Hollywood’s view on the U.S. intelligence organizations’ “enhanced interrogation techniques” that have been violating Geneva conventions since 9-11 is pretty clear. Rendition, Taxi to the Dark Side, Standard Operating Procedure -- these features and documentaries all take the correct liberal position on the issue: that torture is shameful and ineffective, a moral blight on this … [Read more...]
Medeski, Martin and Wood: From scrappy trio to jam band royalty
It isn't exactly John Belushi's "seven years of college" quote from Animal House, but Medeski, Martin and Wood keyboardist John Medeski has an admission regarding his own higher learning at the New England Conservatory in Boston. “It took me about five-and-a-half years to finish there,” he says with a laugh. “I had a scholarship, but I got so busy that I dropped to part-time … [Read more...]
2012: A banner year for musicals and Pulitzer Prize-winning plays
Looking back on 2012, it seems that it was a year of standout musicals and Pulitzer Prize winners at the theater. Institutionally speaking, we lost the Caldwell Theatre, as well as Promethean and the Mosaic, but there were also gains, like Parade Productions, the Plaza Theatre, Outré Theatre Co. and The Theatre at Arts Garage. Here are my 10 favorites from the year: 1. … [Read more...]
Writer recounts her mission to the homeless
Danielle Steel is one of today’s best-known fiction authors, having written 85 novels that have sold more than 590 million copies. But hardly anyone knew that for more than a decade Steel and a small band of supporters were quietly and anonymously giving sleeping bags and winter jackets to homeless people in San Francisco. The program began after Steel’s 19-year-old son … [Read more...]
Art Basel’s abundance spills over into Wynwood
Since the advent 11 years ago of Art Basel Miami Beach, the event has grown to the point that there are more art shows and openings in fair week than one has time to see. Outside the Miami Beach Convention Center, the second most extensive area for art fairs, private collections and galleries is the Wynwood Art District, between North 36th Street and North 20th Street and east … [Read more...]
Mendelssohn and Piston stand out at Boca Symphonia
If there was a persuasive argument to be made ― and there is – for the excellence of Walter Piston, the Boca Raton Symphonia made it Sunday afternoon. And they did so in a highly enjoyable, expertly played overall concert that featured not only a welcome programming of a fine work by that estimable American composer, but a standout young violinist making his way through one of … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Nov. 3-4
Film: Melanie Lynskey: You may have seen her in supporting roles in such movies as Up in the Air, Win Win or Perks of Being a Wallflower, but she finally gets a leading role in an independent film worth your attention called Hello, I Must Be Going, a Sundance Festival favorite that plays the Mos’Art Theatre in Lake Park this week. Lynskey is the reason to see the flick, which … [Read more...]
Season Preview 2012-13: The Broward-Miami art scene
The visual arts season in Broward and Miami-Dade Counties is as contradictory as ever, refusing to be slotted into any tidy categories. The art soon pouring into museums and galleries gives as much attention to the natural world as it does to the imagined and synthetic realms, and shows by venerable artists open concurrently with exhibits introducing the newly minted and … [Read more...]
Composer brings passion for stories to new Maltz children’s musical
Ask John Mercurio about way he approaches his craft as a composer of musicals, and one word keeps coming back: Storytelling. Partly that’s because he writes book and lyrics as well as music, but the idea also is central to his creative process. “I think for me, the way in, whether it be book writing, music writing or lyric writing, is always telling a story. That’s my thing. … [Read more...]
Season Preview 2012-13: South Florida hard to beat for book festivals
South Florida, believe it or not, has now been a leading literary region for nearly 30 years. Yes, publishing remains centered in New York, and Los Angeles may have its charms for authors and their fans. But we boast four of the best book festivals in the nation, beginning with the biggest, Miami Book Fair International in November, and ending with perhaps the most original, … [Read more...]