by Jan Davisson
The Wick Theatre and Costume Museum
It’s coming…it’s really coming! The 21/22 season for Palm Beach County theaters is just a few months away. The Wick Theatre in Boca Raton got a head start by staging an amazing production of A Chorus Line in May. It was the perfect show to bring us all back to the theater, which was set up to accommodate with social distancing and everyone wearing masks. The most remarkable feat was the cast wearing masks throughout the entire production. They were clear plastic, full-face masks and never distracted from the production. They certainly never slowed down the energetic dancers. From cast to audience, the joy was abundantly obvious throughout the show and the standing ovation at curtain calls. The Wick schedule of musicals for the 21/22 season includes: Mamma Mia! (Oct. 7-Nov 14, 2021); Light the Candles: A Winter Spectacular (Nov. 26.-Dec. 19, 2021), a cabaret show featuring the incredible Marilyn Maye and Nicholas King; Gypsy (Jan. 6-Feb. 13, 2022); Damn Yankees (Mar. 3-Apr. 3, 2022) and Breaking Up is Hard To Do (Apr. 21-May 15, 2022).
The Wick Theatre, 7901 North Federal Highway Boca Raton, FL 33487
Shakespeare by the Sea, Carlin Park, Jupiter
Everyone’s favorite summer time theater is the annual Shakespeare by the Sea, created by Kermit Christman and co-produced by Elizabeth Dashiell. This year is the 30-year celebration of Christman’s creation. In fact, the reason there is an amphitheater in Carlin Park is due to the efforts of Christman. This year’s production will be held from July 8-18, 2021. A Midsummer Night’s Dream will bring back your high school days when it was required reading. The outdoor Seabreeze Amphitheater is located in Carlin Park, Jupiter. Tickets are a suggested $5 donation. It’s held under the stars. Either bring a chair or a blanket for seating. The most fun is to pack a picnic supper and enjoy it prior to the show. It’s a mid summer night treat. An additional Shakespeare play, Twelfth Night, will be presented at the Commons Park Amphitheater in Royal Palm Beach from August 19-29, 2021.
Shakespeare by the Sea, Seabreeze Amphitheater, Carlin Park, Jupiter
Kravis Theatre for the Performing Arts
The exciting 2021/22 Kravis on Broadway Series has announced it’s upcoming season opening with Come From Away (Nov. 16-21, 2021); Dear Evan Hansen (Dec. 15-19, 2021); Summer (Jan. 5-9, 2022); Cats (Feb. 8-13, 2022); Anastasia (Mar. 9-13); My Fair Lady (April 19-24, 2022) and An Officer and a Gentleman (May 3-6. 2022).
The season includes the classics, My Fair Lady and Cats and then brings in a couple of current productions still on Broadway, Come From Away, the true story of what happened when 38 planes are ordered to land, unexpectedly, in the small town of Gander in the province of Newfoundland, Canada the week following the September 11 attacks. Another show that is still on Broadway is Dear Evan Hansen, a Tony Award-winning contemporary American musical about the way we live. Then, a chance of pace with Summer, the Donna Summer juke box musical about the life of Donna Summer. The new season promises to make everyone happy that the Kravis has reopened!
Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach Tickets 561.832.7469 or 800.572.8471; www.kravis.org
Palm Beach Dramaworks
They just never slow down at Palm Beach Dramaworks! A little thing like a pandemic didn’t prevent this amazing group from presenting a series of outstanding readings that could be accessed on YouTube. There was even a production of The Belle of Amherst starring Margery Lowe. The production was taped at the Don and Ann Brown Theatre on Clematis Street, then presented on YouTube. It was a stunning production, directed by William Hayes, Producing Artistic Director and founding member of PBD.
The new season will begin on October 15 with Almost, Maine by John Cariani; The People Downstairs by Michael McKeever opens on December 10, 2021; Trying by Joanna McClelland Glass opens February 4, 2022; Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage opens April 1 and a World Premiere, which has not been announced, will open on May 27, 2022.
Palm Beach Dramaworks, 201 Clematis Street, West Palm Beach FL 33401 Tickets: 561.514.4042 Ext. 2; www.palmbeachdramaworks.org
Maltz Jupiter Theatre
The progress on the amazing reconstruction at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre is the big news for the Palm Beach theater scene. It will bring the Jupiter theater into a new class of regional theaters. The other big news is the announcement that the “yet to be announced” musical for the third production, has been announced. It’s the Broadway Tony Award winning musical, Jersey Boys. One of the only shows that I’ve ever seen where the audience jumps up for a standing ovation before the curtain call. It’s exciting with great music and will be presented on the new, enlarged stage at the Maltz. Should be a spectacular event.
The season opens with the murder mystery by Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express (Oct. 31-Nov. 14, 2021); a show stopping dance musical, Sweet Charity (Nov 30-Dec. 19) a great Christmas show. Jersey Boys, date not set, the supernatural comedy, I Hate Hamlet (Feb. 20-Mar. 6 2022) and the hilarious musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Mar 22-Apr 10, 2022).
Hats Off to Producing Artistic Director and Chief Executive Andrew Kato and the forward-thinking Board of Directors for taking advantage of the pandemic to make the improvements to the building that have been contemplated and turn the Maltz Jupiter Theatre into a world class facility. Subscription tickets are now on sale as well as tickets for the limited engagement shows.
Maltz Jupiter Theatre, 1001 E. Indiantown Rd, Jupiter. The Box Office is currently closed due to renovations. Tickets may be purchased online using American Express, MasterCard, Visa or Discover. Please note that tickets will be mailed or held at the Will Call window depending upon the customer’s preference and time frame when the tickets are purchased. This is preferable to order tickets on a desktop computer versus a touch screen device.
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Maltz Jupiter Theatre
It’s getting there…the Maltz Jupiter Theatre is completing its huge reconstruction project and will open in late October with an Agatha Christie classic, Murder on the Orient Express.
Palm Beach Dramaworks
Ready and waiting to open on October 15, 2021 at the Don and Ann Brown Theatre on Clematis St. in West Palm. Palm Beach Dramaworks opens with Almost, Maine by John Cariani.
Shakespeare by the Sea
Shakespeare by the Sea celebrates the 30-year anniversary with a production of A Midsummer Nights Dream. Photo shows cast of the first production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream presented in 2008 to open the new amphitheater in Jupiter.
Kravis on Broadway
Exciting new season starts on Nov.16 as the Kravis on Broadway Series kicks off at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts with the musical Come From Away, based on a true story.
Wick Theatre and Costume Museum
Wick Theatre in Boca Raton opened the theater with a splashy production of A Chorus Line. Photo by Amy Pasquantonio.