By Tom Tracy Fresh off his first-ever U.S. performance earlier this week in Clearwater, the choirmaster for one of the world’s oldest boys' choirs said his upcoming concert conducting for Vienna Boys Choir in Fort Lauderdale will take audiences on a little globetrotting. “We want to take people on a journey all over the world not only with European music and classical … [Read more...]
Dance troupes join forces for Eissey show
When Ballet Florida shut its doors in 2009, it left a hole in the local dance world. But it didn’t disrupt the network of dancers, choreographers and enthusiasts who wanted to see the art of Terpsichore continue under the palms. Jerry Opdenaker, a 47-year-old performer and choreographer who danced with for 22 years with Pennsylvania Ballet, the Kansas City Ballet and Ballet … [Read more...]
‘Farewell’ mirrors crumbling world in monarch’s emotional disarray
In Farewell, My Queen, director Benoît Jacquot’s dramatization of a few days in the lives of Marie Antoinette and her servants, the pampered monarch doesn’t care if anybody eats cake. The storming of the Bastille has just begun, and besides, she has more pressing concerns, like the clandestine love affair she’s having with an adulterous duchess. Farewell, My Queen is Jacquot’s … [Read more...]
‘Red Lights’ a ludicrous mess
In Red Lights, Cillian Murphy comes this close to making out with Cillian Murphy. It happens in a rote nightmare sequence at the height of his character’s supernatural crisis. Cillian Murphy’s soul clings to the roof of his apartment, while Cillian Murphy’s body lies in bed, unblissfully asleep. The soul descends ever so slowly toward its host body, until it looks like the … [Read more...]
‘Flags’ delivers provocative, ambiguous message
A month ago I sat to write the art preview for the upcoming season and included a then-future exhibit at the Norton Museum that promised to make us think. But I did not know how just yet. Dave Cole: Flags of the World has been running since early November and delivered on its promise. A commanding 15-by-30 foot American flag hangs in the middle of the white room. This is the … [Read more...]
A critic remembers the day the world changed
Fittingly, when the Saudi terrorists were flying planes into the World Trade Center 10 years ago, I was at the movies. Yes, even at 8:46 a.m., the time the North Tower was hit, I was sitting in a theater with a pad in my hand, for I was at the Toronto International Film Festival that fateful day. I was watching a press screening of Mira Nair’s festive Monsoon Wedding, which … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: July 29-Aug. 2
Theater: OK, you’ve procrastinated long enough. This is the final weekend for the world premiere production of Stuff at Boca Raton’s Caldwell Theatre. This cautionary tale of two eccentrically wasted lives, wealthy Harlem hermits Homer and Langley Collyer, is not only Davie playwright Michael McKeever’s best script in quite a while, but he gives a remarkably accomplished … [Read more...]
Vickrey’s world too fragile for the real one
Whimsy and wonder dominate in the world that Robert Vickrey creates in his painting. On first glance, there’s not much that is dark or foreboding. In fact, within moments of entering the exhibit, Robert Vickrey: The Magic of Realism, now on view at the Boca Raton Museum of Art until June 19, one feels, well, comforted. And that’s because the symbolic images are reassuringly … [Read more...]
Florida Stage’s demise dims local arts scene’s light
You’ll always remember where you were and what you were doing when you heard about JFK’s assassination. The attack on the Twin Towers on 9/11. Or Florida Stage declaring bankruptcy, closing its doors and ceasing operations forever. OK, that third one is not as momentous as the other two, but it came as almost as big a surprise. At least I was caught flat-footed by the news, … [Read more...]
Hopes high for world premiere ‘Academy’ at Maltz
The Maltz Jupiter Theatre’s artistic director, Andrew Kato, has had some major successes in his five years in the job, assembling impressive talent -- onstage and off -- for such well-received existing musicals as The Boy Friend, Barnum and Anything Goes. But what he really wants to become known for is directing and producing new work. “When I started here as artistic … [Read more...]