Mary Damiano Photo by David Vance

Mary Damiano’s Arts Scene

Mosaic Theatre founder and artistic director Richard Jay Simon

Taking a Gamble at Mosaic Theatre
The fare at Mosaic Theatre is never a gamble—thanks to founder and artistic director Richard Jay Simon, the Plantation theatre can always be counted on for thought-provoking, first-class productions. But if you do like to gamble, here’s an event for you. Mosaic Theatre will host Monte Carlo Night at Mosaic on Saturday, January 16. Monte Carlo Night was created because of a $18,000 cut from governmental funding for Mosaic Theatre, which has consistently been recognized over the past eight years for theatrical excellence. The evening will feature food, music, and Vegas-style entertainment; Monte Carlo chic dress code is encouraged. The event starts at 7 p.m. with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, along with music and traditional casino-type games such as blackjack, roulette, slot machines, poker and craps. There will be opportunities to win thousands of dollars in cash and prizes, including 15 gaming tables and a 50/50 raffle, in which “silent players” may purchase tickets even if they are unable to attend. Admission to Monte Carlo Night is $50 for an Express Ticket which buys 100 chips, or $100 for a Premium Ticket which buys 225 chips. Table sponsorships are also available. Monte Carlo Night at Mosaic Theatre will be held Saturday, January 16, 7-10 p.m. at Mosaic Theatre, located in the American Heritage Center for the Arts, 12200 W. Broward Blvd. in Plantation. For more information and to purchase tickets, call 954-577-8243 or visit www.mosaictheatre.com.

Handmade Horizons, Distant Lights, Oil on Canvas, 30 x 30, by Sebastian Spreng, one of the artists represented by Miami’s Kelley Roy Gallery, which will be in Booth 314 at the Miami International Art Fair.

They’re Baaa-aaack
If you thought art mania was over, guess again. January has brought two more art fairs, the Miami International Art Fair (MIA) and Art Palm Beach. MIA will be held January 7-10 at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Local and internationally renowned galleries will exhibit contemporary art, photography, works on paper, sculpture, installations, video and new electronic media. Special exhibitions at MIA include: “Focus Argentina,” a pavilion of modern and contemporary galleries from one of the world’s major art capitals, bringing the largest exhibition of Argentine art to the U.S.; Next Generation pavilion will be a curated section of young artists who are emerging on the global arts scene. MIA will donate all admission proceeds and a portion of food and beverage proceeds to a different, local cultural organization each day. www.mia-artfair.com. Art Palm Beach is celebrating its 13the year as Palm Beach County’s premiere art event. Held January 15-18 at the Palm Beach County Convention Center on Okeechobee Road in West Palm Beach, Palm Beach 3 hosts international galleries presenting contemporary art, photography, video, installation art, public sculpture, and design. Art Palm Beach will also donate all admission proceeds and a portion of food and beverage proceeds to local cultural organizations. www.artpalmbeach.com.

Tom Wahl plays Jekyll and Hyde in Caldwell Theatre’s A Chemical Imbalance: A Jekyll and Hyde Play, opening January 8.

Theatre Openings
Chemical Imbalance: A Jekyll and Hyde Story, described as a farce by Lauren Wilson, opens at Caldwell Theatre in Boca Raton January 8. With masterful comic actor Tom Wahl in the lead, audiences are surely in for a treat. The show runs through February 7. www.caldwelltheatre.com. Up in Jupiter, the Maltz Theatre kicks off 2010 with La Cage Aux Folles. It’s a popular musical—a production of La Cage has played South Florida each year since 2007. The plot involves a gay couple who own a nightclub on the French Riviera who meet their son’s homophobic, conservative future in-laws. Hilarity ensues. La Cage runs through January 31. www.jupitertheatre.org. And speaking of gay plays, Rising Action Theatre in Oakland Park has the cult classic Sordid Lives by Del Shores, a comedy about the events surrounding a southern matriarch’s funeral. Sordiid Lives runs January 16 through February 21. www.risingactiontheatre.com.

Twyla Tharp’s The Golden Section is featured in Miami City Ballet’s Program II.

Golden Gams
Miami City Ballet will present Program II, which features The Golden Section with choreography by Twyla Tharp. Seen for the first time on MCB's main stage, this classic is pure energy as 13 dancers in gold costumes sail and soar through the air of the stage's golden, glowing light features. The rest of the evening belongs to Balanchine, with the master’s choreography in Divertimento No. 15, in which the five principal women are partnered by only three men, turning the piece into a subtle study in asymmetry; Valse Fantaisie, which finds one man among three equally compelling women; and Slaughter on Tenth Avenue, a story of gangsters, strippers and an attempted murder plot. Program II will be presented January 8-10 at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami; January 15-17 at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach; and January 22-24 at Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale. www.miamicityballet.org.

Lightwaves by Paula Turk

CANDO Co-Op
The work of sculptor Paula Turk is now exhibited at the CANDO Arts Co-Op Gallery, located at Palm Court, 309 23rd Street, Miami Beach, just one 1 block west of Collins Avenue. The gallery was opened as a one-night-only event for Sleepless Night, but the 5,000 square foot space attracted enough attention that it remained open during Art Basel, through the holidays and now on a continuing basis. More than a dozen artists are in residence, exhibiting everything from sculpture and photography to painting and film. “Structure Series: Exploration in Lines and Angles,” is a collection of metal sculpture made from recycled and found materials that showcases Turk’s distinctive metal work. The gallery is open Thursdays and Fridays, 4-7 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, noon to 6 p.m. For more information, call 305-772-5665.

Dance troupe the Groovaloos will perform at Parker Playhouse.

Groove to Groovaloo
The Groovaloos, best known for their breakout performance on NBC’s “Superstars of Dance” and appearances on FOX’s “So You Think You Can Dance,” “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” will bring their electric dance stage show, Groovaloo, to Parker Playhouse on Saturday, January 16 at 8 p.m. Based on the troupe’s true-to-life experiences as told by the dancers who lived them, Groovaloo combines jaw-dropping displays of physicality with heart-pounding music and powerful stories that chronicle the struggles, hopes and triumphs of the 14-member cast. "We created Groovaloo as a new form of entertainment that truly blurs the lines between theater and dance," says creator Bradley Rapier. “The story is told through movement, though we also feature spoken word poetry as well as compelling stories which add to the show’s theatricality. In some cases, dance literally saved people’s lives—each performer has a story to share, and that’s where the real connection is made with the audience.” For tickets and more information, visit www.parkerplayhouse.com.

Andie Arthur Makes Directorial Debut
Andie Arthur, playwright, executive director of SouthFlorida.com and frequent contributor to MiamiARTzine.com will make her directorial debut with Wendy Wasserstein’s The Sisters Rosensweig at the Jewish Cultural Arts Theatre (J-CAT) in North Miami Beach. The Sisters Rosensweig is a humorous portrait of three sisters reuniting after a lengthy separation who come to terms with their differences while discovering respect and love for one another. The show opens Wednesday, January 13 with a wine and cheeses reception accompanying the show, and runs through January 24. January 13 at 7:30 pm. Tickets for the opening night gala are $36. For all other performances, tickets range from $12 to $27. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.jcctheatre.com.


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