South Florida boasts one of the most vibrant regional theater scenes in the country. This winter and spring, audiences can enjoy classic American plays at Palm Beach Dramaworks, hit musicals at Actors Playhouse, Maltz and The Wick, LGBT-themed works at Island City Stage and world premieres by local playwrights at Zoetic Stage.
But, there’s more....
The First Step – Diary of a Sex Addict
Island City Stage
Jan. 12 – Feb. 12
Island City Stage
Originally conceived as a short play several years ago, Island City Stage’s associate artistic director, Michael Leeds, has written a full-length comedy receiving its regional premiere at the LGBT-centric theater. IslandCityStage.org.
West Side Story
The Wick Theatre
Jan. 12 – Feb. 19
The Wick Theatre
If you don’t know the story and the score of this classic musical, you must surrender your gay card immediately. The tale of ill-fated young lovers gets a fresh production at The Wick in Boca Raton. TheWick.org.
Titanic
Slow Burn Theatre Company
Jan. 19 – Feb. 5
Broward Center
This Tony Award-winning Best Musical is based on the real people who sailed on the “ship of dreams” in 1912. Slow Burn tackles this massive show at the Broward Center’s Amaturo Theater. SlowBurnTheatre.org
Sunday in the Park with George
Zoetic Stage
Jan. 19 – Feb. 12
Arsht Center
Inspired by Georges Seurat’s landmark painting, “Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,” “Sunday in the Park with George” is the latest Stephen Sondheim musical to be tackled by the capable team at Zoetic. ArshtCenter.org.
Between Riverside and Crazy
GableStage
Jan. 22 – Feb. 19
GableStage
Joe Adler’s GableStage tackles this Pulitzer Prize-winning play from Stephen Adly Guirgis, author of “The Motherfucker with the Hat.” A retired police officer must confront questions of life and death. GableStage.org.
Carousel
Actors Playhouse
Feb. 1 – 26
Miracle Theatre
Richard Rodgers’ groundbreaking score to this heartbreaking love story includes classic
showtunes, including “If I Loved You,” “June is Bustin’ Out All Over” and Billy Bigelow’s famous “Soliloquy.” ActorsPlayhouse.org.
Xanadu
Slow Burn Theatre
Feb. 2 – March 5
Aventura Arts & Cultural Center,
Crest Theater, Broward Center
Strap on your rollerskates for this optimistic, disco-infused musical about a Greek muse’s adventures in Venice Beach. AventuraCenter.org, OldSchoolSquare.org, BrowardCenter.org.
Collected Stories
Palm Beach Dramaworks
Feb. 3 – March 5
Don & Ann Brown Theatre
Loyalty vs. creative freedom is the moral issue at the center of this play by Donald Margulies, as an established author’s protégée writes a novel based on her mentor’s affair with a famous poet. PalmBeachDramaworks.com.
Shooting Porn
Ronnie Larsen Presents
Feb. 9 – March 12
Empire Stage
Not to be confused with Ronnie Larsen’s Off Broadway hit, “Making Porn,” this new play, in its Florida premiere, takes audiences behind the scenes at a porn shoot for some “good, dirty fun.” RonnieLarsen.com.
Disgraced
Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Feb. 12 – 26
Maltz Jupiter Theatre
There are some things that you just shouldn’t discuss at a party. What begins as innocent table conversation among four friends explodes when the topic turns to current events. But will their friendship survive? ArshtCenter.org
¡Fuácata! or A Latina’s Guide to Surviving the Universe
Zoetic Stage
Feb. 23 – March 12
Arsht Center
This one-woman tour-de-force performance brings more than 20 Latina women to life on stage by weaving together tales of love, marriage, immigration, and identity. ArshtCenter.org.
Guys and Dolls
The Wick Theatre
March 9 – April 9
The Wick Theatre
“Guys and Dolls” weaves together a tale of old-time gangsters, hot-box girls, and gambling. Join high-roller Nathan Detroit, Adelaide, Sky Masterson and Sarah in this classic musical comedy. TheWick.org.
Gypsy
Maltz Jupiter Theater
March 21 – April 9
Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Inspired by the memoirs of the legendary burlesque performer Gypsy Rose Lee, this classic follows the dreams and efforts of a relentless stage mother to get her two daughters into show business. PalmBeachDramaworks.com.
All the Way
Actors Playhouse
March 22 – April 9
Miracle Theatre
One man. One year. One chance to change America. For a masterful politician with towering ambition, 1964 was a pivotal year in American history and Lyndon Baines Johnson sat at the center of it all. ActorsPlayhouse.org.
Arcadia
Palm Beach Dramaworks
March 31 – April 30
Don & Ann Brown Theatre
Set in a stately house and two different centuries, this comedy by Tom Stoppard explores great mysteries of science and art, and illuminates the human desire to make connections, both intellectual and romantic. PalmBeachDramaworks.org.
Son
Island City Stage
April 6 – May 7
Island City Stage
Island City Stage presents the world premiere of James L. Beller’s play, “Son.” On the morning of their wedding, the teenaged son of a lesbian couple is confronted with a shocking accusation. IslandCityStage.org.
OPERA
Eugene Onegin
Florida Grand Opera
Jan. 28 – Feb. 11
Arsht Center, Broward Center
Tchaikovsky’s monumental opera unfolds when the narcissistic young Onegin spurns the affections of a sensitive young girl, turns a pistol on his best friend,and is left only with regret. Russian with English and Spanish supertitles.FGO.org.
Don Pasquale
Palm Beach Opera
Feb. 19 – 21
Kravis Center
Don Pasquale tries to meddle with a young man and woman in love. They get back at him by playing the prank of a lifetime—she marries him! Italian with English supertitles. PBOpera.org.
Ariadne auf Naxos
Palm Beach Opera
Feb. 18 – 20
Kravis Center
Richard Strauss combines a tragic opera with a romantic farce in lavish 18th century Vienna. When a wealthy man throws an opulent party to dazzle his guests, proverbial fireworks erupt. German with English supertitles. PBOpera.org.
Before Night Falls
Florida Grand Opera
March 18 – 25
Arsht Center
Based on the famous memoir of Cuban poet Reinaldo Arenas by Jorge Martín, this opera follows Arenas’ life from childhood poverty in the Cuban countryside to his emigration to the United States in the 1980 Mariel boatlift, and his last decade in New York City. Disillusioned by the Cuban Revolution and persecuted by the Castro regime as a dissident writer and homosexual, the opera follows his trials and tribulations as a political prisoner forced to smuggle his manuscripts abroad for publication. English and Spanish with English and Spanish supertitles.FGO.org.
