Sarasota's Florida Studio Theatre extends 'Dancing Lessons'

   Mark St. Germain is a favorite playwright of Sarasota audiences. His plays “Freud’s Last Session,” “Becoming Dr. Ruth” and “Best of Enemies" have all been big hits with patrons of Florida Studio Theatre.
   FST has another hit on its hands with St. Germain's latest play, "Dancing Lessons."

  Vanessa Morosco and Jason Cannon
 in "Dancing Lessons" (Photo by Cliff Roles)

The romantic comedy-drama about two damaged loners -- an academic with Asperger's Syndrome and a dancer with a physical injury -- has been extended for a second time.

   It's now slated to run through March 14 in FST's Keating Theatre. Single tickets range from $18 to $49. Call 941-366-9000 or go to FloridaStudioTheatre.org.

Opera Tampa scores with season-opener 'Rigoletto'

   The winter opera season is in full bloom, and in case Sarasota Opera's current productions of 'Tosca" and "The Marriage of Figaro" aren't enough to satisfy your cravings, Opera Tampa is offering a terrific production of "Rigoletto."
   The Verdi classic kicks off the 20th anniversary season for the company, which performs at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts.
   The cast for this production is stunning. On opening night, the most thrilling moments came from soprano Claire Coolen as Gilda, who wielded a gorgeous voice with impressive control and a powerful stage presence, and tenor David Guzman as the Duke of Mantua.  Guzman's rendering of the opera's most famous piece, "La Donna e Mobile," was simpy beautiful, and his duets with Coolen were highlights of the evening.

Guzman as the Duke. Photo by Will Staples

    Sarasota soprano Johanna Fincher was also impressive in a smaller role as  Countess Ceprano. (Fincher will be performing closer to home this spring, in concert with Gloria Musicae in April and the Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota in May.)
   All the design work, especially the  evocative and textured lighting by Chad Jung, is a treat to look at.
   The only downside is that Opera Tampa is only presenting this lovely production twice. The remaining performance is at 2 p.m. Sunday, February 15. Tickets are $49.50-$99.50 plus service charge. If you love grand opera it's well worth the price and the drive. Call 813-229-7827 or go to strazcenter.org.

 

Steely Dan, Elvis Costello announce Tampa date

   An outdoor concert in west central Florida in the middle of August. No way you're going, right? After all, it'll be like 170 degrees outside and it'll probably rain.

Donald Fagen and Walter Becker of Steely Dan

   Maybe you'll change your mind when you find out it's a Steely Dan concert with "special guests" Elvis Costello and the Impostors.
   The just-announced concert is set for Tuesday, Aug. 11 at the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre in Tampa. Tickets go sale at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb 21 at livenation.com. They'll run you between $39 and $159.50 
   Both bands are even better live than on recordings.
   If you can't wait until August, Costello  will be in Clearwater on March 16 at Ruth Eckerd Hall. Tickets for that show are on sale now at rutheckerdhall.com for $49.50-$150.

Awolnation, Pretty Lights added to Big Guava

   A bunch of new acts have been added to the lineup for this year's Big Guava Festival in Tampa.
   It's a decent group: DJ/producer Pretty Lights, electronic music stars Awolnation, pop-rock band Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, rockers Night Riots and Jacksonville band

Pretty Lights

Sunbears!
   There's no one on the roster of additional acts that rises to the stature of the previously announced The Pixies, The Strokes, TV on the Radio, Passion Pit, Jenny Lewis, and Ryan Adams. Also on the originally announced lineup are Hozier, James Blake, Cold War Kids, Banks, Run the Jewels, Death From Above 1979, Action Bronson, Big Data and Iration.
   The Big Guava Music Festival is slated for May 8 and 9 at the Florida State Fairgrounds and the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre.
   You can get two-day passes for $115. You get access to all the stages and unlimited midway rides for that price.
   Go to bigguavafest.com for tickets and information.

Ramsey Lewis concert moved to St. Petersburg's Palladium

   If you have tickets to the the upcoming concert featuring jazz great Ramsey Lewis and R&B great Philip Bailey, you're going to have to drive a few blocks farther than you planned.

Ramsey Lewis

   The Feb. 24 shows was supposed to be at St. Petersburg's Mahaffey Theater, but it's been moved to the Palladium.

   The Palladium's a great venue, older and much more intimate than the Mahaffey. It's at 253 Fifth Ave. N.

   Bailey, who's best known as the lead singer from Earth, Wind & Fire, will perform with Ramsey Lewis and His Electric Band. They'll be doing some Earth, Wind & Fire stuff, and the band will no doubt offer "The In Crowd" and other classic Lewis instrumentals.
   Tickets run $49.50-$69.50. Call 727-893-7832 or go to themahaffey.com for tickets. (Student tickets are available for $35 at the door only, with a valid student ID.) If you want to know more about the Palladium, go to mypalladium.org.

Bradenton-area actor sparks "The Buffalo Kings"

   When the world premiere of "The Buffalo Kings" opened at freeFall Theatre in St. Petersburg a few weeks back, two well-known Bradenton-area actors were part of the ensemble cast. Now there's only one, Katherine Michelle Tanner. The other, Jenny Aldrich, had to drop out for some personal reasons.
   The play, by Natalie Symons, has been a huge hit for freeFall. I runs through this weekend, and tickets are reportedly scarce.
   The acting's impressive all around. (Aldrich was replaced by long-time Tampa Bay area favorite Mimi Rice, who stepped in at the last minute and performed one show with script in hand.)

Tanner (left) and Aldrich (right)

   The script, about a family on New York state facing several crises, some of the  everyday variety and others life-shattering, has tons of delicious great moments and some good laughs, but it's unfocused. It's packed with inconsequential subplots (one about a bad hairdo takes up a lot of the 80-minute first act and then is simply dropped) and extraneous characters (one houseguest who nobody can stand has to stay because his car is snowed in, while everyone else seems to come and go at will.) Meanwhile, the most compelling relationship, the one between a teenage boy recovering from a hate crime and his grandfather who's in the early stages of dementia, never gets developed -- and then turns out to be the raison d'etre for the entire story.
    Tanner and the rest of the cast (which also includes the always terrific Brian Shea) make it pretty easy to overlook the script flaws. This is a handsomely mounted and wonderfully acted production of a play that's overflowing with promise but seems not quite finished.
   There are two shows Saturday and one Sunday at freeFall. Tickets are $21-$44. FreeFall is at 6099 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. 727-498-5205, freefalltheatre.com.

Sarasota Ballet changes March program

"Shostakovich Suite"

   There's been a change in an upcoming Sarasota Ballet program. 

   The performance that's scheduled for March 27-30 was supposed to include Sir Peter Wright’s "Summertide."   That's out, and in its place is a revival of resident choreographer Ricardo Graziano’s "Shostakovich Suite."        The other pieces on the revised program are Paul Taylor's "Company B," which is based on music by the Andrews Sisters, and the world premiere of a new work by Graziano.
   "Summertide" is now slated for the November program.
   Call 941-359-0099 or go to sarasotaballet.org if you want to know more.