By Greg StepanichWEST PALM BEACH -- A world premiere of a good piece of fresh contemporary music was the intriguing counterpart Thursday to a venerable piece from the core repertory as members of the Seraphic Fire choir opened their current series of concerts.Thursday afternoon's concert at the Harriet Himmel Theater in CityPlace was sparsely attended, but the music, even in a … [Read more...]
Archives for April 2009
Art review: Gray, Stevovich offer different abstract realities
Eating Hair (1992), by Andrew Stevovich.By Jenifer A. VogtBOCA RATON — What do Cleve Gray and Andrew Stevovich have in common? At first glance, nothing. Yet look closer and you’ll uncover similarities not immediately apparent in the two painters’ disparate styles.Exhibits of both artists are appearing back-to-back through May 31 at the Boca Raton Museum of Art. One of them, … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: April 16-23
Music: The Italian composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi died of tuberculosis at the age of only 26 in 1736, but one of his last completed works, a Stabat Mater, is perhaps his greatest. The fine Miami chamber choir Seraphic Fire performs this beautiful work this afternoon at the Harriet Himmel Theater in CityPlace in the first of four concerts it will give over the weekend. … [Read more...]
ArtsBuzz:’Dead Man’s Cell Phone’ at nexus of technology, love
Natasha Sherritt in Sarah Ruhl's play, Dead Man's Cell Phone.By Hap ErsteinWhen Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival producer-director Kermit Christman went looking for a contemporary play for the company’s spring show at the Eissey Campus Theater in Palm Beach Gardens, he relied on technology to do the search.“I sat down and went to Google,” he said, looking for a new play from … [Read more...]
Theater review: ‘God of Carnage’ a clever look at adults behaving badly
From left: Marcia Gay Harden, Hope Davis, Jeff Daniels and James Gandolfini in God of Carnage.By Hap ErsteinEditor's note: This is one of several reviews ArtsPaper theater critic Hap Erstein will provide in the coming weeks about the current New York theater season.NEW YORK -- Playwright Yasmina Reza knows about pulling a single thread until the entire social fabric is in … [Read more...]
ArtsBuzz: A Rosie perspective at Boca’s Wentworth Gallery
Godot, by Rosie O'Donnell.By Marya SummersBOCA RATON -- Even in a non-verbal medium, Rosie O’Donnell manages to be big, loud and confrontational.The 13-time Emmy Award-winning American comedienne, television personality, celebrity blogger, philanthropist, gay-rights activist, author and actress also adds “artist” to her resume. Her intense, abstract paintings are currently on … [Read more...]
Theater review: Fonda adds magnetism to ’33 Variations’
Jane Fonda in Moises Kaufman's 33 Variations.By Hap ErsteinEditor's note: This is one of several reviews ArtsPaper theater critic Hap Erstein will provide in the coming weeks about the current New York theater season.NEW YORK -- Moises Kaufman is a playwright and director of such intelligent works as Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde and The Laramie Project.He … [Read more...]
Theater review: ‘Jersey Boys’ a jukebox musical for all seasons
The cast of Jersey Boys sings Sherry.By Hap ErsteinAs genres go, the jukebox musical rarely gets much respect. These shows built from existing songs, often of one particular composer or performer, usually come up short in critical admiration or awards. Think of Mamma Mia! (pasted together from the ABBA trunk) or All Shook Up (Elvis).A distinct exception is Jersey Boys, the … [Read more...]
Rasta Thomas’s Bad Boys – and girl – electrify at Rinker
Each of Rasta Thomas’ three nights at the Kravis Center packed the little Rinker Playhouse to the gills. An imaginative lighting plot kept even the bare black-box stage looking good for the Bad Boys of Dance. And the eight dancers of enormous ability and facility – including Thomas and his wife of two years, Adrienne Caterna-Thomas -- could be mesmerizing in the sheer … [Read more...]
Dance review: Rasta Thomas’s Bad Boys — and girl — electrify at Rinker
Rasta Thomas in flight.By Sharon McDanielEach of Rasta Thomas’ three nights at the Kravis Center packed the little Rinker Playhouse to the gills.An imaginative lighting plot kept even the bare black-box stage looking good for the Bad Boys of Dance. And the eight dancers of enormous ability and facility – including Thomas and his wife of two years, Adrienne Caterna-Thomas -- … [Read more...]