Avery Anderson, Author at Creative Loafing Tampa

Arts & Entertainment

Lakeland native plays Elder Smith in ‘Book of Mormon’ coming to Sarasota this month

The show returns to the Van Wezel Dec. 9–14 after its sold-out run in 2016.

by Avery Anderson and Tampa Bay Arts Passport December 1, 2025December 1, 2025

Ronnie Spoto, a Lakelander, returns home as Elder Smith in ‘Book of Mormon.’

The dramatic "Barricade" scene from the musical Les Misérables, showing actors on a darkened, smoky set, with one actor (Christian Mark Gibbs as Enjolras) standing atop the debris and holding a large red flag.

Arts & Entertainment

‘Les Misérables’ is back in Tampa, and a man from Wellswood stage manages the whole thing

For a guy who has spent half his life living out of a suitcase, Davis talks about Tampa with the softness of someone who chooses it.

by Avery Anderson and Tampa Bay Arts Passport December 1, 2025December 1, 2025

Opera conductor Andrew Bisantz, wearing a dark polo shirt and glasses, gestures with his right hand over a music stand during a rehearsal, with gray stage curtains behind him.

Arts & Entertainment

Tension drives Opera Tampa’s ‘Turn Of the Screw’

Tampa Bay Arts Passport dives deep into Britten’s masterpiece, showing twice this weekend.

by Avery Anderson and Tampa Bay Arts Passport November 20, 2025November 20, 2025

Three actors rehearse on a stage, standing near a yellow velvet sofa. A man in the center holds a prop baby and wears a long brown patterned skirt and blue cardigan, flanked by a woman and a man holding scripts.

In Tampa, Landon Green turns USF comedy into a mirrorball reflecting identity, bravery, and what it means to finally see yourself

by Avery Anderson and Tampa Bay Arts Passport November 14, 2025

Cropped image of a female musician sits on a chair, playing a large brown cello on a stage with a rustic, interior set design, wearing a patterned shirt and blue jeans.

Arts & Entertainment

Meet Rose Mallare, American Stage’s rocking cello player

She’s back in ‘Hundred Days,’ a folk-rock musical that’s more like an indie concert with feelings than a traditional theatre show.

by Avery Anderson and Tampa Bay Arts Passport November 3, 2025November 3, 2025

Two young actors sit on a black and white checkered floor during a rehearsal, with the man speaking while holding a script and the woman looking at him with a quizzical expression.

Arts & Entertainment

Tampa’s ThinkTank Theatre puts some sunscreen on Shakespeare

‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ runs Nov. 5-16.

by Avery Anderson and Tampa Bay Arts Passport November 3, 2025November 3, 2025

Close-up portrait of a bald man with a full white beard and glasses, wearing a purple collared shirt, against a softly blurred green and yellow outdoor background.

Arts & Entertainment

Opera Tampa’s ‘Love v. Death’ is the kind of tale that could only happen in Florida

The new work from St. Pete composer Tom Sivak is part gothic romance, part tabloid fever dream and runs Nov. 1-2 at Jaeb Theater.

by Avery Anderson and Tampa Bay Arts Passport October 30, 2025October 30, 2025

Arts & Entertainment

Tampa Bay theaters join forces for ‘Cadillac Crew’

The Civil Rights-era play closes the season at Powerstories and opens the season at Studio@620.

by Avery Anderson and Tampa Bay Arts Passport October 27, 2025October 27, 2025