Best Fringe Theater 2004 | Sol Theatre Project | Arts & Entertainment | South Florida
Navigation
Support Us
Search

Best Fringe Theater

Sol Theatre Project

Fort Lauderdale's Sol troupe has found a devoted and growing following for its funky, informal "lounge theater" style. Offering a tossed salad of updated classics and high-powered, issue-oriented new plays, Robert Hooker and company have come a looong way in only a few short years. With such recent hits as Marisol, Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, and the blazing Stop Kiss, this Sol is generating a whole lotta heat.

Best Fringe Theater

Sol Theatre Project

Fort Lauderdale's Sol troupe has found a devoted and growing following for its funky, informal "lounge theater" style. Offering a tossed salad of updated classics and high-powered, issue-oriented new plays, Robert Hooker and company have come a looong way in only a few short years. With such recent hits as Marisol, Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, and the blazing Stop Kiss, this Sol is generating a whole lotta heat.

Best Theater for Plays

Florida Stage

As the quality of South Florida theater continues to rise, several companies merit high praise but none more than Florida Stage for its challenging, high-quality productions, outstanding mix of local and national talent, and 100 percent dedication to new scripts. Instead of relying on star vehicles or recent New York hits, the Manalapan company, headed by producing director Louis Tyrrell, presents an array of new writers and contemporary issues for a discerning, adventurous audience. The funny, fantastical Running with Scissors took on the age-old conflict between love and death. The romantic, mysterious Mercy of a Storm delved into marital discord and class consciousness, while the fiery, articulate Permanent Collection tackled racial prejudice. To this add top-quality directors of national renown, top-caliber acting, production, and design and the result is a consistently high standard of theatrical art.

Best Theater for Plays

Florida Stage

As the quality of South Florida theater continues to rise, several companies merit high praise but none more than Florida Stage for its challenging, high-quality productions, outstanding mix of local and national talent, and 100 percent dedication to new scripts. Instead of relying on star vehicles or recent New York hits, the Manalapan company, headed by producing director Louis Tyrrell, presents an array of new writers and contemporary issues for a discerning, adventurous audience. The funny, fantastical Running with Scissors took on the age-old conflict between love and death. The romantic, mysterious Mercy of a Storm delved into marital discord and class consciousness, while the fiery, articulate Permanent Collection tackled racial prejudice. To this add top-quality directors of national renown, top-caliber acting, production, and design and the result is a consistently high standard of theatrical art.

Best Album of the Past 12 Months

Charm Wrestling by Summer Blanket

There might soon be a pill, if it's approved, and it probably will be, that would wipe out negative memories from the human brain permanently. Regret. Heartbreak. Failure. Your significant other throwing a pair of scissors at you. Anything your brain encodes as distressing. Before we all turn into Stepford wives, listen to Charm Wrestling, the debut album from Summer Blanket, and soak up the regret and heartbreak of Keith Michaud's voice as it glides over the dystopia of South Florida with achingly beautiful, blissful rock and the pastoral hues of something straining to break out of this water-logged state.

Best Album of the Past 12 Months

Charm Wrestling by Summer Blanket

There might soon be a pill, if it's approved, and it probably will be, that would wipe out negative memories from the human brain permanently. Regret. Heartbreak. Failure. Your significant other throwing a pair of scissors at you. Anything your brain encodes as distressing. Before we all turn into Stepford wives, listen to Charm Wrestling, the debut album from Summer Blanket, and soak up the regret and heartbreak of Keith Michaud's voice as it glides over the dystopia of South Florida with achingly beautiful, blissful rock and the pastoral hues of something straining to break out of this water-logged state.

Best Rock Band

Pandabite

So the argument of what's considered "rock" gets bandied about with indifference these days, and every band in the past four years wants to think it's started the "rock revival." Fort Lauderdale's Pandabite isn't part of any rock revival, but it should get props for making music so loud and bombastic that it could practically make you shit in your pants. Its debut EP, Doom Box, contains four songs that are thicker than Guinness and sweep through the speakers like a wrecking ball. As for the live shows, two types of people can usually be spotted: the folks with the glassy-eyed stare who are too paralyzed with fear to make a run from the band's ear-assaulting metal and those who are there to do the heavy-metal hair swing right along with singer Juan Montoya.

Best Rock Band

Pandabite Readers' Choice: The Freakin' Hott

So the argument of what's considered "rock" gets bandied about with indifference these days, and every band in the past four years wants to think it's started the "rock revival." Fort Lauderdale's Pandabite isn't part of any rock revival, but it should get props for making music so loud and bombastic that it could practically make you shit in your pants. Its debut EP, Doom Box, contains four songs that are thicker than Guinness and sweep through the speakers like a wrecking ball. As for the live shows, two types of people can usually be spotted: the folks with the glassy-eyed stare who are too paralyzed with fear to make a run from the band's ear-assaulting metal and those who are there to do the heavy-metal hair swing right along with singer Juan Montoya. Readers' Choice: The Freakin' Hott

Best Hip-Hop Artist

Mike West

Not many rappers choose to operate with their given names, but this young, part-time Browardite (he spends a few months out of the year in L.A.) keeps it real real. To his credit, West doesn't need a stereotypical appellation like Professor Murder, MC Nightmare, or Dr. Drastic. Even without a fancy handle, the 25-year-old remains one of the highest-profile, independent, hip-hop upstarts around. What does he rap about? The thug thang, dog. What else? Though he's been featured in The Source, XXL, Ozone, and other glossy bastions of hip-hop literature, West still gets absolutely no love from his hometown police department. The Sunrise cops routinely target his Chevy Caprice for traffic stops, a topic he's sure to address on his upcoming disc, A Westside Story Chapter One. Until then, West is keeping his profile high, winning a sponsorship from ThugLife Clothing and making an appearance on MTV's new show Pimp My Ride.

Best Hip-Hop Artist

Mike West Readers' Choice: Eminem

Not many rappers choose to operate with their given names, but this young, part-time Browardite (he spends a few months out of the year in L.A.) keeps it real real. To his credit, West doesn't need a stereotypical appellation like Professor Murder, MC Nightmare, or Dr. Drastic. Even without a fancy handle, the 25-year-old remains one of the highest-profile, independent, hip-hop upstarts around. What does he rap about? The thug thang, dog. What else? Though he's been featured in The Source, XXL, Ozone, and other glossy bastions of hip-hop literature, West still gets absolutely no love from his hometown police department. The Sunrise cops routinely target his Chevy Caprice for traffic stops, a topic he's sure to address on his upcoming disc, A Westside Story Chapter One. Until then, West is keeping his profile high, winning a sponsorship from ThugLife Clothing and making an appearance on MTV's new show Pimp My Ride. Readers' Choice: Eminem

Best Of Broward-Palm Beach®

Best Of

Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our terms of use and our privacy policy The New Times Broward-Palm Beach may earn a portion of sales from products & services purchased through links on our site from our affiliate partners. ©2024 New Times BPB, LLC. All rights reserved.
Do Not Sell or Share My Information
Powered By Foundation