All stories by Bill Hirschman on BroadwayStars

Friday, February 19, 2021

Book Review: Stoppard Bio Is As Complex As The Man Himself by Bill Hirschman

Most biographies factually mirror the life and times of their subject in a chronological narrative. But few mirror the complexity and structure of the subject’s own work with the stunning …

SOURCE: Florida Theater On Stage at 09:48AM
Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Kravis Sets 2021-22 Broadway Tours With “Summer” & Hansen by Bill Hirschman

The Kravis Center’s Broadway tour series, resuming in November, will have the much-anticipated Come From Away and Dear Evan Hansen, but also titles that won’t be seen at the other two pr…

SOURCE: Florida Theater On Stage at 09:42PM
Monday, February 15, 2021

‘Long Distance Affair’ Is Back For A Fresh Virtual Journey by Bill Hirschman

With most venues shut down for nearly a year, pandemic-era theater has taken many forms: But few digital productions have achieved what Miami’s Juggerknot Theatre Co. and New York’s Pop…

SOURCE: Florida Theater On Stage at 09:18PM
Friday, February 12, 2021

Island City’s “Compensation” Pregnant With Potential by Bill Hirschman

Every emotion associated with pregnancy and pending parenthood is present in the 95 minutes of Hannah Manikowski’s smart and promising play Compensation. In fact, most of them appear on th…

SOURCE: Florida Theater On Stage at 04:48PM
Thursday, February 4, 2021

Arsht Center Plans Return With Broadway Tours In September by Bill Hirschman

Yet another stirring that theater will return to… well, maybe normal isn’t the word… was reaffirmed this week as the Arsht Center announced that the Miami presenting house will resume …

SOURCE: Florida Theater On Stage at 12:33AM
Sunday, January 31, 2021

Show Biz Legend Jan McArt Dies, Leaving Lasting Legacy by Bill Hirschman

Larger-than-life, effusive, generous and driven Jan McArt, a show business legend who helped push South Florida theater out of its infancy and through its adolescence with flair and verve, d…

SOURCE: Florida Theater On Stage at 08:54PM
Friday, January 29, 2021

Broadway Tours Set ’21-’22 Schedules For Broward & Nation by Bill Hirschman

In a carefully calculated but hopeful sign of the recovering world of theater, Broadway Across America has scheduled the resumption this fall of its tours in 47 cities with full auditoriums …

SOURCE: Florida Theater On Stage at 12:36AM
Wednesday, January 27, 2021

Collegial Beloved Stage Actor Peter Librach Dies of Cancer by Bill Hirschman

Peter Librach, the actor-director-producer-theatrical agent who worked at almost every South Florida theater and remembered by many as the epitome of a nurturing colleague, died Wednesday af…

SOURCE: Florida Theater On Stage at 10:18PM
Monday, January 25, 2021

Area Stage Brings Imaginative Shrek Revival Out Of Doors by Bill Hirschman

Area Stage revives its imaginative 2018 production of Shrek the Musical as conceived, directed and designed by Giancarlo Rodaz, but with mostly new cast members, on an outdoor stage near its…

SOURCE: Florida Theater On Stage at 10:12PM
Thursday, January 21, 2021

Wick Theater’s Costume Arm: All Dressed Up, Few Places To Go by Bill Hirschman

When the pandemic curtain came crashing down, Marilynn Wick’s largest wardrobe supplier in the nation saw its business evaporate and A Chorus Line shut down after one performance. But the …

SOURCE: Florida Theater On Stage at 02:06PM
Monday, January 18, 2021

Theatre Lab’s New Readings; Juggerknot Tours World Again by Bill Hirschman

Theatre Lab kicks off new reading series every 21 days through May; Juggerknot Theatre Company produces second world tour monologues in Long Distance Affair.

SOURCE: Florida Theater On Stage at 09:24PM
Tuesday, January 12, 2021

Carbonell Reboot Meet Favors Celebration Not Competition by Bill Hirschman

A celebration not a competition. The prevailing message from arts professionals and supporters Monday sought a seismic change in the prevailing philosophy of the Carbonell Awards that recogn…

SOURCE: Florida Theater On Stage at 01:54PM
Monday, January 4, 2021

Stagebill’s Blog: A Crossroads for the Carbonell Awards by Bill Hirschman

It is time for everyone on all sides to put up or shut up. For the past few years, concerns about the Carbonell Awards have grown among many members of the South Florida theater community. …

SOURCE: Florida Theater On Stage at 09:32PM
Friday, January 1, 2021

Grove Playhouse Battle Continues, Broward Grants $2.5 Million, Kravis Hires New CEO by Bill Hirschman

The county plan for the Coconut Grove Playhouse is still alive in court, Kravis hires new CEO Terrence Dwyer and Broward County awards $2.5 million in grants.

SOURCE: Florida Theater On Stage at 03:24PM
Thursday, December 17, 2020

Zoetic Open For Entries In Finstrom New Play Festival by Bill Hirschman

The Finstrom Festival of New Work, a new national playwriting contest, has just opened for entries – a competition whose finalists will undergo workshops, staged readings and possibly a fu…

SOURCE: Florida Theater On Stage at 07:12PM
Tuesday, December 8, 2020

2020 SoFla Theater: What A Long Strange Trip It’s Been by Bill Hirschman

A look back at 2020: Yes, South Florida theater was crippled by the pandemic. But its acolytes remained driven to express their artistry, and patrons remained ravenous for their work. They c…

SOURCE: Florida Theater On Stage at 09:18PM
Monday, December 7, 2020

Miami New Drama’s 7 Deadly Sins Is A Singular, Year-defining Theatrical Experience by Bill Hirschman

It was only a matter of time until one of South Florida’s most experimental companies would find a way to produce theater outside of a theater. Nine months into a pandemic, the sheer exist…

SOURCE: Florida Theater On Stage at 09:06PM
Thursday, December 3, 2020

Area Stage’s Giancarlo Rodaz Co-Creates Unique Musical Podcast by Bill Hirschman

Giancarlo Rodaz of Area Stage company and Rachel Dean have turned their still-evolving musical The Ballad of Janis Matthews & The Dodo Scouts into podcast.

SOURCE: Florida Theater On Stage at 10:06PM
Saturday, November 28, 2020

MNM’s Online Filmed ‘Closer Than Ever’ Touches The Heart by Bill Hirschman

MNM Theatre Company’s filmed cyber-distributed pandemic production of Closer Than Ever needs no excuses, no politely lowered expectations. Just as it would if produced live in an intimate…

SOURCE: Florida Theater On Stage at 05:03PM
Friday, November 27, 2020

Carbonells Postpone Judging Until October; Creates Open Input On Reforms & Diversity by Bill Hirschman

The Carbonell Awards is taking an intermission on judging shows until fall 2021, using the time to reinvent itself, actively soliciting suggestions from the community and committing to incr…

SOURCE: Florida Theater On Stage at 09:18AM
Thursday, November 26, 2020

Seven Deadly Sins Is Return To Live Theater In Miami by Bill Hirschman

Nine months into the country’s battle against COVID-19, Miami New Drama and its boundlessly imaginative artistic director, Michel Hausmann, have figured out a way to turn vice into virtue,…

SOURCE: Florida Theater On Stage at 10:12AM
Tuesday, November 24, 2020

Tony Finstrom Leaves Fund To Continue Silver Palm Awards by Bill Hirschman

The much-loved playwright and patron Tony Finstrom died in December 2018, but the curtain has not come down on his effect on the South Florida theater he championed. The Silver Palm Awards t…

SOURCE: Florida Theater On Stage at 05:48PM
Thursday, November 19, 2020

MNM’s Closer Than Ever Staged Six Feet Apart — And On Film by Bill Hirschman

It’s not lost on anyone as these Florida actors sing ardent songs to each other -- separated by six feet of stage -- that the musical they are filming is titled Closer Than Ever. It’s im…

SOURCE: Florida Theater On Stage at 10:03AM
Saturday, November 14, 2020

Dramaworks Kicks Off Holiday Reading Series: Bountiful, Ballyhoo & Xmas Carol by Bill Hirschman

Palm Beach Dramaworks postponed its live on stage season, but it continues an aggressive online parade theatrical presentations for free in November and December with a three-play Home for …

SOURCE: Florida Theater On Stage at 09:32AM
Friday, November 13, 2020

Miami New Drama’s Multi-Lingual Our Town Published by Bill Hirschman

Samuel French, one of the major playscript publishers in the nation, is releasing a new acting edition of the Thornton Wilder classic Our Town featuring some scenes translated into Spanish a…

SOURCE: Florida Theater On Stage at 12:48PM
Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Wick and Actors Playhouse Hold 1st Shows Inside Auditoriums by Bill Hirschman

The Wick Theatre and Actors' Playhouse have scheduled their first productions inside their main auditoriums. The Wick opens this weekend with a John Denver tribute concert and the Playhouse …

SOURCE: Florida Theater On Stage at 11:06PM
Sunday, November 1, 2020

Palm Beach Arts To Lose Estimated $48 Million This Year by Bill Hirschman

Palm Beach County may be famous for the number and generosity of arts donors, but recent losses paint a deeply unsettling portrait. Survey responses from 33 non-profit arts groups produced a…

SOURCE: Florida Theater On Stage at 04:18PM
Friday, October 30, 2020

Audience In The Room Events Begin At Broward & Kravis by Bill Hirschman

For arts fans looking for a bit of good news, the Kravis Center and the Broward Center are on track to be the first of the region’s large presenting houses to host a live event with an in-…

SOURCE: Florida Theater On Stage at 09:32AM
Thursday, October 29, 2020

City Theatre Slates More Shorts; Slow Burn Plans In-Home Gala by Bill Hirschman

Usually fundraising galas are black tie events with hors d’oeuvres and dancing. Well, you can wear a black tie if you like, eat popcorn and dance if you like but in the privacy of your hom…

SOURCE: Florida Theater On Stage at 09:33AM
Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Thinking Cap Theatre Delivers Timely Punch With Laced by Bill Hirschman

Thinking Cap Theatre, “a steadfast champion of gender, racial, and sexual equality on- and off-stage,” is using their current, strong world premiere production of Laced as a “Get Out T…

SOURCE: Florida Theater On Stage at 03:03PM
Monday, October 26, 2020

Alvin Entin, Loving Pillar Of Community Theater, Dies at 75 by Bill Hirschman

Alvin Entin was an unique human being who invested his lifeforce in at least five passions simultaneously: proud family man, supportive friend who gifted a hundred silent mitzvahs, a far-tra…

SOURCE: Florida Theater On Stage at 02:42PM