Arts & Culture

If the thought of seeing posed corpses stripped of their casings at the “Bodies” exhibit grosses you out, head over to Lèche-Vitrines Art Alliance (3038 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale) to see the human form via more aesthetically traditional means. Over 50 original, primarily figurative works by Boynton Beach artist…

The holidays are a great time for pomp and circumstance. We deck our halls with displays of lights, ginormous Christmas trees, and oversized inflatable figures — and because personal displays aren’t enough, crowds often head out to the most ornate neighborhoods to ooh and aah at the decorative spectacle. Look…

The word mentalist has quite a few different meanings. If you’re from the UK, it’s someone who’s locked in a mental institution. We Americans, on the other hand, conjure images of third-rate hypnotists twirling faux gold pocket watches until their subjects cluck like chickens. But Marc Salem isn’t some hack…

Long before Johnny Depp made the movie, Sweeney Todd was a tale of 19th Century British folklore. In the movie a bloodthirsty madman goes on a murderous rampage, seeking revenge for…well, we won’t spoil it for you here. And after he kills, he does something to the bodies that is…

What’s our most important national holiday? Christmas, though economically stimulating, is not universally celebrated. Thanksgiving is too boring to be catalyzing. The Fourth of July borrows its central theme (fireworks) from China. How about New Year’s Eve? Ahh… now that’s a holiday modeled after the American spirit! Just think about…

Ahh, Christmas tree, we’ve shared a lot of good times. Remember when the cats climbed up your bushy branches and knocked you over, breaking two thirds of your high fashion accessories (ornaments)? Ooh! Or how about the time the dog got sick from drinking the aspirin water in your stand…

If there’s one factor that completely separates a comedian’s live performances from his pre-recorded material, it’s the thrill of possible failure. You know: that chance that he could get out on stage and bomb his ass off. Like, the booing, jeering, heckling sort of bomb. But sometimes laying an egg…

You love Foreigner. Every time that you slide into your Camaro and pop that self-titled album in the tape deck, it truly does “feel like the first time.” Instantly, you’re fumbling through time and space, and you’re 18 again, smokin’ doobage until you got “Double Vision” with your high school…

You find solace in the ocean. Allowing yourself to examine the waves – from distant ripples, to suction-like C’s, to eventual breakdowns, racing forward to tickle the sand – gives you peace. There’s comfort in change, in knowing that each of those waves, however temporary, will affect the lives of…

If you can get past their oppressively overquaffed opening-night parties, Florida Stage really is an interesting experiment. It is a huge company with expensive facilities and, if its location in the middle of Manalapan means anything, an almost disturbingly wealthy subscription base. Yet the theater handles exclusively new or very…

Nothing says “holiday spirit” quite like stabbing a terrorist or hammering a goombah, as the hottest games this season invite us to do. But no matter how cutting-edge the stars of 2007 may be, they are also unmistakably familiar. This week, we stack the holiday hits of today against the…

It’s tough being holy during the holidays. Sinners pack your church to maximum capacity in an impulsive effort for atonement, leaving you – the good church-goer – in the standing room only section, with no clear view of the preacher over that steaming cloud of hypocrisy. It’s enough to make…

Aren’t you tired of making every errand on your list about others? You should be. Taking a little time for you is the key to enjoying the holidays. Totally Bare Wax Center (2394 N. Federal Hwy., Fort Lauderdale) agrees. That’s why it’s giving you a gift: your first eyebrow, lip,…

If there’s a lesson to be learned from watching Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, it’s this: Never have children. If you do, from the time they are small and asking to go on expensive field trips to when they’re old and hoping to solve their financial messiness by knocking…

It can’t be easy for an insult comic to make friends (trying to form small talk with someone whose joy arises from demolishing another would wear on even the most patient person). It’s even more difficult for comics whose material edges the boundaries of what’s funny, and what’s downright mean…

Have you ever been at a restaurant, talking with a friend, when you sense suddenly that the table next to you is quieting down and obliquely tuning in? As you realize this, you probably pipe up your voice, expand your gestures and laughs, and begin acting. So it’s obvious: audiences,…

It’s hard to say when public opinion on yentas corroded, but it could be traced to the ´70s. That’s when Frank Zappa crooned about vicious Jewish-American princesses with titanic tits and sand-blasted zits. Yep, these oft-maligned J.A.P.s were called boisterous, arrogant, and materialistic – hell, it was enough to make…

Jeff Daniels’ tenth play, Guest Artist, is something of a head-scratcher — one that attempts to tackle deeper questions than you’d ordinarily expect from him. Don’t get us wrong — he’s a fine actor and a great playwright. But you get the feeling he just doesn’t get the chance to…