Comment Archives
Re: “El Taconazo”
Camarones Asados seemed like an easy dish to eat...The spicy sauce in which the shell-on shrimp are cooked couldn't prevent me from easily slipping these tasty morsels from their shells into a tortilla and then finish dressing them Soft Taco style...right? Wrong...but as I quickly ran out of napkins I found myself...licking my fingertips! The sauce is SOOO delicious and being wasted by wiping it on the napkins. So~I put the next sauce soaked shrimp in my mouth before removing the shell and savored the wonderful flavor a second. When I removed the now sauce-free shrimp and peeled it, the entire shell came off in one piece! I did it again and again...I now had a stack of shrimp to fill my tortillas and dress them with the accompanying fixings and sauces on the side. The way they were meant to be enjoyed, I do believe. Wetnaps provided for clean-up. ENJOY!!
Re: “Lowry Park CEO and Safari Wild: The rumors come true”
I can show u where animals r barried that he did not report.
Re: “Lowry Park CEO and Safari Wild: The rumors come true”
I would not give $5.00 bucks 2 see anything Lex Sailsbarry has it not worth 2 cent's He will screw u in the end. Just Lowery park ZOO. Former employ That got screwed.
Re: “Stages of growth”
I know the history of theater in Tampa (mostly) since about 2007. I used to try to get out and see just about everything in my budget.
Then, I quickly realized that I was seeing the same actors, doing mostly the same parts, in the same kinds of works, over and over and over again. I'd audition for things, not get cast, and then read Leib's review of the production, usually, as mediocre.
Over time, my consumption of theater has dropped precipitously. I just don't attend most theater in Tampa any more.
This is a well-known problem, discussed usually only in hushed tones. Tampa theater is run like a high-school drama club. (I guess you can say the same for the city itself.) A small group of people are “in,” and this group exists largely in a self-referential, narcissistic vacuum. Their chief goal is their own preservation, preferably with someone else paying for it. New blood is resisted, if not barred entirely, and works to be produced seem to be chosen largely on the basis of who in the club will be playing which role next year.
If you need a bland, sexless, nonthreatening white male over the age of 50, everyone in town knows who's going to be playing that part.
If you want self-indulgent fare put on by kids led by a semi-autistic kook, largely for their own entertainment, you know where to go.
If lefty, lesbo-centric theater is not your thing, you know which house to avoid.
And that just about sums up the Tampa scene. For the last 6 years. No wonder people don't stay.
Re: “Tampa rep's Hamlet is mostly on target”
Saw this to see Jack Holloway, who is one of the few consistently good things about the Tampa theater “scene.” I was not disappointed. He is not afraid to be physical, and to fully embrace the character and his own choices' consequences.
(As noted by Leib, Holloway does dwarf just about everyone else on stage, and you can argue about whether that serves or impedes the believability of the character, but I didn't feel this was much of an issue. Why, however, did he play so much of the work barefoot? His feet are huge. Like a Hobbit's. I was distracted.)
When you have one very physical actor/interpretation, however, it's jarring to then turn to other actors who look like they are still doing what they did in high school. Some of the players had no idea what to do with themselves or their bodies, and walked around like it was the 21st century.
Some, though not all, of the older actors managed to make a convincing go at the Shakespearean verse. None of the (really) younger actors did. This is the problem with doing Shakespeare. It cannot be spoken like modern English. Every word requires choices, and the easy choice is often not the right one. Shakespeare also usually calls for large casts, and when you have a large cast, you inevitably get unevenness of effort and talent. (This is the big problem with community/amateur theater.) Unfortunately, suspension of disbelief requires a seamless production, and one actor who mouths the verse as though s/he really doesn't understand or believe what the character is saying destroys the illusion.
Several male roles were cast with young women. Why? Not enough men available? Is this “non-traditional casting” run amok? Yes, tis true that Shakespeare wrote in a day when women were not permitted on stage, therefore young men had to play female roles, and it was undoubtedly easier to write works heavy on the men. But the role is written as the role is written. If you don't like it, don't do the work. Stick a female actor in where a man is supposed to be and the result is just weird.
Tampa theaters, finally, continue to cast and recast and re-recast some of the same faces doing essentially the same roles (in some cases, playing themselves, which is not acting at all) over and over and over again. This is deplorable. It's boring. It's not good for the area's cultural development. It keeps a lot of people home, so it's not good for business. A wicker basket may be good for gathering oranges, but you'll never boil water in one.
Re: “What happens Behind the Gates?”
Left an intermission. Could not wait to get out. God-awful would be praising it.
Re: “Seminole Heights: Open for business”
"Another factor in the renaissance in the area is the reduction of crime. Shawn Hicks helped organized the Old Seminole Heights vehicle patrol (aka “hooker patrol”) a decade ago to chase off the ladies of the evening who used to ply their wares on Nebraska Avenue. With the reduction of prostitution came an attendant decrease in drug crime. He says that made it a little safer to be out on the street, which made the neighborhood more business-friendly."
Not only are those statements ignorant, arrogant, and offensive, but they also bring a terrible sentiment into the community. We should be focusing on being inclusive. A healthy community shouldn't make anyone feel unwanted. The people who have lived in Seminole Heights since before "the renaissance" are as important as the ones who came in after and they should support each other. The attitude behind thinking you have "fixed" a neighborhood by getting pushing out a preexisting demographic creates resentment. Gentrification is not something to be celebrated. I'm all for reductions in crime, but the sentiment behind these statements will not create a happy and successful community.
Re: “Jesse's Steak & Seafood”
I hear the other food is great, but I go for the excellent prime rib!
Re: “O' Toole's Irish Pub & Restaurant”
Great place! The food is wonderful, good Irish food, but the chef's specials are fantastic!
Re: “Kabuki Japanese Restaurant”
I love the Viking roll & so many others, this is my fav sushi in the bay area!
Re: “Tampa House Democrat recounts his first session in Tallahassee”
The "R" after their names stands for "Robots" because they all are told by "Leadership" how to vote and they don't exercise independent thoughtful analysis. Those who step out of line are punished. No wonder Florida is so screwed up. 15 years of this crap.
Re: “McCain bill would eliminate NFL blackouts for Bucs games at Raymond James Stadium”
how bout just eliminating the bucs ....period
Re: “Bring your own bottle”
nothing in stpete wow that's lame as hell
Re: “Photo review: Battles at Crowbar, Ybor City”
I must say, who is that incredibly handsome man with the red mohawk and chops in the first picture? wow.
Re: “Hellview Cemetery Charity Haunt”
What a great haunted house. Free, too! Beats Howl-o-Scream by a mile.
Re: “Kiersten Down gets ready for her 3800-mile bike ride for Student Veterans of America”
Also do not get in and out of your car while pumping gas , this could cause a static electricity charge to build up , then when you go to stop the pump it would discharge from you and possibly cause a fire (If the conditions were right).
Re: “Top Chef comes to Tampa.”
This would give retailers lc meter the flexibility to finetune fuel dispenser labels accordingly, depending upon the time of the year.
Re: “What happens Behind the Gates?”
Wow. I don't know if it is your intent to sound smug and myopic, Mark, but that's the way this is reading. "Are the citizens of Tampa in danger of marrying into a haredi family? Are the ultra-Orthodox slowing encroaching on Seminole Heights?" Do you really want to reduce any play to the direct relation it has on you personally? I guess there's not much point to you (or any non-African American, for that matter) watching Yellowman, is there? When's the last time you were a salesman nearing death, participating in a spelling bee or had your horse sold off to fight in WWI?
Despite my 12 years in religious school, a lot of the culture in this piece is completely new and (brace yourself) fascinating to me. It is to many people. While you are extremely educated on this topic, that doesn't mean the content of this piece is so obvious to everyone else. There may be issues with the production or the script; totally understandable. However, when we cannot see theater, especially new work, that introduces and enlightens us to cultural and social conflict, then we're cutting theater off at the knees. Or perhaps you would prefer Jobsite to do safer, more accessible, published works? Or are you only looking for pieces that take place in Ybor, Hyde Park, etc.? Just looking for some consistency here.