Mary Damiano Photo by David Vance

Mary Damiano’s Arts Scene

Miami’s own Gloria Estefan, who will perform in the grand opening concert at the Carnival Center

Carnival Concert
Tickets are now on sale for the big-screen simulcast of the star-studded Concert for Miami, the official opening event of the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts.  The show takes place Thursday, October 5 at Carnival’s Knight Concert Hall, but will be simulcast across the street at the Ziff Opera House.  (Won’t parking be fun that night.)

The show includes Albita, Jose Carreras, Gloria Estefan, Andy Garcia, Quincy Jones, Bernadette Peters and Arturo Sandoval, among others.  The festivities will begin at 6 p.m. with an opening ceremony in the Center’s outdoor Parker and Vann Thomson Plaza for the Arts and on Biscayne Blvd., which will be closed that evening from NE 13 to NE 14 Street.  (Won’t rush hour traffic be fun that night.)  The actual show at the Knight is almost sold out, but tickets for the simulcast are $20 general admission.  Visit carnivalcenter.org for more info. 

Tracey Hagen Photography Exhibit
Tracey Hagen invites viewers to witness her personal transformation with her new photography exhibit, The Journey, which opens at Art Center South Florida Saturday, September 16.  The photographs illustrate Hagen’s journey to self-discovery and explores her legacy as a granddaughter of Miami pioneers.  There will an opening night reception from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Art Center, 810 Lincoln Rd., Studio 104, Miami Beach.  For more info, visit traceyhagen.com.

Openings and Closings
As the new theatre season gets underway—you can read about the whole season in our Theatre Season Preview—two shows are on the radar right now.  The opening show of the Broadway Series at the new Carnival Center for the Performing Arts is The Light in the Piazza, opening Tuesday, September 26.  This will be a many peoples’ first look at the new multi-million dollar downtown venue.  The Light in the Piazza runs through October 1. Visit carnivalcenter.org for more info.   Fledgling Theatre Company The Alliance Theatre Lab kicks off their new season with Lonely Planet, a play about a young man who refuses to leave his map store and the friend who urges him to take charge of his life.  Lonely Planet runs September 28 through October 18 at the Main Street Playhouse, 6766 Main St., Miami Lakes.  For more info, call 305-567-2721 or visit thealliancetheatrelab.com.

Also, this is the last weekend to see a few shows.  The Pillowman at GableStage Theatre should not be missed.  The production is top-notch, with an inventive scenic design and powerful performances that match the disturbing material.  Here’s a hint for the future:  Don’t miss anything in which Antonio Amadeo appears.  I first saw him in the Mosaic Theatre’s production of The Elephant Man, a performance that garnered him a Carbonell nomination.  Since then he’s turned in a string of impressive performances, and is definitely an actor to watch.  The Pillowman wraps up Sunday, September 17.  For more info, visit gablestage.org.

Also closing on September 17 is The Decline and Fall of the Entire World as Seen Through the Eyes of Cole Porter, a musical salute to the work of—you guessed it—Cole Porter.  The musical ends the current season of the Caldwell Theatre in Boca Raton.  For more info, visit caldwelltheatre.com.

Back to School
Ernesto never quite reached hurricane proportions here in South Florida, dousing us with some rain and blustery days.  The bigger pain in the butt was the over-zealous local news media, that seemed to take a William Randolph Hearst approach to the storm:  If Mother Nature didn’t give them a hurricane to report, then by God, they’d invent one.  It was degrading to see a news reporter from a local station reporting from Florida City, pointing out a puddle—a puddle, mind you—that went from where he was standing into a very near-by Denny’s driveway.  I understand that the local newshounds want to be the first with a story, but they must understand that in this media-driven world, the amount of press an event gets, especially an event that directly effects people’s lives, ups the importance level in viewers’ minds.  It’s getting to the point where come June 1, the start of hurricane season, we’re just going to have all hurricane coverage, all the time.

Anyway, while there weren’t many cultural events to be interrupted by the premature closings and hype, one event that did seem to suffer was the Promethean Theatre’s Back to School fundraiser on August 28 at Cinema Paradise.  The attendance should have been higher, and surely would have been in other circumstances.  Those who did ignore the over-hyped storm were treated to a terrific event, that featured good food, a flowing bar and five—count’em five—brand new one-act plays from Juan C. Sanchez playwright, will premiere his new play, Red Tide, as part of Promethean’s new season.  To see more of the Back to School fun, check out the photo gallery in this issue. 

Starving Artist Sale
In the mood for some low-cost high-quality art?  Check out the Starving Artist Sale Saturday, September 30 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center, 1717 N. Andrews Ave., Fort Lauderdale.  All artwork will be priced at $100 or less, and admission to the public is free.   For more information, e-mail artsunited1@aol.com.

Gain Momentum
Meet the dancers of Momentum Dance Company as they kick off their 25^th anniversary season in a special event called “Meet the Dancers”, which includes a performance, a lecture, and birthday party for Momentum founder and artistic director Delma Iles.  Momentum favorites such as Water Study, Highway, The Thrill and Cheers Darling are among the pieces scheduled to be performed.  The event takes place at the Manuel Artime Theatre, 900 SW 1 St., Miami.  All tickets are $5.  Also this weekend, Momentum’s first official performance of the season, “An Evening of Water Ballet and Music”, takes place Sunday, September 17 at the Biltmore Hotel pool, 1200 Anastasia Ave., Coral Gables.  This is a collaborative program with the center for Emerging Art.  For more info about both events, visit momentumdance.com.

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