Classical events during the high season are distinguished by big stars and ensembles coming through South Florida in times of chilly weather up north. And while the summer months have always had things going on if you knew where to look, these days there are bigger and more elaborate events that bring out the permanent residents. Here’s an overview: Palm Beach Chamber … [Read more...]
Archives for May 2018
Summer season preview: Pop music
To paraphrase a favorite question of the late Andy Rooney from 60 Minutes, do you ever wonder why you see so many “Local” stickers on South Florida cars? The ones with the upside-down silhouette of Florida forming the “L?” It’s partly because of the stickers’ availability, of course, but also because more natives are choosing to stay rather than move away. And that, … [Read more...]
SunFest, Day2: Powerful sets from Incubus, Nathaniel Rateliff
By Hali Neal It was warm out at SunFest on Friday night, but much of the sweat was on stage, with powerful performances by Incubus and Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats. Incubus, whose best-known songs include “Drive,” “Megalomaniac” and “Pardon Me,” played a set marked by strong harmonies, vocal prowess, and extended intros to some of their most well-known … [Read more...]
Chameleon wraps season with splendid Brahms
By Robert Croan The splendid Chameleon Musicians ended the first season in their new venue in the Broward Center’s pleasant Abdo Room on April 29 with an intense, serious-minded all-Brahms program. With cellist and Chameleon founder Iris Van Eck joined by pianist Kemal Gekic and Michael Klotz (who alternated between violin and viola), the ensemble contrasted Brahms’s … [Read more...]
SunFest, Day 1: Fun from Sir Sly, some weirdness with Logic
By Hali Neal The first day of SunFest on Thursday saw some 1980s flair with an appearance by Living Colour (of “Cult of Personality” fame). Guitarist Vernon Reid had what appeared to be a solid gold guitar and lead singer Corey Glover’s hair was purple, his leather pants had a gold tint, and he wore blindingly white shoes that he’d probably bought for this occasion. Their … [Read more...]
Wick’s ‘Jerry’s Girls’ iffy, but Herman’s songs hold up
In its five seasons of existence, The Wick Theatre has gone to the well of composer-lyricist Jerry Herman and his audience-friendly shows four times, but with mixed results. Its current production, the musical revue Jerry’s Girls, is aided considerably by the rewriting and restructuring from its director, Lee Roy Reams, only to be let down by its ostensible box office star, … [Read more...]
Photographer Aguilar takes on societal convention in bold show at FIU
By Sandra Schulman In a bold, in-your-face confrontational show, Laura Aguilar dares viewers to see her world in all its naked, lesbian, overweight glory. Show and Tell, in Miami at the Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum at FIU through June 3, is a dark look at a woman’s journey to self-acceptance. In a world that often glorifies women being thin and blonde, … [Read more...]
Fine performances lift new ‘Accident’ at Primal Forces
“Write what you know,” goes the old adage to playwrights, so Lydia Stryk wrote a play about the aftermath of a debilitating car accident. Like her fictional character Libby, Stryk was the victim of a collision between herself and an automobile driver. Or as Libby puts it with her dark, bitter humor, she met Anton by accident. In An Accident, the latest area … [Read more...]
‘Godard Mon Amour’ depicts renowned auteur with real humor
Like writing a traditional biography about James Joyce, composing a conventional symphony in honor of John Cage, or painting a realistic portrait of Picasso, directing a standard narrative feature about Jean-Luc Godard risks alienating the very audience that would consume the — yes, I’ll say it — product. Squaring experimentalists into familiar forms insults their genius. Or … [Read more...]
New piano trio makes powerful impression at Breakers
By Dennis D. Rooney The inaugural concert appearance of a newly formed piano trio composed of three experienced chamber musicians gave the final concert April 25 in the Chamber Music Society of Palm Beach’s season a certain gala atmosphere. Cellist Colin Carr, at 60, is the veteran member (having played for nearly two decades in the Golub-Kaplan-Carr trio), and is … [Read more...]