Music: Dean Peterson, a fine operatic bass with world-class credits (Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Santa Fe Opera, etc.) whose work is familiar to South Florida audiences — most recently as Bluebeard in Bartok’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle for his new Opera Fusion company — is the subject of a fundraiser this Sunday at First Presbyterian Church in … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: July 12-14
Theater: The idea of a concert reading of a musical sounds like it would be a very static event, but Palm Beach Dramaworks shows us that doe not have to be the case. Thanks to director Clive Cholerton, late of the late Caldwell Theatre Company, the concert of 1965’s tribute to idealism, Man of La Mancha, is extremely moving, both physically and emotionally. The show, with a … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: July 13-15
Theater: As its name implies, Palm Beach Dramaworks usually sticks to plays of dramatic substance, but the company goes lighter in the summertime, usually with a musical. This season it is at least continuing its pre-occupation with classics by reviving The Fantasticks, that off-Broadway Energizer Bunny, which ran for 42 years originally, with its simple, allegorical tale of … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: July 22-24
Film: The grueling existence of undocumented aliens is captured with dramatic sensitivity in Chris Weitz’s A Better Life, the ironically titled film about a gardener’s helper in Los Angeles, desperately trying to carve out a decent living for himself and his teenage son, while always looking over his shoulder for the law. Veteran Mexican actor Demian Bichir gives a haunting … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: July 8-10
Theater: Many of Palm Beach County’s professional theaters are idle this summer, but the Maltz Jupiter Theatre has a few special events, like this Saturday night’s talent competition, called -- what else? -- Palm Beach Idols. For the eighth annual event, some 90 locals of all ages who are convinced they have talent auditioned, but only 25 of them have made the cut to perform … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: July 1-6
Film: The British neurologist Oliver Sacks’ popular case studies have made good fodder for Hollywood (1990’s Awakenings), and in The Music Never Stopped, one of Sacks’ essays (The Last Hippie) is the source of the story. Gabriel (Lou Taylor Pucci), long estranged from his father (J.K. Simmons, taking a break from all those Farmers Insurance commercials), shows up in a hospital … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: July 23-26
Brian Kovachik with his best-of-show vase. (Photo by Katie Deits) Art: The Gallery at Palm Beach Community College’s Eissey Campus in Palm Beach Gardens currently is featuring Earthly Delights, a multimedia exhibition of art by members of The Palm Beach County Art Teachers Association. The exhibition is composed of recent paintings, sculpture, photography, and mixed media works … [Read more...]
Weekend picks: July 30-August 2
Music: Earlier this year, the now-defunct Boynton Regional Symphony Orchestra featured a performance by a 13-year-old Hollywood violinist in the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto. Gabrielle Chou proved to have a good command of the concerto, demonstrating thorough technique and some attractive elements of personal style. She's a triple threat, as it turns out: She's equally … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: July 2-5
Art: If you’re up for some laid-back fun while viewing (and perhaps buying) art at the same time, the weekly Thursday night art show at the Rum Bar next to Panama Hattie's in North Palm Beach is the latest, hottest hangout for the artsy crowd. About a dozen artists show their work, and tonight, well-known local artist and Armory Art Center teacher Bill Perry will have … [Read more...]