Playing immigrant founding father Alexander Hamilton, the nation’s first Treasury secretary, in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hip-hop musical phenomenon can be challenge enough. “First of all, ‘Hamilton’ has the most words of any musical ever. And the character himself says the most words ever said on the American stage,” according to Blaine Krauss, who will be playing the role … [Read more...]
54 Below cabaret comes south to the Kravis with ‘Jersey Boys’ star Lloyd Young
By Sharon Geltner Big Broadway stars who have played the storied 54 Below cabaret in Manhattan are performing for the first time at the Rinker Playhouse, the first arrangement of its kind in the country. Georgina Young, vice president of marketing and programming at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, proposed the partnership at a chance meeting in a Fort … [Read more...]
‘Six’ may not be accurate history, but it sure is fun
At a brisk 80 minutes running time, Six: The Musical may not feel like a full evening’s meal, but it packs more entertainment value than any show in less than an hour and a half. Perhaps you might think of it as the appetizer before next month’s main course, Hamilton, for they have much in common. Both, of course, relate history lessons – English for Six and American for … [Read more...]
Vienna Phil’s Mahler 9 brought Kravis audience to the sublime
By Márcio Bezerra Sublime. Nothing short of sublime. That sums up the concert presented by the Vienna Philharmonic for the Classical Concert Series at Kravis Center for the Performing Arts. Playing for a nearly sold-out audience, the venerable ensemble, in its first-ever appearance in South Florida, gave a heart-wrenching performance of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 9, his … [Read more...]
Pianist Trifonov miraculous in Mozart with Rotterdam Phil
By Márcio Bezerra The Kravis Center’s exceptional Classical Concert Series featured the Rotterdam Philharmonic on March 4. Playing to a packed house, the regional orchestra gave a satisfying concert, displaying fine musicianship and a cohesive ensemble. Under the direction of its chief conductor, Lahav Shani, the group started the program with Swansong by Estonian … [Read more...]
Detroit SO, Weilerstein brilliant in concert to remember
By Márcio Bezerra Most people come from the Midwest to enjoy our mild winters. However, on the rainy afternoon of Feb. 11, one, for a little over two hours, envied the folks living in Detroit thanks to the thrilling concert given by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts. It was a reminder that, no matter how well intentioned our local … [Read more...]
‘Mockingbird’ still makes strong impact in Sorkin adaptation
It is rare these days for a non-musical to receive a national tour. It has to have a superior script and production or a bankable name in the leading role. Aaron Sorkin’s stage adaptation of Harper Lee’s enduring novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, has both of the former and Richard Thomas as Alabama attorney Atticus Finch provides the latter. Now at the Kravis Center … [Read more...]
‘Chicago’ at the Kravis still has plenty of razzle-dazzle
Musicals are rarely cynical, but then there is Chicago, a snarky look at our justice system as seen through a pair of accused murderesses awaiting trial in the Cook County jail, circa the late 1920s. Perhaps the show’s appeal stems more from its Bob Fosse-inspired choreography and its John Kander-Fred Ebb score than from the snide script Fosse co-wrote with lyricist Ebb. … [Read more...]
Songwriter Tori Amos makes stop at Kravis on Saturday
A funny thing happened to popular music through the 1990s. In the early to middle portion of the decade, the heavy, male-centric Seattle grunge movement with Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, and Alice in Chains dominated. From the middle to end of the decade, though, practically disparate female pop artists took over. And not just female singers, but singer/songwriters who … [Read more...]
‘Ain’t Too Proud’: Vocally stunning bio of Temptations offers overstuffed menu
By Dale King If thoughts of Detroit are rattling around in your mind, it probably means you’re pondering one of two things --- cars or music. And if you’re hankering for some of the best rhythm and blues tunes on the planet, your destination should be the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach, where the jukebox musical, Ain’t Too Proud --- the … [Read more...]