As aficionados are happy to point out, The Nutcracker is a most unusual classical ballet in that it doesn’t really have a central character. What it does have is a first half in which mime is crucial to telling the story, and a collection of widely varied dances for the second. It’s a strange story, too, drawn from a tale by the German Romantic writer E.T.A. Hoffmann, and no … [Read more...]
Archives for December 2013
Tenor Valenti to showcase star power for PB Opera
James Valenti has just gotten off a plane to West Palm Beach, so he’s dressed casually in shirt, shorts and flip-flops as he tucks into some salad and crudités before talking about his career on the operatic stage. No one passing by at CityPlace on a beautiful December afternoon realizes that the tall, friendly, dark-haired man at the table will soon be breaking the heart of a … [Read more...]
Dover Quartet makes brilliant opening at Kravis Young Artists
It is almost as though the members of the Dover Quartet, all in their early 20s, holed themselves up with 1960s-era recordings by the Guarneri Quartet, so seamless, elegant and perfect is their playing. But there should be some room for wider variety and contrast amid all that, and so while one could make the case for this young foursome already being one of the finest … [Read more...]
Community theater: Fine actors make poignant case for ‘Daisy’
By Dale King Driving Miss Daisy is not a holiday play. Not even close. But this light comedy about a black chauffeur hired to transport an elderly Jewish widow who is no longer capable of operating her car safely is a beautiful show – written with the smoothness of a heartwarming holiday production. It doesn’t jump headlong into matters of race or religion, of whether public … [Read more...]
Michael Fagien: Dr. Jazz sells music, magazines and a lifestyle
There are few stories in the local arts as unusual as that of Michael Fagien, M.D. The Boca Raton radiologist lives in two worlds, one of medicine, and one of the jazz music he’s loved since his youth in Hollywood, where he moved with his family in 1969 from New Jersey. As a medical student at the University of Florida in 1983, he founded Jazziz magazine, for which he … [Read more...]
Sundays: Have yourself a merry
By Myles Ludwig ’Tis the season of anxiety. Freakouts are in full bloom. The Christmas craze has descended upon the land and the shadow of New Year’s Eve neurosis is coming back again along with feigned resolutions and February’s bills. The other night, the Costco parking lot in Lantana was ablaze with the blinding colors of taillights and I couldn’t find my car for about … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Nov. 7-8
Theater: With the comic strip musical Annie, director Mark Martino does not pull off the sort of new look reconceiving that he did with The Music Man at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre a couple of seasons ago, but he renders the show with plenty of heart and pizzazz. He doubles as the musical’s choreographer and stops the show twice with a raucous, bump-and-grind Easy Street and a … [Read more...]
The View From Home 55: Killer whales, radical philosophers, brave presidents, and chess masters
Computer Chess: The very fact that Computer Chess (Kino Lorber, $22 DVD) exists is an inspiration. The film is proof that a black-and-white experimental film —bdirector Andrew Bujalski called it an “existential comedy” — with no stars and the geekiest subject matter imaginable can still make nearly $100,000 at the box office. Which doesn’t sound like a lot until you consider … [Read more...]
PB Symphony in fine form for 40th season launch
The Palm Beach Symphony is celebrating 40th year, which means that the numbers 4 and 40 will appear regularly in this season’s programs. For any arts organization to have lasted this long, the credit belongs to its members, supporters, donors, management and yes, the wonderful players. Instrumentalists come and go, but the cohesive body of musicians that made up this orchestra … [Read more...]
A challenging ‘Ballyhoo’ at Broward Stage Door
By Dale King The Last Night of Ballyhoo is something of an enigma. Though labeled as a comedy, it isn’t particularly funny. While its main characters focus exclusively on a popular cotillion, they generally ignore an impending world crisis, as well as discord among their fellow Jews derived simply from where they were born. Certainly, Ballyhoo, written by Alfred Uhry (who … [Read more...]