Deborah Bostock-Kelley - Page 14

During the holiday season, Lauren Gunderson's Silent Sky opens at American Stage. Sometimes described as the Hidden Figures of astronomy, like Katherine Johnson in the 2017 movie, Henrietta Leavitt received little credit for her discovery.

mad Theatre of Tampa did it again! Launching Thursday night was Disenchanted at Jaeb Theatre, a fabulous, bawdy, vaudevillian, royal cabaret featuring ten disillusioned princesses revealing what truly happens after happily-ever-after. The ladies from a?oeSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs,a?? a?oeCinderella,a?? a?oeSleeping Beauty,a?? a?oeBeauty and the Beast,a?? a?oeMulan,a?? a?oeThe Little Mermaid,a?? a?oePocahontas,a?? a?oeThe Princess Who Kissed the Frog,a?? a?oeRapunzel,a?? and a?oeAladdin,a?? took on the man who commercialized and exploited their characters. These were no damsels in distress!

Director Drew Eberhard's presentation of Suzan Lori-Parks a?oeIn the Blood,a?? a modernized loose telling of a?oeThe Scarlett Letter,a?? holds up a mirror to society and dares us to look away at the injustice and sexual abuse Hester faces from everyone she encounters. But this is just a parable. When we shake the hands of the talented actors, leave the theatre, get into our cars, the safety of our homes, fill our bellies, destress to our Hulus and Netflixes, we can shake off that feeling of helplessness, hopelessness because it's not real.

Coming to Straz Center on Saturday, November 9, for one night only is the critically-acclaimed concert style theatre show The Simon & Garfunkel Story starring George Clements as Paul and Andrew Wade as Art. Using state-of-the-art video projection, incredible lighting and a full live band, the show is a journey through the life and musical creativity of two young boys from Queens, New York who go one to become the world's most successful duo, starting from their modest beginnings as a?oeTom and Jerry,a?? through their massive success and ultimate split; culminating in the famous Central Park concert.

Broadway World sits down with director Drew Eberhard, stage manager Athena Romanski, and the six-member cast of In the Blood, D'Devah Simpson, Jason Abreu, Sonali Balan, Keith Batchelor Jr., Jeffrey Holmes, and Lena Morrisseau to discuss the importance of this hard-hitting drama written by Suzan-Lori Parks. In the Blood tells the story of a mother, Hester, raising her five children, with the father not around. Living in poverty, she is trying to make her children's lives better. It is a tale of exploitation. Each person who interacts with Hester abuses her in their own way.

As a way to celebrate diversity in Tampa Bay, The Straz Center created The Straz Arts Legacy REMIX Project, where writers, actors, musicians, singers, and dancers join together on the Riverwalk to perform for a free event highlighting the beauty of a particular culture. On November 8, The Straz Arts Legacy REMIX Project is stepping away from culture to honor our heroes. Arts Legacy REMIX From Sea to Shining Sea celebrates the men and women who defend and protect our country through the centuries.

Mix the talent from Patel Conservatory's local arts program chorale and musical theatre students' group Ovation, Opera Tampa's upcoming shows of a?oeCarmena?? and a?oeAida,a?? and guest performers from the Broadway of Mean Girls, Alladin, Jersey Boys, and Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, with food trucks, chalk artists, a table-decorating contest, and pets and you have the makings for a fantastic Sunday afternoon.

GETTING SARA MARRIED features a workaholic, an engaged financial advisor with short-term memory loss, and frightening food allergies. Mix in a loving, albeit busybody aunt, a frustrated fiancé, and a teddy bear of a sort-of-shady delivery guy, and you have yourself an incredibly funny farce. In the real world, the script would make no sense, but somehow the talent of the five actors makes a storyline where you have to suspend belief, plausible.

Helmed by Tony-winning director Barlett Sher, coming to the Straz Center for the Performing Arts on November 5 through 10 is Fiddler on the Roof. The musical offers a fresh take of the beloved classic tale. With familiar songs like a?oeTradition,a?? a?oeMatchmaker, Matchmaker,a?? and a?oeSunrise, Sunset,a?? the production is a heartwarming story of fathers and daughters, husbands and wives, the perfect start to the holiday season.

On Thursday night, director Aaron Washington took us to church. Nunsense Jamboree, the third in the series, combined the comedic influences of Laugh-In, silly jokes, a puppet nun, and crafty innuendos, five outstanding voices with an adorable set created by Paul Berge at Carrollwood Cultural Center. MAS Theatre captured the authentic charm of a country-western jamboree a?" like the kind you'd see set up at the fairgrounds. All that was missing was a hand raised, waving in praise and meat on a stick. I also had flashbacks of Sunday sermons with my grandma, with much better music provided by Mary Jo Hahn, Rusty Wirt, Wink Warren, and Valerie Frege.

Wild Party is loosely based on a poem from 1928 about a couple who host a party. The description doesn't sound terribly appealing, does it? But this party was not your average dinner party. Often the cast interacted with the VIP audience members and the bartender, making us feel like we were all attending this party. While the guests wore their most elegant attire (superbly dressed by costume designer Rachael Dugas-Murray), this soiree degenerated into debauchery with sex, infidelity, a snort of cocaine, and a gun.

Directed by Sarah Berland, on October 17-20, The Straz Center's Patel Conservatory will present Charlotte's Web in the TECO Theater. Featuring 34 children, from ages 9 to 16, the beloved children's story features a frightened little pig Wilbur who wants to avoid being a meal and an extraordinary spider named Charlotte, who teaches him how to be brave and all of their barnyard friends.

A little over 13 months ago, Katie Welch applied her Masters in Exceptional Student Education and a Bachelors in Theatre to open an all-inclusive theater, Broadway Everyday Star Theater (B.E.S.T.). On November 8 and 9, actors from 9 to 28 years old will perform a Broadway Musical Review with an original musical written by Katie.

As a way to celebrate diversity in Tampa Bay, The Straz Center created The Straz Arts Legacy REMIX Project, where writers, actors, musicians, singers, and dancers join together to perform for a free event showcasing a particular culture. On October 11, The Straz Arts Legacy REMIX Project will celebrate the Caribbean culture.

As the first familiar notes of 'The Candy Man' wafts across the audience in Carol Morsani Hall, I feel a strong sense of nostalgia. I grew up watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on television and am curious how a show with so many special effects could translate to the stage.

In a limited run on October 8-13, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the beloved childhood tale of five lucky children with magic tickets, hits The Straz Center to delight kids of all ages. The story is a lesson in have and have-nots, centering around Charlie Bucket, a poor, kind-hearted boy whose family is on the brink of starvation. Charlie, Violet Beauregarde, Mike Teavee, Veruca Salt, and Augustus Gloop, have found a golden ticket inside a Wonka bar and have gained the privilege of visiting the chocolate factory. Unlike Charlie, the four are sorely lacking in traits of kindness and appreciation.

Though I was fighting back the tears, the unexpected closure of the first act triggered wracking sobs from an audience member. That is how relatable, believable, and compelling the performance of Sonia Flew at Powerstories was on opening night.

'The Marvelous Wonderettes' tells the story of friends Suzy, Missy, Cindy Lou, and Betty Jean. The quartet is typical of high school. Suzy is the ditzy one, Missy is the control freak perfectionist with a secret, Cindy Lou is flirty and hopes to be prom queen, and Betty Jean is the class clown.

Described as a a?oehip hop, sex-comedy fairytalea?? by director Brian Balcom, a?oeVietgonea?? written by Qui Nguyen, is having its regional premiere on October 2, launching the 2019-2020 season at American Stage.