^{by Jan Davisson}

Maltz Jupiter Theatre

What do theater people do during a pandemic? Seems they put all those creative juices into keeping the arts alive via social media. Take Andrew Kato, the executive producing artistic director at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre who recently gathered his staff to create a stunning video that can be seen on YouTube Cultural Council for the Palm Beaches. It was produced “to show that although theater is dark, the arts are still alive.”

The production features many of the members of the Cultural Council for the Palm Beaches from a ballet dancer with the Palm Beach Ballet and a variety of talent musicians from the Palm Beach Symphony  to vocalist of all ages, from Council theater members and the Palm Beach Opera. 

In addition to this wonderful video, the Conservatory has just completed an online series of lessons for kids. It will be extended for Summer Virtual Camp, covering everything from creating a radio play, acting and creative dramatics and improv to dance instructions of all kinds via the Internet in your own home. You can get additional information on plans for online summer camp by calling the Conservatory at (561) 575-2672.

The upcoming season that hopefully will kick off on October 25 with the comedy I Hate Hamlet. It will run through November 8. There’s always a great musical at the Maltz for the holidays, this year it’s Sweet Charity running from December 1-20. Tickets make a wonderful gift.

The hilarious Broadway musical hit, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels runs from January 12-31 followed by a comedy drama, Good People, running from February 14-28. Last, but certainly not least, is the Andrew Lloyd Webber Tony Award-winner, Sunset Boulevard, based upon the original 1950 movie. It will run from March 9-28.

Season tickets are now on sale; however, there is a procedure to follow as the box office is closed. Tickets can be purchased online. New and renewing subscribers can deliver forms to a secure drop box at the front doors or mail to the Maltz Jupiter Theatre, Attn: Box Office, 1001 Indiantown Rd. Jupiter, Fl. 33477. Individual tickets will go on sale August 17, 2020.

Maltz Jupiter Theatre, 1001 E. Indiantown Rd, Jupiter. Tickets: 561.575.2223; www.jupitertheatre.org

Palm Beach Dramaworks

Exciting things happening at Palm Beach Dramaworks. Although live performances have been put on hold for all theaters, Executive Artistic Director William Hayes and his Drama in the Works staff, have come up with a series of creative  play readings every Monday at 7 pm (check palm beach dramaworks.org for info). Following the Monday performance, the play reading for the week can be seen on YouTube Palm Beach Dramaworks. June performances beginning June 1 are Snow Leopard by Anne Adams, Teach by Donna Hoke; June 15, The Mar Vista by Yehuda Hyman and June 22, The Prey by Gina Montet.The scripts are varied in subject matter from love and murder to fantasy and life lessons. If you’ll recall, several years ago, the play reading contained a play, Ordinary Americans. It went on to be a world premier at the Palm Beach Dramaworks. This coming season includes another of the original scripts from this year’s play reading, The People Downstairs by Michael McKeever. It’s an amazing story that looks into the lives of the people who helped Anne Frank’s family during World War II. The play spotlights the challenges these brave people faced knowing that they would be killed if their hidden guests were discovered. I did see the play reading on stage at Palm Beach Dramaworks and hoped that it would be produced this season. It’s an amazing script. The People Downstairs will be on stage from December 4-27, 2020. Keep it in mind junior high school students who usually study The Diary of Anne Frank. The season will kick off with Camping With Henry and Tom by Mark St. Germain, October 9-November 1, 2020. The campers are Henry Ford and Thomas Edison as told by Warren G. Harding and deals with issues and ideas that we’re still trying to figure out over 100 years later. Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage, February 5-28, 2021, is set at the turn of the 20th century. Souvenir: A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins, by Stephen Temperly, is a film starring  Meryl Streep as the delusional singer who sang off key and yet became a performing arts icon of the 20th century. It will be directed by J. Barry Lewis, a Carbonell Award- winning director. After seeing the movie, I’m delighted to have the opportunity to see the theater production. The final production by Ronald Harwood is The Dresser, May 21- June 6, 2021. It is being directed by Nanique Gheridian, a talented actress often seen on stage. The show will also feature William Hayes. It’s always fun to see directors change places and appear on stage. Tickets are now on sale.

Palm Beach Dramaworks, 201 Clematis Street, West Palm Beach FL 33401 Tickets: 561.514.4042 Ext. 2. www.palmbeachdramaworks.org

Kravis Theatre for the Performing Arts.

After announcing the spectacular Kravis on Broadway line up for 20/21 season, like all of the other theaters, is on lockdown. However, they’ll be presenting Live, Virtual Classes for the Summer Bring Down the House camp. There will be four weeks of classes consisting of five 45-minute session each week with a new topic. Everything from monologues, musical theater, dance and playwriting to many other subjects. Classes are for children 9-12 years of age and will start on June 1. For additional information and to sign up go online to kravis.org/education-community/classes/. 

As for the upcoming season…it kicks off with An Officer and a Gentleman (November 24-29) based on the film that starred Richard Gere with lots of great songs. Escape to Margaretville (December 15-20) will help you do just that. For all you parrot heads, there’s lots of Jimmy Buffett classics. My Fair Lady (January 3-14, 2021): Who doesn’t love the story line and music of this classic Broadway hit! And don’t forget the costumes and hats at the Ascot races in Wicked  (February 3-14). Look at what’s happening in the Land of Oz from a slightly different angle…that of the Witches of Oz. Dear Evan Hansen (March 9-14) won all kinds of awards on Broadway. The N.Y Times called it “a knockout musical.” Anastasia (March 30-April 4): Inspired by the many films that followed the life of the royal Russian. This is a dazzling show set in the ‘20s. Wrapping up this magnificent season is Mean Girls (May 11-16) direct from Broadway, a true musical comedy written by Tina Fey. Tickets now available for Season subscribers. Individual tickets will go on sale during the summer.

Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach Tickets 561.832.7469 or 800.572.8471; www.kravis.org   

Cutlines:

Kravis on Broadway featured the delightful musical, Wicked in their 2020/21 lineup of shows.

A sneak peak at the set design for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, the musical being presented at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre opening 2021 shows.

Kravis Summer Camp for kids 9-12 years of age is now holding registration for a wide variety of virtual theater programs.

The final production of the 2019/20 season at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre, the award-winning Frank Loesser’s musical, How to Succeed in Business, was postponed; however, it will be presented in the future.

Director/actor Williams Hayes will be changing hats this season at the Don & Ann Brown Theatre in West Palm. He’ll be directing the opening production of Camping with Henry & Tom and appearing in the final production, The Dresser.

Palm Beach Dramaworks always includes in the season line up, a favorite classic. The 2020/21 season is The Dresser, its final production of the season.