I am up in New York for a week to take a bite of the Broadway season, 12 shows in nine days. Ah, the sacrifices I make for the sake of my readers. By most accounts, it is a dismal year for musicals, with lots of screen-to-stage transfers, but little inspiration in the bunch and certainly no Book of Mormon -- still the hottest ticket in town a year later -- among them. We'll … [Read more...]
Chanticleer impressive in program of old, new love songs
By now, the 12-man vocal band known as Chanticleer has sung and recorded pieces in almost every imaginable genre, a long way from the Renaissance group its founder had in mind back in the late 1970s. But Chanticleer has managed in its career of nearly 35 years and multiple personnel changes to bring the same kind of polish and quality to everything they do, and that makes … [Read more...]
PB Symphony’s music-in-the-round a great success
What could top an all-Bach program? I’ll tell you: The arrangement of the orchestra in the octagonal DeSantis Chapel at Palm Beach Atlantic University. Seating for the Feb. 27 concert was in a great circle with orchestra and soloists in the center. “Switch seats after the intermission, and look into the conductor’s eyes,’’ suggested the symphony’s new executive director, … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Jan. 20-22
Art: The Norton Museum turns to the world of glassmaking this week, having opened three studio glass programs Wednesday. The centerpiece is an installation called One and Others, created by the Wisconsin-based artist Beth Lipman. It’s a large piece that evokes Old Master still lifes from the museum’s collections, and is on view in its European galleries. The museum also is … [Read more...]
New media proves strong draw at Art Miami
By Elaine Meier Special to Palm Beach ArtsPaper There was a completely different vibe to Art Miami, as compared to Art Basel. Even on the second day of Miami’s longest-running contemporary art fair, there was an energy, excitement and element of surprise not felt at Art Basel. When visitors thought they had seen it all, all they had to do was turn another corner to find … [Read more...]
New Adès work thrills, but Emerson deserved better from audience
They stand to play, all except for cellist David Finckel. In that, they were just like the youngsters from Palm Springs Middle School who serenaded concertgoers with Christmas carols in the lobby of the Kravis Center on Wednesday night. But there the comparisons end. The four inside the hall were the Emerson String Quartet, who have been together for 35 years. They still … [Read more...]
Sommers debuts promising new cabaret act at Colony
Most of the featured acts at the Colony Hotel’s Royal Room are fixtures of the New York cabaret scene. While West Palm Beach’s Avery Sommers has made some inroads in that world, she is better-known for her musical theater work, on Broadway and across the country on tour. So it is understandable that her latest act, a one-hour set that opened Friday evening and continues at … [Read more...]
Dramaworks opens new home in superb style with ‘All My Sons’
Arthur Miller’s 1947 drama All My Sons, his first commercial success on Broadway, has numerous thematic and narrative similarities to Death of a Salesman, the Pulitzer Prize winner that premiered two years later. But if the earlier play has been under the shadow of the playwright’s masterwork, you would never know it from the powerful new production at Palm Beach Dramaworks. … [Read more...]
Hahn recital an exceptional feast of new music
The concertgoers Sunday night at the Broward Center for Hilary Hahn’s recital heard one of the finest violinists working today, but they also heard much more. They were present for nothing less than a festival of brand-new music, all of it worthy, and some of it that could have strong claims for the repertory. Hahn, who turns 32 at the end of this month, has had a remarkable … [Read more...]
The 2011-12 season in theater: A trove of premieres, new ventures
Looking at the upcoming theater season in South Florida, you would never know that we were in the midst of a sluggish economy. Palm Beach Dramaworks is pouring millions into the renovation and purchase of its new performance space which will nearly triple the group’s seating capacity, and recently received a $2 million donation for the project. A completely new company, … [Read more...]