Remember Omar Sharif? He’s been all but absent from the silver screen in recent years (though he has been seen — or at least heard — on television). According to the actor, he left the trade by choice: “Let us stop this nonsense, these meal tickets that we do because…
Painter David Maxwell is sitting in the spacious backyard at his Miramar duplex (one of his daughters lives in the front half) when I arrive for a visit on a perfect South Florida Sunday morning. He and his wife of 33 years, Mary, have just returned from their customary weekend…
Stepping into Asoka Bali, an unassuming little shop next to Old Florida Seafood in Wilton Manors, is akin to passing through a portal into another world. Sensory overload sets in immediately, in a good way. The scent of incense wafts through the air, along with soft Asian music. But it’s…
Sometimes life really does imitate art. In a parallel universe, the New Theatre’s artistic director, Rafael de Acha, could be a world-famous Hollywood studio chief, renowned for his skill at ferreting out new works of genius. In our own less-judicious universe, de Acha isn’t well-known outside of South Florida. But…
“Return to Realism: Contemporary Art from The UBS Collection” — At 43 pieces by 30 artists, this exhibition at the Boca Raton Museum of Art is smaller than “Embracing the Present: The UBS PaineWebber Art Collection,” which was on display a year ago at Fort Lauderdale’s Museum of Art. But…
Now that the party is over and you’re stuck trying to get that damn vodka-and-cranberry-juice stain out of your carpet, it’s time to reflect on the single woman’s favorite page-turner, Sex and the City. Yes, before it was the biggest hit on cable television, it was a best-selling book by…
THU 4 What would Jesus do? That is, if he were alive today and planning his Thursday night? Would he stay in and watch The Apprentice (which is getting real good now that it’s down to the final few contestants), or would he venture out to offer his two cents…
Ballet for beginners SAT 3/6 If you show up early for the Miami City Ballet’s “Ballet for Young People,” you’ll get to watch dancers from one of the largest ballet companies in the country warm up on-stage. Geared toward 5- to 8-year-olds and families who wouldn’t ordinarily attend a full-length…
An explosion of talent MON 3/8 In its purest form, the art world is the default home of free expression, a place where diversity is celebrated and any viewpoint is relevant, no matter how outrageous or far from the mainstream. Staying true to this ideal, local arts organization ArtsUnited presents…
Some acts of courage command everyone’s respect: the firefighter’s return to a burning house to rescue a child, the infantryman’s sacrifice of self for a wounded comrade, the weary black woman’s refusal to yield her seat on a segregated bus. Sometimes, though, courage can feel clouded — especially when it’s…
At first glance, Hidalgo seems to be nothing more than an old-fashioned, flat-footed adventure epic plunked down on a vast stretch of desert and amply furnished with the usual Hollywood conventions — a strong, silent cowboy on horseback, a couple of villains with nasty black mustaches, a killer sandstorm, and…
On the face of it, Jolson and Company, the latest biographical musical presented by the Coconut Grove Playhouse, should be dead on arrival. Its subject, Al Jolson, became a star before World War I, died more than a half-century ago, and hardly registers in the contemporary Zeitgeist. He was reputed…
Blind Date: The New Theatre presents another world premiere with Mario Diament’s Blind Date. Diament is the Miami-based, Argentine-born author of The Book of Ruth and Smithereens. As the title suggests, the play explores encounters between strangers, sighted and blind. Directed by Rafael de Acha. March 6 through April 4…
Record companies love to say that their song did well at the Winter Music Conference, which gets underway this weekend at various venues in Miami. “This was the hit of WMC!” looks great splashed across the sales sheets and press releases. Naturally they’re lying more than half the time. But…
Art in the here and now THU 3/4 Sometimes, it seems the biggest difference between big-time Hollywood movies and small, independent films is the level of hype. Although Mel Gibson’s controversial The Passion of the Christ will most likely generate more visceral reaction than critical thought, local films such as…
Walk (or Run) this Way SAT 3/6 Enjoy the breezy spring temperatures, because in no time flat, every rush-hour motorist from here to the Golden Glades will be sticking to his seat with sweat. Think you can pull yourself away from the pool long enough to run a few miles?…
Willie ever slow down? SAT 2/21 The comparison is inevitable, and it goes beyond the signature braids. Both Willie Nelson and Pippi Longstocking sport the same hairstyle. Both are fiercely independent and massively beloved. They were both abandoned by their parents, and they both have, at all times, a helluva…
Shakespeare, Matrix-style FRI 2/27 Romeo, Romeo, where’s your long black coat? Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is one of the world’s most famous plays, but the Fort Lauderdale Children’s Theatre puts a few new spins on the classic tale of star-crossed lovers. In most productions of the play, the lead actors…
FRI 2/27 Every now and then, it’s important to treat yourself to the finer things in life. For the average barfly, that means splurging on some expensive imported ale in lieu of the usual draft specials. But how often do you get to spend an evening sipping up to 100…
Nile Rodgers brings that beat back SUN 2/29 Even though disco music’s relevance in pop culture has receded into 4 a.m. infomercial-land, there’s still an audience for its dance-funk party anthems. Though some viewed the genre’s artists as prefabricated hacks, one of its more talented torchbearers was Nile Rodgers, who…
This Jew has spent several hours in the past week reading all four Gospels, as well as various supplementary (and often inflammatory) texts, upon which Mel Gibson based his The Passion of the Christ. I’ve read the interpretations of scholars, the apologias of popes, and the damnations of zealots. I’ve…
So this grown man walks into another teen-girl movie. He is not stunned to learn that it concerns clothes, fun, clothes, peer pressure, and clothes. The world outside can be ugly as hell, though, so he commences with the cynicism on low. This particular teen-girl movie is not about bopping…
