Mary Damiano Photo by David Vance

 Mary Damiano’s Arts Scene

Artist Amos Miller with his piece Putting Out Fire, part or the Art in Bloom exhibition at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden Photo: Henry Perez

Art in Bloom and Art Miami
There’s nothing like spending an evening soaking up amazing art, as the MiamiARTzine team discovered when we attended the preview night of Art Miami at the Miami Convention Center and the opening night of Art in Bloom at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden Thursday, January 4. Art in Bloom featured some amazing artists, such as Amos Miller, in the great room, with larger installations outdoors in the garden, such as Rein Triefeldt’s beautiful Solar Butterfly.  After enjoying Art in Bloom, we all headed over to over to the Convention Center, where we were greeted by Pervis Young’s extraordinary Wall of Peace.  Nearby, there was the debut of an intriguing painting by Kate Kretz called Blessed Art Thou, which is stirring up some controversy, because it portrays Angelina Jolie as the Virgin Mary, surrounded by her children.  Booth after booth featured fabulous art, and you’ll love perusing Art Miami, which runs through January 8.  A few not to miss:  local artist Esteban Blanco’s “Playing with Dolls” booth, in which Blanco does some delightfully twisted things with Barbie dolls, and Russian artist Dmitry Sandjiev’s vibrant paintings, many of which feature whimsical cats—my personal favorite was a piece called Cat Heaven.  To see more of Art Miami and Art in Bloom, check out the photos galleries in the January 19 issue of MiamiARTzine.com  For more information on Art Miami, visit art-miami.com.

Rosie and Kelli O’Donnell attending the opening night of Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life, at Carnival Center Photo: Harvey Burstein

Rosie and Kelli and Sharon Do Chita
The stars were certainly shining at the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday, January 2, both onstage and in the audience. It was the opening night of Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life, in which the Broadway legend recounts her life and career as a dancer, from when she was an energetic little girl dancing on her family’s kitchen table right through her breakthrough role as Anita in West Side Story and her legendary performances in Chicago and Kiss of the Spider Woman, to name just a few.  I’ve always admired Chita Rivera but always regarded her as exotic and unapproachable, but this show reveals a down-to-earth woman who still gets starstruck.  And Chita’s in her 70s, you know, so watching her dance around that stage and really, just looking at her will make you believe there’s a fountain of youth somewhere.

Sharon Gless attending the opening night of Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life, at Carnival Center Photo: Harvey Burstein

Chita Rivera wasn’t the only reason the Carnival Center crackled with electricity that night.  Rosie O’Donnell, Kelli O’Donnell, Sharon Gless and Jerry Herman were all in the audience.  Rosie was still on vacation from “The View” and spending the time at her Miami home with Kelli and the kids.  It was interesting watching and listening everyone react to Rosie’s presence.  People trying not to point her out to friends, whispering to one another about whether it would be all right to go up and say hi or tell her how she’s made “The View” a much better show.  Rosie was cordial to all who approached and even posed for a photo with Kelli for MiamiARTzine.com.  And Sharon Gless, there with her husband Barney Rosensweig looked absolutely fab, very svelte and very blonde. 

Nothin’ Like a Dame
Arts at St. John’s presents a new cabaret revue, “Nothin’ Like a Dame”, on Saturday, January 13 at 8 p.m.  The two man-show features David Kingery and Sean Patrick Doyle paying tribute to the great leading ladies, including Julie Andrews, Liza Minelli, Ethel Merman, Audra McDonald, Barbra Streisand, Jennifer Holliday and Judy Garland.  Nothin’ Like a Dame will be presented at St. John’s on the Lake, 4760 Pinetree Dr., Miami Beach.  For more info, call 305-613-2325 or visit stjohnsmiamibeach.com.

Theatre Openings
There is still time to catch Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life; the show runs through Sunday, January 7 at Carnival Center.  For tickets, visit carnivalcenter.com.  Other theatre openings this week include the Tony Award-winning musical Spamalot, which runs January 9-21 at Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale.  It’s the stage version of the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail, a comic look at King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.  Also at Broward Center next week, there’s a new edition of Forbidden Broadway, called Forbidden Broadway: Special Victim’s Unit, which gleefully skewers such Broadway favorites as Fiddler on the Roof, Wicked, Billy Joel’s Movin’ Out, Chicago and The Producers.  Forbidden Broadway: Special Victim’s Unit runs January 11-13.  For info or to purchase tickets for either show, visit browardcenter.org or call 954-462-0222.

Margery Lowe coifs Laura Turnbull in a moment from Steel Magnolias, running through February 11 at the Caldwell Theatre in Boca Raton Photo: Sigvision

Palm Beach Dramaworks’ new show, Trying, runs January 5 through February 11.  Set in 1967, it’s about  a former U.S. Attorney General and the young assistant who comes to work for him.  Visit palmbeachdramaworks.org or call 561-514-4042 for tickets and information.  At the Caldwell Theatre in Boca Raton, there’s Steel Magnolias, which runs through February 11.  Set in a small-town beauty parlor, it’s a dramedy about the lives and loves of a group of women.  For tickets and information, visit caldwelltheatre.com or call 561-241-7432.  The Neighborhood Theatre Company from Naples, Florida is in town with their production of The Syringa Tree, which runs though February 3 at the Rose and Alfred Minaci Performing Arts Center at the Nova University campus in Davie.  Written by Pamel Gien, The Syringa Tree is a one-woman show that requires actress Tamara Flannagan to portray more than two dozen characters of different genders, races and ages to tell the story of growing up in South Africa in the 1960s.  For tickets and more information, 954-462-0222 or visit browardevents.com.

Artist Rein Triefeldt with is piece Solar Butterfly, which can be found in the garden at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden, part of Art in Bloom Photo: Henry Perez

A Feast for the Senses
Miami Beach Botanical Garden and the Miami Beach Visitor Center will present the “Five Senses Tour”, a day-long guided coach tour of the Redland on Saturday, January 20 from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.  The tour will include a behind-the-scenes visit to Williams Grove tropical fruit farm and market, lunch and wine tasting at Schnebly Winery, the southernmost winery in the United States, and a tour of RF Orchids nursery and the private, residential garden of Robert Fuchs. The tour is designed to indulge the five senses: taste, smell, touch, see and hear.  Tickets are $65 per person and include transportation, lunch, wine tasting at Schnebly Winery, visits to Williams Grove and RF Orchids, all taxes and gratuities.   For reservations and information, call the Miami Beach Visitor Center at 305-672-1270.

Margaret Cho, one of the comics who will be featured at the South Beach Comedy Festival at the Colony

If You Want to Laugh…
What do you get when you cross the Godfather with a philosopher?  An offer you can’t understand.  Okay… Now, if you really want to laugh, check out the South Beach Comedy Festival when it comes to the Lincoln Theatre, the Colony Theatre and the Jackie Gleason Theatre January 17-20.  Rosanne Barr, Andrew Dice Clay, Hal Sparks, Jon Stewart, Bill Maher and Margaret Cho are among the comics presenting full shows. I’ve seen Jon Stewart in person once before, ages ago at the Coconut Grove Playhouse, and he was just as funny as he is every night on “The Daily Show”. For tickets and more information, visit southbeachcomedyfestival.com.