Daily Loaf

Julie Rowe is one of the Bay area’s most talented (and acclaimed) actors, and now she has a new gig: She’s going to be director of education at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre, an Equity house (known once upon a time as the Burt Reynolds Dinner Theatre) in Jupiter, FL.

The news was cause for some alarm in local theater circles. No more performances by Julie like her most recent tour de force? But, as she tells CL theater critic Mark Leib in her interview for an ArtsSpeak podcast, she’s not “leaving” exactly — she’s just “expanding.” Podcast after the break. Read the rest of this entry »

The Little Dog Laughed is a smart, sophisticated satire about a gay Hollywood actor who wants to come out, but who is pressured by his flamboyant and high-powered lesbian agent to stay in. It’s also about the relationship this actor has with a young New York hustler, and about the woman this hustler has been intermittently sleeping with. Douglas Carter Beane’s play is scathingly original, fearlessly explicit — it includes full male nudity — and about as wise about Hollywood cynicism as anything I’ve come across since I read Theresa Rebeck’s Free Fire Zone. It’s also the occasion for two wonderful performances: Julie Rowe as super-cynical agent Diane, and Nick Horan as ambivalent prostitute Alex.

Read the rest of this entry »

Romeo + Juliet. Bob Devin Jones, fearless leader of The Studio@620, takes on William Shakespeare’s most famous love story with a multi-cultural, multi-talented cast. Among the familiar names on board are Julie Rowe as the nurse, Bonnie Agan and Jorge Acosta as Lord and Lady Capulet and Sharon Scott as the chorus, with T. Scott Wooten and Brandii (right) taking the title roles. Preview, Thurs. May 14, 7:30 p.m., $10. Opening night Friday May 15, 7:30 pm. Additional performances May 16, 22-23, 7:30 pm. Sunday Matinee May 24, 3:00 pm, $20 general admission/$15 students and seniors. The Studio@620, 620 1st Avenue South, St. Petersburg, 727-895-6620, www.studio620.org.

Webb’s City. The popular musical about renowned St. Petersburg entrepreneur Doc Webb, commissioned for the millennial celebrations in 2000, returns to the stage in a special concert version at The Palladium. Local playwright Bill Leavengood and musician Lee Ahlin tell the story of the bigger-than-life businessman, following him as he creates an empire during the economic downturn of the Great Depression, only to see the booms and busts of the market parallel the ups and downs of his own tumultuous life. May 14-17, 7:30 p.m., Thurs.-Sat., 1 p.m., Sun., Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg, $16.50-$26.50, 727-822-3590, mypalladium.org. Read the rest of this entry »