Mary Damiano Photo by David Vance

 Mary Damiano’s Arts Scene

Real-life husband and wife Antonio Amadeo and Katherine Amadeo play the title lovers in By Any Other Name…Romeo & Juliet

Openings and Must Sees
There are several shows opening this week.  M Ensemble opens Ramona King’s Steal Away at their North Miami theatre; set in 1920’s Chicago, it’s about church ladies’ fundraising efforts to send a local girl to college.  Steal Away runs May 3-27.  themensemble.com.

The Women’s Theatre Project opens Doris Baizley’s Shiloh Rules on May 3 in their brand new space in downtown Fort Lauderdale.  For more info on the play and the unique mission of the troupe, be sure to read Roger Martin’s story in this issue.  Sol Theatre in Fort Lauderdale officially opens Christopher Durang double feature on May 4, Sister Mary Ignatious Explains It All and Durang Durang.  soltheatre.com.  If you’d rather catch up on other theatre around town, don’t miss the Naked Stage production of By Any Other Name…Romeo & Juliet,  an impressive debut by this new theatre company.  theneakedstage.com. Michael McKeever’s Melt will be at New Theatre through May 6; it’s a thought-provoking look at past present and future of Miami told through the eyes of characters you’ll all recognize.  new-theatre.org. Further north in Fort Lauderdale, there’s The Lion King, playing at Broward Center through June 3.  Yes, it’s basically a cartoon come to life, and it was one of the first steps in the Disney-fication of Broadway, but for sheer spectacle and heartstring-tugging, it wins hands down.

Ballet Gamonet
Ballet Gamonet wraps up their second season with Program 4, Friday and Saturday, May 11 and 12 at Gusman Center in downtown Miami, and Saturday and Sunday, May 19 and 20, at Bailey Concert Hall in Davie.  The program includes works by Jimmy Gamonet, including a world premiere,  A Mi Lado (By My Side) and Purple Bend II; and a world premiere by William Soleau, as well as the Florida premiere of Angels in the Architecture by Mark Godden.  To see photos of Ballet Gamonet's appearances at the Colony, check out the photo galleries in this issue.  balletgamonet.org

Actor Todd Durkin part of the cast of the staged reading Visiting Ours by David Caudle at GableStage

Play Readings
When did Monday, May 7, become Play Reading Day in South Florida?  The 2^nd annual South Florida Theatre Festival runs through May 20, and lots of theatres are getting in on the act with free play readings, but since three of them fall on the same night, theatre lovers will have a tough choice.

At Arts at St. Johns, actress and Theatre League executive director Erinn Dearth is directing a reading of Slavs! Thinking About the Longstanding Problems of Virtue and Happiness, Tony Kushner’s exploration of life in Soviet Union at the dawn of Perestroika.  The reading takes place on Monday, May 7, and is free to the public.  stjohnsmiamibeach/arts.com

Also on Monday, May 7, at 7:30 p.m.  The Promethean Theatre in Davie will present a reading of The Exonerated, a piece about former death row inmates who have been exonerated.  Alan Crotzer, Florida’s latest exoneree, who spent 24 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, will attend the performance and participate in the talk back with the audience.  The reading will take place at 7:30 p.m. at the Hollywood-Mailman Theatre on the Nova campus and will be followed by a reception.  theprometheantheatre.org

The third May 7 play reading takes place at 7:30 p.m. at GableStage in Coral Gables, which will present Visiting Ours, by Miami native David Caudle.  Visiting Ours is about a lesbian couple whose son is arrested for assault.  gablestage.org.

A week later on May 14 at 7:30 p.m., the New Vista Theatre in Boynton Beach will present a reading of Michele Rosenfarb’s Beyond the Gates, about a Hasidic girl in Israel who seeks refuge in a rebellious friendship after her father arranges a marriage for her with a Talmudic scholar.  newvistatheatre.com

Exhibition Features Magic City Photos
Photographer Graig Denis will be featured in an exhibit beginning Thursday, May 3, at the dd1 Studio Gallery in Miami. Denis is a photographer from New York City and the exhibit features shots of Miami.  Opening night will feature a reception from 6:30 to 10 p.m.  1dd Studio Gallery is located at 5582 NE 4th Ct., Suite 7A, Miami.  Call 305-758-2777 for more info.

FIU Spring Art Show
Florida International University will host the annual BFA Spring Art Exhibition featuring the work of their graduating seniors.  The exhibition runs Friday, April 27 through May 6 at the Frost Art Museum.  There will be an opening reception on April 27; on Wednesday , May 2 from 7-9 p.m., the graduates will speak about their work.  frostartmuseum.org.

Tony Abatemarco, Ellen Wedner and Matt May at Lavender Footlights Photo: Mary Damiano

Lavender Footlights  wrap-up
Lavender Footlights wrapped up nearly a week of gay and lesbian themed plays on Monday, April 16.  One of the many highlights of this year’s festival was the Saturday, April 14 performance of Tony Abatemarco’s solo piece, Cologne, or the Way Evil Enters the World.  Tony, who has a list of credits longer than Shaq’s arm, performed a play he wrote based on a gay bashing incident that happened when he was a teen growing up in the 1960s on Long Island.  It was a lyrical an effective piece, which combined the best of the narrative and theatrical forms, which is just a fancy way of saying that both Tony’s performance and his writing rocked.  Ellen Wedner, Doug Williford and their board brought Tony in from Los Angeles for this performances; each year they try to bring in playwrights and performers for the festival.  No word yet on the dates for the sixth annual Lavender Footlights, but you won’t want to miss it.  To see all of this year’s Lavender Footlights fun, check out the photo galleries in this issue.

Yes MAM
To celebrate its 10^th anniversary as a collecting institution, Miami Art Museum’s director Terence Riley launched the museum’s Power of Ten initiative to acquire at least 10 major new works for the museum’s collection. According to the museum, the initiative has been a success in terms of merit, size and value, as the gifts art collectors have presented to Miami Art Museum in honor of its anniversary surpass the museum’s acquisitions in any previous year.  A selection of these gifts will make their debut in Power of Ten:  Gifts in Honor of Miami Art Museum’s 10th Anniversary, on view May 4-October 28. A number of the works donated in honor of the anniversary are large-scale pieces intended for the museum’s new site in Miami’s bayfront Museum Park.  There will be a special preview reception for Miami Art Museum members on Thursday, May 3, 6-8 p.m., with hors d’oeuvres and a donation bar.  And remember, Sundays are free at the museum from noon-5 p.m. with guided tours of the exhibition Sundays at 2 p.m.  miamiartmuseum.org.

Me with writer Anna Collins and actor/director Stephen Chambers at the Festival Shorts staged readings at Barnes & Noble in Fort Lauderdale Photo: Henry Perez

A Special Thanks
On a personal note, I’d like to thank everyone who has taken the time to call and e-mail me their congratulations.  My one-act play, Word Count, was one of four finalists in Festival Shorts, produced by KP Productions as part of the South Florida Theatre Festival.  The four plays, which included Nibbles by Peter Tomasello of Miami, Expiration Date by Anne Dichele of Boca Raton and The Good News by Dennis Jones of Powhatan, Virginia, were given staged readings at Barnes & Noble in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, April 21.  My play came in first, and I received a trip to Disney World.  I felt just like one of those Super Bowl players who win the game and proclaim that their next destination is the Magic Kingdom.  I was thrilled and humbled to have my work recognized in this way, and flattered that so many friends and colleagues expressed their well wishes.  I appreciate more than I can express.  Thanks to all of you.