By Sandra Schulman Miles Davis, Nina Simone, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, and Billie Holiday — several of these iconic artists performed in West Palm Beach’s Historic Northwest neighborhood, usually at the Sunset Lounge, which is now under restoration. Now the West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and West Palm Beach Arts & Entertainment … [Read more...]
‘We Will Rock You’ offers killer Queen tunes, sharp performances at LW Playhouse
By Dale King We Will Rock You, the jukebox musical that throws an aural spotlight on the poperatic music of the British rock group Queen and their flamboyant frontman Freddy Mercury, is shaking walls, vibrating scenery and winning over audiences at the Lake Worth Playhouse. The single summer entry at the Lake Avenue performance center spreads 20-plus powerful Queen tunes … [Read more...]
Tight actorly quartet brings vivid life to Delray Playhouse’s ‘Doll’s House, Part II’
By Dale King The 20th century saw major feminist movements such as the suffragettes' quest for the right to vote in the early 1900s and the women’s liberation drive of the 1960s. The 21st century is following in its stead, dealing with complex matters such as the #MeToo movement, LGBTQ representation and questions of gender identity explored in a “woke” culture. … [Read more...]
Powerhouse performances make for gripping ‘Hedwig’ at LW Playhouse
By Dale King Catharsis and storytelling mix musically and, in the end, triumphantly, in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, a turbulent, gender-unspecific narrative being staged with passion and powerhouse music at the Lake Worth Playhouse through much of June – LGBTQ+ Pride Month. The show concludes the downtown venue’s successful effort to pull together an in-person season of … [Read more...]
The World of Anna Sui: Star designer gets her own universe at Lauderdale museum
By Sandra Schulman Downtown New York City designer darling Anna Sui hit town at just the right time. Born in the suburbs of Detroit, Sui was drawn to New York’s cultural underground at an insanely creative time in the 1970s, where fashion, photography, art, music and design were all going out clubbing every night. She joined the party with her first collection in 1981, … [Read more...]
Old Masters influence new quarantine in Dennis show at Gavlak
By Sandra Schulman Locking down in an art studio is old hat for artists, so the quarantine imposed by COVID-19 was just more fuel for the creative fire. For artist Marc Dennis, who lives and works in Brooklyn, it was a time to look back to look at the now. In his hyper-realist style, he found inspiration not only in the images of the Old Masters such as Caravaggio and … [Read more...]
Fine Delray Playhouse cast mounts touching ‘Steel Magnolias’
By Dale King Steel Magnolias is a fact-based story focusing on women, their inner fortitude, outward traits and inner abilities to handle humor, tragedy and all of life’s glitches, big and small. It focuses on a group of lady friends in a small Louisiana town who are not exactly Southern belles, but they sure know how to have a good time. The play, by Robert Harling and … [Read more...]
Poignant ‘Lady Day’ at LW Playhouse beautifully captures legendary singer
By Dale King The youngster who grew up to become music icon Billie Holiday was born Eleanora Fagan in 1915. The daughter of an unwed teenage couple spent her youth living with her mother in a brothel, subjected to sexual abuse, squalid surroundings, rape and specters of rape. Woes — drug and alcohol abuse among them — refused to let go of her when she stepped out of the … [Read more...]
Florida thriller writer finds past has dark resonance for today
By Sharon Geltner One of the world’s best-selling thriller writers recently moved to Orlando, does most of his research in Jacksonville and has raised money for the Palm Beach County Library System and the Delray Beach City Library, as well as a dozen other in-state libraries. Steve Berry also spoke to Palm Beach donors about Smithsonian Libraries. He ultimately raised … [Read more...]
Arts buzz: Kravis posts classical lineup; Buffett in Delray; PB Opera announces season
WEST PALM BEACH — Major performers and ensembles in the classical music world have been scheduled for the coming Regional Arts season at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, in the expectation that vaccinated audiences can return to the West Palm Beach venue. The season, announced April 6, will feature a dozen programs, and include appearances by the much-beloved … [Read more...]