Art: The most recognizable art form the West knows from countries such as Iran and Afghanistan is what is generally still called the Oriental rug, a tapestry rich in symbolism, not just of design but of color, shape and size. An ancient tradition that still is alive today, the contemporary rugs of Afghanistan include motifs from that nation’s tumultuous recent history, … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: May 2-4
Theater: Daniel Maté, whose song cycle The Longing and the Short of It kicked off the season at The Theatre at Arts Garage, now returns with a long gestating project, The Trouble with Doug, a contemporary, comic take on Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis. In it, a 27-year-old computer wonk from Brooklyn suddenly transforms into a garden slug, much to the chagrin of his family and … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: April 11-13
Film: OK, it’s not a great weekend for film releases, but if you are still going through withdrawal after the football season, you can get a fictional look at the Cleveland Browns’ front office in Draft Day, opening wide this weekend. Kevin Costner gets his best role in years as the team’s general manager, Sonny Weaver Jr., wheeling and dealing in preparation for the crucial … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: April 4-6
Film: It is not exactly Martin Scorsese and Leo DiCaprio, or even the long-term collaboration between Lawrence Kasdan and Kevin Kline, but emerging filmmaker Drake Doremus has made a second film with his muse, Felicity Jones. He follows up Like Crazy from a few years ago with the more accomplished Breathe In, the tale of an upstate New York family whose lives are disrupted by … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: March 21-23
Theater: Yes, I know you have seen The King and I before, but director-choreographer Marcia Milgrom Dodge has performed her alchemy again, refreshing the 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein classic musical with stunning new visuals, including the second act ballet as a Thai shadow puppet extravaganza, and a terrific cast of largely Asian performers. As stunning as the design work is … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: March 7-9
Theater: Off-Broadway pioneer Israel Horovitz sets many of his plays in his adopted hometown of Gloucester, Mass., which is where the triangular tug-of-war, Fighting Over Beverley, takes place. But the story is more about cultural differences between England and the United States, as well as later-life love and liberation, than it is about the texture of the New England fishing … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Feb. 21-23
Theater: The Wick Theatre in Boca Raton is like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates: You never know what you’re going to get. In its brief three-production history, the company has served up extremes of quality and lack of quality, but at least there are more of the former so far. So our fingers remain crossed for the Wick this weekend as it opens with David Yazbek’s sly, … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Feb. 14-16
Art: Everyone loves a mystery, and it’s even better when it involves a work of art. This Sunday, scholar Robert Simon will explain how he identified a Leonardo da Vinci painting, Salvator Mundi, painted for France’s King Louis XII and last seen in the collection of that noted aesthete, King Charles I of England, in 1649, the year he went to the chopping block. It did make one … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Feb. 7-9
Comedy: Jay Leno left his 22-year stint at the Tonight show on Thursday night with a teary farewell in which he referenced the loss of his parents and brother, and said his work colleagues were the only family he’d ever known. It was moving and unexpected, but he’s legendary in show business for his blue-collar approach to work, and only two days after saying goodbye, he’s on … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Jan. 24-26
Music: The jazz singer Kurt Elling famously turned away from a career in academia to reinvent himself as a vocalist, starting out at Chicago’s legendary Green Mill club while a graduate student and collaborating with pianist Laurence Hobgood. Late last year, the two musicians parted company to work on solo projects, and Elling is touring with his 1619 Broadway: The Brill … [Read more...]