Michael Scott Ross, Alexa Baray, Elijah Word, Fo’i Meleah and Mike Westrich in Hair. (Photo by Corby Kaye/Studio Palm Beach) Some musicals are timeless, while others are time capsules which transport us back to a specific period. An example of the latter is Hair, the “American tribal love-rock musical” which captures the psychedelic, flower power 1960s. It first arrived on … [Read more...]
‘Pencil’ full of itself, but recounts an admirable idea
Growing up in wealthy Greenwich, Conn., Adam Braun developed an “obsession” with Wall Street and dreamed of “becoming a billionaire. While in college he traveled abroad in the Semester at Sea program, which introduces students to different cultures. Braun decided to ask children he encountered in each nation what they would choose if they could have anything in the world. In … [Read more...]
Mahler’s Second at Lynn makes powerful impact
Something of a musical milestone took place the other day at Lynn University when the school’s conservatory orchestra, accompanied by two soloists and the Master Chorale of South Florida, gave two performances of Gustav Mahler’s gigantic Resurrection Symphony (No. 2 in C minor). These performances had actually been planned for the 2012-13 season, but Lynn’s hosting of one of … [Read more...]
Broward Stage Door’s ‘Moon Over Buffalo’ gives light farce an edge
By Dale King Broward Stage Door Theatre in Coral Springs kicks off the 2013-2014 season with a show that encourages yelling, running, door slamming, drinking, occasional sexual innuendos, mayhem and general chaos. The play, Moon over Buffalo, written by slapstick playwright Ken Ludwig, drew iconic comedienne Carol Burnett back to the Broadway stage when it debuted in 1995. … [Read more...]
Terrific ‘In a World’ makes wise comedy from voice-over niche
Think about this: When was that last time you saw a trailer that contained booming voice-over narration explaining the film’s plot and major themes? Not text on the screen or movie dialogue taken out of context, but narration, recorded exclusively for the trailer? You may have to go back some time. Don LaFontaine recorded these epic orations for more than 5,000 titles, peaking … [Read more...]
Sundays: When the only ones for us were the mad ones
By Myles Ludwig Too old to be lost, too young to be found, we were caught between the bohemians and the Beats when Jack Kerouac’s On the Road was published in 1957. With Walter Salles’ movie version of the novel now opening in Palm Beach County, it seems appropriate to recall the book and how important it was to my generation. On its face, the novel is a rambling, … [Read more...]
Jackie Tufford: When the objects become the art
By Colleen Dougher As a college student, artist Jackie Tufford wasn’t sure about trying to make a living as an artist. So while majoring in anthropology and psychology, she continued studying art and eventually realized that the elements that drew her to her majors were the same things she loved about art. “It just boiled down to [being] very interested in understanding … [Read more...]
Sundays: Asking the really big question
By Myles Ludwig Once upon a time, I thought there was a secret key to unlock the meaning of life. A metaphoric key, but an actual secret, hidden away in a Holy Ark or sequestered in a reliquary. I believed then, that once I reached the age of 30, someone would shake my hand in a peculiar way ― like a Masonic ritual salute ― and induct me into the club which kept the secret … [Read more...]
Orchestra’s ‘39’ concert steps up, sometimes eccentrically
As program-organizing gimmicks go, building one around a number is clever and useful, and for the Palm Beach Symphony, constructing its Sunday night program on “39” ― the group’s current anniversary year ― offered listeners an interesting variety of selections as well as a short course in the development of the Austro-German symphonic tradition. The concert in the Flagler … [Read more...]
Theater roundup: ‘Sylvia,’ ‘Madman,’ and ‘Wife’
Playwright A.R. Gurney turned 65 the year he wrote the canine comedy Sylvia, so it is completely understandable that he had male menopause on his mind. Taking a break from his usual pre-occupation with the cultural peculiarities of WASPs, he gives us a peculiar romance ― between a guy mired in the crisis of midlife and a stray mixed-breed mutt. Now on view at the Boca Raton … [Read more...]