Review: AVENUE Q At Straz Center Proves That Puppets, Like People, Can Have A Whole Lot Of Heart
Avenue Q, a musical comedy featuring puppets controlled by human actors premiered off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre in 2003. Opening to rave reviews and claiming Tony Nominations for Best Musical, Best Original Score, and Best Book all of which it won and several nominations in the acting categories, Avenue Q proved to be a juggernaut of its time. Having assumed much praise for its approach to racism, homosexuality, and internet pornography Avenue Q proved that even puppetry can be fun for adults.
Review: NUNSENSE A-MEN Proves to Be a Confession Full of Laughs, and Just What We Needed at Straz Center for The Performing Arts
Nunsense premiered off-Broadway in 1985 with music, lyrics, and a book by Dan Goggin. The show ran for 3,672 performances and became the second longest-running off-Broadway show in history. Nunsense was then adapted for television starring everyone’s favorite Golden Girl Rue McClanahan and has since produced six sequels and three spin-off adaptations.
Nunsense A-Men, more recently produced at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa, a “Straz Produced” production, brings to the stage a group of local bay area performers to tell the story of the Little Sisters of Hoboken. As the leader of the Merry Band of Nuns is none other than the Enigmatic, and truly Exceptional Matthew McGee as Sister Mary Regina, Mother Superior. For the first time in 22 years, Matthew McGee makes his Jaeb stage debut as a performer in the musical. Dubbed a “Life-Long, bucket list opportunity”, Matthew is just downright Heaven-sent in the role. From his first entrance to the final bow Matthew, along with the rest of the cast present a side-splitting, laugh-filled evening that will make your cheeks hurt even the next day.