Mary Damiano Photo by David Vance

 Mary Damiano’s Arts Scene

Me and my friend Charlie Cinnamon at the Carbonell Awards Nominee Reception Photo: Henry Perez

Carbonell Awards Honor Nominees
I love a party, and the Carbonell Awards annual nominee reception at the Josephine Leiser Opera House on Monday, March 26 met the criteria for a great party.  The festivities took place in the opera house’s ballroom, an elegant, hidden gem in the heart of downtown Fort Lauderdale, just off the New River.  The food was yummy, wonderful trays of mini beef Wellington, veggie quiche and other hot hors d’ouevres, complemented by a buffet of cheese, fruit and crackers and an open bar.  But perhaps the best thing about the party was the people.  Performers, directors, designers, most of the best and brightest in South Florida theatre were in attendance, including many nominees: Lela Elam from Intimate Apparel; Irene Adjan from The Full Monty; Michael McKeever, playwright of The Impressionists; Gary Marachek and Maribeth Graham from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum; Joe Adler, director of The Pillowman; David Arisco, director of The Full Monty; William Hayes, director of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; Terrell Hardcastle from White Christmas;  Oscar Cheda from Five Course Love; costume designers Meredith Lasher of Summer Shorts and Erinn Amico of Intimate Aparrel; and double nominees Matt Corey, sound designer of Fahrenheit 451 and The Pillowman; and Avi Hoffman, nominated for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Address Unknown.  Leslie J. Feldman, publisher of Playbill and the chairman of the board of the Carbonell Awards, also announced that Michael Spring, director of the Miami-Dade Department of Cultural Affairs, will be the recipient of this year’s George Abbott Award, which honors outstanding achievement in the arts. Carbonell voter David Knight also announced the creation of the Fred Diekmann Emerging Artist Award, which will honor a performer or designer who has been involved in professional theatre less than five years and has, in that time, distinguished themselves in their art.  The award is named for Knight’s late partner, a writer and theatre lover who founded the now defunct Curtain Up Awards.  The Carbonell Awards will be handed out Monday, April 9, in a ceremony at Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale.  The ceremony will be hosted by locally based Broadway star Bruce Adler, who recently appeared in The Sunshine Boys at New Vista Theatre in Boynton Beach. The Carbonell Awards raises money for scholarships for local students.  carbonellawards.org.

John Magaro and Rudy Mungary in the New Theatre’s 2006 premiere of The Sunken Living Room. Magaro, Mungary and Ariane Ellison will be part of a staged reading of the play by David Caudle in New York City.

A Miami Playwright in New York
Primary Stage in New York City will present a staged reading of Miami playwright David Caudle’s play, The Sunken Living Room, April 5.  The reading includes three original cast members from the play’s world premiere at New Theatre in Coral Gables in 2006.  Caudle has been nominated for a Carbonell Award for Best New Work for The Sunken Living Room, which centers on a dysfunctional family in Miami in the 1970s.

Theatre Openings
The Mad Cat Theatre’s production of Adam Rapp’s Animals and Plants opens April 6 and runs through April 20.  It’s the story of two low level New York drug dealers stranded by a blizzard in a Boone, North Carolina a motel room. Unable to leave town, the characters come face to face with unorthodox locals, an angry bear and their own inner demons. Call 305-576-6377 for reservations and info.  Local playwright Michael McKeever’s new play, Melt, will have its world premiere at New Theatre in Coral Gables April 5 to May 6.  Melt takes place in Miami and involves several families of diverse cultural backgrounds.  new-theatre.org. The Alliance Theatre Lab’s production of Lanford Wilson’s Burn This runs April 5-22.  Burn This centers on a woman who has an encounter with her deceased best friend’s twin brother.   thealliancetheatrelab.com.

Screenwriter and UM grad Paul Osborne

UM Grad’s Film Gets Distribution
Ten ’til Noon, a film written by University of Miami alumnus Paul Osborne, will receive national distribution.  The film has spent a year on the festival circuit, garnering awards from several major film fests.  Ten ’til Noon, which opens April 2 at Cinema Paradiso in downtown Fort Lauderdale, is a thriller that defines itself by taking place during a single ten-minute time span.  Progressing repeatedly in real time, the storyline involves the circumstances of a crime as it’s being committed from the viewpoint of several people who are all connected to the incident. “In most film narratives, the events of the story progress chronologically, but ours occur simultaneously,” says Osborne.  “So instead of moving forward in time, the film happens sideways.”  For showtimes, visit fliff.com.

David Leddick’s book is the subject of a lecture

Art Deco Lecture
The Miami Design Preservation League will present “In the Spirit of Miami Beach”, part of their Art Deco Lecture Series, Tuesday, April 3, 7 p.m. at the Art Deco Welcome Center, 1001 Ocean Drive.  The lecture is based on the book of the same name by Miami Beach resident David Leddick, which explores Miami Beach style, from the mythical Lincoln Road to Art Basel Miami, one of the leading international art fairs. With an in-depth look at its historical past, as well as its present-day glamour, In the Spirit of Miami Beach elegantly captures the city's vibrant personality and cultural jubilance. Portraits of personalities who made Miami Beach's story, unknown photographs taken from personal archives, combined with Leddick’s text, bring one of the world's hottest destinations to colorful life. The lecture and book describe Miami Beach as an active melting pot of cultures, where Art Deco rivals Spanish Baroque, where artists mingle with athletes, models and socialites, where South Americans and Eastern Europeans sit together for espressos on Ocean Drive. mdpl.org

Frida Kahlo at work

Frida at the Beach
Never seen before in Miami, “Five Fridas” is an intimate showing of five works by famed Mexican artist and icon Frida Kahlo, which are part of the National Heritage of Mexico. These five small-scale works date from 1928 to 1951, and offer an introspective glimpse into the various stages of this extraordinary artist’s life. The popular concepts of Kahlo’s artistic range are present in these works, including direct representation of traditional Mexican objects and motifs, as well as trademark surrealistic paintings that employ a more personal, intimate and spiritual insight into Kahlo's memory and vivid imagination. Now through April 30 at the Bass Museum, 2121 Park Ave., Miami Beach.  bassmuseum.org

Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida

South Florida Hosts International Dance Showcase
Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida will present their Third International Young Dancers Festival Saturday, April 7, 7 p.m., at the Julius Littman North Miami Beach Theater, 17011 NE 19 Avenue, North Miami Beach,  and Sunday, April 8 at 3 p.m. at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW 5^th Avenue, Fort Lauderdale.  This International Festival is an annual performance by four international ballet companies, structured so that each country hosts the event on a rotating basis.  In 2004 and 2005, Denmark was the hosting country, following Poland in 2006. Now it’s Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida’s turn to bring this festival to South Florida. The participating dance companies are Wienna Konservatorium Opera House Dance Company of Austria, the “Fouette” Tanz Ensemble of Poland, the Odense City Ballet from Denmark, and Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida, with special guests, the Ballettschule Pirouette from Germany.  The idea for these annual, rotating performances came to life after several meetings between four artistic directors with a long history of international dance experience. These professionals, Vladimir Issaev, Florida, Maxim Abzalov, Austria, Beata Ksiazkiewicz, Poland, and Bogumila Gauden, Denmark, have worked together in the past as dancers, and maintain an artistic relationship. This has produced an opportunity for these international ballet masters to showcase the talents of their companies on a world stage.  “This year’s celebration will not only be about performing together,” Issaev. “We are also preparing a series of activities that will make this encounter a little bit more dynamic.”  Participants will have to opportunity to take master classes in classical ballet, modern, character, flamenco and salsa, so the international dancers can benefit from the diversity of cultures in South Florida. For Miami tickets, call 800 494-8497 or visit boxofficetickets.com.  For Broward tickets, call 954-462-0222 or visit browardcenter.org. For more info on the festival, visit artsballettheatre.org.

Women Power
The 5^th Annual Women and Culture Festival will be held Saturday, March 31, at the North Beach Bandshell, 7250 Collins Avenue.  The festival features She Said: an all-star band of female South Florida musicians and Agape featuring Nadia Harris.  The festival will include Shakti: A Woman’s Journey which explores the physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual aspects of pregnancy through music, dance and ritual, by director, dancer, percussionist, and midwife Corina Fitch. Tickets are $5 at the door, children are admitted free.  For more info, call 786-395-3619. gonorthbeach.com.