JUPITER — Even if you don’t recognize the name Roger Nichols (rogernichols.com), you’ve almost certainly heard his work. That’s because his most heralded efforts, and six of his eight Grammy Awards, stem directly from the entire recorded output of Steely Dan, the omnipresent California-based band that’s fused pop and rock; jazz and R&B for 50-plus years. Nichols … [Read more...]
Archives for July 2023
The View From Home: Revel in the enduring 3-D schlock of ‘Robot Monster’
3-D movies, the most stubborn fad in cinema, turned 100 last year. Twenty twenty-two marked the centenary of the unremembered 1922 film The Power of Love, released with dual-strip projection and those familiar anaglyph glasses to a presumably gobsmacked audience of Los Angelenos. The technology has, of course, continued to evolve amid peaks and valleys in its popularity. … [Read more...]
Beethoven, Schubert quartets dazzle at SoFla Symphony chamber concert
By Robert Croan Among the entire chamber music repertoire, the Andante movement from Franz Schubert’s String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, known as the “Death and the Maiden” Quartet, is one of the most sublime moments. A highlight of Western classical music in its emotional impact and veracity, this series of variations on an earlier Schubert song that gives the work its … [Read more...]
Cultural Council features work by six mid-career woman artists
African art, contemporary and modern dance and the Great American Songbook all take center stage in the work of three of the six recipients of the 2022 Artist Innovation Fellowship Program sponsored by the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County. Actor and singer Elizabeth Dimon, visual artist Kianga Jinaki and choreographer Shanique Scott, along with musician Yvette … [Read more...]
FAU student thespians give ‘A Chorus Line’ their all
By Dale King The musical A Chorus Line doesn’t have dazzling sets, pricey costumes or high-tech special effects. The production — conceived and originally directed and choreographed by esteemed New York show creator Michael Bennett — is driven by the strength of its story — an audition for dancers desperate for jobs on Broadway — along with music and movement that truly … [Read more...]
Lake Worth Playhouse offers strong, compelling ‘West Side Story’
By Dale King A community theater needs considerable fortitude to shoulder the task of preparing, casting, designing backgrounds and costumes for and assembling a cast of actors, dancers and singers to present an enduring theatrical production known and appreciated for its classic story and generational appeal. The folks at Lake Worth Playhouse decided early on to bite the … [Read more...]
‘Past Lives’: A beautiful, nuanced look at being in the present, and the past
In writer-director Celine Song’s tender triptych Past Lives, set during three segments 12 years apart, time is a wily and unpredictable mistress. Sometimes it goes by in a blip: a simple cut and some onscreen text informing us, in the eternal present tense, “12 years pass.” Then, when the two protagonists, childhood friends finally uniting in adulthood, see one another for … [Read more...]
PB Shakespeare Festival makes good case for ‘Measure for Measure’
Now in its 33rd year, Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival — the oldest professional theater company in continuous operation in Palm Beach County — is getting around to some of its namesake playwright’s less popular works. Plays like Measure for Measure, a dark comedy of judicial and sexual politics, categorized as a comedy chiefly because it concludes with couples sorted … [Read more...]
Jupiter’s Sierra Lane brings songwriting savvy to rising pop career
It's a rarity when a musical artist comes along with the right youthfulness, look, and artistry to go to the industry's upper echelon — especially both commercially and critically. Jupiter-based singer, guitarist and songwriter Sierra Lane (www.sierralanemusic.com) checks all the boxes. She performs at the free Bag A Donuts Festival on July 22 with six other artists and … [Read more...]
Posh Gallery in west Delray offers local art for all price points
DELRAY BEACH — Strolling in to the Posh Art Gallery in the Delray Marketplace in west Delray Beach, one is not sure where to look first. The initial impression is a cacophony of color. Filled with whimsical and vibrant objets d’art, the gallery founded by Kimberly Perry celebrated its two-year anniversary in June. Opened during the COVID-19 pandemic with a mission to provide … [Read more...]