A man tells his friend he lost $27 in Wall Street. The friend replies that he read the stock market news in the paper and asks: “Who got it – Gould or Sage?” This was brave humor in 1900. Jay Gould and Russell Sage were well-known railroad executives at the time. The joke derives from a 1900 cartoon by Louis W. Dalrymple that suggests such powerful financiers controlled … [Read more...]
Comic Griffin to bring edgy outlook to Kravis
March was a month in which comedian Kathy Griffin generated a lot of headlines. “I say things I regret constantly, and I just can’t help it,” she says. This time, it was over her departure from the E! Network series Fashion Police, where she had been brought in to replace the late Joan Rivers: “Kathy Griffin Describes Her ‘Fashion Police’ Experience as a ‘Dog Pile,’” “Kathy … [Read more...]
Our drug policy and its costs, scrupulously researched
The war on drugs has spawned more crime, violence, addiction and suffering — the exact opposite of what was intended. That is the theme of this provocative and timely book by British author Johann Hari, who spent three years researching the subject. In 1914, Congress banned the sale of heroin and cocaine, although doctors could continue to prescribe these drugs. But that … [Read more...]
‘Stars of David’ revue celebrates Jewish celebrities
If you had a new musical revue about the lives of celebrated Jewish figures, wouldn’t you bring it to Florida? That is what New York-based producer Daryl Roth decided, after developing Stars of David, Story to Song, beginning a three-month tour now at the Broward Center through Jan. 4 and playing West Palm Beach’s Kravis Center from Feb. 17 to March 15. The Sunshine State … [Read more...]
Theater roundup: ‘My Old Lady,’ ‘Book of Mormon,’ and ‘When You’re in Love…’
Write a play with a prominent role for actresses of an advanced age and watch it attract major award-laden performers. Certainly that is the case with My Old Lady, Israel Horovitz’s tribute to the French and their cultural differences with Americans. In the film version released earlier this year, two-time Oscar winner Maggie Smith took on the title role of wily nonagenarian … [Read more...]
‘Citizenfour’: Chilling and important, but shapeless
Laura Poitras’ Citizenfour, about the revelations of Edward Snowden and her involvement in them, is a vital historical document. With the bulk of the film taking place in Hong Kong, where Poitras and Glenn Greenwald interviewed Snowden for a little more than a week in the summer of 2013, Citizenfour is a careful account of spy-novel-style machinations, journalistic ethics, and … [Read more...]
Sundays: In memory yet green
By Myles Ludwig The mist of history swirls still around the life and especially, the death of JFK. Fifty years later, that mist has not dissipated for those of us who were accidental eyewitnesses-once-removed; it refuses to leave. He is very much alive in our collective imagination. He had been born a year before my father. My daughter, born a few days earlier than his death … [Read more...]
Our Ultimate Sondheim Quiz returns
All too rarely do area theaters tackle the musicals of Broadway’s pre-eminent composer-lyricist, Stephen Sondheim. But this summer Florida Atlantic University is producing the revue Side by Side by Sondheim as well as A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum in its 2013 Festival Rep (now through July 21.) In addition, Palm Beach Dramaworks has selected Sondheim’s … [Read more...]
A look at Broadway’s best, and our fearless Tony predictions
On the eve of the 67th annual Tony Awards, recognizing the season’s bests, here are reviews of some of the season’s standout productions: Matilda: If there were an award for best British import with highest level of hype, this engaging, but often unintelligible musical from the Royal Shakespeare Company would win hands down. It did win London’s Olivier Award and looks poised … [Read more...]
Welcome to our new home
Today, the launch of this version of the Palm Beach ArtsPaper site becomes official with the redirecting of our initial site – www.pbartspaper.com – to this one, www.palmbeachartspaper.com. If you’ve bookmarked the old site, you should end up here. If you are still interested in seeing the site as it was since our launch in November 2008, we’ve moved all that material to … [Read more...]