This season, brace yourselves for an identity crisis. The art and artists being featured are driven by it. Clearly, creativity thrives in the absence of a defined self. In an attempt to come up with something highly personal and unique, artists are pulling deeper than ever from within them. Equipped with more free admissions, night operating hours and themes suited for the … [Read more...]
‘Not In My Town’: New opera makes a strong impact
In a politically unsettled time, it’s helpful to have artworks that take on the issues of the day and give us something to think about. Not In My Town, a new opera by Wilton Manors-based composer Michael W. Ross, is nothing if not politically engaged. The story of the 1998 torture-killing of Matthew Shepard, a gay University of Wyoming student, was part of the impetus for a … [Read more...]
Shepard hate-crime opera set for world premiere
When a selection of scenes from South Florida composer Michael W. Ross’s new opera, Not In My Town, were performed in June at Fort Lauderdale’s Sunshine Cathedral, it came only days after the massacre of 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando. Since the subject of the opera is the 1998 murder of gay Wyoming college student Matthew Shepard, it was an almost-instantaneous … [Read more...]
FAU exhibit to feature art of the Florida Highwaymen, their teacher
By April Klimley The Florida Highwaymen are coming back to Boca Raton this fall with their vivid sunsets and sweeping coastal panoramas of Florida at Florida Atlantic University, accompanied by works of A.E. “Beanie” Backus, the landscape artist who inspired this influential group of African-American painters. The original works on display by Backus are owned by FAU and … [Read more...]
An agreeable Sunday with the Symphony of the Americas
For nearly 30 years, James Brooks-Bruzzese’s Symphony of the Americas has presented regular concert programs in South Florida, and for almost as long, he’s provided music during the offseason with his Summerfest events. This year’s Summerfest, the 25th edition thereof, wrapped up this week in Broward County after a July of concerts here and in Panama, and this past Sunday … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Aug. 5-7
Theater: Yes, summer is a slow time for theater in South Florida, but apparently someone forgot to tell Margate’s Stage Door Theatre, which has just extended its long-running Motown revue, The Soul of Motor City, through Aug. 28. Aimed at the Boomer generation, which will recall these three dozen-plus rhythm & blues song hits from the 1960s through 1980s, the evening is … [Read more...]
FAU’s ‘Mattress’ is raucous, delightful
Connor Padilla, Emily Freeman and Eytan Deray in Once Upon a Mattress at Florida Atlantic University. (Photo by Viviana Puga) By Dale King Those adventurous and sometimes crazy student actors at Florida Atlantic University have spent a lot of time this year taking theatrical journeys into centuries past. They plumbed the psyche of 17th-century English playwright … [Read more...]
Big crowd enjoys KCO’s ‘South Pacific’
Avery Sommers and the Gay Men’s Chorus of South Florida in South Pacific. (Photo by Jeffrey Tholl) By Dale King One of the largest performing arts venues on the Florida Atlantic University campus in Boca Raton is the Carole and Barry Kaye Auditorium. There are hundreds of seats on the floor, more in an elevated section to the rear and bleacher-style seating running up the … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: May 6-8
Pianist Shuree Enkhbold. Music: If you’ve ever heard the music of Sembiin Gonchigsumlaa, who lived from 1915 to 1991, you’re in exclusive company. But if you haven’t, tonight is your chance to hear music by Mongolia’s most eminent composer, played by a young Mongolian pianist studying with Roberta Rust at Lynn University. Munkshur Enkhbold, who prefers the name Shuree, is, … [Read more...]
FAU closes season with gritty ‘Lear’
By Dale King Student actors from the Department of Theatre and Dance at Florida Atlantic University wrap up their 2015-2016 performance season this weekend with performances of what many consider to be William Shakespeare’s greatest play, King Lear. The show opened last week to a sellout crowd at the Studio One Theater on the Boca Raton campus. Based on a Celtic folk … [Read more...]