If I were programming the Maltz Jupiter Theatre, I would also be looking for vehicles for the dynamic Matt Loehr, who has earned Carbonell Awards for each of his three previous appearances there (Crazy for You, Hello, Dolly!, The Music Man). While he is too high-energy to be an ideal fit to play cowboy-humorist-philosopher Will Rogers, the laconic “poet lariat” of the nation, … [Read more...]
Theater roundup: ‘Hamlet,’ ‘George M!’
Celebrating its 25th anniversary season, Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival reaches for its namesake playwright’s best known — and best — work, Hamlet. And though the company is still reeling from the loss of its most skilled actor, director and dramaturg, Kevin Crawford, the current production points to a future for the classical troupe beyond him. Kyle Schnack, a reliable … [Read more...]
Les Amies trio splendid at Chamber Music Palm Beach
By Donald Waxman The setting: Mar-a-Lago, the storied, palatial Palm Beach estate of the late Marjorie Merriweather Post, extensively renovated by its current owner, Donald Trump. The occasion: the sixth concert in the inaugural season of the Chamber Music Society of Palm Beach. The artists: The highly acclaimed flute, viola and harp trio, Les Amies. The program: an all-French … [Read more...]
Veteran stars take roles in Maltz’s ‘Hello, Dolly!’ reworking
Sure, Hello, Dolly! is one of the landmark musicals of the so-called Golden Age of the 1960s, racking up a then-record high 2,844 performances on Broadway. But ever since, the Jerry Herman show has been under the hammerlock of its originating star, Carol Channing, who has clung steadfastly to Gower Champion’s Tony Award-winning staging and choreography. When Maltz Jupiter … [Read more...]
The Hapster Awards, 2009 edition
Producers, who will accept any award, covet them. Actors, who probably do not realize they are rarely complimentary, list them in their program bios. What are they? The annual Hapster Awards, given for achievement -- usually “dubious’ -- in theater during the past year. So here are the 2009 Hapsters (Sorry, times are tough and we couldn’t afford envelopes): Best Play about … [Read more...]