Sandra Reaves-Phillips, Mississippi Charles Bevel,Felicia P. Fields and Gregory Porter in Low Down Dirty Blues.By Hap Erstein Over the weekend, Florida Stage unveiled its new roomy, yet still cozy home at the Kravis Center’s Rinker Playhouse, inaugurated with a shapeless musical revue imported from Chicago, Low Down Dirty Blues.The show is enormously … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: July 16-20
Blue Boy, by Tammy Marinuzzi.Art: Work in ceramics by a group of artists who all have connections to the University of Florida opens today at West Palm Beach’s Armory Art Center and runs through Aug. 28. The 13 artists, assembled under the rubric Motley Moxie, shared the same working environment or instructors at UF, but have widely varied approaches to … [Read more...]
Theater review: ‘Sun Shone Brighter’ a smart, sharp SoFla story for our times
Dan Domingues and John Herrerain When the Sun Shone Brighter. By Hap ErsteinFlorida Stage ends its residency in Manalapan on a high note, with the world premiere of a smart, verbally adroit political play by a new writer with a natural affinity for the theater.Unclear is what lies ahead for the company when it moves into the uncomfortable quarters of the Kravis Center’s … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: May 28-June 2
Lee Byung-Hun in The Good, the Bad, the Weird.Film: Even art houses have to compete with the action movies that major studios churn out in the summertime, so that probably explains the arrival of The Good, the Bad, the Weird, a rock-’em, sock-’em Korean western from director Ji-woon Kim, a master of camerawork and production excess. Set in … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: May 14-16
Jamey Sheridan and Steve Buscemi in Handsome Harry.Film: The big noise this weekend comes from Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood, a far better movie than we expected, but if you are in the mood for something smaller and more low-key, head to Emerging Cinemas in Lake Worth or Mos’Art Theatre in Lake Park to see Handsome Harry, a drama about looking back over one’s life, … [Read more...]
Theater feature: For Palm Beach County theaters, a light haul at the Carbonells
Robert Creighton recreates a number from Cagney!,an award-winner Monday night for Florida Stage.(Photo by Tony Schreiber) By Hap Erstein If you are looking for Carbonell statuettes today, look southward. Monday evening’s 34th annual Carbonell Awards ceremony was a low-key, well-produced event that tilted strongly towards theaters in Miami-Dade County. In fact, to two theater … [Read more...]
Theater review: Nostalgic ‘Dr. Radio’ slight but entertaining
Wayne LeGette as Benji Weitz in Dr. Radio. By Hap ErsteinComposer-lyricist-musical director Christopher McGovern has been involved with most of the musicals at Florida Stage in the last few years, including writing songs in period style to complement the hits associated with Ginger Rogers (Backwards in High Heels) and Jimmy Cagney (Cagney!).But with the exception of a … [Read more...]
Theater feature: Laufer thrilled with response to ‘Sirens’
Playwright Deborah Zoe Laufer.By Hap ErsteinShe has had three of her plays premiere at Florida Stage and one of them -- the apocalyptic comedy, End Days -- had an off-Broadway run last spring.But with her latest work, Sirens, showcased at the Humana Festival of New American Plays in Louisville, Ky., last month, Deborah Zoe Laufer landed on the radar of the nation’s regional … [Read more...]
Theater feature: Laufer’s ‘Sirens’ looks like future commercial success
Brian Russell and Mimi Lieber in Sirens.(Photo by Harlan Taylor)By Hap ErsteinFor the past 34 years, theater companies and critics in search of new plays of quality have been making a pilgrimage to Louisville, Ky., in the early spring as the non-profit resident company Actors’ Theatre of Louisville has rolled out its annual Humana Festival of New American Plays.Over that time, … [Read more...]
Theater review: Searing ‘Sins’ a triumph at Florida Stage
Francisco Solorzano, foreground, and Gordon McConnell in Sins of the Mother. (Photo by Ken Jacques)By Hap ErsteinAthol Fugard sets most of his plays in South Africa, A.R. Gurney likes to explore the WASP culture of Buffalo, N.Y., and Israel Horovitz has cornered the market on tales of the rugged denizens of Gloucester, Mass.Of the 70-plus plays he has written so far, many are … [Read more...]