Over the years, Jacksonville Beach’s Players by the Sea community theatre has presented a number of outstanding summer musicals. This year’s selection, staged during July 20 – August 12, 2018 is noteworthy in many ways. In 2008, “” was nominated for 13 Tony awards and won 4, including Best Musical and Best Original Score; in 2009, it was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize Award for drama. The play presents a slice of life story in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City. The community is ethnically diverse, with Hispanics being the largest group. The music and lyrics were …

A DUAL CITICS REVIEW Jacksonville’s Northeast Florida Conservatory, in cooperation with the Haskell Company, opened Disney’s delightful “” on July 20, 2018. The production will run through July 29 at 11363 San Jose Boulevard, Building 200. For reservations, call 904-374-8639 or visit nfconservatory.org. Under , Founder and Executive Director, the Conservatory opened its doors in 2010, offering private music lessons and a community orchestra. Dickson rapidly expanded programming and began to produce musicals in a neighborhood with little in the way of theatre. Disney’s “Newsies” is the thirteenth musical production staged, each with great success and many sold out performances. …

A DUAL CRITICS REVIEW The FSCJ Artist Series and the Nathan H. Wilson Center for the Arts debuted the thirteenth annual High School Summer Musical Theatre Experience (SMTE) on July 20th, 2018 with “,” Mel Brooks’ zany musical, which runs through July 29th. The musical is based Brooks’ 1974 black and white comedy-horror film by the same name. The film became and remains a cult passion; DVDs are available in public libraries and on-line, and it’s screened on television from time to time. Brooks wrote the lyrics and music for all but one of the songs in the adaptation (“Puttin’ …

Jacksonville’s Alhambra Theatre opened the Florida premiere of “,” a production offering a fun time for children of all ages and a trip down memory lane for many adults, especially those who remember the 1968 movie of the same name which starred Dick Van Dyke. The matinee the Dual Critics attended was packed. The story is based on a children’s book written for the young son of , who is better known as the creator of superspy James Bond. How did the novel get its name? “Chitty Chitty” is reportedly based on Fleming’s friendship with an engineer named Chitty and …

The phenomenal musical “Mamma Mia!” danced its way onto Theatre Jacksonville’s stage on Friday, June 8th, 2018, where it will remain until the final performance — a matinee — on Sunday, June 24th. Call 904-396-4425 or visit theatrejax.com for reservations. The production is being sponsored by Industry West, a home furnishings company featuring modern design, with a newly opened store in San Marco Square. We describe “” as phenomenal for three reasons. First, the production is a jukebox musical which debuted in 1999 and was built around the songs of ABBA, a Swedish pop group which was immensely popular in …

PLAYERS BY THE SEA THEATRE REVIEW Jacksonville Beach’s Players by the Sea staged the World Premier of “” on June 1st, 2018; the production runs through June 10th. The theatre is located at 106 6th Street North in , Florida. For reservations call 904-249-0289 or visit playersbythesea.org. The evening began with , Vice President of the PBTS Board of Directors, introducing , the theatre’s new Executive Director, to the audience. She has an impressive background in theatre production, management and development. She will indeed bring her special form of leadership and creativity to the theatre and the beaches community. The …

A DUAL CRITICS REVIEW The Atlantic Beach Experimental Theatre opened the final show of its 26th season with the hilarious comedy Red, White and Tuna. The theatre will be moving soon to 500 Atlantic Boulevard in Neptune Beach to begin its 27th season (which will open with James and the Giant Peach).  And while the theatre will continue to be known as “ABET,” the official name will be changed to “All Beaches Experimental Theatre.”    A famous admonition advises “Always leave them laughing!” and The Mary E. Harvey Foundation could not have selected a better play to sponsor to delight the …

The play, by French playwright Marc Camoletti, debuted in Paris in 1960, where it remained on stage for nineteen years. The English translation opened in London in 1962, where it ran for seven years. An American version staged on Broadway in 1965 closed after a short run, but was then made into a successful film with stars Tony Curtis and Jerry Lewis. The play was revived on Broadway in 2008, and was awarded a Tony for Best Play Revival. Since then, it has become a staple of community and regional theaters. Our beloved community theatre, , opened on April 20th, …