For almost 40 years, Charles Busch has been performing in his own plays, usually campy comedies based on vintage movies, with such provocative titles as Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, Psycho Beach Party and Die Mommie Die. More often than not, he writes himself in as the central female character, playing in drag with winking homage to Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Kate Hepburn and … [Read more...]
Archives for August 2017
At the Boca Museum, life in lines as seen by Carlos Luna
Carlos Luna is the kind of artist who gets approval by not needing it in the first place. He speaks frankly, with the same boldness and assertiveness of his lines. But it is what lies beneath them that drives Deep Line Drawings, an exhibit of about 60 recent works on view through Dec. 31 at the Boca Raton Museum of Art. They are not harmonious, quiet landscapes one … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Aug. 26-27
Music: Piano duos are not so common that they can be overlooked when they pop up, and since we’re in the last weeks before the season starts getting underway again, it’s a good time to catch one. On Sunday at the Boca Steinway Gallery, two fine Miami-based pianists, Tian Ying and Anastasiya Naplekova, team up for a concert of standout works for this combination, including … [Read more...]
‘Trip to Spain’ offers more drama along with duo’s brilliant banter
By now, you should know what to expect from Michael Winterbottom’s Trip franchise — namely the consumption of rapier repartee and haute cuisine in privileged places, 86ing the suspense, romance and action that provide structure to most entertainment product. For three television series turned films, the director has sent versions of his convivial, real-life stars, Steve … [Read more...]
Chris Robinson: The Black Crowe flies with a different flock
Any conversation with Chris Robinson, the former front man for Atlanta-spawned rock sensation the Black Crowes and leader of the Chris Robinson Brotherhood since 2011, can easily turn into entertaining stream-of-consciousness commentary, musical and otherwise. The 50-year-old singer/songwriter, guitarist and harmonica player brings the CRB (rounded out by guitarist/vocalist … [Read more...]
‘Informed Consent’ nimbly explores intersection of science and ethics
Science has come under fire of late, most notably in the political arena. The rise of science deniers makes Informed Consent, the latest densely packed, morally ambiguous drama by Deborah Zoe Laufer particularly timely, while its core conflict between scientific truth and cultural belief systems give the play a timeless quality. Laufer, whose work has been championed by … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Aug. 19-20
Film: Add to the list of offbeat competition documentaries like the spelling bee in Spellbound and the foxtrot battle of 2005’s Mad Hot Ballroom, an involving tale of inner-city Baltimore and the precision step dance contest, called simply Step. But far more is at stake at the Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women, a recent charter school that strives not only to graduate … [Read more...]
‘Kosher Cheerleader’ a tender look at one woman’s life and faith
By Dale King The Kosher Cheerleader, a humorous, often heart-warming production about a woman seeking true fulfillment in life, told by the person who lived it, is playing through late August at the PGA Arts Center in Palm Beach Gardens. Billed as a one-woman show, the performance stars Sandy (Wolshin) Gelfound, a former National Football League cheerleader who once … [Read more...]
Leaning in for grief: Facebook exec Sandberg explores pain of loss in ‘Option B’
When Sheryl Sandberg lost her husband, Dave, to a heart attack two years ago, the story attracted broad interest because of her position as a top executive at Facebook. In this new book, Sandberg describes in poignant detail her consuming sadness. “The fear of forever without Dave was paralyzing,” she writes. When she told their children, ages 7 and 10, that their father … [Read more...]
Documentary-style approach helps ‘Menashe’ connect
Menashe is a redemption song in a minor key, played perhaps on a weathered shofar. A simple, somnolent story set in the cloistered subset of a subset, this documentary-style drama is almost guaranteed a niche audience. But moviegoers willing to expand their horizons might discover a humanist character study that transcends the restrictions of its milieu. That environment is … [Read more...]