Mary Damiano Photo by David Vance

Mary Damiano’s Arts Scene

Coconut Grove Playhouse leadership then and now: Zev Buffman and Arnold Mittelman, at the recent Carbonell Awards Photo: Mary Damiano

Curtains for Coconut Grove?
As I sat in my seat at the Coconut Grove Playhouse last Tuesday night to see Sonia Flew, I couldn’t help but wonder if this would be the last show I would see at this theatre for a long time—or forever.  The problems that have surfaced in the past few weeks—the $4 million in debt, the bounced paychecks to staffers, the closing of the theatre for a few days, the desperate fundraising by Lucie Arnaz, the drastically shortened run of the season ender Sonia Flew, the firings—had the theatre patrons around me buzzing.  The most talked about piece of news was Arnold Mittelman’s reported salary: $190,000 plus benefits and a hefty expense account.  That was a number that no one I overheard could quite get their mind around or justify in light of the Playhouse’s recent track record or financial mess.  The other buzz was the question of the future—one couple I overheard wondered about the season tickets they had already purchased for next season, while another said they’d decided halfway through this season to not renew their longtime subscription at Coconut Grove Playhouse and instead buy season tickets to Actor’s Playhouse next season.  One other thing about Coconut Grove Playhouse that I heard through the grapevine last week:  Rumor has it that Southern Comforts stars Hal Holbrook and Dixie Carter didn’t like their accommodations during their run at the Playhouse, so the theatre rented them an apartment that cost $10,000 a month.

Hoffman Fights for Hollywood Playhouse
The latest act in the backstage drama of another theatre is currently unfolding at the Hollywood Playhouse in Hollywood.  Respected actor Avi Hoffman’s Hollywood Regional Center of the Arts is trying to buy the theatre and refurbish it, but a church also wants to buy it.  While the deed on the theatre states that the property must be used as a theatre, and the church says it wants to use the playhouse as an arts church and will rent it out to other theatre companies as a venue for productions, but there are fears that the productions that will be presented will be censored in some way.  Hollywood residents who would like to prevent the sale to the church are being urged to e-mail or send a letter to Mayor Mara Giuilanti and the Hollywood City Commissioners.  I must admit that I have a certain fondness for the Hollywood Playhouse—I grew up in Hollywood and saw my first play in South Florida, a production of Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, at the theatre, more years ago than I care to mention—and I look forward to seeing shows there again.

The New Guard at New Theatre
In other theatre news, New Theatre announced last week that co-founder and executive artistic director Rafael de Acha, the man who has headed the New Theatre for the last 20 years, is retiring.  His hand-picked successor, Ricky J. Martinez, currently associate artistic director, was voted in and hired by the board last week, and will take over the job on June 1, when de Acha’s resignation becomes official. Managing Director Eileen Suarez, who has been with New Theatre for 10 years, will continue in her post.  Rafael told me last week that the thing he’s most looking forward to in his retirement is the opportunity to be spontaneous, to perhaps take off with his wife, co-founder Kimberly Daniel, to a concert or other event on the spur of the moment, something that was not possible while the two were enmeshed in the day-to-day—and night-to-night—schedule of New Theatre.  This is truly a precipitous time in the evolution of New Theatre, not only will their be change in artistic vision, but an announcement is expected soon confirming the theatre’s new space in Coconut Grove.  New Theatre’s final show of the season, The Sunken Living Room, a powerful family drama by David Caudle, runs through May 7 at their Coral Gables location.  For more information, visit www.new-theatre.org or call 305-443-5909.

Me and Rupert Everett at Yuca in South Beach Photo: Harvey J. Burstein

Rupert Everett Gets Serious
You may have seen actor, author and Miami Beach resident Rupert Everett peddling his bicycle along the mall at Lincoln Road.  But last Thursday, April 20, Everett, who spends about a quarter of each year at his Miami Beach apartment, was on stage at the Colony Theatre, giving his thoughts about his career, celebrity in general, and AIDS.  The event was part of a series of lectures about GLBT issues sponsored by Audi and the New York Times.  Everett was elected as grand marshal of AIDS Walk Miami, which was held last Sunday, April 23.  First the fun stuff:  Rupert looked great, except he didn’t smile very much, and he’s especially handsome when he smiles.  (Check out photos of the event in our photo gallery.)  He was the epitome of casual, dressed in baggy pants, sneakers, and a long-sleeved shirt over a T.  But Rupert wasn’t there to make a fashion statement, but rather draw attention to the serious issue of AIDS and the world’s response to funding the fight against this pandemic.   He spoke of what he’s seen on his own tours around the world and how they opened his eyes, and how celebrities such as Angelina Jolie use their celebrity to raise money and awareness about issues, but also how it shouldn’t take a celebrity to make people pay attention.  After the Colony, Rupert mingled with the crowd at Yuca during the reception.

Curtain Up
For those who prefer their drama onstage rather than backstage, there so many openings coming up that it’s hard to believe the season is winding down.  The GableStage Theatre www.gablestage.org in Coral Gables opens the satirical comedy Miss Margarida’s Way on May 6, and if you know South Florida theatre, you know that no one does satire better than Joe Adler and his GableStage team.  Miss Margarida’s Way runs through June 4.  Also at GableStage, there will be a play reading of An Evening of Jazz with Walt Whitman and the Mystical Trumpeteers, written by Jerry Marshall and based on the poem by Walt Whitman The Mystical Trumpeteer.  Whitman’s words will be read by actor John Felix and will be accompanied by seven jazz musicians.  The terrific presentation takes place Monday, May 15 at 7:30.  And it’s free. 

At Coral Gables’ Actor’s Playhouse, www.actorsplayhouse.org the musical Five Course Love opens on May 12.  It’s a comic exploration of going out on the town, with three actors playing 15 characters in five scenes, all set at a different restaurant.  Five Course Love runs through June 4.  

The Broadway Across America series wraps up with Mamma Mia at the Jackie Gleason, which runs May 2 through May 6.  If you are one of the few people who’ve not seen this exuberant musical on one of its many tours through South Florida, it’s definitely worth it, especially if you love the music of ABBA. 

In Broward, the Women’s Theatre Project opens Dancing the God, the story of a lawyer who returns to her alma mater to investigate the alleged seduction of a student by the student’s female dance teacher.  This is the eastern premiere of Dancing the God, and playwright Dr. Patricia Monley will attend the Thursday, May 4 and Saturday, May 6 performances fro a talk back with the audience.  Dancing the God runs through May 21 at the Studio Theatre on Andrews Avenue in Fort Lauderdale.  For more information and to purchase tickets, call 954-462-2334. 

The Sol Theatre is set for another provocative play with Edwin Sanchez’s Unmerciful Good Fortune, which begins previews May 5 and officially runs from May 12 through June 4.  It centers on three Latin women in the Bronx: a district attorney, her dying mother, and a former gang member with a unique gift for seeing into people’s lives by simply touching them with her hand.  For more info, visit www.soltheatre.com.

Also in Broward, the Stage Door www.stagedoortheatre.com in Coral Springs opens the comedy The Cemetery Club on May 12.  It’s a comedy about how the friendship between a group of widows changes when one of them gets involved with a man.  The Cemetery Club runs through June 25. 

The cast of Palm Beach Dramaworks’ Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Photo: Shel Shanek

Broward’s Public Theatre opens Lynn Nottage’s Fabulation on May 13, a comedy about a successful big shot Manhattan businesswoman who must suddenly adjust to being one of the little people.  Fabulation runs through June 4.  Visit www.publictheatre.com or call 954-537-3648 for tickets and more information. 

In Palm Beach, the Florida Stage www.floridastage.org in Manalpan opens Jamie Pachino’s  Splitting Infinity on May 5.  It’s about an astrophysicist whose attempt to use science to disprove the existence of God leads her to question friendships, newfound love and her own Judaism.  Splitting Infinity runs through June 11. 

Palm Beach DramaWorks www.pbdramaworks.org in downtown West Palm Beach opens Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? on May.  This production stars this year’s Carbonell Awards winners for Best Actor and Best Actress, Gordon McConnell and Lisa Morgan, as well as the work of award winning costume designer Erin Amico.  It’s definitely a don’t miss production.  Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? runs through June 11. 

State of the Arts Address
Many members of the arts community packed the Miami-Dade Commisioner’s Chambers on Friday, April 21 for the annual State of the Arts Address.  Carlos Migoya, chairman of the Miami-Dade County Cultural Affairs Council, addressed the crowd about how Miami is a city coming into its own as an important arts and culture center.  He also announced that the Children’s Trust had committed $1 million to provide arts in communities—in schools, after school programs and to begin programs for kids with disabilities. 

 Meanwhile, Mayor David Dermer was in Miami Beach City Hall delivering the State of the City Address.  He announced a plan for creating a Cultural Arts Overlay District in the Collins Park area, in which neighborhood guidelines and a marketing plan would support and encourage establishments with an arts theme and related uses.  The plan will be detailed at the May 11 City Commission meeting.

Chamber Concert
The South Beach Chamber Ensemble will present another concert in their Music in Beautiful Spaces series Sunday, May 7, at 4 p.m. at Miami Art Central.  Featured selections will include String Quartet #7 by Dmitri Shostakovich, Tenebrae by Osvaldo Golijov and String Quartet #17 by Heitor Villa-Lobos.  Concert admission is just $5, $3 for students and seniors.  For more information, call 305-455-3333.

Seraphic Fire is Hot
Seraphic Fire, Miami’s only professional chamber choir, will top off their season with The Complete Motets of J.S. Bach May 12-14 at three different venues in the tri-county area.  According to Seraphic Fire’s artistic director, Patrick Dupre Quigley, the Motets were conceived by Bach with one singer on each part, and demands unique feats athleticism and endurance.  The choir will perform at the First United Methodist Church in Coral Gables Friday, May 12 at 7:30, All Saints Episcopal Church in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday May 13 at 8 p.m. and  First Presbyterian Church Delray in Delray Beach on Sunday May 14 at 4 p.m.  For more information visit www.seraphicgire.org.

Ballet Gamonet dancer Iliana Lopez in But I Never Saw Another Butterfly Again Photo: MagicalPhotos.com/Mitchell Zachs

Brava Iliana
Ballet Gamonet finishes out its inaugural season with a real coup: former Miami City Ballet dancer Iliana Lopez is returning to the stage after two-year retirement to perform in a world premiere dance choreographed for her by Jimmy Gamonet.  Lopez’s desire to perform was rekindled after she signed on in 2005 as Ballet Mistress to the newly formed Ballet Gamonet.  The final performances of the season will take place May 12 and 13 at Gusman in downtown Miami and May 20 and 21 at Bailey Hall in Davie.    For more information and to purchase tickets, call 305-259-9775 or visit www.balletgamonet.org. 

A Gay Old Time
The Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival opened their eighth annual festival this past Friday, April 21, and celebrated in style, although the evenings was not without some headaches.  The wrong print of the opening night film, Reinas, (or Queens) arrived—the print was in Spanish without English subtitles, so the director, Manuel Gomez Pereira, allowed the DVD version of the film to be shown on the big screen at gorgeous Gusman.  Festival directors Carol Coombes and Jaie LaPlante apologized to the audience and offered them a free screening of the Spanish version over the weekend.  Coombes, by the way, made a rather conservative fashion statement opening night, wearing a floor-length black gown with long sleeves trimmed in marabou, stunning but staid for Coombes, who is known for her whimsical sense of style.  Before the film, Spanish diva Charytin—who at age 51 can still pull off a skin-tight gown with cutout midriff—performed a song and bantered with drag legend Adora.  The audience loved the film, a comedy set in Spain about five mothers whose son’s were all marrying in the first mass-same sex wedding in Madrid.  Afterward, guests flocked to the opening night party held in The Space in Miami, a fab venue with a curious location, smack dab in the middle of a rough residential neighborhood.  In fact, several residents stood outside their homes watching the parade of men and men and women and women walking from their cars down the street to the party, and frankly, they looked as if they’d just been invaded.  The party boasted a whimsical theme: a merman in a clamshell greeted guests as they entered the venue, and buff guys in body paint and glitter weaved through the crowd serving grape clusters.  While it was a great place for a party, their was a universal complaint about the food—while delicious, was all style over substance, which is not what you should be serving hungry guests who most likely didn’t have time to grab dinner before the screening.  Many people positioned themselves right wear the spot waiters would come out with trays, only to be greeted with a tray of 10 artfully arranged morsels every 10 minutes or so.  Believe me, at that point people would have been happy with some party platters from Publix. I do hope the MGLFF rethinks its food next year to accommodate the crowds.

The festival closes Sunday with the comedy Another Gay Movie at Gusman Hall, and then the closing night party across the street in the Alfred I. DuPont Building.  That afternoon, there will be a free event at the Regal South Beach, a panel discussion called “Beyond Brokeback Mountain”, which will explore the future of gay films in light of the groundbreaking film that captured the public’s attention and many accolades and awards.  The panel will be lead by B. Ruby Rich, and insightful and funny writer and scholar.  “Beyond Brokeback Mountain” takes place Sunday, April 30 at 1 p.m. and is available on a first-come, first seated basis.  For more information about the rest of MGLFF, visit www.mglff.com.

Marilyn Forever
You’ve only got until Sunday to see the Bass Museum’s exhibition “I Wanna Be Loved By You”, 200 photos of Marilyn Monroe. I went this past Thursday and was immediately struck by the emotion that these photographers captured.  For so many years, Marylin has simply been a symbol, an often-imitated iconic image, but many of these photos show the real woman behind the screen goddess.  I found myself wishing I could just put my arms around her and offer her some comfort and tell her it would be okay, that she just had to hang in there.  The photos by Andre de Dienes were among my favorites—they show a young, playful, not-yet-platinum Marilyn, with windblown hair, a girl on the brink of life.  They are in sharp contrast to the photos from Bert Stern’s last sittings with Marilyn just weeks before she died—her eyes are distant and show the toll her life had taken on her.   Both Marilyns are haunting but in a different way, one of symbol of hope and the other a symbol of hopelessness.  For more information, visit www.bassmuseum.org.