For the first 24 years of its existence as an entertainment hub for Delray Beach, the Crest Theatre — a component of the Delray Beach Center for the Arts — has relied on touring shows and imported acts for its eclectic performance mix. But now, in the popular arts complex’s 25th anniversary season, Delray Beach Center president and CEO Joe Gillie embarks on a risky experiment, … [Read more...]
Community theater: At LW Playhouse, a reunion with Felix and Oscar
By Dale King A half-century ago, playwright Neil Simon concocted slovenly Oscar Madison and paired him with neat-freak Felix Ungar to create The Odd Couple, a comic powerhouse that has endured across stage, film and television (where Felix’s last name was spelled Unger). Perhaps the oddest thing about The Odd Couple franchise is that the original Simon play, which premiered … [Read more...]
Russian State SO, with Feltsman, glitters in Mozart, Rachmaninov
I think it’s safe to say the Kravis Regional Arts Concert Series, now celebrating its 40th year, has more visiting orchestras than any other venue in the world. There are seven this season, starting with the Russian State Symphony Orchestra on Wednesday evening with two Russian pieces and a Mozart piano concerto. This 90-piece ensemble opened with Glinka’s overture to his … [Read more...]
At FGO, a triumph for a ‘Butterfly’ newcomer
It was a good Sunday afternoon for Vanessa Isiguen. The young soprano who made her debut in the role that day with Florida Grand Opera showed herself well up to the task of bringing to vivid vocal life the character of Cio-Cio-San, the doomed heroine of one of the world’s most popular and beloved operas, Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. A North Carolinian who made her … [Read more...]
Footnotes: A night with The Dancers’ Space
Editor’s note: This is the first of an occasional series of short notes on local dance by dance writer Tara Mitton Catao. By Tara Mitton Catao Saturday night, in support of the local dance scene, I went to the Duncan Theatre to see create.Dance.florida. Eight works were presented by 45 dance artists. Although there was a great variety in the caliber of the performers and the … [Read more...]
Chamber fest returns this week with second fall festival
The second-ever winter series of the long-running Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival opens this week for a set of three programs over three months that will include a world premiere, a further exploration of two off-the-beaten path composers, and the appearance of a masterwork the festival is tackling for the first time in its two-decade history. Launched last year, the PBCMF … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: July 18-20
Theater: The second shoe of Palm Beach Dramaworks’ summer concert series drops this weekend with The Most Happy Fella, Frank Loesser’s quasi-operative romantic musical about a middle-aged Italian vineyard owner who falls for a San Francisco waitress. Loesser authorized the two-keyboard arrangements that the concert will employ, for a score that includes such arias as “My Heart … [Read more...]
FAU Summer Rep: A powerful, draining ‘August: Osage County’
By Dale King It took no small act of courage for Florida Atlantic University’s Department of Theatre and Dance to kick off Festival Rep 2014 with the attention-demanding black comedy, August: Osage County. It’s also courageous for university dramatists to present the Tracy Letts play so soon after the 2013 release of the film version that starred Meryl Streep and Julia … [Read more...]
‘Le Chef’ a moderately amusing dish
So let’s recap: Jon Favreau’s Chef is about an egotistical, professionally embattled toque (Favreau himself) who feuds with his restaurant’s owner and is forced to forge a new culinary path while repairing a broken relationship with his only child. Daniel Cohen’s Le Chef, meanwhile, is about an egotistical, professionally embattled toque (Jean Reno) who feuds with his … [Read more...]
‘The Life’ makes a gritty return at Delray Square
By Dale King The sad and sorry lives of Times Square’s sordid population of hookers, drug- and crime-dealers during the 1980s are brought to the stage with excellent grittiness and striking realism in the musical/drama, The Life, now playing at the Delray Square Performing Arts Center. It’s quite the occasion for Gary Waldman and Jamison Troutman of Florida Theater … [Read more...]