The Lieutenant of Inishmore - a bloody good hit in the Shimberg Playhouse

The Lieutenant of Inishmore has been getting great reviews for the past two weeks from critics, bloggers and patrons alike. Check out what they're saying:

"I was warned ... violence, gunshots, blood, gore, loud music, cat murder(s) ... Part satire, part farce, part murder mystery, Jobsite delivered on the promise. Yet heed the warning: "This play is not for the easily offended ... It's funny, it's sexy, it's a bloodbath -- it's like a Tarantino movie, but not as pretty. Blood isn't just spattered here and there -- it's smeared and splashed on walls, windows, floors and bodies, alive and dead, human and feline." - Creative Loafing (this week's cover story, to boot)

“Full serving of gore, horror and hilarity.... Gruesomely violent as it is, Inishmore is almost slapstick.... David Jenkins and his cast (almost all Jobsite regulars) amp up the violence and humor... and blood flows profusely (in extremely effective special effects by Chris Holcom).... The entire cast does fine work.... Lots of people like blood, guts and mayhem, and they're the ones this production aims to please.” – St. Petersburg Times

“In this comedy of devastating errors, with enough extreme carnage to make Quentin Tarantino queasy, bumbling characters shoot, maim, slice and dice one another with abandon and little remorse.... At the play's end, the stage is drenched, eliciting sickening sounds as the actors left standing tread the saturated floorboards.... The easily offended might not appreciate the absurd overkill and outrageously misplaced values. But for everyone else, it's hilarious.” – The Tampa Tribune

“The production was very well acted, especially the parts of Padraic and Mairead. There's real chemistry between the characters and they develop an almost Mickey and Mallory Knox-like bond.... This play is also not for the squeamish, as the blood continues to pile up through the final act.” – MyTampaLife.com

“All of the acting is superb. Irish accents are spot-on, and the cast works well as an ensemble.... Martin McDonagh’s plotting is immaculate.... Even though I usually don’t like violence at all, it was humorous in the context of the play.... I would definitely recommend this play.” – ARTS NET, Tampa Bay

You can read all the feedback Jobsite's received on the show at their website.

This play only has eight more performances before it is gone for good! It must close April 12.

Full disclosure: I am also Jobsite Theater's producing artistic director as well as the director of the production. I might be shilling a tiny bit here.

Jobsite Theater scores solid reviews for Embedded

Embedded is on stage now in the Shimberg Playhouse through Aug. 31. Check out the reviews that have published in the past two days. Follow the links for the full articles:

" ... the play is harsh, unrelenting, at times grotesque and exceedingly refreshing. In a more perfect universe, every city would have a theater troupe that performed plays like Embedded every time there was a national crisis ... See it before the Constitution goes the way of the Geneva Conventions ... If you don't believe that the live theater can be a potent political instrument, see this play and change your mind." - Creative Loafing

"Jobsite Theat[er] could not have picked a finer show than "Embedded" to close out the 2007-08 season. Written by Tim Robbins, this was, by far, Jobsite's best production ... "Embedded" is a creative, original and intelligent play that lingers long after the curtain goes down." - The Tampa Tribune

"... the script and the production both fare best during the very human vignettes ... A touching opening scene has soldiers saying goodbye to their loved ones as they go off to war. One of the few ethical reporters, played appealingly by Meg Heimstead, recounts with fear and sadness an errant bomb attack. A fictionalized account of the Jessica Lynch story, with a poignant performance by Betty-Jane Parks, is perhaps the show's most profound and effective anti-war statement ... Some of the best acting comes during those repeated segments with the presidential advisers. Even though the actors' faces are hidden behind masks ... their gestures are phenomenally evocative." - St. Pete Times

And for those interested, here's the TV spot:



Full disclosure: I am also the Producing Artistic Director of Jobsite and one of the co-directors of the show.

Vote in the 2008 CreLo Best of the Bay Awards

Now is your chance to vote for all that is right (and wrong) with Tampa Bay as the polls are open in the 2008 Creative Loafing Best of the Bay Awards Reader's Poll.

There's around 100 categories that you can let your voices be heard on as to the best of Tampa Bay when it comes to where to eat, drink, party, play, live, love and loathe. You have to vote in at least 26 categories for your ballot to count. Should be pretty easy to get that many in, even if you're not a socialite. Best Beach? Check. Best Soul Food? It's all there.

Now of course we're putting this over here on Culture Shock for a reason - we want your votes! So see some recommendations below as some ways you can show your love for all that goes on at TBPAC!

Best Theater Troupe: Jobsite Theater (TBPAC's resident theater company that performs in the Shimberg Playhouse
Best Actor/Actress: Ok, so no way we can single a guy and gal out here. Even if we could, we don't want to live with that wrath. So this is what we'll say - did you see a show in the Jaeb Theater or Shimberg Playhouse in 2008? Odds are they were local, and they'd love for you to vote for them. Can't remember their name? Dig out that program! Did you lose it? Ask me in the comments, maybe I can help you remember.
Best Live Concert Venue: Again, your call - maybe you're a fan of the super-intimate shows in out Club Jaeb Series - where every seat is perfect and you can practically reach out and touch the notes. Maybe Ferguson Hall is more your speed - where Idina Menzel plays later this month. Or, perhaps you just can't get enough of our acoustically-perfect opera house Morsani Hall.
Best Kept Secret: Again with the choices! Is there a part of TBPAC that you just can't believe doesn't get more attention? Maybe it's the locally-produced spectacles put on by Opera Tampa, the offerings of the Patel Conservatory, the cutting-edge work of Jobsite Theater or the soulful singer-songwriters of the Club Jaeb Series. Seems like we have a lot of secrets!
Most Underrated Thing in Tampa Bay: For our organizational size, operating budget, footprint in Downtown's landscape, world-class programming and outstanding attendance - you think every show we'd have would simply be bursting at the seams full of people. We're in no way saying we're the little guy, but you can certainly make the argument we're, as a whole, an underrated part of life in Tampa Bay.
Best Place to Volunteer: TBPAC. 'Nuff said.

Now it's your turn to put your votes where you think they belong. Enjoy!

The Lion King roars with CreLo's critic

This might just sum the whole gosh darn 5-loaf review (follow the link for the full story):

If you haven't lost the capacity for wonder -- or if you're hoping to regain it -- find a ticket if you can. This musical is so special that it's possible that you'll never see anything like it again in your lifetime.

I know that sounds excessive.

And I mean every word. - Creative Loafing

The Lion King is here through June 22.

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Best of the Bay at TBPAC!

There was a lot at TBPAC that ended up being chosen as Best of the Bay by Creative Loafing. Take a look!

Best Artistic Director: Judith Lisi

Best Theater Company: Jobsite Theater (TBPAC's resident theater company, Shimberg Playhouse. Also a finalist for the Reader's Poll award, the winner of which will be announced at the awards ceremony on 9/24. Jobsite has now been named Best Theater Company in '04, '06 and '07.)
Best Actor: Steve Garland (The Pillowman, Jobsite Theater)
Best Actress: Ami Sallee Corley (Woman in Mind, Jobsite Theater)
Best Costume Designer: Katrina Stevenson (Jobsite Theater)

Best Play: Frozen (Stageworks in the Shimberg Playhouse)
Best Director: Anna Brennen, Stageworks (The Sisters Rosensweig and Frozen in the Shimberg Playhouse)
Best Set Designer: R. T. Williams, Stageworks (The Sisters Rosensweig, The Mystery of Irma Vep in the Shimberg Playhouse)

Between the body of work contributed by both Jobsite Theater and Stageworks, our very own Shimberg Playhouse had the work of seven Best of the Bay Award winners!

Other Reader's Poll finalists include Ryan McCarthy, Larry Buzzeo and Richard Coppinger for Best Actor; Ami Sallee Corley and Eileen Koteles for Best Actress and Patel Conservatory Instructor and Jobsite Theater performer "ranney" as Best Local Comedian

CONGRATS TO ALL!

(Disclosure: I am also the producing artistic director of Jobsite Theater, but am genuinely exceedingly proud of all that TBPAC has to offer, expecially the most mightiest of mites in the building in our own beloved Shimberg Playhouse.)

Don't forget TBPAC in your Best of the Bay voting!

Now you can just call me a double-shill. After my shameless campaigning a few weeks back for TBPAC's resident theater company, Jobsite Theater, and their performers - I'm now going to hit you with a few other ways you can help vote TBPAC the Best of the Bay in different ways.

Best Concert Venue:

• Jaeb Theater - anyone who's been to any of the Club Jaeb shows in this intimate, acoustically perfect 268-seat venue best know for cabaret shows can tell you this is the best place to see some of the nation's best and brightest as well as upcoming singer-songwriters.
• Ferguson Hall - This 1,042 seat hall may be often overlooked for her big sister, but there's no denying that it's a great venue to hear live music. Be it the Florida Orchestra in front of the well-engineered stage shell or the elaborate setting that Erasure had earlier this month, you're bound to have a have a great seats and hear every note.
  
• Carol Morsani Hall - talk about acoustic perfection, this 2,600 seat hall was specifically designed for Grand Opera. You're not likely to find a better true concert hall in the region. Morsani is also the 4th most-attended venue of its size in the whole world!

Best concert of the past 12 months

• I'm not even sure as to where I should begin on this one. We've had so many!!! You could take your pick of any of this season's Club Jaeb shows - or choose from Earth, Wind & Fire, Godsmack, Bright Eyes, The 5 Browns, Four Bitchin' Babes, Altan, Julio Iglesias, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, String Cheese Incident, Nick Lachey, India.Arie, Deborah Voigt, Ba Cissoko, Kathy Mattea, CeCe Winans, Gipsy Kings, Gilberto Gil, Ladysmith Black Mambazo - and I'm positive I've missed some. Leave me a comment with any I've overlooked!

Best place to to take out of town guests

I'll admit I've always thought about this award going to an area (Ybor, a beach) rather than a specific place, but thinking on it there is no reason TBPAC should not be a consideration here. When you look at the sheer volume of truly world-class entertainment that comes through this building on a daily basis, and especially when you look at some of the truly incredible shows coming next year (most of which as still unannounced as of now), this place is really something to show off. It'll be the only place in Florida to see the mega-hit Jersey Boys, we have Radio City Christmas Spectacular and The Lion King coming back, opera diva Kiri Te Kanawa and so much more.

So what are you waiting for - get to voting!

Vote in Creative Loafing's 2007 Best of the Bay Awards!

Creative Loafing, Tampa's hip and funny alternative weekly is now taking ballots for their 2007 Best of the Bay Awards.

The categories cover just about everything you could imagine in this great area of ours. You might notice that the first three categories are Best Theater Troupe, Best Actor and Best Actress. Well, I'm absolutely shameless enough to do my best to twist your arm and beg for votes for Jobsite Theater, TBPAC's resident theater company. At least I'm being up front about the shilling, right? And after all, you're grown-ups and can make up your own minds. I'm clearly not trying to trick anyone. Just maybe nudge a little firmly ...

So, that said, please consider voting for Jobsite Theater as Best Theater Troupe. Best Actor and Best Actress gets a little hairier, it's certainly not so clear cut as just saying "Vote Jobsite!" You could consider almost any of the four lead men from The Pillowman, the trio of performers from This is How it Goes, any number of the cast of The March of the Kitefliers or Woman in Mind. Steve Garland, Matt Lunsford, Ryan McCarthy, Paul Potenza - all these men surely warrant some consideration. So does Ami Sallee Corley for her performance in Woman in Mind.

Jobsite was lucky enough to take home a stack of these things last year: Best Theater Company, Best Play, Best Actor and Best Artistic Direction.

Or maybe you have thoughts all your own. It doesn't really matter, so long as you get out and vote!

A few other things to note: CreLo really hopes you decide to think about true local businesses over chains (like no Taco Bell for Best Mexican!) and you must vote in at least 35 categories for your ballot to be counted. And no ballot stuffing! They're smarter than you think!

(Here comes the big-ol' disclaimer: as editor of this blog it should probably be pointed out that I am also the producing artistic director of Jobsite, and I am working HARD at getting people to vote for Jobsite over just about every medium I have available to me. It's ok though, the paper is all for this sort of behavior. Now let's hope my boss is.)

CreLo's covergirl: Lily Tomlin

Check out this week's cover story in Creative Loafing for a good interview on Lily Tomlin. She talks about her career, the Laugh-In Days, Robert Altman, playing in the south - and yes, that YouTube video I brought up yesterday.

For the record - she's right about what it's like working on a project with actors and a director. It's no different from stage to film. I had an acting teacher in my MFA program tell me once that "all artists are just bundles of exposed nerves" - and he was right. Tempers can flare, things can be said and at the end of the day everyone can usually still go out and grab a pint or cocktail and act like nothing happened.

-dj

CreLo review of Gilberto Gil

We had a lot of hype leading up to our Gilberto Gil date, a lot of that coming our way very fortuitously via national media like the NYT. He was a big catch for us.

Looks like this week's Creative Loafing covers the show. Read what you missed (or revisit what you saw) here.

-dj

TBPAC's Shimberg Playhouse tops in Tampa says CreLo!

Creative Loafing publishes an annual list of Top 10 area theater productions, which is reserved for local productions from professional theater companies (as opposed to the many touring Broadway shows that also come to town).

TBPAC is typically well-represented in this annual list, and this year we're proud to report that all of the top 3 plays came straight from our own Shimberg Playhouse:

1. The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?

Edward Albee's scandalous play is about a world-famous architect who falls in love with a goat, has sex with her and then faces the rage and bafflement of his wife and son. As brilliantly acted by Steven Clark Pachosa in a Jobsite Theater production, protagonist Martin Gray was truly in love; and as he challenged all our assumptions about what is permissible, he made playwright Albee's real theme -- the question, is there an infallible source of our moral law? -- painfully clear. Monica Merryman was terrific as Martin's wife, and Eric Burgess as his gay son was desperately in need of a father he could respect. Director Karla Hartley treated this uniquely passionate and philosophical play with all possible seriousness, and the result was stunning.

2. Frozen

The deliberate murder of a child is among the most horrific of all crimes. But author Bryony Lavery, in her riveting play Frozen, asks us whether a man who himself has been abused and damaged since early childhood can be forgiven for such an atrocity. Lavery shows us the twisted, hateful perpetrator -- played brilliantly by Richard Coppinger -- and also the dead child's stricken mother -- played with heart-rending realism by Monica Merryman. Then she asks us to judge. As directed by Stageworks' Anna Brennen, Frozen was chilling and sad and relentlessly original.

3. The Pillowman

A writer, Katurian, is hauled into a police station in an unnamed totalitarian state. As two cops alternately manhandle and interrogate him, he learns that someone has been carrying out the details of his most violent tales. Is it he himself, or perhaps his mentally challenged brother? Is Katurian culpable for imagining such violence, and is there anything in the world besides story, story and story? Jobsite Theater brought us Martin McDonagh's amazing play in a formidable production, with splendid acting by Steve Garland as Katurian and Paul Potenza as his pitiful, unpredictable brother. The experience was fascinating -- and harrowing.

Another round of applause for these great shows - and also for those who took the time to come and support them, helping ensure that theater stays alive and well in Tampa and at TBPAC. Jobsite Theater, the resident theater company in the Shimberg (and yes, my baby) is gearing up for their production of All the Great Books (abridged), which opens Jan. 12.

It's no secret that the Shimberg is my favorite room on the TBPAC campus. An intimate space that seats up to 130, this black box space ensures you're close enough to see every facial expression and always be engaged by the action. We're hearing more and more from subscribers from our more popular Broadway and Opera series that they absolutely love the variety and quality of the productions. If you haven't seen a show in there before - or if you haven't visited us in a few years - we'd love for you to give us a look.

-dj