On Stage

“Footloose” opened at the Alhambra Dinner Theatre on October 22 and will remain on stage through November 22, 2020. The Dual Critics of EU Jacksonville – Dick Kerekes & Leisla Sansom – did not review the opening of this production, which was sold out before it even opened! Looks like the “Grease” crowd wanted to see it and turned out in force. We’ve seen productions in other venues and loved them: the plot revolves around a teenager facing the challenge of life in a small town that has outlawed dancing. If you want to see it, you can try calling …

The Island Theater Delivers a Whopper with Big Fish the Musical Good stories sometimes take a long time to tell. Such is the case with Big Fish at The Island Theater. Originally scheduled for May of 2020, this heartwarming tall tale was a victim of the pandemic and one of many theatrical shows postponed but not cancelled.  And we should be so glad it was not cancelled. The show is on stage through October 18th. Based on the 1998 novel by Daniel Wallace and the subsequent 2003 film by John August, this father/son musical story of Edward Bloom and his …

ALHAMBRA THEATRE AND DINING REVIEW The Alhambra Dinner Theatre is staging “Love, Sex and the IRS,” a farce that plays out at whirlwind speed. It opened on September 30, 2020 and will remain through October 18, to be followed by “Footloose” and “It’s a Wonderful Life.” The play, written by Billy Van Zandt and Jane Milmore, debuted in 1979, delivers non-stop laughs for two hours, and remains one of the comic greats. The setting is a large two-story apartment in New York, which at today’s prices would probably cost at least $3,000 dollars a month to rent. Two struggling musicians …

Phase Eight Theater Company Delivers Excellent Acting with Superb Direction and Performances Phase Eight brought the Jacksonville premiere of “Exit Strategy” to the stage on October 3, 2020 to an enthusiastic audience. The company, known for provocative productions, was founded several years ago by JaMario Stills, a Douglas Anderson School of the Arts graduate. He is currently pursuing an advanced degree in directorial studies at Brown University, and Kelby Siddons has agreed to accept the role of Managing Director during his absence. She is well known to theatre audiences as an actress, director, playwright, and teacher. And perhaps now, after …

The Cultural Council Virtual Arts Awards Will Include Violin Virtuoso Phillip Pan, a Caribbean Vacation and One-of-a-Kind Glass Wave Awards Cultural events are at a standstill but the 44th annual Cultural Council Awards is live-streaming ahead! A virtual fete re-imagined event will be showcased Sept. 2 at 7pm on the Cultural Council, WJCT, and Downtown Vision’s Facebook page and the Jesse Ball DuPont Center website. The theme of this year’s Arts Awards is “Bridges: Connecting Arts, Business, and Community” which highlights the inter-connectivity between the arts, business and community. Organizers shifted programming to a virtual format ahead of the pandemic …

New Voices Program at PBTS Puts Important, Relevant Stories Into The World Players by the Sea is looking for new voices to participate in a year-long program designed to bring original works to the stage. Established in 2016, the was created as a vehicle to nurture and develop scripts by local playwrights. Now that theatres have gone dark during the pandemic, Players revived the program after a yearlong hiatus into a virtual platform “New Voices: Voices Unheard.” “I created the New Voices program as a way for to help nurture and elevate the voices of local playwrights. At that time, …

The Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville 44th Annual Arts awards is scheduled for September 2, 2020. The theme for this year’s event is “Bridges: Connecting Arts, Business and Community”.  To work within the unknowns of the current public health and social climate, they have planned an exciting hybrid event that will combine videos and interactive streaming for a virtual Arts Awards event that can’t be missed.  “Moving forward with this reimagined Arts Awards will actually allow us to acknowledge the extraordinary individuals and businesses who are advocates and champions of arts and culture in our city to a much broader audience”, …

The iconic marquee at the Florida Theatre is among the most recognized landmarks in the downtown Jacksonville landscape. Since its second act from a movie house to a performing arts venue, the neon lights have illuminated some of the biggest names in entertainment, until March when it all went dark. No one could have predicted what was to come in early 2020. After closing out 2019 on a high note, the year was off to an auspicious start. But when Numa Saisselin, president of the Florida Theatre, took the stage March 12 to welcome the audience to that evening’s show …

Summer lovin’ and audiences are definitely having a blast at the Alhambra Theatre’s production of the beloved musical “Grease.” After an indefinite hiatus and reluctantly easing into a new normal, embracing a night of live theatre felt like a familiar hug from an old friend. Social distancing kept the hugging at bay but there was plenty of singing and dancing to such classics as Greased Lightning, You’re the One that I Want and We Go Together. Grease opened July 30 and runs through Sept. 27 with an extra three weeks added to the show’s run to meet the demand since …

The Dual Critics review of “Cinderella” at Alhambra Theatre & Dining find it to be “A lively heartfelt charmer.” The Alhambra Theatre opened “Cinderella,” a long-awaited summer musical on June 11th, 2020, which remains on stage through July 26th. The music is by Richard Rogers, the lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, with an updated book by the talented Douglas Carter Beane, who also provided a new book for “Sister Act” and wrote the Tony-nominated “Nance.” The tale is an old one and well-known; the version we are most familiar with is based on “Cendrillon” a French story published in 1697. …