THEATRE JACKSONVILLE REVIEW and present the blockbuster musical “” on stage at 2032 San Marco Avenue in Jacksonville, Florida during June 12-27, 2015. For reservations, call 904-396-4425 or visit theatrejax.com. The musical, which is based on a 1988 film, debuted on Broadway in August, 2002 and was a big hit from the beginning, with audiences at 99% capacity for the first year. The story is based on events related to Baltimore’s real life “Buddy Dean Show,” a popular televised teen dance show that was on the air from 1957 to 1964. The play received eight Tonys, and had a six-year …

REVIEW OPCT chooses a summer musical to close out their theatrical seasons, and for the 2014-2015 season, it’s that preposterously zany laugh riot, “,” which opened on June 5, 2015 and will run through June 28, 2015 at their playhouse on Moody Road in Orange Park, Florida. The musical is based on the cartoons of the late , whose first published cartoon with the famous characters he created appeared in 1938 in “The New Yorker.” The characters became an enterprise unto themselves, with a sitcom, two animated series, three films, and pinball games. The musical opened in 2010 in New …

in Jacksonville Beach opened “,” on June 5, 2015, for a three-weekend run through June 20. The play, which had over 600 Broadway performances, has received wide critical acclaim and garnered multiple Tony Awards, while playwright Tracy Letts was awarded the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for drama. is no stranger to North Florida audiences. Players has staged two of his plays, “” and “,” in past seasons; both were excellent and well-received by audiences.  Like many playwrights, Letts uses personal experiences for his work. If you read the Dramaturg notes in the program, you will learn, that yes, Mr. Letts had …

St.Augustine’s opened that wonderful family musical, “” on June 5, 2015; it will run through July 5, 2015 on the Matuza Main Stage. The theatre is located in downtown at 11 Old Mission Avenue, and has ample free parking available for patrons. Tickets are selling fast; call 904-825-1164 or visit limelight-theatre.org for reservations and additional information. The musical, with music and lyrics by collaborator , is on everybody’s list of top musicals. The play opened on Broadway in 1964, and was awarded ten Tonys. This classic musical is a joyride through the glory days of early New York and it …

AN ENCHANTED EVENING THEATRE ON A MISSION REVIEW presented an evening filled with songs and skits from Disney films on June 1, 2015 at the as a fundraising event. Sixteen energetic young adults will be going to Golfito, Costa Rica on June 23, to conduct a theatre camp for 350 or more elementary school students. The organization is a 501(c) non-profit group, whose members have taken their talents to Kenya on two previous trips, bringing theatre, as well as other changes, including a new village school and a fresh water system. Students who will be traveling to Costa Rica made …

Players by the Sea’s motto for the last few seasons has been “Expect the Unexpected.” Players’ current production of “,” which opened May 8, 2015 and will run through May 23, certainly delivers on that promise. A dark musical comedy, it is challenging to the talented cast and director as well as to local theatergoers. The play, written by , with music composed by , debuted at the in Washington D.C. in 2012, where it played for almost three months. It moved to the Playwrights Horizons stage in New York City the following year for a brief run. This year, …

ATLANTIC BEACH EXPERIMENTAL THEATRE REVIEW opened ’s religious comedy on May 8, 2015 for a four-weekend run, through May 24. The theatre is located at 715 Ocean Boulevard in Atlantic Beach, Florida; call 249-7177 or visit ABET Theatre.com for tickets and additional information. Disagreements, disputes, and debates about religious beliefs have existed since the beginning of history; public debates about theological truths that began during medieval times were referred to as “disputations.” Currently, the USA has over nine hundred denominations of Protestants alone, and with freedom of religion and speech, we can anticipate that disputes will continue for the foreseeable …

PLAYERS MUSICAL THEATRE STUDIO REVIEW The Dual Critics ventured down to Jacksonville Beach on May 2, 2015 for a Saturday matinee performance of “Into the Woods” at . The  musical, filled with characters from the fairy tales of the , received multiple Tonys after opening on Broadway in 1987 and has had several successful revivals. It reached mainstream America during last year’s Christmas season when a film adaptation became a big hit. As a result of the film, the musical has once again become a popular on-stage choice for theatres throughout the country. The Musical Theatre Studio is part of …