It is a pleasure to extend congratulations to Entertainment News & Views on its Ninth Annual Arts Season Preview. I understand Entertainment News & Views is one of South Florida’s leading cultural, entertainment and tourism-oriented publications.
 
South Florida continues to be one of the most popular destinations in the United States. I commend Entertainment News & Views for their continued dedication and commitment over the last 23 years to provide up-to-date cultural arts, dining and entertainment information.
 
Best wishes for continued success.
 
Sincerely,
Jeb Bush

 
Congratulations on your Ninth Annual Arts Season Preview.

Entertainment News & Views is a needed voice for the Miami-Dade County cultural community, and you are to be commended for your consistent support of our vibrant arts scene.

As an alloy of so many cultures, this community has a special need for an active cultural life because it provides each of us the opportunity to gain a special insight into the traditions and customs of our neighbors.

As testament to the County’s interest in ensuring the arts thrive in our community, about $70 million has been invested in a variety of cultural programs and activities since the beginning of my term as Mayor. With our contribution to the arts increasing ten-fold throughout my tenure, our Cultural Affairs Department now ranks among the top ten in the nation.
Thanks to you our cultural community is flourishing. Your efforts help our residents take advantage of the hundreds of venues where music, dance, theater and fine arts live.

Again, congratulations, and keep up the good work.
 
Alex Penelas
Mayor

Congratulations on your Ninth Annual Arts Season Preview. The arts, culture and entertainment industries continue to flourish in the city of Miami Beach. We are thankful to have such an outstanding local publication as the voice of all the exciting current events happening in our city. Your professional staff and poignant publication are part of the continuous success of these industries here.
 
Miami Beach’s constant efforts to stay on top of all the events and developments blooming in the arts, culture and entertainment worlds create a special partnership between the city and all the beautiful surrounding communities. Informing the public of cultural events is indeed an important public service, as it leads to opening new lines of communication between different cultures that may not otherwise unite. Miami Beach continuously plays host to people from around the world.
 
On behalf of the residents of the City of Miami Beach, I thank and congratulate you.
 
Sincerely,
David Dermer
Mayor

 
 
 
As Mayor of the city of Miami, and on behalf of my colleagues on the City Commission, it is my pleasure to extend warm congratulations to Entertainment News & Views on its Ninth Annual Arts Season Preview.
           
From the moment I took office, it has been a priority of mine to make Miami the cultural center it deserves to be. I am working diligently to make sure the city becomes a major hub of arts and entertainment. I firmly believe that a city that is rich in culture is rich in many other aspects, and I’m grateful to this publication for doing its part to help develop the art world in Miami.
 
My best wishes in this upcoming arts season.
 
Sincerely,
 
Manny Diaz
Mayor
City of Miami
 
 
Once again, it is the occasion to cheer and applaud for this Ninth Annual Arts Season Preview of Entertainment News & Views. This new season is filled with an exciting schedule of great cultural activities for our families and visitors.
 
The remarkable diversity and quality of our community’s cultural life is a source of great pride for both our Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, our volunteer advisory board.  Entertainment News & Views gives us the opportunity to see this remarkable calendar of cultural activities in one attractive, convenient and user-friendly place. 
 
I congratulate Entertainment News & Views on giving us this indispensable guide to the new season of entertaining and enriching cultural activities. I encourage readers to go, hear, feel and see the excitement of one the fastest growing and most dynamic cultural seasons available anywhere in the world. 
 
You don’t want to miss the great live experiences awaiting you in our theaters, museums and festivals. This new edition of Entertainment News & Views gives you the perfect way to plan for the fun and magic of another great year of cultural wonders.
 
Sincerely,
 
 
Michael Spring
Director
Miami-Dade Department of Cultural Affairs
 

On behalf of the Greater Fort Lauderdale hospitality community, it is my pleasure to extend a very warm welcome to the 9th Annual Arts Season Preview.
 
Golden sun, sapphire water and Greater Fort Lauderdale’s 23 miles of sand stretched enticingly along calm, azure Atlantic waters. The National Clean Beaches Council recently designated Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Dania, Pompano Beach and Deerfield beaches as Blue Wave beaches, a distinction that places them among the nation’s cleanest, safest and most user-friendly beaches.
 
With a culture as deep as the ocean which frames us, life is more than a beach in Greater Fort Lauderdale. We hope you have time to experience Greater Fort Lauderdale’s many sunny pleasures and hidden treasures.
 
Immerse yourself in Greater Fort Lauderdale.
 
Sincerely,
 
Nicki E. Grossman
President

Entertainment News & Views does what it has done best for many years—communicate!
 
Its continuing presence and coverage in providing entertainment news is one of the many reasons South Florida is an oasis in attracting the best in cultural and arts personalities. When good journalism meshes with good entertainment, a community is well served.
 
Congratulations for bringing another Arts Season Preview to South Florida and for doing it with journalistic integrity.
 
Ron Levitt
President, Miami Press Club
www.miamipressclub.com

The Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau has long been committed to promoting all the excitement in our community.
 
And this special publication does it best!
 
This publication is the best way to find out what our new season will be like. Our arts and culture community has long been one of Miami’s unique assets that helps distinguish our destination as truly cosmopolitan and tropical. Here is your copy of Entertainment News & Views’ Ninth Annual Arts Season Preview! This is the best one yet!
 
This Season Preview will allow tourists and locals to discover an abundance of cultural and artistic events taking place throughout our “Wonderful Town!” This publication will highlight the places that evoke our past and the remarkable kaleidoscope of people that call our destination home. Each reader will discover that at the heart of our community is our rich cultural diversity.
 
Please be our guest and review this great season sampler, and explore first-hand all that our area has to offer.
 
George Neary                                                                                             

Actors’ Playhouse Announces its 16th Season Line-Up, with Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Aida,
Shear Madness, and House and Garden

Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre has negotiated special arrangements with representatives of Disney and other international theatre producers to bring some of the top current Broadway and London West End hits to South Florida for the 2004-05 season.

The season opens with the long-running, interactive comedy/mystery Shear Madness, followed by rare productions of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Jason Robert Brown’s Songs for a New World, Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida, and the Alan Ayckbourn London favorite House and Garden. The summer 2005 production will be the Carbonell Award-winning musical comedy The Big Bang, returning by popular demand at the theatre at 280 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables.

Opening the 2004-05 season on October 6, 2004, Shear Madness is the longest-running nonmusical play in American theatre history. Set in a unisex hair salon, a wacky murder takes place and the audience gets involved and solves the crime. This hilarious whodunit is filled with current references and spontaneous humor and is different every night. The comedy will run through January 2, 2005.

Actors’ Playhouse is one of just five theatres granted the rights to produce the Broadway sensation Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. A multiple Tony Award-winner on Broadway, Beauty and the Beast will be onstage at the Miracle Theatre November 17 – January 2, 2005. Actors’ Playhouse is developing a one-of-a-kind production created by the award-winning design and production staff at the theatre. The music is written by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman and Tim Rice.

Another musical headed to the Actors’ Playhouse stage is Jason Robert Brown’s Songs for a New World, January 19 through February 13, 2005. Tony Award-winning Brown has been hailed by American Theatre magazine as “the hope of the American musical theatre.” A revue-style compilation of ballads, R&B, pop and gospel songs, each “story song” tells of personal discovery and inspires hope to press on through life’s constant ups and downs.
Actors’ Playhouse is also honored to be among the few theatres given the licensing rights to another award-winning musical, Aida, based on Verdi’s opera of the same name. Aida is an epic tale of love, loyalty, betrayal and courage, with an exhilarating Tony and Grammy Award-winning score written by the legendary Elton John and Tim Rice, in their first collaboration since The Lion King. Set in ancient Egypt, the musical is known for its fabulous sets and costumes and high energy. It will be onstage at the Miracle Theatre in March 3 - April 10, 2005.

The biggest artistic challenge of the theatre’s 2004-05 season will no doubt be the Alan Ayckbourn two-play package, House and Garden. The masterful British playwright, involving two separate but related plays that take place in different settings and spaces at the same time, created this unique concept. Actors travel back and forth from one theatre to another in a 90-second period, performing in two separate two-hour plays.

The first play, House, will be onstage at the 300-seat Balcony Theatre. Subscribers will be among the few who will be guaranteed seats to the second of the plays, Garden, since it is being staged in the 100-seat Black Box Space. The plays are related, yet independent of one another. This double-bill production will be onstage in May 4 -June 12, 2005.

Barbara S. Stein, Executive Producing Director, said, “We project that this will be one of the best seasons in Actors’ Playhouse’s 16-year history. We are honored and delighted to be among just a handful of theatres that have negotiated the rights for these popular, recent productions, and we intend to create award-winning, breathtaking productions of all. This will be a season to remember at Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre.”

Season subscriptions for the 2004-05 season are on sale now, with prices ranging from $136 for preview nights, $198 for Wednesday and Thursday evenings and Sunday matinees, $235 for Friday and Saturday evenings, and $250 for VIP Flexible/Anytime tickets for best seats in any performance. Opening night tickets, including a gala dinner party, are $370. Student subscriptions for students 16 years and younger with a full paid adult subscription are $95. Actors’ Playhouse subscribers also receive generous membership benefits from Coral Gables’ finest restaurants and establishments, including Carmen The Restaurant, Chispa, Christy’s, Mundo, Ortanique, The Cellar Club at The Biltmore Hotel, The Palm and Yuca, among others. Single tickets for Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre’s productions are $30 for 8pm preview shows. Opening night tickets are $100, including the gala party. Tickets for Wednesday and Thursday 8pm and Sunday 2pm performances are $37.50. Tickets for Friday and Saturday at 8pm are $45. Single tickets for the 2004-2005 season will go on sale after the subscription drive in August 2004. The theatre offers a 10 percent senior discount on the day of performance and $10 student rush tickets 15 minutes prior to curtain, with all discounts based on availability and excluding Saturday evenings and Sunday matinees. Group rates are available for 15 or more persons.

Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre, a not-for-profit state regional theatre, is located in Coral Gables and is one of 20 Major Miami-Dade County Cultural Institutions. For more information about season subscriptions, tickets and group rates, contact Actors’ Playhouse at 305-444-9293, or visit www.actorsplayhouse.org. Tickets are also available through TicketMaster.

Adamar Fine Arts Presents Summer Showcase

Adamar Fine Arts is proud to present Summer Showcase, the directors’ selection of sizzling summer highlights from their permanent collection of gallery artists. Opening now through August 31, this exhibition will introduce recent works by Cindy Hill.

 

Other gallery artists include: Marcus Abel, Rimaj Barrientos, Sally Bennett, Djawid Borower, Brad Howe, Tolla Inbar, Helma Kotoun, Vincent Magni, Niso Maman, Gretchen Minnhaar, Burton Morris, Rene Rietmeyer, Marlene Rose, James Shilaimon, Jeff Pullen and Quin Yang.

Adamar Fine Arts, a leading contemporary art gallery celebrating the start of its 15th season in the Heart of the Miami Design District, specializes in contemporary original paintings, sculptures and works on paper by local, national and international renowned artists.

Adamar Fine Arts is located at 177 NE 39th St., Miami. Hours are Monday-Friday, 10am-6pm; Saturday, 12-5pm. For more information, call 305-576-1355 or fax 305-576-0551.

PHOTO IDS
 
1. “Untitled,” 48” x 30” Mixed Media on Canvas

Expressions Arts is a program, with the City of Miami Beach Parks and Recreation Department, which operates year-round, offering after-school dance classes. In the summer, Expressions Arts Camp runs, from 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday, June 14 – August 6, 2004, with organized before- and after-care available if necessary. In the past ten years, Expressions Arts Camp has produced excerpts from famous productions such as Fame, A Chorus Line and West Side Story. Director Ana Bolt has planned an exciting mixture of activities for this summer, including Contemporary Jazz, Ballet, Hip-Hop, Acting, Tumbling, Musical Theater, Modeling, Photo Shoots, Mat Pilates and Body Conditioning, Student Choreography, Arts & Crafts, and much more. The camp is for ages 6 through 15. There is a showcase at the end of each two-week session and a performance at the Jackie Gleason Theater on July 22. Each two-week session is $250, which includes field trips, free T-shirt and bag, a pizza party and prizes.

Aileen Phelan, whose daughter has attended Expressions Arts Camp for years, says, “I know first hand how important quality programs are, as I am a very happy parent of a student who attended this camp for eight years and volunteered last year with the elementary levels. My daughter has learned and grown with this program and we are eternally grateful to Ana Bolt for her dedication and professional instruction which has inspired my daughter to continue dancing. She is only sorry she is too old for camp now!”

About Ana Bolt
Ana is originally from Nicaragua moved to the U.S.A. in 1985. She graduated with Honors Magna Cum Laude from New World School of the Arts with a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts. Ana is presently pursuing her Master’s in Education and is finishing her certification in Pilates (allegro) training. She has been the dance director at Nautilus Middle School for the last 10 years. She teaches dance and theater to more than 200 students in her program. She is also the director for Expressions Arts, a program with the City of Miami Beach Parks and Recreation. Besides teaching, she has commercial work experience involving freelance modeling, print work and choreography works for television network channel 23 in 1995 and Gems.

In addition to directing two dance programs, Ana Bolt is a professional dancer. She enjoys Liturgical dancing and performs for community events and fundraisers. She performs with one of the most exciting modern dance companies of the moment, Dance Now Ensemble!

 
Ana’s biggest achievement, however, is being a mother to Alicia, Sharon and Scarlett. Three years ago, she was selected by parents and colleagues in the community of Miami Beach “Mother of the Year 2001.” In 2002, she was nominated “Teacher of the Year” and “Who’s Who Among American Teachers.”

Ana has definitely earned the admiration of parents, friends and students everywhere. Her students now attend New World School of the Arts, Michael Kropp Sr. High dance program, PAVAC and Fordham University in New York, just to mention a few.  She has inspired many and continues to inspire others from beginner levels to professionals.

Presently, Ana is working with Letti Bazart—a professional dancer in the community—in a very special project which will touch a lot of women’s hearts or personal experiences with Domestic Violence. Dance and healing through the process of pain an issue that has been a chapter in Ana’s life. “God has been my strength, dance my relief, pain my growth,” says Ana Bolt.
Ana’s favorite quote is, “The beauty of a dancer lies in the expressions of the Soul.”

For more information about Expressions Arts Camp and to find out how to enroll yourchild, call 305-673-7784 or Director Ana Bolt at 305-937-6328.
 
 
 
PHOTO IDS
 
1.  Ana Bolt

Art Miami Announces New Ownership,
New Projects and Dates for 15th Edition

Art Miami—the annual South Florida exposition of modern and contemporary art—will be celebrating its 15th edition from Thursday, January 6 - Monday, January 10, 2005 at the Miami Beach Convention Center.

Now under new ownership and celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2005, Art Miami’s mission to promote both new and established galleries from Europe, Asia and the Americas remains clearer than ever. The next edition will feature a captivating selection of modern and contemporary art by emerging, mid-career and established artists, ensuring that Art Miami’s loyal visitors continue to enjoy the thrill of discovery and acquisition.

In addition to the acclaimed Currents section that focuses on fresh talent, Art Miami 2005 will continue to present special projects while the main section of the fair promises a broader international mix of galleries with emphasis on American and European contemporary art. Photography will also be on center stage with a new group of participants devoted exclusively to dealers of vintage and contemporary fine art photography.

A very positive and exciting change under the new ownership will be the relocation of the show Director, Ilana Vardy, and fair headquarters to Miami Beach this summer, allowing for greater participation and integration with the local art community. 

“I am pleased to have the opportunity to continue developing Art Miami as an integral part of the exciting South Florida art market. We look forward to providing even greater service and quality to our exhibitors and loyal visitors. Exciting projects, stimulating panel discussions, collector programs and a broad spectrum of modern and contemporary art will entice both novice and established buyers to Miami next January,” said Vardy.

To reach the Art Miami temporary office, call 866-727-7953 (toll-free) or 216-750-4620 (international) or email info@art-miami.com. For additional information, visit the Art Miami website at www.art-miami.com.

Miami Art Museum Exhibition Schedule
October 2004 – October 2005

 
 
Light and Atmosphere
Through January 30, 2005
Plaza Level Gallery
This exhibition examines the diverse ways artists use light—and the atmosphere it evokes—to explore the physical, psychological, and metaphorical possibilities of their chosen subjects. Light and Atmosphere’s thirty-eight works, mostly by living artists, are drawn from MAM’s permanent holdings and from private collections. They include painting, photography, video, drawing, watercolor, and sculpture, all produced during the past twenty-five years, with the exception of Russian avant-garde artist Ivan Kliun’s Composition from 1922. Recent museum acquisitions on view are Teresita Fernández’s Eclipse (2002), a tesserated wall piece made from colored acrylic cubes; and Sean Scully’s painting Wall of Light Rain (2003) from a series inspired by the artist’s visit to Mexico. Three site-specific installations were produced for the exhibition by Ivan Toth Depeña and Mark A. Koven from Miami, and Magdalena Fernández from Caracas, Venezuela.
Organized by Miami Art Museum and curated by Cheryl Hartup, Associate Curator. Supported by Miami Art Museum’s Annual Exhibition Fund.
 
Jac Leirner: Adhesive 44
July 16 – October 10, 2004
New Work Gallery
The sculptures of São Paulo-based artist Jac Leirner, made of found common objects, explore the ways images and information circulate in society. Leirner creates series of works with materials from her daily life of consumption and encounters: three year’s worth of cigarette packs, business cards, plastic shopping bags, objects taken from trips on airplanes, personal correspondence, and, most recently, adhesive stickers. For her exhibition at MAM, Leirner is creating her forty-fourth object involving her personal collection of adhesive stickers. Measuring forty-feet in length, it is her largest work of this kind to date. Adhesive 44 will consist of glass windows densely covered with signs and symbols from popular culture. Leirner’s inspiration for this series comes from the decorated windows of teenagers' rooms she sees while walking along the streets of São Paulo. Her works bring color and rhythm to such arrangements through compositional rigor and the artist’s eye for the poetry in ordinary things.
Organized by Miami Art Museum as part of New Work, a series of projects by leading contemporary artists. Curated by MAM Associate Curator Cheryl Hartup.
 
New Art South Florida: The 2004 South Florida Cultural Consortium Fellowship for Visual and Media Artists
September 10 – October 31, 2004
Upper Level Gallery
Every year, a national review panel of visual and media art experts is convened to select the artists to receive the South Florida Cultural Consortium Fellowship for Visual and Media Artists, the largest regional, government-sponsored grant program in the United States. The jurors select the winners based on slide submissions from a pool of more than 350 professional artists from the counties of Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe. The award winners represent the wide range of artistic talent flourishing in South Florida. The award-winning artists featured in this year’s exhibition are: Martin Oppel, Leyden Rodriquez-Casanova, George Sanchez Calderon, Odalis Valdivieso, and Clifton Childree, representing Miami Dade County; Felipe Aguirre, Colby Katz, Kimberly Maxwell and W.W. Weaver, of Broward County; Kevin Boldenow and Amy Broderick of Palm Beach County; and Michel Delgado and Marlene Koenig of Monroe County.
The exhibition is organized by Miami Art Museum and curated by MAM Curator/Assistant Director for Special Projects, Lorie Mertes. It is supported by MAM’s Annual Exhibition Fund and The South Florida Cultural Consortium. The South Florida Cultural Consortium is funded in part with the support of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Florida Department of State Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Arts Council, the Montgomery Family Trust, Montgomery & Larson LLP, the Boards of County Commissioners of Broward, Miami-Dade, Martin, and Monroe Counties, and the Palm Beach County Cultural Council. Upper Level Gallery.
 
Fabian Marcaccio
October 29, 2004- January 23, 2005
New Work Gallery
For more than a decade, Fabian Marcaccio has used the traditional elements of painting both to create compositions and to subvert the usual ways compositions are made. He plays outrageously with figure and ground, brushstroke, even the way canvas is stretched to make a receptive surface. Marcaccio often mixes media in a single work, using printmaking, photography, painting, sculpture, and architecture together. The scale of his paintings can be huge, and they have been exhibited both indoors and out. In this respect, they sometimes suggest murals, billboards, banners, panoramic scenery, and makeshift shelters. Marcaccio, born in Argentina and now living in New York, calls these works “paintants”–a cross between “painting” and “mutant”—to suggest a painting that appears to be continuously in process. For his New Work project at MAM, Marcaccio will create a 98-foot long curving “paintant” that turns back on itself and encircles the viewer.
Organized by Miami Art Museum as part of New Work, a series of projects by leading contemporary artists. Curated by MAM Associate Curator Cheryl Hartup.
 
Beyond Geometry: Experiments in Form 1940s – 70s
November 19, 2004- May 1, 2005
Upper Level Gallery
After World War II, artists all over Europe and the Americas turned to geometric abstraction as a springboard for experimentation. This landmark exhibition, featuring over 135 works by 85 artists from 20 countries, is the first to examine this phenomenon as it took shape in Europe, Latin America, and the United States in the decades following the war. The exhibition focuses on the parallels, intersections, and divergences that emerged in the evolution of what, by the late ‘60s, became an intercontinental movement. The legacy of abstract painting and sculpture ultimately contributed to such aesthetic developments as Neo-Concretism, Kinetic and Op art, Minimalism, Post-Minimalism, Conceptual art, and Earthworks and Performance.
This exhibition was organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and curated by Lynn Zelevansky, Curator and Department Head, Modern and Contemporary Art. It was supported in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, dedicated to expanding American understanding of history and culture. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
In Miami, the exhibition is supported by Miami Art Museum’s Annual Exhibition Fund and is coordinated by Assistant Director for Programs/Senior Curator Peter Boswell and Associate Curator Cheryl Hartup.
 
The 2005 Scholastic Art Awards Exhibition
January 30 – February 25, 2005
New Work Gallery
MAM hosts this annual student art show in collaboration with the Miami-Dade Public Schools. The Scholastic Art Awards is the largest student art awards competition in the United States, with Miami-Dade County middle and high school art students consistently ranking among the top winners at the national level. Over 200 works will be on display representing all media.
Organized by Miami Art Museum and supported by MAM’s Annual Education Fund.
 
Figuratively Speaking: Selections from the Permanent Collection
February 17 – October 30, 2005
Plaza Level Gallery
This exhibition examines the representation of the figure in the art of the United States, Latin America, and Europe from the 1960s to the present. The figure has been a consistent subject in art of Latin America throughout the second half of the century, but had largely fallen out of favor in Europe and the U.S. from mid-century until the late 1970s, when it enjoyed renewed popularity, particularly in painting and photo-based work. The exhibition includes works from MAM’s collection and from area private collections. Featured artists include Fernando Botero, Francesco Clemente, Armando Morales, Pepón Osorio, Susan Rothenberg, David Salle, and Carrie Mae Weems.
Organized by Miami Art Museum and supported by MAM’s Annual Exhibition Fund. Curated by Assistant Director for Programs/Senior Curator Peter Boswell.
 
Robert Rauschenberg
March 11 – July 3, 2005
New Work Gallery
Robert Rauschenberg is an acknowledged American master who has been living in Florida since the 1970s. This exhibition consists of 7 or 8 recent works from his ongoing series, titled Scenarios, which are based on photographs taken by the artist primarily in the environs of his Captiva, Florida home and New York. Throughout his career, he has been a pioneer in the use of art and technology, exploring diverse aspects of the use of photographic reproduction in painting and printmaking. In the 1990s Rauschenberg developed a unique, highly personal transfer process that allowed him to use his own photographs as the basis for large-scale works of art. While once the subject of his work was contemporary culture as represented by mass-produced objects and images, in Rauschenberg’s recent works contemporary culture is overtly filtered through the artist’s sensibility, as represented by his photographs.
Organized by Miami Art Museum as part of New Work, a series of projects by leading contemporary artists. Curated by MAM Assistant Director for Programs/Senior Curator Peter Boswell.
 
Marking Time: Moving Images in Contemporary Art
May 20 – September 18, 2005
Upper Level Gallery
This exhibition focuses on video, installation and sculptural works that are linked by the way they mark time. Marking Time features works from MAM’s permanent collection as well as from private collections in Miami and elsewhere. Artists in the exhibition include Janine Antoni and Paul Ramirez Jonas, Dara Friedman, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Ann Hamilton and Paul Pfeiffer.
Organized by Miami Art Museum and supported by the Miami Art Museum’s Annual Exhibition Fund. Curated by MAM Assistant Director for Special Projects/Curator Lorie Mertes.
 
Wangechi Mutu
July 22 – October 9, 2005
New Work Gallery
Wangechi Mutu was born and raised in Kenya and came to the United States in the mid-1990s. Mutu uses a combination of watercolor and collaged images cut out from magazines to create fantastic figures that reflect the collision in the mass media between fashion, glamour, the obsession with personal appearance, and violence, conflict, and suffering, particularly as manifested in the African continent. Her elegant grotesques underscore the clash between Western ideals of beauty and well-being and African reality.
Organized by Miami Art Museum as part of New Work, a series of projects by leading contemporary artists. Curated by MAM Assistant Director for Programs/Senior Curator Peter Boswell.
 
Ana Mendieta: Earth Body, Sculpture and Performance, 1972-85
October 7, 2005 – January 15, 2006
Upper Level Gallery
Although she died tragically in 1985 at the age of 36, Ana Mendieta’s exploration of the female body and its social and political implications through performances, sculptures, and “actions” has had a lasting impact on contemporary art. Beginning with performance-based works of the early 1970s, the exhibition follows the artist’s development, examining her well known Silueta series made in Iowa and Mexico (1973-1980), as well as sculptures and installations of the early 1980s fashioned from twigs, bark, leaves, sand, and mud. Also on view is the artist’s Rupestrian (inscribed on rock or composed of rock) series, landscape interventions made in Cuba in 1981, and documentation of earthworks executed in a variety of locations in the early 1980s. The nearly 100 works will be drawn from numerous public and private collections in the United States, Europe and Latin America, including photographs, drawings, sculptures, video, film, and sequenced slide projections that document performance works and time-based actions in nature.
Ana Mendieta: Earth Body, Sculpture and Performance 1972-1985 was organized by the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. The exhibition is made possible by The Henry Luce Foundation, the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Center for Latino Initiatives, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Bruce T. Halle Family Foundation, and The Judith Rothschild Foundation. Initial research was supported by Craig Robins and a Curatorial Research Fellowship from the Getty Grant Program. Additional support for the exhibition catalog was made possible through the generosity of Carlos and Rosa de la Cruz and Isabel and Ricardo Ernst.

In Miami, the exhibition is supported by Miami Art Museum's Annual Exhibition Fund and is coordinated by Associate Curator Cheryl Hartup.
For more information, call Miami Art Museum at 305-375-3000 or visit www.miamiartmuseum.org.

Raz-Ma-Taz Thoroughly Modern Millie and Lionel Bart’s Celebrated Oliver! to Round Out 2004-2005 Broadway in Miami Beach Season with Mamma Mia!

 
 
With the runs of The Producers now complete, after recent sold-out shows at both Ft. Lauderdale’s Broward Center and the Kravis Center in Palm Beach, local theater goers will have first crack at seeing this blockbuster hit on their own turf when it arrives as the season finale of the 2004-2005 Broadway in Miami Beach subscription series presented by Florida Theatrical Association at the Jackie Gleason Theater, 1700 Washington Avenue.
Launching the season will be Mamma Mia!, one of the decade’s all-time popular musicals, which will arrive as a pre-season “special,”  September 21-26. From thereon in, it will be a jump to January 18-23 when Thoroughly Modern Millie, winner of six 2002 Tony® Awards, kicks off year 2005. Spring will bring the Cameron Mackintosh production of Lionel Bart’s beloved Oliver! March 8 -13, followed a week later by The Producers, the new Mel Brooks musical, which will wind up the season in a two-week run, March 22-April 3.
Presented by the Florida Theatrical Association, the 2004-2005 subscription season of Broadway in Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater shapes up as follows:
 
Mamma Mia!
September 21 - 26, 2004
A mother. A daughter. 3 possible dads. And a trip down the aisle you’ll never forget! Over ten million people all around the world have fallen in love with the characters, the story and the music that make Mamma Mia! the ultimate feel-good show! A mother confronts her past as three men return to the Greek island they’ve not visited for 21 years just as her 20 year old daughter is about to be married…. The story-telling magic of ABBA’s timeless songs propels this enchanting tale of love, laughter and friendship, and every night everyone’s having the time of their lives!
 
Thoroughly Modern Millie
January 18 – 23, 2004
The winner of six 2002 Tony Awards® including Best Musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie is this season’s most awarded new show on Broadway. Based on the 1967 Oscar-winning film, Thoroughly Modern Millie takes audiences back to the height of the Jazz Age in New York City, when “moderns”—including a flapper named Millie Dillmount—were bobbing their hair, raising their hemlines, entering the workforce and rewriting the rules of love. A delightful valentine to the longstanding spirit of New York City and the people who seek to discover themselves there, this new stage version of Thoroughly Modern Millie features 15 songs, including two from the 1967 film, four standards from the 1920s and nine new songs by Jeanine Tesori (music) and Dick Scanlan (lyrics).
 
Lionel Bart’s Oliver!
March 8 – 13, 2005
Charles Dickens’ greatest characters—Oliver, Fagin, Nancy, Bill Sikes, The Artful Dodger and Bumble—spring to life once again in this celebrated musical, and Oliver’s magical spell has everyone “asking for more!” The show’s unforgettable songs include “Food, Glorious Food,” “Consider Yourself,” “Where is Love?” “You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two,” “I’d Do Anything,” “Oom Pah Pah,” “As Long as he Needs Me” and many more!
 
The Producers, the New Mel Brooks Musical
March 22 – April 3, 2005
Everything you’ve heard is true! “Mel Brooks has put the comedy back into the musical comedy. The Producers is the funniest, most fearlessly irreverent thing ever seen on stage!” (USA Today). And now you can experience the biggest Tony Award® winner in Broadway history when it comes to South Florida! The Producers is directed and choreographed by five-time Tony Award® winner Susan Stroman (Crazy for You, Contact, The Music Man). The New York Times raves, “The Producers is a blissful spectacle that will leave you delirious!”
 
Season tickets for the Broadway in Miami Beach 2004-2005 season are currently available and range from $72 - $203. Those interested in renewing or purchasing new season tickets can call Broadway in Miami Beach at 800-939-8587. As always, Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale season ticket holders also have the first opportunity to renew their same great seats. The Broadway in Miami Beach office is open Monday through Friday, 10am – 5pm and also offers 24-hour automated renewal services. When using automated services, season ticket holders need to have their account number, renewal invoice, and credit card. Ticket buyers can visit www.broadwayacrossamerica.com for the most up-to-dateinformation about the touring Broadway, as well as the ability to renew and purchase new season tickets online.
 
 
 
 
Hairspray, Sandy Duncan in The King & I, Oklahoma! Among Musical and Comedy Blockbusters Set for 6-Production 2004-2005 Broadway in Ft. Lauderdale Subscription Series

 
 
A season packed with Broadway musical treasures complemented by a movie-to-Broadway comedy hit, and a show-stopping musical journey through Disney’s magical kingdoms, are announced as the 2004-2005 Broadway In Fort Lauderdale theatrical season heads for the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW 5th Avenue in downtown Fort Lauderdale.
With Broadway’s current record-breaking Hairspray as the season’s centerpiece, highlights of the theatrical year will be the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical treasures, Oklahoma! and The King & I starring Sandy Duncan as Anna Leonowens. Great musical memories will be further stirred by the Cameron Mackintosh production of Lionel Bart’s Oliver! while Disney presents an enchanting new musical On the Record, which recreates a “recording session” of the songs from the most popular Disney films.
The Graduate, the Charles Webb cult novel which became a classic film and then a Broadway comedy hit, will round out the subscription series with a star to be announced in the role of the infamous Mrs. Robinson.
The season shapes up as follows:
 
Oklahoma!
October 5 – 17, 2004
It is, quite simply, the show that changed the American musical forever—Rodgers & Hammerstein’s landmark musical Oklahoma! On the heels of the wildly-acclaimed London and Broadway revivals, this sparkling new touring production of Oklahoma! is adapted from the Cameron Mackintosh presentation of the Royal National Theatre production that won the hearts of a new generation of theatergoers.
Based on the Lynn Riggs play Green Grow the Lilacs, Oklahoma! was Rodgers & Hammerstein’s first collaboration and remains, in many ways their most innovative, having set the standards for modern musical theatre featuring such classic musical numbers as “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’,” “People Will Say We’re in Love,” “The Surrey with the Fringe on Top” and the title song. Oklahoma! has been honored with numerous awards including a special Pulitzer Prize, two Academy Awards, an honorary Grammy and a special Tony® Award. 
 
The King & I, Starring Sandy Duncan
November 2 – 14, 2004
East meets West in the timeless love story between a stubborn, autocratic king and a determined governess.  Based on the real life adventures of the English widow Anna Leonowens, and the best-selling novel, Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon, The King & I is a fascinating tale about a clash of customs. Over time, the governess earns the admiration of the royal family, and eventually she wins the respect of the king himself. Despite their many differences, Anna and The King of Siam fall in love.
Set in the1860’s in Bangkok, the exotic capital city of Siam, the Tony®-award winning musical features ornate sets and costumes and a dazzling score by Rodgers & Hammerstein that will thrill audiences young and old.  Sandy Duncan, star of stage, film and TV headlines this sumptuous, new production featuring such memorable songs as “Hello, Young Lovers,” “I Whistle a Happy Tune,” “Shall We Dance?” and “Getting to Know You.”
 
Hairspray
January 5 – 16, 2005
Broadway’s Tony® Award-winning musical-comedy phenomenon takes you back to 1962 Baltimore, as 16-year-old Tracy Turnblad sets out to dance her way onto TV’s most popular show. Can a big girl with big dreams—and even bigger hair!—change the world…and still have time to win the boy she loves? This mega-hit is piled bouffant-high with laughter and romance-and enough deliriously tuneful new songs to fill a non-stop platter-party. It’s the winner of eight 2003 Tony® Awards, including Best Musical.
 
Oliver!
February 9 – 20, 2005
Dickens’ greatest characters spring to life once again in this celebrated musical, and Oliver’s magical spell has everyone “asking for more!” The show’s unforgettable songs include “Food, Glorious Food,” “Consider Yourself,” “Where is Love?” “You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two,” “I’d Do Anything,” “Oom Pah Pah,” “As Long as He Needs Me” and many more!
 
The Graduate
March 15 – 27, 2005
A cult novel. A landmark Hollywood film. A theatrical sensation in London and New York. Now, Broadway’s smash-hit comedy is on its way here. This hilarious coming-of-age story about Benjamin Braddock, an innocent college grad who is seduced by an older woman, Mrs. Robinson, and then falls in love with her daughter, Elaine, has been called a “sensational triumph, rich, full and funny!”
 
Disney on Broadway Presents On the Record
April 19 – May 1, 2005
Beyond two enormous doors, a recording soundstage beckons. The man in charge arranges the microphones. A clock on the wall flickers to life. A “Recording” sign begins to flash. But this studio is no ordinary place, and the man in charge, no ordinary man. He must inspire a stageful of singers, musicians and technicians to deliver the performance of their lives. A once-in-a-lifetime recording session is about to begin, and the man in charge will use all the magic you can imagine and all the music you could wish for, to create an evening of pure enchantment and powerful emotion—On the Record. From the producers of The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast, comes On the Record, a show-stopping new musical that sparkles with more than 50 of the most beloved songs ever written, from some of the most popular films ever made—including The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Tarzan, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Sleeping Beauty, Dumbo, Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Lady and the Tramp, Cinderella and Snow White. Join the supremely talented singers and dancers behind-the-scenes at one very magical recording session, where every song you see performed ends up on the record! On the Record, starring the music of a lifetime—yours! It’s first-class family entertainment, as only Disney can deliver!
 
Season tickets for the Broadway In Fort Lauderdale 2004-2005 season are currently available and range from $108 - $386. Those interested in renewing or purchasing new season tickets can call Broadway In Fort Lauderdale at 800-764-0700. As always, Miami Beach and Palm Beach season ticket holders will also have the first opportunity to renew their same great seats soon. The Broadway In Fort Lauderdale office is open Monday through Friday, 10am – 5pm and also offers 24-hour automated renewal services. When using automated services, season ticket holders need to have their account number, renewal invoice, and credit card. Ticket buyers can visit www.BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com for the most up-to date information about the touring Broadway, as well as the ability to renew and purchase new season tickets online.
 
 
 
PHOTO IDS
 
1.              Oliver! will come to life at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts from February 9 – 20, 2005, followed by a March 8 – 13, 2005 run at the Jackie Gleason Theater
 
 
 

Coconut Grove Playhouse 2004-2005 Season

Playing at the MainStage
Anna in the Tropics - September 28 - October 24, 2004 - 2003 Pulitzer Prize Winner - by Nilo Cruz. Directed by the author. The first Hispanic writer to be honored with a Pulitzer Prize, Nilo Cruz has created a lush romantic masterpiece about the beauty and power of language and the transformative effect of art. It’s a funny and tragic story, set in 1929 Tampa, about a family of Cuban cigar-makers and how they are affected by Juan Julian, a mane hired to entertain the tobacco workers by reading to them. His choice of books, Tolstoy’s immortal Anna Karenina, has an impact an everyone, especially Conchita, who mirrors Anna’s adulterous affair with one of her own with Juan Julian. With this celebration of the search for identity in a new land, “Cruz claims his place as a storyteller of intricate craftsmanship and poetic power.” - Christine Dolen, The Miami Herald.
The Constant Wife - February 8 - March 6, 2005 - by W. Somerset Maugham. A brilliant social comedy of marital maneuvers in the tradition of Oscar Wilde, The Constant Wife is a glittering portrait of upper-class London society in the 1920s, where the main preoccupation is with illicit love and strategic games played in the battle of the sexes. The charming Constance Middleton, upon learning that her eminent surgeon husband is having an affair with her best friend, makes a surprising decision that overturns all our expectations about marriage and fidelity. In the end, just who remains “constant” is wonderfully ambiguous and the ultimate theatrical flourish. Crossing all barriers of times, The Constant Wife is a wickedly observant of hypocritical attitudes as when it first shocked audiences in the 1920s and is arguably the funniest and most intriguing of Maugham’s many plays.
Crush: The Infamous Thing - November 30 - December 19, 2004 - World Premiere - by Tina Benko, Gabrielle Reznek, and Sam Turich. Born out of the creators’ love for classic screwball comedies, Crush: The Infamous Thing is MADCAP theater company’s, well, madcap homage to 1930s Hollywood, a time when film comedies were deliciously sophisticated, dizzy and witty, just a little bit naughty, and utterly entertaining. Crush: The Infamous Thing plays with our passion for celebrities and our obsession with their scandalous behavior. In the play, four of Hollywood’s most fabulous stars find themselves in unflattering prison stripes, unjustly doing time (for murder). Taking matters into their own hands, they escape and in disguise, try to track down the real culprits. The four members of MADCAP theater company, three of whom wrote this play, have been working in New York theater for nearly ten years, creating multi-media and cross-genre projects to enthusiastic acclaim and a fiercely loyal audience. With Crush: The Infamous Thing, MADCAP, which develops its work through a unique collaborative process that involves improvisation, interviews, and games, brings back delectable elegance and double entendre to contemporary stage comedy.
Hoagy - The Hoagy Carmichael Musical - November 2 - November 21, 2004 - by Bruce Dettman and William C. Trichon. At once a loving tribute and a grand entertainment, Hoagy is a jazzy and sensual celebration of Hoagy Carmichael, one of the greatest American songwriters that ever lived and a true legend of popular music. His classic songs are countless, including “Georgia on my Mind,” “Rockin’ Chair,” “Lazy River,” “In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening,” “Skylark,” “Heart and Soul,” and perhaps most memorably, “Stardust,” the most recorded song of this century. Hoagy shines the spotlight on these and many more memorable songs. And in the tradition of Jolson and Company, Hoagy chronicles the life and times of its title character, with a singer/actor giving a tour de force performance as Hoagy Carmichael, supported by another singer, dancers, and an on-stage band.
Real Men - January 4 - January 30, 2005 - World Premiere - a new musical by Charles Strouse. From the multiple Tony and Grammy Award-winning composer of Broadway’s greatest musicals, including Annie, Bye Bye Birdie, Golden Boy, Applause and Rags, comes a brand new musical made up entirely of brand new songs. Real Men explores the lives of men and their relationship with women, their children, their parents, and with each other over a lifetime. “It’s all getting more complicated,” observed Strouse. “Marriage is temporary, girl’s navels are exposed on the street, and men kiss each other, so I’ve done what any man would do—write a show about it!”
Tuesdays with Morrie - March 15 - April 10, 2005 - by Jeffrey Hatcher and Mitch Albom, adapted from the novel by Mitch Albom. Based on Albom’s inspirational novel that was on The New York Times Bestseller List for over four years, Tuesdays with Morrie is Mitch Albom’s autobiographical story of a career-obsessed journalist, and Morrie Schwartz, his former college professor. Sixteen years after graduation, Mitch catches Morrie’s appearance on a television news program and learns that his old professor is dying of an incurable disease. Mitch is reunited with Morrie and what starts as a simple visit turns into a weekly pilgrimage and a last class in the meaning of life. “Unforgettable! No matter how well you know the story, the play makes it more vivid, more shattering, more humorous.” (John Simon, New York Magazine).
Playing in the Encore Room Theater
Ann & Debbie - October 12 - December 19, 2004 - by Lionel Goldstein. Two women, friends for eighteen years, meet in a mid-town Manhattan Hotel. What can they learn about each other that they don't already know? Quite a bit, actually, when they discover a shocking secret that threatens their relationship to the core. In this elegant and witty comedy about love, friendship, secrets, and lies, Goldstein creates a sophisticated atmosphere worthy of Noel Coward, where people’s most unexpected behavior becomes the most normal thing in the world.
 
 
 
 

Folk, Flamenco and Ballet Announced for Concert Association’s 2004-2005 Premier and Prestige Dance Series

 
 
 
The rhythmic beats of international dance will emerge during the 2004 -2005 Premier and Prestige Dance Series, presented by the Concert Association of Florida at and in association with the Broward Center for the Performing Arts—201 SW 5th Avenue, Ft. Lauderdale—and at the Jackie Gleason Theater—1700 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach.
            The series debuts on Sunday, November 28 at the Broward Center as the Virsky Ukrainian National Dance Company performs traditional folk dance. Founded by famed Ukranian choreographer Pavlo Virksy in 1937, the company is now under the artistic direction of Myroslav Vantukh. The Virsky is renown for its exquisite moves, a bright palette of costumes and a wealth of tunes that make for a romantic and exciting show, showcasing the artistic wealth and splendor of its unique region.

            The Moiseyev Dance Company returns to South Florida on Monday, January 17, for one performance only at the Broward Center, with its own folk dance performance. Igor Moiseyev founded the Moiseyev Dance Company in 1937, and brought to the stage his own interpretation of Russian folklore. Since that time, the treasury of songs, dances, customs, traditions and festivals that had grown out of the 180 national cultures comprising the former Soviet Union has been celebrated by fans internationally, from all corners of the globe.
The passion and fire of Miguel Marin’s Flamenco Festival will be a highlight for dance aficionados, with three unique performances on Friday, January 28, 8pm; Saturday, January 29, 8pm; and Sunday, January 30, 3pm at the Jackie Gleason Theater. Intense and erotic movements will accompany stomping feet and clapping hands for the festival’s first South Florida performance, an Opening Night Gala featuring the program “The Four Elements,” both flamenco puro and contemporary innovations, bringing together the traditional masters with the new upcoming artists in tribute to the vitality of flamenco. Scheduled festival performers include Spain’s most celebrated dancer Sara Baras, winner of the prestigious National Dance Award, and whose company of eight dancers and seven musicians has performed throughout the world at many of the most important venues and festivals, as well as other renowned flamenco artists to be announced.
            Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, the world’s foremost all-male comic ballet company, will entertain audiences in one South Florida performance only, Tuesday, February 15 at the Jackie Gleason Theater. The technically-astounding male dancers perform a full range of ballet and modern dance repertoire, while exaggerating the foibles, accidents and underlying incongruities of serious dance. Early on in their colorful history, the “Trocks,” as they are affectionately known, garnered a major critical essay by Arlene Croce in The New Yorker, and combined with reviews in The New York Times and The Village Voice, established the Company as an artistic and popular success. By mid-1975, the Trocks’ inspired blend of their loving knowledge of dance, their comic approach, and the astounding fact that men can, indeed, dance en pointe without falling flat on their faces, was being noted beyond New York. Articles and notices in publications such as Variety, Oui, The London Daily Telegraph, as well as a Richard Avedon photo essay in Vogue, made the Company nationally and internationally renown.
            The St. Petersburg Ballet Theater, founded in 1966 by Professor Peter Gusev, will dance a beautiful and romantic program in its only South Florida performance on Monday, February 28 at the Broward Center, including Chopiniana, with music by Chopin and scenario / choreography by Mikhail Fokine; Capriccio Italien, choreographed by Yuri Petukhov, music by Tchaikovsky; and Scheherazade, with music by Rimsky-Korsakov and choreography by Fokine.
            The Concert Association Premier Dance Series wraps up the season with the Orlando Ballet in two engagements Thursday, March 3 at the Jackie Gleason and Tuesday, March 8 at the Broward Center. Under the artistic direction of Miami native and former American Ballet Theater icon Fernando Bujones, the Company has received rave reviews for its brilliant choreography, innovative programming and outstanding young talent. Broadway to Ballet is an Orlando Ballet exclusive program featuring exciting Broadway-style productions, including the Riverdance energy and thunderous dancing of Celtic Fire, choreographed by Maria Julia Landa; a pas de deux from the Orlando Ballet’s highly-acclaimed production of Spartacus; That’s Life, set to the music of Frank Sinatra; To the Rhythm, a modern, sultry piece set to the music of Carlos Santana and choreographed by former Orlando Ballet dancer Allison Hart, and other unique pieces.
            Tickets for these performances are available at this time through subscription only, and may be obtained by calling the Concert Association of Florida toll free at 1-877-433-3200 ext. 301. Subscriptions for the 2004-05 Prestige Dance Series at the Jackie Gleason Theater, including one performance of Miguel Marin’s Flamenco Festival, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo and the Orlando Ballet, range from $67.50 - $175.50. Subscriptions for the four-performance Premier Dance Series at the Broward Center, including the Virsky Ukranian National Dance Company, The Moiseyev Dance Company, St. Petersburg Ballet and the Orlando Ballet, range from $90 - $234. Subscribers to either series will receive 10 percent off the regular ticket price, which is reflected in the price of the subscription. Additional information about the Concert Association is available online at www.concertfla.org.
 
 
PHOTO IDS
 
1.              Miguel Marin’s Flamenco Festival will come to the Jackie Gleason Theater for three performances in January
 
2.              The Concert Association Premier Dance Series finishes the season with the Orlando Ballet on March 3 at the Jackie Gleason and March 8 at the Broward Center
                       

 
$4.1 Million Gleason Theater Renovation
Set to Begin this Summer

 
 
SMG, the management company of the Jackie Gleason Theater and the Miami Beach Convention Center, and the City of Miami Beach are pleased to announce the start of a $4.1 million renovation project to the Theater. As part the Gleason’s ongoing capital improvement project, the theater’s sound and lighting systems, lobbies, restrooms and backstage will be renovated.
Highlights of the project will include new sound and lighting systems, new carpet, lobby lighting, furniture, box office and Founder’s Room renovations, a new concierge desk and novelty sales area, improved food and beverage outlets and upgraded flooring and fixtures in all dressing rooms. Best of all, restrooms will be renovated, increasing their capacity!
Construction began May 1 with a planned completion date of October, 2004. Work will progress in stages, with the anticipation that the Theater will remain open during the construction phase of the project. The construction schedule was planned to minimize disruption for patrons and presenters alike. “Lessees will be kept informed as to how the planned construction schedule may impact their individual events,” said Bob Papke, Director of Marketing. “We will remain accessible to presenters and patrons for any concerns they may have. We are excited about this long-awaited project and look forward to working in and enjoying a refreshed space with patrons and presenters for many more years to come.”
The Jackie Gleason Theater, a 2700-seat, state-of-the-art performing arts facility, managed by SMG, is located at 1700 Washington Avenue, in the heart of beautiful Miami Beach. Headquartered in Philadelphia, SMG is the world’s leading private facility management company.  With 162 venues, SMG controls over 1.4 million entertainment seats worldwide, and over nine million square feet of exhibit space.  For additional company information, visit www.smgworld.com. SKLARchitecture is the proud architect for the Jackie Gleason Theater. Visit their website at www.sklarchitect.com/. Miami Skyline is the general contractor for theater renovations. Pelton Marsh Kinsella is the architect of the theatrical lighting replacement and sound system upgrades. Learn more at their website: www.pmkconsultants.com. For specific questions regarding the impact of the scheduled Theater renovations, contact Bob Papke, Director of Marketing, directly at 305-673-7317.
For general Theater information, call the Gleason Hotline at 305-673-7300 or visit www.gleasontheater.com.
 
 
 
 
 
PHOTO IDS
 
1.              The Jackie Gleason Theater renovations should be completed by October, 2004, resulting in improvements in the Theater’s sound and lighting systems, lobbies, restrooms and backstage
 
 
 

 Ancient Ritual Featured at the Jewish Museum of Florida

 
 
 
“The Mikvah Project and History of the Mikvah in Florida,” featured at the Jewish Museum of Florida in Miami Beach, documents the resurgence of the 3,000-year-old Jewish ritual of immersion. A mikvah is a body of water that has a designated connection to natural water such as fresh spring water or rainwater.
“The Mikvah Project” is a traveling exhibit created by photographer Janice Rubin and writer Leah Lax that runs through July 25, 2004. A unique compilation of anonymous portraits and collected interviews from women in America depict women’s experiences and interpretations of the mikvah. Rubin’s underwater photographs of women immersing in a mikvah combined with oral histories create a multifaceted picture of contemporary mikvah practice as told by the women themselves. Given the highly private nature of the practice, the photographs displayed are simulated using models.
Mikvah is a very personal and even sacred ritual that has been rarely discussed in public, only quietly passed on through generations of women. Today, mikvah observance gives women access to an intimate form of prayer, a connection to their cultural roots and spiritual renewal. Married Jewish women traditionally immerse after their monthly cycle before the resumption of marital relations. About-to-be married Jewish women immerse before their weddings. Men also customarily immerse at sacred times such as Yom Kippur or on their wedding day. In addition, Mikvah immersion is used for conversion and for cleansing new dishes and utensils before use. Separate mikvaot (plural for mikvah) are designated for women, men and utensils. There are 28 mikvaot located in the state of Florida today.
The Daughters of Israel Ritualarium was the first mikvah built in Miami-Dade County in 1944 at 151 Michigan Avenue on Miami Beach. In 1992, the city imposed their right of Eminent Domain and the mikvah was then relocated to 2530 Pine Tree Drive. The facility is now known as the Bessie D. Galbut Daughters of Israel Mikvah, named for the matriarch of the Galbut Family, who have resided continuously in Miami Beach for five generations. The Museum will offer the public an opportunity to visit the modern mikvah on July 15, 2004 at 6:30pm. Rabbi Pinchas Weberman will escort and provide background information on its very interesting evolution. Advanced reservations only, since group size is limited.
The Jewish Museum of Florida, which collects, preserves and interprets the Jewish experience since 1763, is located in a restored historic Art Deco building on South Beach that was formerly an Orthodox synagogue. The focal point of the Museum is MOSIAC: Jewish Life in Florida, its core exhibit, as well as changing exhibits. A Collections & Research Center, several films, Timeline Wall of the World, American and Jewish history, and a Museum Store complete the experience for visitors of all ages and backgrounds. Accredited by the American Association of Museums, the Museum is located at 301 Washington Avenue, South Beach and is open daily 10am-5pm, except Mondays and Jewish holidays. Admission: adults/$6; seniors/$5; families/$12; members and children under 6, always free; Saturdays, free.
Admission for Museum members is free, non-members $5. For information and reservations, call Mina at 305-672-5044, ext. 19, or visit www.jewishmuseum.com.
 

The Museum of Contemporary Art Sizzles
All Summer Long with Exciting Programs for Everyone

 
 
The spectacular glass sculptures of the renowned French artist Jean-Michel Othoniel are on view through August 31. Othoniel – Crystal Palace takes viewers on a journey through a magical landscape that sparkles with glass blown in the famed workshops of Murano, Italy, precious stones, and magnificent textiles. Gigantic blown glass necklaces, banners with iridescent glass pendants, and a monumental bed with magnificent blown glass and metal canopy are among the works on view. The exhibition is organized the Cartier Foundation in Paris. The works presented in the exhibition are on view in the United States for the first time.

MOCA is located at 770 NE 125th Street, North Miami. MOCA is open Tuesday-Saturday from 11am-5pm; Sunday from noon-5pm. MOCA is also open from 7-10pm on the last Friday of each month by donation, in conjunction with Jazz at MOCA. Admission is free for MOCA members, North Miami residents, City of North Miami employees, and children under 12; $5 for adults; and $3 for seniors and students with ID. Convenient free parking is available adjacent to the museum. For information, call 305-893-6211 or visit www.mocanomi.org.
 
Calendar of Events
 
Friday, June 25        8pm
Jazz at MOCA: Simon Salz
Enjoy a free, outdoor concert under the stars.  MOCA is open by donation 7-10pm. Don’t miss the NoMi Gallery Walk from 7-10pm.
 
July 5 through August 13
MOCA Creative Arts Summer Camp
This summer MOCA’s Creative Arts Camp for children (ages 6 to 13) offers more exciting activities than ever! Through MOCA’s new partnership with North Miami’s Performing Arts Network (PAN), children may now enroll in a wide range of afternoon performing arts classes at PAN in addition to morning studio art classes at the museum. From painting and sculpture to drama, dance, and yoga, there’s much to choose from. 
 
July 5 through July 23
Summer Journalism Institute for Teens
During this intensive three-week program, teens will create and produce their own publication as they explore journalism via the arts. Students will sharpen their writing, editing, and communication skills, learn about production, photography and design, attend fieldtrips, hear guest speakers from the fields of journalism and art, and earn 100 community service hours upon completion of the program. 
 
Saturday, July 10 and 17     2 pm
Lecture Series: Erotic Not Pornographic
Join Dr. Adrienne von Lates, Curator of Education, for a stimulating discussion of the erotic in popular culture. Call for information. No one under 18 admitted. $5 per lecture for MOCA members, North Miami residents and City Employees; $8 per lecture for non-members;$3 per lecture for college students with ID.
 
Friday, July 23        8pm
Optic Nerve VI
The sixth installment in MOCA’s popular film and video showcase features the work of emerging South Florida artists and filmmakers.
 
Friday, July 30        8:00 pm
Jazz at MOCA
Free outdoor concert under the stars. NoMi Gallery Walk 7-10pm.
 
Friday, August 27   8pm
Jazz at MOCA
Free outdoor concert under the stars.  NoMi Gallery Walk 7-10pm.
 
Saturday, September 11 and 18       2pm
Artist Critiques
MOCA artist members are invited for a portfolio review of their work by MOCA Director and Chief Curator Bonnie Clearwater and a panel of experts. Registration required for review. Members of the public invited to observe. Space is limited.
 
Friday, September 17 7-10pm
Public Preview, In Situ: Installations and Large-Scale Works in the Permanent Collection
The Museum of Contemporary Art’s permanent collection reflects significant artistic developments in contemporary art by emerging and established artists from the U.S. and abroad. The collection is also distinguished for its large-scale installations by contemporary artists, and in several instances, seminal installations by artists who emerged during the 1990s.
 
 
PHOTO IDS
 
1&2.     Glass sculptures by French artist Jean-Michel Othoniel, on exhibit at MOCA through August 31
 
 
 

Miami Museum of Science & Planetarium
Current Events and Exhibits

 
 
Comedy
Just the Funny, every Friday and Saturday night at 9pm. “Saturday Night Live” meets “Who’s Line Is It Anyway?” is just what you need on the weekends as Just the Funny, Miami’s home for improv and sketch comedy, rolls in the laughter every Friday and Saturday night.
Just the Funny takes audience input and creates live comedy sketches on the spot during each 90-minute performance, which keeps audiences rolling down the aisles in laughter. The actors find themselves in a variety of situations, scenes, game show parodies, and musical numbers driven by audience input and interaction. All shows are recommended for a PG-13 audience. Tickets are $10.
For more information, call 305-693-8669.
Current Exhibits
If These Walls Could Talk, now showing. An interactive exhibit about buildings and the secrets that keep them standing. Explore, build, play or just listen to these walls tell the fascinating stories of ingenuity and science that have given rise to everything from mud-brick houses to skyscrapers.
            The Incredible Shrinking Machine: A Chronology of the Personal Computer, now showing. Can you imagine work, school or play without a personal computer? A choice sampling of artifacts, graphics and interactive examines the history and workings of one of history’s most revolutionary innovations. See the first true PC, peer inside our “transparent computer,” learn to tell time in binary code, and surf the Computer Timeline for your favorite bits of computer history.
Permanent Exhibits
Newton’s Notions: Force, Motion & You. Everything moves, but why? How? Isaac Newton figured it out! It’s a fun, hands-on way to learn about the universal laws of motion.
Smithsonian Expeditions: Exploring Latin America & the Caribbean. Discover rare treasures of artifacts from Latin America, collected over a span of 100 years by Smithsonian researchers and explorers.
 
            Miami Museum of Science & Planetarium is located at 3280 South Miami Avenue, just north of Coconut Grove, across from Vizcaya. From the north, take I-95 to Exit #1, stay in right hand lane and follow signs to Museum/Planetarium. From the south, follow U.S. 1 and make a right just before the split with I-95. Or ride Metrorail to the Vizcaya Station. Admission fee includes all exhibitions, Planetarium shows, Wildlife Center demonstrations and workshops. Adults $10; Students (13-18) and Senior Citizens $8; Children (3-12) $6; Members & under 3 free. Discounts for groups of 20 or more available. Hours: 10am-6pm daily.
For Museum information, call 305-646-4200 or visit www.miamisci.org. For information on Planetarium events and schedules, call the Cosmic Hotline at 305-646-4420.

Marriage Broker Nellia is “One in a Million”
 
Nellia Devotes her Life to Giving People Happiness
with a 90% Success Rate and 100+ Marriages!

 
 
Nellia is a lot larger than life. She isn’t flamboyant, but she is immaculately groomed and glamorous. She is young and vivacious with a bubbly personality. She could have been a movie star, except she is too down to earth to be in the spotlight all of the time. Nellia is building an international empire based upon the belief that marriage is forever and personal devotion to every client enables her to boast a 90 percent success rate.
The Nellia Agency doesn’t just take anyone. Nellia accepts only the most desirable of people as clients—successful, interesting and attractive people whose busy lives often leave too little time to meet the right person, and who simply aren’t willing to settle for second best. Nellia doesn’t use impersonal computers or videotapes; in fact, The Nellia Agency it isn’t a dating service at all. The purpose of The Nellia Agency is to achieve happy, long-lasting marriages, not one-night stands or brief affairs. Nellia not only introduces clients to other single people of the highest calibre, but caters to the specific needs and desires of each and every client. Every client’s physical appearance, religious preference, education, profession, parental status, interests and personality are taken into consideration. Because of this upscale and unique approach, every client knows that the individuals they meet are also committed to the idea of creating a harmonious marriage and happy family with a commitment to one special person. Each Nellia Agency client is accepted only after an initial screening interview, a psychologist’s assessment, a graphologist’s analysis, and a background interview, to insure the greatest possibility that all of the qualities in every client directly matches to that one special person. Nellia is in the business of finding people their soul mates and not just a partner. Not every applicant is accepted to become a Nellia Agency client. Besides passing the screening process, all applicants must be approved by Nellia personally and meet her high standards for the best marriage match available.
Before an introduction, therefore, a client knows a great deal about the person he or she is going to meet; pictures are shown and the background information is shared. When an introduction is desired, phone numbers are offered to one or both clients so that a mandatory ninety-day incubation period can begin. This period of communication is vital to the success of the agency, the matches and ultimately the marriages.
Nellia handles the translations of letters and phone conversations for the clients here and abroad. Nellia’s direct involvement in all phases of the process helps her to determine whether there is a mutual interest in continuing a relationship, or whether an introduction to another individual should be arranged instead.
Men who are busy in their professional lives enjoy the idea of old-fashioned values, and, with The Nellia Agency, they have the ability to find those old fashioned values in the Eastern European women from The Nellia Agency. The difference in cultural values excites western men to look outside the borders of the USA.
Nellia Isaacs, owner of The Nellia Agency (www.nelliaagency.com) says, “Personal one-on-one service has taken us to where we are today. We literally do all of the work for the men. We are extremely selective in our clientele. I escort all of the American men to Russia to meet their bride and handle all translations. I am only interested in getting people married to their soul mates. No dating, No games. When I escort one of our clients to Russia or Latvia they are going to pick up their new fiancé and not just to have the opportunity to attend a social gathering of woman they know nothing about.”
            For more information, call 727-641-5551 or visit www.nelliaagency.com.
 
 
PHOTO IDS
 
1.              Marriage broker, Nellia
 
 
 
 

Miami Performing Arts Center’s Studio Theater
—The Place to be in 2006

 
by Justin Macdonnell
Program Director, Miami Performing Arts Center
 
Big and grand and rapidly rising on Biscayne Boulevard, Miami Performing Arts Center has been the talk of the town since construction started in late 2001. Most of that talk has been about the two large halls that give their unique shape to the complex due for completion in mid-2006. They are the 2,200-seat Carnival Concert Hall and the 2,400-seat Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet/Opera House. 
Little, however, has been said of the small jewel now visible on the corner of Biscayne and NE 14th Street that is the third of the Center’s venues. Designed as a 200 seat flexible “black box,” the Studio Theater will become the home of quality presenters in Miamifor contemporary dance and music as well as Hispanic, African American and crossover events. Miami Light Project and Miami Dade College are committed to presenting and co-presenting their world-class artists in this versatile and dynamic space.

As well, MPAC hopes that small Miami-based companies such as New Theater and Teatro Avante which operate with 100 seats or fewer may from time to time want to transfer a hit show or take it to a new audience. Similarly, productions from the theater departments of UM and FIU may seek a downtown outlet or a chance to extend a run beyond their campus audience.
Everyone knows that Miami is awash with festivals, all looking for a home. They range from art fairs through contemporary music’s “SubTropics” and early music’s “Tropical Baroque” to the Ibero-American Theater Festival and a myriad of film fests, writers’ weeks, multimedia shows and the wild and wonderful needs of the record industry for showcases and tradeshows. All will find a place in the exquisite multipurpose Studio Theater.
The Studio Theater will also be the development site for new work commissioned and showcased by the Center featuring young artists living and working in South Florida. From theater, comedy, and dance to new bands, hip hop, jazz and mixed media, whoever wants to book the space, take their chances and do their thing will be welcomed and supported because the Studio will have a public that knows whatever happens in this room is going to be “hot.”
MPAC plans that the Studio Theater will be the place where World Music, from indigenous cultures to the arts of non-Western countries, will be showcased.  It will also be the place where existing presenters like Rhythm Foundation and the many fine community cultural institutions of Miami can have a regular presence for their quality work. 
To balance all this, the Studio Theater itself will host the best the world has to offer in intimate dance, music, theater, physical theater, cabaret, comedy, and puppetry. It will present work with foreign embassies and showings of what MPAC commissions and produces and the highlights of their own and others’ festivals. MPAC expects that much of this will be in partnerships and all will be promoted in challenging but accessible packages, seasons, and themes.  
In short, the Studio Theater will be “where to be” in Miami. After experiencing one of its cutting edge or just plain great acts, the audience will move to the Plaza where they buy a drink and have tapas-style snacks in the Arts Deco café/bar, sit under cover or spread into surrounding tables on the plaza and hear cool jazz, see a fire show or relax to the sound of a hot new Miami band.
 
 
 
 
 
PHOTO IDS
 
1.              Armenian world music artists, Harmonic Motion
 
2.              L’explose Dance Company from Bogota, Colombia
 
3.              Circo Minimo from Brazil performing Babel
 

For the Love of Music

 
            “A city without a symphony is like a human being without a soul,” stated world-renowned Artistic Director of the Symphony of the Americas, James Brooks-Bruzze, at the premier installation luncheon of the combined support groups of the former Fort Lauderdale Philharmonic society and the Symphony of the Americas. The demise of the Philharmonic Orchestra left a void in our community, and many past members of the Philharmonic Society felt than an entire generation of young artists would be lost to our community without the opportunity to embrace and promote symphonic music. This prestigious group of women, who love and appreciate music, are very proud to endorse the Symphony of the Americas, “who are dedicated to enriching the lives of children and adults through the magic of musical investigations.” The Symphony of the Americas, celebrating its 16th season, has been enhancing the lives of residents of Florida, Prague, and many South American and Caribbean communities through the wonderful power of music, providing them with a pivotal position in an exchange of arts and culture that spans three continents.
            Renee Labonte, Executive Director of the Symphony of the Americas, along with officers and members of the former Philharmonic Society, were instrumental in the combining of these two prestigious organizations that recently held its installation of officers at the Coral Ridge Country Club. Jan Amis Jessup, one of the past presidents of a Philharmonic Society, was installed as the first president of this newly organized group. Other officers include: Stella Siegel, First Vice President, Ways & Means; Betsy Bradford and Janet Mehner, Second Vice President membership; Ann Clark, Third Vice President Personnel; Anna Davis and Veronika Thorne, Fourth Vice President Public Relations; Beverly Di Nunzio and Sandy Romanovitz, Recording Secretary; June Valassis, Corresponding Secretary; Beverly Di Nunzio and Ann Clark, Parliamentary Advisors; Jeanne Sneath, Historian; Ann Clarke, Jo Anne Lewis, Lynda O’Brien, Stella Siegel, Advisors to the President.
            When the Philharmonic building was sold, the beautiful crystal and silver serving pieces that the Philharmonic Society had accumulated over the years were lost. Bob Moorman, of Carroll’s Jewelers, and Dr. Peter Babinksi, surprised the group and presented newly installed president, Jan Amis Jessup, with a silver candelabrum and silver base that will be inscribed with the names of the presidents of the organization.
            This dynamic group doesn’t waste any time, as they are already planning the “Women of Style & Substance Luncheon” to be held at the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 on October 21, 2004, chaired by Jo Lynn Lombardi and Belinda Ulbrich. The date for the “Symphony Ball” is January 22, 2005, to be held at the Design Center of the Americas (DCOTA), chaired by Sharon Johnson and Joey Stotsky. A “Silver Seas Luncheon” is being planned for February 8, 2005.
            For more information about Symphony of the Americas or to become a member of the Symphony of the Americas Society, call 954-545-0088.
 
 
PHOTO IDS
 
1. Veronika Thorne, Joy Lichenstein, Maestro James Brooks-Bruzzesi and Diana Steinger
 
 

Poland’s Select Vodka
—A Super-Premium Vodka at Everyday Prices
 
Growth – The Old Fashioned Way

 
Poland’s Select Vodka is super-premium vodka imported by Jazz Central LLC, headquartered in Miami, from Poland. The story of Select Vodka dates back to 2002 when Daniel Olech and his sister, Barbara Michielse, came up with the idea of creating a super-premium imported vodka, which would retail at a price of approximately $20. Until today, the most known super-premium brands such as Grey Goose or Belvedere can be purchased at around $30. Furthermore, creators of new vodkas in the market have been trying to re-create the success of the above pioneers of the super-premium vodka category by introducing fancy-looking bottles and high-quality vodkas at similar retail prices. What Daniel and Barbara determined through their research is that most consumers prefer to stick to the established brands if the price is same or similar. However, an interesting finding was that, when presented with superb vodka in an attractive package at a price of around $20, many consumers like to give it a try. Also, people who usually like to drink medium-premium vodkas realize the value of Select Vodka and are willing to pay the same or similar price they are currently paying for imported vodkas such as Stolichnaya or Absolut. As a result, a new imported vodka category has been created: super-premium imported vodka at everyday prices. 
Daniel and Barbara were born and raised in Poland, which is the country where vodka was born, after all. They created the bottle and label design and found one of the most traditional distilleries in the Southern part of Poland to distill and bottle the final product called Poland’s Select Vodka. The Polish distillery is located in the mountains, providing the best spring water in Poland. 
The unique characteristic of Select Vodka is the fact that it is six times distilled, which makes it smooth and clear. It also means that consumers do not experience the harsh after-taste often found in other vodkas. In addition, the blue color of the bottle and modern urban design make Select Vodka stand out in the crowded U.S. vodka market.
Select Vodka is being distributed in Florida through Dano Distributors LLC, located in North Miami Beach. It was Daniel and Barbara’s choice to start the distribution process with a smaller distributor in order to ensure that the Select Vodka brand be properly marketed. Currently, the vast majority of liquor stores and lounges from Key West and the Keys to North Miami-Dade successfully sell Select Vodka to their customers. Plans for similar penetration from Broward County north are already beginning to be implemented. The creators of Select Vodka put a lot of emphasis on promoting the brand through weekly tasting events at liquor stores and lounges as well as advertising in local newspapers. It has always been Daniel and Barbara’s philosophy to slowly grow a brand on a local market-by-market basis rather than roll out Select Vodka in multiple markets at the same time. Establishing a brand is a long-term process which requires constant overview and detailed progress analysis.  At this point in time, the re-order rate of Select Vodka among liquor stores and lounges is nearly 90 percent, which is a pretty good accomplishment considering the fact that Select Vodka was just introduced to South Florida in the summer of 2003. Where do Daniel and Barbara see Select Vodka five years from now? The objective is to reach those U.S. vodka consumers who become aware that you do not necessarily have to pay over $30 to purchase high quality and attractive imported vodka. Select Vodka meets the expectations of even the most critical and knowledgeable vodka drinkers in the U.S. and around the world. For those who like to receive a great value for their purchase, Select Vodka is the answer because its smoothness and quality as well as modern-look speak for itself.
For further information about Poland’s Select Vodka, call 305-773-7385.
 

2004 Miami Book Fair International
Enters its 21st Season
Beginning November 7 - 14

 
If you are an avid reader hungry for the latest best seller, an aspiring author with a great manuscript, or would die for the autograph of your favorite writer, then save these dates—November 7th through November 14th—that’s when this year’s 21st annual Miami Book Fair International will take place. The book fair will take place at Miami Dade College’s Wolfson Campus, 300 N.E. Second Ave., Miami. The ever-popular Street Fair will line downtown Miami streets November 12-14.
Founded by Miami Dade College, the Book Fair is a legendary event attracting more than 500,000 literature lovers and some of the hottest authors from around the world. More than 250 published authors will be featured at readings, workshops and book signings throughout the entire week.
Our celebrated events include “Evenings With….”, a nightly reading by some of today’s most famous authors who read excerpts from their latest publications. And, of course, there is the weekend Street Fair, beginning Friday November 12th through the 14th, offering outdoor exhibits by nearly 300 national and international booksellers and publishers, a non-stop array of author presentations as well as special activities such as: Antiquarian Annex, where bibliophiles can search out rare and historic books; and Children’s Alley, an interactive environment for young readers with activities, games, exhibits, and a stage with nonstop book-related performances.
All Miami Book Fair International events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Book Fair office at 305-237-3258 and at www.miamibookfair.com.
 

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