Mary Damiano Photo by David Vance

Mary Damiano’s Arts Scene

I could not be happier as I write this issue’s column because I get to tell you all about the MiamiARTzine.com 3rd anniversary party, which was held Monday, October 27 at the World Erotic Art Museum (WEAM) in Miami Beach. More than 200 people attended the party, noshed on yummy food from Bice Bistro, washed it down with Rain Vodka, Hatuey Beer, Motley Bird Energy Drink Company, and satisfied their sweet tooth with a delicious cake by Blanch Johnson. We also started a new tradition, by honoring people in the arts with the first Miami ARTzine.com Visionary Awards. Thanks to all of our sponsors and donors who helped make the party a terrific success. And a big thank you to you our readers.

MiamiARTzine.com publisher Harvey J. Burstein and Mary Damiano at MiamiARTzine.com 3rd anniversary party at WEAM Photo: Steve Rothaus

Some of you came to celebrate with us in person, but you were all there in spirit. By reading us and supporting us, you were instrumental in getting us to that third anniversary. You are the reason we do what we do, and we look forward to many more years of keeping you informed about all the great things happening in the arts in South Florida.

The Russians are Coming
After wowing the audience at Broward Center just a few days ago, Valery Gergiev, one of the most highly-acclaimed conductors in the world today, will lead the venerable Kirov Orchestra (now the Mariinsky Orchestra) into South Florida with pianist Alexei Voldin, will perform for Miami on Thursday, November 6, 8 p.m., at the Adrienne Arsht Center. Miami’s program will consist of Wagner: Lohengrin Prelude Act I, Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4, Prokofiev: Cinderella, Suite No. 3 Op. 109 and Prokofiev: Steel Steps Suite, Op. 41 (Le pas d’acier). The Mariinsky Orchestra has enjoyed a long and distinguished history as one of the oldest musical institutions in Russia. Founded in the 18th century during the reign of Peter the Great, it was known

Pianist Alexei Voldin

before the Revolution as the Russian Imperial Opera Orchestra. Housed in St Petersburg’s famed Mariinsky Theatre since 1860 (named in honor of Maria, wife of Emperor Alexander II), the Orchestra entered its true “golden age” in the second half of the 19th century under the musical direction of Eduard Napravnik (1839-1916). Napravnik single-handedly ruled the Imperial Theatre for more than half a century (from 1863-1916) and under his leadership, the Mariinsky Orchestra was recognized as one of the finest in Europe. The Mariinsky Theatre was also the birthplace of numerous operas and ballets. For tickets and more information, call 305-949-6722 or visit www.concertfla.org.

Jazz legend Dave Brubeck will kick off the Jazz Roots concert series November 7 at the Arsht Center

All That Jazz
Legendary jazz pianist and composer Dave Brubeck will be joined by the Cuban-born Grammy-winning jazz great Paquito D’Rivera and the contemporary jazz all-star group Fourplay, featuring Bob James, Larry Carlton, Nathan East, and Harvey Mason in the kick-off concert in the Jazz Roots: Legends of Jazz program, Friday, November 7, at the Arsht Center in Miami. Brubeck and the Dave Brubeck Quartet will perform instead of Ramsey Lewis, who is recuperating from surgery. (Lewis will resume touring in January.) Jazz Roots is the most ambitious series of jazz performances ever produced in South Florida. The greatest stars, legends, and pioneers of the jazz world will bring their signature sounds to the Knight Concert Hall for a series of concerts each month through April 2009. The concert series is designed to pay tribute to the masters of jazz, including Tito Puente, Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald, as well explore different facets of the genre, such as fusion and bossa nova. For complete details, a schedule and tickets, visit www.arshtcenter.org.

Robert Swedroe among his work

Miami Artist Gets Solo Show
The vibrant work and three-dimensional collages of Miami artist and architect Robert M. Swedroe are featured in an exhibition at the Kelley Roy Gallery in the Wynwood Arts District of Miami. Fifty pieces are included in the exhibition, ranging from the whimsical to the dark, with some pieces an imposing five feet by five feet in size. Swedroe’s current body of work reflects distinctive styles: his intricate, complex, narrative assemblages rendered in brilliant colors and his geometric contemporary works with references to subjects such as astronomy and technology. Swedroe’s collages have been exhibited in New York and London with an exhibition planned for Dubai. His “Boys in the Band” and four other collages recently won a newly created jury award in the category “Art By Architects” presented by the American Institute of Architects.” Swedroe’s solo exhibition runs through November 15 at the Kelley Roy Gallery, 50 NE 29th St. in Miami and will be featured on the Wynwood Gallery Walk November 8. For more information, call 305-447-3888 or visit www.kelleyroygallery.com.

New Vista will hold a talent competition to cast a part in the musical Enter Laughing

Competing for the Spotlight
If you’re young and talented, New Vista Theatre Company wants you. New Vista will host a talent competition to find an up-and-coming star for a special guest appearance in their production of Enter Laughing, the musical comedy based on Carl Reiner’s semi-autobiography. The event will be held Saturday, November 8, at noon at Gatsby’s, 5970 SW 18th St., Boca Raton. Contestants, between the ages of 16 and 22, will present a two-minute audition showcasing their talent—acting, singing or dancing. Singers and dancers competing must bring a CD of accompanying music. There is a $10 entrance fee for contestants and guests will be a tax-deductible donation to benefit PROPEL – People Reaching Out to Provide Education and Leadership – a Boca-based non-profit organization serving disadvantaged youths in the area. Visit www.propelyourfuture.com for more information about this organization. Those interested in auditioning send an e-mail to ivegottalent@newvistatheatre.com with the following information: name, age, phone number, e-mail address, school or employer, a photo, details of prior stage experience, a paragraph of what the contestant hopes to learn from the experience. Applications will be reviewed by the staff of the New Vista Theatre Company. Those selected to audition will be contacted by phone and e-mail with their audition time.

Marissa Chibas will perform her one-woman show Daughter of a Cuban Revolutionary at Miami Dade College

Cuban Tales Featured in Solo Show
In a solo theatrical tour de force, protean performer Marissa Chibas zigzags through her own stories and key episodes in the history of one of Cuba’s most illustrious families when Miami Dade College’s Cultura del Lobo series presents the Center for New Performance at CalArt’s production of Daughter of a Cuban Revolutionary, November 14-16 at the William and Joan Lehman Theatre located at the college’s North Campus. A special Spanish-only performance will be presented November 16. Chibas tales center on three towering figures in her life: her father, Raúl Chibas, who co-authored with Castro the manifesto for the Cuban Revolution; her uncle Eduardo Chibas, who was the reformist frontrunner for the Cuban presidency in 1951, before committing suicide during a live radio broadcast; and her mother, Dalia, a Miss Cuba runner-up in 1959. The production is directed by Mira Kingsley. Chibas is head of the Acting Program at the California Institute of the Arts and has dedicated Daughter of a Cuban Revolutionary to the memory of her father and uncle, as well as in honor of her mother. Her theater credits also include work in resident theaters such as Arena Stage, The Old Globe, Baltimore Center Stage, The Actors Theater of Louisville, and at the former Coconut Grove Playhouse where she starred in Seascape, written and directed by Edward Albee.
CalArts’ Center for New Performance (CNP), the professional producing arm of the CalArts School of Theater, is a forum for the creation of groundbreaking performance. Originally entitled the Center for New Theater, the name was expanded in 2005 to reflect the broad range of the Center’s interests. For tickets and more information, call 305- 237-3010 or visit www.mdc.edu/culture.

A moment from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Photo: Paul Kolnick

Theatre Openings
Naked Stage Theatre Company will present the South Florida premiere of Nerve, a dark romantic comedy about the perils of online dating, November 7-30 at the Pelican Theatre on the Barry University campus in Miami Shores. The production is directed by Naked Stage co-founder John Manzelli and stars co-founders Antonio and Katherine Amadeo. A special reception will be held after the performance on opening night. www.nakedstage.org. The invisible scars of slavery and the struggle to begin a new life are a few of the themes in Joe Turner’s Come and Gone by August Wilson, at M Ensemble in North Miami. It runs November 13 through December 21. www.themensemble.com. Up in Boca Raton, the Caldwell Theatre has She Loves Me, a romantic musical about a couple of bickering co-workers who communicate with each others through a newspaper’s lonely hearts column. It runs November 14 through December 14. www.caldwelltheatre.com. New Theatre in Coral Gables has another world premiere in The Gates of Choice, written by local playwright Michelle Goldfarb. It’s about a young Hasidic woman in Israel facing an arranged marriage who finds refuge in an illicit relationship with a soldier. The Gates of Choice runs November 14 through December 14. www.new-theatre.org. Broadway comes to Broward with that venerable tale of a flying car, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which runs November 18-30. This was one of my favorite movies when I was a kid, so I can hardly wait to see it brought to life on stage. www.browardcenter.org.

Have a comment about what you’ve read? E-mail letters@miamiArtzine.com