Music: An honest-to-goodness vocal star is in town this week, and fans of Rossini’s comic operas will want to be on hand to hear her, when Vivica Genaux takes the role of Angelina, aka Cinderella, in the Italian master’s 1817 opera La Cenerentola. Genaux, who won early recognition in Palm Beach Opera’s vocal competitions nearly 20 years ago, has become one of the most important … [Read more...]
Exhibit makes persuasive case for video games as art
Something has happened to the Boca Raton Museum of Art. Its latest exhibit is making it look, in one word, cool. Old and new game systems, vivid graphics, game tactics, music scores and creative storylines are all showcased in the dynamic and highly interactive show The Art of Video Games. The Boca Raton museum is the first in the nation to host the exhibit, which will tour … [Read more...]
Composer brings passion for stories to new Maltz children’s musical
Ask John Mercurio about way he approaches his craft as a composer of musicals, and one word keeps coming back: Storytelling. Partly that’s because he writes book and lyrics as well as music, but the idea also is central to his creative process. “I think for me, the way in, whether it be book writing, music writing or lyric writing, is always telling a story. That’s my thing. … [Read more...]
Logic goes out the window, but ‘Ledge’ still thrills
Like Snakes on a Plane, Man on a Ledge is a bluntly up-front title: a subject and a predicate, reducing the picture to the essence of its poster art. I’m all for enigmatic titles, but this approach has its allure. Why are there snakes on a plane? And why is that man on that ledge? In Asger Leth’s debut feature, the man is Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington), a former cop, apparent … [Read more...]
Camaraderie keeps PB Chamber Music Festival going, 20 summers on
It all began at Chuck and Harold’s. On a long-ago day at the popular Palm Beach restaurant, bassoonist Michael Ellert noticed something right away about Michael Forte, a clarinetist and fellow New Yorker who had just moved to Florida, and with whom he was playing as part of a trio. “I looked at Michael and I said, ‘Man, you and I must have learned how to play out of tune the … [Read more...]
Tony broadcast one of best in years, but plays deserve more time
It was a great night for smiling proselytizers and equine puppets. Of course, I’m referring to The Book of Mormon and War Horse, which cemented their hit status by taking a victory lap at last night’s 65th annual Tony Awards telecast, grabbing nine and five statuettes respectively. The ceremony itself was one of the best in many years, though it continued to give short … [Read more...]
The View From Home 21: New releases on DVD
Sweet Smell of Success (Criterion) Release date: Feb. 22 Standard list price: $21.99 Ahead of its time in 1957, Sweet Smell of Success is, like Billy Wilder’s Ace in the Hole, one of Hollywood’s most sordid exposes of the entertainment/media complex. It dismantles the promotion industry as an intractably corrupt system, while tapping into deeper, more sinister subtext in … [Read more...]
‘Next Fall’ marks Hall’s return to Caldwell director’s chair
s More than a year and a half ago, Caldwell Theatre co-founder Michael Hall handed off the artistic reins of the Boca Raton stage company he had run for 36 years. But he suspected it was just a matter of time before we would be back directing a production there, and that time is now. Opening Friday evening is Hall’s staging of Next Fall, the Tony Award-nominated play from … [Read more...]
California Guitar Trio offers classic diversity in Jupiter show
The California Guitar Trio drew a near-capacity crowd to Florida Atlantic University's Lifelong Learning Society Auditorium in Jupiter on Saturday night, and entertained a diverse audience (with ages ranging from 20s to 80s) with an equally diverse song list. But diversity is a natural trait for a trio of acoustic guitarists made up of one American (Paul Richards, from Salt … [Read more...]
The View From Home 5: New releases on DVD
Surviving Desire, Possible Films: Vol. 2 (Microcinema) Release date: April 27 Standard list price: $22.49 each It’s not hyperbole to suggest that my cinephilia in general and my specific interest in writing about films are the result of one director’s work: Hal Hartley. Known for his insightful, quirky movies about hyper-literate drifters and outcasts who converge on Long … [Read more...]