Portrait of Mlle. Hortense Valpinçon (c. 1871), by Edgar Degas. I recently got to walk inside the Norton Museum and ask something I rarely get to ask: Where to the van Gogh and the Degas? It felt good. I can understand why any museum that owns a masterpiece makes use of its bragging rights every change it gets and despite the local crowd’s tendency to take it for granted. … [Read more...]
Arts preview 2015-16: The season in dance
By Tara Mitton Catao With new works to be seen and an emphasis on creativity, there is a lot to look forward to in the upcoming season. The dance series presented at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts and The Duncan Theatre as well as Miami City Ballet’s 2015/16 season are looking rich as they run the gamut from enormous, new production ballets to intimate, black-box … [Read more...]
At FAU Festival Rep: ‘She Loves Me’ sparkles, ‘Royal Family’ drags
In an effort to attract an audience to its Festival Rep, a South Florida summertime tradition for the past 17 years, Florida Atlantic University usually includes a musical as one of its two productions performed in rotating repertory. And the company of current theater students, recent graduates and a couple of professional guest artists often manages to pull off the musical … [Read more...]
Palm Beach Pops cancels its concert series; Arts Garage gets new theater team
PALM BEACH GARDENS — The Palm Beach Pops, which has been entertaining South Florida audiences since 1991, is halting its concert series, the orchestra said Monday. “It is my sad duty today to announce that The Palm Beach Pops Board of Directors has decided to cease concert series operations at this time,” said Jon Lappin, president of The Palm Beach Pops, in a prepared … [Read more...]
New musical, ‘Song of Solomon,’ to get one-night tryout at Wick
Monday evening, Boca Raton’s Wick Theatre takes its first plunge into the risky waters of new work, putting its usual menu of classic musicals on hold for a one-night concert of a show with aspirations of Broadway, Song of Solomon. If it goes well, look for it to return for a fully staged run this summer, prior to a move to New York. Yes, Solomon is Biblical King Solomon. … [Read more...]
‘Butterflies’ gets its groovy on at Broward Stage Door
By Dale King The comedy Butterflies are Free, which opens the 2014-2015 season at the Broward Stage Door Theatre in Coral Springs, is not a musical. But music is key to the flow of the action and the meaning of the characters’ lives, particularly Don Baker (Britt Michael Gordon), the central figure in this quirky, slightly dated, but certainly entertaining and worthwhile … [Read more...]
Chance find brings French master’s work back to light
Before he knew the name, title and exact age, the Norton Museum’s curatorial associate for European art knew the piece in front of him was something exceptional. Past the cracks, layers of dust and the darkness that had settled, he knew. “When I first saw the work, my adrenalin was pumping,” Jerry Dobrick said. “I knew it was a superb painting, no matter who had painted it.” … [Read more...]
Story of literacy campaign at its best when children speak
At age 35, John Wood left the world of business, a decision he chronicled in Leaving Microsoft to Change the World. Now he has written a sequel titled Creating Room to Read. One cannot help but admire Wood’s obvious determination to combat illiteracy in underdeveloped nations in Asia and Africa. While vacationing in Nepal in 1998, Wood visited a primary school that had a … [Read more...]
Fine comedians, strong singers fire PBO’s ‘Cenerentola’
Sometimes there’s nothing quite as satisfying on stage as seeing a few good clowns do their best to make a Saturday night fly by. The Palm Beach Opera’s current production of Giaochino Rossini’s La Cenerentola has, in addition to a hugely impressive performance by the celebrated mezzo Vivica Genaux as the title character, some very fine comedy in its two and half hours. It’s … [Read more...]
Now in 21st year, Broward Center targets educational efforts
A performance calendar, online ticketing and membership options are musts on the website of any performing art center, but not all have a tab marked “Education.” And of those, few play the educator role as aggressively as the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. A student discussing Charles Dickens in class will go on to watch A Christmas Carol live on stage and return to … [Read more...]