{"id":334879,"date":"2026-07-09T20:59:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T20:59:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/334879\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T20:59:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T20:59:07","slug":"live-out-his-vision-tallahassee-theater-group-debuts-first-show-since-beloved-directors-passing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/334879\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Live out his vision\u2019: Tallahassee theater group debuts first show since beloved director\u2019s passing"},"content":{"rendered":"

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – The show must go on. A Tallahassee theater group is lifting the curtain on its first production since its beloved artistic director died in a car crash five months ago.<\/a><\/p>\n

New Stage Theatreworks invited WCTV to a dress rehearsal days before the debut of \u201cJagged Little Pill,\u201d the Broadway musical featuring the songs of Alanis Morissette.<\/p>\n

Getting the rights to the show was a coup for the group, and all thanks to former Artistic Director Krystof Kage. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s Krystof. He poured his heart and soul into this,\u201d remembers Cristina Sorensen, who plays the leading role of MJ in the musical. <\/p>\n

Those who worked with him say Kage liked to tell challenging stories that confronted difficult topics. <\/p>\n

Actor Grantham Durham said \u201cJagged Little Pill\u201d is right up that alley. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt has so many of those humorous moments, but it\u2019s those conversations that you don\u2019t think you should have, but you know you need to and you know you want to,\u201d Durham said. \u201cAnd those are the conversations that Kristoff would always love to have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kage was known for his signature laugh and for always finding a way to get the best out of his actors. <\/p>\n

\u201cAlways saying what was kind of difficult to say, but he said it because he wants you to improve on things,\u201d actor Amanda Holton remembers. <\/p>\n

More Tallahassee News<\/p>\n

\u201cHe pushed me to do something different,\u201d Grady Jefferson said. \u201cHe was like, yeah, that\u2019s not you. Be you.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the first tune starts to play Friday night, it\u2019ll mark a significant milestone in a journey that\u2019s been filled with processing grief. <\/p>\n

New Stage board member Kelly Elliott was friends with Kage for 20-plus years. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat is a void that probably can\u2019t ever be filled,\u201d she said. \u201cThe shock of losing Krystof…will reverberate for a very long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Sorenson, drama therapy is an incredible healer. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so cathartic. It really is. It\u2019s therapeutic in a lot of ways,\u201d she said. \u201cTo know that this is the last show that he wanted for us to do, that\u2019s huge. How lucky are we that we get to like live out this vision.\u201d <\/p>\n

While Kage is gone, his legacy under the lights lives on. His friends say he left behind a safe space that carries on his mission to mentor and to inspire. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe torch is being passed to all of us,\u201d Sorensen said. \u201cIt\u2019s really significant for me that I, I feel really proud and honored that like I get to kind of serve that role in a little bit here, like to help to mentor and like guide them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJagged Little Pill\u201d<\/a> runs from July 10- July 19 at Theatre Tallahassee, located at 1861 Thomasville Road. <\/p>\n

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