Mondays are Dark

This season is flying by; it's almost March!  Do you have your tickets to the Carbonell Awards yet?  They're only a month away!

It was a busy weekend of theater; we missed the One Minute Play Festival because we had tickets to RED at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre; a production marred only by the whining 90-something crone who decided that the show was "awful" and "disgusting," and growled about it once every ten minutes or so.  Too bad the play didn't have an intermission; it would have allowed the old biddy to leave.

Anyway, hope everyone else had a better audience experience.  Here's what we found interesting in this week's news;

Arts to Make a Comeback
Bob Norman's Blog reports that Broward Superintendent of Schools Robert Runcie is streamlining the transportation department, and he's putting the savings to good use:

The savings will come to more than $15 million a year, he said. And Runcie is promising to use that money to bring back all of the "specials" teachers -- who teach art, music, physical education, and media -- who have been laid off due to budget cuts in recent years

Despite troubles, Caldwell still WORKING
BroadwayWorld talks with Caldwell Theatre's artistic director about their production of Working, which started previews on Sunday.

“What drew me to the piece was the extent to which the material really celebrates the American worker,” said Clive Cholerton, Artistic Director of Caldwell Theatre Company and director for the show. “In this period of high unemployment, it is so refreshing to hear this music which is so emotionally engaging and I think even further hints at the rebirth that we seem to be on the verge of.”

James Taylor wrote some of the songs, and performed in a 1982 production of the show taped for American Playhouse on PBS.

Now you know what happened to Taylor's acting career. Actually, the entire production was lackluster and dull; even Rita Moreno barely managed to squeak out the show-stopping number It's an Art.  I think they were trying to avoid having it appear to be a musical.  Seriously.

But there are great songs in this show, and it's based on the Studs Terkel book of the same name.  In addition to Schwartz and Taylor, there are songs by Mary Rodgers (Once Upon A Matress), Craig Carnelia (Sweet Smell of Success), Micki Grant (Your Arm's Too Short To Box with God), and a recent revision added numbers by Lin-Manuel Miranda (In the Heights).  It's in previews right now at the Caldwell Theatre.

Fort Lauderdale gets HIGH
We've mentioned that Kathleen Turner is coming to town, now we have not one but three stories about the show.  Florida Theater On Stage talks with the playwright, and reprints an essay he wrote.  The Sun-Sentinel also has an interview, as does South Florida Gay News.

Miami Made
TheatreMania and BroadwayWorld brings us up to speed on the Arsht Center's free Miami Made Festival 2012; as the name implies, it features local artists performing works by local artists.  From the latter:

Highlights of the festival include: the Miami premiere of Rosie Herrera’s critically acclaimed Dining Alone, commissioned by the Arsht Center; the world premiere of SHIMMER, a vibrant, experimental new work from the TM Sisters; the world premiere of BEER SAMPLERS, an immersive art-imitating-nightlife experience created by THE PROJECT [THEATRE] and commissioned by the Arsht Center; a sneak peek of PAUL TEI’s latest work-in-progress RPM, presented in collaboration with Mad Cat Theatre Company; and Mark Della Ventura’s one-man-show SMALL MEMBERSHIP.

Speaking of Mark Della Ventura
Miami Artzine gives us an in depth look at the local actor/playwright;

Ah, Mark Della Ventura's work.  Well, first off, playing March 3 and 4 he'll be performing a 30 minute version of Small Membership as part of Miami Made Festival 2012 at the Arsht Center.  And then he'll be taking the full length show to the Alliance Theatre Lab in Miami Lakes, where it will run from June 1 through June 24.   Small Membership deals, amongst other things, with just what you think it might, and, Mark points out, it's more theatrical than real life.  And it does include a broken heart.

Speaking of 'Local Boy Does Good'
The Palm Beach Post reports that when Billy Elliot opens at the Broward Center this week, Miami native Mitch Poulos will be in the company.

In his role as Big Davey, Poulos’ favorite part of the show is during a scene where he lends Billy much needed support. Poulos’ character helps break up a fight, and the townspeople are brought together with him leading them with the song “He Could Go and He Could Shine”.

Blast from the Past - again.
The Code of Ethics for Theatre Workers (1945) was discovered by the LA Stage Times Blog back in 2009, but South Florida Theater News just discovered it.  It's worth the read, if you missed its earlier go-round.