Manny About Town
Around the World in 80 Minutes at Arts at St. John’s

By Manny Meland

	Manny Meland with David Kingery

David Kingery presented his production of  Around the World in 80 Minutes at St. Johns on Lake on Pinetree Drive, in Miami Beach. This program was the finale of another season of music, song and dance by Arts at St. Johns. A new season of programs is scheduled to begin in October.

Carol Hoffman-Guzman co-founded the Arts at St. Johns in 1999 “as a way to promote local artists and build community through the arts”. She feels that art, dance and music are basic components of a healthy, vital community---“art for and by the people”. The programs are supported by funding from Miami Beach Cultural Arts Council, the Pillar Trustees of Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce, Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, Dade Community Foundation, Florida Humanities Council, the Florida Arts Council and the St. Johns Methodist Church.

Kingery’s production was in keeping with St. Johns’ aim - uniting our diverse community. In his Around the World in 80 Minutes, he sought to make us aware of our prejudices while promoting the understanding of different cultures. Kingery took the audience on a trip in an imaginary contraption that transported us through time and across the globe. The itinerary of this voyage was a list of hit songs from Broadway musicals, including Evita (Argentina), The Lion King (Africa), West Side Story (Puerto Rico), Fiddler on the Roof (Russia), South Pacific, and Miss Saigon.  Songs included “How Are Things In Glocca Mora? from Finian’s Rainbow,  “You’ve Got to be Carefully Taught (to hate)” from South Pacific, “War is a Science” from Pippin, “Everyone is a Little Bit Racist” from Avenue Q.

	The cast of Around the World in 80 Minutes: Kristen Fox, Julie Silvera, Christopher A. Kent, David Kingery, Reggie Whitehead, Cecilia Isis Torres, Eileen Faxas

Director David Kingery couldn’t resist singing and dancing in the show. It is something he has done all his life. When he was eight years old, he fashioned some puppets and entertained his family. Show business is his life. I giggled when he goose-stepped across the stage this evening as he sang “I Am Adolfo” from The Drowsy Chaperone. Kingery is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Music where he studied musical theatre. He was the founding director and conductor of the South Beach Gay Men’s Choir and is presently the tenor soloist at the St. Johns Church choir.

Kingery’s talented and attractive cast of four male and four female performers did justice to the well paced and choreographed numbers. Bravo to Eileen Faxas, Kristen Fox, Julie Silvera, Cecilia Isis Torres, Christopher A. Kent, Christopher McCabe, and Reggie Whitehead.

And a deep bow and curtsy to Arts at St Johns for an enjoyable evening.