Current Productions for the week of April 16, 2012

Into The Woods by James Lapine & Stephen Sondheim
At Slow Burn Theatre Co. Until April 22
Journey into the darkside of Happily Ever After… Slow Burn Theatre invites you to a twisted fairy tale land deep in the world of Sondheim’s popular musical – complete with dead giants, less-than-charming princes and one particularly ambivalent witch. Enjoy the exquisite score as your favorite fairy tale characters learn “Nothing’s all black, but then nothing’s all white” when you venture INTO THE WOODS.


Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific
At The Broward Center Until April 22
A stunning reinvention produced by Lincoln Center Theater, SOUTH PACIFIC  which swept the 2008 Tony® Awards, winning seven honors.  Set on a tropical island during World War II, the musical tells the sweeping romantic story of two couples and how their happiness is threatened by the realities of war and by their own prejudices.  The beloved score's songs include "Some Enchanted Evening," "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair," "This Nearly Was Mine" and "There is Nothin' Like a Dame."


A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum
by Stephen Sondheim, Burt Shevelove & Larry Gelbart
At The Jerry Herman Ring Theatre Until April 28
Inspired by the farces of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus, A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM tells the bawdy story of a slave named Pseudolus and his attempts to win his freedom by helping his young master woo the girl next door.  Light and fast-paced, witty and irreverent!  It takes comedy back to its roots, combining situations from Roman farces with the slapstick energy of classic vaudeville.  The result is a non-stop laugh-fest that will leave your sides aching from laughter.


The All Night Strut! by Fran Charnas
At Broward Stage Door Theatre Until April 29
Get ready for an evening filled with jazz, blues, bebop and standards that thrill the heart, tickle the funny bone and raise the rafters. Legendary songwriters as Hoagy Carmichael, Frank Loesser, Duke Ellington, Johnny Mercer, Cab Calloway and the Gershwins take you from the funky jive of Harlem to the sophisticated elegance of El Morocco and the romance of the Stage Door Canteen.


"Master Harold"...And The Boys by Athol Fugard
At The Palm Beach Dramaworks Until April 29
When a South African white boy and two black workers he has known all his life connect on one rainy day, their wide-ranging discussions illustrate all that unites us and the gulf that still divides us.


Gypsy by Stephen Sondheim, Arthur Laurents & Jule Styne
At The Tamarac Theatre of Performing Arts Until April 29
Based on the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, a famous burlesque stripper, GYPSY tells the story of Rose, an overbearing stage mother, determined to break into the big time by pushing her daughters into vaudeville careers.  After her youngest, June, elopes with a dancer, Rose turns all of her attention on her older and less talented daughter Louise.  Who eventually transforms into a famous burlesque stripper known as Gypsy Rose Lee.


The Music Man by Meredith Wilson
At The Lake Worth Playhouse Until April 29
An affectionate paean to Smalltown, U.S.A. of a bygone era, THE MUSIC MAN follows fast-talking traveling salesman Harold Hill as he cons the people of River City, Iowa into buying instruments and uniforms for a boys’ band he vows to organize, despite the fact he doesn’t know a trombone from a treble clef.  His plans to skip town with the cash are foiled when he falls for Marian the librarian, who transforms him into a respectable citizen by curtain’s fall.

  

Last Call by Terri Girvin

Presented by First Step Productions

At Empire Stage Until May 6 

A typical day in a bartender's life is full of snap judgments and snappy comebacks. On this night, Two worlds collide when our bartender's needy and quirky customers fight for her attention as she deals with a barrage of desperate phone calls from her self-medicating, about-to-be-homeless mother. Terri is forced to choose between coming to her mother’s rescue – or her own.

AVENUE Q by Robert Lopez, Jeff Marx and Jeff Whitty
At The Andrews Living Arts Studio Until May 6
AVENUE Q is an "Autobiographical and Biographical" coming-of-age parable, addressing and satirizing the issues and anxieties associated with entering adulthood. Its characters lament that as children, they were assured by their parents, and by PBS's Sesame Street, that they were "special" and "could do anything"; but as adults, they have discovered to their surprise and dismay that in the real world their options are limited, and they are no more "special" than anyone else.
Warning: This Show Contains Puppet Nudity


A Measure of Cruelty by Joe Calarco
At Mosaic Theatre Until May 13
A MEASURE OF CRUELTY is loosely based on actual events of 2009 where Michael, a 15 year old boy, was doused with rubbing alcohol and set on fire by five teenagers. As a peaceful South Florida neighborhood is rocked by headlines, a local bar owner struggles to keep the peace with his son.  But as a storm grows ever closer, the men are forced to come to terms with each other and their long-guarded secrets.


Little Shop of Horrors by Alan Menken & Howard Ashman
At Broward Stage Door Theatre Until May 20
Seymour Krelborn is a nerdy orphan who is taken in and given a job by Mr. Mushnik at his flower shop on Skid Row.  One day, just after an eclipse of the Sun, Seymour discovers a strange and mysterious plant which he calls Audrey II after the shop's beautiful assistant.  While caring for Audrey II, Seymour discovers the plant's rather unique appetite.  The plant grows and grows, as does Seymour's infatuation for Audrey.  Will Audrey II take over the world or will Seymour and Audrey defeat it?

Posted in: Current Productions