By Mary Damiano

Casey Dressler is taking her show on the road.

The talented actress and writer will hold three fundraising performances of her hilarious and insightful one-woman show, The Wedding Warrior, at The Florida Keys History Discovery Center in her hometown of Islamorada, Friday, July 29 through Sunday, July 31.

The Wedding Warrior is an autobiographical play detailing Dressler’s days as a wedding planner in the Florida Keys.  In the show, Dressler portrays more than a dozen characters, including a Cuban, weed-smoking cigar roller; a stern, detail-oriented mother-of-the-bride; a maid of honor with food issues; a low-key busboy; and a southernism-spouting hotel clerk.

The fundraiser performances will help Dressler with the expenses involved in getting her play to Fringe NYC in August as well as Chicago Fringe Festival in September.

I  saw The Wedding Warrior last year when it was featured at the Fort Lauderdale Fringe Fest.  The show is a delight, and not only showcases Dressler’s talent for morphing from one character to another, but also her skill for creating the characters and bringing them from page to stage.

For more information on The Wedding Warrior and to purchase tickets to the Islamorada performances, visit TheWeddingWarriorPlay.com

World Premiere Play Illustrates the Importance of Marriage

By Mary Damiano

Alex Alvarez and Antonio Amadeo

Wear waterproof mascara and bring lots of tissues.

That’s the best advice for anyone going to see Daniel’s Husband, the new play by Michael McKeever, now receiving its world premiere at Island City Stage in Fort Lauderdale.

McKeever introduces us to Daniel a successful architect, and Mitchell a successful writer, who appear to be the perfect couple. The play opens as the couple is entertaining friends at a lively dinner party. Daniel cooks gourmet meals, Mitchell cleans up, they play games and discuss marriage, an institution that Mitchell does not believe in, for gay or straight couples. The subject is a sore point for Daniel, who has wanted to marry Mitchell from their romantic first date. Mitchell is adamant in his refusal to believe a piece of paper can change anything in their relationship.

Antonio Amadeo, Laura Turnbull and Alex Alvarez

But when the unthinkable happens, Mitchell realizes just how much that piece of paper can change a relationship and how important it really is.

This is an elegant play, with no wasted space, no filler. Each scene presents new information and emotion, and in about eight short scenes over 90 minutes, the audience is taken on an emotional ride from belly laughs to heart-wrenching sobs.

Antonio Amadeo, a terrific actor missing too long from South Florida stages, delivers a brilliant, indelible performance as Mitchell. The emotion bubbling up inside and then pouring out of him is heart-wrenching to watch.

As Daniel, Alex Alvarez, turns in another fine performance full of passion and heartbreak. Alvarez is a big teddy bear of a man who beautifully portrays Daniel’s journey.

Antonio Amadeo, Alex Alvarez, Larry Buzzeo and Kristian Bikic

Laura Turnbull, who plays Daniel’s mother Lydia, embodies a Pride flag-waving society mom with too much time on her hands, a woman whose love can be a liability. Turnbull imbues Lydia enough shades of grey that make her hard to hate, despite her actions.

They are ably supported by Larry Buzzeo and Kristian Bikic as friends who round out this talented cast. Except for Turnbull, this is the same cast that appeared in the staged reading of Daniel’s Husband presented at Lynn University in January.

Director Andy Rogow has assembled the designers that have made such excellent use of Island City Stage’s intimate space. Michael McClain’s scenic design is perfectly tasteful and upscale, Preston Bircher’s lighting is atmospheric and David Hart’s sound punctuates the drama.

Daniel’s Husband is a play everyone should see, not only because it’s fine drama at its best, but also because it has the ability to change minds about marriage and call to action those who have not taken proper steps to ensure their future wishes are respected. Don’t miss this brilliant production.

Daniel’s Husband runs through June 28 at Island City Stage in Fort Lauderdale. Some performances are already sold out. For tickets and more information, visit IslandCityStage.org.

The Wick Launches a Nearly Flawless Musical Production

By Mary Damiano

A young girl with tap shoes in her suitcase and a prayer in her heart steps off the bus from Utah and onto the Broadway stage when the leading lady can’t go on—sound familiar? It should, to anyone familiar with Hollywood musicals from the early 1930s, like 42^nd Street and Gold Diggers of 1933.

That’s the premise of Dames at Sea, both an irresistible send-up and loving homage to those gloriously sappy backstage musicals of that long-ago era. The clever part about Dames at Sea, now playing at The Wick in Boca Raton, is that the lavish look is pulled off with a cast of six, instead of oodles of chorus boys and girls.

And what a cast it is. The cast works well as an ensemble, but each gets moments and songs to shine.

Laura Hodos is delicious as the leading lady, Mona Kent, who has two speeds: diva and ultra-diva. Hodos portrays her with gusto, sinking her teeth into every one of Mona’s histrionics as well as her penchant for mispronounced words. Her performance of the torchy That Mister Man of Mine, along with some inventive staging involving silhouetted performers behind a skrim, is one of the highlights of the show.

Gabriel Zenone does double duty as both the fast-talking director, Hennesey, and the upper-crust captain of the ship where the show within a show takes place. Zenone creates two distinct characters and is very funny as both.

Alison McCartan plays the wise-cracking chorus girl, Joan, the kind of role actress Joan Blondell usually played, and Blake Spellacy is her sailor boyfriend, Lucky. The two are great dancers and have terrific comic timing.

Alex Jorth has appeared in many productions at The Wick, most notably last year’s 42^nd Street, a musical based on one of the movies Dames at Sea spoofs. Here he plays sailor and aspiring songwriter Dick, based on the young leads that Dick Powell used to play. Jorth is an excellent dancer and, with his boy-next-door looks, makes an affable leading man.

As young ingénue Ruby, based on the roles actress Ruby Keeler made famous, Lindsay Bethea, is wonderful. She sparkles whenever she’s onstage, whether she’s tapping her heart out on Star Tar or wallowing in her broken heart on Raining in My Heart, and her boop-boop-a-doop voice elicits either laughter or sympathy from the audience.

Michael Ursua’s direction is tight and fluid. He keeps the show bouncing along without a single wasted moment. This is a spare, compact musical, but both Ursua and the design team give it a lavish look. The scenic design, by Thomas Mitchell and Jim Buff, consists of only two sets, the backstage of a theatre and a navy ship, but both are impressive. The projections by Josieu Jean, which mimic the title credits to an old movie, set the mood and are a nice touch.

The Wick’s execution is nearly flawless. From the excellent cast to the design elements, Dames at Sea is a rollicking good time.

Dames at Sea runs through May 31 at The Wick in Boca Raton. For tickets and more information, visit TheWick.org.

Fort Lauderdale’s First Fringe Fest is a Success

By Mary Damiano

It’s about time.

That was the overall sentiment at yesterday’s first ever Fort Lauderdale Fringe Festival, the new theatre event that presented 21 plays in 10 hours on the downtown campus of Broward College.

It’s also about time we have so much theatre to choose from in Fort Lauderdale right now. Outre Theatre just opened the musical Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson at Broward Center’s New River Abdo Room, Island City Stage’s production of The Little Dog Laughed is on stage at Empire Stage, and today is the last day to catch Redwood Curtain produced by Primal Forces at Andrews Living Arts and Vita & Virginia at Thinking Cap Theatre’s beautiful new venue, The Vanguard. All of this theatre is within a 10-minute drive, and while this bounty is unusual in South Florida’s middle county, boy, is it ever welcome.

Back to yesterday’s adventure. My companion and I were in the mood for a theatre marathon, and though it was impossible to see everything at Fringe Fest, we did manage to see seven plays, a full third of the offerings. It certainly helped that every play started on time, and a few even ended a few minutes early. From an audience perspective the Fringe Festival ran with smooth precision.

Not everything we saw, in my opinion, was a gem, but we were treated to some terrific theatre.

My Personal Best of the Fest

Reality Sucks: A man and a woman meet for the first time after seeing each other’s profiles online. This one featured funny, talented and gorgeous Carbonell Award nominee Vanessa Elise, also the Fringe Festival artistic manager. The play, by Sonia Cordoves, presents the lies we tell online in a funny way.

Open Hearts: In Miriam Kulick’s one-woman show, the writer/actress portrays seven different characters that 90-year-old Sadie encounters on her 90^th birthday, including her Latin maintenance man, her daughter, her daughter’s British lesbian lover, and her rapper nephew.

Senseless: This sensuous piece illustrates the exhilaration, pain, passion and loss of falling in love through words, dance, acoustic guitar and song.   Francesca Toledo, Melissa Ann Hubicsak, Michelle Antelo and Randy Garcia collaborated behind the scenes and on stage, with poignant, intense and compelling results.

Reality Check: Marcela Paguaga portrays Kat Perez, a Kardashian super fan who thinks she’s been invited to an exclusive meet and greet with one of her idols, but discovers that it’s an intervention for her K-dash addiction. Paguaga is a dynamo, and reminded me of a young, unaccented Sofia Vergara. This piece could have been very one-note, but writer/performer Paguaga gave it real heart.

The Wedding Warrior: This was easily my best of the fest. Casey Dressler’s solo show based on her experiences as a single, love-shy wedding coordinator in the Keys, is a gem. Dressler portrays more than a dozen characters, including a Cuban, weed-smoking cigar roller; a stern, detail-oriented mother-of-the-bride; a maid of honor with food issues; a low-key busboy; and a southernism-spouting hotel clerk. Using a wedding to reexamine her beliefs about love, life and relationships, Dressler’s play has heart, soul and lots and lots of laughs. If you ever get a chance to see it, go.

Tips for Next Year

Amp Up the Street Festival  More food trucks, more arts and crafts for sale, and more vendors in general. Every theatre in South Florida should have a booth at the street festival. This is a festival for theatregoers, so this is the place to give information about your upcoming season and get new butts in your sets. The Fringe Festival is a complement, not competition.

Set Limits  Some of the plays we saw were an hour long, and that was too much. A time limit of 40 minutes would keep things moving along and allow attendees to see more plays.

Stage Placement  There were three stages in two buildings, two in one building on the seventh and eleventh floor respectively, and one on the first floor in the other building. The first floor venue proved problematic because too much of the street fair noise filtered in. It was too obtrusive during a comedy like Reality Sucks, a comedy that generated lots of laughter, but it was a distraction during Senseless, a beautiful movement piece with its own acoustic guitar/singer accompaniment. Stages should all be on higher floors to eliminate noise.

Put More Info Online  A printable grid of the stages, plays and times available online would be a great tool in planning the day. More info about the festival in general would also be a great help.

From what I saw, the Fort Lauderdale Fringe Festival was a terrific success. Having it at a Broward College lends it instant credibility and accessibility. No matter what was going on behind the scenes, from an audience perspective, everything ran smoothly. There were plenty of volunteers to answer questions. The whole festival had an easy-going vibe that made for a very relaxing, fun day.

I’m already looking forward to writing the words Second Annual Fort Lauderdale Fringe Festival.

By Mary Damiano

Bruno Vida as Angel in Slow Burn Theatre Company’s production of Rent

Two entertainment events that explore the evolution of LGBT characters and how they are presented are on the calendar this week at Stonewall Gallery in Wilton Manors.

Slow Burn Theatre Company opened their production of Rent this past weekend, and tonight, you can get a sneak peak of that show when the company presents “Songs from Rent” at the Stonewall Gallery. Meet the actors, hear the songs and learn how Rent changed the way LGBT lives are portrayed on stage.

The event will take place tonight, April 14, 7-9:30 p.m. Complimentary refreshments will be provided.  Attendees will have the opportunity to purchase discounted tickets to Rent and Little Shop of Horrors, Slow Burn’s last show in West Boca. In October, the company moves to Broward Center’s Amaturo Theatre, where their season opener will be Big Fish.

For more information, visit SlowBurnTheatre.org.

Tomorrow night, the Lavender Salon presents “Change the Channel: Television and the Emergence of LGBTQ Media” a panel discussion about the evolution of gay characters in the first three decades of TV.

Archie Bunker finds out his macho buddy is gay on an episode All in the Family

The event is in conjunction with the gallery’s exhibition, As Seen On TV: An Exploration of LGBT Characters: 1954-1979, now on display through April 26.

Presented by Stonewall National Museum & Archives and Florida Atlantic University, the Lavender Salon is an ongoing series of panel discussions dedicated to LGBTQ issues, topics, thought leaders and scholarship. The panelists are Matt Kane, Programs Editor in Entertainment Media from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD); Wanhsiu Sunny Tsai, Ph.D., Strategic Communication, University of Miami; and Charles L. Ross, curator of the exhibit. The discussion will be moderated by Fred Fejes, a professor in the School of Communication and Multimedia Studies at Florida Atlantic University.

The panel will take place tomorrow night, April 15, 7-8:30 p.m. For more information, visit Stonewall-Museum.org.

Both events take place at the Stonewall Gallery, 2157 Wilton Drive in Wilton Manors.