Cat Lady: Mad Cat’s Manic Comedy Not the Pick of the Litter

Cat Lady may be the first show from Mad Cat Theatre Company to showcase an actual mad cat. This pussy is positively vehement: Played by Ken Clement in a black feline costume, Oliver the cat rails against his owner, Kristina (played by the show’s creator, Kristina Wong). He’s fed up…

Les Miserables On Christmas Day: Barricades, Passion and Oh The Tears

For fans of the epic, enduring stage spectacular Les Miserables, a movie version worth watching has been a long time coming. And because of the play’s enduring popularity, the movie’s all-star cast and the preemptive Oscar buzz – the hype for its Christmas Day opening was undeniably huge. But realistically,…

The Ten Best Miami Theater Productions of 2012

It was a difficult year for theater in Broward and Palm Beach counties. Plantation’s Mosaic Theatre, whose sudden closure was announced this month, was the third quality company to shutter for various reasons, after the Caldwell in Boca Raton and the Promethean in Davie. Luckily, Delray’s Theatre at Arts Garage…

Shaq Pranks Finesse Mitchell, Goes Laser Crazy at Comedy Jam Party

Shaq went on a laser blasting rampage at the upscale Fontainebleau club Arkadia Saturday night. The guy’s a prankster, and no one can stop him.His platinum selling All-Star Comedy Jam was in the house with Courvoisier to celebrate a successful year of touring.Comedians Lavar Walker, Capone, and Finesse Mitchell cracked…

Love Burns and Chills at Actors Playhouse’s The Last Five Years

The minimalist musical The Last Five Years is a dead relationship’s post-mortem. Using his own failed nuptials as inspiration, composer and lyricist Jason Robert Brown channeled his universal frustration into this ingenious, 15-part, one-act song cycle charting both the ascent and descent of his relationship with his wife — at…

Venus in Fur Brings Sex, Sadomasochism to GableStage

In Venus in Fur at GableStage, even the weather is choreographed. The play opens with a bracing thunderclap, one of many meteorological intrusions from sound designer Matt Corey. There’s no storm outside, at least not one we can see or hear battering the windows of the set. But, like brief…

Girls vs. Boys: An Awkward and Alarming After-School Special Gone Wrong

Kids these days have problems. No, seriously: There’s teen pregnancy and substance abuse and mental issues and sexual pressure, in addition to all the “finding yourself” you’re supposed to be doing in high school. These are problems that deserve a serious, thoughtful, mature approach, both in real life and when…