If you accept the premise that all moviemaking is viewer manipulation and you are willing to put yourself in the hands of a master manipulator like Martin Scorsese, then there is plenty to enjoy watching the loopy, melodramatic Shutter Island. On the other hand, if you insist on clarity and loose ends neatly tied, this will only be an exercise in frustration for you. Put me … [Read more...]
Archives for February 2010
Film review: Scorsese visits ‘Shutter Island’ with campy flair
Mark Ruffalo and Leonardo DiCaprio in Shutter Island.By Hap ErsteinIf you accept the premise that all moviemaking is viewer manipulation and you are willing to put yourself in the hands of a master manipulator like Martin Scorsese, then there is plenty to enjoy watching the loopy, melodramatic Shutter Island.On the other hand, if you insist on clarity and loose ends neatly … [Read more...]
‘Les Miz’ leads Carbonell Awards nominees list
There was nothing miserable about the Actors’ Playhouse production of the epic musical Les Miserables, the nominating committee for the 34th annual Carbonell Awards said Tuesday as it showered the show with 12 nominations. The adaptation of Victor Hugo’s novel led the field vying for bragging rights of excellence in professional theater in South Florida. Les Miz, as the … [Read more...]
Theater feature: ‘Les Miz’ leads Carbonell nominees list
The cast of Les Miserables at Actors' Playhouse.By Hap ErsteinThere was nothing miserable about the Actors’ Playhouse production of the epic musical Les Miserables, the nominating committee for the 34th annual Carbonell Awards said Tuesday as it showered the show with 12 nominations.The adaptation of Victor Hugo’s novel led the field vying for bragging rights of excellence in … [Read more...]
Distinctive program marks Platt’s farewell to Boca Symphonia
Alexander Platt’s final concert over the weekend as the principal conductor of the Boca Raton Symphonia was a good example of the kind of event that has distinguished his three-year tenure: fresh programming, young, rising soloists, and an affection for canonical works that allows him to see well-established pieces with new eyes. He’s been able to pass his sense of engagement … [Read more...]
Music review: Platt bids farewell to Boca Symphonia with distinctive program
Conductor Alexander Platt.By Greg StepanichAlexander Platt’s final concert over the weekend as the principal conductor of the Boca Raton Symphonia was a good example of the kind of event that has distinguished his three-year tenure: fresh programming, young, rising soloists, and an affection for canonical works that allows him to see well-established pieces with new eyes.He’s … [Read more...]
‘39 Steps’ a night of inspired silliness, suspense
So many shows on Broadway these days stem from movies, productions that get slapped onstage, bypassing any new injection of imagination. And then there is Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps, a frantic, frisky adaptation of a 1935 spy thriller from the master of suspense, reduced -- or possibly elevated -- to a sly comic romp by four actors sprinting through the film’s plot, … [Read more...]
Theater review: ’39 Steps’ has inspired silliness, suspense
Ted Deasy, Scott Parkinson, Eric Hissom and Claire Brownell in The 39 Steps.By Hap ErsteinSo many shows on Broadway these days stem from movies, productions that get slapped onstage, bypassing any new injection of imagination.And then there is Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps, a frantic, frisky adaptation of a 1935 spy thriller from the master of suspense, reduced -- or possibly … [Read more...]
Master novelist looks at Caribbean society from below
Most of us have faded photos of grandparents or great-grandparents who seem as alien as creatures from another planet or denizens of a sunken civilization. “Fools in old-style hats and coats,” as Philip Larkin terms them in his famous poem This Be the Verse. In her latest novel, Guadeloupean writer Maryse Condé sets out to unearth, by dint of research, family legend and … [Read more...]
Book review: A master novelist looks at Caribbean society from below
By Chauncey Mabe Most of us have faded photos of grandparents or great-grandparents who seem as alien as creatures from another planet or denizens of a sunken civilization. “Fools in old-style hats and coats,” as Philip Larkin terms them in his famous poem This Be the Verse.In her latest novel, Guadeloupean writer Maryse Condé sets out to unearth, by dint of research, family … [Read more...]