Tag Archives: The Studio at Mizner Park

Norman Shabel’s ‘Dysfunctional Comedy’ MARTY’S BACK IN TOWN! in Aventura and Boca Raton in March

07 Tuesday Feb 2023

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Ebenezer’s Entertainment
to present
Norman Shabel’s ‘Dysfunctional Comedy’
Marty’s Back in Town
In Two South Florida Venues

Shake many a family tree and you’ll likely find the same nuts!

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Carol Kassie
carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244

February 7, 2023

AVENTURA & BOCA RATON, FL:  Marty’s Back in Town!, Playwright Norman Shabel’s comedic drama about the ups and downs of a dysfunctional family and their relationships with each other and with the “black sheep” who is returning home after 10 years, will run at the Alan and Diane Lieberman Theatre at the Michael-Ann Russel JCC in Miami from March 9 – 19, and at The Studio at Mizner Park in Boca Raton from March 24 – April 2nd.

Shabel, whose well-received courtroom drama A Class Act had a successful run in Boca Raton in 2022, admits to drawing on his own “true life’ experiences to fashion this story:

Norman Shabel

“Marty’s really done things the family didn’t like over the years,” Shabel explains.  And now he thinks he’s dying so he arrives ‘home’ with his wife… and it’s how the family reacts.  That’s the fire under this play – his return.

“Those things could have happened over many, many years, or many, many months, or many, many days,” Shabel continues.  “And what I’ve done is, I’ve compressed these characters – their actions and their issues, their attributes, their good things, their bad things, their hatreds, their fears – into an hour and a half or two hours, so the playgoer will know, this is the character, this is what he’s all about, this isTh his life.  And the difficult part, of course, is putting a lifetime into an hour and a half or two hours.  And I think that’s what I’ve done in Marty’s Back in Town!

Shabel has tasked Seth Trucks with directing the production, and Trucks has convened a stellar cast to bring Marty and his family to life:

James A. Skiba will play Marty, Ben Prayz will play his brother Ronald, Francine Silvers will play his sister, Susan, and Christine Chavers will play the family matriarch.  Also cast are Leslie Kandel, Blaine DeBerry, Emma Mcavoy, and Peter Galman who will play the family patriarch, Sam.  Galman will also take on the role of Assistant Director for the Production, along with Chris Cooper.  Harold Petion is the production’s Stage Manager.

Brooklyn-born, successful New Jersey class-action attorney turned author Norman Shabel has been driven to write ever since he can remember. By the time he was in his twenties he had written several novels that ended up stuffed in drawers as he launched his legal career, married and had a family. To date Shabel has written 7 plays and 8 novels, some written in long-hand, hunched over his desk while waiting for a jury verdict to come in, and all dealing with either crime, relatable family dynamics or both.  Three of his plays have been produced Off-Broadway in New York, Philadelphia, and in several theaters in South Florida.

Marty’s Back in Town! will run at the Michael-Ann Russell JCC from March 9 – March 19, and at the Studio at Mizner Park from March 24 – April 2. Ticket prices range from $25 to $45.

The Alan and Diane Lieberman Theatre at the Michael-Ann Russel JCC is located at 18900 NE 25th Street in Miami (33180). The Studio at Mizner Park is located at 201 Plaza Real, in Boca Raton (33432).

For more information about Marty’s Back in Town!, or to arrange to see the production, pleasecontact Carol Kassie at carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244.

~

Marty’s Back in Town!
By Norman Shabel
March 9 – 19
Performances:
Thursday, March 9 & 16 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, March 11 & 18 at 8 pm
Sunday, March 12 & 19 at 5 pm
For tickets: https://www.ticketplate.com/martysbackintown
Performances at:
The Alan and Diane Lieberman Theatre at the Michael-Ann Russel JCC
18900 NE 25th Street
Miami, FL 33180

March 24 – April 2
Performances:Friday & Saturday at 7:30 pm
Sunday at 3:00 pm
For tickets: https://tinyurl.com/28as53yp
Performances at:
The Studio at Mizner Park
201 Plaza Real, 2nd Floor
Boca Raton, FL 33432

  • Norman Shabel
  • Seth Trucks
  • Ben Prayz, Christine Chavers, Francine Birns, Christian Cooper, Leslie Kandel
  • Ben Prayz, Emma McAvoy
  • Ben Prayz, James Skiba & Cast
  • James Skiba


Michael McKeever to play a major role in Parade Productions’ 2012-2013 Season

16 Monday Jul 2012

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Award Winning Playwright Michael McKeever
figures prominently in Parade Productions’ 2nd Season

Parade Productions is pleased and proud to announce their 2012-2013 schedule.  Boca Raton’s newest theatre company has two productions planned for its second season: Michael McKeever will star in Joe Mantello’s adaptation of David Sedaris’ The Santaland Diaries, and McKeever’s collection of short plays, The Whole Caboodle, will run for four weeks in February.  Both plays will be produced at the Studio Theatre at Mizner Park. Parade Productions debuted solidly last winter with an entirely sold out run of Donald Margulies’ Brooklyn Boy.

“Last season we took a leap of faith, and the community followed right behind us,” says Candace Caplin, the company’s executive producer and the driving force behind Parade Productions.  “We’ve had tremendous support, and we’re grateful. People have asked us to continue bringing more, quality theatre to Boca Raton, and that’s just what we’re going to do.  We’re excited about how we’ve begun, and where our partnership with the community is going. This year our focus is on humor,” Caplin adds, “and with Michael McKeever, we’ve got the best.”

From December 13th through December 23rd, McKeever will star in The Santaland Diaries, the one-person performance piece written by humorist David Sedaris and adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello. This hilarious piece of theatre relates Sedaris’ own experiences as he reluctantly worked as an elf in Macy’s Christmastime Santaland display, offering an uproarious behind-the-scenes look at how department stores manufacture Christmas spirit.

And from February 2nd through February 24th, audiences will discover whatStephen Sondheim, Abe Lincoln, munchkins and ambivalent lesbians have in common, as they all get the McKeever touch in The Whole Caboodle, the award-winning playwright’s wickedly funny collection of some of his most celebrated short plays. With a razor sharp sense of humor and extra-keen insight, The Whole Caboodle takes apart and reassembles an entire series of loveably flawed characters and pop culture icons with hilarious results.   Along with McKeever himself, Parade Productions has assembled a top-notch cast for The Whole Caboodle: Elena Maria Garcia, Jacqueline Laggy, Clay Cartland, Casey Dressler, and Candace Caplin. Both productions will be directed by Kim St. Leon.

Michael McKeever, who recently won a Carbonell Award for Best New Work for his play, Stuff, explores every aspect of the human condition in his work, which incorporates a wide variety of styles and subject matter.  His plays have entertained audiences throughout America and Europe. From the deep-rooted prejudices of small town America to the delicate dysfunction of society’s wealthiest homes, the playwright creates stories that entertain and enlighten. He has been honored with an NEA Residency Grant (New Theatre, Miami) and has been a 3-time finalist for Humana Fest’s nationally renowned Heideman Award. He is the proud recipient of three Carbonell Awards; four Curtain Up Awards; and two Florida Individual Artist Fellowships. Six of his plays have been produced at City Theatre’s prestigious Summer Shorts Festival in Miami. He has been a finalist several times at both the Key West Theatre Festival and the Sarasota Festival of New Plays. He is also an award-winning actor and designer. He resides in South Florida and is a member of the Dramatists Guild and Actors’ Equity.

Parade Productions is a not-for profit theatre company whose mission is “To produce high quality theatre experiences that entertain, enlighten, inform, uplift, and inspire audiences, sending them home with new thoughts, insights, questions, and ideas.”

The Santaland Diaries opens December 13th, 2012, and runs through December 23rd, with performances Thursday through Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $35 ($30 for groups of 15 or more).

The Whole Caboodle previews on January 31st, 2013, opens on February 2nd, and runs through February 24th, with performances Thursday through Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays at 3 p.m. Tickets are $35 ($30 for groups of 15 or more).

A special two show package price of $30 per ticket is also available.
All seating is reserved.

All tickets are available at: www.paradeproductions.org, or by calling 866-811-4111.  For Group Sales please call:  561-291-9678.

Kim St. Leon
Candace Caplin
Elena Maria Garcia

Jacqueline Laggy

Casey Dressler