The ultimate success of an opera or of a production finally comes down to the music – whether it’s good enough, in the first place, and in the second, whether it’s been sung well. But something needs to be said now and again about a good staging. Although Florida Grand Opera has had many fine directorial hands at work over the years, its current production of Charles Gounod’s … [Read more...]
Archives for May 2012
‘Camp 14’ a horrifying picture of the North Korean gulag
The horrors described in Escape from Camp 14 are so extreme that one might assume this is a work of fiction. But the sad reality is that this is a spellbinding true account of life inside a North Korean prison camp, told from the viewpoint of Shin Dong-hyuk, who was born in Camp 14 and fled to the West after a dramatic escape that defies the imagination. In spare prose … [Read more...]
School of Rock brings band, dreams to Philly, Cleveland
For every kid who learns to play an instrument or sing (or both) in hopes of joining a rock band, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is the pinnacle. Just ask the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who formed in Hollywood, Calif., in 1983 -- the same year the hall was established in Cleveland -- and got enshrined during its 27th annual induction ceremony last month. But even for the members … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: May 5-6
Theater: Actress-writer-former bartender Terri Girvin uses all those skills in her one-woman show, Last Call, a funny and touching world premiere at Empire Stage in Fort Lauderdale -- the cozy former Sol Theatre space -- where the play is in its final weekend. As she did each night when she tended bar, served drinks and put up with the tipsy regulars, Girvin gets quite a … [Read more...]
‘Houdini’: Impressive sleight-of-hand, but drama’s slight, too
The magic of theater and magic as theater are at the core of an entertaining, if insubstantial, biodrama, Death and Harry Houdini, created and performed by Chicago’s House Theatre, currently at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami. Houdini, the renowned illusionist and escape artist of the early 20th century, became obsessed with the spirit world in the hope of pulling off his … [Read more...]
Film fest seeks ‘swedes’; Lynn Phil’s free concert is tonight
PALM BEACH GARDENS – Mainstreet at Midtown, based at the Borland Center for the Performing Arts, has launched the county’s first festival of “swede” films and is now accepting entries. A “swede” is an intentionally awful remake of an established film, and since 2008, festivals of the parodistic shorts have taken place in Fresno, Calif., and Tampa Bay. SwedeFest Palm Beach will … [Read more...]
Lost-dog tale treats its humans with generosity
If you believe, as I do, that the world is divided between dog people and non-dog people, then you know which one you are. We dog people are mighty and cliquey, often only hanging around each other. Like right-wing conservatives or Celine Dion fans, I know that non-dog-lovers exist -- I just don’t run in the same circles. If you’re one of these non-dog-people, you may watch … [Read more...]
‘Once,’ ‘Peter and the Starcatcher’ lead Tony nominations
As with all awards programs, but probably more so with Broadway’s Tony Awards, the announcement of nominations says more about who was snubbed than who got the nod. In a so-so season on Broadway -- particularly for new musicals -- the good news is that there were enough productions to fill the categories and still leave enough major names off the nominations lists to get … [Read more...]