Tampa Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 4

Review: The Royal Knight Stage Company of River Ridge High School Presents the Timely, Devastating I NEVER SAW ANOTHER BUTTERFLY
by Peter Nason - October 28, 2023

A gutsy director leads a gutsy young cast in telling this classic true-life story....

Review: Spooktacular production of BEETLEJUICE THE MUSICAL at Straz Center
by Deborah Bostock-Kelley - October 25, 2023

BEETLEJUICE THE MUSICAL is a show that revels in its own weirdness and invites the audience to do the same. The musical is a rollercoaster of laughs, gasps, and heartwarming moments. Capturing the spirit of the original film while carving out its unique identity as a musical, the show's mischievous ...

Review: A Rocky Start Helps to Usher in Halloween With BEETLEJUICE THE MUSICAL at Straz Center for The Performing Arts
by Drew Eberhard - October 25, 2023

Beetlejuice the Musical, is a live stage musical, based on the 1988 film of the same name in which Michael Keaton plays the iconic ghoul. The musical features music and lyrics by Eddie Perfect, with a book by Scott Brown and Anthony King. ...

Review: Chris Cordero, Brianna Filippelli & Evan Lomba Lead a Great Cast in New Tampa Players' SHREK: THE MUSICAL
by Peter Nason - October 21, 2023

The entire cast is stellar, but Evan Lomba is extraordinary as a Donkey like no other!...

Review: A Blistering Adaptation of FRANKENSTEIN Will Take Your Breath Away at Jobsite Theater
by Drew Eberhard - October 20, 2023

Set to the “heartbeat” of an unbelievably brilliant sound design by Jeremy Douglass, Jobsite Theater’s presentation of Nick Dear’s Frankenstein, is a slow-burn, salt-in-the-wound, gripping, tour-de-force that will leave you speechless. ...

Review: THE WORLD PREMIERE OF NATALIE SYMONS' NIGHTSWEAT TAKES CENTER STAGE at FreeFall Theatre
by Drew Eberhard - October 20, 2023

Nightsweat is a comedic farce mixed with a a little mystery and some horror tropes placed throughout. What began as a singular idea, spun off a conversation between playwright Natalie Symons and local favorite Matthew McGee, is now in full glory onstage at its rightful home freeFall Theatre. ...

Review: THe World Premiere of GHOST STORIES FROM YELLOWSTONE Takes Center Stage at The Off-Central Players
by Drew Eberhard - October 09, 2023

Written and Directed by local area playwright William Leavengood, this marks the 3rd collaboration with the Off-Central Players, following The Sister-Mothers of Gulfport, and The Azure Sky in Oz....

Review: THE CHOIR OF MAN at Straz Center's Jaeb Theatre
by Deborah Bostock-Kelley - October 08, 2023

The story, created by Nic Doodson and Andrew Kay, lets us in on The Jungle's long history of having a choir. In the shortest 90 minutes ever, we're laughing and crying, enchanted by stories, clapping along, tapping our feet, singing familiar tunes, and even catching bags of 'crisps' they toss into t...

Review: St. Petersburg City Theatre Brings Disney's Magical MARY POPPINS to Life in a Most Delightful Way
by Peter Nason - October 08, 2023

A large talented cast with so much energy brings this iconic musical to life!...

Review: Direct from the UK, THE CHOIR OF MAN Welcomes Tampa to the Jungle at Straz Center for the Performing Arts
by Drew Eberhard - October 07, 2023

Created by Nic Doodson and Andrew Kay, The Choir of Man is a British musical set inside a traditional British or Irish Pub. The unique concept includes a working bar on-stage in which audience members can be served beer during the pre-show and during the performance. For the Tampa stop, local brewer...

Review: Paula Vogel's Stunning INDECENT at American Stage
by Peter Nason - October 07, 2023

What did our critic think of Paula Vogel's INDECENT at American Stage?...

Review: Arthur Miller's THE CRUCIBLE Staged in Unique Form At ThinkTank Theater And Tampa Rep
by Drew Eberhard - October 03, 2023

Arthur Miller’s Masterpiece The Crucible is a 1953 play that is both dramatized and fictionalized around the true events of the Salem Witch Trials between 1692-93. Written as a Political Allegory on McCarthyism, Miller used its dramatizations to detail a time in which the United States Government pe...

Review: Tampa Rep and Think Tank Theatre's Production of Arthur Miller's THE CRUCIBLE
by Peter Nason - October 01, 2023

It's all over the place in style and tone, but the acting and Miller's wondrous words save the day....

Review: USF School of Theatre & Dance Presents the Cult Favorite RIDE THE CYCLONE
by Peter Nason - September 30, 2023

See what all the buzz is about!...

Review: Jason Robert Brown's Subliminal Masterpiece THE LAST FIVE YEARS OPENS at Richey Suncoast Theatre
by Drew Eberhard - September 18, 2023

The Last Five Years is a musical by Jason Robert Brown that received its premiere at Chicago’s Northlight Theatre in 2001, late in 2002 it was produced off-Broadway. Since its premiere, the musical has spawned numerous productions across the United States, and overseas, and even received treatment a...

Review: ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD at Jobsite Theater
by Drew Eberhard - September 18, 2023

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, an absurdist, existential tragic-comedy written by British Playwright Tom Stoppard opened Friday evening amidst a room full of eager audience members and hearty laughter. Bringing a cast so deserving of the praise to the top of their game, showcasing their hard...

Review: Jason Robert Brown's THE LAST 5 YEARS at the Richey Suncoast Theatre
by Peter Nason - September 16, 2023

Check out what our critic had to say about Jason Robert Brown's THE LAST 5 YEARS at the Richey Suncoast Theatre!...

Review: The Stage Is Set for Something Brilliant, with Duncan Macmillan's Every Brilliant Thing at The Offcentral Players
by Drew Eberhard - September 07, 2023

Duncan MacMillan’s Every Brilliant Thing is different than anything we have seen as of late. I think this is what truly makes it an endearing yet very sobering piece. Grounded in Audience Participation and two constants, a list and the Mother’s mental illness. In this fast-paced but never rushed 65 ...

Review: The Tampa Bay Theatre Festival Short Play Competition at The Straz Center in The Teco Theater
by Peter Nason - September 05, 2023

The 11 short plays were all over the place in quality and subject matter, but it was so much fun to watch....

Review: A Remount Of Epic Proportions Brings TWILIGHT: LOS ANGELES 1992 Back at Jobsite Theater
by Drew Eberhard - August 20, 2023

27 Characters, 1 performer, allow me to say it again...27 DIFFERENT CHARACTERS, 1 PERFORMER. Over the course of a 2 Hour span, 1 Performer has the daunting task of honing in on 27 different perspectives, different accounts of a real event. A real event that happened in 1992 but hits just as hard at ...

Review: MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT at Carrollwood Cultural Center
by Deborah Bostock-Kelley - July 29, 2023

Whether you are a devoted Monty Python fan or someone seeking to escape into a silly night of theatre, Carrollwood Cultural Center's SPAMALOT is a sidesplittingly funny, masterful work that lovingly parodies the legendary Arthurian tale....

Review: New Tampa Players Present GREASE
by Peter Nason - July 22, 2023

It's a hit or miss show, but the youthful cast and the new performing arts facility make it worth your while....

Review: An Epic Remount Brings New Life to LIZZIE at Jobsite Theater
by Drew Eberhard - July 16, 2023

Rage! Sex! Betrayal! Bloody Murder! Sounds like the makings of a good time right? What if the good time is focused on a retelling of myth, lore, and just pure rock & roll. ...

Review: Tampa Bay Regional Premiere of THE PROM Takes Center Stage at Mad Theatre of Tampa
by Drew Eberhard - July 16, 2023

The Prom a new musical with music by Matthew Sklar, lyrics by Chad Beguelin, and a book by Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin is based on an original concept by Jack Viertel....

Review: Bernard Slade's Same Time, Next Year at Early Bird Dinner Theater
by Drew Eberhard - June 26, 2023

Same Time, Next Year is a romantic comedy written by Bernard Slade that premiered in 1975 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. The plot revolves around a man and woman, George and Doris (respectively), who meet together once a year for a rendezvous over the course of 24 years despite being married to oth...