By Hap ErsteinMore interested in spiritual rebirth than the usual romance that fuels musicals, with a score more attuned to British folk melodies than Tin Pan Alley hits, you can understand why 1991’s underrated The Secret Garden is rarely revived these days.And then there is the casting challenge of its main character, 12-year-old Mary Lennox, the suddenly … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: May 20-22
Reece Thompson and Hilary Duff in Bloodworth.Film: If you crave a good, character-driven Southern coming-of-age, family reunion, eccentricity excess yarn, check out this weekend’s indie release, Bloodworth, fresh from the festival circuit and into a local Palm Beach Gardens theater on a market test basis. Having survived a medical scare, patriarch E.F. … [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...]