The Colony Hotel’s Royal Room has presented some enchanted evenings in its ten years as a cabaret venue, but probably never more so than with its current showcase of Paulo Szot, the Tony Award-winning star of the 2008 revival of South Pacific. An opera singer by training and profession, Szot long harbored a desire to appear in a Broadway musical. “I never tried, but it was a … [Read more...]
Two world premieres: One chamber, one symphonic
The Fifth String Quartet of American composer Kenneth Fuchs, which had its world premiere Sunday afternoon at the Colony Hotel in Delray Beach, is an effective piece of dramatic music first and foremost, with a big-boned grandeur that shares sonic space with an intense and hearfelt elegy. Fuchs, a professor of composition at the University of Connecticut, grew up in Fort … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Jan. 13-15
Theater: Since the vacuum created by the demise of Florida Stage, the Caldwell Theatre has become the place to go for cutting edge theater in Palm Beach County. Artistic director Clive Cholerton has shaken the cobwebs off this Boca Raton playhouse while still bringing its audience locally produced versions of plays acclaimed in New York. But who else would bring area … [Read more...]
The Hapsters, 2011 edition: A look back at theater’s highs and lows
As year-end traditions go, the awarding of the “dubious achievement” Hapsters for theatrical highs and lows can be traced back to 1994. So take a stroll down this year’s memory lane with us and remember, the decision of the judges -- OK, me -- is final. Best Pulitzer Prognostication: Anyone can produce a play that has already won the Pulitzer Prize. Palm Beach Dramaworks does … [Read more...]
New media proves strong draw at Art Miami
By Elaine Meier Special to Palm Beach ArtsPaper There was a completely different vibe to Art Miami, as compared to Art Basel. Even on the second day of Miami’s longest-running contemporary art fair, there was an energy, excitement and element of surprise not felt at Art Basel. When visitors thought they had seen it all, all they had to do was turn another corner to find … [Read more...]
Rockers come and go, but The Dillengers stay on rootsy road
If history dictates one fact of musical life, it's that most bands are too big not to fail. That's because they're formed through relationships between three or more people, which makes them even more complex than romances. Most will therefore crumble within a year, and even successful ones are lucky to last for five. But 20 years? It's a mark only a few South Florida groups … [Read more...]
‘Magnificat’ strong and sturdy as Master Chorale hymns holidays
In its concert this past weekend of J.S. Bach and holiday music, the Master Chorale of South Florida both continued in its traditions and explored a newer path that may pay bigger dividends for the group in the future. In its first appearance under its new director, Karen Kennedy, the chorale offered up a seasonal program that began with J.S. Bach’s Magnificat (BWV 243), … [Read more...]
Music roundup: Adventures in new music at Lynn, Arts Garage
New Music Festival: Thomas McKinley (Nov. 10, Lynn University) For six years now, Lynn University’s Lisa Leonard has been running a weeklong fall-season festival devoted to new music and to the work of a featured composer. Past composers have included Gunther Schuller and Kenneth Frazelle, but this year, Leonard stayed close to home by choosing Thomas McKinley, a Lynn … [Read more...]
‘Hairspray’ and ‘Revolution’: Winning takes on politics and family
As with its production of August: Osage County earlier this year, Coral Gables’ Actors’ Playhouse has attracted some of the best talent in South Florida for its lavish, giggle-inducing production of Hairspray, the Tony Award-winning musical based on John Waters’ slyly subversive 1988 movie about self-esteem in racially segregated Kennedy-era Baltimore. When David Arisco began … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Oct.28-30
Film: Director-screenwriter Jeff Nichols (Shotgun Stories) has made an involving yet disturbing new film about one man’s gradual drift into mental illness, Take Shelter. Michael Shannon (Bug, Reservation Road) again plays a guy who may not be playing with a full deck, a construction worker whose life becomes unraveled when he begins having nightmares about a coming apocalyptic … [Read more...]