Me and my friend Jeff on the dramatic patio of the Il San Pietro hotel near Positano. The lunch we were served at the Il San Pietro di Positano hotel  was scrumptious, from the pasta appetizer  to the dessert. But I honestly can’t remember exactly what was on the menu.  I was focused on the [...]

All 296 passengers on the intimate, elegant Silver Wind seemed to be on the pool deck for our sail-away from Venice on  Tuesday.  Who would want to miss what has to be one of the most dramatic departure experiences at sea? We slowly advanced down the Giudecca Canal,  surrounded by a flotilla of water taxis, [...]

When you wander through the streets of Florence, it’s easy to imagine you’ll run into Renaissance noblemen on horseback, preceded by courtiers and trumpeters and ladies in long, ornate gowns. Crossbow-wielding guards en route to the Basilica of Santa Croce. But a fertile imagination wasn’t necessary when I arrived in Florence last Friday. It was [...]

The Villa D’Este hotel on Lake Como. Sitting at the outdoor restaurant at the Villa D’Este hotel on Lake Como, I watched the lights twinkle on in the village on the far shore. The green hillsides that rise steeply from the lake were turning purple as the sun set. The evening temperature was a delightful [...]

The talented Asiya Korepanova drew a heartfelt standing ovation from the crowd at the Sarasota Music Festival last Saturday night. For the past three years, I’ve  headed north by Memorial Day, so I’ve missed what used to be one of my summertime highlights, the Sarasota Music Festival. So I was excited to be in the [...]

Hershey Felder in George Gershwin Alone. I can’t sing a lick, as any of my friends who have heard me around the piano at Christmas can tell you. But that didn’t deter me from lending my voice to a spirited and at times quite moving  sing-along at the Asolo Rep on Sunday night. Our accompanist [...]

Laura Osnes and Colin Donnell in Anything Goes. Last fall, Laura Osnes impressed Asolo Rep audiences with her portrayal of outlaw Bonnie Parker in the new musical Bonnie and Clyde. Osnes may get the chance to reprise her role if a proposed  Broadway production of Bonnie and Clyde is mounted later this year. But in [...]

Glee star Jane Lynch shows her support for Palmetto High School’s rowing club. Actress Jane Lynch hopped out of a golf cart at a Manatee County country club on Saturday and grabbed a megaphone. “As you might imagine, I know my way around one of these, ” she said, drawing laughter and cheers from a [...]

The Book of Mormon: Hottest show on Broadway. When I flew to New York City for five days of theater last week, I had one major goal: securing tickets for the hot, irreverent new musical The Book of Mormon. I knew it wouldn’t be easy. The show,  which focuses on a pair of naïve Mormon [...]

The graduation ceremonies at the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Professional Actor Training always provide a mix of poignant and hilarious moments–this is a theater school, after all.  And Monday’s ceremony, held in the Historic Asolo Theatre was one of the best. The commencement speaker,  retiring faculty member Barbara Redmond, surprised the 10 graduates by telling them [...]