Arts + Entertainment 4.18.24

‘DIAL M FOR MURDER’: Asolo Repertory redials the 1950s whodunit with a twist. 5 >

< HAVING A BALL: Children First transports guests to a fairy tale. 6

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

MAKING AN IMPACT

Sarasota Art Museum showcases the works of 10 Hermitage Retreat visual artists.

For the recent nationwide AEP6 study by Americans for the Arts, the Arts & Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County identified more than 200 nonprofit arts and culture organizations in our area.

Now imagine what happens when those 200 arts groups start collaborating with each other. The cross-pollination possibilities are endless. Just look at the annual Cirque du Voix, a partnership between Key Chorale and the Circus Arts Conservatory, or this season’s joint production by Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe and Sarasota Contemporary Dance.

The latest example of two cultural dynamos collaborating in Sarasota County is an exhibition called “Impact” at the contemporary Sarasota Art Museum filled with the works of fellows of the Hermitage Artist Retreat on Manasota Key.

“Impact” marks the first exhibition partnership between the 22-year-old Hermitage and SAM, a unit of Ringling College of Art and Design that officially opened in 2019. The result is mind-blowing, as they used to say back in the ’60s.

Curated by Dan Cameron, who served on the Hermitage’s National Curatorial Council for 10 years, “Impact: Contemporary Artists at the Hermitage Artist Retreat” includes 10 Hermitage Fellows representing a broad range of media — painting, sculpture, installation, photography, video, music, performance, conceptual art, ceramics, weaving and printmaking.

According to Cameron’s statement, the works on display by Diana Al-Hadid, Sanford Biggers, Chitra Ganesh, Todd Gray, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Michelle Lopez, Ted Rie-

derer, John Sims, Kukuli Velarde and William Villalongo push traditional boundaries of style and discipline while exploring themes and subjects that have affected the artists personally.

All 10 artists had the opportunity to take a break from their regular life and attend an artist residency at the Hermitage Artist Retreat’s historic beachfront campus.

“There is something to be said about the physical impact that occurs when a hard-working creative person, whose typical working environment is likely a noisy metropolis, and whose typical day is a string of

deadlines and interruptions, wakes up on their first morning at the Hermitage — or their 11th morning — face to face with the splendor of the Gulf of Mexico stretching out to the horizon and the contours of the day ahead beckoning a mystery waiting to be revealed,” Cameron writes.

In exchange for the Gulf Cost hospitality of the Hermitage, the artists in residence agree to interact with the Sarasota community with a performance or an exhibit, in the case of visual artists.

According to Hermitage Artistic Director and CEO Andy Sandberg, many of the world-class artists

who come to the Hermitage haven’t heard of Sarasota when they get here. “These are artists whose works are on display in galleries and museums around the world. This exhibition really raises the bar for visual arts in Sarasota,” he says.

“It’s such a privilege to be part of the birthing process of their art and then to come full circle and help introduce their work to the community,” he adds. Here’s a sampler of four artists in the “Impact” exhibition, displayed on SAM’s second floor.

MONICA ROMAN GAGNIER ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

Hermitage Greenfield Prize Winner Trenton Doyle Hancock’s work, “Undom Endgle and the Souls’ Journey,” is part of the “Impact” show at the Sarasota Art Museum.

In SAM’s “Impact” exhibition, Al-Hadid’s vinelike sculpture “Seed” (2023) of stems and leaves rises up from a bronze base that both supports and inhibits the structure.

“With an implicit suggestion of growth over time, the forces reaching upward and outward coalesce into a driving force, which is nonetheless permanently tethered to the earth,” writes Cameron.

Also on display is “Al’Ayn,” Al-Hadid’s arresting wall hanging made of polymer gypsum, fiberglass, steel, plaster, metal leaf and pigment.

Ted Riederer

If you yearn for the days when there were record stores dotting Main Streets and malls across America, don’t miss Ted Riederer’s installation, “Never Records,” in the “Impact” exhibit. First presented about a dozen years ago at the former Tower Records flagship, “Never Records” has traveled the globe in the years since. Wherever Riederer brings the vinyl emporium, he gives local musicians the opportunity to cut a record in a pop-up studio in the space. He keeps one copy of the record for a bin in his “store” and gives the artist another copy. Lovers of vinyl can listen to records made by Sarasota artists in the Never Records installation with the help of a docent wearing the signature SAM pink apron.

John Sims

It wasn’t by design, but vinyl aficionados can also play a record in the room at the “Impact” exhibition dedicated to the late artist John Sims. A native of Detroit who taught at Ringling College of Art and Design, Sims died in December 2022 at age 54.

During his artistic career, Sims used theatrics to unmask everyday racism with such electrifying installations as “The Recoloration Reclamation,” which appeared at The Ringling Museum in February 2021,

The record you can listen to at SAM is a John Sims Project called “The AfroDixie Remixes” featuring multiple reinterpretations of the Southern standard, including blues, gospel and jazz, to name a few. “The land of cotton” will never be the same.

For those visitors who haven’t touched a turntable in 40 years, putting on headphones and moving the record player’s arm over to the vinyl disc can be a deliciously tactile experience. But it’s just one exhibit in the room dedicated to Sims. There’s a quilt, a canvas that demonstrates Sims’ love of mathematics and a chilling self-portrait of the artist dressed in overalls in front of the Confederate flag and a noose.

There is so much going on at SAM’s “Impact” exhibition that it might take more than one visit to the museum to take it all in.

Chitra Ganesh

In Chitra Ganesh’s collage-painting “After the Storm,” three figures stand side by side. Two of them are headless. They are accompanied by a seated deer with the face of a human. What exactly is Ganesh trying to tell us in this meditation on identity? A lot of the answer is in the eye of the beholder.

In her artist’s statement on her website, Ganesh, who was born in Brooklyn, says she draws on Hindu and Buddhist symbols and attempts to reconcile them with images of femininity, sexuality and power missing from artistic and literary classics. She says she is rethinking her relationship to iconic religious characters in light of the rise of right-wing fundamentalism in India.

Monica Roman Gagnier Visitors to the Sarasota Art Museum can listen to a record that features the song “Dixie” played in various musical styles, including blues, gospel and funk.

Image courtesy of Dan Bradica Chitra Ganesh’s collage-painting “After the Storm” is part of the “Impact” exhibition at the Sarasota Art Museum, which runs through July 7.

Image courtesy of Ryan Gamma

The works of Diana Al-Hadid are featured in the Sarasota Art Museum’s exhibition, “Impact: Contemporary Artists at the Hermitage Artist Retreat.”

Vinyl recordings made in Sarasota and other places were used by Ted Riederer for his installation, “Never Records,” which is part of the “Impact” exhibition at the Sarasota Art Museum.

Monica Roman Gagnier

Gulf Coast Flute Choir to perform its first world premiere

The group will play ‘Twilight on the Gulf’ on April 21-22 in Lakewood Ranch and Bradenton.

IF YOU GO

Ia bittersweet moment as Gulf Coast Flute Choir Artistic Director Angela Galestro leads a rehearsal April 13 in the basement of the First United Methodist Church in Bradenton. After five years in the position, Galestro is stepping down.  But she’s leaving on a high note. Her last concerts with the flute choir will mark the first time the group has performed a world premiere. Under Galestro’s stewardship, the flute choir commissioned an original composition by Orlando’s Paul Cuevas called “Twilight on the Gulf.”

“Twilight” follows the region’s history in four movements that are dedicated to, respectively, smugglers and pirates, Native Americans, Spanish colonialists and the circus.

The circus movement is called “Screamers” and is inspired by the melodies played by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus back in the day when the show featured wild animals and crazy clowns.

“It’s a grand finale of sorts,” says Galestro in a telephone interview. “I’ve been with the flute choir for five years. I’ve enjoyed my time. I feel I have left my fingerprint.”

Galestro is leaving to concentrate on the other jobs she has, including teaching at the State College of Florida and the Sarasota Music Conservatory and playing in her band, The Dialogue, which just released its first album. She has also served as a substitute for Betsy Hudson Traba, principal flutist for the Sarasota Orchestra.

Galestro holds a doctorate degree in musical arts from Shenandoah Conservatory, a master’s degree in flute performance from the University of Akron and a bachelor’s degree in orchestral flute performance from Stetson University.

While a search committee looks for Galestro’s successor, her job will be held on an interim basis by the flute choir’s assistant artistic director, Thom Gravelle. One day, he would like the position on a permanent basis, but not until he retires from his full-time job as a graphic artist at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Gravelle says.

Made up of about 25 musicians all playing one kind of flute or another, the Gulf Coast Flute Choir was formed in 2000 by local flutist Cyndi Brue. “She was teaching a lot of adult students, and they expressed a desire to play in an ensemble. That was the impetus for Cyndi,” says choir member Janet Schmoll.

In the early days of the choir, they would feed their audiences, which sometimes were as large as 150 people, after their performances. But that tradition has fallen by the wayside. “I think that was part of the draw,” Schmoll says.

With the exception of the 202022 period during COVID, the choir has performed two live concerts a year since its inception — one during the Christmas season and one in the spring.

Even though he’s not officially on

staff, Gulf Coast Flute Choir members give Galestro’s husband, guitarist Jonathan Smith, credit for keeping the group alive during the pandemic.

Thanks to his diligence and technological knowhow, the flute choir performed concerts on Zoom, with each of the 25 or so members appearing in a little box on the screen as their parts were played.

Each flutist recorded their part in advance. Smith synchronized the recordings using a tool called Click Track to provide an orchestral sound. “We wouldn’t have survived without Jonathan,” Gravelle says.

Why is the group called a choir and not an ensemble? Schmoll explains that the different types of flutes — piccolo, C flute (the one familiar to most people) and alto, bass and contrabass flutes — function like voices in a choir.

There are no auditions for the Gulf Coast Flute Choir, which is a 501(c)3 organization, and its members play at varying levels. Dues are $50 a year

or $25 for season.

The choir is composed primarily of older women, but Gravelle says he has been reaching out to younger musicians and men since coming on board in 2016, after moving to Bradenton from Milwaukee.

“In the past couple of years, we’ve had some very strong musicians come in, and that has raised the threshold,” Gravelle says.

Like Gravelle, Galestro has focused on diversity, broadening the winter concert from familiar Christmas tunes to include a medley of Jewish songs that she commissioned, as well as an African-style Noel. “As a younger female director, I wanted more diversity in our program,” Galestro says. “Performing the works of living composers also makes it more accessible.”  Becoming a 501(c)3 organization, which is a nonprofit with a dedicated mission, in 2020 has given the Gulf Coast Flute Choir more flexibility to raise money.  On April 9-10, the choir  par-

ticipated in its second Giving Challenge, which brought in more than $3,600 for the group. With help from matching grants from the Patterson Foundation, the 2024 Giving Challenge raised more than $17.2 million for 724 participating nonprofits in Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte and DeSoto counties.

Having access to more funding has allowed the choir to purchase its own contrabass flute. “They are not in plentiful supply, but we have one on order,” Schmoll says. The large standing instruments generally cost between $11,000 and $32,000.

Galestro, Gravelle and Schmoll each said they joined the Gulf Coast Flute Choir after relocating to the area because they were in search of some place where they could play their flute (or lead them, in Galestro’s case) and feel a sense of community. “It’s a very congenial group, and we love having new people,” Schmoll says.

Gulf Coast Flute Choir Artistic Director Angela

estro leads the choir as it rehearses for the world premiere of “Twilight on the Gulf” by Paul Cuevas.

Monica Roman Gagnier

THIS WEEK

THURSDAY

40TH ANNUAL RICHARD AND BETTY BURDICK NEW PLAY

FESTIVAL

3 p.m. at FST’s Keating Theatre, 1241 N. Palm Ave.

$10

Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.

The festival presents three staged readings of new works by contemporary American playwrights. This year’s selections are “How to Draw a Triangle” by Jake Brasch, “Daring Dames of the Silver Screen” by Carole J. Bufford and “The Fifth Domain” by Victor Lesniewski. Continues April 26 and May 3.

DON WINSLOW BOOK SIGNING

5 p.m. at Barnes & Noble, 4010 S. Tamiami Trail Free Visit DonWinslow.com.

Bestselling author Don Winslow will sign copies of his new book, “City in Ruins,” which completes his trilogy about Irish and Italian mobsters during the 1980s and 1990s. Winslow will also hold a Q&A.

‘WESTMINSTER’

7:30 p.m. at Urbanite Theatre, 1487 Second St.

$5-$31

Visit UrbaniteTheatre.org.

Directed by Urbanite Artistic Director Summer Wallace, “Westminster” tells the story of a woman who receives a rescue dog as a surprise present. The gift triggers unexpected consequences. Runs through April 28.

LA FAMILLE GOLDENCRUST

7:30 p.m. at Historic Asolo Theater, 5401 Bayshore Road

$30-$40

Visit TheRingling.org.

This Quebecois comedy duo sends up French-Canadian snowbirds with a hilarious trailer-park extravaganza. Runs through April 22.

‘IT’S A BRAVE NEW WORLD’

7:30 p.m. at SCF Neel Performing Arts Center, 5840 26th St. W., Bradenton $15

Visit SCF.edu/Neel.

The SCF Bradenton Symphony Orchestra and SCF Symphonic Band play a concert inspired by composers’ journey to faraway lands, including Dvorak’s “Symphony No. 9.”

‘TROUBADOUR’

8 p.m. at FST’s Gompertz Theatre, 1265 First St. $39-$56

Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.

Featuring music by Sugarland’s Kristian Bush, “Troubadour’ tells the story of a country music legend’s son in the 1950s who is trying to carry on his father’s legacy. When he joins forces with unlikely allies, the world of country music is changed forever. Runs through May 19.

FRIDAY

JAZZ @ TWO — FRED JOHNSON AND FRIENDS

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

Visit JazzClubSarasota.org.

Jazz Club of Sarasota presents Fred Johnson and Friends. Johnson has toured with B.B. King, Aretha Franklin, Miles Davis and others and is considered to be one of the world’s greatest vocal jazz improvisers.

POPS 3: SHE’S GOT SOUL

7:30 p.m. at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail $41 and up Visit SarasotaOrchestra.org.

Vocal powerhouse Capathia Jenkins joins Sarasota Orchestra for an evening of soulful hits from Adele, Toni Braxton, Chaka Khan and more. Runs through April 20.

SATURDAY

ANDREA DE VITIS

7:30 p.m. at Riverview Performing Arts Center, 1 Ram Way $37- $41

Visit GuitarSarasota.org.

Guitar Sarasota presents Italian guitarist Andrea de Vitis, who has won more than 40 prizes in international competitions.

‘MARVIN GAYE: PRINCE OF SOUL’

7:30 p.m. at Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, 1012 N. Orange Ave. $20-$50 Visit WestcoastBlackTheatre.org.

Sheldon Rhoden reprises the title role in “Marvin Gaye: Prince of Soul,” which was written, adapted and is being directed by WBTT Founder and Artistic Director Nate Jacobs. Gaye was a trailblazer in Black music with musical partner Tammi Terrell at Motown before touching a nation with haunting solo ballads like “What’s Going On?” that still resonate today. Runs through May 26.

SUNDAY

SUNCOAST CONCERT BAND

3 p.m. at Northminster Presbyterian Church

$5 Visit SuncoastConcertBand.org.

The Suncoast Concert Band wraps its 91st season with a program that includes “Cumberland Cross,” “Toward a New Life” and “Stars and Stripes Forever.”

MONDAY

MONDAY NIGHT JAZZ AT THE CABARET

7:30 p.m. at John C. Court Cabaret, 1265 First St. $34-$39 Visit JazzClubSarasota.org.

The Jazz Club of Sarasota presents The Thomas Carabisi Quintet. Doors open at 6:30 for dinner and drinks.

TUESDAY

OPENING RECEPTION FOR ‘NATURE AND FAIRY TALES’ 5:30 p.m. at Fogartyville, 525 Kumquat Court Free Visit WSLR.org.

Fogartyville hosts a reception for “Nature and Fairy Tales,” Ania Mohrbacher’s exhibition of watercolor paintings inspired by Gulf Coast flora and fauna and classic characters and themes from fairy tales.

OUR PICK

‘GREAT ESCAPES 6: FANTASTIC VOYAGE’ Christopher Confessore conducts the Sarasota Orchestra in a musical journey featuring Strauss’ “Blue Danube” and works by Puccini and Elgar. Concertmaster Daniel Jordan marks 25 years with the orchestra with a performance of Johan Svendsen’s “Romance for Violin and Orchestra.”

IF YOU GO

When: 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 24

Where: at Holley Hall, 709 N. Tamiami Trail Tickets: $47 and up Info: Visit SarasotaOrchestra. org.

WEDNESDAY

SARASOTA BAY CHAMBER

ORCHESTRA CONCERT

7 p.m. at Church of the Redeemer, 222 S. Palm Ave. $30 Visit SarasotaBayChamberOrchestra.org.

The program includes “Sinfonia in G Major” by Johann Stamitz, “Quiet City” by Aaron Copland, Romanian Folk Dances by Bela Bartok and “A Downland Suite” by John Ireland.

‘THE ROCKET MAN SHOW’

7:30 p.m. at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail $35-$65 Visit VanWezel.org.

Chosen by Elton John himself, ”The Rocket Man Show” features Scotsman Rus Anderson playing John’s greatest hits in his inimitable style and donned in the colorful costumes the entertainer is known for.

DON’T MISS

CARLOS ACOSTA: ‘ON BEFORE’ Ballet dancer and director Carlos Acosta is visiting the U.S. for the first time since 2018 and will be performing “On Before,” the story of a doomed relationship set to a repertoire ranging from Handel to Cuban contemporary composer Omar Puente. Runs through April 20.

IF YOU GO

When: 7:30 p.m., Friday, April 19

Where: at Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave. Tickets: $55-$150 Info: Visit Tickets.SarasotaOpera.org. Courtesy image

Asolo Rep redials the 1950s classic

‘Dial M for Murder’ with a twist

Director Céline Rosenthal keeps her eye on the ball so the audience doesn’t get lost.

“Dial M for Murder” was a hit play in 1952; Alfred Hitchcock’s film version was a hit in 1954. Playwright Jeffrey Hatcher’s 2022 stage adaptation takes electrifying elements from both versions, and adds some high voltage all its own. That said, the basic wiring remains the same.

London in 1952 is the place and time. In Hatcher’s retelling, Margot (Brooke Turner) is married to Tony (Tony Carter), a failed writer reborn as a successful literary publicist. Maxine (Zia Lawrence) is his hottest client, an American author of best-selling thrillers. Interestingly enough, Maxine was also Margot’s lover. Margot broke off the affair a year ago, but kept one sizzling love letter.

Tony got his hands on it, and concocted an elaborate Machiavellian scheme to kill Margot and get his hands on her fortune. He maps out the moves with a chess master’s deft strategy. It’ll be the perfect crime! Nothing could possibly go wrong! And, of course it does. That’s when things get interesting.

New version or old, “Dial M for Murder” has a lot of moving parts, not to mention bells and whistles. Director Céline Rosenthal keeps her eye on the ball. The audience never gets lost. Plot points fly, but she always keeps the action clear.

The actors embody their updated characters with no anachronistic slips. Turner’s Margot puts a 21st-century twist on the midcentury archetype of an upper-class housewife.

Lawrence’s Maxine is sexy and sharp, but no femme fatale. Mark Benninghofen’s Inspector Hubbard is the classic trope of a seemingly absent-minded detective who’s actually sharp as a tack.

Mikhail Roberts’ Lesgate might as well have “fall guy” tattooed on his forehead. This low-rent crook is the perfect patsy for Tony’s blackmail/ murder scheme.

It’s almost time to talk about Tony. But first here’s a nod to the talents who bring this film noir

IF YOU GO

‘Dial M for Murder’

When: Through April 25

Where: FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota

Tickets: $35-$95

Info: Visit AsoloRep.org

world to life: Antonio Troy Ferron, the set designer. Only one set. It all takes place in Tony and Margot’s living room, no place else. Ferron’s abode has an ivory tower feel to it. This upper-class couple lives in a world of their own. They’re above the tide of humanity — but far from safe.  Aside from being a feast for the eyes, Tracy Dorman’s costumes accurately capture the wearable semiology of that era’s class structure. In Mark Rose’s hands, the play’s murder scene feels like random real-life action, not a dance.

Now let’s talk about the sociopath in the room. Hatcher’s Tony has a superman complex. Make that “supervillain.” He’s a charismatic monster, no doubt. Tony 2.0 charms the characters on stage — and chills the hearts of the audience. He’s bad to the bone with no shades of grey.

In Hitchcock’s movie, it’s not that simple. Some scenes made you sympathize with Tony. He’s the victim of adultery, after all. His outrage is understandable.

In Hatcher’s version, it isn’t. Tony married for money; now he’s killing for money. The man is a rotter, plain and simple.

Ironing out Tony’s ambiguity simplifies the play. It doesn’t make it better. Tony’s inhuman — and that kills the human factor. What’s left? The convoluted complications of Tony’s scheme. Without the human factor, the game of “murder by the numbers” is just not interesting. I enjoyed the play’s intellectual puzzle, don’t get me wrong. But it could have been better.

This problem is the playwright’s problem. Hatcher is brilliant, but he got the wrong number with “Dial M for Murder.” The Asolo Rep’s talents don’t. They keep you on the edge of your seat.

The fault is in the script, not on the stage.

Image courtesy of Sorcha Augustine

Brooke Turner stars as Margot, Zia Lawrence plays Maxine and Mark Benninghofen plays Inspector Hubbard in Asolo Rep’s production of “Dial M for Murder.”

FAIRYTALE BALL

April 6 at Michael’s On East Benefiting Children First

Michael’s On East was transformed into a setting fit for a storybook for Children First’s 24th annual Fairytale Ball on April 6. With a theme of Majesty Under the Moonlight, guests were greeted with a wall displaying Champagne flutes for the taking, an arch bearing the event’s name and a stage with a full-moon backdrop for the evening’s festivities.

Guests bid generously on several live-auction items, heard an inspirational mission moment from a Children First employee and client and enjoyed a ballet performance by three of Children First’s cutest beneficiaries.

Proceeds from the evening go to fulfill the nonprofit’s mission of providing Head Start programs and services for vulnerable children ages 1-5 and their families.

— OBSERVER STAFF

Photos by Lori Sax

Cecilia Cosgrove and Christine Tagle

Event Co-chairs Phyllis and Hank Battie Taylor and Erica Altman

Rodger Skidmore, Kathleen Coty and Franklyn Skidmore

Dawn Delery, Lauren Henry, Connie Sullivan and Candice Henry

Bart and Kameron Hodgens with Brendan and Tricia Powers

Fran and John LaCivita

Event Co-chairs Adrienne and Keith Johnson

TMission Possible luncheon

April 4 at Michael’s On the Bay | Benefiting Moffitt Cancer Center Foundation

Acancer diagnosis once seen as a death sentence has now turned into a chance for hope, according to the keynote speaker at the Moffitt Cancer Center’s Mission Possible luncheon.

Dr. Brian Czerniecki, department chair of breast oncology at Moffitt, shared how new therapies are giving patients more hope and better outcomes than ever before. About 250 guests attended the luncheon April 4 at Michael’s On the Bay at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. The advances are part of the progress Moffitt Cancer Center Foundation is making in treating the disease since establishing its Research Innovation Fund in 2020. Monies raised at the luncheon benefit the fund.

Didiego, Erica Didiego, Rachael Cavaliere and Hannah

with Aimee Chouinard and Stacey Corley

Photos by Lori Sax

Event Co-chairs Taylor Karp Teymuri, Tammy Karp and Sarah Karp Renkliyuz

Hollie Mowry and Amber Lamerson

— OBSERVER STAFF

Photos by Lori Sax Event Chair Eileen Curd and Keynote Speaker Dr. Brian Czerniecki

Jenna

Starr