26, The Straz Center is presenting the inaugural performance event, Transformations: Building a World of Access and Inclusion. As part of the celebration of the 29th-anniversary celebration of the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) legislation, the event, hosted in Maestros from 6-8 p.m., is free to the public.

Broken into two acts with a 15 minute intermission in between, in the first hour, to open each song, the singer told a story of what it meant to them. What I loved about actors who are also singers, rather than someone who was strictly a singer, was you are transported into the story. Whether it's a slump of the shoulder, a hand raised, a facial expression, the use of the stool, or any number of creative storytelling devices, these 11 allowed us to have an experience, not just hear a song. The snippets of the introduction made the song that followed feel all the more personal. In the second act dedicated to inspiration works, the dialogue receded, and the moving songs took center stage.

Starring Brilee Gold, Sean McKinley, Heather Mendoza, Kidany Camillo, Lena Morrisseau, Jason Ensor, Erica Garraffa, Topher Warren, Chonesty Montgomery, Sonali Balan, Bri Filippelli, and Drew, on July 24, Broadway Miscast is not your typical cabaret. A cast from teen to adult is singing parts for the opposite gender.

Imagine having a piano call to you - a soft whisper urging that you must play, asking if you remember. Despite the passage of time, playwright Janet Scaglione sat down and the melodies for a musical were birthed as her fingers danced across the piano keys. She had always wanted to write a musical, a biography of sorts about discovering herself after 50. Initially, a lack of confidence got in the way of fulfilling a lifelong ambition.

Coming to stage at Carrollwood Players Theatre is Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest on July 12 through August 3. Recognized as his most beloved and best known play, the playwright lampoons the rigid Victorian society in which he lived. If you are looking for a serious drama, this is definitely not a somber theatrical work.

Powerful, honest and uplifting are the three adjectives director Karla Hartley used to describe Alison Bechdel's Fun Home coming to American Stage July 17 through August 18. Not a traditional musical, it features Grammy-nominated songs by Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori and tells the story of family secrets.

Like the shopkeeper who helps Mom introduce a reluctant teenaged Dee and her best friend Mandy to a special article of clothing affectionately dubbed LBD, the original musical playing at the Straz Center's Jaeb Theatre, Little Black Dress is FABULOUS.

Coming to Straz Center on July 9-14 is The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical, a musical adaption of the New York Times best-selling novel written by Rick Riordan Hall. Whether you've read the book, seen the movie or simply enjoy Greek mythology, the musical will delight all ages.

Recent high school graduates, eighteen-year-old Chris Loving and seventeen-year-old Senna Prasatthong are in New York, on Broadway preparing to perform on Monday night not only in front of a live audience at the famous Minskoff Theatre in Manhattan, but in front of the world on Facebook Live.

I was a blank page and opening night, the NYNE cast of Cabaret left permanent marks all over me. A latecomer to the live theatre world, I knew a movie and musical existed, and it is important to me to cross this classic musical off my list of must-sees. I'd heard some of the songs because they occasionally popped up in musicals playlist on Spotify, but had no idea what the show is about. I try not to research before going to a performance because I want to see if the cast can tell me the story. The uneasy juxtaposition of a seedy cabaret of sexy guys and girls in lingerie where anything could happen, showcased in a church community center only added to this stunning, provocative production. The show would have lost its impact without the choice of live music, under the masterful direction of Joseph Scarbrough. I had no idea the audience would be entertained by a titillating cabaret while the world is falling apart. I didn't realize a musical written in 1966, revised in 1998, would sadly be art imitating life.