Curtis Williams – Folio 2.0 / EU Jacksonville

Ninety Nine Years of Volunteers at Theatre Jacksonville

EU Jacksonville August 21, 2019 Charitable, Dual Critics, Feature, On Stage, San Marco, Theatre 1,423

THEATRE JACKSONVILLE’S 99TH SEASON AWARDS FOR VOLUNTEERS On Sunday August 19, 2019, held its annual celebration honoring volunteers from the 2018 – 2019 season. The celebration was held at the theatre, and combined a membership meeting with the annual awards ceremony. President presided, beginning with a brief recap of the past season. He had good news to report. The theatre once again finished in the black. Local residents contributed a total of 17,000 volunteer hours during the season. The summer camp program for young theatre students was completely sold out; 200 kids participated. Additionally, RS&H, a national architecture, engineering, and consulting …

High School Summer Musical Theatre Experience with the Newsies, The Musical by Disney

Dick Kerekes & Leisla Sansom July 24, 2019 Dual Critics, Feature, On Stage, Theatre, Theatre Reviews 2,439

A DUAL CRITICS REVIEW The and the are presenting the 14th annual with the staging of Disney’s Newsies during July 19 – 28, 2019. This wonderful summer program was created by , Director of the Wilson Center and Managing Producer of the Summer Musical. The center is located at 11901 Beach Boulevard in Jacksonville, Florida. Newsies began as a musical film in 1992, was adapted for the stage in 2011, and debuted on Broadway in 2012, winning Tonys for Best Original Score and Best Choreography. The extravaganza is filled with energetic singing and dancing combined with history. The story is based …

REVIEW: Jacksonville University College of Fine Arts Delights Audiences with “Into the Woods”

Dick Kerekes & Leisla Sansom November 7, 2018 Arlington, Dual Critics, Feature, On Stage, Theatre, Theatre Reviews 756

Jacksonville University presented four performances of James Lapine’s award winning musical “Into The Woods” from November 1 to 4 at Swisher Theatre. This musical won three Tony Awards on Broadway in 1987. It was made into a movie in 2014 with Meryl Streep and Johnny Depp and grossed over 200 million dollars at the box office. This is one of the most unique musicals in that the script combines several fairy tales into one story with the paths of familiar characters crossing and changing their lives. The cast is large and it takes a skilled Director to keep all those …

THE LAST NIGHT OF BALLYHOO

Dick Kerekes & Leisla Sansom January 14, 2018 Dual Critics, Feature, On Stage, San Marco, Theatre, Theatre Reviews 745

THEATRE JACKSONVILLE REVIEW A DUAL CRITICS REVIEW by Dick Kerekes & Leisla Sansom has opened a wonderful production of “,” by . The play opened on Broadway in 1997, received the 1997 Tony for Best Play, and ran for almost 600 performances. “Ballyhoo” is the second of Uhry’s “The Atlantic Trilogy,” which includes “Driving Miss Daisy” (1998 Pulitzer for Drama) and “Parade” (1999 Tony for Best Book). TJ’s production opened January 12, and will run through January 28, 2018, at 2032 San Marco Boulevard. Call 396-4425 for reservations. The play is set in Atlanta in 1939, and begins in the …

The Dual Critics Review “URINETOWN: THE MUSICAL” performed by the JU College of Fine Arts

Dick Kerekes & Leisla Sansom October 29, 2017 Arlington, Dual Critics, Feature, On Stage, Theatre, Theatre Reviews 673

A JACKSONVILLE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF THE FINE ARTS REVIEW Jacksonville University opened a four-performance run of “” during October 26 – 29, 2017, staged in the school’s at 2800 University Boulevard North. With ticket prices of $10 for adults and $5 for seniors, military, students, and children, the large theatre was almost filled to capacity on opening night. This musical comedy opened on Broadway in 2001 and ran for almost a thousand performances. It was nominated for ten Tony Awards and won three, for Best Book, Best Original Score, and Best Direction of a Musical. The Dual Critics saw the …

Theatre Jacksonville’s 97th Volunteer Awards

Dick Kerekes & Leisla Sansom August 2, 2017 Dual Critics, Feature, On Stage, Performing Arts Venues, San Marco, Theatre 128

On Sunday July 30, 2017, Theatre Jacksonville held its annual celebration honoring volunteers from the 2016 – 2017 season. combines this special event with its annual meeting for members. For the second year, the celebration was at San Marco, a unique restaurant noted for its Thai and Southeast Asian cuisine, and its excellent selection of craft beers. , the outgoing President of the Board, gave an enthusiastic summary of the past season and its accomplishments. While this is a difficult time financially for many theatres, Ms. Thomas announced that TJ has finished in the black. She also thanked the individuals …

Catch Their Scratch! “CATS”

Dick Kerekes & Leisla Sansom July 25, 2016 Dual Critics, Feature, On Stage, Southside, Theatre, Theatre Reviews 786

FSCJ HIGH SCHOOL SUMMER MUSICAL THEATRE REVIEW A DUAL CRITICS REVIEW BY DICK KEREKES & LEISLA SANSOM [email protected] The and the opened the 11th edition of the Summer Musical Theatre Experience (SMTE) on July 22, 2016 with a revival of ’s “Cats,” with additional performances scheduled during July 23 –24 and July 29 – 31. You can order tickets by phone at (904) 646-2222 or (904) 442-2929 or online at www.fscjartistseries.org. All shows are at the on the South Campus of FSCJ on Beach Boulevard in Jacksonville, Florida. Cats have nine lives, or so the myth goes. “” obviously has …

Stanton College Prep’s “Pippin” – Dual Critics Review

Dick Kerekes & Leisla Sansom December 17, 2014 Dual Critics, On Stage, San Marco, Theatre, Theatre Reviews 902

The International Thespian Troupe 3929 of Stanton College Prep presented their annual musical at on December 11, 12, 14, 2014. The 1972 hit, “,” by and , was a well-chosen selection for Stanton’s talented students. The original production ran for almost two thousand performances on Broadway and is now in a fabulous revival that has garnered multiple Tonys and rave reviews. Directors Shirley Sacks and Jeff Grove chose a minimalist approach to the production, with an open stage and limited set pieces which included benches, a tree stump, and a bed on wheels. This was quite a contrast to last …

theatre review: THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE

Dick Kerekes & Leisla Sansom October 30, 2014 Arlington, Dance, Dual Critics, On Stage, Theatre, Theatre Reviews 228

The presented “,” a musical comedy, on stage at the during October 24-26, 2014. This innovative musical has remained popular since it was nominated for six Tony Awards in 2005 and garnered two, for Best Book of a Musical and Best Actor. No doubt it will be a show with a long life, as spelling bee competitions remain so popular that they are featured on ESPN, the sports network. The story is that of a small town spelling bee, featuring a cast of eccentric characters. The setting and story are pure fiction and lots of fun. If you are not …

Les Miserables – Theatre Jax auditions

Dick Kerekes & Leisla Sansom February 7, 2014 On Stage 557

Judging from the auditions turnout at on the weekend of January 25 & 26, the hottest show in town in June, 2014 will be “.” Now released for non-professional theatres, TJ was one of the lucky theatres to be awarded the rights to produce it. This is one of the most popular musicals in theatre history and certainly one of the most successful, with over 11,000 performances in London, and more than 6,000 on Broadway. In 2012 , the musical was made into a movie with and . We had not been to auditions for any play in several years, and …