The Cultural Cabaret

South Florida Theatre Festival capped with awards, honors

Sun, 11 May 2008 00:32:48 -0500

The Theatre League of South Florida wraps up its third annual spring Theatre Festival this weekend, then celebrates Monday (May 12) in Fort Lauderdale with a new awards fete that salutes the best of the fest. The league is introducing the Silver Palm Awards, a dozen citations for top shows and performances among the fest's 26 participating productions, and to thank the program's major sponsors. The event is party style at 7:30 p.m. at Stork's Bakery Cafe on E. Las Olas Blvd., free to League members and $20 for non-members. The festival Silver Palm performance honorees are: The Naked Stage Company - As Outstanding New Emerging Theatre Company. Playwright Jules Tasca - Outstanding New Work for "The Mission" at the New Theatre in Coral Gables. "Some Girls" - Outstanding Ensemble, at the Mad Cat Theatre Company, Miami. "From the Mississippi Delta" - Outstanding Ensemble, at the M Ensemble Company, North Miami. Nanique Gheridian - Outstanding Performance in "Benefactors" at Palm Beach Dramaworks, West Palm Beach. Bruce Adler - Outstanding Performance in "I'm Not Rappaport" at New Vista Theatre Company, Boca Raton. Eric Fabregat - Outstanding Performance in "Dirty Story" at Mosaic Theatre, Plantation. Ricky Waugh - Outstanding Performances in "The Mission" at the New Theatre and "Two Sisters and a Piano" at The Promethean Theatre, Davie. The Silver Palm sponsor citations go to: Jim Stork of Stork's Backery and Cafe Las Olas, WLRN radio-TV, the Miami-Dade Cultural Affairs Dept. and Doug Jones of Sixth Star Entertainment and Marketing, all for Outstanding Contributions to the South Florida Theatre Festival. Also previously announced, Jay Harris of Boca Raton will receive the League's oldest and highest honor, the Remy Pioneer Award. Freelance journalist Ron Levitt, the league's current VP and a former Florida Assistant Secretary of State, will receive the Remy Service Award. Yours truly Jack Zink will be tapped for a Lifetime Achievement Award. Gush.

Florida’s legislature 2008 and the arts, #2: The arts & sciences -- and religion, and creationism, and shop.

Fri, 09 May 2008 01:28:45 -0500

More important in many cultural circles than the dollars and cents in the arts funding pipeline during the just-ended Florida state legislative session was lawmaking that had the potential to wipe out a minimal requirement for arts education. It took two decades of argument to convince lawmakers to create a piddling minimum of one credit in fine arts to graduate from high school. Three words might have ended it. The current law requires “One credit in fine or performing arts, which may include speech and debate,” for graduation. An amendment during the session added the phrase “or a practical arts course,” i.e. shop, auto mechanics, etc. The proposal created an either/or choice in which schools could drop “fine arts” entirely and substitute grease monkeyshining to earn a diploma. Efforts to stop the move failed. But the final bill as passed, and expected to be signed, is a compromise that restricts the “practical arts” offerings to courses that incorporate “artistic content and techniques of creativity, interpretation, and imagination. Eligible practical arts courses shall be identified through the Course Code Directory.” By including the language not only that the courses include artistic content etc., but also that specific courses must be identified in the statewide course code, the original intent of the statute is preserved, to a degree. Florida’s miniscule arts education requirement has been eroded somewhat. But in a year marked with even more frightening battles in a powerful state board over religion, creationism and science in the classroom, the fine/practical arts compromise seems somehow like a victory. Details, as usual, can be found most easily at the Florida Cutural Alliance website. Click on "advocacy."

Florida's legislature 2008 and the arts #1: Bleeding to tolerate.

Fri, 09 May 2008 01:21:35 -0500

The numbers in the 2008-09 state budget for the arts and culture remained steady as the legislative session reached its close last week. Arts support passed through the Dept. of State's Division of Cultural Affairs totals $6.3 million, with another $1.2 million in grants through the Division of Historical Resources. These are sharp drops that likely will take years to rebuild to previous levels, perhaps longer than the recovery from slashes in the economic downturn after the 2001 World Trade Center attack. But times are tough and no one's whining over whether or not the share is fair. Most of the money that could be found will be redistributed to organizations throughout the state over the next year. What's odd, however, is how much legislators were able to carve out for cultural building projects in various districts, many of them tied to magnet schools, colleges and universities: $77 million. The big chunks go to central and north Florida schools, $20 million for a Univ. of South Florida visual and performing arts facility in Tampa, $10 million to Florida State University in Tallahassee, $7.5 million for a University of Central Florida arts complex. Here in South Florida top grantees include FIU ($433,000), Florida Holocaust Museum ($300,000), New World School of the Arts ($1 million), and the Miami Circle preservation site ($2.2 million). The legislature's arts record was tracked by the Florida Cultural Alliance. For complete details and links to bills, etc. visit the FLCA website and click on "advocacy."

Pompano Beach-based "Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy" headed to Broadway

Mon, 05 May 2008 14:15:00 -0500

Neil Goldberg's Pompano Beach-based Cirque Productions began mounting Cirque-like shows for sponsored events such as conventions at indoor venues back in 1993, when Cirque du Soleil was exploding into a tour giant with its tent shows. A few years later, Goldberg's nouveau circus shows moved into theaters as ticketed events, and not long ago broke onto Broadway America's national touring circuit, where the latest show "Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy" is now. it played the Kravis Center last winter and is now in the Hawaiian Islands. On June 16, the show moves to Broadway, at the Broadway Theatre, no less, through at least Aug. 24. There's a possibility for an extension (the tour doesn't resume until December). "Jungle Dreams" claims a cast of 25 and 150 costumes. Goldberg also produces revues of Broadway and Hollywood musicals, which have toured frequently, including stops at the Kravis and Broward Centers last month.

Local performers earn spots in 'Riverdance,' 'Porgy And Bess' tours

Mon, 05 May 2008 13:06:00 -0500

The company of of "Riverdance" that arrives at the Kravis Center Tuesday for a week is on the show's U.S. farewell tour, wrapping up in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in June. The Asian and European companies are also shutting down in August and September, with no word on when the show might resume. One of those winding down in the U.S. company is Fort Lauderdale native Anne Reilly, now 20, taking time off from studying art history at Columbia University. It's not her first professional step-dancing experience; she performed with The Chieftains when the group played the Kravis in 2001. Whitehead as Sportin' Life A tip from theater maven Tony Finstrom revealed that actor-dancer-choreographer Reggie Whitehead (left), a three time Carbonell Award-winner, is about to head off on an East European tour of "Porgy and Bess." Intrigued, we caught up with Reggie at his sublease in Manhattan just as he was preparing to return to South Florida for a visit. He'll be here for a week, then dive into rehearsals back into New York. The company leaves May 20 for St. Petersburg, Russia, then on to Warsaw, etc. Wrote Reggie, "I left New York almost 20 years ago and thought I was finished up here." But a friend urged him back and offered to let the "Porgy and Bess" producers know about him. Whitehead will play the role of Sportin' Life. Other offers are starting to break for him, he says, but he's had to pass - all the offers conflict with the "Porgy and Bess" tour dates. "Isn't that the way it always is? There was no contest as to which show I would be doing," he says. Lauren Feldman play Miami actress-playwright Lauren Feldman, currently at the Yale Drama School, will see her latest play premiere Sunday through May 17 as one of three new works in the the school's annual Carlotta Festival of new plays. Feldman says it will be her final and thesis production at Yale.

Theater mini-review: "I'm Not Rappaport" by New Vista Theatre Company

Mon, 05 May 2008 12:00:00 -0500

There is a pleasant surprise waiting out in West Boca where Glades Road meets the ‘Glades, for those who make the hike through mid-May. It’s the New Vista Theatre Company’s revival of “I’m Not Rappaport.” The two old codgers still have miles left on them in the funny-sad 1986 Tony Award-winning Broadway play by Herb Gardner. But after two seasons, the New Vista Theatre Company is still trying to define its place, and space, in the too-large West Boca Performing Arts Center, the campus theater at West Boca High School. Could director Amy London pull off the complex humor and pathos in this emotional piece? The answer is yes, mostly. On paper, “I’m Not Rappaport” seemed a perilous skate for the company and an odd casting vehicle for song-and-dance man Bruce Adler (London’s real-life spouse). His assignment as the crusty old socialist provocateur Nat, a signature (and Tony Award-winning) role for Judd Hirsch, is a bit of a stretch and it shows. Adler’s delivery was peppered with uncertainties on opening night, some but not all caused by technical glitches (and one thankfully short-lived breakdown). The New Vista is pouring effort and expense into production value to fill the space and offer a big-ticket sense. Ian Almeida’s scenery is a near-perfect simulation of the original Broadway concept, requiring spot-on lighting shades provided by Ginny Adams. Paula Villar delivers just so on costumes, but Traci Almeida’s sound design prompts a few head scratches. The full review is posted on the Sun-Sentinel's entertainment page here.

City Theatre announces upcoming Summer Shorts plays

Fri, 02 May 2008 18:25:00 -0500

City Theatre's Summer Shorts festival of quickie plays is coming together, as usual, in a last-month flurry. Just out in the last hour is the lineup of plays in not one but four separate programs due May 29-June 29 in Miami and Fort Lauderdale. The main body of the festival is the two-part Signature Shorts package, 17 playlets in two programs, each running 90 minutes or more (and sometimes it's been plenty more). Added this year is a late-night "edgy" package of seven plays for the uncensored crowd called Undershorts - And on the far side of that, four plays in a program called S4K (Shorts for Kids).

"Splat" by Michael McKeever, a snarky sequel to "The Wizard of Oz," was among the comic highlights of the 2007 Summer Shorts fest

This stuff isn't on the City Theatre website yet, so we're adding a page here with the whole rundown, including a brief description of each play. Still to come are the directors and actors in the 2008 company, and precise schedule. Expect the usual weekend double-headers for Signature Shorts, with both shows and an optional picnic style dinner between. The series runs at Miami's Arsht Center Studio Theatre May 29-June 22, and moves to the Broward Center's Amaturo Theatre June 26-29. The Kids and Undershorts programs are presently set for June 12-22 in Miami. Details will be added to the City Theatre's website as they become available. Or, call the company at 305-755-9401, or the box offices at the Arsht Center, 305-949-6722 and Broward Center, 954-462-0222.

Florida arts funding, entitlements, and etc.

Thu, 01 May 2008 00:05:46 -0500

Sherron Long is one of my favorite persons of all time in any place. She's the president of the Florida Cultural Alliance and runs the Florida Professional Theatre Assn., and has the singular overview vision that virtually everyone she represents lacks. She's spent the past few months, weeks in particular, in a familiar Alamo-style defense of arts and cultural funding during Florida's legislative session. The final-final tally is still to be reckoned but it appears budget allocations to the State Department's division of cultural affairs will be a little over $6 million. On a related front, the state's support for film industry incentives will be $5 million. And there are actually tens of millions tucked away in the appropriations budget for college and university arts facility construction and restoration. There have been significant hits, but neither culture nor commercial show business have been zeroed out for next year. I always have mixed emotions about this. And they're amplified by the supposed conundrum that support for the arts, when rubber meets the road in governmental decision-making, tends to come from (gasp) the Republican side of the aisle. Though I've never been a member (actually a no-party-affiliate since 1968), I've felt that the arts and other benefits of advanced civilization deserve support - but I stop short of entitlement. So, when Sherron sighs that $6 million in Florida arts appropriations is good this year, I agree. Where we both feel that government support is more important is in the philosophy. And last-minute moves will hopefully be successful in preserving a statewide requirement for arts education. That's Senate Bill 1914, with an amendment that would prevent another amendment from replacing auto mechanics and similar pursuits to music and theater as a grad requirement. I"m a pretty good wrench myself, devotee of Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and have rebuilt a short block or two in the carport. But shop is shop and it doesn't equate with the school choir, which deserves its special place.

Spring rites: Music and theater orgs announce their upcoming seasons

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 23:50:33 -0500

You may have already noticed -- the show business news at the moment tends to be loaded with season announcements about what's coming up in the 2008-09 season starting in September-October. This is traditional - it began in early spring with the major arts orgs that plan long-range, and is winding up now with most other groups who want to get the word out before snowbirds head north and the rest of us check out for wherever. Coming days and weeks likely will have plenty more. We'll ID the highlights and give you the links to pour over the details. If you're looking for info on something specific, let me know. I'll checkitout.

Promethean Theatre ready to make impact in fifth season

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 23:43:56 -0500

"We're not doing safe stuff, we're taking risks," says Deborah Sherman, founder-director of the region's current Cinderella theater company. More importantly, she adds The Promethean Theatre is headed into its fifth season and "We didn't make it by not taking major risks. "When we go, we're going to go big or we're going to go home." Thus far, the Promethean - TPT for short - has managed to avoid that kind of finality. They've won on most counts and when they've lost, they've managed to recover. In the process, they've added what she calls a viable option to resident theater in Broward. And now, Sherman and company are offering a truly engaging as well as eclectic collection of plays for the 2008-09 season. The centerpiece will be the March 6-23 regional premiere of David Lindsay-Abaire's "hilarious and heartrending" play "Kimberly Akimbo," about a dysfunctional couple with a teenage daughter who has a rare condition that makes her body age like lightning. The show was commissioned by California's South Coast Repertory and arrived off-Broadway via the Manhattan Theatre Club. Until now, this curious and tender story was something outside the ambition of South Florida theaters. The season will open with "Still the River Runs" Oct. 17-Nov. 2, a bittersweet drama set in central Florida about estranged brothers reunited to bury their grandfather. Ken Clement stars in the title role of "Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol" Dec. 12-21, a backstage riff on Scrooge's version that's already been highlighted on National Public Radio. Following "Akimbo" in March will be "Cannibal: The Musical" in the summer of 2009 in NSU's larger black box space. That's a stage version of Trey Parker's 1995 indie film about a legendary incident in the Rocky Mountains in the 1870s. Information on the company and its season is online at the TPT wehttp://www.theprometheantheatre.orgbsite at theprometheantheatre.org or by calling 786-317-7580.

Welcome to the cabaret: A performing arts and show business manifesto

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:30:00 -0500

"What good's permitting some prophet of doom To wipe every smile away Life is a cabaret, old chum So come to the cabaret." --Lyrics by Fred Ebb, music by John Kander, "Cabaret," Broadway, 1966 Welcome to the blogosphere that encourages discourse from everyone who recognize the obvious: There are few if any boundaries among interests in the arts or their connection to show "business" and pop culture. Plays, musicals, opera, symphony, chorus, recitals, jazz, pop concerts, artspolitik, philanthropy, and much more are part of the Cultural Cabaret. Here, you'll find breaking news and opinion of events - performing arts and show business - in the digital world, often as observation within minutes or hours of an event - previews to the fully vetted online and print news or reviews to follow. Whether the discussion is conducted digitally or on paper, we all need to be a part of the community exchange. Ours is South Florida. These posts are the starting point for you to discuss our cultural community among one another. Now that the cabaret is in full swing with a few scoops and catch-up items on the entertainment news front, it's time to pause for introductions and welcomes. You lounge lizards know the drill - the set begins with a torch song opener, then a ballad, then the entertainer "chats" with you personal-like before diving into the show proper. Here's my chat: I've spent nearly 40 years covering entertainment and the arts for every major newspaper in South Florida, from Miami through the Palm Beaches - over half of it here at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. For much of that time, I've also covered the statewide entertainment industry reporting for "the bible of show business," Variety based in New York City and Daily Variety in Los Angeles. In the overview, that means nights in saloons and salons and sheds (a.k.a. amphitheaters), plus supperclubs, casinos and concert halls, from symphony orchestras to rock festivals, playhouses to theaters to opera houses, movies from the set to the neighborhood multiplex to art cinemas to film festivals, and artspolitik from city hall to the state legislature. That's a jack-of-all-trades experience in a whole bunch of class-conscious worlds with many self-appointed high priests. So, expect to hear some some high-velocity rebuttals from contributors offering counterpoint as we rebuild the roads of information and opinion as two-way, community-wide thoroughfares. This blog and its threads will attempt a univeral approach to the arts and show business without demeaning one to the other. High priests have their place, and their standards deserve defense. I myself am a devotee of Ayn Rand's cultural philosophy and live in a condominium named The Fountainhead, for which I have been board president. This is not entirely coincidence or serendipity. Yet, the differences that propel community expectations populate the arena of the cultural cabaret. On the web, the stage is yours, mine and ours. There is one caveat, however. Anonymous comments won't get a followup or response from here. To be taken seriously, you need to be taken at face value. Without a face, your comments have no value. - Jack Zink

Washington Helen Hayes Awards tap Marc Kudisch, Macbeth, Reefer Madness

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 18:12:00 -0500

What do Washington, D.C.'s theater judges know that no one else does? Well, we do have a good idea of what they've been smoking, and it must be good: Last night, at the 24th Annual Helen Hayes Awards, they chose that cult classic "Reefer Madness" as Outstanding resident musical and Shakespeare's "Macbeth" as Outstanding resident play. Of interest to South Florida, former Broward resident and Florida Atlantic University graduate Marc Kudisch (pictured at left) was named Outstanding lead actor, resident musical for "The Witches of Eastwick" at The Signature Theatre. "Witches," incidentally, was written by former South Florida resident Dana P. Rowe with John Dempsey. The Washington Post has a report on the event.

Palm Beach Dramaworks announces a "Souvenir" season

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:06:00 -0500

Usually among the perks of being a subscriber to a local theater or music group is that you get the announcement of what's happening next season before anyone else--before those of us in the press, even, if the front office manages to keep hush hush. Not so at the moment at Palm Beach Dramaworks. Work piled up and delayed the mailing, cofounder Sue Ellen Beryl told Friday's opening-night swells at "Benefactors." The announcement is being assembled today and is expected to arrive in mailboxes by the end of the week. But the schedule was right there in the program for the opening of Michael Frayn's tale of givers vs. takers. When you're done finding out about what's coming up, the review of that show is here in the Sun-Sentinel's arts section. Once again, the PBD schedule is both unique and interesting. And that begins early, on July 5 with a two-month run of the 2005 Broadway comedy-with-music "Souvenir." It's a portrait of Florence Foster Jenkins, a socialite who fancied herself a singer (an excellent one at that). Instead, she became a celebrity icon of bad taste and lack of talent. Casting is top flight with a pair of Carbonell multiple-award winners, Beth Dimon and Tom Kenaston. The four-show 2008-09 main stage season beginning in the fall will have two classics, Eugene O'Neill's "A Moon for the Misbegotten" and could very well stand up as the professional regional premiere of Eugene Ionesco's absurdist 1952 tragicomedy "The Chairs." At least, there's no record of one in our digital or print records. If anyone is aware of a previous local production, please drop a line. Also on tap will be "The Weir," Conor McPherson's 1998 collection of ghost stories told in a bar, and the Florida premiere of Edward Albee's "Peter and Jerry." Albee's work is a pairing of his first play, 1959's "The Zoo Story," with a prequel he wrote for the Hartford Stage in 2004 called "Homelife." None of that is up on their website as of this writing, but you can leave an email or call (561) 514-4042 to get in on the action early. The company remains in its (very) tiny Banyan Street playhouse space for now, but continues to work with both government and corporate bigwigs on plans to find a larger space in the downtown West Palm Beach area.

Swank Palm Beach hotel, the Colony, keeps cabaret cooking all summer

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:01:00 -0500

No, Palm Beach does not roll up its sidewalks in the summer. At least, not in front of the Colony Hotel, where the Royal Room will continue its cabaret series and the Polo Steakhouse goes Motown on weekends, through Labor Day. Though you might be able to find on-street parking in the off-season, the island remains pricey year-round. Dinner and show prices range $95-$110 per person for the Royal's summer rotation. Shows are 8 p.m. with dinners from 6:45 p.m. Among the attractions, Palm Beach County resident Avery Sommers (pictured) will be making her Royal Room debut on Fridays and Saturdays for three weekends, Aug. 1-16. Liz Callaway comes in for the coup de grace Aug. 22-30. The summer begins with torch singer Maude Maggart May 23-31, Baby Jane Dexter June 6-14, Jeff Harner June 20-28, Eric Comstock and Barbara Fasano July 4-12, and Sheera Ben-David July 18-26, last year's Backstage Magazine Bistro Award winner. For more details, check out the Colony website or call 561-659-8100.

Met Opera expands HD series

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:01:36 -0500

New York's Metropolitan Opera will expand its high-definition broadcast schedule from eight to 11 transmissions next season, the project's third. The number of theaters carrying the performances will go up from 600 to 800, expanding to more countries and (gasp!) cruise ships worldwide. Let's hope the Met adds at least one more theater in South Florida - specifically in Broward County, which thus far has no venue for the series while there are several in Palm Beach and Miami-Dade. The 2008-09 lineup will have a total of 11 performances from the opening night gala Sept. 22 (The HD series weekly hostess Renee Fleming, pictured at left, in scenes from various operas) through May 9. On schedule is the Met preem of John Adams' "Doctor Atomic," Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazon in "Lucia Di Lammermoor," a new production by Chicago/Broadway director Mary Zimmerman of "La Sonnambula," and Angela Gheorgiu with Roberto Alagna in "La Rondine," among others. A complete list and details are available on the Met website. Tickets won't go on sale until August, though.