From left: Aaron Tveit, Alice Ripley and J. Robert Spencer in the musical Next to Normal.By Hap ErsteinIt’s true: I can see into the future and am willing to prove it with my uncanny predictions of this year’s Tony Award winners. Those without my clairvoyance will have to wait until Sunday, June 7, to learn how accurate I am.* Best musical: OK, your maiden aunt Sophie from Iowa … [Read more...]
Archives for May 2009
ArtsPaper books: ‘The Rose Variations’ intrigues after slow start
By Aviva L. BrandtThe Rose Variations describes the journey of a “girl composer” from graduate school student to acclaimed artist with plenty of drama, from a gay tenure-seeking colleague who seduces her in an attempt to appear heterosexual to a stint on a lesbian commune boasting a bearded female cellist who has disappeared from the international music scene.This first novel … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: May 21-25
Freedom of the Stallions, by Purvis Young.Art: Opening this Saturday at Exor Galleries in Boca Raton is Purvis Young: Raw, which features 20 works by the 65-year old artist from Miami’s Overtown. Young, who has painted on just about anything that he finds, from discarded political signs, doors and plywood scraps to metal sheets and carpet remnants, may be considered the … [Read more...]
Music feature: Janis Ian, society’s child at 58
Janis Ian is at ease with her past and her present. By Hap ErsteinFor so many Baby Boomers who grew up feeling like outsiders -- and isn’t that most of us? -- one voice of the generation was a 14-year-old folk troubadour named Janis Ian, who sang of forbidden interracial romance in Society’s Child, and then again a decade later with a ballad of teenage angst, At 17.Now 58, Ian … [Read more...]
Film review: ‘Salvation’ rips ‘Terminator’ franchise into incoherent shreds
Christian Bale in Terminator Salvation.By John ThomasonAs so many episodes of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? have taught us, one’s first instinct is often his best answer. When asked about his decision to helm a fourth Terminator film, director McG’s first instinct is telling. Here he is, talking to Orlando Parfitt of the webzine IGN last fall:“Initially, I didn't want to do … [Read more...]
Art review: Maxwell show a lyrical, pointillist look at South Florida life
The Station Attendants (1976), by David Maxwell.By Emma TrellesBOCA RATON -- There are usually unexpected prizes hidden in the auditorium gallery of the Boca Raton Museum of Art, where an intimate flourish of paintings can pay tribute to women artists of the 20th century or to the grapple between morphing American culture and the modernist artists who tried to frame it.At times … [Read more...]
Delray film fest, part 2: A look at the highlights
Gale Harold, left, and Fay Ann Lee in Falling for Grace.By Hap ErsteinBelow is a selection of highlights from this year’s Delray Beach Film Festival (the full schedule can be seen here):* The Answer Man: As we efficiently learn in a media montage at the beginning of this quirky romantic comedy, reclusive Arlen Faber (Jeff Daniels) wrote a hugely successful account of his … [Read more...]
ArtsBuzz: Delray film festival alive and kicking in fourth year
Jeff Daniels and Lou Taylor Pucci in The Answer Man.By Hap ErsteinMovie attendance traditionally does well in hard economic times, but that does not mean it is easy to put on a film festival during a recession. Nevertheless, with minimal staff and reduced corporate sponsorship, here comes the 4th annual Delray Beach Film Festival, opening today and continuing through Sunday, … [Read more...]
Film feature: Mos’Art Theatre goes independent route in Lake Park
Albert Rossodivita, left, and Philip Dvorak, founders of the new Mos'Art Theatre in Lake Park. (Photo by Katie Deits)By Hap ErsteinLAKE PARK -- A new independent movie theater going up against the major studio releases in the height of summer blockbuster season. With cut-rate ticket prices, a Chick-fil-A sandwich coupon with each admission and free wi-fi access in the lobby.And … [Read more...]
Opera review: Soprano Li sang a stunning, modern Butterfly
By Greg StepanichFORT LAUDERDALE -- The subscription renewals table in the lobby of the Broward Center for the Performing Arts at intermission Saturday night looked promising for the next season of Florida Grand Opera.If it turns out to have been a good night for the Miami company to have signed up returning opera fans, it will have a Chinese soprano to thank.Shu-Ying Li, who … [Read more...]