Theatergoers can celebrate New Year’s week with five theater entertainment choices.
“A Motown Christmas” [Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe]: Just about everyone enjoys some type of Christmas music during the holidays. And WBTT loves to present a special holiday show as its Christmas card to the community. Presented for the third time, “A Motown Christmas” will grace the main stage this year and have you dancing in your seat to select holiday tunes — the kind we all love singing along with. A Motown Christmas selects traditional favorite carols—the kind we can all sing along to—and pairs them with the company’s trademark mix of soulful, rocking hits from the Motown record company. Motown’s Barry Gordy had a vision that changed the music industry forever. This festive holiday revue is the culmination of that vision – a perfect blend of traditional Christmas carols paired with soulful songs made famous by such Motown celebrities as Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, the Supremes and The Jackson 5. WBTT’s sizzling signature style makes this a most memorable Christmas treat that’s fun for the whole family! Performances are Thursday, Jan. 2 at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, Jan. 3 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 4 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, Jan. 5th’s closing 2 p.m. matinee.
“Fully Committed” [Florida Repertory Theatre in the Artstage Studio Theatre]: This devastatingly funny one-man tour-de-force follows a day in the life of Sam (Kraig Swartz), an out-of-work actor manning the red-hot reservation line at Manhattan’s No. 1 restaurant. Coercion, threats, bribes, and histrionics – these desperate callers will stop at nothing to score a table! Amid the barrage of frantic diners, Sam deals with his own career and family drama! One actor plays forty roles in this outrageous & touching comedy! Performances are Wednesday, Jan. 1 at 7 p.m.; Thursday, Jan. 2 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Friday, Jan. 3 at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 4 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.; and Sunday, Jan. 5 at 2 p.m.
“Piccadilly” [The Laboratory Theater of Florida]: This world premiere is the type of story your grandparents never told you. The plot revolves around two American GIs on ten-days leave in London at the end of the war in Europe who fall in love in unexpected ways, including, rare for that time, an interracial romance. World War II veterans will relive their own experiences, and veterans of any war will find parallels to their own experiences on leave. And everyone else will experience what their grandfathers and grandmothers who were in the war never dared to tell them. Closes Monday, Dec. 30 at 7:30 p.m.
“Spaceman” [Urbanite Theatre]: Astronaut Molly Jennis (Terri Weagant) has embarked on an interplanetary expedition following her husband’s tragic, failed attempt to reach Mars. As the first to the Red Planet, she faces not only the dangers of solitude and the unknown frontier, but also the haunting reflections of her past decisions. This regional premiere of “Spaceman” is a weightless, full-sensory, surround-sound exploration of both the challenges of space travel and the uncharted future that awaits Molly at her Martian destination. Opens Thursday, Jan. 2 at 7:30 p.m. Performances continue Friday, Jan. 3 at 7:30 p.m. [no tickets available], Saturday, Jan. 4 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 5 at 2 p.m.
“The Buddy Holly Story” [Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre]: More than 50 years after “the music died,” the story of this true rock and roll icon comes to life in this musical journey through Buddy’s impressive rise to fame. Buddy’s original sound and dazzling talent are highlighted with live renditions of his greatest hits. You’ll be dancing in the aisles and cheering for more when you hear over 20 Buddy Holly hits including “Maybe Baby,” “Every Day,” “Peggy Sue,” “That’ll be the Day,” “Oh Boy,” “Rave On” plus Ritchie Valens’ “La Bamba” and The Big Boppers’ “Chantilly Lace.” Opens Tuesday, Dec. 31with shows at 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Performances continue Thursday, Jan. 2 at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, Jan. 3 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 4 at 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, Jan. 5 at 7 p.m. [Lunch service begins at 11:30 a.m. for matinees, with dinner service beginning at 5:30 p.m. for evening performances.]
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.