Drew Eberhard

Mrs. Doubtfire, a new musical based on the 1993 hit family film of the same name, is actually based on the 1987 novel Alias Madame Doubtfire by Anne Fine. The stage musical in all its purposes features music and lyrics by Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick, with a book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell. The National Tour is currently onstage in the Carol Morsani Hall, at Tampa’s Straz Center for the Performing Arts.

Stranger Sings! is a musical parody based on the adventures of some unlikely heroes set in the 1980’s in Hawkins, Indiana. Created in part to celebrate the fandom surrounding the Netflix behemoth, Stranger Things super fans Jonathan Hogue and Nick Flatto, whereas Flatto also serves as producer-director of the show.

“Tonight’s story begins and ends at a guesthouse in Duluth, Minnesota, in the winter of 1934.” These were the opening words spoken by Dr. Walker, as he sets the scene. An evening of love, pain, suffering, interloped with a lush score based on the music of Bob Dylan. Girl from the North Country, is a dramatic musical with a book by Conor McPherson (The Weir), and songs with music and lyrics by the great Bob Dylan. The show made its Off-Broadway premiere at the Public Theatre from September 30, 2018- December 22, 2018. This transfer featured an all-American cast and was helmed after the successful run at London’s Old Vic a year prior, and following a limited 12-week run shortly thereafter at the Noel Coward Theatre in London’s West End.

What did our critic think of BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE at Jobsite Theater?

From the moment the lights dim to the opening chords of the Prologue, the audience knew they were in for a treat. A haunting and stirring rendition of The Old Red Hills of Home, led by young actor Elijah Zurek as the Young Soldier, will have you in a chokehold from the very start.

An explosive 90-minute sung-through Rock Opera written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice, took the Carol Morsani Hall by storm Tuesday evening. This reimagined 50th Anniversary Tour, is the story loosely based on the Gospels’ accounts of the Passion. It works to interpret the psychology of Jesus, while much of the story’s plot centers on Judas’ disdain for how Jesus is leading his disciples. The rock opera was initially unable to attain funding, so Webber and composers released the idea as a concept album. Garnering much success, which led to the eventual Broadway stage debut in 1971. Some nine years later the musical had grossed more than $237 million worldwide. It soon became the longest-running West End musical in London, running for 8 years between 1972-1980, and was soon bested by Cats in 1989.

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater is Kurt Vonnegut’s fifth novel and was published in 1965. Its Post-Modern Satire context paved way for Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, arguably his most well-known work. In the novel, Vonnegut highlights the life and times of the consciously-bound multi-millionaire Eliot Rosewater.

Escape to Margaritaville, is a 2017 Jukebox Musical written by Greg Garcia, and Mike O’Malley, and based on songs by Jimmy Buffett.

Doug Wright a Drama Desk Nominated and Tony Award-winning Playwright wrote I Am My Own Wife, based on his conversations with German Antiquarian Charlotte von Mahlsdorf. It premiered off-Broadway at Playwright Horizons in 2003.

What did our critic think of MOULIN ROUGE! At Straz Center For The Performing Arts.

Young Jean Lee’s Straight White Men is a 2014 Dramatic Comedy that premiered off-Broadway at the Public Theatre in New York City on November 7, 2014. Directed by the playwright Lee, and featuring Austin Pendleton as “Ed”, Pete Simpson, James Stanely, and Gary Wilmes. Following its run off Broadway, the play was then produced by Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, opening in February 2017 and running until March 26, 2017. Young Jean Lee’s play made its transfer to Broadway with Previews beginning at the Hayes Theatre June 29,2018, with its official opening night on July 23. Directed by Anna D. Shapiro, and featuring a cast of Armie Hammer as Drew, Josh Charles as Jake, Paul Schneider as Matt, Kate Bornstein and Ty Defoe as “Stagehands-in-Charge,” and Stephen Payne as Ed. Both Tom Skerritt and Denis Arndt had ties to the production but left before opening and during previews.

“IMAGINE...” a table is set, where a meeting is to soon take place between Britain’s First Female Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, and an Ex-Beatle, John Lennon. This is what is laid forth in Ben Randall’s Whiskey & Soda currently onstage at the Off-Central Players.

Twelfth Night is a romantic comedy written by William Shakespeare. Its central story revolves around twins Viola and Sebastian who were separated in a shipwreck. Viola (disguised as Cesario) falls in love with Count Orsino, who also happens to be in love with Olivia.

My father’s mom died in 1955.  After my own mother passed away fifty-one years later, one of my sisters asked my father the following question: “How long did it take you to get over the loss of your mother?”  My father, now an old man, pondered the question, remembering his mother who had died a half century earlier, then answered quite succinctly but with a sad smile: “I’ll let you know.”

What did our critic think of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's COMPANY at Straz Center For The Performing Arts?

David MacGregor’s Scrooge Macbeth, is a Comedic Holiday Comedy set to the tune of two things... everything Christmas and the most prolific playwright ever known to classical theatre, William Shakespeare. Now I know what your thinking, how can the works of the Bard possibly coincide with that of Holiday Merriment, Joy, Giving, and Peace and Good Will to all men. For it is by the sheer amount of “Good Will...” all puns intended that David MacGregor’s farcical masterpiece will have you rolling in the aisles of the theatre, and feeling the need to relieve yourself in the nearest restroom.

Miracle on 34th Street is an American Christmas comedic/drama from 1947 that was produced by 20th century Fox. Based on the story by by Valentine Davies, the film was directed by George Seaton and features Maureen O’Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood, and Edmund Gwenn. Winning three Academy Awards, Miracle on 34th Street takes place between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, and the events that transpire when a Department store Santa Claus claims to be the real Santa.

The Great Christmas Cookie Bakeoff is a one-act Holiday musical created by Rick Hip-Flore. Featuring a cast of 8 talented students and 4 adults, this whimsical musical is the perfect sugary delight to usher in the Holiday Season.

Funny Girl is a semi-autobiographical comedic musical about the life and times of comedian and Broadway star Fanny Brice, and her tumultuous relationship with entrepreneur and gambler Nick Arnstein. With a musical score by Jules Styne, lyrics by Bob Merill, and featuring a book by Isobel Lennart, Funny Girl first opened on Broadway in 1964 featuring Barbara Streisand in the starring role, and was produced by Fanny’s own son-in-law Ray Stark. The first Broadway production received 8 Tony Nominations at the 18th Annual Awards Ceremony, and the OBC (Original Broadway Cast) Recording was inducted into the Grammy’s Hall of Fame in 2004.

No Exit is an Existentialist French play from 1944 written by Jean-Paul Sartre. The play had its first performance at the Theatre du Vieux-Colombier in May of the same year. Sartre’s inception of the play centered around this idea of the look and the ontological struggle of being caused to see oneself as an object from the view of another consciousness or “other person.” Conceptualizing and rationalizing the idea of how we perceive ourselves, versus the mirror image of how society or those in close proximity perceive us to be.