Coral Gables Loses a Star

90 Minutes, No Intermission

With his passing last month, Coral Gables loses the immense talent and drive of GableStage director Joe Adler. He was recognized as the godfather of dramatic theater in South Florida. Adler delivered a litany of award-winning plays at GableStage, the intimate theater at the Biltmore Hotel, where he presided as artistic director since 1998.

He was known for searing productions of plays that were provocative, political and sometimes shocking, designed, as he would say, “to make people think.” Outside the entrance to his beloved GableStage theater, there remains a sign from his final play, “Ordinary Americans.” It reads “90 Minutes, No Intermission.” It is an apt tribute to a man who pulled no punches. He died from a long battle with cancer at age 79.