Laboratory Theater of Florida

Live theater lovers have two dozen productions to choose from this week, including ten new shows, a holiday tradition and two different performances of the Nutcracker ballet.

The Laboratory Theater in Fort Myers is known for being the first to bring the hottest shows on Broadway to Southwest Florida. Lab’s done it again with “Gutenberg!: The Musical, ” a spoof in which a pair of aspiring playwrights perform a backer’s audition for their new, hilariously ill-advised project – a big splashy musical about printing press inventor Johannes Gutenberg.

Laboratory Theater of Florida is mounting a production of playwright Lynn Nottage’s comedic play “Clyde’s.” Nottage is the first and only woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice. We explore the play in a conversation with the production’s director Tijuana Clemons, actor Sonya McCarter, and Lab Theater founding artistic director Annette Trossbach.

Laboratory Theater of Florida in Fort Myers is mounting the world premiere production of “Alien: The Musical Parody.” The show is a hilarious new take on the 1979 sci-fi horror classic film “Alien.” We hear from Lab Theater founder and Artistic Director Annette Trossbach, who conceived of and wrote the show, along with Earl Sparrow who composed the music.

On stage at the Laboratory Theater of Florida is the regional premiere of Yippee Ki-Yay Merry Christmas! A Die Hard Musical Parody. The musical resurrects the decades-long controversy about whether Die Hard is or is not a Christmas movie.

The use of intimacy choreographers and intimacy coordinators in the performing arts has been growing across the industry in recent years. These experts provide direction in the process of actors performing sensitive scenes that may involve content of a sexual nature, nudity, violence and more. We talk with Laboratory Theater of Florida Artistic Director Annette Trossbach about a new report titled, “A Case for Intimacy Choreographers in SW Florida.”

POTUS: Or Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive closed its Broadway run last August with the strongest week of its entire run. Less than a year later, the show lands at the Laboratory Theater of Florida, a venue known for edgy, avant garde productions. The show runs August 4 through 20.

The Laboratory Theater of Florida in Fort Myers is mounting the world premiere production of the parody play, “Save Hamlet.” We learn more about the play and what Lab Theater has in store for the summer and its upcoming 15th anniversary season in a conversation with the director of “Save Hamlet” Madelaine Weymouth and Lab Theater founder and artistic director Annette Trossbach.

With a challenging score, lyrics second only to Shakespeare, and a grisly tale of vengeful murder, mayhem, and cannibalism, "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" requires a very special cast and crew. In this week's Spotlight on the Arts, find out what makes this show so difficult but rewarding to produce, perform, and see.

Laboratory Theater of Florida in Fort Myers is currently performing the SWFL premiere production of the Tony-nominated production “SISTAS: The Musical.” WGCU’s Tom Hall has details in his latest “Spotlight on the Arts” segment.