What 8-year construction project involved only American laborers and linked two oceans through the narrow spine of Central America at a cost of $200 million? The answer is: none. Sorry. Trick question. If you were thinking the Panama Canal, you were half right. This costly engineering masterpiece took twice that amount of money and 10 years to complete. It required more than … [Read more...]
MCB’s ‘Don Quixote’ falls a little short of satisfying
By Tara Mitton Catao Of all the full-length classical ballets, it is Don Quixote that continually delights audiences, and Miami City Ballet’s production was selected to be a crowd-pleaser as well as a natural fit for the largely Hispanic company. The popular ballet has all the ingredients that make it easy for audiences to enjoy. The lavish costumes and sets by Santo Loquasto, … [Read more...]
At Studio 18, a look at the secrets we keep, and don’t
By Colleen Dougher A Plexiglas house designed to hold secrets, a self-portrait based on a 30-year-old photograph, a powerful 20-chair installation, big drawings comprised of handwritten fears, insecurities and affirmations and a found mannequin with a hidden but beautiful world inside. These are among the treasures that can be found when Which Way Out: Personal Thoughts … [Read more...]
‘Don Jon’: Porn and the single bro, with depth
One of actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s motivations in writing and directing the feature film Don Jon must have been the opportunity to provide himself with a wildly different character than he’s accustomed to playing. The creature he inhabits for the film’s 90 minutes is a far cry from the sensitive hipsters he’s cultivated over his career. He stars in the film as Jon, so called … [Read more...]
Theater roundup: Don Quixote vanquishes Coriolanus in summer offerings
Palm Beach Dramaworks has often been challenged by what to program in the summer. It wants to keep its doors open with a production or two, but is wary of spending too much for minimal return from a reduced audience pool. Its answer this summer is a couple of musicals in concert form, semi-staged readings of fairly well known shows from Broadway’s golden age that would be … [Read more...]
Appreciation: Don McArt, comic actor
Big of heart and big of ears, Don McArt ― “Bunny” to all who knew him ― passed away on Tuesday at the age of 90. A self-described “second-banana comic relief sidekick,” McArt forged a career in the movies (The Absent-Minded Professor, Too Much), on television (The Addams Family), on stage tours (Kiss and Tell, Pajama Tops, Say Goodnight, Gracie) and, of course, in productions … [Read more...]
Psychedelic Furs let strong catalog speak for itself
The best furs don’t come from dead animals: they come with guitars, they jump and down, and they sing songs with a distinctive raw voice. British rockers The Psychedelic Furs are very much alive and still on the run, and they proved it song after song Friday night at Fort Lauderdale’s Culture Room. A simple stage, with no other adornment but the music, accompanied the band … [Read more...]
Don’t miss ‘South Pacific’ revival at Kravis
I’ve got a confession to make: I never really cared for South Pacific. Sure, the songs are terrific, but the script always struck me as pokey and about three-quarters of the way through the second act, it grinds to a halt with a series of scenes where the action is all offstage and we only hear about it through radio dispatches. But then I had never seen a first-class … [Read more...]