A leading Florida-born, Boca Raton-trained ballerina made a three-show stop at Boca Ballet Theatre for the company’s mounting of The Sleeping Beauty this past weekend, and demonstrated how to put the “prima” in prima ballerina. But even though Bridgett Zehr’s performance as Aurora in Tchaikovsky’s beloved ballet was nothing short of sensational Sunday afternoon, there were … [Read more...]
Amid the goofing, a standout Marie at PB Opera’s ‘La Fille’
Palm Beach Opera wrapped up its significant 53rd season with humor, choosing to follow its February world premiere exploration of post-World War II Holocaust survivors in New York (Enemies, a Love Story) with a lighthearted bel canto comedy. It’s been nearly 40 years since Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment has been performed at Palm Beach Opera, the last time with the legendary … [Read more...]
Standout singing, graphics make for intriguing ‘Dandelion Woman’
A two-person chamber opera by a South Florida-based composer had an impact beyond its intimate scale thanks to two powerhouse performances and a beautifully accomplished suite of computer projections. Fairy Tales: Songs of the Dandelion Woman, which had its premiere in early May at the SoBe Institute for the Arts in Miami Beach (and which I saw May 17), is the brainchild of … [Read more...]
Manasse, Schwarz bring standout Mozart to Symphonia
It’s always a good day at a concert when you can hear something new in a pillar of the repertoire like Mozart. And so it was Sunday afternoon at the Roberts Theater for the season-closing concert by The Symphonia Boca Raton (though they’ll appear later this month as the orchestra for the Master Chorale of South Florida), which brought the eminent conductor Gerard Schwarz to … [Read more...]
‘Jardi Tancat’ a standout at energetic MCB program
By Tara Mitton Catao Miami City Ballet took a big artistic bite out of some new repertoire in its second of four programs this season, and it paid off. On Friday night at the Kravis Center, the Miami City Ballet dancers, ignited by an exciting range of music, danced with command and purpose in an aptly named program entitled See the Music. Revisiting old works and introducing … [Read more...]
Community theater: Standout cast makes ‘In the Heights’ sizzle
By Dale King In the Heights is a festive, tune-filled musical celebrating the toils and triumphs of the hard-working, money-strapped denizens of a largely Dominican neighborhood in north Manhattan. The show is pleasing midsummer-night audiences at the Lake Worth Playhouse. The play features a young, energetic and talented cast that brings a strong Latin touch to the … [Read more...]
2012’s 10 best in a standout year for film
Most years at the movies there is a clear front-runner for awards and a struggle to fill the other nine slots in a 10 best list. For 2012, however, there are more than two handfuls of first-rate films and no clear number one in the ranks. Here is a highly subjective look back at what made the year just past a standout for moviegoing: 1. Lincoln: A cerebral history lesson of … [Read more...]
Broadway standout McDonald to headline 7th Boca arts fest
BOCA RATON – Broadway star Audra McDonald and an appearance by Miami Beach’s New World Symphony are among the concerts scheduled for the seventh incarnation of the Festival of the Arts Boca, officials said today. The festival, which marries the worlds of literature and music each year at venues in and around Mizner Park, is set for March 7-16. A partial schedule of writers was … [Read more...]
Plummer a standout, McGregor less so, in moving ‘Beginners’
There’s nothing funny about an old man, struck with terminal cancer, who only finds the courage to admit that he’s gay after the death of his wife of 44 years. No, this is not material rife with comic potential, but sometimes laughter is the only way to cope. In his nuanced second feature Beginners, writer-director Mike Mills recognizes this, collecting a small ensemble of … [Read more...]