Mary Damiano Photo by David Vance

Mary Damiano’s Arts Scene

Cast of This Is How It Goes, now at the GableStage Theatre Photo: George Schiavone

Cool Off with Hot Theatre
There are few better ways to get out of the South Florida summer heat than by getting into a nice cool theatre. Luckily, there’s some juicy live theatre to choose from.  Running through July 23 at the GableStage Theatre at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, there’s a terrific production of This Is How It Goes.  Playwright Neil LaBute is up to old manipulative self—and that’s a very good thing—with this story about an interracial love triangle in a small Midwestern town.  Visit gablestage.com for more information.  Also in Coral Gables at the Actor’s Playhouse in Coral Gables, be sure to check out the campy comedy The Mystery of Irma Vep, a send-up of every B-horror movie cliché you can think of.  Two of South Florida’s most talented actors, John Felix and Tom Wahl, take on more than a dozen characters for some frothy and over-the-top fun.  The Mystery of Irma Vep runs through September 3.  Visit actorspalyhouse.org for more info.

Up in Palm Beach County, the Caldwell Theatre in Boca Raton opens the hysterical comedy Lend Me a Tenor on July 19.  It’s the story of what happens when an Italian tenor doesn’t show up for a concert.  It runs through August 13.  Visit caldwelltheatre.com.  The Florida Stage Theatre in Manalapan has booked a musical look at a legend for the summer.  The world premiere of Ella, which explores the life and music of Ella Fitzgerald runs through September 3.  Visit floridastage.org for more info.  A little further north at Palm Beach Dramaworks, the comedy The Smell of the Kill runs through July 30.  A South Florida premiere, it’s a wicked comedy about three unloving husbands who mistakenly lock themselves in a basement meat locker, and their malicious wives who must decide whether or not to leave the men permanently out in the cold.  Visit palmbeachdramaworks.org. 

RoughRiders Annual Show
For some campy fun, check out “Hanky Panky” from the RoughRiders Dance Team.  This year’s edition of the gay group’s annual variety show features a spoof of Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, as well as some of the Rough Riders fave fun friends, including Tiffany Arieagus, Jennifer McClain, South Florida Lambda Chorale and Alfred Lewis, who does the most dead-on Bette Davis you’ve ever seen.  “Hanky Panky” will be presented at Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, August 19 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday, August 20, at 7 p.m.  Tickets are available at browardcenter.org or by calling 954-462-0222. I’ve been a fan of the RoughRiders for a long time and believe me, they put on a show you won’t soon forget.  For more information, visit rrofsf.org.

Free Museum Days
How’s this for an idea to beat the heat?  Many of South Florida’s museums offer free days and events in the summer.  The Vizcaya Museum and Gardens is offering free admission to all Miami-Dade and Broward residents on Sunday, July 30, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at their Inside/Outside event.  This family-friendly event features programming related to the Inside/Outside theme, including performing arts, art-making activities lectures, tours and more.  Visit vizcayamuseum.com.    The Miami Art Museum in downtown Miami offers free admission on each Sunday and second Saturdays.  For more information, visit miamiartmuseum.org.  Wolfsonian Museum in Miami Beach offers free admission each Friday night 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. For more information visit wolfsonian.fiu.edu.  The Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale is offering free admission for all of July and August, courtesy of Bank Atlantic.  Visit moafl.org for more information.  And do yourself a favor—don’t limit yourself.  The Frost Museum, and many other museums and galleries offer free admission all the time, and overall South Florida museums have small admission fees, around $5 in most cases.  Spending a few hours at a museum is a great way to escape the summer heat—and real life—and disappear into a more provocative world.

Part of the Housewarming exhibition at Miami Arts Central, by artist in residence Marina del Rosario Huang

MAC Attack
And speaking of museums, Miami Art Central has two intriguing events on Saturday, July 29.  The public is invited to join the Board of Directors and Artists in Residence for the preview of Housewarming: One Bedroom, One Bathroom, a Kitchen a Pantry and a Patio.  The event 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., and includes an Art Chat with the artists in residence:  Susan Lee Chun, Marina del Rosario Huang, Kerry Phillips and Elsa Carolina Munoz.  There will also be a reception catered by 10 Cane.  For more information, call 305-674-8278 or 305-538-7887.