Fresh from its area premiere at the Palm Beach Jewish Film Festival, a popular documentary of the history of Miami Beach, its transition from a retirees’ community to a hip, young multicultural club scene, and the two local photographers who chronicled its heyday, The Last Resort, arrives in theaters this Friday. Co-directors Dennis Scholl and Kareem Tabsch both grew up … [Read more...]
Archives for February 2019
Prestige layout suffocates authenticity of ‘Never Look Away’
Never Look Away, the sweeping new Oscar bait from Germany’s Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, is never better than when it watches paint dry. Or, rather, when it watches its central character, modern artist Kurt Barnert (Tom Schilling), watch paint dry. I’m referring specifically to a segment near the home stretch of this 188-minute sprawl when, after years of replicating … [Read more...]
At FAU, a compelling look at a Nazi resister
Our history books depict the German people as mostly going along with the Third Reich, offering little pushback to the rise of the Nazi Party. But a group of students at the University of Munich, the so-called White Rose Society, offered resistance in the form of an anonymous leaflet and graffiti campaign. As you might assume, they were eventually crushed by Hitler’s … [Read more...]
Community theater: DBP scores big with ‘California Suite’
By Dale King If you’re searching for some laughs to squelch the winter blues, look no further than the Delray Beach Playhouse. The venerable theater company has assembled an exceptional ensemble of actors to present Neil Simon’s California Suite, a quartet of playlets set in Suite 203-204 of the Beverly Hills Hotel. The show is regularly filling nearly every seat of the … [Read more...]
Fine Arts Quartet, Rust offer rich program
By Dennis D. Rooney Roberta Rust, who is professor of piano and head of the piano department at Lynn University’s Conservatory of Music, joined the Fine Arts Quartet on Feb. 2 for a concert at the college’s Amarnick-Goldstein Concert Hall. Rust and the quartet teamed up for the Piano Quintet (in E-flat, Op. 44) by Robert Schumann. It was composed in 1842, the composer’s … [Read more...]
Horn concerto, soloist please on Lynn Phil program
By Dennis D. Rooney South Florida music lovers regard Lynn University’s Conservatory of Music as one of the area’s finest musical adornments. The Lynn Philharmonia, the student orchestra of the Conservatory, performed its fourth concert of this season Jan. 26 under the direction of the institution’s dean, Jon Robertson. The program opened with the Academic Festival … [Read more...]
Hubbard Street dancers shine even as Duncan program stumbles
We were lucky that the members of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago decided not to take chances with the minus-40 degree temperatures and the polar vortex in their hometown but arrive early in South Florida for their performances Feb. 2 at the Duncan Theatre in Lake Worth. I wouldn’t have wanted to miss this marvelous group of young dancers who make up Chicago’s premier … [Read more...]
FGO’s fresh, youthful ‘Figaro’ an object lesson in fun
By Robert Croan Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, seen in Broward Center’s Au-Rene Theater on Friday night, was a tribute to Florida Grand Opera’s excellent Young Artists Studio. Recent alumni took on three of the four leading roles, with all supporting characters assigned to current members of the program. Conducted with vigor by Andrew Bisantz and buoyantly staged by … [Read more...]
Dramaworks brings ‘Spitfire Grill’ to life in first-rate fashion
There is a breed of theatergoers who are prejudiced against – and will eager tell you they cannot abide – musicals. Understandably, they gravitate to stage companies like Palm Beach Dramaworks, which built its considerable reputation on the production of classic American plays. But through some calculation that summertime is more fitting for lighter fare, the West … [Read more...]
February 2019 calendar of events
(Note: Events are listed through March 1, 2019, and were current as of Jan. 20. Please check with the presenting agency for any changes. Ticket prices are single sales. Most of the presenting organizations offer subscription plans.) Art Exhibits Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens: Opening Feb. 16: An Eye for Nature: Paintings and Prints by Morton Kaish, works by the American … [Read more...]