Category: Theater

SYD

Prior to the horrific mass shooting of 2016 at Pulse in Orlando Florida, there was the arson that took the lives of thirty-two gay men at The Upstairs Lounge in New Orleans on June 24, 1973. On the same night, Sydney Trahan, a young nursing student, was arrested for dancing at Brady’s, a notorious lesbian bar in the French Quarter. Her parents, Bud and Helen Trahan struggle to gain some control over their lives and restore a sense of normalcy after Syd’s transgressions that night. Their neighbors, Beverly and Beau Larson, try to be supportive friends while hiding their secrets that intertwine with the tragedy of The Upstairs Lounge and Syd’s arrest. The Larsons face terrible realities as the Trahan family makes choices they couldn’t make. Will Syd’s future be saved? Will she come out of this the person she wants to be? Will Bud and Helen love their daughter unconditionally? Will the Larsons survive the truth when forced to face it? All this is revealed in SYD.

Anna in The Tropics / Ana en el Tropico

Pulitzer Prize winner about Love and Lost in Ybor City

The Pulitzer Prize winning Anna in the Tropics is a play about the power of literature and its effect on our lives.

Tolstoy’s examination of longing, love, and betrayal, whose story suddenly parallels the lives of the factory workers and forever changes the world of these people. Passions are ignited, affairs are consummated, and gunshots are fired.

Celebrate the history of Ybor City.

https://stageworkstheatre.org/anna-in-the-tropics

The Revolutionists

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A brutal comedic quartet about four real women who lived in France during the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror. Playwright Olympe De Gouge, assassin Charlotte Corday, former queen Marie Antoinette, and Haitian rebel Marianne Angelle: hang out, murder Marat, lose their heads, and try to beat back the extremist insanity in revolutionary Paris.

In the Time of the Butterflies

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In the Time of the Butterflies

En El Tiempo de las Mariposas

In the Time of the Butterflies, En El Tiempo de las Mariposas, is based on the novel by Julia Alvarez as adapted by Caridad Svich.

Directed by Karla Hartley and Jorge Acosta.

Synopsis: The beautiful and inspiring story of the life of the courageous, martyred Mirabal sisters, who inspired resistance cells throughout the Dominican Republic under the tyrannical rule of Gen. Trujillo’s regime in 1960.

Select Performances will be in Spanish!
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Basada en la novela de Julia Álvarez según adaptada por Caridad Svich.

Dirigida por: Karla Hartley y Jorge Acosta

Sinopsis: La obra cuenta la historia hermosa e inspiradora de la vida de las valientes y martirizadas hermanas Mirabal quienes inspiraron resistencia en la República Dominicana bajo el régimen del General Trujillo en 1960.

We are grateful for the support of our Show Sponsors:
Columbia Restaurant Group
Tucker/Hall, Inc.
Cigar Family Charitable Foundation
Paul and Rosa Beraquit

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Love is the Only Thing that Matters

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Starring: Samantha Maguire, Roy Banks, Kimberly Banks, Will Montero, Selena Washington, Jacqueline Jones, Nick Massi, Gloria Live, Idris Thomas, and many more.

Nightfall with Edgar Allan Poe

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This Halloween weekend the creative team of Aaron Washington and Keith Eisenstadt will be providing audiences with a different style of haunting. On the evening of Saturday October 29th and afternoon of Sunday October 30th, Washington and Eisenstadt will present ‘Nightfall with Edgar Allan Poe’. The show will be a collaboration between directors; Aaron Washington, Keith Eisenstadt, and Lauren Rodriguez. To support literature and the arts in local classrooms, producers will be donating a portion of each ticket sold through DonorsChoose.org. Performances will be held in The Studio @ The Carrollwood Cultural Center.

Edgar Allan Poe is amongst the most influential of American Poets; with a flair for the dramatic. Poe’s works fit perfectly with the mission of Washington and Eisenstadt; to celebrate literature and the arts and support the education of the same. The drama written by Eric Coble, features four of Poe’s most haunting tales; “The Pit and the Pendulum” directed by Washington, “The Raven” and “The Tell Tale Heart” directed by Eisenstadt, and “The Fall of the House of Usher” directed by Rodriguez. The pieces are arranged and performed to highlight the dramatic elements of the writing and presented in a way that will give the audience chills. At the beginning of the show, Edgar Allan Poe stands alone in the flickering darkness of his mind, trying desperately to convince himself, and us, that he’s not mad. Enter the world of Poe and check your heartbeat at the door.

“Nightfall with Edgar Allan Poe” will be presented by Washington and Eisenstadt on Saturday October 29th at 8pm and Sunday October 30th at 2pm. Performances will be held in The Studio @ The Carrollwood Cultural Center located at 13345 Casey Rd in Tampa. Tickets are priced at $20 and are available by calling The Carrollwood Cultural Center Box Office at (813) 269-1310 or at the door one hour before show times. For more information, find Washington and Eisenstadt at http://www.facebook.com/WashingtonEisenstadt.

Broadway World Article: Link to Article

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The Last Days of Judas Iscariot – May 13 – 22, 2016

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The Last Days of Judas Iscariot has been praised as a “profound and wildly entertaining” comedy since it premiered ten years ago. Set in a time-bending world between heaven and hell, this darkly comic piece tells the story of Judas Iscariot as a trial is set to determine his ultimate fate. Lawyers and saints are pitted against each other as they delve into Judas’ childhood and call for the testimonies of Mother Teresa, Caiaphas, Saint Monica, Sigmund Freud, and even Satan.

Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens

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Elegies for Angels, Punks, and Raging Queens is a celebration of living through the stories of those who have died. This unique musical, where actors play 5-6 characters a piece, is told by the individuals who have had their lives forever represented as a panel on an AIDS quilt. Through the use of poetry, comedy, music and drama, this one-of-a-kind musical shows us that we have to breathe in every second of life, and enjoy every simple moment that we have.

 

Almost, Maine – February 2016

ALMOST MAINE POSTER (1) [11306] 

THE GRAND CENTRAL STAGE THEATER COMPANY PRESENTS

JOHN CARIANI’S PLAY
ALMOST, MAINE
Production Dates: February 26-28, 2016
Almost, Maine is a play by John Cariani, comprising nine short plays that explore love and loss in a remote, mythical almost-town called Almost, Maine.ST. PETERSBURG, FL—The Grand Central Stage Theater Company will premiere its first staged production with the play, Almost, Maine. The upstart theater company hopes to make a mark in St. Pete’s growing theater community with writer John Cariani’s tale that takes place on a cold, clear, moonless Friday night in the middle of winter. Yet all is not quite what it seems in the remote, mythical town of Almost, Maine. As the northern lights hover in the star-filled sky above, residents of Almost find themselves falling in and out of love in unexpected and often hilarious ways. Knees are bruised; hearts are broken. Love is lost, found, and confounded. But the bruises heal and the hearts mend – almost.

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The New York Times called the play, “a whimsical approach to the joys and perils of romance (where) magical happenings bloom beneath the snowdrifts,” in one of the many favorable reviews.
“Sweet, poignant and witty,” said The New York Daily News.
“John Cariani aims for the heart by way of the funny bone,” – The Star Ledger.
Almost, Maine is directed by the trio, Karleigh Chase, Michele Young and Jamie LaBudde, who make certain you’re in for a good time with an experienced crew of talented actors, many of whom are from The Andi Matheny Acting Studio.

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Tickets are $20 at the door.
Performances are Friday and Saturday, Feb. 26 and 27th at 8:00 pm, and a matinee on Sunday February 28th at 3:00 pm.
For ticket reservations or information, call: 813-956-1186
The theater is located at the Andi Matheny Acting Studios, 2260 1st Avenue South (at 23rd Street), St. Petersburg, FL 33712
http://www.andimathenyactingstudios.

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Bethany – Jan/Feb 2015

Bethany PostcardAt the height of the foreclosure crisis, single mother Crystal loses more than her house. She struggles to stay positive, though—with plenty of help from a roommate with conspiracy theories, a motivational speaker with a secret and her colleagues at the local Saturn dealership. But optimism is no match for a bad economy, and before long Crystal’s desperate quest to regain what she’s lost turns into the fight of her life. This darkly comic thriller explores just how far we’ll go to get back what’s ours.

 1506239_1010162422345740_235609693646384296_oDirected by Dan GrankeBethany Charlie and Crystal

Performed by Emily Belvo, Maxx Janeda,
Caroline Jett, Isabel Natera,
Nicole Jeannine Smith, and Greg Thompson.

 

 

Bethany Toni Charlie's Wife BethanyBethany Lynch

Performances at the Silver Meteor Gallery 2213 E 6th Ave, Tampa 33605
Jan. 23-25/Jan. 30-Feb. 1/Feb. 6-8 2015
Fridays & Saturdays at 8pm
Sundays at 3pm

Tickets are $15, $10 Students, and $10 TTB