Sorry, fans of superheroes and special effects, the summer is over and Hollywood is ready to bring out its A-list (for “Adult”) fare. This is the season for films of substance, even if Tom Cruise is back with his fourth Mission: Impossible flick, director David Fincher is trying to remake a Swedish film noir into a domestic blockbuster and Martin Scorsese tries his hand at … [Read more...]
‘The Tree’: A lyrical, understated portrait of family and grief
We’ve barely been introduced to Peter O’Neill (Aden Young), the patriarch of a family of six in rural Australia, before a heart attack strikes him dead behind the wheel of his truck. With his daughter playfully atop the vessel, and assuming her father is simply having some fun, the truck careens slowly off the road and teeters, with an anticlimactic thump, into the enormous … [Read more...]
The 2011-12 season in Palm Beach art: Ghosts, gods, bodies and wildlife
The state of all things is pretty much still looking gray and uncertain, which makes the list of shows and exhibits you are about to read possibly the only piece of good and colorful news you hear in a while. By the time you are done reading this, I predict, there will be several shows competing for your attention. My advice? Write them down. The artists and creations hitting … [Read more...]
The 2011-12 season in opera: Even in tough times, companies innovate
South Florida’s opera companies are keeping things busy and innovative this coming season even as the economy continues to take its toll on audiences, box office – and even a whole series of matinees. Still, there’s enough intriguing opera ahead to interest fans and casual attendees, and for them to see some bright new talent take some big steps. Here’s what’s happening on … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks, Sept. 30-Oct. 2
Theater: What, you still haven’t seen Karen Stephens in the one-woman multiple-character tour de force Bridge & Tunnel? The show, built around the denizens of an urban poetry slam café, allows the West Palm Beach actress the opportunity to flex her performance muscles and demonstrate her chameleon-like abilities. The show brought her a Carbonell Award nomination earlier this … [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...]
The 2011-12 season in jazz: A feast for discerning listeners
A struggling economy won’t impact a jazz concert season as much as it does pop music. That’s because jazz is used to struggling more than pop to succeed. Sure, it’s a case of supply and demand -- if you charged three figures for even marquee jazz artists, you’d be lucky to get three figures in attendance -- but there’s more to it. A jazz performer will usually have more in … [Read more...]
‘Side Effects,’ ‘The Brothers Size’: Two area premieres
The estimable Michael Weller, who began his career with sprawling, large-cast dramas (Moonchildren, The Ballad of Soapy Smith), has lately taken to writing two-character plays that put disintegrating marriages under the microscope. His Side Effects, which opened this spring in New York and now has its South Florida premiere at Plantation’s Mosaic Theatre, is linked to his … [Read more...]
The 2011-12 season in dance: New work for MCB highlight of rich season
The coming dance season couldn’t open any hotter: The world premiere of a new work for the Miami City Ballet by a rising young British star. But there are also plenty of other good things in the local dance world for 2011-12, including the State Ballet of Russia’s Swan Lake, the frenzy of champion ballroom dancers in Burn the Floor, and fresh work from local companies … [Read more...]
The 2011-12 season in books: PB Poetry Fest now a prestige draw
It’s amusing now to think that a mere generation ago South Florida was considered a cultural wasteland were people did not read. Today the region is blessed with several of the most influential – and fun! – book festivals in the nation, if not the world. Take the Palm Beach Poetry Festival, for example. The youngest of the region’s literary events, in only eight years it has … [Read more...]