by Jan Davisson
Behind the Scene with Kyla Stone
The upcoming Kravis on Broadway musical, Anastasia (March 9-13, 2022) promises to be a feast for the eye. Not only does this production, directed by Darko Tresnjak, take a peek into the elegance of Paris society, it also stars the beautiful actress, Kyla Stone, as Anya, a young woman seeking to discover her past. Inspired by the film, Anastasia, it transports the audience from the twilight of the Russian Empire in 1902 to the glamorous heyday of the 1920s in Paris.
The young Anya’s past might include that she is the Grand Duchess, Anastasia Nikolaevna, who may have escaped Russia when her family had been executed. As an amnesiac young woman, she becomes involved with two con men, Dmitry (Sam McLellan) and Vlad (Bryan Seastrom), who take advantage of her likeness to the Grand Duchess. “Sam and Bryan are so talented and so much fun to work with,” said Kyla Stone in a recent phone interview from Portland, Oregon.
Born in Anaheim, California to parents who both worked at the original Disneyland, entertainment was in Kyla’s blood. She wanted to become an actress at the age of five after seeing Phantom of the Opera. “I didn’t know what it was all about but knew it was what I wanted to do and became obsessed with it.”
Attending theatre camps, theatre classes and majoring in theatre in college, she credits actor Hank Stratton and college professor, Jay Scully, for encouraging her to fulfill her acting career. “Jay encouraged me to audition for J.J. Abrams for a new series called Little Voices. It didn’t catch on, but it started me on the right path.”
Since then, she has continued to build an impressive resume from film and television to theater and concerts. Her clear soprano voice has been heard in a variety of different shows from Cosette in Les Miserables to Aida in the opera Aida, then back to the clever Ave. Q musical puppet show and the Acid Queen in The Who’s Tommy. Obviously, a voice with an incredible range.
This is Kyla’s first national tour and she’s loving every moment of it. “For a while it was two days here and then on to another theater; however, it’s become more of a set schedule, so now we get some time to see the different places.” Never having been to South Florida, she’s looking forward to seeing the Palm Beaches and even has plans for a trip to Disney World.
According to Kyla, getting a national tour into production is a grueling process. “It takes two weeks to get the show on its feet and then two weeks for the technical creations,” she said. Kyla added that there is a great deal of wonderful lighting and a great deal of exciting technical aspects throughout the show. “It’s also a big dancing show with wonderful costumes, and I have to credit costume designer Linda Cho with the care and detail that she put into creating my favorite. It’s a huge red ball gown that weights 35 pounds. It’s remarkable.”
Actors usually have a favorite scene and song from the production, and Kyla decided that the haunting Once Upon A December caused her to fight back tears. “It brings me back to when I was five,” she said.
Thoughts for the future include playing Princess Anna in Frozen. “From one princess to another,” she quipped. “After all, I was born in the place princesses were created.”
Her advise to struggling actresses, “Whatever you strive for, have faith in your dreams.”
Kravis Theatre for the Performing Arts
It’ll be hard to top the February production of Cats, presented as part of the Kravis on Broadway Series. I had heard so many different opinions on Cats, I didn’t know what to expect. I was blown away. The chorus was worthy of Les Miserable; the costumes right up there with the Lion King, and the dancing as high energy and enthusiastic as West Side Story. It wasn’t just my opinion, the people next to me thought that it was better than the Broadway production, and the lobby buzzed with wonderful appreciation of the outstanding cast. It was a night to remember.
Next up is Anastasia (see interview above), which promises to be a spectacularly grand production. The show provides a mysterious story line that puzzled many for decades.
Following Anastasia is the classic favorite, My Fair Lady. It doesn’t matter how often you’ve seen it; My Fair Lady continues to enthrall audiences. Wonderful dancing, beautiful scenes from the ballroom to the stunning black and white Ascot race scene, and a delightful story of a young cockney flower girl transformed into the toast of London. With classic songs such as I Could Have Danced All Night, The Rain in Spain and On the Street Where you Live, how can you not want to enjoy My Fair Lady? It runs from April 19-24, 2022. Tickets are now on sale.
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
Standard procedures might not be as one expects at Palm Beach Dramaworks (PBD), but it didn’t change the wonderful first production of 2022 season. Almost Maine by John Cariana proved to be a sweet, heartwarming story of love. Set in a town called Almost, Maine, the story line followed nine quirky love stories with insight and humor. The four actors include two of my South Florida favorites, Irene Adjan and Shane Tanner, but also include two other outstanding performers by Brandon Morris and Niki Fridh. Hope to see more of them. Adjan again showed her versatility by flitting from totally different types of characters throughout the show. Shane R. Tanner has run the gambit from the lead in Sweeney Todd to 1776 and 110 In The Shade all at PBD. He’s performed throughout South Florida and earned numerous Silver Palm and Carbonell Awards. For the attending audience, caution at the door and within the theatre was the norm as the staff made sure COVID guidelines were followed.
Same COVID guidelines are in place for the current show: Bruce Graham’s The Duration, now at the Don and Ann Brown Theatre, 201 Clematis St., downtown West Palm Beach. The powerful family drama, directed by J. Barry Lewis, will run through March 6. Caitland Duffy (Emma Batten) and Elizabeth Dimon (Audrey Batten) both use different coping strategies to handle grief with humor and the exploration of timeless issues that confront us all. This World Premiere script, The Duration, found its way to the Palm Beach Drama stage through The Dramaworkshop.
If you watched the wonderful script readings on line at the annual New Year/New Plays Festival from the Dramaworkshop, no doubt you’ll be seeing one of the playwrights original scripts next season. Scripts included were The Science of Leaving Omaha, Carter W. Lewis; Dark Skinned Pavement, TJ Young; Past Midnight: A Visit with Larry and Viv, Donna Hoke; The Chisera, Paula Cizmar and How it Feels to Fall from the Sky, Dominic Finocchiara.
I first saw several of my favorite plays at this event, including this season’s The People Downstairs. It was a fantastic experience.
Upcoming production for April is Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage. A play about hope, hard work, disappointment and resolve, the show follows the trials of black seamstress in New York City in the early 1900s. Intimate Apparel will run from April 1-17.
Palm Beach Dramaworks, 201 Clematis Street, West Palm Beach FL 33401 Tickets: 561.514.4042 Ext. 2; www.palmbeachdramaworks.org
Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Well, welcome back! Although the first production of the 2022 season was held at the Benjamin School theater, it didn’t lessen the enthusiasm of the audience for the delightful comedy, I Hate Hamlet. A night of belly laughs as the ghost of John Barrymore (Tom Hewitt) tries to convince successful television hero Andrew Rally (Alex Walton) that the road to success in his future is portraying Hamlet in the Shakespeare in the Park venue in Central Park. Andrew hates Hamlet but considers accepting the role to please his girlfriend, Deidree McDavey (Liz Shivener). Now, throw in three strong character actors, Jeanne Bennett, Natalie Cordone and Patrick Halley, and you have a cast of over-the-top performers who make you laugh by just stepping out on stage. The show is a great way to open the season as all of us anticipate the completion of the Maltz Jupiter Theatre’s spectacular expansion.
Expect to be dazzled. Renovations and additions include three floors of state-of-the-art production facilities that include floor to ceiling glass windows, production spaces, offices, dressing rooms, a costume shop plus offices and multiple new rehearsal studios. Exactly the type of theater that Broadway producers are looking for to try out pre-Broadway shows.
The long awaited opening is slated for March 22, 2022 with the musical comedy, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,which runs through April 10. The show, based on a movie of the same name, opened on Broadway in 2005 and starred John Lithgow as one of the con men trying to swindle a young television actress out of her money. The show received 10 Tony nominations and was described in reviews as smooth and breezy. A perfect show for Jupiter’s long-awaited Maltz Jupiter Theatre reopening.
Maltz Jupiter Theatre, 1001 E. Indiantown Rd, Jupiter. Tickets: 561.575.2223; www.jupitertheatre.org
The Palm Beach Institute for Entertainment Arts, Inc.
The influence that Burt Reynolds had within the arts community started with The Burt Reynolds Institute for Theatre Training (BRITT) at the original Burt Reynolds Dinner Theatre. In later years, he came back to Jupiter and started a program that also included film and television training. Now there is Palm Beach Institute for Entertainment Arts, Inc. spearheaded by Donna Carbone.
The group is performing a hilarious new play by Rick Orloff, Radio Ridiculous. It is being directed by a former member of BRITT, Ken Kay, an award-winning actor with over 40 years of professional credits. It’s an interactive play with the participation of the audience for sound effects. The cast includes Hailey Feldman, Rachael Lagasse, Richard Leonard, Linda Osborn, Rowan Pelfrey, Chase State, Wayne Steadman and Anthony Tredinnick. It’s a tribute to the radio shows of the 1930s and promises to be a trip down memory lane.
Radio Ridiculous runs from March 10-20 at 115 U.S. Highway 1, North Palm Beach. Reservations are required and may be made by calling 561-743-9955.
Pigs Do Fly Productions
If you don’t mind taking a little trip to Fort Lauderdale, Pigs Do Fly Production’s upcoming “reprise” production of Jerry Mayer’s comedy, 2 Across, will run from March 4 -March 20, 2022 at Empire Stage in Fort Lauderdale.
What happens when a couple of strangers, alone on board a San Francisco BART train in the early morning hours, discover that solving The New York Times crossword puzzle is all they have in common. Michele Verdi as Janet, an honest, rule-abiding psychologist and David R. Gordon as Josh, a combination of free spirit, executive, dreamer and Peter Pan are opposite characters who discover commonalities.
2 Across runs from March 4-20, 2022 at the Empire Stage, 1140 N. Flagler Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Fl. 33304. For tickets call 954-678-1496