In the 10th year of its existence, the group now known as The Symphonia Boca Raton has begun to branch out, playing concerts other than their usual Sunday afternoons at the Roberts Theatre and their appearances as the house band at the Festival of the Arts Boca. Saturday night, the group inaugurated what its hopes to be a regular series at All Saints Episcopal Church in Fort … [Read more...]
Archives for December 2014
Theater roundup: ‘My Old Lady,’ ‘Book of Mormon,’ and ‘When You’re in Love…’
Write a play with a prominent role for actresses of an advanced age and watch it attract major award-laden performers. Certainly that is the case with My Old Lady, Israel Horovitz’s tribute to the French and their cultural differences with Americans. In the film version released earlier this year, two-time Oscar winner Maggie Smith took on the title role of wily nonagenarian … [Read more...]
At Four Arts: Wild about more than just Henri
When a time is no longer being captured, but simply being copied, that is the signal for someone to grab it and portray it like nobody else. A group of rebel artists living in Paris heard that call in 1880. A new wind of creativity stormed the bohemian city for the next 30 years, stripping its walls of anything resembling old academic practices in order to hang fresh artistic … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Dec. 19-21
Music: The Symphonia Boca Raton has a busy season ahead of it, and it begins tonight and this weekend with three performances of Baroque music led by David Kim, concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He’ll lead a performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons on a program that also includes the Double Violin Concerto of Bach (with violinist Mei Mei Luo) and the Christmas Concerto … [Read more...]
All in all, ‘Wild’ is a worthwhile journey
Like the memoir on which it’s based, Jean-Marc Vallee’s Wild opens with Cheryl Strayed (Reese Witherspoon), a 26-year-woman escaping a life of self-destruction by hiking 1,100 miles on California’s brutal Pacific Crest Trail, in a jam. She’s just witnessed one of her boots tumble down a cliff, never to be seen again. In a fit of understandable rage, she tosses the other boot … [Read more...]
Theater roundup: ‘Fiddler’ at the Maltz, ‘Chorus Line’ at the Crest, ‘Mame’ at the Wick
Director-choreographer Marcia Milgrom Dodge does not settle for reproducing the work of her Broadway predecessors, as she previously demonstrated with her fresh takes on Hello, Dolly! and The King and I at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre. Now, as part of the 50th anniversary celebration of Fiddler on the Roof, she received special permission to not be tethered to the — admittedly … [Read more...]
A splendid afternoon of PB Opera on the waterfront
Saturday saw huge crowds braving the “cold” 70-degree weather and troublesome winds that blew sheet music everywhere at the outdoor Meyer Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach for Palm Beach Opera’s second winter concert on the waterfront. On the stroke of 2 p.m., conductor Greg Ritchey brought down his baton for a rousing National Anthem, like you’ve never heard before, from … [Read more...]
Jason Alexander finds much to love about directing ‘When You’re Jewish’
It is kind of a cliché: Jason Alexander is a Tony Award-winning and seven-time Emmy-nominated actor, but what he really wants to do is direct. And because of a little sitcom called Seinfeld, he can indulge his affection for directing, because he really doesn’t have to work another day in his life. “No, not financially, but I need to work emotionally. I don’t need to make a … [Read more...]
Community theater: Strong performers lift comfort-food ‘Over the River’
By Dale King There is practically nothing original in the theme of Joe DiPietro’s 1998 play, Over the River and Through the Woods. That’s not a bad thing. In fact, it’s kind of refreshing. The show being staged through Sunday at the Delray Beach Playhouse is as comfortable as a broken-in pair of shoes; as fulfilling as a spaghetti dinner just like Mamma used to make. An … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Dec. 13-14
Music: Time was when December meant the first opera of the season in West Palm Beach, but while those days have retreated into the past, that doesn’t mean the month goes by without Palm Beach Opera. This afternoon, the company presents its second free Waterfront Concert at the Meyer Amphiteatre in downtown West Palm Beach, with a full orchestra, singers and chorus. Tenor James … [Read more...]