Tampa Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 6

Review: MISERY Loves Company in This Stage Adaptation of Stephen King's Ultimate Thriller at Jobsite Theater
by Drew Eberhard - March 21, 2023

Misery written by the incomparable “Master of Horror” Stephen King was first released via Viking Press on June 8, 1987. The story revolves around the main character, romance novelist Paul Sheldon, and his self-proclaimed number-one fan Annie Wilkes. Paul is seriously injured in a car crash, and Anni...

Review: Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron's FUN HOME at the Carrollwood Players
by Peter Nason - March 20, 2023

Gutsy. Heartbreaking. Life-affirming. Meaningful. Deep. Painful. And brilliant....

Review: West Orange High School Thespian Troupe 1983 Makes History With Their Production of THE PROM
by Peter Nason - March 19, 2023

It's a courageous musical to perform, especially in Florida, especially this year. Kudos to all!...

Review: WICKED at Straz Center
by Deborah Bostock-Kelley - March 13, 2023

Wicked is a superb production, in every area from lighting and costume to choreography and special effects. And of course, the cast is second to none. Through March 26, Wicked soars into Straz Center for the second time, which is magical. A prequel to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Wicked gives us a di...

Review: Stephen Sondheim's COMPANY at the Manatee Players
by Peter Nason - March 11, 2023

Directed and choreographed by Rick Kerby, this production of Sondheim's groundbreaking musical is given an A+ treatment....

Review: CHICAGO at Straz Center
by Deborah Bostock-Kelley - February 24, 2023

CHICAGO delights new and returning musical fans with choreography, performance, and singing that sizzles and 'razzle dazzles.'...

Review: Douglas Lyons' CHICKEN & BISCUITS at the Asolo Repertory Theatre
by Peter Nason - February 19, 2023

As its title suggests, it's like theatrical comfort food....

Review: SHEAR MADNESS at Straz Center for the Performing Arts
by Drew Eberhard - February 18, 2023

Shear Madness an audience interactive murder mystery whodunit play is the second of this seasons Straz-Produced productions produced fully in-house in the Straz Center’s Jaeb Theatre. Featuring a cast of local area talent, and spotlighting the incredible performers residing here in the bay area, She...

Review: THE SMELL OF THE KILL at Stageworks Theatre
by Drew Eberhard - February 12, 2023

Michele Lowe’s calculated and chilly dark comedy The Smell of the Kill premiered at the Cleveland Playhouse in 1999. It later transferred to Broadway to the Helen Hayes Theatre in 2022 where it played only 40 performances....

Review: THIS IS OUR YOUTH at The Off-Central Players
by Drew Eberhard - February 12, 2023

This is Our Youth, is a play written by Playwright Kenneth Lonergan (The Waverly Gallery) and Screenwriter (Manchester by the Sea). Youth premiered off-Broadway in 1996, and since its premiere has seen productions all over the world on Broadway, in Sydney and Toronto. The most recent Broadway reviva...

Review: GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER? at the Carrollwood Players
by Peter Nason - February 11, 2023

Based on the classic 1967 film, it's mightily entertaining with a great message and a strong cast led by Kym Welch....

Review: Paul Potenza Will Break Your Heart as THE ELEPHANT MAN at The Tampa Repertory Theatre
by Peter Nason - February 06, 2023

Sometimes a show comes along that is so powerful, at times shattering, with a top-flight cast, that it deserves two Broadway World reviews. Tampa Rep's production of THE ELEPHANT MAN certainly fits into that category. My BWW colleague, Drew Eberhard, saw the show at its final preview, and I had the ...

Review: FALSETTOS at MAD Theatre of Tampa
by Drew Eberhard - February 04, 2023

Falsettos, a primarily sung-through musical was written by William Finn and James Lapine and features two one-act installments March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland. The aforementioned are the last two additions to a trio of one-act musicals by Finn and Lapine, the other being called In Trousers. ...

Review: THE ELEPHANT MAN at TampaRep
by Drew Eberhard - February 04, 2023

Bernard Pomerance’s The Elephant Man, premiered at the Hampstead Theatre in London in November of 1977. Pomerance’s play also transferred to the National Theatre in London for an “In Rep” residency. From January to March of 1979 it played off-Broadway, and made a transfer to the Booth Theatre on Bro...

Review: TINA: THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL IS “SIMPLY THE BEST...” TICKET IN TOWN at Straz Center For The Performing Arts
by Drew Eberhard - February 03, 2023

Over the past several years, jukebox musicals have taken the “Great White Way...” by storm. From shows such as “Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations,” “Jagged Little Pill,” “Moulin Rouge,” “Girl from the North Country,” and more recently “& Juliet,” “MJ the Musical,” all tell a sto...

Review: Mat Smart's THE AGITATORS at FreeFall Theatre Company
by Drew Eberhard - January 29, 2023

The Agitators is a play that was created in 2017 by playwright Mat Smart, which was then later turned into a podcast. Commissioned by the New York State Council on the Arts, the play shows the friendly/and not-so-friendly relationship between Susan B. Anthony and Fredrick Douglass over the course of...

Review: LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS at the West Coast Players
by Peter Nason - January 29, 2023

You've never seen a LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS quite like this!...

Review: NEXT TO NORMAL Asks the Hard Questions at Manatee Players
by Drew Eberhard - January 28, 2023

Next to Normal is a 2008 Rock Musical written by Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt. The plot tells the story of a mother (Diana) who struggles with progressive Bipolar Disorder and how managing the disease and its effects take a toll on her family. The award-winning musical covers such topics as depression,...

Review: Tackling One of The Bard's Most Famous Tragedies, HAMLET, at Jobsite Theater
by Drew Eberhard - January 16, 2023

Read BroadwayWorld's review of Hamlet at Jobsite Theater, and see how to purchase tickets....

Review: THE WOLVES at ThinkTankTYA
by Drew Eberhard - January 15, 2023

The Wolves is a play written by Sarah DeLappe. It premiered off-Broadway in the 2016 season at The Duke at 42nd Street. The play has gone on to receive multiple awards and was a finalist in 2017 for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama....

Review: The Angelica Tour Puts You 'In the Room Where It Happens...' with HAMILTON at the Straz Center
by Drew Eberhard - December 31, 2022

From the opening drum sequence to the first note, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s behemoth musical that changed the course of the Modern American Musical as we have come to know it completely draws you in, and the silence of the room waiting with bated breath is almost extinguished by the deafening roar of exc...

Review: A DAZZLING PRODUCTION OF “THE NUTCRACKER” TAKES CENTER STAGE THIS HOLIDAY SEASON at Straz Center For The Performing Arts
by Drew Eberhard - December 19, 2022

Anyone who has ever taken the time to listen to Christmas Music, or thrust themselves into the droves of retail holiday shopping, has probably heard a familiar tune grace the airways. Throughout popular culture and even the likes of an M&M Candies commercial, cadences from The Nutcracker can be hear...

Review: Matt McGee in American Stage's WONDERFUL LIFE
by Peter Nason - December 18, 2022

A perfect cup of Christmas cheer, thanks to one of our area's most essential artists!...

Review: FOREVER PLAID: PLAID TIDINGS USHERS IN THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS at Straz Center For The Performing Arts
by Drew Eberhard - December 07, 2022

Forever Plaid is an Off-Broadway Musical Revue that was first performed in 1989 in New York, and was written by Stuart Ross. Now the show is performed Internationally. The show itself featured Stan Chandler, Guy Stroman, Gabriel Barre, and Jason Graae in the 1989 New York Cast. While James Raitt was...

Review: THE NIGHT BEFORE is the Perfect Gift at FreeFall Theatre Company
by Drew Eberhard - December 03, 2022

Allow me if you will a little indulgence as I set the scene. The year is 2020, the Global Pandemic that has riddled the world, and the country as we know it to shutter/ shelter in place. Like many Performing Arts Organizations, the folks at freeFall Theatre, known for their motto “Just escape awhil...