|
 |
|
Mary Damiano
Photo by David Vance |
Mary Damiano’s Arts
Scene
Miami Stories |
Miami Stories: A
Breath of Fresh Air
Any organization planning a fundraiser should
take note of “Miami Stories”, the event held Friday,
March 24 at Fairchild Tropical Gardens and benefiting
New Theatre. The evening began with a pleasant cocktail
party on the lawn of the gardens, followed by a family
style dinner inside the facility’s hall. During dinner,
three short plays were premiered, each one based on the
experiences of Miami residents who are prominent in the
arts: PR whiz Charles Cinnamon, TV personality
Lily Estefan and artist Romero Britto.
Cinnamon’s piece, a monologue about his life in the
theatre and how he created the Coconut Grove Arts
Festival , was brought to life by actor Bill Schwartz,
who infused the piece with dashing Rat Pack swagger.
Estefan’s piece centered on her chaotic wedding on the
eve of Hurricane Andrew, and as performed by Cecilia
Torres, E.L. Losada and Rudy Mungaray,
was laugh out loud funny. Britto’s play, which
centered on the inspiration he draws from his wife, was
poignant and probably the one piece that had the least
to do with Miami. Director Ricky J. Martinez
staged the first two plays among—and on top of—guest’s
tables, while the last took place on stage. The event
was casual, unpretentious and a lot of fun, words that
don’t generally apply to big fundraisers. “Miami
Stories” is on track to become New Theatre’s signature
fundraising event, so don’t miss it next year.
|
 |
|
Elaine Stritch who has won
a Carbonell Award for her performance in her
one-woman show Elaine Stritch at Liberty,
which played at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre in
November 2004 |
|
And the Award Goes
To…
The Carbonell Awards, which honor South
Florida theatre, have announced the winners of the stock
road show categories. The winners include The
Constant Wife, a remake of the 1926 M. Somerset
Maugham play, took the honor of Best Production, while
the production of Hairspray that came to Fort
Lauderdale in January 2005 won for Best Musical. Two
veterans took top honors in the acting categories:
Harold Gould won for best actor for his breathtaking
performance as Professor Morrie Schwartz in the Coconut
Grove Playhouse’s production of Tuesdays With Morrie,
while Elaine Stritch won best actress for her
one-woman show, Elaine Stritch at Liberty, which
ran at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre. While the stock road
show winners have already been announced, local winners
in 20 categories are being kept secret until the April
10 ceremony at Broward Center for the Performing Arts,
which will be hosted by Florence Henderson. For the
complete list of road show winners and for more
information about the Carbonell Awards, visit
www.CarbonellAwards.org.
Theodore Bikel,
star of About Time |
On Stage
In the theatre spotlight, look for the
openings of The Sunken Living Room, by local
playwright David Caudle. The Sunken Living
Room concerns a teenage boy trying to keep his
family from falling apart in 1970’s Miami. The play’s
scheduled world premiere in New Orleans was cancelled
when Hurricane Katrina hit, and this New Theatre
production is in conjunction with New Orleans Southern
Rep Theatre. This will be the last production at New
Theatre’s (www.new-theatre.org)
current Coral Gables location. In August they open with
their annual Shakespeare Project at their new space on
Commodore Plaza in Coconut Grove. The Sunken Living
Room opens April 7 and runs through May 7. A little
north at the Caldwell Theatre (www.caldwelltheatre.com)
in Boca Raton, there’s the world premiere of prolific
local playwright Michael McKeever’s The
Impressionists, a play about the painters who
birthed the impressionist movement in art. The
Impressionists opens for previews April 9, with its
official opening night April 14 and runs through May
21. About Time starring Theodore Bikel
wraps up its Coconut Grove Playhouse run on Sunday,
April 2, but moves to Parker Playhouse in Fort
Lauderdale for a one week run that begins Tuesday, April
4. Visit
www.cgplayhouse.org for more info. The Women’s
Theatre Project will present an interesting event, Also,
this is your last weekend to see the Mosaic Theatre’s
production of Patrick Marber’s gritty comedy
Dealer’s Choice, a tense but funny bitterly funny
story about the players in an all-night poker game in
London. The marvelous set is the perfect framework for
the top-notch direction by Paul Tei and the
explosive performances by a terrific ensemble cast.
Dealer’s Choice runs through Sunday, April 2.
6 Women Turning 60
in 2006
The Women’s Theatre Project will present the
irresistibly titled 6 Women Turning 60 in 2006,
a production of six short plays written by women
playwrights who each turn 60 this year. Directed by
Genie Croft and featuring a local cast of
professional actresses, each performance will feature
staged readings, birthday cake and talkbacks. The
production, was conceived by Donna Guthrie of
California and Colorado and her sister playwright,
Nancy Gall-Clayton of Kentucky, as an
artistic response to
the lack of progress in the portrayal of older women on
stage and screen. They invited four
other female playwrights, all celebrating their 60th
birthdays this year, to help create a blockbuster
60th-birthday celebration, with each woman submitting a
short play that reveals her take on issues related to
women’s aging in America. The Women’s Theatre Project is
one of six regional theatres where the production will
be staged throughout 2006. It all takes place April
6-8, 8 p.m. at the City of Oakland Park Library located
at 1298 NE 37 Street in Oakland Park.
Call 954-462-2334 for reservations.
|
 |
|
The Alvin Ailey American
Dance Theatre |
|
Alvin Ailey Dances
into Fort Lauderdale
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, one
of the most famous and respected modern dance companies
in the country, will perform this weekend only at
Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort
Lauderdale. The company, under the direction of
Judith Jamison, will perform three different
programs in their four performances, including their
most famous piece, Revelations. Three South
Florida natives, who all graduated from Miami’s New
World School of the Arts, will perform with the
company. Amos J. Mechanic, Jr., who
joined the company in 1996, is scheduled to be featured
in the solo dance “I Wanna Be Ready” in Revelations
on opening night March 31; Jamar Roberts, who
joined the company in 2002 and Zach Law Ingram,
who joined the company in 2004, will perform over the
weekend. For more information and to purchase tickets,
visit
www.concertfla.org.
A Reel Good Time
Cinema Paradiso, the year-round art house and
home to the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival,
is the setting for several upcoming film festivals. The
Full Frame Documentary Film Festival runs April 6-9, and
while it originates in Durham, North Carolina, it will
be digitally syndicated to 11 venues around the country,
including Fort Lauderdale. Full Frame features a slate
of provocative documentaries, including VH1’s The
Drug Years, which will be screened Sunday, April 9
at 2 p.m. and is free to the public. The film examines
drug use in America and its impact on culture in the
second half of the 20th century. Next up,
mummy-mania continues with “The King Tut Experience”, a
presentation of films for those who can’t get enough of
the boy king. Screenings include the original Boris
Karloff film The Mummy, the animated feature
Prince of Egypt, along with Abbott and
Costello Meet the Mummy, the Elizabeth Taylor
Spectacular Cleopatra and The Curse of King
Tut’s Tomb. Admission is only $3 when you present
your ticket stub from the Museum of Art’s exhibit “The
Golden Age of the Pharaohs”. Then, in collaboration
with Florida Atlantic University, there’s the
Argentinean Film Festival, which runs April 12-23, is
titled “Pantalla de
Plata: A Retrospective of Argentinean Film” and is
organized by
the Caribbean and Latin American Studies Program at FAU
and the Department of Languages, Linguistics and
Comparative Literatures. The Argentinean Film Festival
features silent films, shorts and features, and includes
an appearance by actress Adrianna
Bianco, star of
La Nina del Gato.
For more information about any of these festivals, visit
www.CinemaParadiso.org.
Discovering Miami
Last Saturday I decided to take part in one of the many
free cultural events offered in sunny South Florida, the
Discover Miami guided bus tour. Part of Dade Heritage
Days, Discover Miami is a one-day event highlighting the
cultures of the different neighborhoods of Miami. The
guided bus tour was free and seemed the perfect way to
visit each area without the muss and fuss of driving and
parking six different times. My friend Mary and I began
our tour at Temple Israel and boarded our bus, which
featured tour guide Jonathan Rose. Unfortunately
Jonathan was not supplied with a microphone, so any
historic and cultural information he gave the passengers
was lost. Our first stop was Little Haiti, which proved
to be the most colorful of any of the neighborhoods.
Teenage girls in vivid costumes danced in the streets,
while drummers beat out a catchy rhythm. Then it was on
to downtown, where a classic car show stretched for
blocks down Flagler Street and musicians performed on
the steps of the courthouse. My friend Ellen Wedner
was selling vintage Florida postcards and car
memorabilia from a booth on Flagler, but she was the
only one. This is the stop where I began to see the
missed opportunities of the event. I had expected more
of a festival atmosphere, with food and craft vendors
and exhibits and such, but all of that was lacking.
Downtown, the only food options were local fast food
places. And the Native American section, newly added
this year, was way up at the plaza in front of the
Historical Museum, hidden from view. This was one of
the best sections, with native crafts, an alligator and
traditional music and performers, but it was too
isolated. Little Havana featured a smattering of tables
with Cuban handiwork, but trying to get a sandwich or a
few croquettes at one of the Cuban eateries proved a
challenge—not because of the crowds, but because no one
seemed very interested in waiting on the hungry
visitors. Overtown featured one of the best
presentations, with Corky Dozier giving visitors
an informative talk about the history of the area as
well as the In Motion exhibit at the newly restored
Lyric Theatre. Temple Israel also offered an
interesting glimpse inside the cycle of Jewish life from
birth to death. The illustration of marriage was
unintentionally funny, as it featured a Chuppah with
bride and groom mannequins—the bride appeared to be a
male mannequin, while the groom appeared to be Asian.
While it was an enjoyable day, the festival also left a
lot to be desired. My hope is that Discover Miami can
be taken to the next level in coming years, to fulfill
the potential of a true festival at each stop, with more
historic and cultural information, more presentations
and a more festive atmosphere. So far, the attempt is
half-hearted at best.
 |
Front
page
