When the student orchestra at New York’s Juilliard School gives concerts, audiences have to line up beforehand to get a ticket. But with free admission, it’s a pretty good deal. So when Guillermo Figueroa, who studied the violin at Juilliard, came to Lynn University to take over the conservatory orchestra, he was astounded and pleased to discover that its audiences in Boca … [Read more...]
Archives for September 2014
Weekend arts picks: Sept. 26-27
Film: Scratch a proficient sketch comedian and you will usually find a performer capable of dramatic roles as well. Consider Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader of Saturday Night Live fame who handle darker material with impressive skill in a new independent film, The Skeleton Twins. It has its amusing sequences – most of which are crammed into the promotional trailer – but the story … [Read more...]
‘Equalizer’ wastes a lot of people, including its star
When we first encounter Denzel Washington in the new action vehicle The Equalizer, he’s living an awfully un-Denzel-like life. He works in a home-repair big-box store, where he spends his lunch breaks advising a coworker on how to eat healthy and lose weight. He takes the bus to work, he lives alone in a modest Boston walkup, and in his downtime, he reads masterpieces (The Old … [Read more...]
Henry’s Colony shows set elegant stage for Jazziz nights
By Dale King Lots of people leave Palm Beach County for the summer. But jazz vocalist Nicole Henry decided to stay. She sold out back-to-back-to-back cabaret performances at the Colony Hotel -- not an easy accomplishment during August in Florida -- then sang the national anthem at a Marlins-Mets game on Labor Day and took her talent to New York, Indianapolis and Washington, … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Sept. 20-21
Music: Veteran songwriter and bandleader Tom Petty returns to his home state tonight with a concert at the Cruzan Amphitheatre with his longtime band, the Heartbreakers; he’ll be joined by the British pop icon Steve Winwood, who has played with Petty for years. Petty has created a durable collection of tunes that are not only an indelible part of the soundtrack of the 1970s, … [Read more...]
‘My Old Lady’ darker, deeper than bland trailer indicates
On a recent trip to the movies, I couldn’t help but notice once again how the art of movie trailers has sunk into a sewer of desperate pandering — of milking every last comic line from a cinematic cow whose udders are running on empty. The first trailer that popped up on the screen was The Skeleton Twins, which is ultimately a sobering drama about severely damaged twin siblings … [Read more...]
Chamber fest returns this week with second fall festival
The second-ever winter series of the long-running Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival opens this week for a set of three programs over three months that will include a world premiere, a further exploration of two off-the-beaten path composers, and the appearance of a masterwork the festival is tackling for the first time in its two-decade history. Launched last year, the PBCMF … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Sept. 12-14
Music: The British have a great classical music tradition, but their jazz chops are just as strong. The latest example is chanteuse Polly Gibbons, who makes her American debut tonight at the Arts Garage before continuing on to New York and Boston. She’s got one of those husky, dark singing voices that wraps nicely around a standard like “After Hours,” and it’s worth noting … [Read more...]
‘The Drop’: A neo-noir that keeps you guessing
Tom Hardy, who has proved in recent years that he could be the Bane of Batman’s existence and that he could carry an entire movie alone in a car (this past spring’s inventive Locke), reveals, in The Drop, another compelling facet of his actorly toolbox: the noir patsy. As Bob Saginowski, a bartender at a New York City watering hole that doubles as a “drop site” for bookmaking … [Read more...]
‘Love Is Strange’: An exquisite, realistic couple story
There are no opening credits in Ira Sachs’ new film, Love Is Strange; we just get to it. An older man who we quickly recognize as John Lithgow wakes up in the morning, crawls out of bed, takes a dutiful, glum shower, and begins what seems like an ordinary day. He can’t find his glasses, which bothers him greatly, and by the reaction of his partner, played by Alfred Molina, … [Read more...]