Mary Damiano Photo by David Vance

 Mary Damiano’s Arts Scene

Me and Patrice Bailey of New World School of the Arts, at the Angels in America cast party Photo: Henry Perez

Whirlwind Weekend
I love weekends like the one I just had, filled with friends, theatre, art and music.  On Friday, February 9, I drove down to Lincoln Road to see the New World School of the Arts production of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America.  I’m acquainted with many of the success stories that have come out of New World’s first 20 years, and as I watched their flawless production, I knew I was witnessing the birth of the next wave.  I have seen the future of the arts, and it’s in good hands at New World.  For more on the opening night of Angels in America, read Henry Perez’s First Person account in this issue, and check Henry’s photographs in the Photo Gallery.  Continuing through my weekend, Saturday found me driving in the other direction, north to Boynton Beach to see The Sunshine Boys at the New Vista Theatre.  It did wonders for my general state of mind—my companion and I were certainly among the half a dozen youngest people in the theatre.  As all of the 800-od seats were filled, that’s really saying something.  But Neil Simon will do that, as will stars Bruce Adler and Avi Hoffman.  The production is first-rate and crackles with energy and laugh-out-loud moments.  Adler and Hoffman disappear into their characters, a vaudeville team who’ve been on the outs for more than a decade, but reluctantly try to pull it together for a television special.  The Sunshine Boys plays this weekend in Boynton; next weekend it moves to the Miniaci Center on the Nova campus in Davie.  Don’t miss it. newvistatheatre.com.

Billy Joel, who rocked the Triple A on February 12

Sunday morning I was driving south again, for the Coldwell Banker Miami Beach Festival of the Arts.  It’s the first time I was able to attend this charming art fair, and it was wonderful.  Booths lined Ocean Terrace, a quaint beachside street hidden from traffic.  Artists came from all over the country, but South Florida was well represented.  My favorite was Ben Sivells of Coconut Grove, who does amazing mosaics with pebbles and shells.  Check out his work at his website, theartofcrustaceans.com.  I capped off the weekend on Monday with my best friend Mary at the Triple A in downtown Miami to see part-time Miami resident Billy Joel.  The concert was billed as the encore performance to the show he did in January 2006.  That concert ticked off a lot of people because Billy played hardly any hits, just obscure album cuts that only the most diehard fans would know.  This concert was more vintage Billy Joel, who, despite pushing 60, still knows how to rock, especially on songs like “Angry Young Man”, “I Go to Extremes”, and “You May Be Right”. But the best thing about the concert for me was that I finally got to hear my favorite Billy Joel song, “Vienna”, live in concert.  Mary and I have seen him in concert more than a dozen times, and that was a first.  By the way, Joel has released his first new pop song in more than a decade, called “All for You”.  The song became available through downloading this past week and will be released on disc at future date.

Leslie Jordan, one of the comedians featured at the Winter Party Comedy Spotlight event

Winter Party Goes for the Funnybone
This year’s Winter Party is adding a new event to its annual festivities, a comedy show at the Jackie Gleason Theatre.  Comedy Spotlight  debuts Friday, March 2, at 8 p.m. and will feature out comedians Leslie Jordan, ANT and Michele Balan.  Jordan is perhaps best known for his Emmy Award-winning portrayal of Beverly Leslie, the arch-nemesis of character Karen Walker on “Will & Grace”, and for his role in Del Shores’ film Sordid Lives.  Balan appeared on the NBC show “Last Comic Standing”, while ANT has appeared on “Celebrity Fit Club”. The event also will feature an art exhibit showcasing the works of local artists Lazaro Amaral, Monica Hernandez and Alekxey Sabido. Proceeds from art sales will be donated to Winter Party Festival.  Tickets, including a VIP level which include a backstage reception with the stars, free cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, are available at the Jackie Gleason Theater and through Ticketmaster. Comedy Spotlight will be interpreted for the hearing impaired.  Proceeds go to the Dade Community Foundation and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.  winterparty.com.

Poet and spoken word artist Emanuel Xavier

Poetic License
Tigertail Productions launches their new SpeakOut project for the GLBT community with a weeklong residency with nationally recognized Latino gay spoken word poet Emanuel Xavier. Workshops and an open mic evening for GLBT youth, as well as readings throughout Miami-Dade, take place from February 20 through February 24. Xavier is a published author of several books and has been seen on television in PBS’s “In the Life” and HBO’s “Russell Simmons presents Def Poetry”.  Xavier’s residency includes a SpeakOut open mic event for gay teens at the Light Box studio theater at Miami Light Project, 3000 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, on Friday, February 23 at 7:30 p.m. This is an opportunity for teens to read and perform their own poetry, as well as to experience Emanuel’s performance work. Each participant must be 21 and under and material must be gay friendly. Xavier will also give two readings for the general public, Thursday, February 22 at 7:30 p.m. at Books and Books on Lincoln Road, and on Saturday, February 24, at 3 p.m., at the Naranja Public Library, 27060 South Dixie Highway.  All events are free. For more information and a full schedule of events visit tigertail.org or call Tigertail Productions  at 305-324-4337.

New Theatre co-chair Harvey Burstein with flutist Nestor Torres, one of the featured celebrities in the second annual fundraiser Miami Stories. Photo: Flavio Cavlacanti

Tell Me a Story
Mark your calendars for Miami Stories, New Theatre’s second annual fundraising event.  It’s a very cool concept: local celebrities write short plays about their experiences in Miami, which are then performed by actors at a dinner. Avid arts supporter Senator Gwen Margolis, flutist Nestor Torres and Books and Books owner and Miami International Book Fair founder Mitchell Kaplan have been tapped for this year’s event, which will be held Friday, March 9, 6:30 p.m., at the Grand Bay Club on Key Biscayne.  The evening will be emceed by meteorologist Lonnie Quinn and includes a cocktail reception, three-course dinner, silent auction, music by Marc Berner and Peter Batan.  Torres will also perform.  Tickets are $200 per person.  To purchase tickets and for more information, call Pauline Goldsmith at 305-774-7390. 

Chihuly at night Photo: Felix Becerra

Chihuly By Night
The Miami Beach Arts Trust, the non-profit organization that oversees MiamiARTzine.com, recently added some new board members.  One new board member, Felix Becerra, is a professional photographer who took some gorgeous nighttime shots of the Dale Chihuly sculpture exhibit at Fairchild Tropical Gardens in Coral Gables.  While you can visit Fairchild and see the exhibit each day, at the present time, nighttime viewing is only available on Thursday nights during Tropical Chihuly Nights. For more information on  chihuly at Fairchild, visit fairchildgarden.org.  To see more of Felix Becerra’s photos of Tropical Chihuly Nights, visit the Photo Gallery page in this issue of MiamiARTzine.com.

Bakehouse Turns 21
Miami’s Bakehouse Art Complex will celebrate its 21^st anniversary on Sunday, February 25, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., with Celebration 21, a juried art event.  Celebration 21 will feature refreshments and live jazz from the Van Dyke Cafe.  The exhibition continues through March 25. The Bakehouse Art Complex is located at 561 NW 32 St., Miami.  bakehouseartcomplex.org.

Michael Yawney, playwright of 1,000 Homosexuals, with cast member Emily Madison    Photo: Mary Damiano

Director Does Double Duty
Director and playwright Michael Yawney is having a busy month.  Yawney’s new play, 1,000 Homosexuals, will get a staged reading at the Carnival Center’ Studio Theatre Tuesaday, February 20 at 7:30.  Described as a historical comedy, 1,000 Homosexuals is about Anita Bryant’s 1977 battle against gay rights, done from her perspective.  Much of the text is taken from government records, public media, and underground gay manifestos of the time. “I wanted to write a play that would cause people to question their beliefs about gay people, sex, religion and childhood, a play that would show how different the ’70s were from today and show how today’s world grew out of that time,” says Yawney.  “Also, I wanted to write a play with big laughs and kick-butt dance numbers.  It is a reading, so the kick-butt dance numbers will be read in detail in the stage directions.  Yawney’s other project this month is directing the students at Nova Southeastern University’s newly formed theatre department in a production of The Laramie Project.  Yawney worked with Moises Kaufman and Stephen Wangh, two creators of The Laramie Project, and says it colored how he worked with the students.  The Laramie Project will be performed at the second floor auditorium at the Mailman-Hollywood Building on the Nova campus in Davie, February 22-24 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 25 at 2 p.m. For more info on either 1,000 Homosexuals or The Laramie Project, e-mail contact@michaelyawney.com or call 561-542-5674.

Kevin Reilley and Paul Tei in Glengarry Glen Ross Photo: George Schiavone

Theatre Openings
The next two weeks brings a lot of new theatre.  Two Coral Gables theatres are set to open new productions.  The GableStage Theatre has the southeastern premiere of Neil LaBute’s Fat Pig, about a man and his plus-size romance.  It runs February 24 though March 25.  gablestage.org.  New Theatre’s newest production, I Have Before Me a Remarkable Document Given to Me by a Young Lady from Rwanda by Sonja Linden, centers on the relationship between a writer and a young survivor of an African civil war.  It runs February 22 through March 18.  newtheatre.org.  At the Mosaic Theatre in Plantation, there’s David Mamet’s classic about cutthroat real estate agents, Glengarry Glen Ross, which runs through  March 4.  moasictheatre.com.   Also in Broward, The Women’s Theatre Project is doing Sister Cities by Colette Freedman, a dark comedy about four estranged sisters with four different fathers who reunite to unravel the mystery of their mother’s apparent suicide.  Sister Cities runs February 22 through March 11 at the Cooper City Theatre, 12233 SW 55^th Street, Cooper City.  womenstheatreproject.com. In Boca Raton, the Caldwell Theatre’s production of  The Lion in Winter by James Goldman, about a dysfunctional royal family, runs February 18 through April 1.  caldwelltheatre.com.