Sharon Geltner

West Palm Beach is in the lead; Boca Raton is second, and Palm Beach Gardens is a distant third, says Kelly Smallridge, president and CEO of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County.
Two formidable opponents: a billionaire real estate developer in West Palm Beach versus indefatigable public sector officials in Boca Raton. (The latter is leveling the playing field with A-rated schools.)
It’s a rare opportunity for the county: anger over Covid lockdowns meeting the fear of a Socialis...

December 2025 | By Sharon Geltner

LAUREN COTTON has never strayed far from the water. She grew up at Lighthouse Point, a coastal town near Fort Lauderdale known for its bustling boating scene. Every summer, her family would vacation at their cottage on Lake June in the town of Lake Placid near Sebring, where they enjoyed fishing and watersports. “We were always on boats,” she recalls.

After earning her degree in 2006 at Palm Beach Atlantic University, a small private Christian College in West Palm Beach, Cotton landed a gig as a concierge at Rybovich, a local superyacht marina that until...

2025 state finalist:

Arts News writing and reporting

Divi Little Bay Beach Resort in St. Maarten was once the opulent home to Dutch royalty. Located on a protected cove near the southern tip of the island, it became a resort in the mid-1960s and today features 311 units, eight restaurants, and three pools spread across 45 acres.

Pictured: all-volunteer judges roster.

THEATER

Area stages are planning an exciting season of TV stars, Netflix writers, off-Broadway actors, European festival standouts, and innovative productions. The contrasts range from Broadway musicals and brand names such as Neil Simon and Stephen King to Southeastern United States premieres of thought-provoking plays.

Below, in geographical order, from north to south, are the schedules of the thespian cornucopia to look forward this fall and winter, as well as the latest developments...

South Florida theatrical, live entertainment and performing arts highlights, from fall 2025 through spring 2026. Includes calendar, scheduled programming and other updates.

Plus:

EXCLUSIVE: Lake Worth Beach Playhouse fast tracked for $1 million state grant, for renovation, beautification. The Art Deco building is 101 years old.

Join author Jonathan Rosen as he chats with multimedia journalist Sharon Geltner! Sharon discusses her career in journalism, her interactive marketing firm Froogle PR, her book Charity Bashed, & much more...

THE COASTAL STAR / PALM BEACH ARTSPAPER
Theater

https://palmbeachartspaper.com/perlmans-plays-ex-delray-mayor-finds-new-success-writing-

There are 64,000 plays registered on a national clearinghouse for budding playwrights. The vast majority will never be staged.

Yet, since 2024, Jeff Perlman, former mayor of Delray Beach, has seen three plays produced.

"The odds of being produced are very low. I was told this by several veteran playwrights," Perlman said. "Many people [who write multiple scripts] never have a play produced. I'm lucky. And I've found a late-life outlet."

More on Schine

I enjoyed your May/June issue, "Boca Raton Turns 100." It was full of many wonderful facts, including how Hildegarde Feldman Schine and her husband J. Myer Schine, bought the Boca Raton Hotel and Club in 1944. As a relative Of J. Myer Schine, who died in 1971, I must add what Eliot Kleinberg of the Palm Beach Post reported in 2003--that Schine was an "unsung hero" who arranged for Boca Raton to save all that prime oceanfront property for beach parks.

At 100 And 106, Boca Raton Siblings Pearl Gelb and Millie Dien Reflect On The Secret Of A Long Life

by Sharon Geltner

June 9, 2025

Millie Dien and Pearl Gelb

(Photos Courtesy of Toby & Leon Cooperman Sinai Residences)

Pearl Gelb and Millie Dien, two centenarian sisters living in West Boca, say they feel lucky that family and friends have enriched their long lives. The siblings recall numerous key milestones — such as their wedding dates, Dec. 24, 1944, and June 15, 1941, respectively ...

It was the shock of her beloved mother’s untimely demise that changed Dove Donovan’s life forever. “Her sudden death inspired me to go into the medical field and save lives,” she said.

Donovan, who lives and works in Jupiter, owns Island Imaging, a concierge service; providing echo, vascular and ultrasound screenings. She sends her detailed images and tests to a cardiologist on Indiantown Road and a radiologist in Port St. Lucie. They read the tests, then issue a re...

Avram and Jill Glazer take lead in rebuilding once vibrant theater at Royal Poinciana Plaza in Palm Beach.

Glazer Hall for the Performing Arts, a $30 million theater and cultural arts center under construction at the Royal Poinciana Plaza in Palm Beach, is moving toward a year-end opening with the announcement of a recent donation in excess of $15 million from Palm Beach residents Avram “Avie” and Jill Glazer.

The Glazers are playing the lead role in turning the long-shuttered island landmark...

Glazer Hall for the Performing Arts, a $30 million theater and cultural arts center under construction at the Royal Poinciana Plaza in Palm Beach, is moving toward a year-end opening with the announcement of a recent donation in excess of $15 million from Palm Beach residents Avram “Avie” and Jill Glazer.

The Glazers are playing the lead role in turning the long-shuttered island landmark into a sustainable performing arts and events space.

“This is the first theater and nonprofit cultural art...

‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum’ brings comedy tonight to Mickel Park

Mar 05, 2025 / Sharon Geltner

The dawn of theater in ancient Greece coupled with a musical about ancient Rome, inspired a former Bakersfield, Calif., boy to create a theater in the parks program for Wilton Manors.

So says Ronnie Larsen, artistic director of Plays of Wilton, a non-profit theater company based in Wilton Manors and founder of POW! In the Park.
Starting Friday, March 7, Plays of Wilton (POW!) is collaborating w...