Forbidden Broadway, that delicious satirical revue about the commercial New York theater, used to do a number declaring Thoroughly Modern Millie as “the worst best musical ever.” But that was before Once won the top Tony Award on Sunday night. And seven other Tonys, too. Mind-boggling. OK, chalk my derision up to sour grapes, since I did terribly at predicting the winners of … [Read more...]
Archives for June 2012
The View From Home 39: New releases and notable screenings, June 11 to July 8
Today’s boring, mass-produced, digitized, one-size-fits-all uniformity of cinematic projection would leave no room for an iconoclast like William Castle. The late director of more than 50 B-movies – bearing titles like Zotz! and Let’s Kill Uncle – was a veritable industry of site-specific theater innovation. At least 11 of his movies from 1958 to 1975 were accompanied by … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: June 9-10
The overhauled former movie palace and museum of contemporary art that is now the Palm Beach Cultural Council building in downtown Lake Worth has a small gallery space inside. This Saturday, the council presents work by two local artists in the space: painter Alyssa di Edwardo and photographic artist Nathan W. Dean. Both artists have exceptional stories. Di Edwardo was a … [Read more...]
Hap’s fearless Tony picks: ‘Other Desert Cities,’ ‘Newsies’ will win
There seems to be no clear favorite for most of the categories in this year’s 66th annual Tony Awards, with winners expected all over the map. So tune in this Sunday at 8 p.m. on the CBS network to see my unscientific projections and out-and-out guesses proven wrong: Play: Other Desert Cities, by Jon Robin Baitz Musical: Newsies, book by Harvey Fierstein Book of a Musical: … [Read more...]
Excellent cast ably fills out ‘Proof’ family drama
As virtually everyone who has ever produced the play has taken pains to point out, David Auburn’s Pulitzer Prize winner Proof is about mathematics, but it takes no particular understanding of that subject to enjoy this family drama. It does help if you appreciate good writing and performances, which the Palm Beach Dramaworks production has in abundance. Like Arthur Miller’s … [Read more...]
On Broadway: What to see, what not to see
From a whirlwind Broadway trip in which I saw 12 shows in eight days, here are my views on what to head to New York to see, what to look forward to catching on tour and what to avoid at all costs: THE PLAYS Other Desert Cities (A) ― The consistently intelligent Jon Robin Baitz (TV’s Brothers & Sisters) has often trod dysfunctional family territory, but rarely with as much … [Read more...]
On Broadway, a bad year for musicals, a good one for plays
This Sunday evening, when the American Theatre Wing hits the airwaves with the 66th annual Tony Awards show ― Broadway’s prime national marketing tool ― it will put on its bravest face and claim that the commercial theater is better than ever. In fact, by most subjective opinions ― including mine ― this was the worst season for new musicals in decades. Even the Tonys’ … [Read more...]
Blues heiress Cassie Taylor a musician worth following
She’s only 25 years old, but Colorado-based vocalist, bassist and keyboardist Cassie Taylor brought her Soul Cavalry trio into the Bamboo Room on Friday with 10 years of touring experience already under her belt. The Lake Worth venue hosted her several times as she toured with her father, noted modern blues artist Otis Taylor, from 2002-2010. She’s since released her debut … [Read more...]
Sunday Comment: Why I’ll be following the Sandusky trial
As a longtime music journalist who needed extra income in 2006, I turned toward another passion -- sports. Since then, I’ve covered high school football, basketball, volleyball, tennis and soccer – as well as music -- for area print and online outlets. Yet most of my sports writing has involved stories about youth athletes of high school age or younger. Since many of my … [Read more...]
‘Wild’ a gripping story of self-discovery
Cheryl Strayed grabs the reader on the first page of this absorbing book when she describes an unfortunate incident during her 1995 trek along West Coast mountain ranges. Strayed had removed her hiking boots to rest when suddenly one of the boots slipped over the edge of a cliff. Realizing that the other boot was now worthless, she tossed it off the side of the mountain, … [Read more...]