Charlotte Pelton and Jeff Stoops. Photo provided by Tracey Benson Photography

The Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties welcomed more than 400 board members, donors and fund holders as well as local nonprofits, corporate sponsors and community leaders to the seventh annual event. Recent initiatives were highlighted, grant partners were recognized, and a panel discussion titled ‘Power of Place — A Conversation on Housing’ was featured.

Beth Hecht and Dr. Robert Hecht

Nancy and Paul Zarcadoolas

Caridad Center Chairman Richard Retamar. Photos provided by Caridad Center

Caridad Center broke its fundraising record with more than $500,000 coming in during the 31st annual event. A crowd exceeding 400 came out to support the nonprofit’s mission of bringing health care to uninsured, underserved Palm Beach County families.

Henry and Marsha Laufer. Photo provided

Palm Beach Opera’s 2020 Gala featured a performer whose voice has filled great opera houses around the world, including The Metropolitan Opera in New York, Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Paris Opera. Van Horn performed arias as well as musical-theater pieces. The exclusive concert also featured pianist Craig Terry and was followed by a delectable dinner. More than $600,000 was raised.

Gala volunteers Carol Besler, Lisa Ritota, Val Coz, Polly Joa, Mickey Austin Farley, Janet Schijns and Stella Kolb. Photo provided

The Ocean Ridge Garden Club sponsored its annual event with 100 guests who were greeted by professional James Bond impersonator John Allen, of Ocean Ridge. Hors d'oeuvres were passed, gift baskets were raffled off, a deejay provided music, and an estimated $8,000 was raised. ‘The gala is the one and only fundraising event we count on to provide the revenues we need for the philanthropic and community-service activities in which we engage as a club,’ recording secretary Jackie Reed said. ‘This year’s gala raised the most money ever and set a new bar for future fundraising events.’

Frank LoRe and Louis LoRe. Photo provided

Il Circolo, The Italian Cultural Society, gathered to hear professional singers from the Benenson Young Artist Program of the Palm Beach Opera. The performance was a stunning example of outstanding talent and included arias from Giuseppe Verdi, Gioachino Rossini, Vincenzo Bellini, Gaetano Donizetti and Giacomo Puccini. A standing ovation at the end of the program attested to the members’ support of the budding artists.

DiStefano with Jill Baum, holding a plaque of recognition, and Juliet. Photo provided

The sold-out 35th annual event, themed ‘Carnival in Venice,’ raised more than $715,000 for JDRF to accelerate life-changing breakthroughs for the cure, prevention and treatment of type 1 diabetes. In addition, Rebecca DiStefano, president of the Southern Florida Chapter-Greater Palm Beach Office, announced a $2.8 million gift from the estate of Marguerite Mae Rosner. The gift was made on behalf of 11-year old Juliet Baum, who has the disease. 

Kurt Harfmann and league President Cristy Stewart-Harfmann. Photo provided

The Junior League of Boca Raton’s annual culinary event involved hundreds of guests voting on their favorite dishes from participating restaurants. Patrick Duffy served as honorary executive chef. Funds raised will support the organization’s focus areas of hunger, child welfare and nonprofit support.

Mary Anna Fowler, Gary Peters and Isabelle Paul. Photo provided

Boca Helping Hands honored supporters and informed them about how the organization’s leaders are working to ensure that the nonprofit service provider continues its mission through an endowment fund. The Rev. Andrew Hagen, of Advent Boca Raton and Advent Lantana and a Boca Helping Hands board member, served as the guest speaker.

Shelley and Craig Menin. Photo provided by Tracey Benson Photography

The outdoor venue’s first gala in 10 years was a star-gazing success as nearly 200 guests strolled the exquisite grounds amid live music and taiko drumming. The al fresco evening coincided with a rare opportunity to get a close-up look at the super moon. A moon monologue was delivered by Ata Sarajedini, the gala’s honorary chairman, to mark the occasion.

Marilyn Weinberg and Jim and Marta Batmasian. Photo provided

Florida Atlantic University’s Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters’ first Culture, Arts and Society Today (CAST) party fundraiser generated more than $100,000 for student scholarships. The event featured Brazilian entertainment and performances by the college’s theater, music and dance faculty and students. ‘Through the generosity of donors, we are able to support students who may otherwise not be able to attend college, including some that are the first in their families to go to college,’ said Michael Horswell, the college’s dean.

Farmer’s Table is selling vacuum-packed meals that can be refrigerated for up to three weeks. Photo provided

By Jan Norris

By mid-March, Florida’s governor had ordered all restaurants to shut their dining rooms, giving them the options to go to takeout and delivery in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

More restrictions may be ordered as things progress, but for now, that’s the situation.

While some restaurants have closed, others are trying to get by, offering takeout or delivery, a weekly meal pickup, or other types of to-go food preparation.

Menus are limited in many cases, manageable for kitchens that are working with skeleton crews after layoffs. Still, they try to accommodate their diners.

Chef Jeremy Hanlon of Benny’s on the Beach in Lake Worth Beach is watching the situation, and for now, offering takeout and delivery.

“It will be interesting to see what the weekend brings,” he told us just after closings were announced. He’s taking it “day by day right now.”

He was cooking off his full menu to start.

Chef Emerson Frisbie of Delray Beach’s 3rd and 3rd has created a bao-bun pop-up. Boxes of the Chinese-style filled buns, with a variety of fillings for both omnivores and vegans, are popular takeouts. He also offers spirits and wine to go.

Alcohol sales may help save restaurants. Jimmy Everett, owner of Driftwood in Boynton Beach, said being able to sell beer, wine and spirits with a meal is “huge.”

Like others, he’s been changing plans day to day as the closures evolve. He offers takeout meals from a limited menu that changes daily.

But the alcohol may help him hold on by a thread.

“If you think about it, alcohol is a huge part of a restaurant inventory. It’s already paid for. Usually people have a lot more in stock than food, because it will keep,” Everett said. If liquor stores close, it will be even more of a sales point.

Rebel House in Boca Raton is offering family meals — enough to feed four, as a pickup. “Latke’d & Loaded” was a recent choice, with brisket, latkes, carrots and peas. A gluten-free Italian meatloaf with mac ’n’ cheese and Brussels sprouts were served another night. It’s comfort fare for stressful times.

Josie’s Ristorante in Boynton already had a takeout audience, but now it’s 100% of the business. Pizzas and Italian specialties, and wines, are served for pickup or delivery.

Crazy Uncle Mike’s in Boca Raton offers curbside pickup of its craft brews. Delivery Dudes also will deliver growlers and bottles from Uncle Mike’s to your home.

Chains such as P.F. Chang’s and Capital Grille are going to delivery and curbside service as their dining rooms are closed. At Capital Grille, steaks are still cut to order from a limited menu, and wine and spirits, including cocktails, are available to go.

Vacuum-packed meals and individual foods are available from Farmer’s Table in Boca Raton. Cooked foods prepared there keep up to three weeks in the refrigerator. Diners can reheat the foods easily. The restaurant is known for its healthy cooking techniques.

Delivery services step up

The delivery companies are busier than ever before with customers deciding to order food delivery rather than risk exposure to other people. Online or phone orders, along with cashless payments, ease the process. Most delivery people will place the foods on your porch, and no human contact is needed for the transaction.

Uber Eats is the same nationwide service as the ride-share service founded as a smartphone app. Ordering is done on the phone once you choose your own restaurant. No money changes hands. At press time, the fees Uber usually charges restaurants to deliver for them were being waived; the diner still pays for delivery, however.

Delivery Dudes, based in Delray Beach but delivering throughout Palm Beach and Broward counties, has added the Dudes Bodega, available via a phone app or at www.deliverydudes.com/restaurants/the-dudes-bodega-delray-beach-fl-8690. Drivers will pick up and deliver restaurant meals, foods and pet items from the grocery, prescriptions and other drugstore items, and alcohol. ID is required at your end.

Grub Hub is another nationwide service that handles many chain restaurants; it’s found as an app or at www.grubhub.com.
Many groceries such as Publix and Aldi, and stores such as Target and Walmart that carry food, will shop for you and have it ready for pickup through their websites. You also can order through delivery services such as Shipt, which delivers for Publix. It’s available as a phone app or online.

Tips for ordering

Here are some tips for ordering takeout, pickup and delivery:

Make sure your favorite restaurant is offering takeout. Some may have shut down after all. Support those that are open, if possible, by passing the word around on social media, and leaving good feedback on their sites.

Plan ahead. If you can order a day or more ahead for lunch or dinner, it helps the restaurant plan its output. It can’t afford to have much food left over. Popular restaurants may run out of nightly specials early on.

Get an estimated time of delivery as you order, and ask if the restaurant has a thermal bag for delivery to keep the foods hot. Allow extra time for a large order, and realize the independent drivers may come from elsewhere to pick up the foods and not wait at your restaurant. If you have multiple restaurants as pickups and order at rush hour (5:30-7:30 p.m.), expect an even longer wait.

If possible, order directly from the restaurant; some delivery spots and menu sites have fees charged to restaurants. You still may have to pay for delivery, but the restaurant doesn’t pay extra for delivery service.

Don’t expect fast-food pricing just because it’s takeout. The overhead is much greater, even with smaller staffs. There’s the cost of quality food, pay for chefs who are prepping and cooking, workers packing, and the packaging materials. It adds up.

Don’t forget ethnic restaurants that need to stay afloat. Their overhead may not be as much, but neither are their profits. Support those restaurants and small sandwich and sub shops in your community that you usually frequent.

Just as if you were in the restaurants, let them know ahead of time of any serious dietary restrictions on your orders, but don’t expect the wide variety of substitutes from a full menu. Don’t harass the staff about it, either; you’ll look silly.

If you prefer, ask your driver to leave your food on a porch or patio; make sure you are explicit with how to contact you once it’s set out. If there’s a chance you’ll be indisposed at the time of delivery, put a cooler outside to prevent insects from getting to the food first.

If you’re ordering groceries or fresh produce, be prepared with several substitute choices, because all shoppers are facing emptier shelves. Also expect a long delivery time — up to three days as the number of delivery orders soars.

Tip your drivers, especially if you’ve asked them to shop for you. They are frazzled these days and putting themselves out there on the front lines so you don’t have to.

Jan Norris is a food writer who can be reached at nativefla@gmail.com

Local organizations hopeful even as future looks bleak

By Jan Engoren
ArtsPaper Contributing Writer

When the Cannes Film Festival is canceled and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City is projected to lose $100 million after closing down because of the coronavirus, the impact on the arts and culture all over the world is significant.

And Palm Beach County is no exception.

While many sectors are suffering, arts organizations and cultural institutions are particularly vulnerable.

The Cultural Council for Palm Beach County, citing a 2017 arts and economic prosperity study, said the cultural sector has created over 14,000 full-time jobs in the Palm Beaches, and arts and cultural organizations contribute over $633 million in economic impact to the area.

According to CEO David Lawrence, even this early in the game, dozens of Palm Beach County cultural organizations have lost millions of dollars in revenue from canceled performances, lost fundraising galas and productions, not to mention lost revenue from ticket sales.

“Many of these organizations have little resources to cover those losses. Individual artists — especially those in the performing arts — have lost critical income that they were counting on,” Lawrence said.

Also of concern to the council is the loss and future loss of tourism dollars to Palm Beach County, and Lawrence said the county is already feeling the impact.

Kelly Smallridge, president and CEO of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County, said the county currently has no plans to provide economic relief.

“If we can come out of this pandemic in a few months, the stronger arts and cultural organizations will survive and register a blip on their radar screens, but smaller venues are already struggling and may not make it out of this epidemic,” Smallridge said.

“Here in Palm Beach County, the arts and culture community faces a challenge with their ticket revenue and donations,” she said. “If this continues much longer, businesses and the arts will have to figure out a Plan B.”

From figures projected by the Washington-based nonprofit Americans for the Arts, financial losses as of March 15 were estimated to be $3.2 billion, since the first U.S. case of COVID-19 was reported on Jan. 20.

The $3.2 billion figure includes actual revenue losses from admissions (ticket sales, subscriptions, memberships), non-admissions income (gift shop sales, sponsorships, contributed income), and unexpected expenditures (new cleaning and disinfecting protocols, adoption of new technologies, cancellation fees).

The Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach was one of the first cultural organizations to shutter its doors, followed by a steady stream of the county’s other performing groups and museums, even as Gov. Ron DeSantis was issuing orders closing restaurants, bars and the state’s beaches.

Annabel Russell, executive director of The Symphonia, a chamber orchestra based in Boca Raton that canceled the last concert of its season, laments the loss of income for her musicians, most of them gig workers.

“We’re all reeling from the abrupt end to our season,” Russell said. “But artists are strong and resilient people, and if there’s a possible bright spot it’s that this comes at the tail end of ‘season’ here in South Florida, and we’re hopeful we can have a successful 2020-21 season.”

Marilynn Wick of the Wick Theatre in Boca Raton announced March 14 the opening and closing weekend of A Chorus Line.

“This is the first time I’ve ever had an opening and closing gala the same weekend,” she said. Upbeat, Wick has already rescheduled the show for April 23, pushing back Nunsense to September and said she’s in good company.

“I’m reassured that we’re not alone,” she said. “Isn’t there a song like that?”

She’s optimistic that next year’s subscription sales will hit 4,000, as compared to this year’s 3,700. She’s encouraging patrons to donate tickets from missed performances back to the theater, as are many local theater companies including Dramaworks in West Palm Beach and Primal Forces at the Sol Theatre in Boca Raton.

“We enjoy producing live theater and providing the best cultural experience,” said Wick. “We’re just having a longer intermission than usual.”

Nearby at Primal Forces Theatre, which suspended the run of its March show, Kenneth Lin’s Warrior Class, artistic director Keith Garsson said he was grateful to have a smaller venue and a cast of three for this production.

“Because we’re a small theater, I was able to call our attendees and let them know we were canceling performances,” said Garsson. Fifty people came to opening night March 11.

“My heart goes out to bigger theaters,” he said. “For us, it’s not as big a disruption as it is for the Wick or the Maltz Jupiter theatres.”
Luckily, he said the theater has a good landlord who may accommodate Primal Forces, but if the productions are rescheduled for summer, they may run into the summer camp season at the Sol Theatre.

“We hope the virus peaks early and we can salvage the end of our season,” Garsson said, “But, in the real world, we just hope everyone stays safe.”

Farther north, the Maltz Jupiter Theatre postponed its upcoming production of the musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying until the fall, originally slated for March 17 to April 5, while it was in the final stages of a three-week rehearsal process.

Box office staffers have been contacting ticketholders directly regarding options for their tickets, according to Andrew Kato, artistic director.

“Nothing is more important than the health and safety of the Maltz Jupiter Theatre’s patrons, employees, volunteers and visiting artists, and postponing our next production is the responsible action to take,” said Kato.

 “While this is devastating to us to have to make changes, we understand the significance of acting swiftly to avoid the possible spread of COVID-19 and make sure our community remains safe,” he said.

In the same boat as the other regional nonprofit theaters, Kato is working with unions, tradespeople, staff, crew, musicians and artists to coordinate details for the fall’s productions.  

Kato noted that the economic repercussions of postponing, canceling or reshuffling the productions are significant. By the time the production is canceled, the organization has already invested an enormous amount of time and money into its creation that it will not be able to recoup.

“The best way for patrons to help organizations like the Maltz Jupiter Theatre is to consider donating their tickets back to the theater for a tax-deductible donation or making a new contribution,” he said.

 “Think of it as an investment in our future,” Kato said.  “It is in critical times like these that we ask our supporters to stand by and believe in our work. Most nonprofits do not have the huge reserves to shoulder these catastrophic losses and we ask that the public be mindful of that as we journey through this difficult time.

“We will get through this together, and we’d like to thank our patrons in advance for their support,” Kato said.

Locally, the Cultural Council is looking to address these concerns by initiating strategies to support creative professionals with small grants to help with lost income.

The council plans to extend its drive-market campaign, MOSAIC (Month of Shows, Art, Ideas and Culture), to funnel resources into advertising, activations, public relations and other support efforts through the summer/early fall.

It will coordinate with Brightline to attract visits from Broward and Miami-Dade, and offer hotel packages through Discover the Palm Beaches to encourage visits, staycations, and additional tourism.

Additionally, the council is working with some of its board members and other community leaders to create a task force that will address these recovery efforts from a national, state and local level.

On the national level, Americans for the Arts has put together a number of demands for Congress to act, including designating a minimum of $4 billion — to be distributed through the National Endowment for the Arts — to help offset losses in the nonprofit arts industry and to expand federal programs to ensure artists, entrepreneurs, and small businesses can utilize business interruption relief.
The group requested making additional sums available to the artists and art organizations in the for-profit arena.

Thanks to the $2 trillion emergency stimulus package passed by Congress during the last week in March, $300 million in economic relief will go to support nonprofit cultural organizations, including museums, libraries, public broadcasting, and state and local arts agencies.

Funds have been allocated as well for independent contractors such as actors, musicians and artists in nonprofit organizations and small businesses, as well as those working in the creative economies.

“Our research shows that the coronavirus is already having a devastating effect on arts organizations and artists,” said Robert L. Lynch, Americans for the Arts president and CEO. The nonprofit arts sector is a $166 billion industry and it is suffering.

“There will be a measurable economic and social ripple effect that will be felt in every city and town as arts organizations and performances close, leading to further losses for restaurants, bars, parking facilities, hotels, and much more.

“The economic damage will be in the billions,” Lynch said.

And yet some remain hopeful.

William Hayes, artistic director of Palm Beach Dramaworks, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary next year, is already brainstorming with his staff about how to move forward.

The Light in the Piazza, Craig Lucas and Adam Guettel’s Tony-award winning musical, was scheduled to run this month and has now been postponed.

The set was built, the custom-made costumes were delivered, the 14 actors in the production were ready to go, when the bottom dropped out. Hayes offered two weeks severance to his cast and made no-cost housing available to them. He hopes the staff will remain available and committed to the show when it can run.

This season was one of the company’s best and box office sales were up 20%, according to Hayes. 

 To continue, Hayes said, “We need to do some creative thinking, be proactive, redefine what we do and  think outside the box, including how to make use of technology.”

In addition, Dramaworks has canceled the summer production of Jason Robert Brown’s Last Five Years, but Hayes hopes Kenneth Lonergan’s Lobby Hero, and The Light in the Piazza can be produced before the calendar year ends.

“We’re fortunate that we’ve been fiscally conservative and operated in the black the last 19 years,” Hayes said.  “We have some money in reserve and will most assuredly be dipping into this reserve fund.

“I hope our patrons and clientele will recognize that we are struggling and consider our long history of being fiscally responsible and understand we have no choice at this point,” he said. 

“We hope that over time our patrons and donors will step up to the plate and show their support,” Hayes said.

More than 60 people attended and other Briny residents watched the service on BBC-8, the community cable service. By the following Sunday, Briny had closed the services to the public until further notice. They still will have a pastor and choir, and each service will be on BBC-8. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Janis Fontaine

For millions of Americans, to have no church on Sunday or Shabbat on Friday is the cruelest of the restrictions on our lives so far, especially when we need comfort and spiritual support the most.

People depend on their faith and its rituals like Mass, prayer, confession and Communion even more during times of crisis. Worship fosters a soothing optimism that comes from the belief that God will take care of us.

In mid-March, just as we began coronavirus restrictions, the Rev. Ben Thomas, associate rector at St. Gregory’s Episcopal in Boca Raton, got a phone call asking him to perform last rites for a parishioner who had been hospitalized suddenly. He performed rites over the phone, the first time he’s ever done that or heard of it being done.

“The beeping of the machines seemed louder,” Thomas said.

The person didn’t have COVID-19, but visiting the hospital is a real concern for Thomas, a father of five children, ages 6-12.
It’s just as important to let people know the church has not forgotten them, and the leaders are using every avenue available to reach the congregation. The clergy and senior lay people have divided up the names of the 1,200 members and they will call each one, Thomas said.

At Boca’s Advent Lutheran, live streaming-only of services started in mid-March.

Churches are electing to live-stream services in place of in-person worship, as are some synagogues, but Orthodox synagogues don’t allow the use of technology, so those rabbis are encouraging families to pray at home together.

Social media helpful

For many spiritual people, technology is their lifeline to God right now.

“Now is the time for social media,” Advent Pastor Andy Hagen said.

On that first Sunday, 140 families logged in to live-stream, and the church got lots of good feedback. “We want to make services more intimate, and there are just some things that work better live,” he said. “We will also be taking live questions via text.”

Hagen worries about the older parishioners, especially, because “church is their meeting place, and seniors love to be together.” For now, Bible studies will be virtual, and the church connects its parish with programming from Right Now Media, a nonprofit membership service with streaming of Bible study videos and other positive programming. Email Hagen at AHagen@GoAdvent.org for information on getting access.

If you need a special prayer for yourself or a loved one, you can post a request on the Advent Prayer Wall. Or you can find people who need prayers and pray for them. “I’ve seen the church family really pulling together, and that will make a difference,” Hagen said.

There’s no shortage of information for people looking for spiritual reassurance. “All the resources springing up are pretty cool,” Thomas said. “A friend of mine said, it’s like ‘where do I want to go to church today?’ It’s a chance to make technology really meaningful.”

Usher Larry Farr and resident Beth Foland exchange elbow bumps as a safe welcoming gesture before the interdenominational church service at Briny Breezes on March 15.

Virtual attendance is up. The daily Eucharist at St. Gregory’s has minimal attendance, but the stream on Facebook Live is attracting hundreds of people who need a daily dose of prayer.

Appreciation is up, too. “People are telling us how grateful they are we’re here for them,” Thomas said.

Other classes and groups will meet on Zoom, the videoconferencing/webinar service, and new ways of communicating will spring up. “I don’t think we’re going back to the way things were,” Thomas said.

And there’s another message the Rev. Andrew Sherman of at St. Gregory’s wants to send: “God is not quarantined,” he wrote in his letter to parishioners on March 13, which included his cellphone number.

To symbolize God’s eternal presence, St. Gregory’s has established a “Tent of Meeting” outside the church to make its support visible. It’s a reference to the Old Testament and the tentlike sanctuary Moses carried. Destruction of the temple does not stop worship. Separation by physical distance doesn’t stop faith. But it does change it.

“Our presence in front of the church is symbolic, to show people we are here for them,” Thomas said. “People are looking to us for guidance, and we’re going to be there. Father Sherman said it’s like we’re learning to be priests again.”

Catholics are being asked to watch services on TV, too. On March 20, the Diocese of Palm Beach suspended public celebrations of Mass within the diocese. Priests will continue to celebrate daily and Sunday Mass without congregations, and a list of local parishes live streaming Mass and television stations airing Mass is available at www.diocesepb.org. The Diocese of Palm Beach airs Sunday Mass on WTVX Channel 34 at 10:30 a.m.

On March 13, the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida canceled all worship, events and other gatherings until at least March 30, hoping that Easter services on April 12 wouldn’t be restricted. But on March 20, the diocese said with the exception of 12-step programs, all worship, events, and other gatherings are canceled until at least April 15. This means Easter, “our most sacred liturgies of the year,” Father Paul Kane of St. Paul’s Episcopal of Delray Beach said, “will be virtual this year.”

Father Dominic Toan-Tran of St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church in Boca Ratondistributes Communion to parishioners at the last allowable Mass, until further notice. Photo provided by Lisa Browne-Banic

Kane says we should really call this physical distancing, because in some ways we’re more socially connected than ever before. “We’ll continue to spread God’s word, just not the virus,” he said, pointing parishioners to the church website, YouTube channel and Facebook page. The church is committed to keeping person-to-person communications alive, especially for older adults, reaching out by phone and email as much as possible.

Kane also recorded a message addressing the sacrament of communion: Can we take it at home? According to the Episcopal Church, yes.

“When being present at a celebration of the Eucharist is absolutely impossible, such as during this pandemic, this act of prayer and meditation can provide the means by which you can associate yourself with the Eucharistic Action and open yourself to God’s grace and blessing.”

To find out more, visit www.stpaulsdelray.org.

Janis Fontaine writes about people of faith, their congregations, causes and events. Contact her at janisfontaine@outlook.com.

Denise Rizzuto and Erika Rizzuto. Photo provided

The nation’s top dogs and human heroes gathered for a gala luncheon to honor America’s most courageous canines. Seven such animals were celebrated for their extraordinary accomplishments in categories including Military Hero Dog, Law Enforcement Hero Dog and Therapy Hero Dog. Philanthropist Lois Pope, children’s author Loretta Neff and veterinarian Terry Morris were recognized as well.

Sandblast, by Al Pessin, 422 pp., Kensington Books, $9.99.

By Sharon Geltner
Contributing Writer

Goodbye, Homeland.

Hello, Sandblast.

Showtime’s hit series Homeland ends in May. But covert ops fans can turn to Sandblast, the first book in an action, adventure and suspense trilogy by Al Pessin, who covered the world’s hot spots from Afghanistan to Washington, D.C., before retiring in 2015 and moved to Delray Beach.

The plot: After terrorists blow up a plane carrying the secretary of defense, the Defense Intelligence Agency creates Operation: Sandblast. The top-secret asset is California-raised, Afghan-American Lt. Faraz Abdallah. His heritage and military training make him the perfect undercover agent, but can he fool the Taliban? Then can he uncover its terror plots and assassinate the leaders?
The president is on board. “We’re facing our toughest threat since 9/11, and if we don’t handle it right, we could end up living in a very different world, a much more hostile one.”

Besides the intrepid Abdallah, the other hero is military and security expert Dr. Bridget Davenport, in a role similar to Carrie Mathison.

The book moves fast and the complex plot makes sense. Pessin is most persuasive describing how tough it is for Faraz to maintain two identities at once. He has to fit in, quote the Koran, remember his emergency extraction code, avoid recruitment as a suicide bomber and not be subsumed by the Taliban.

The Afghan village scenes are plausible, and Pessin offers many authentic details of the Pentagon.

Bridget’s relationship with an officer is the book’s only false note, such as when the two debate whether to call each other sugar pie or sweet cakes.

Otherwise, Sandblast reads like the real deal.

Pessin was a journalist at Voice of America for 39 years, 15 of them overseas. His first foreign assignment was Hong Kong in 1984. He’s also worked in Pakistan, Guantanamo Bay, Ukraine (in flak jacket and helmet), Jerusalem, London and New York. He enjoyed his first six-month tour in Islamabad so much, he offered to stay longer.

One of Pessin’s proudest moments came in 1989, when China expelled him for covering the Tiananmen Square massacre. He also reported from the White House and the Pentagon, traveling with two defense secretaries to Iraq and Afghanistan.

“[Years later], when I returned for a visit to Islamabad, I went to the old market and it was tense. All eyes were on me. I was the only foreigner there.”

Pessin speaks some French, Spanish, Hebrew, Arabic, Mandarin and Cantonese. “I wanted to know if the side conversation was discussing lunch or about kidnapping me and selling me to Hamas,” he said.

He said in Gaza and the West Bank, “Being Jewish was never an issue. No one asked. I felt they didn’t know.”

Pessin was inspired to write Sandblast during his six years at the Pentagon, when he came across an outdoor naturalization ceremony for people who joined the military as legal residents and were then being sworn in as citizens. Their happy and proud families were dressed in colorful dress from their home countries.

“I thought about what sort of unique capabilities they bring to our military. They are our generation’s new Navajo code talkers [from World War II.]”

Sharon Geltner is the author of Charity Bashed, available on Amazon and in bookstores.

YouTube sensation Postmodern Jukebox closed Festival of the Arts Boca in rousing style. Photo by StoryWorkz Photography

Here are edited reviews of performances that occurred in early March. For complete reviews, see palmbeachartspaper.com

A Chorus Line (March 14, Wick Theatre)

This production of A Chorus Line is arguably the best work in the Boca Raton troupe’s seven seasons of operation.

Of course, it had a head start with the nine-time Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning show that strips the musical of its usual colorful sets and costumes for a look backstage at chorus dancer auditions led by Zach, a somewhat sadistic director-choreographer who uses his power to pry into the lives of his cast hopefuls.

Still, it is a difficult show to pull off well, but you would never know it from the pitch-perfect Wick production, staged by Mitzi Hamilton, a veteran of the show’s original London company and later of the Broadway cast, as well as the inspiration for the character Val of “Dance: 10, Looks: 3” renown. Hamilton is a keeper of the flame of the late Michael Bennett’s iconic direction, keeping it alive in subsequent productions like this one.

From the opening cattle call, which winnows the wannabes down to 17, to their apprehensive poses in a line waiting for their interviews, to the ethereal “At the Ballet,” to the raucous “Hello 12, Hello 13, Hello Love,” to the finale “One,” in which they become the autonomous unit Zach has been rehearsing them to be, Hamilton crafts her cast into an ensemble on a par with any tour of A Chorus Line that has ever danced its way to the area.

There is not a weak link in the Wick cast, but certain roles are natural standouts. As Cassie, the director’s former girlfriend who failed to catch on in Hollywood, Jessica Lee Goldyn is stunning in the narcissistic solo of anguish, “The Music and the Mirror,” as graceful and powerful as any performer I’ve ever seen in the role. And Jonathan Fleites is heart-breaking with Paul’s monologue of his days as a female impersonator, based on the life on the show’s co-writer, Nicholas Dante.

Emily Tarallo is probably too young for the role of chorus veteran Sheila, but she conveys all of the character’s hard-bitten attitude. And Jawan Hayes is always worth watching as Richie, the former kindergarten teacher.

The trick now will be keeping this cast together until the production can return in late April. Those theatergoers intrepid enough to attend in mid-March were treated to a remarkable show that more deserve to experience.

— Hap Erstein

Postmodern Jukebox (March 8, Festival of the Arts Boca)

The final evening of this year’s festival at the Mizner Park Amphitheater in Boca Raton was damn cold, with a biting wind.
Still, the not-too-comfortable folding chairs on the amphitheater lawn were nearly filled, thanks, in large part, to the appearance of Postmodern Jukebox, an ensemble of genre-bending singers and musicians known for taking songs originally done in one style and presenting them in a totally different way.

A reworked “Thriller (Michael Jackson) was among the offerings. Michael Cunio (who introduced himself as “Coolio”) did the vocal honors and immediately notched the audience’s attention.

Known widely as PMJ, the jazz and soul-fueled troupe is a rotating musical collective founded by arranger and pianist Scott Bradlee in 2011, when he began shooting videos with friends from college in his basement apartment in Astoria, Queens.

In less than a decade, PMJ has amassed more than 1.2 billion YouTube views and 4 million subscribers. When Cunio asked the audience how many had seen the group before or were fans, at least half applauded.

Since debuting, Postmodern Jukebox has featured 70 performers and has toured six continents.

PMJ brought some fine lady vocalists, including Tia Simone, a soulful dynamo who hit some high notes that shook the stage lighting. She, Hannah Gill and Brielle Von Hugel all walked to their assigned spots in a variety of different, elegant costumes.

The audience largely chilled through the early songs, including Taylor Swift’s “I Knew You Were Trouble,” given a bouncy beat by Cunio, Simone and Gill.

In the more-intense second half, PMJ twisted a couple of tunes with remarkable agility and ability. Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass” was an up-tempo success.

Postmodern Jukebox closed out with an encore tracing the evolution of the Friends TV theme, “I’ll Be There for You.”

— Dale King

Swallow (opened March 6)

It’s about time somebody made a movie about pica, the psychological condition, first described by Hippocrates, of habitually consuming non-nutritive objects: soil, paint, glass, needles. Because of pica’s generic intersection between psychodrama and body horror, one might have thought that somebody would have been David Cronenberg.

But Swallow is the work of a new voice — Carlo Mirabella-Davis, in his debut as writer-director — whose approach is no less fastidious, and no less squirm-inducing. While his ear for dialogue could use some occasional polish, his freshman effort is auspicious and intuitive, seeing past the surface of his protagonist’s destructive condition into the cluttered belly of the matter: a controlling patriarchy whose micro-oppressions drives the behavior in the first place.

Haley Bennett, in a performance of career-catapulting depth, bravery and ambiguity, plays Hunter, a housewife who appears to be enjoying a charmed life of privilege. Her husband Richie (Austin Sowell) is an upwardly mobile businessman with wealthy parents, whose generosity paid for their comfortable New York manse.

When she learns that she’s pregnant, it is cause for much celebration from Richie and her in-laws, if not Hunter herself.

There are reasons for her reticence. Richie is an inattentive, emotionally absent Type A male. Hunter’s in-laws (Elizabeth Marvel and David Rasche) are callous and passive-aggressive to a point of unnecessary extremity.

Hunter is a textbook case for pica, which occurs most frequently in pregnant or postpartum women, or in those with physical or mental impairments. Hunter checks off both boxes.

But Swallow endeavors for a deeper, more psychologically astute depiction — one that, for Hunter, becomes synonymous with a drug addiction.

Swallow missteps in its need to date Hunter’s disease to a psychological trauma from her childhood and then resolve it a bit too tidily.

— ArtsPaper staff

The winning dog was Parker, a 2-year-old golden retriever who gave Lake Worth Playhouse artistic director Dan Eilola a sniff during his audition for the role of Sandy. At right is Reese Lores, 11, one of two actresses who will play Annie in the musical. Seated are stage manager Lara Palmer and Andrea Gershbein, Reese’s mother. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Larry Keller

This was no cattle call, but a canine casting search at the Lake Worth Playhouse.

The March 8 audition was for the role of Sandy, Little Orphan Annie’s dog in the musical Annie. Only four animal aspirants vied for the job.

The play’s timing is notable. The Lake Worth Playhouse opened in 1924 as a movie theater — the same year that the comic strip Little Orphan Annie debuted. The first performance of Annie on Broadway wasn’t until 1977.

Now Annie is in local theater limbo with events at the playhouse suspended indefinitely because of the coronavirus. These are gloomy days coping with a pandemic, but Annie would have understood. She sang:

The sun’ll come out
Tomorrow
So ya gotta hang on
’Til Tomorow

Director Cathy Randazzo-Olsen and artistic director Daniel Eilola were seeking a midsize dog, preferably sandy-colored — to match the character’s name. And — in keeping with Sandy’s personality — a loner, yet friendly.

Randazzo-Olsen had the dogs’ owners demonstrate their pups’ aptitude to respond to a few hand signals that could be given offstage. And she tested them on their ability to respond to a voice command — “Come, Sandy” — because the dog needs to respond correctly when told by Annie to come to her.

Reese Lores, 11, of Palm Beach Gardens, one of two youngsters slated to play Annie, tried out the verbal command with each dog.
The first hopeful hound to audition went to Reese when called, then flopped at her feet for a belly rub. “She’s a people person and loves little girls,” her owner said. Clearly.

Next, a Bedlington terrier named Cha Cha responded to Reese’s command to come to her but walked past her — twice. And while Cha Cha was cute as a lamb and resembled one, the 3-year-old had neither the size nor coloring of Sandy.

The youngest candidate was Bailey, a 4½-month-old golden retriever owned by Randazzo-Olsen’s sister. Bailey was remarkably good at such a tender age, but would she be overwhelmed in a production with 20 adults and 17 children?

Then there was Parker, a 2-year-old golden retriever. With his tail wagging like a high-speed windshield wiper, he was already demanding star treatment, parading around the rehearsal room expecting and receiving a pat from each person there. His Lake Worth agent — um, owner — Mike Gantner watched.

After a couple of false starts, as well as brief foray out an open door to Lake Avenue — perhaps to sniff out paparazzi — Parker returned and came to Reese when she called him.

“I think Parker probably had the most personality,” Randazzo-Olsen said afterward. “We’d really have to work with him. I think he is our best bet.”

And so, Parker got the job.

The original theatrical Sandy missed only 14 of 2,377 performances on Broadway in a nearly six-year run that ended in 1983, his owner and trainer told The New York Times. He was hours away from being euthanized at an animal shelter when he was rescued and found his calling as a performing pooch. He lived to age 16.

Parker will have a far less arduous schedule if and when Annie is presented. Still it will be no walk in the dog park. With rehearsals and 15 actual performances during the play’s run — which had been planned for April 9-26 — he will be practicing and performing at the theater around 50 times, Randazzo-Olsen said.

That’s fine with Reese, who seemed to like all the dogs and approved of Parker as a co-star. “He’s not too crazy,” she said. “And he’s not lazy.”

As for those critters and their owners who didn’t make the cut: Well, there’s always Tomorrow.

By Christine Davis

Pregnant women will be able to better care for their babies and themselves thanks to a new prenatal and postpartum program at Boca Raton Regional Hospital’s Christine E. Lynn Women’s Health & Wellness Institute. The woman who made it possible is longtime Boca Raton resident Barbara C. Gutin, who made a $3 million donation to the institute in March.

“This program will allow pregnant women and new mothers to be better equipped to understand their changing bodies and to know what is a normal part of pregnancy and what may require additional care,” said Dr. Kathy Schilling, medical director of the Women’s Institute. “New mothers will work with their personal physicians, the Toppel Family Place at Boca Raton Regional Hospital, as well as the team of clinicians at the Women’s Institute.”

This includes a board-certified urogynecologist, doctoral trained physical therapists, mental health professionals, nurse practitioners and others.

Gutin, along with her now-late husband, had previously established the Barbara C. Gutin Center for Pelvic Health at the Women’s Institute. Their gift to the hospital of new technology in 2013 established the Irving and Barbara C. Gutin Center for Robotic Surgery. Their first transformational gift was in 2008 to help create a stroke program at Boca Raton Regional Hospital.

 
In February, Jean Blechman, co-founder of Twinlab Corp., made a significant financial commitment to Keeping the Promise — The Campaign for Boca Raton Regional Hospital to name the Jean and David Blechman Surgical Intensive Care Unit.

“Jean’s commitment throughout the years has been remarkable and enhances vital care for all,” said Lincoln Mendez, CEO of Boca Raton Regional Hospital. The $250 million Keeping the Promise campaign is the largest in the hospital’s history.

It is supporting plans to reimagine the hospital campus. The project includes construction of the Gloria Drummond Patient Tower, the Toby and Leon Cooperman Medical Arts Pavilion, an expansion of the Marcus Neuroscience Institute and Christine E. Lynn Cardiovascular Institute, new operating rooms, renovation of the existing facility to create an all-private patient room environment, and the recently opened Schmidt Family Parking Facility.

Blechman has been a longtime supporter of the hospital and has a special interest in cardiology programs. When her donations helped create the Jean and David Blechman Center for Women’s Specialty Care and Preventive Cardiology, she felt for many years that cardiac care for women was badly neglected. Subsequently, it became known that cardiac disease is the No. 1 killer of women, still true today.

Specialties for this program include breast health, cardiology, and general and robotic surgery.
 

Maureen Mann, assistant vice president of Boca Raton Regional Hospital’s Eugene M. & Christine E. Lynn Cancer Institute and Christine E. Lynn Women’s Health & Wellness Institute, was elected vice chair of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. In her job, she has administrative responsibilities for strategic and daily operations. In her role as vice chair, she will work with volunteers to educate elected officials on important cancer-fighting policies and help them enact legislation that will support cancer research, prevention and treatment.

Making a treat puzzle for cats is fun and easy, if you follow the book’s instructions. Photos provided

By Arden Moore

Kids and pets rule. There, I declared it. When given the opportunity, kids and pets can bring out the best in all of us. And we need the happy, healing magic of this “pawsome” duo now more than ever.

As we all contend with this coronavirus pandemic, I’m betting that you and your family are probably going a bit stir crazy at home and looking for ways to productively spend your time together. You can’t spend a weekend at Disney World. Or catch a movie at your favorite theater. Or even chow down at your favorite pizza joint.

I share my home with my spouse and our two dogs, Kona and Bujeau, plus four indoor cats, Casey, Mikey, Rusty and Mort. We are limiting exits out of our home to pick up takeout food or essentials at our supermarket.

And, like you, we are using hand sanitizers, spending lots of time hand washing and practicing other heightened hygiene habits.
So, I’m on a mission to bring out the wonderful kid in all of you, regardless of your age. In the pages of my just-published pair of books, A Kid’s Guide to Cats and A Kid’s Guide to Dogs, I offer all pet lovers lots of tips, insights, fun games and DIY projects to boost that bond you have with your pets and your family members.

My books feature running sidebars with “comments” unleashed from Pet Safety Dog Kona and Pet Safety Cat Casey to readers. These shelter alums are also certified therapy pets, who travel all over the country to assist me in our pet first aid and pet behavior classes.

Casey, my comical, confident orange tabby, for example, explains why cats are branded finicky in his response: “It’s true that we’re more selective about what we eat than our canine chowhounds. Perhaps one reason is that cats have only 473 taste buds (dogs have 1,700!), so we like food that has a lot of flavor, which usually means it smells strongly, too, like fish. Yum!”

In one of Kona’s sidebars, my sweet and smart terrier mix shares this canine insight: “Woof! Hello! Hola! Did you know dogs are multilingual? We speak Dog, of course, but we all know some human words. In fact, I speak five languages: Dog, English, Spanish, sign language and a little Cat.

“Arden taught me sit and come in English, Spanish and sign language, so she can communicate with me without saying a word if we are at a busy, noisy place. As for Cat, I know to approach my feline sibs when they’re purring and to back off if they hiss!”

Here are some tips to share with your pet-loving family from the pages of these books published by Storey and available on Amazon.com:

• Cats are good for your health. Petting your cat can release calming brain chemicals, lower blood pressure and slow your heart rate.
• Dogs are better at reading human body language and postures than people are at interpreting canine body language. So, choose your words, tone and body language carefully when “chatting with” your dog.
• A cat’s tongue features spiky barbs that aid in grooming, lapping up water and scraping meat from a bone.
• Fend off boredom in the house by creating a makeshift mini-obstacle course for your dog. Balance a broom on two piles of books or a couple of large cans and encourage your dog to hop over it. With your dog on a short lead, have him weave between a line of objects on the living room floor, such as paper plates, books or small pillows.
Here are a couple fun do-it-yourself projects to create:
• Give new life to an old, hard-sided suitcase by transforming it into a cozy bed for your dog. Decorate the interior lid with your dog’s name and use the pocket to hold a favorite toy. Stuff a pillow into the larger side of the opened suitcase. To keep the lid from closing, attach a block of wood or a strap of fabric to the back of the suitcase with heavy-duty glue.
• Create a treat puzzle toy for your cat. Cut two or three holes along the length of a toilet paper tube — just a little larger than the size of the treats. Decorate the toilet tube with a funny cat face using crayons. Fold down the sides of one end to close the tube. Drop in a few cat treats into the tube and fold the other end shut. Call your cat over and encourage him to paw at it to release the treats.
My wish for all of you is to recognize the many benefits our cats and dogs give us every day. It goes without saying, that pets do a body good.

Win an autographed book from Arden
Want to get your paws on my new books? In two or three sentences, email me how your cat or dog makes your life better. Send a photo of you with your pet if you wish. I will choose a winner for each book, A Kid’s Guide to Dogs and A Kid’s Guide to Cats, and announce the winners in next month’s column. Send email to: arden@ardenmoore.com. Deadline to submit is April 14.

Arden Moore, founder of fourleggedlife.com, is an animal behavior expert and host of the Oh Behave! show on petliferadio.com. Learn more at www.ardenmoore.com.

Photo provided

By Janis Fontaine

Thanks to the ingenuity of the Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Commandery of the Palm Beaches, and the generosity of a local nonprofit and a Delray Beach car dealership, kids in Belle Glade will ride to their after-school program in a safe, clean, refurbished van.

The Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem is an ecumenical Christian order focused on helping sick and poor people. It dates back nearly 1,000 years. The Palm Beach Commandery has been supporting the work of the First Haitian Baptist Church Youth & Children Development Center, which provides a hot meal, homework help and a safe space to play each day to elementary- and middle-school students in Belle Glade. High-schoolers mentor the kids, who are mostly children of migrant workers.

The program’s aging van was limping along, and two Palm Beach Commandery members stepped up to help. Candace Tamposi of Ocean Ridge worked with the Cathleen McFarlane Foundation of West Palm Beach to acquire grant money and Marie Ryan, who works for Grieco Mazda, secured a deal from Grieco Motors. The van has room for 15 passengers.

The SOSJ’s designated philanthropic project is to build a new multipurpose building for the First Haitian Baptist Church Youth & Children Development Center. The organization will continue work on that goal, but in the meantime, the wheels on the bus will continue to go ’round and ’round.

Holocaust remembrance delayed, not forgotten

But for the coronavirus, the Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust, an eight-day period for civic commemorations and special educational programs focused on the Holocaust, would have been marked by somber events nationwide.

And Yom Ha Shoah, Israel’s national commemoration of the Holocaust on April 21, would have been accompanied by events at local synagogues, but all in-person events have been canceled.

Any commemorations will be virtual this year. But the Holocaust and its victims won’t be forgotten.

For Holocaust survivors, Days of Remembrance can be a double-edged sword.

“We need to remember, but for survivors it can be a trigger for bad memories, especially as the population ages,” said Danielle Hartman, president and CEO of Ruth & Norman Rales Jewish Family Services.

JFS helps about 800 South Palm Beach County survivors each month with financial, physical and mental health care and spiritual needs. About 30 new clients are signed up each year, but 2019 was a big year with 60 new clients, Hartman said, likely because of the publicity surrounding the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

JFS also educates its staff, including the caregivers who work directly with clients, with Holocaust sensitivity training to help them understand what a survivor may be going through.

“There’s assistance out there for any who want it, and there is no wait list for services,” Hartman said, but there is a process and individuals must qualify for assistance. For personal reasons, some don’t apply, but the goal of the program is to provide everything the individual needs to stay at home for as long as he or she needs it. “Home is the safest, most comfortable place for them, and many don’t do well in an institutional setting.”

Ceremonies are important for keeping the stories of the Holocaust alive, but many survivors prefer to acknowledge the passing of another year privately, Hartman said.

And the stories and the lessons are preserved with programs like From March to Miriam, which matches teens with survivors to strengthen the intergenerational bond. The teens commit to keep the memories alive.

Visit the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County website for information about virtual ceremonies and commemorations at https://jewishboca.org.