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...]
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...]
Music review: Piano trio’s Florida debut offers multi-style mastery
Emanuel Wehse, Catherine Klipfel and Stefan Hempel of the Morgenstern Trio.By Greg StepanichThe piano trio literature is perhaps richer than it might otherwise appear at first mental blush, and there are some great works in this genre that are too little-known to general audiences.That can surely be said of the Piano Trio (in G minor, Op. 15) composed in 1855 … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Nov. 26-30
A scene from a past Florida Classical Ballet Theatreproduction of The Nutcracker.Dance: Let the Nutcrackers begin: Today marks the beginning of the annual productions of the ballet Peter Tchaikovsky scored in 1892, a year before his death, and while the composer thought his work was inferior to his other ballets, generations of dancers, choreographers … [Read more...]
Theater roundup: Riveting ‘Angry Men,’ half-accomplished ‘Cane’
The cast of Twelve Angry Men. By Hap ErsteinThe “golden age of television” of the 1950s produced many classic dramas that went on to further acclaim in other media.Think of Requiem for a Heavyweight, or Marty, or The Miracle Worker. Certainly earning a spot on that list is Reginald Rose’s dramatized civics lesson, Twelve Angry Men, which the Maltz Jupiter … [Read more...]
Theater feature: Florida Stage tackles the art of raising ‘Cane’
Gregg Weiner (above) and David Nail in Cane.By Hap ErsteinTwo years ago, Palm Beach County was under dire drought conditions, with a water supply estimated to last only 21 days. It was a desperate situation, but how do you create a play about it without it seeming like a, pardon the expression, dry discourse?That is the challenge that Florida Stage has … [Read more...]
Theater reviews: ‘Low Down Dirty Blues,’ ‘Macbeth’ provide eclectic summer fare
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...]
Music feature: Jazz singer Milman favors craft over image
Jazz singer Sophie Milman. By Bill MeredithThe recording industry has always been more image- than music-driven, a fact that's been made worse by TV since the 1950s and MTV since the 1980s.The latest example is American Idol, on which youthful toothpaste models-turned-singers recruit text-messaged votes from teenaged fans to springboard toward celebrity. Vocalist Sophie Milman … [Read more...]
Theater review: Capitol Steps’ brand of gentle satire proves durable
The Capitol Steps originated among U.S. Senate staffers.By Hap ErsteinDealings in Washington have become so acrimonious lately, there seems to be nothing to laugh about as government grinds to a halt. But that has not stopped The Capitol Steps, which has been poking fun at federal machinations for almost 30 years, putting -- as the group likes to say -- “the MOCK in … [Read more...]
ArtsPaper Interview: Lou Tyrrell sees great new future for Florida Stage
Lou Tyrrell. (Illustration by Pat Crowley)On Nov. 30, Florida Stage and the Kravis Center announced a partnership agreement in which the Manalapan theater company that specializes in developing new plays would move its operation to the Rinker Playhouse, a flexible “black box” performance space within the West Palm Beach complex, beginning in July 2010.In mid-December, Palm … [Read more...]