Opening: ARSENIC AND OLD LACE at Florida Rep

Vicki Boyle, Carrie Lund, Michael Satow
and Harli Cooper in "Arsenic and Old Lace."

"Arsenic and Old Lace" opens Friday at Florida Rep. Bob Cacioppo has been talking about this one ever since the season opened. What does he say? "A killer comedy?" Or something like that.

The photos alone...

"Arsenic and Old Lace" runs Jan. 10-29. Performances are 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, with 2 p.m. matinees on Wednesday, Sunday and selected Saturdays. For tickets ($40 & $45), call 239-332-4488 or floridarep.org.

Review: THE SANTALAND DIARIES at Florida Rep

Jason Parrish in "The Santaland Diaries."

Leave it to David Sedaris to rescue Christmas. Bravo. Read the full review...

Ever since Thanksgiving Day, I've felt like this will be the year that we look back and think "Christmas disappeared." Tinsel hit store shelves in July, decorations peeked from behind pumpkins in October and reindeer ran down Thanksgiving like it wasn't even a bump in the road.

Hold your candy canes, back that sleigh up and stop fighting over towels (FREAKING TOWELS, YA'LL!!) in the aisles at Wal-Mart. "Santaland" has something to say about our bad attitudes at Christmastime. 

It's all in the delivery. Jason Parrish wanders around telling stories. He sounds weary, destroyed even - as if the desperate consumerism of the holidays have beaten the will to live from him.

Director Chris Clavelli kept some of the best impersonations. My favorite is the noxious ghetto customer that demands "a Santa of culuh, m'kay?" Parrish shifts into the character, then gives the audience a long, feel-my-pain, "can you believe this?" look that communicates volumes. Read the full review...

"The Santaland Diaries" runs through Dec. 29 with a special 2 p.m. matinée and 7 p.m. twilight closing performances on Dec. 29. All tickets are $25. Call 239-332-4488 or floridarep.org.

updated| Reviews: MY THREE ANGELS at Florida Rep (3)

Joel Reuben Ganz in "My Three Angels."

Who on earth could possibly want to spend Christmas in 105-degree weather?

Well, nobody actually does. But you'll want to after watching Florida Rep's "My Three Angels."

Three convicts come down from the roof in Cayenne, French Guiana on Christmas Eve. They provide everything. Except morals.

Director Chris Clavelli senses that audiences might want a true Christmastime comedy this year. Graham Smith, Michael Edwards and Joel Reuben Ganz play the convicts - the titular angels. The casting could not be better. The acting could not be better. The show could not be better.

When real life features knock-down fights over towels and toasters in Wal-Mart at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day itself, the charming Dulcotels make for a special treat.

"My Three Angels" plays at 8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday with matinées at 2 p.m. Wednesday & Sundays through Dec. 22. Tickets are $40 & $45. Call 239-332-4488 or floridarep.org. | Read the complete review

ALL REVIEWS:

Chris Silk (Naples Daily News)
Florida Rep opens charming holiday parcel 'My Three Angels'

Charles Runnells (The News-Press)
Christmas takes a dark turn in Florida Rep's 'My Three Angels'

Nancy Stetson (Florida Weekly)
There’s some heavenly holiday humor at Florida Rep

Florida Rep has a place for your wild howler monkey over the Christmas holiday - Wild Winter Arts Camp!

To enroll, visit Florida Rep's Education Department online at
www.FloridaRepEducation.org, or by calling 239-332-4665x36

Here's the press release for Florida Rep's "Wild Winter Arts Camps." Like, I wish I could have done such fun things when I was little.

Complete press release below.

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Enrollment Now Open for Wild Winter Arts Camps!

Florida Rep and the Alliance for the Arts are pleased to announce that enrollment is now open, and slots are filling up for Wild Winter Arts Camps for students ages 5-17!

Four fun-filled sessions offer something for every student! The two-day intensive camps run Dec 23-Jan 3 and will allow students to experience a wide variety of theatre fun!

"My Three Angels" hopes to steal holiday hearts at Florida Rep

Graham Smith as Joseph in "My Three Angels"
at Florida Repertory Theatre.

OK holiday fans, here's something to warm the cold cockles of your heart. Florida Rep opens "My Three Angels" on Dec. 6.

Bob Cacioppo has had way too much fun describing this "three convicts, spying on a family from up on the roof...." at the openings the past few weeks. It was a movie - "We're No Angels," starring Bogart.

"My Three Angels" opens in previews Dec. 3 and runs through Dec. 22. Tickets are $40 & $45. Call 239-332-4488 or floridarep.org.

TICKET SPECIAL: Get $15 off tickets for SOCIAL SECURITY at Florida Rep

Vandy Major / Florida Repertory Theatre

Kate Hampton, Mark Lainer, Carrie Lund and David Breitbarth in 'Social Security.'

OK. We've got a deal for you. Florida Repertory Theatre is offering $15 off tickets for its season-opening hit comedy "Social Security" from now through noon Thursday.

Call 239-332-4488, toll free at 877-787-8053 or online at floridarep.org. Use code LAUGH. Limit four tickets per person, some restrictions.

Here are the reviews:

Chris Silk: Florida Rep enrolls sellout crowd in 'Social Security'
I had the (good?) fortune to sit in front of a some young folks who screamed and howled at the sight of old folks getting it on. When David S. Howard and sassy Ann D. Hurst snuggled on the couch I heard yelps of "YOU GO GET IT GRANDMA!" right behind me. Best. Audience. Ever. If the show seems mechanical, it is. Andrew Bergman's script (and Robert Cacioppo's direction) moves characters through the paces in methodical fashion. But it is still hilarious. Look for Carrie Lund and Mark Lanier as droll, drop-dead funny in-laws. http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2013/nov/04/review-social-security-florida-rep-fort-myers/

Florida Rep's Cacioppo to direct "It's A Wonderful Life" at Orlando Shakes

Interesting bit of news out of Orlando. Florida Rep's producing artistic director Robert Cacioppo will direct the Orlando Shakespeare Theater's production of "It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play."

Brad DePlanche, a frequent face at Florida Rep, who played Angel Second Class Clarence Oddbody in Fort Myers, will also appear in the Orlando production.

Inspired by Frank Capra's beloved American film, Orlando Shakes' It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play includes a five-member ensemble that brings to life a dozen familiar characters performed in the style of a 1940s live radio broadcast. Complete with commercial jingles and man-made sound effects, audiences will fall in love all over again with the selfless George Bailey and the gentle angel who saves his life on Christmas Eve. A holiday classic suitable for the entire family! It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play begins December 4 and runs through December 29, 2013 at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center in Loch Haven Park. Tickets ($17-$40) may be purchased by calling the Box Office at (407) 447-1700 or online at http://orlandoshakes.org. http://www.broadwayworld.com/orlando/article/Orlando-Shakespeare-Theater-to-Present-ITS-A-WONDERFUL-LIFE-A-LIVE-RADIO-PLAY-124-29-20130927

Florida Rep produced the show, which translates the beloved movie into a 90-minute, no-intermission play, in December 2011. The theater also added an elaborate half-hour pre-show routine, with telegram boys, roving townspeople, actors entering the set wearing furs and squealing teens seeking autographs from the "stars." There was even an sound table and a group singing vintage commercials in front of a WFRT logo.

Read a feature on the 2011 production from freelance writer Stephanie Borden and read my review of the show.

Florida Rep and Orlando Shakes have partnered before. A 2011 production of "The 39 Steps" was a co-production between the two theatres; the show played to positive reviews in both cities.

Florida Rep opens season with comedy "Social Security"

"Social Security" at Florida Rep.

Credit NOISE, Inc.

Florida Rep opens their season with comedy "Social Security," the story of two married art dealers struggling with their impossible in-laws. As director Robert Cacioppo says, "aging in-laws have never been funnier – as long as they’re not your aging in-laws!"

Here's the cast: David Breitbarth, Kate Hampton, Carrie Lund, David S. Howard, plus Mark Lainer & Ann D. Hurst.

"Social Security," by Andrew Bergman, plays Nov. 1-20 with four nearly sold-out previews on Oct. 29 at 8 p.m., Oct. 30 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Oct. 31 at 8 p.m. Regular performances are Tues. - Sat. at 8 p.m., with matinées on Wed., Sun. and selected Saturdays.

Single tickets ($45/$40 and $25 for discounted previews) are on sale through the box office, at 239-332-4488 and via floridarep.org. Subscriptions for the 2013-2014 season offer the best seats and the biggest savings. Packages start as low as $126 for 6 plays and offer up to 43% off single ticket prices.

Florida Rep's Bob Cacioppo appears on "Ask An Expert" Sunday morning

Florida Repertory Theatre's producing artistic director Robert Cacioppo will appear on "Ask An Expert," broadcast at 11 a.m. Sunday morning. The program broadcasts on WFWN 1240AM in Fort Myers and WNOG 1270AM in Naples.

VIDEO: Florida Rep teases season 16

So, kudos to Jenn Blosser up at Florida Rep. She edited four minutes of video teasing Florida Rep's upcoming season. Please watch to the 2:34 mark for one of my favorite Crumpet the Elf photos from "The Santaland Diaries."

Producing artistic director Robert Cacioppo even drops a great line about one of the season's (hopefully) funniest shows, "Social Security," in the first minute: "A Broadway comedy where aging in-laws have never been funnier - as long as they're not your aging in-laws!"

Folks, this is how you do it. Capitalize on the face you put in front of audiences on your opening nights... How many lines from that speech do you recognize?

Check it out. Single tickets and subscriptions for all Florida Rep productions are on sale now. Call 239-332-4488 or online at floridarep.org.