Entertainment – Page 2 – West Boca News

West Boca Rocks the Cappies

West Boca High celebrates the Cappies evening

Boca High and West Boca High both did well at the South Florida Cappies Gala on Tuesday evening at the Broward Center. The Cappies is an awards program for high school theatre and theatre journalism. The South Florida chapter includes 28 high schools, mostly in Broward and Palm Beach counties.

For the biggest awards of the evening, Boca High won the Musical award and Trevor Wayne won Lead Actor for their performance of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, while West Boca High’s Alexia Assuncao won for Lead Actress in a Musical from their show, Chicago.

Other local award winners included:

Kayla Goldfarb, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Lead Critic
“Brothers”, Boca High, Ensemble in a Musical
Lee Alhanti, Marjory Stoneman, Creativity (Shrek)
Bridget Foley, Marjory Stoneman, Comic Actress in a Musical
Adams, Posner, Chapman and Guin, Boca High, Lighting
Kanterman, Morelli, Stricker and Crew, West Boca, Stage Management and Stage Crew
Samuel Cadieux, West Boca, Male Dancer
John Barnitt, Marjory Stoneman, Featured Actor in a Musical
Ryan Lim from West Boca for Male Vocalist

We previously wrote about the two Boca schools splitting 29 nominations.
Schools in the greater Boca area that participate include Boca High, Deerfield Beach High, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High (Parkland), North Broward Prep (Coconut Creek), Saint John Paul II High (on Military Trail near Lynn University), and West Boca High.
West Boca High celebrated their evening:

Let's Hear it for Footloose!

The Marquee Theater Company closed out their 2015-16 season yesterday with Footloose, the Musical. We really enjoyed the show. The musical, based on the movie, featured hit songs such as “Holding Out for a Hero,” “Let’s Hear it for the Boy” and “I’m Free/Heaven Help Me.” There were also new tunes including standouts “I Can’t Stand Still” and “Somebody’s Eyes.”
Footloose is the story of Ren McCormack, a teenage boy who moves with his mother to the small town of Bomont. They are forced to leave Chicago after his Dad leaves them and move in with his Aunt and Uncle. Ren has a hard time adjusting especially when he finds out Reverend Shaw has convinced the town to outlaw dancing. Ariel, the Reverend’s daughter, is dealing with her own family tragedy. She and Willard help Ren in his attempts to change the law so the high school kids can have a school dance.

Ariel played by Emily Tarallo and Ren played by James Giordano had great chemistry, particularly on their number “Almost Paradise.” We especially enjoyed Emily’s voice on “Holding Our for a Hero” and look forward to hearing her in future productions. The entire cast and crew, including 5 students from West Boca High’s Drama Department, did a great job. The dance numbers were a lot of fun and the music was upbeat.
The Marquee Theater Company has announced their 2016-17 season: Fiddler on the Roof (September 30-October 9), Dreamgirls (January 21-29) and Legally Blonde (May 6-14). To find out more about the Company, go to marqueetheatercompany.com.

West Boca High and Boca High Musicals Split 29 "Cappies" Nominations

The West Boca High and Boca High Drama Departments racked up a total of 29 nominations for the South Florida Cappies.

The Cappies, “Critics and Awards Program,” is a program through which high school theatre and journalism students are trained as critics, attend shows at other schools, write reviews, and publish those reviews in local newspapers …

The South Florida chapter includes schools in Broward and Palm Beach counties. Nominations for West Boca High’s performance of Chicago included:

Hair and Makeup – Cristina Cautero, Amanda Helbling, Victoria Martin, Missy Varela
Costumes – Jewelia Carter, Elizabeth Yarris, and Crew
Sets – Ryan Hartman, Cristina Rodriguez, George Said, and Crew
Stage Management and Crew – Heather Goughan, Mathew Kanterman, Nick Morelli, Kayla Stricker
Male Dance Ensemble

Featured Actress in a Musical – Sammi Frankenbush
Female Dancer – Carolyn Castillo

Male Dance – Sam Cadieux
Male Vocalist – Ryan Lim
Comedic Actor – Matthew Madden
Supporting Actress – Hillary Corniel
Lead Actress – Alexia Assuncao
Best Song – Both Reach For The Gun
Best Musical

The troupe is also coming off an outstanding performance at the state Thespian Festival last month.

Boca High also did well with 15 nominations for their performance of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Marketing – Matez and Crew
Special Effects – Stewart, Ballarte, Piccin and Crew
Sound – Kachur, Lubin, Benedict
Props
Lighting – Adams, Posner, Chapman and Guin
Costumes – Hunsucker, Narino, Schmidt and Crew
Stage Management – Hunsucker and Crew
Ensemble in a Musical – Brothers
Featured Actor – Matthew Moore
Female Dancer – Allegra Mannarino
Female Vocalist – Channing Ramsey
Supporting Actor – Alec Taylor
Lead Actor – Trevor Wayne
Song – Those Canaan Days
Best Musical

Both schools are in the running for Best Musical, along with South Plantation High School, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, and NSU University School, all in Broward. To see the full slate, click – 2016 South Florida Cappies Nominations.
In 2015 Boca High won 5 Cappies for The Drowsy Chaperone and West Boca High won 3 for The Addams Family. West Boca High won Best Musical in 2014 with Young Frankenstein.

Hiromi Trio: Concert in Davie

Fans of innovative music were treated to a special concert at Broward College in Davie earlier this week – Hiromi Trio: Concert at Bailey Hall Presents.
Led by Hiromi (full name is Hiromi Uehara or 上原ひろみ), the trio includes Anthony Jackson and Simon Phillips. The three have been working together for several years now and it shows. You can see the connection on stage.

Image from the performance from the Hiromi Facebook page.

As we sat in Bailey Hall, Hiromi played piano with tremendous energy, even ferocity, on one side close to the front of the stage. Jackson sat comfortably and relaxed in the middle, back a bit, on the contrabass guitar. Phillips was on the right playing drums at varying levels of intensity depending on the moment.
While Hiromi is the star of the show, she chose some outstanding talent to accompany her. Anthony Jackson is an accomplished bassist. His credits include working with Madonna, Chick Corea, Steely Dan, Chaka Khan, Buddy Rich, Paul Simon, Dizzy Gillespie and many more. From Wikipedia: “He has performed live in more than 30 countries, and has recorded in more than 3000 sessions on more than 500 albums.”
Drummer Simon Phillips is no slouch either. He was with rock band Toto for 22 years and has played with Jeff Beck, Mick Jagger, Judas Priest, Tears for Fears, Whitesnake, David Gilmour, Frank Zappa and, as with Jackson, many more. “He was the drummer for The Who in their 1989 American reunion tour, and appeared on solo recordings by band members Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend.”

image and map data by Google — image by Google

Hiromi is from Hamamatsu Japan, near Nagoya. She came to the US at the age of 20 and studied at the Berklee College of Music. She signed a record contract with Telarc at age 23 and has been touring since 2003. We spoke on the phone before the concert. She travels all over the world but has places in both Tokyo and New York City. She does not get to do much sightseeing on the road unless she has a free day, so she has little experience with the South Florida lifestyle. She does love to experience local cuisine and was looking forward to trying Cuban food.
Her music is commonly referred to as jazz or jazz fusion, though she doesn’t think her music fits so easily in such labels.
Our music expert said that it was outstanding. Hiromi put a lot of emotion into her performance. The music was both unique and interesting. The three blended their rhythms well.
Their new album, Spark, was just released in early April. It is available directly from her website, or on iTunes.
You can read a professional review of the album on All About Jazz, and see some bits of the music as well as Hiromi talking about it below:

Deals This Week: Valentine's Day and More

Here are some of the best deals available this week in or near West Boca, both for Valentine’s Day and otherwise.

Boca’s Best BBQ has a breakfast deal: “Any breakfast plate for $9.99.”
From Stella’s Pizzeria: “We’re running a dine-in wine special on Valentine’s Day. All glasses and bottles are half-off! (Reg $7/$28 now $3.50/$14). And we’re still running the buy 5 get 1 free large pizza special as well.”
Boca Black Box is doing a Girls Night Out deal on Thursday:

The password is “peekaboo” (when you get to checkout) for advance tickets online at www.bocablackbox.com for this show only. We tried it and it saves you $7.50 on the front orchestra seats.
Also they’re doing the Jackie Mason Musical on Saturday the 13th and Sunday the 14th – comedy can be romantic!

Here are some offers from Groupon:
Deals at Sakred Nightclub (Palmetto & Powerline)
https://www.groupon.com/deals/sakred
$79 deal on hair straightening, 441 near Palmetto
https://www.groupon.com/deals/exquisite-stylez-by-joanne
$35 for adult swim fitness classes, in Mission Bay south of Glades and west of 441
https://www.groupon.com/deals/kiso-swim-school-2
Golf lessons at Osprey Point (South County Regional Park)
https://www.groupon.com/deals/stan-moore-performance-golf
Two weeks of unlimited Pure Barre for $39, in Westwinds plaza (Home Depot)
https://www.groupon.com/deals/pure-barre-west-boca-1