Arts + Entertainment 12.01.22

BLACK TIE INSIDE:

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

HIGH SCHOOL TO HIGHWIRE

Circus might seem like an irregular extracurricular activity, but at Sarasota’s Circus Arts Conservatory, it’s molding a generation of talented and flexible humans.

BY SPENCER FORDIN A+E EDITOR

The sentence comes out of his mouth so easily and so naturally that it doesn’t even seem remarkable at the time.

Alex Hume is talking about his back ground and about his particular col lection of skills and experience that have led him to this point in life.

“I was a soccer player for elemen tary school,” says Hume. “In the middle of sixth grade and seventh grade, I was a gymnast. And in eighth grade, I joined the circus.”

Hume, who performs on trapeze, wall trampoline and juggling, is gear ing up for his fourth edition of the

Sailor Circus — the longest running youth circus in America — which will take place later this month.

He’s working with dozens of likeminded peers on a daily basis at Sail or Circus Arena and learning that he can do so much more than he ever imagined would be possible.

Hume came to the Circus Arts Conservatory with beginner’s skills in juggling and unicycle, and now he’s preparing for his first show in which he’ll catch flying tricks on the trapeze. Now, moments before prac tice begins, he contemplates how circus is different than sports.

“You’re working with others. You’re performing,” he says. “I would consider this more like the ater. You’re putting on a show and there’s no competition with your peers. There’s never any one-upping each other. I would say it’s a very healthy environment, which I’m kind of impressed with. That doesn’t really happen very often. I would say this is a special circumstance where everyone’s just grateful to be here.”

Destiny Overholt, a Sarasota High School sophomore, would tend

When: 2 and 7 p.m. Dec. 28-30; 1 p.m. Dec. 31 Where: Sailor Circus Arena, 2075 Bahia Vista St. Tickets: $20-$40. Info: Visit CircusArts.org.

to agree. Overholt, a contortion ist, tried cheer and gymnastics and even playing the violin as an extra curricular activity before she found the circus. She says she began learn ing contortion through YouTube and Instagram at age 13 before she came down to the CAC.

But now, she’s working every day and seeing the results.

Overholt says she is at the Sailor Circus Arena four days a week for at least four hours a day, and she says being a part of the circus program has helped her time management

Photo courtesy of Cliff Roles

Destiny Overholt, pictured in the middle of the contortion sandwich, is one of many talented youngsters performing in the Circus Arts Conservatory’s Sailor Circus.

and generally enriched her life.

“There’s a lot of hard work and determination that goes into every thing,” she says. “It’s really nice being around people like you that love doing the same thing you love to do.”

In the beginning, says Overholt, it was really hard to imagine that she’d be able to get to this point.

She started out doing circus sum mer camps and learned how much she enjoyed it, and then the circus coaches saw her potential and began polishing her skills.

Overholt says that early on, the hardest part was learning how to control her breathing.

Over time, the discipline of regular practice allowed her to get stronger and more flexible, and now she’s progressed to the point where she can achieve a triple fold.

Folks, that’s exactly what it may sound like.

“That one’s a really hard one to get, because you’re folded into three,” says Overholt. “It takes a while to get flexible enough to do it. You’re sit ting like on your knees and you bend backwards and you put your head all the way through your legs.

“I find it a lot easier to get out of than into the trick. To get in, you have to grab your knees and pull yourself all the way in. But to get out, you can just release your legs and slide out.”

What will she be working on next? Overholt says she wants to work on being able to do a handstand press.

Overholt, like Hume, is consider ing pursuing a career in the circus arts. But for one of their peers, that decision has already been made.

Silks and lyra artist Emma Clarke, the daughter of CAC Managing Director Jennifer Mitchell, has spent nine years in the program, and she’s gearing up for her final show with the Sailor Circus.

Clarke isn’t sure whether she will go to a circus college, but she knows she wants this to be her life.

“This is like my family,” she says. “I try to be so supportive of everyone because I’ve known them for nine years. “It’s a long time to be with

people every day for seven hours.”

Much like Hume and Overholt, Clarke tried different activities before she became a circus per former. She started dance at an early age and transitioned to swimming, but she can recall being young and transfixed by CAC co-founder Dolly Jacobs on the silks.

All of a sudden, something clicked. And this was all Clarke wanted to do.

It’s still that way, all these years later, even after spending count less hours working her muscles and working her mind. Clarke says circus has impacted her life so much for the better that it makes her a little bit sad when people say they can’t imagine themselves doing it.

“We have open arms for everyone,” she says of the circus community.

“Anyone is always welcome, no mat ter how shy you are. And I always tell people that because I do have people come up to me and they’re like, ‘I would love to do that, but I’m just not strong enough.’ You’re not strong enough in the moment, but you can get there. If you take the right steps.”

Hume, along those lines, says he’s trained for a year as a trapeze catcher and that he’s still getting the hang of it. Then again, he’s a grounded young man who says that while juggling is “second nature” to him, he also con siders himself “an incredibly average juggler.”

Now, as a trapeze catcher, he finds himself subverting his ego and doing

everything he can to make sure the flyer is safe. There he is, a few dozen feet above the ground, making splitsecond decisions about whether he can catch a spinning body or not.

That’s not something he ever studied in homeroom. But Hume, like Clarke and Overholt, want peo ple to know that they can do it too if they want it badly enough.

“Everyone can circus,” says Hume. “There’s nothing special about any of us. We just joined and we learned the skills we didn’t have.

“Thanks to the amazing coach ing, we all learn those skills, and it’s just a great place to be. And I would strongly encourage everyone to take advantage of this opportunity they’ve been given in Sarasota.”

Photos courtesy of Cliff Roles

Alex Hume, left, has learned juggling and trapeze while at the circus.

There’s a role for everyone — even aspiring clowns — at the Circus Arts Conserva tory’s Sailor Circus.

Eclectic music, eclectic dance

One group makes its mission playing contemporary music. The other finds fulfillment in contemporary dance. So it’s only fitting they work together.

BY SPENCER FORDIN A+E EDITOR

It was an instant marriage between Sarasota Contemporary Dance and ensemblenewSRQ, a partner ship that made sense immediately to both parties.

And then they had to figure out how to make their worlds work together.

Leymis Bolaños Wilmott, the artistic director of Sarasota Contem porary Dance, laughs easily when she’s asked if she expected off-thewall music in a collaboration with enSRQ.

“Absolutely,” she says. “That’s why we’re collaborating.”

Samantha Bennett and George Nickson, the creative engine of enSRQ, provided the music for the program, and Bolaños Wilmott pulled in dancer and scenic designer Sharon McCaman to create a set that

immerses the audience in the music and the movement.

Bolaños Wilmott says that as soon as she heard each piece on the program, she could easily envision which pieces would be a duet and which pieces could have the whole company.

“I had a lot of fun being inspired by the range of the music and how it pulls and tugs, how it provides sup port for the movement,” she says.

“You’ll see isolations, you’ll see undulations, you’ll see quirkiness and playing with shapes.

“I was thinking of this work like creating architectural movements within the space. It gave us a lot to play with, the arrangements and intentionality of George and Saman tha providing this beautiful palette.”

The program opens with “Rebonds B,” an intricate piece of solo percus sion, and ends with “Varied Trio,” which will bring the entire company out at points during its five move ments. Bennett will be playing the violin, and she says Nickson will play unconventional percussion instru ments at points including baking pans and rice bowls.

Pianist Jesse Martins will join the pair on “Varied Trio,” and he’ll both pluck the piano strings and strike

them with a mallet.

“It was exciting for us to think about pieces we’ve played and want to showcase and also tell a story,” says Bennett. “Thinking about it with dance in mind, what kind of music would work.”

EnSRQ also chose to play “About Escher,” a piece for violin and marimba, and “Darshan-Bihag,” a solo violin composition written by Reena Esmail in 2021.

“About Escher” is a longer threemovement piece, says Bolaños Wilmott, and the hard part of cho reography becomes sustaining the momentum in the quieter moments.

“Hot Pepper,” a composition by Bright Sheng, is an interesting bridge near the end of the program.

Bolaños Wilmott says she hears a fun call-and-response in the music, which isn’t just technically difficult, but it also requires precise timing for Bennett and Nickson.

“We want that to be really tight,” says Bennett. “The dancers need us to be very consistent.

“If you jump and land, there’s only a finite amount of time you can spend suspended in air.”

Most of the work is fully choreo graphed, but Bolaños Wilmott says she’s left a bit of spontaneity for the

final rehearsals in the actual perfor mance space.

“It’s risk-taking to wait to the week of” she says, “but for it to be truly collaborative, there has to be those moments once were in the theater that we make those choices.”

Bolaños Wilmott says it was fun to choreograph moments for the whole company, and she also found solo moments for Sea Lee and for Melissa Rummel to shine on their own.

“She’s already a gorgeous and athletic dancer, but I really wanted to push the physicality,” Bolaños Wilmott says of Rummel. “She did say, ‘Leymis, this moment right here is hard.’ I’m sure she’s going to make it look effortless. I played with floor work and with suspension, holding something as long as possible and then breaking out of it quickly.”

Bolaños Wilmott says this is the first time she’s worked with a visual artist in setting the stage, and she’s excited to bring that element of work to bear with music and dance.

Taken collaboratively, she says the five pieces will take the audience on a journey of sight and sound.

“I just really want the audience to feel a part of the experience, to be wowed, to be immersed in our world in a way we haven’t been able to do before,” she says. “Hearing live music, seeing live bodies move, it should be the appetizer, the main course and the dessert all in one.”

IF

YOU GO

SCD + enSRQ. When: 7 p.m. Dec. 1-3 and 3 p.m. Dec. 4 Where: FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail Tickets: $10-$45 Visit: ENSRQ.org and SarasotaContemporaryDance. org.

Monessa Salley lifts Jessica Obiedzinski as part of a duet in the upcoming Sarasota Contemporary Dance collaboration with enSRQ.

Leymis Bolaños Wilmott coaches a dancer in the run-up to the enSRQ collaboration.

Photos courtesy of Brian Boyd

THIS WEEK

THURSDAY

STEVE WHITE

7 p.m. at McCurdy’s Comedy Theatre, 1923 Ringling Blvd. $25

Visit McCurdysComedy.com.

Steve ain’t white. That’s literally the website URL for this well-traveled comedian. White has been around the block in the comedy and film industry, and he’s had small roles in five different Spike Lee films. White’s website claims that he’s a little bit of Morgan Freeman, Robin Williams, Chris Rock, Jim Carrey, Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep all rolled into one. Runs through Dec. 3.

‘THE MUSIC MAN’

7:30 p.m. at Manatee Performing Arts Center, 502 Third Ave. W., Bradenton $30-$42

Visit ManateePerformingArtsCenter. com.

Is Harold Hill the Music Man or just a dude who wants to take their money and run? This musical, which originally graced Broadway stages in 1957, won five Tony Awards including Best Musical in its original run. It was also made into a film in 1962, and it came back for a Broadway revival earlier this year. It even birthed a song, “Till There Was You,” that you may know as a Beatles tune. Runs through Dec. 18.

‘MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET: A LIVE MUSICAL RADIO PLAY’

7:30 p.m. at 1130 Theatre at the Crossings at Siesta Key Mall, 3501 S. Tamiami Trail $32; students $15

Visit ThePlayers.org.

Get in the holiday spirit with one of the most beloved Christmas stories of them all. This story, adapted from a 1947 radio play, recounts the tale of a department store Santa Claus who claims that he’s the real Kris Kringle. His entire story will rest on the belief of one little girl. Will it make a difference? Come out and see. Runs through Dec. 11.

FRIDAY

JAZZ AT TWO — RON KRAEMER

TRIO

2 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Sarasota, 3975 Fruitville Road $15-$20

Visit JazzClubSarasota.org.

Ron Kraemer, a guitarist, vocalist and bandleader, will get the most out his talented group of supporting musicians. Kraemer will be assisted by bassist JP Cooley, drummer Michael Finley and special guest Detroit Mike Hepner on the B3 organ. They’ll hit the high notes and the steely rhythms of jazz, blues and swing for the assembled crowd.

MULTIHYPHENATE MULTIMEDIA: MUSIC, VISUAL ART AND THEATER

5 p.m. at Hermitage Beach, 6660 Manasota Key Road, Englewood $5, registration required Visit HermitageArtistRetreat.org.

Hermitage fellows Raquel Acevedo Klein and Guadalís Del Carmen will take you into their world for a backstage peek at their creative disciplines. Acevedo Klein is a composer and visual artist, and Del Carmen is an award-winning playwright. They’ll show you their latest works and tell you a bit about how they peel back the layers of their creative endeavors.

LANEY JONES AND THE SPIRITS

8 p.m. at Fogartyville, 525 Kumquat Court $15 members, $18 non-members, $9 students (age 13+) Visit WSLR.org/Fogartyville/.

Nashville-based musician Laney Jones will bring you the homespun sounds of banjo, ukelele, guitar and harmonica for one night only at Fogartyville. Jones sets aside time every Wednesday to spend time with her fans on Instagram.

FIRST FRIDAY: JUICY PURPLE 6 p.m. at 8100 Lakewood Ranch Main St.

Free Visit LakewoodRanch.com.

It’s the start of another month, which means it’s time for another party at Lakewood Ranch Main Street. Juicy Purple — which is a local band and not the name of a couture label and color — will get you rocking with a little R&B;, soul and dance music. There will be food vendors and beer trucks, and proceeds from the evening will benefit Southeastern Guide Dogs.

SATURDAY

’DECK THE HALLS’ 10 a.m. and Noon at FST’s Keating Theatre, 1241 N. Palm Ave. $10 Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.

It’s beginning to sound a lot like Christmas. Florida Studio Theatre will rock the holiday season with a brand new version of its holidaythemed revue — written by Sarah Durham and Caroline Saldivar — that celebrates the songs of

DON’T MISS MASTERWORKS:

‘LUMINOUS COLORS’ You’ll hear new compositions and classics in this performance, which will be led by Lina GonzálezGranados, the resident conductor of the LA Opera. The Sarasota Orchestra will play Nina Shekhar’s “Lumina,” which won ASCAP’s Rudolph Nissim Prize in 2021. Guest violinist Bomsori Kim will play on a Max Bruch composition, and the evening will conclude with the orchestra playing Dvořák’s Symphony No. 7.

IF YOU GO

When: 7:30 p.m. Dec. 2 and 3; 2:30 p.m. Dec. 4. Where: Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail Tickets: $37-$99 Visit: SarasotaOrchestra. org.

Christmas and Chanukah. “Deck the Halls” makes its debut this year on Dec. 3 and will run through Christmas Eve.

‘THE NUTCRACKER’

7 p.m. at Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave. $30-$50 Visit SRQCubanBallet.org.

The little dancers at the Sarasota Cuban Ballet School bring you a big classic at the Sarasota Opera House. The renowned beauty of Tchaikovsky’s score and the structured brilliance of classic choreography will take center stage, and the dancers will be outfitted in costumes specifically made for the school by famed theater designer Steve Rubin.

‘TO DIE FOR’ 7:30 p.m. at FST’s Bowne’s Lab, 1265 First St. $15 Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.

Who did it? That’s for you to figure out in between laughs. The talented improv crew at Florida Studio Theatre will bring you a classic murder mystery told in classic film noir style, and the show’s plucky detective will solve the case based on suggestions from the audience. It’s interactive and fun and no two shows will be the same. Runs through Dec. 24.

SUNDAY

BY REQUEST 3 p.m. at Northminster Presbyterian Church, 3131 61st St. $5 Visit SunCoastConcertBand.org.

The Suncoast Concert Band will bring you music you may already know by heart in this December appearance.

HARD HEART BURLESQUE 8 p.m. at McCurdy’s Comedy Theatre, 1923 Ringling Blvd. $37 Visit McCurdysComedy.com.

It’s a little risqué business brought to you by the talented practitioners

OUR PICK SCD + ENSRQ

Here, two of Sarasota’s most avant-garde groups combine to create something beautiful. Leymis Bolaños Wilmott’s gravity-defying company, Sarasota Contemporary Dance, will get down to sounds created by enSRQ, the brain child of violinist Samantha Bennett and percussionist George Nickson. This won’t be your average dance number to Top 40

at Hard Heart Burlesque. The event, presented by Miss Marina Elaine and Karma Kandlewick, will bring you showgirls, singers and even a few Vaudeville twists. It’s the most fun you can have with your clothes on, but some of the performers may cross that line as part of their act.

MONDAY

MONDAY NIGHT JAZZ AT THE CABARET

7:30 p.m. at FST’s John C. Court Cabaret, 1265 First St. $34-$39

Visit JazzClubSarasota.org.

Clear the decks for a little bit of jazz at the John C. Court Cabaret.

Tampa-based pianist and arranger Phil Magellanes, who has played with Arturo Sandoval and Blood, Sweat and Tears, will be the guest of honor at the John C. Court Cabaret.

compositions you’ve heard before; it will be unique and inventive and something that pushes you to the edge of your seat.

IF YOU GO When: 7 p.m. Dec. 1-3; 3 p.m. Dec. 4

Where: FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail Tickets: $10-$45 Info: SarasotaContemporaryDance.org and enSRQ.org.

TUESDAY

DOUBLE FEATURE: BLAKE POULIOT AND SIMONE PORTER, VIOLINS

7:30 p.m. at Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave. $30-$60

Visit ArtistSeriesConcerts.org.

Two virtuoso violinists with a global reputation— Blake Pouliot and Simone Porter — will be playing together on famous compositions by Strauss, Beethoven and Ernest Chausson, among others, in this evening of technical brilliance. Pouliot, a Toronto native, was nominated for a Juno Award for his debut CD in 2019, and Porter, raised in Seattle, made her professional solo debut at age 10. The two violinists will be supported by pianist Hsin-I Huang, and they’ll meet the audience after the show.

Bruiser.

Sarasota can’t get enough of ‘The Nutcracker’

SPENCER FORDIN A+E EDITOR

There’s room for a Sugar Plum Fairy on every stage in town.  “The Nutcracker” makes its first appearance here early with the Sarasota Cuban Ballet School at the Sarasota Opera House on Dec. 3, and it hits the stage at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall two days before Christmas with the International Ballet of Florida.

The Sarasota Ballet School is stag ing productions of the famed holiday production at both the Venice Per forming Arts Center (Dec. 9 and 10) and the Opera House (Dec. 18).

And on one of those dates (Dec. 10), a touring production of the Hip Hop Nutcracker will play the Van Wezel. The Diane Partington Stu dio of Classical Ballet will also stage a performance of the Nutcracker at the Opera House on Dec. 10. Did you get all that? That’s a lot of “Nutcracker” for your Sarasota dol lar.

Ironically, Iain Webb, the director of the Sarasota Ballet, said that “The Nutcracker” wasn’t really a holiday tradition when he moved down here. Now, he says, the company likes the classic as a vehicle to show the growth, maturation and develop ment of its student dancers.

“This gives the chance for our stu dio company down to the little tots to be involved under the umbrella of the Sarasota Ballet,” he says. “For me, personally, it’s also wonderful to see how strong all the levels from the school to the trainees to the studio

company have all improved.”

Webb says “The Nutcracker” just isn’t as big of a holiday tradition in England; he says he didn’t dance it as a youngster, and he says it was prob ably way down the list of ballets he saw in person.

Webb says the Royal Ballet would do “The Nutcracker,” but not on an annual basis, and it would rotate it with other family friendly acts like “Cinderella.” Still, he estimates that he probably danced in it about 20-30 times over the years.

“It becomes one of those things,” he says. “Oh no, it’s ‘Nutcracker’ time.”

For this edition, Webb says there’s a special treat: He’s purchased “Nut

PRESENTED BY

Photo courtesy of Cheryl Mann

It’s a holiday tradition that seems to have no saturation point. ‘The Nutcracker’ graces several stages in town this season.

The “Hip Hop Nutcracker’s” Jackie “JK-47” Agu do, Randi “Rascal” Freitas, Seth “REAKTION” Hilliard and Anthony “OMEN” Cabrera.

cracker” sets designed by the late Peter Farmer, who designed ballet sets for use all around the world.

“The backcloths are just stun ning,” says Webb. “The artwork and the way our team is technically light ing it, it’s going to be breathtaking. Of all the ‘Nutcrackers’ in my whole life, I think this is going to be the one that I’m really looking forward to seeing the most.”

“The Hip Hip Nutcracker” gives people a little different spin on the classic. The show features a dozen dancers, a DJ, a violinist and MC Kurtis Blow livening up the pro ceedings. Randi Freitas, the associ ate choreographer and director of the show, also plays the Mouse King, and she says that none of the dancers come from a ballet background at all.

They all have hip-hop dance back grounds as opposed to something classical, but Frietas points out that all dance forms have things in com mon. Both hip-hop and ballet have an extensive vocabulary about their positions and their movements.

“Hip Hop Nutcracker”

“We didn’t start in a studio, but it’s a lot of training day in and day out to get to this stage,” says Freitas. “And hip-hop deserves to be in these same halls as ballet and jazz.”

The original “Hip Hop Nutcrack er” was just a half-hour, says Freitas, but now it’s a full two-hour extrava ganza. Frietas, now in her seventh season with the tour, says that some Nutcracker crowds might be qui et, but the “Hip Hop Nutcracker” pumps people up to clap and cheer. So what else might you see that’s a little bit different?

Pretty much everything.

“We’re literally taking it and turning it on its head,” says Freit as. “There’s amazing spins in ballet. But we’re spinning on our back and on our head and on our forearms.

“When you think about hip-hop, you think about the origins coming from sampling and remixing things that already existed. This is a beauti ful way to honor it.”

Photo courtesy of Hip Hop Nutcracker

The cast of the “Hip Hop Nutcracker” comes to the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall on Dec. 10

“There’s amazing spins in ballet. But we’re spinning on our back and on our head and on our forearms.”

— Randi Freitas of the

REVIEWS

Roll Over, Will Shakespeare

BY MARTY FUGATE CONTRIBUTOR

omething Rotten!” isn’t rotten at all. The musical’s ripe with comedy at Florida Studio Theatre.

Two brothers (Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick) wrote the music and lyrics. Karey Kirkpatrick (the coscreenwriter of “A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”) also collaborated on the book with John O’Farrell.

They set the musical in London’s theater community in 1595.

Shakespeare’s the cock of the walk, but he’s not the protagonist.

Two up-and-coming playwrights (Nick and Nigel Bottom) are. They’re also a band of brothers.

Aside from the odd plague, Elizabethan London is a happening place to be a playwright. At least if your name is William Shakespeare.

He’s officially “the” Bard; Everybody else is … everybody else. When the Bottoms’ patron pulls the plug on their next show, they risk turning into theatrical nobodies. They need to come up with a killer concept … overnight.

In desperation, Nick (Cordell Cole) turns to “Nostradamus” (Kraig Swartz).

This frenzied fortuneteller isn’t the prophet whom “National Enquirer” readers know and love. He’s Nostradamus’ nephew, and more of a Nostradumbass.

He gets glimpses of the future … but he gets it wrong.

When Nick pays him to foresee the next big thing in theater,

Nostradamus looks ahead and foresees three centuries too far.

He comes out of the trance with visions of “Cats,” “Phantom of the Opera,” and “A Chorus Line” dancing in his head.

The next big thing will be the musical!

Nick rubs his hands and gets ready to beat the Bard with a little song and dance.

When he’s stuck for a plot, Nostradamus snags the idea for Shakespeare’s next big hit, but he gets that wrong, too.

He thinks it’s going to be “Omelette,” not “Hamlet.”

Close, but no cigar.

Director/choreographer Ellie Mooney goes for realism, not broad comedy. It’s been said that the best approach to comedy is to play it straight.

Whoever said that got it right.

Mooney plays the musical as the sympathetic struggle of two playwrights looking for their big break in show biz. They don’t know they’re in a comedy.

As a result, the comedy works.

Her dance numbers are full throttle and deliberate silly.

They’re funny, too.

Cole’s Nick is as much a producer as a playwright. He wants the show to go on and his love of theater is the reason why. (Though he loves money, too.)

His wife Bea (Jillian Louis) is the sensible spouse holding the marriage together.

But her practicality doesn’t trigger codpiece busting, even when Nick steals the family funds to finance a pseudo seer.

Bea also wants to be an actor and does a male drag per-

formance of her own when Nick needs a good lawyer.

His brother Nigel (Cornelius Davis) is more the sensitive artist type. He’s also a 16th century theater nerd, i’faith.

Nigel finds his soul mate in Portia (Elena Ramos Pascullo). They swap theater trivia with giddy joy and instantly click.

Unhappily, Portia’s father is a Puritan — literally.

The thought that somebody somewhere might be having fun keeps him awake at night.

He’d like to send all of London’s theater folk straight to hell. And will be damned to let his daughter marry a playwright.

David Cantor’s Shylock is a moneylender (the only job open for Jews in 1595) but he’d prefer to invest in Nick and Nigel’s company. He’s also a theater nerd.

Thank to a ridiculous fright wig, Swartz’s Nostradamus looks like he just grabbed a live wire.

Charlie Tingen’s Shakespeare is a preening, posing, self-infatuated Rock God. With his long locks and leather pants, he’ll remind Boomers of Jim Morrison. (GenXers might go for Pete Burns.)

The Kirkpatricks’ music and lyrics are smart and hilarious.

IF YOU GO

‘SOMETHING ROTTEN!’. Through Jan. 8. $25-$39. FST Gompertz Theatre, 1265 First St., Sarasota. Call 366-9000, or visit FloridaStudioTheatre. org.

The high-energy “Welcome to the Renaissance,” kicks the show off with a bang and the songs never fizzle after that.

Conductor Conner Stigner’s brings it all to vivacious life with a real live band playing behind the scenes.

Isabel and Moriah CurleyClay’s set is a mousetrap of doors and platforms, with a cartoonish silhouette of Olde London in the background.

As noted in a previous story, Mari Taylor Floyd and Aubrey Hess do a fitting job adapting Gregg Barnes’ costumes for the FST cast.

A lot of talent. A lot of sound and fury. It signifies comedy. But what kind?

In their playscript, the authors describe “Something Rotten!” as a “satiric pastiche,” not a parody.

It fits. They’re not mocking Shakespeare, they’re putting him in the context of theatrical competition.

Aye.

But they’re mainly horsing around with the notion of an Elizabethan musical.

That, and serving up a heaping helping of R-rated giggles.

As my Shakespeare professor once said, “If you even suspect there’s a dirty joke in Shakespeare, it’s there.”

“Something Rotten!” follows in the Bard’s prurient path.

There’s also plenty of fan service for English majors — nods to Ben Johnson, Thomas Kyd and all that.

But the musical’s up to its eyeballs in anachronism, so take it with a grain of salt.

My only complaint?

No reference to the theory that Christopher Marlowe wrote all of Shakespeare’s plays. Not even a throwaway line like …

NIGEL BOTTOM: Shakespeare is such a genius.

MARLOWE: Thank you!

It’s an old joke, but still as funny as ever. And there’s an end on’t.

Photo courtesy of John Jones

The ensemble revolves around Charlie Tingen (William Shakespeare) in “Something Rotten!”

Two struggling playwrights try a little theatrical magic to beat the Bard in ‘Something Rotten!’ at Florida Studio Theatre. What could possibly go wrong?

BLACK TIE

Wine, Women & Shoes

Forty Carrots Family Center CEO Michelle Kapreilian was feeling the usual emotions about the annual 2022 Wine, Women & Shoes signature luncheon — excitement, appreciation, maybe some exhaustion — but had to admit she also felt a little nervous this year.

The event has always drawn a large, passionate (and sometimes rowdy) crowd together to support the organization’s programs for children and families in need. But the pandemic put a pause on the signature luncheon for two years, and Kapreilian couldn’t help but wonder if it would affect turnout for the 2022 outing.

She needn’t have worried. Hundreds of Forty Carrots supporters filled The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota for the fundraiser’s long-awaited return on Nov. 18.

“You never know (beforehand), but we’ve had so many people come back (for Wine, Women

& Shoes),” Kapreilian said. “We’ve also had new people to the community come today. Introducing Forty Carrots to them has been wonderful.”

The organization’s many supporters filled the hotel space for the morning’s mingling and shopping section, which had a number of businesses and pop-up vendors selling jewelry, bags and other stylish accessories. The luncheon’s signature Sole Men were on hand to offer champagne and take selfies with guests.

Eventually, the crowd filled into the ballroom for the event’s program and lunch.

Co-chairwomen Melissa Tomasso and Julie Weintraub took to the stage to thank the audience while Sole Men poured glasses of champagne for those in the crowd.

Finally, it was time for the fashion show. Men and women took to the stage wearing funkadelic designs from Tweeds Custom Suits and L. Bou-

tique, respectively, to the cheers of the crowd.

The hosts later handed out awards for various shoe designs and creations, with Sole Man John Coates winning this year’s King of Sole award for the largest amount of wine sold in support of Forty Carrots.

Kapreilian said the paddle raise alone raised more than $300,000 for Forty Carrots.

“We can use these funds for where we have holes,” Kapreilian said. “...Right now it’s our mental health services and parenting education (programs). We increased (clients and staff) for both those programs this year ... and this will definitely help.”

The day ended with an after party that had dozens of guests getting down on the dance floor.

Friday, Nov. 18, at The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota | Benefiting Forty Carrots Family Center

—HARRY SAYER

Supporters tear up the dance floor.

Andressa Junquiera

Derric Gobourne Jr. gets the crowd going.

Chairwomen Melissa Tomasso and Julie Weintraub

Sam Beebe, Forty Carrots

CEO Michelle Kapreilian and Rachel Benderson

Joan Coates wins the King of Sole award for his fundraising efforts.

Hope McCampbell-Wenk and Alysha Shelby

Photos by Harry Sayer

Sepi Ackerman, Emily Beachler, Kerry McCary and Lindsey Heach

and Music”

Keep the Dream Alive

Monday, Nov. 14, at Michael’s

On East | Benefiting Aviva Senior Living

The Aviva Senior Living organization brought generations together during its “Keep The Dream Alive” fundraiser on Nov. 14.

The annual fundraiser — held at Michael’s On East this year with “An Evening in Italy” as a theme — brought hundreds of supporters together to mix and mingle in support of the organization’s Aviva Benevolent Care program, which provides residents with financial support for rent at the Aviva campus.

Chief Development Officer Karen Zelden welcomed the audience before honorary co-chairs Judy and Eric Fox continued the program. Rabbi Michael Shefrin of Temple Emanu-El gave a blessing so the meal could begin.

Guests heard from President and CEO Jay Solomon and other Aviva representatives before the night ended with music from Rob Satori.

hear a plant-to-music demonstration from this revolutionary composer.

in partnership with ensembleNEW SRQ, UnidosNOW, New Music New College, CreArte Latino, and Community Foundation of Sarasota County “Notes: On Writing

Thursday, December 15 @ 5pm

Hermitage Beach (Manasota Key) Novelist Chigozie Obioma will read selections of his work and discuss his creative process. He will be joined by musician and instrument designer Levy Lorenzo for an international perspective on literature and music.

in partnership with the the Johann Fust Library Foundation

—HARRY SAYER

Co-chairs Eric and Judy Fox

Photos by Harry Sayer Bonnie Souther, Collette Brooks and Donna Pedro

The night had “An Evening in Italy” as a theme.

Marla and Barbara Katz

SPARCCle

—HARRY SAYER

Yuki Nonaka in Ashton’s Les Patineurs

Photography by Frank Atura

Sarasota Art Museum presents a classical music program features world-class artists performing in an intimate casual setting.

The Safe Place and Rape Crisis Center hosted an elegant fundraiser for its closest supporters at The Westin Sarasota on Nov. 18.

nonprofit’s annual gala took on a “SPARCCle By The Sea” theme complete with aquatic colors and decor that guests matched with aquamarine-colored attire.

mingled in the hotel before filling into the Westin’s ballroom for the night’s program. CEO Jessica Hays and other SPARCC figures spoke while dinner — which included beef tenderloin, grouper, potato souffle and more — was served.

The night ended with music and dancing provided by the Bay Kings band.

Photos by Harry Sayer

Co-chairwomen Cathy Bachand, Carla Malachowski, Barbara Gardner, Sue Wilson and JoAnn Heisen Shelley and Hopeton Walker

Lauren and Brian Hersh

David

Steve

was a

and Blood, Sweat & Tears. He played the

and Woodstock. His blues-folkrock memoir is an honest and per sonal account of a life at the edge of the spotlight – a privi leged vantage point that earned him a bit more objectivity and earnest outrage than many of his colleagues, who were too far into the scene to lay any honest witness to it. Set during the Greenwich Village folk/rock scene, the ’60s most celebrated venues and concerts, and behind closed doors on international tours and grueling studio sessions, this is the unlikely story of a rock star as nerd, nerd as rock star, a nice Jewish boy who got to sit at the cool kids’ table and score the hot chicks.

Fresh Perspective Luncheon

Thursday, Nov. 17, at Sarasota Art Museum | Benefiting Sarasota Art Museum

The Sarasota Art Museum continued its Fresh Perspective Luncheon series with a cheery gathering on Nov. 17.

Supporters met at the art museum early Wednesday for the latest luncheon that highlighted

discussion on modern and contemporary art.

Guests mingled and sipped drinks before sitting to hear from art appraiser Elana Rubinfeld as the day’s speaker.

Presented by

Katz

founding member of the legendary Blues Project

Monterey Pop Festival

—HARRY SAYER

Photos by Harry Sayer

Jane Humann, Donna Smith, Marcy Klein and Suzy Farbman

Susan Meisel, Sue Rupp and Katherine DeSousa

Speaker Elana Rubinfeld and Kinsey RobbRenee Sheade and Roberta Fox

Champions for Children

Saturday, Nov. 19, at the Lee Wetherington Club | Benefiting Boys and Girls Club of Sarasota and DeSoto Counties

Boys and Girls Clubs of Sarasota and DeSoto Counties celebrated its closest supporters with its annual Champions for Children fundraiser at the Lee Wetherington Club on Nov. 19.

Guests met outside the Boys and Girls Clubs facility for an evening of mingling and support for the organization’s youth programs.

During the program, Boys and Girls Clubs of Sarasota and DeSoto Counties President and CEO Bill Sadlo thanked the audience for attending. Guests also heard from board Chair Meghan Serrano, Steve Townsend and National Youth of the Year winner Whitney Stewart.

This year’s event honored Marilyn and the late Irving Naiditch for their contributions to Boys and Girls Clubs programs over the year. As Marilyn Naiditch was unable to attend the event, Sadlo accepted the award on her behalf.

—HARRY SAYER

Photos by Harry Sayer

Nancy Arbuckle and Lee DeLieto

Jesse and Kaitlyn Perez

Betsy and Ron Koepsel

Brian Manibusan and Sheena Palacios

David and Wanda Mills for Ken Freeman

Nikki Logan-Curran, President and CEO Bill Sadlo, Erin Guzzo and Yolanda Mancha

Taylor Maginn with Nancy and Nick Bobbitt