By Sharon Geltner Refuge, a new play running this month at FAU Theatre Lab, is reminiscent of Gregory Nava’s 1983 film El Norte, maybe because when it comes to immigration, little has changed. Refuge is about a girl who gets separated from her group of Mexican, Honduran and perhaps other Latin American immigrants, attempting the harrowing trek across the Texan desert. … [Read more...]
Master Chorale’s Verdi Requiem deeply satisfying
By Robert Croan You don’t have to be Christian, or even religious, to appreciate Giuseppe Verdi’s magnificent Requiem. The composer himself was essentially agnostic – something more significant when the work was composed in 1874, than it would be today. The effect of this great masterpiece for double choirs, four soloists and large orchestra, commemorating the death of … [Read more...]
PBO marks repertory milestone with sparkling ‘Falstaff’
By Márcio Bezerra It was well worth the wait: After 60 seasons, Palm Beach Opera finally staged Giuseppe Verdi’s last opera, Falstaff, in a remarkable production that will remain as one of the highest achievements of the (at times heroic) company’s history. Premiered at La Scala in Milan in 1893, the opera is not as popular as Verdi’s earlier output, not only because it … [Read more...]
Wynwood hotel exhibition, ‘Style & Grace,’ brings blue-chip art to approachable space
By Sandra Schulman MIAMI — The first luxury hotel in Wynwood is using its spacious quarters to pair up with ArtRepublic, a global curation agency specializing in bringing museum-quality works to an accessible space. Style & Grace, the first of several planned quarterly exhibitions, opened at Arlo Wynwood in February and will run through May 13, with seven artists who … [Read more...]
NYGASP’s ‘The Mikado’ pleases, but not uniformly
By Robert Croan The New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players returned to Broward Center’s Au-Rene Theater on March 12 with a pleasant but uneven performance of The Mikado. It was more polished than the company’s 2020 touring performance of The Pirates of Penzance, but a reminder that South Florida currently lacks (and needs) a resident Savoyard company of our own. … [Read more...]
DB Playhouse shows Simon’s ‘Plaza Suite’ still has plenty of life in it
By Dale King Anyone who thinks Neil Simon’s vast body of theatrical writing just doesn’t cut it anymore or doesn’t pack the same oomph it once did must see Plaza Suite — the final production of the season at the Delray Beach Playhouse. It will most definitely change their minds. DBP has chosen one of Simon’s most enduring, albeit a shade dated, comic presentations to wrap … [Read more...]
LWP serves up another fine whodunit in ‘Dial M for Murder’
By Dale King Lake Worth Playhouse has spent the last couple of seasons polishing up its capacity for presenting thought-provoking, plausible and entertaining murder mysteries. The theater company earned plaudits last year for its adaptation of Agatha Christie’s popular murder mystery Mousetrap. A year earlier, it kept the audience entranced with an edge-of-your-seat … [Read more...]
Poet Harjo: Reimagine the indigenous, away from stereotypes
By Kelly Wolfe MIAMI — One week after the Kansas City Chiefs won Super Bowl LVII, three-time United States Poet Laureate Joy Harjo spoke about combating indigenous stereotypes. “We do not exist as human beings, we exist predominantly in the form of stereotypes as sports mascots … Super Bowl, case in point,” Harjo said. For more than an hour, Harjo stood on the second … [Read more...]
At Palm Beach Opera, a delightful, irresistible ‘Così fan Tutte’
By Márcio Bezerra It is as if Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a musical Midas: Every musical genre he touched was elevated by him, including opera. Few other composers (one must think as far back as Monteverdi) prepared the way for the advent of modern (19th century) opera as he did. Therefore, it is always a treat when Palm Beach Opera stage one of his masterworks as it … [Read more...]
Miró Quartet, clarinetist Shifrin mix genres, pleasures winningly at Four Arts
By Ava Figliuzzi Since its formation in 1995, the Austin-based Miró Quartet has been committed to education and innovative, international performances at the world's finest venues. They hold residencies at Chamber Music Northwest in Portland, Ore., Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival in Washington state, and the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas. The Miró … [Read more...]