Heather Johnson as Elizabeth Proctorand Sean Anderson as John Proctor, in The Crucible.Editor's note: This story has been reposted to correct errors.By Rex Hearn Sarasota Opera’s season in February and March each year has three weekends to suit the traveling operagoer.This year’s offerings were Don Giovanni, The Crucible, La Bohème and I Lombardi.I wasn’t … [Read more...]
Theater feature: ‘Blasted,’ ‘Mack and Mabel’ win big at 35th Carbonells
Joe Adler and the cast of Blasted, which won Best Play for GableStage at Monday night's Carbonell Awards.By Hap ErsteinLast night’s 35th annual Carbonell Awards ceremony had a curious, unscripted recurring theme -- actor Todd Allen Durkin’s private parts.I guess we should have seen it coming -- the theme, not the naughty bits -- since he did appear full … [Read more...]
Theater preview: Tonight, Carbonells honor best in South Florida theater
By Hap ErsteinTonight, the South Florida theater community gets together for the 35th annual Carbonell Awards, the citations for excellence among area professional theaters that has been shrouded in controversy in recent years.Last year, as you may recall, the awards board of directors announced the program would be suspended to study and fix the perceived … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: April 1-3
A scene from Crazy for You, now playing at the Maltz. Theater: Thanks to the business savvy of the Gershwin Estate, George and Ira Gershwin have written a few musicals after their death. Or rather, their vast song trunk has been made available to those who would reuse their familiar and obscure compositions in new settings, such as Crazy for You, a “new” show … [Read more...]
Dance preview: Miami City Ballet’s ‘Romeo’ set for Kravis
Jennifer Kronenberg and Carlos Guerra.(Photo by Lois Greenfield)By Gretel SarmientoFollowing impressive performances at the Arsht Center, the Miami City Ballet’s production of Romeo and Juliet, which opens tomorrow at the Kravis Center, is quickly establishing itself as the company’s newest, and biggest, hit.The company is mounting legendary South African … [Read more...]
Film review: French film lions add weathered charm to ‘Potiche’
Catherine Deneuve and Fabrice Luchini in Potiche.By John ThomasonAn alternative title of Potiche could have been Men on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. In this, the latest film from French directorial chameleon François Ozon, the men are the irrational ones – clingy, petulant and generally bewildered – while the film’s female protagonist, played by Catherine … [Read more...]
Film review: ‘Source Code’ almost a masterpiece, save for flawed ending
Michelle Monaghan and Jake Gyllenhaal in Source Code.By John Thomason‘Tis the season for romantic science-fiction parables about attractive young men prohibited, through their stories’ elaborate conceits, from accessing the brunette beauties who are ready and willing to jump their bones.In Source Code, which opens wide Friday, Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan … [Read more...]
Music feature: Economic revival? Live-music clubs return to action in PBC
John Yurt has reopened The Back Room in Delray Beach.By Bill MeredithAs financial experts continue to look for indicators as to the status of the economic recession, a trend in Palm Beach County may hint that its grip is on the decline.It’s the opening, or reopening, of live music nightclubs, which historically attract people only if those people have money to … [Read more...]
Opera review: Staging, weak Cavaradossi mar second cast of PBO’s ‘Tosca’
Tiffany Abban.By Rex HearnThere are times when the stronger regional opera companies mount Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca to exploit every emotion: love, hate, seduction, torture and betrayal. Each is accented and the audiences go home satisfied.This was not one of them.Palm Beach Opera’s version, directed by Massimo Gasparon, had none of the blood lust … [Read more...]
Music review: Verdi ‘Requiem’ marks important moment for Master Chorale, Lynn
Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901).By Greg StepanichTime was, and not all that long ago, that the only way South Florida could hear the Verdi Requiem in concert was to wait for the Florida Philharmonic to schedule it or hope that a big touring ensemble would put it on.This year, there have been two major local performances of this 1874 masterwork: Once in January at a … [Read more...]