As anyone who knows him realizes, Tom Regis literally wears a lot of different hats. And as anyone familiar with his work as a musician knows, he figuratively wears even more. In his Delray Jazz Collective, the Swampscott, Mass., native and Delray Beach resident alternates between being the band's keyboardist or drummer. That involves two hats. Yet Regis also plays acoustic … [Read more...]
Archives for February 2023
At Boca Stage, ‘Grand Horizons’ goes for the laughs
In the prologue to Bess Wohl’s Grand Horizons, before we learn that Nancy and Bill French have passed their 50th anniversary, we watch as they wordlessly ready their breakfast as a team, the familiar exercise of a much-married couple. So it is more than a little surprising when the first words out of her mouth are “I think I would like a divorce.” Responding without … [Read more...]
The Trocks return in fabulous form to the Duncan Theatre
The Trocks were in town for one night only and — as always — they quickly won the audience over with just a bat of a gigantic false eyelash. Presenting classical ballet in parody form and en travesti, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo has been keeping audiences from all over the world thoroughly entertained since its inception almost 50 years ago. One doesn’t go to the … [Read more...]
Violinist Porter heads for Flagler recital with focus on spontaneity
By Ava Figliuzzi Caught between two days of Barber Violin Concerto performances with the Modesto (Calif.) Symphony, Simone Porter says she embraces her inner spontaneity when playing the same work two nights in a row. "I try to make an entirely fresh performance. If I try to re-create anything that happened the previous night, that's where the danger starts happening," … [Read more...]
At the Morikami, artists reimagine use of traditional washi paper
The work of nine Japanese contemporary paper artists (seven women and two men) is currently on display at the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens in an exhibit titled Washi Transformed: New Expressions in Japanese Paper, running through April 2. A traveling exhibit curated by Los Angeles-based historian of Japanese art Meher McArthur, it features more than 30 highly … [Read more...]
‘Billy’ Billingham: Lake Worth Beach’s tough guy reality TV star
Of all the things one might expect to find along an otherwise nondescript street in southern Lake Worth Beach, a reality TV star's residence would probably not be among them. But that's where Mark "Billy" Billingham (markbillybillingham.com), of the Fox network's Wednesday night show Special Forces: World's Toughest Test, lives when he's not flying around the globe for … [Read more...]
Sharp cast helps lift subpar musical remake of ‘Tootsie’
Men have been dressing up in women’s clothing, for comic effect on stage and in the movies, about as long as those media have existed. In 1982, a committee of writers that included Larry Gelbart and Murray Schisgal kept that tradition alive with a film called Tootsie. It certainly earned its laughs, but it also had something to say, exploring the nature of and differences … [Read more...]
‘Leaving Omaha’ not Lewis’s best, but fine lead actors make it work
Playwright Carter W. Lewis does not have much positive to say about Omaha, the setting of his latest play, now receiving its world premiere at Palm Beach Dramaworks. But in his program notes, the production’s director Bruce Linser suggests that the Nebraska town is merely a microcosm for a nationwide society that has failed to provide the educational, economic and social … [Read more...]
Christie spoof offers reliable laughs at Delray Playhouse
By Dale King If you manage to snag a ticket to the very view-worthy comedic musical mystery Something’s Afoot at the Delray Beach Playhouse before it drops the final curtain Feb. 12, lend an ear to a song called “I Owe It All,” which should provide an overview of where this production is coming from. The bouncy melody, shared in mutual musicality by most everyone in the … [Read more...]
The View From Home: The minimalist perfection of ‘Jeanne Dielman’
“A lonely widow turns to prostitution to make ends meet.” This one-sentence synopsis offered by HBO Max for its presentation of Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai Du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, is as literally accurate as it as tonally, emotionally, thoroughly misleading. It suggests that Chantal Akerman’s 1977 masterpiece could be a humanist melodrama, the sort of hardscrabble women’s … [Read more...]