features
1909: Community Builders Shaping Palm Beach County
‘The House of Blue Leaves’ Portrays our Celebrity, Fame-Obsessed Culture
Sean Scott: Part of a Culture of Coffee Connoisseurs in America
[As published in West Palm Beach Magazine.]
1909 was an important and inspiring year for Florida. That was the year Palm Beach County, a paradise waiting to be explored, became the state’s 47th county and set different rhythms for those who came seeking more than the tropical breezes and coconut palm trees—a new way of life and culture.
But today, there’s a movement, a collective of founders and creators also aptly called 1909.
Sean Scott: Part of a Culture of Coffee Connoisseurs in America
‘The House of Blue Leaves’ Portrays our Celebrity, Fame-Obsessed Culture
Sean Scott: Part of a Culture of Coffee Connoisseurs in America
Sean Scott likes good coffee. He is part of that culture that doesn’t mind paying $10 lattes both for a purist’s pleasure and for a good cause. Now, if you love a good cup of coffee—or a great adventure story—you’ll love this up-close look behind one of the most popular coffee shops on Clematis Street with some of today’s best beans. [As published in West Palm Beach Magazine’s Fall 2019 Print Edition]
America has a peculiar obsession with good coffee. And Sean Scott, owner of Subculture, one of the most popular coffee shops on Clematis Street in West Palm Beach, will admit his shop does not have a sexy title. After all, what they do is simple stuff. At the core, Subculture is a soulful space that was created for the community five years ago.
Born and raised in Massachusetts, Scott moved to South Florida when he was 20 years old. He Went to Palm Beach Atlantic University [PBA], where he admits, “I did not major in business or in the culinary arts, but in psychology.” Well, that makes sense, as he deals with people day in and day out.
When he graduated from PBA in 2001, he noticed there were no cool coffee houses in the area. Barnes & Noble’s coffee shop became his hangout, which at the time, was all there was. And that got him thinking, I will start one. Read more>>
‘The House of Blue Leaves’ Portrays our Celebrity, Fame-Obsessed Culture
‘The House of Blue Leaves’ Portrays our Celebrity, Fame-Obsessed Culture
‘The House of Blue Leaves’ Portrays our Celebrity, Fame-Obsessed Culture
he House of Blue Leaves, enacted by a talent-stuffed cast, might have been written 40 years ago, but looking at today’s celebrity and fame obsessed culture, it could have been written yesterday.
First staged in 1966, American playwright, John Guare’s comic play, The House of Blue Leaves is an absurdist black comedy that has since then intensified its twisted view of fame, celebrity, religion, and the American Dream.
Now playing at Palm Beach Dramaworks and directed by J. Barry Lewis, this poignant comedy won the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best American Play in 1971. Still today, it is a popular production. When the play was written, fame was still an unattainable dream for the average American, but in this era of YouTube and Instagram, Guare’s characters don’t seem too far-fetched and the universal idea of stardom is not so quaint.
The play unfolds in New York City on the day the Pope is expected to visit. People are taking to the streets in droves in the sleepy borough of Queens, all to get a glimpse or a blessing from His Holiness. One found in the hordes of people is Bunny Flingus [Vanessa Morosco], a femme-fatale from Flushing. She is firing things up in the quiet, unfulfilled life of aspiring songwriter Artie Shaughnessy [Bruce Linser], a zookeeper at the Central Park Zoo in New York, who dreams of writing a hit song, moving to Hollywood with Bunny, and leaving his unhappy and complicated marriage behind. Read more>>>
The Classic, Brutal Beauty of “A Streetcar Named Desire”
Waterstone’s Idyllic Location Turns a Weekend in Boca Raton into a Mini-Vacation
‘The House of Blue Leaves’ Portrays our Celebrity, Fame-Obsessed Culture
In A Streetcar Named Desire, American playwright Tennessee Williams created characters that bring love and hate to a feverish pitch on the stage. Such is the effect of a magnificent play, so magnificently done. And at Palm Beach Dramaworks, the production is the result of J. Barry Lewis’ searing direction. [As published in West Palm Beach Magazine’s digital edition.]
“Stella!” For those old enough to remember that iconic, single line, and even those not familiar with Tennessee William’s classic play, A Streetcar Named Desire, that gut-wrenching scream cuts straight through our veins. As far as I’m concerned, no other play of that era has that brutal beauty, evoking such explosive emotion on stage, as well as on the screen.
Muoio in Control
Waterstone’s Idyllic Location Turns a Weekend in Boca Raton into a Mini-Vacation
Waterstone’s Idyllic Location Turns a Weekend in Boca Raton into a Mini-Vacation
Former West Palm Beach Mayor Jeri Muoio walking along Clematis Street in Downtown West Palm Beach just a few weeks before finishing her second term. Photo by Addiel Perera. As printed in West Palm Beach Magazine, April/June 2019.
Three years ago, I interviewed Mayor Jeri Muoio in her office on 401 Clematis Street. As part of the story I was writing, I accompanied her to an open space in the building where she showed me all the plans she was working on for the city. The oversized map was filled with loose leaf sheets, each designating a different project, at the time, over 280 in all. As I leaned forward and got a closer look, the sheer sense of research, dollars, and man power representing each left me speechless. I looked up at her slim profile and saw a vibrant woman, very comfortable in her shoes.
When I arranged to meet Muoio this time, the main reason I remembered that day was that much of what I saw on that wall has been accomplished and others are in line to be wrapped up. The Walkability project was the catalyst. Seeing people walking about, sharing life with others, enjoying the beauty of West Palm Beach’s downtown and waterfront, bringing more and more businesses and people to our shore is what moved Muoio then, and still does.
Click here to read the rest of this interview, or visit wpbmagazine.com. [As published in West Palm Beach Magazine April/June 2019 print edition.]
Waterstone’s Idyllic Location Turns a Weekend in Boca Raton into a Mini-Vacation
Waterstone’s Idyllic Location Turns a Weekend in Boca Raton into a Mini-Vacation
Waterstone’s Idyllic Location Turns a Weekend in Boca Raton into a Mini-Vacation
The Waterstone Resort & Marina can simply turn a three-day weekend into a mini-vacation, where you can linger longer in luxury and enjoy lazy days by the poolside or beach shore. But don’t stop there. You can also spend your afternoon and night busy discovering Boca Raton’s chic stores, cafes, and award-winning restaurants.
[As published in West Palm Beach Magazine]
Boca Raton was incorporated in 1925, and for as long as it has existed, this tropical splendor has become the most wonderful resort city in the world, gaining its nickname as the “Beverly Hills of South Florida.” While some of its eastern edges along the white sand beaches of the Atlantic Ocean have been reserved for quiet and peaceful getaways, beyond the seacoast smells there is Waterstone Resort & Marina, one of the Curio Collection by Hilton’s hidden treasures.
Lately, the parts of Waterstone where the resort’s east side bumps against the Atlantic Ocean has many of us trailing back to Boca. Opened in 2014, this luxurious Four-Diamond boutique hotel is no longer just a one-night resting spot. Its elegant but easy-going atmosphere is attracting business travelers, singles, couples, and friends and families looking to experience culture and a retreat with spectacular comfort and water views.
Audrey Farrelli’s Tea House: A Place to Gather
The Cottage Corner: Tina Hardman’s Perfect Place
The Cottage Corner: Tina Hardman’s Perfect Place
Audrey Farrelli’s Serenity Garden Tea House & Café is a flowered-covered cottage set amid a cluster of separated homes turned businesses with a bucolic backdrop, the very definition of restful bliss. Rest, however, has been in short supply for Farrelli this fine afternoon, as she’s just finished hosting three parties.
Prior to our interview, she shuffled out of the dining room, where moments before there had been a flurry of female encounters and stuck her head in the kitchen to ensure everything was in order for the next drove of guests.
We’re meeting up to talk about her tea house, which coincidentally, she is excited to talk about. And thankfully, she has a lot to say about other things, including the state of affairs of S. Dixie Highway Corridor’s future in the city. To read the rest of this interview, visit West Palm Beach Magazine.
The Cottage Corner: Tina Hardman’s Perfect Place
The Cottage Corner: Tina Hardman’s Perfect Place
The Cottage Corner: Tina Hardman’s Perfect Place
A hair salon is a woman’s sanctuary. A home away from home. A place to detox, get beautified and pampered. It is where females, young and old, gravitate to like bees to honey.
Tina Hardman, owner of Citrus Hair Salon and Spa wanted such a place as her business. And she found her spot at 1800 South Dixie Highway, just a few steps south from the famous Norton Museum in a corner lot lovingly known as the Cottage Corner.
The four charming white cottages, circa 1920s, are owned by four different women with four distinct businesses that complement each other quite well. A jeweler, a tea house owner, a complexion specialist, a hair stylist. Tina Hardman’s cottage faces S. Dixie Highway and Vallete Way, and her citrus logo in hues of oranges, yellows and greens defines her place perfectly. To read the rest of this story, visit West Palm Beach Magazine.
The Spitfire Grill Puts Women in the Spotlight
The Cottage Corner: Tina Hardman’s Perfect Place
Palm Beach Dramaworks’ “Fences” Tells a Story of Duality
Best described as a play with music rather than a straight folk musical, The Spitfire Grill, written by James Valcq, pulls at the heartstrings of its audience. The two-act play is a musical adaptation of the 1996 film by the same title, which puts women in the spotlight.
Since its world premiere in 2000 at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and then the off-Broadway production on September 7, 2001, The Spitfire Grill has been produced more than 600 times throughout the country and the world, including countries such as England, Scotland, Germany, Japan, Canada, The Netherlands and Australia, among others. And so, how fitting that as Palm Beach Dramaworks decided to bring the first musical to its main stage, it chose this world renown musical as part of its subscription season. To read the rest of this article, visit West Palm Beach Magazine.
Palm Beach Dramaworks’ “Fences” Tells a Story of Duality
Palm Beach Dramaworks’ “Fences” Tells a Story of Duality
Palm Beach Dramaworks’ “Fences” Tells a Story of Duality
Fences is a play written about a black family in a Pittsburgh neighborhood in 1957, but it is also about the coming of age in the life of a broken black man named Troy Maxson [Lester Purry].
From the moment August Wilson’s play “Fences” starts, there’s an energy on stage that’s palpable. Palm Beach Dramaworks never disappoints with the choices it makes in productions, whether it’s a comedy, musical or drama, like in this case. The craftsmanship of the set is more than you would expect from a regional theatre. But it is dramas like “Fences” that make PBDW’s tagline “theatre to think about” glimmer like a neon sign on Broadway. To read the rest of the article, visit West Palm Beach Magazine.
A Taste of French Fare in the Heart of Northwood Village
Palm Beach Dramaworks’ “Fences” Tells a Story of Duality
A Taste of French Fare in the Heart of Northwood Village
Like the Reblochon, a soft washed-rind cheese from the French Alps, this buchons [small bistro] is flavored with simple and fresh dishes that add a luxurious touch to our northern part of town.
France is known for many things. Its fabuleux fashion style, magnifique culture and delicioux cuisine. Find yourself staring at photos of Parisian women and you wonder how they happen to look so perfect all of the time. [Their secret is they develop a signature look, and stick with it.] Google the map of France and select the sprawling southern city of Lyon, which is the gastronomic capital of France, and the world, and you’re likely to book the first flight out to France.
Don’t worry, you are not alone.
Coincidentally, you don’t have to travel far to get a true taste of France. Always looking for the story behind a name, I stopped for lunch with a friend by Bistro Bistro in Northwood Village, which is located less than two miles north from Downtown West Palm Beach. >>Read more
“West Palm Beach: a City on the Move” Tells our Story
Palm Beach Dramaworks’ “Fences” Tells a Story of Duality
A Taste of French Fare in the Heart of Northwood Village
The City of West Palm Beach authored its first book and while it is a great marketing tool to reach investors, developers and business owners interested in forming a business relationship, “West Palm Beach: a City on the Move” is also about us—its people.
Sometimes all it takes to re-center and refresh your mind and body is taking a walk to the waterfront and staring off into the tranquil Lake Worth Lagoon. If that doesn’t energize you, perhaps the city’s vibrant and urban vibe will. West Palm Beach is a city on the move, and the people who live and work here are the engine that powers it.
West Palm Beach Mayor Jeri Muoio views a new book entitled “West Palm Beach: a City on the Move,” as a great way to tell our story. The book’s title offers a picture of the future, and we are not the only ones to think we are flourishing. The City is ranked in the Top 20 on the Forbes “America’s Fastest-Growing Cities” 2017 list and Top 40 on their “The Best Places for Business & Careers” 2017 list. >>Read more