Italian writer-director Paolo Virzi adapted an unusual source material for his latest film, the Academy Awards Best Foreign Language Film submission Human Capital. It’s based on an American neo-noir of the same name by Stephen Amidon, its cruel, suburban-set machinations of fate and avarice reimagined in Brianza, an upper-class enclave north of Milan. It’s here that its … [Read more...]
Impressive new dances at Reach/O Dance ‘Heat Wave’
It’s a pity that the annual dance intensive summer show produced by the Reach and O Dance companies only had one performance Saturday night, because this collection of modern, jazz and ballet moves showcased intriguing choreography and some standout individual dancers that more people should have been able to see. The show, called Heat Wave, and which contained a touching … [Read more...]
‘Gentleman’s Guide’ gets Tony love, but no front-runner emerges in nominations
The Tony Awards nominating committee showed a lot of love this morning to A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, the small, clever musical about mercenary homicide, which will compete for best musical and nine other categories honoring the just completed Broadway season. A Gentleman’s Guide was the top nominations-getter, but the awards remain up for grabs with no clear … [Read more...]
PBO Young Artists deftly take on Rorem’s ‘Our Town’
First, let wide acclaim go forth to this crop of Palm Beach Opera’s Young Artists, who took Ned Rorem’s difficult music for Our Town and made it palatable. Each and every one of them sang splendidly in librettist J.D. McClatchy’s adaptation of one of America’s most popular plays by Thornton Wilder. Brilliant direction by Fenlon Lamb gave real meaning to this excerpted and … [Read more...]
Touring show does Man in Black proud
By Dale King The song Ring of Fire marked a milestone in the life of legendary vocalist Johnny Cash. Recorded in March 1963, it rose to Number 1 and stayed there for seven weeks, the longest a Cash song would top the charts. Minnesota-based Troupe America Inc. has gathered a talented eight-person cast for a national tour of Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash, the jukebox … [Read more...]
Theater roundup: Goofy fun at Summer Shorts; moving ‘Lughnasa’ at Dramaworks
When you are trying to capture audience attention and tell a complete story in about 10 minutes, you might as well stick to comedy. That is apparently the lesson that Miami’s City Theatre has learned in its 18 years of producing Summer Shorts, an annual seasonal festival of playlets that accentuates the humorous and occasionally the out-and-out wacky. In recent years, Shorts … [Read more...]
The View From Home 47: New releases on Blu-ray and DVD
The straightforward matter-of-factness is right there in the title: A Man Escaped (Criterion, $31.86 Blu-ray, $23.99 DVD). It’s in the past tense, so you know before starting Robert Bresson’s 1956 prison-break masterpiece – based on the memoirs of Andre Devigny, a French POW during World War II – that the protagonist will succeed. For Bresson, suspense has no appeal; it’s all … [Read more...]
Maltz’s ‘Music Man’ adds dance to Hill’s catalog of pizzazz
The Music Man, Meredith Willson’s valentine to America, small-town Midwest division, circa 1912, has captivated audiences since the 1956-57 Broadway season when it dominated the Tony Awards and beat out West Side Story. Known for Willson’s syncopated rhythms and trip-hammer lyrics, the show has never been considered a strong dance show. But, says choreographer Shea Sullivan … [Read more...]
A disquieting story of a man, and a time, of excess
Taken most literally, Cosmopolis is about a rich guy going to get a haircut. That’s the story. But you can’t take this anti-capitalist, Kafkaesque satire literally … can you? The narrative consists of an asset manager, Eric Packer (Robert Pattinson), driving around Manhattan in a stretch limousine shielded from the sounds of the unwashed masses rioting outside. He sees his … [Read more...]
‘ParaNorman’ creators say it’s a zombie film with a message
Co-directors Sam Fell and Chris Butler dedicate their new stop-action animated feature, ParaNorman, to the misfits of the world. If they only attract moviegoers who felt they were different when they were growing up, their film will be a huge success. As they put it during a recent promotional stop in Miami, they created this tale of a outcast kid with a talent for seeing … [Read more...]