Reed Birney, Sarah Steele, Jane Houdyshell and Arian Moayed in The Humans. (Photo by Brigitte Lacombe) It was a relatively busy year for plays on Broadway, though it produced no widespread, runaway hit that will sustain itself much beyond the Tony Awards telecast Sunday. Still, considering the seriousness of most of these subject matters, maybe remaining open this long into … [Read more...]
At the Four Arts: The lost glory of a Southern capital, recaptured
An ongoing exhibition at the Society of the Four Arts tells the story of how the golden era of Charleston, S.C., came and left, while its fruits went everywhere. An Eye for Opulence: Charleston through the Lens of the Rivers Collection consists of more than 200 mahogany furniture pieces, silver objects and fine art representing the city’s enviable prosperity during the … [Read more...]
Community theater: Four standouts lift Stage Door’s ‘I Love You’
By Dale King If you could capture TV’s Love American Style, move it intact to a theatrical stage and add some upbeat music with snappy, imaginative lyrics, you’d be close to recreating the funky and offbeat relationship comedy, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change. Based on a book by prolific playwright Joe Di Pietro, with music by Jimmy Roberts and lyrics by Di Pietro, … [Read more...]
Four brave new voices in photography at the Norton
Rami Maymon. Miriam Böhm. Delphine Fawundu. Renato Osoy. The names might not mean much to us now, but they are the future of photography. This is one future that is looking bright, but first it needs to survive a little competition. It was great news when, earlier this year, the Norton Museum announced it was bringing back the Rudin Prize award, and the exhibition that … [Read more...]
Grosvenor brilliant at Four Arts
By Donald Waxman Benjamin Grosvenor, the much-heralded young British pianist, is only 21, but he began performing in public and winning awards at the age of 10 and hasn’t stopped since. His current concert itinerary shows him playing two or three solo or orchestral concerts a week worldwide for the entirety of the concert season. For his recital at the Society of the Four … [Read more...]
News briefs: Four Arts’ Duggan to retire; FAU prof wins Knight grant
Ervin Duggan, president of The Society of the Four Arts since 2000, announced Friday he will retire after the current season. Duggan will remain with the Four Arts through June, after which he and his wife, Julia, will retire to North Carolina. Former president and CEO of the Public Broadcasting System, Duggan is credited with recognizing the potential for the Society to … [Read more...]
PB Symphony in fine form for 40th season launch
The Palm Beach Symphony is celebrating 40th year, which means that the numbers 4 and 40 will appear regularly in this season’s programs. For any arts organization to have lasted this long, the credit belongs to its members, supporters, donors, management and yes, the wonderful players. Instrumentalists come and go, but the cohesive body of musicians that made up this orchestra … [Read more...]
Four Arts shows us a Deco Japan we never knew
A new art exhibit at The Society of the Four Arts skips the foreplay and leads with the most daring Art Deco while leaving the dirtiest (politics) out. I walked in and there it was: a Japanese nude barely covered in black lace leaning back on a couch, and attended to by a younger female helper. Clearly, I had made a mistake, but some steps later another daring female stood … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: April 5-7
Dance: The Miami City Ballet closes out its season at the Kravis Center this weekend with four performances of two well-loved ballets: Jerome Robbins’ Dances at a Gathering, set to music by Chopin, and Slaughter on 10th Avenue, part of Richard Rodgers’ score for On Your Toes, as choreographed by George Balanchine. If you can’t catch this fine company’s mounting of these two … [Read more...]
A roomful of beauty at the Four Arts
They say happiness is a state of mind you can command at any time and place. The same thing can be said about beauty. We decide, in a matter of seconds, whether or not something is beautiful. In a room full of porcelain-skin ladies and velvety, satin dresses, this is not a hard decision to make. The Society of the Four Arts has put together such a room for its ongoing … [Read more...]