In January, the Symphony of the Americas will celebrate 25 years of musical performances — and the fact that they are still here. “It’s no small accomplishment for a nonprofit orchestra to achieve a milestone like our 25th anniversary,” artistic director and conductor James Brooks-Bruzzese said. “Economically, we are very fortunate to continue, in our own little way, to bring … [Read more...]
Archives for December 2012
2012: A banner year for musicals and Pulitzer Prize-winning plays
Looking back on 2012, it seems that it was a year of standout musicals and Pulitzer Prize winners at the theater. Institutionally speaking, we lost the Caldwell Theatre, as well as Promethean and the Mosaic, but there were also gains, like Parade Productions, the Plaza Theatre, Outré Theatre Co. and The Theatre at Arts Garage. Here are my 10 favorites from the year: 1. … [Read more...]
Theater roundup: Holiday shows from Albee to Frankie Valli
Revivals of some Pulitzer Prize-winning plays leave us scratching our heads, wondering what the awards committee saw in the work. At Palm Beach Dramaworks, however, a new production of Edward Albee’s 1966 A Delicate Balance ― the first of his three Pulitzers for drama ― is a convincing argument for this chilling, cerebral tale of unspecified terror, even if it will always be … [Read more...]
Postcard from New York: ‘Woolf’ still has bite; ‘13 Things’ and The Ride
NEW YORK ― I spent last weekend in Manhattan, checking out the holiday lights and the department store window decorations. And a few shows, too, to see whether they are naughty or nice. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?: Fifty years ago, Edward Albee burst onto Broadway with his take-no-prisoners view of marriage, academia division. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? cemented his … [Read more...]
At 70, jazz icon Dr. Lonnie Smith gets a fresh start
Read it here first: 70-year-old Hammond organ icon Dr. Lonnie Smith has just released his first-ever CD in 2012, the burning live trio set The Healer. Sure, the turban-topped keyboardist started recording under his own name with the 1967 gem Finger-Lickin’ Good while he simultaneously cut tracks with guitarist George Benson (for his banner releases It’s Uptown and The George … [Read more...]
Weekend picks: Dec. 22-24
Theater: Finally, some good news. The Kravis Center and the stagehands’ union have come to an agreement which will allow the remainder of the three-week run of Jersey Boys to proceed, after four performances had been canceled. The long-running Tony-winning musical biography tells the surprisingly involving story of the rise to fame of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and … [Read more...]
Arts Garage wins Knight grants; Rudin prizewinner named
The Arts Garage has won two grants from the Knight Foundation of Miami totaling $50,000, including the foundation’s first-ever People’s Choice Award, which was won on the basis of texts. In a ceremony last month at the New World Center in Miami Beach, the Delray Beach arts engine, which has become a notable South Florida venue for jazz concerts, received a Knight Arts … [Read more...]
Hot water bottles at the theater: How Britain coped in wartime
The current exhibition at the Norton Museum of Art, Keep Calm and Carry On: World War II and the British Home Front, is a paean to two kinds of British spirit: Fighting and forward thinking. Despite the many hardships of war, the political and cultural leadership of the country found ways to “muddle through’’ by setting up new ministries to cope and plan a vision for the … [Read more...]
‘Sister Act’: An agreeable dose of nunsense
It is a show business axiom that nuns are inherently funny. And nuns learning to get in touch with their show biz side are even funnier. Those seeking evidence of that notion need look no further than the 1992 Whoopi Goldberg movie, Sister Act, or ― since it is currently on view at the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale ― the stage musical of the same name based on the … [Read more...]
Homegrown Impressionists make for striking Four Arts show
Gone is the perfectly white snow. Instead, a tint of light green, pink, violet and blue break up the monotonous purity. Sloppy features, cutoff figures and messy sceneries replace the refined finish and safe realism. Impressionism entered the French scene in the 1870s and got everyone obsessed with light and color. Before it, you could say painting was like a controlled … [Read more...]