Larry King. By Hap ErsteinYou’ve heard of the three Bs -- Bach, Brahms and Beethoven? Well, the Kravis Center has announced that next season it will present the three Ls -- Larry the Cable Guy, Larry King and a tribute show called Elvis Lives. Uh, didn’t the Kravis used to be a center for the performing arts?The West Palm Beach complex will be celebrating … [Read more...]
Appreciation: Florida Stage’s demise dims local arts scene’s light
Tina Fabrique in Ella, which was scheduled to open June 16.By Hap ErsteinYou’ll always remember where you were and what you were doing when you heard about JFK’s assassination. The attack on the Twin Towers on 9/11. Or Florida Stage declaring bankruptcy, closing its doors and ceasing operations forever.OK, that third one is not as momentous as the other two, but … [Read more...]
Theater review: Controversial comic Maher pushes all the buttons at Kravis
Bill Maher.By Bill MeredithBill Maher can be -- and undoubtedly has been -- called many things, including the accurate (and printable) tags of talk show host, social critic, actor, author, and documentary filmmaker.But the 54-year-old Maher started out as a stand-up comic while attending Cornell University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in … [Read more...]
Theater feature: ‘Color Purple’ director always believed in story’s power
A scene from the original production of The Color Purple. (Photo by Paul Kolnik)By Hap ErsteinEight-time Jefferson Award-winning director Gary Griffin made his Broadway debut six years ago with the musical adaptation of Alice Walker’s beloved epistolary novel, The Color Purple, a runaway hit now on its second national tour, completing a week’s run at the Kravis Center on … [Read more...]
Opera review: Baritones win the day at PB Opera’s vocal competition
Joo Won Kang won first place in the advanced division.By Greg StepanichFor the Grand Finals of the Palm Beach Opera’s annual vocal competition this year, technical accomplishment appeared to matter most to the panel of four judges.Baritone Joo Won Kang of Seoul, South Korea, won the top prize in the advanced division (for ages 24-30), and bass-baritone Brandon … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: April 8-12
The Arrival (2008), by Jose Alvarez.Art: The Norton Museum of Art has opened an exhibit of contemporary art featuring works by artists whose perception of the world around is refracted in unusual but precise ways. Altered States, which opened Saturday and runs through July 17, shows work by four artists – Jose Alvarez, Yayoi Kusama, Fred Tomaselli and Leo … [Read more...]
Film feature: Two festivals cover the ground from indie to Andy
Paul Giamatti and Alex Shaffer in Win Win.By Hap ErsteinPalm Beach County used to be film-festival challenged, but now we have a glut of options for moviegoers who want to get away from a steady diet of studio fare and perhaps rub shoulders with some of the filmmakers. It is, after all, not a hard sell to get directors and actors to come to Palm Beach in the final, … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: March 11-13
Ray Bolger, Judy Garland and Jack Haley in The Wizard of Oz.The film industry has been one of the best things ever to happen to the symphony orchestra, and tonight at the Festival of the Arts Boca, both will be together again. Restoration specialist John Guberman is bringing the classic 1939 film The Wizard of Oz to the Count de Hoernle Amphitheater tonight, to be screened to … [Read more...]
Opera review: Second ‘Cosi’ cast shows off voices of great promise
Patricia Risley and Joel Prieto in Così fan Tutte. By Rex HearnThis refined, delicate, good-looking production of Mozart’s Così fan Tutte, with swaths of brilliantly lit open spaces, marble statues and lovely costumes, harks back to productions at the Salzburg Festival in 1982 -- even down to the same sunshade beach umbrella.There’s nothing wrong with that: … [Read more...]
Theater roundup: A quality ‘Spider Woman’; ‘Frankenstein’ well-cast but weak
Renata Eastlick as Aurora in Kiss of the Spider Woman.By Hap ErsteinWest Boca’s Slow Burn Theatre Co. hascarved out a niche for itself that no other area stage troupe seems interested in filling. Its stated mission is to tackle “daring, contemporary and intelligent” musicals, which certainly describes its current production of Kiss of the Spider Woman.This … [Read more...]