THE
OFF BROADWAY PALM THEATRE
THE
LITTLE THEATRE WITH THE BIG SHOWS!
The
Off Broadway Palm Theatre is located just off the main lobby inside
Broadway Palm. The Off Broadway is a 100-seat theatre with a
great view from every seat! The doors open a half hour prior to
showtime for seating. If you chose to have dinner with us, the dining
is in a separate dining room.
PRICES:
Evenings $51
Matinees $47
Show Only $31
BETTER LATE
SEPTEMBER 18 - NOVEMBER 1, 2014
The
side-splitting, yet touching, comedy about Julian Nussbaum, who, due
to illness, is forced to move in with his ex-wife and her new
husband. As the days pass, the laughter builds and the awkward
situation spirals further
and further out of control.
Tonight
I went to see Better Late at the Off Broadway venue.
Currently, I'm immersed deeply into the 7 seasons of The West Wing on
Netflix. As I enjoy an actor, I hop onto Twitter and tweet them.
Mostly complimenting and once I get a dialogue going, we tweet back
and forth.. information and innocuous verbiage back and forth and it
thrills me to death!! (I amuse easily)
I
don't think the people in the local area understand that WE, the
local people who are able to venture to The Broadway Palm Dinner
Theatre avails us of INCREDIBLE and delicious Chef-prepared Meals,
fabulous personalized service by the staff, the musicians, office
staff, as well as brilliant productions. I DON'T HAVE TO GO TO
TWITTER TO START A DIALOGUE WITH THEM. All I have to do is wait for
the end of that particular show, go to the lounge/bar area and MEET
THEM, live and in color and we talk, laugh and get to enjoy and get
to know each other. (and MORE FUN!!! I get to 'friend' them on
facebook and keep up with the same people off stage so easily and
Please Know that I am so humbled by their friendships. EVERYONE, to
the last person listed on the play bills, is so wonderful, conversant
and nice to me. Again, totally humbling to me.. thank you all. I
adore your work down to the last person ever to grace either stage of
The Broadway Palm. Thank you, all.) Everyone in this venue is
accessible. This is practically unheard of in many other venues where
we get to enjoy a production, a musical, whatever. Broadway Palm
ALLOWS us to mingle, compliment and 'hang with' their wonderful
actors, et al, OFF the stage.
Tonight
I was privileged to sit in the audience of an intimate setting of 100
comfortable seats. The cast was basically ALMOST within touching
distance. When we watch them, we can almost imagine they are speaking
directly to us.
Better
Late is a production by Larry Gelbart.. recognize him? Before his
death on 9-11-09 was an American television writer, playwrite,
screenwriter and author most famous as a creator and producer of the
record-breaking hit TV show, M*A*S*H, so right here, the thought and
intelligence behind Better Late has already been established.
Mr
Gelbart, noted for his soliloquy-esque form of dialogue and that it
is incredibly intense and extended, is not lost on this production. I
have to sometimes need the use of a name tag, clipped upside down so
I can read it, these actors, with their amazingly vibrant and fluid
and limber brains seem to remember reams and reams of verbiage and
interactive dialogue throughout nearly two hours of constant back and
forth.. sometimes exploding in angst and anger. Totally invigorating
banter.
Something
else about this production deals with a man and woman, who met while
she was married to another man. They instantly fell in love and she
had to extricate herself from her current relationship, read:
marriage.
After
the divorce and re-marriage of the lead (and only female in this
production: Nora ~ brilliantly played by Nancy
Antonio)
such a brave and wonderful girl starting the production in a slip..
good one!
to
Lee, played by Robert
Summers,
a master in this performance portraying rage and anger (frankly, I
can't deal with that much anger without popping a vein in my forehead
and passing out for just shooting someone the 'stink eye' and he has
to portray it night after night, sometimes for two shows a day),
and
Nora's former husband who suffers a stroke and has to move in with
them, Julian ~ played by John
Noble
and Julian who is amazing as an invalid.. good one, John!
Nora's
son, Billy, played by
John Keckeisen
has his own issues leading to his divorce, but with the interaction
and stress of everyone living in everyone else's space and old
feelings are brought up and discussed, Billy's situation is sort of
sidelined until he has to tell his step-dad (Lee) that he and his
wife are divorcing, to which Lee attempts to get him back on track to
try to save the marriage.
This
production and the gift of the actors to the audience brings us face
to face with reality, and mortality. And way beyond. In some ways,
pretty gut-wrenching, occasionally funny as all get out but putting
that reality up close and right in front of us. Sometimes the
laughter was uncomfortable, sometimes with gladness of the actually
amusing and laughable.
Good
job, peeps.. you kept us riveted, uncomfortable and in the end
assuaged our moments of fleeting discomfort letting us realize that
we were privy to some incredible acting and a HECK of a lot of
brilliant dialogue.. thank you so much. Rock ON, and break many legs
for the duration of this great production and beyond.
http://www.broadwaypalm.com/Content/default.asp
