It is a given that Cloris Leachman was a superb actress, as her Oscar for 1971’s The Last Picture Show, her eight Emmys for The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Phyllis and other television roles attest. And then there are her silly and sublime collaborations with Mel Brooks in Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein and High Anxiety. But Leachman, who died Wednesday of natural causes at … [Read more...]
Archives for January 2021
At 86, artist Lehr finds pandemic a spur to creativity
The time of quarantine, paradoxically, has been a productive one for Miami artist Mira (pronounced My-ra) Lehr, who experienced a burst of creativity. It was quiet and peaceful and with no outside disturbances, she was able to focus on her art. “I was at home like everyone and motivated,” she remembers. “There was more time to reflect, experiment and dream in my studio … [Read more...]
FGO offers short contemporary operas, special concerts for season
By Robert Croan “Even in this time of COVID and other calamities, our need for music and art is ever present,” says Susan T. Danis, Florida Grand Opera’s general director and CEO. “We are excited to be performing in intimate yet socially distanced spaces that are perfect for a unique storytelling experience." In the time of COVID-19, an opera set during the AIDS crisis … [Read more...]
‘Glasstress’ at Boca Museum explores fragile time in a fragile medium
In a major coup for the Boca Raton Museum of Art, Glasstress Boca Raton 2021, an exhibit of 30 international artists who have created new works in glass at the Berengo Studio in Murano, Italy, has returned to the museum and will run through Sept. 5. The exhibit, which opens Wednesday, is a sequel to the Museum’s 2016 Glasstress exhibition featuring new artists and new … [Read more...]
‘Last Blockbuster’ recalls an era of cinephiles and serendipity
There’s a joke from the Craig Kilborn years of The Daily Show that has, in essence, stuck with me after some 23 years. Google doesn’t remember it — not everything was transcribed for posterity on the Web back then — but the premise was about Citizen Kane topping the AFI’s 1998 list of the Top 100 Movies of All Time. Then Kilborn dropped the punch line, and I’m paraphrasing from … [Read more...]
LW Playhouse’s ‘Patsy Cline’ a memorable, tuneful two-hander
By Dale King Not all of us remember Patsy Cline, the country vocalist whose powerful voice, often measured in tearful tones, vocalized poignant stories in song. But we know her music, even 58 years after she died in a plane crash while returning to her home in Nashville the same year John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Her legacy of tunes is still golden, even in the 21st … [Read more...]