FRI 3/11
When a group of Seattle performers were working to build a fresh and somewhat funky show, they blended aspects and elements of unrelated sources. Those strange ingredients include the United States space program and Anton Chekhov's play Ivanov. The production, described as a contemporary dance theater piece, incorporates theater with various styles of dance and original music, including rap and video projected onto a backdrop. The troupe, a nonprofit organization that was established in 1994, goes by a moniker that is similarly offbeat -- 33 Fainting Spells. And their shows are performed at various venues throughout the nation.
The current production -- which juxtaposes the Russian play and astronauts orbiting Earth -- is titled Our Little Sunbeam. To see how the diverse elements work together, the showfolk from Washington are going to be doing their thing onstage today and Saturday at 8:00 p.m. in the Byron Carlyle Theater, 500 71st St., Miami Beach. General admission tickets cost $24. Prices are lower for seniors, students, and those affiliated with Miami Dade College, which is presenting the program through its Cultura del Lobo Series. Call 305-237-3010, or visit www.33faintingspells.org to read about the performance artists and their shows. --Patti Roth
Fashionista Choir
Shiny, happy singers take the stage
SUN 3/13
For six years the members of the Miami Gay Men's Chorus have donned sometimes outrageous costumes to sing their hearts out. So when they announced that their new show All Dressed Up and Somewhere to Go! included Aquapella, who wasn't supposed to think Aquaman's draggy sidekick was the headliner? Aquapella is actually their a cappella quintet. The show finds them dolled up in tuxedos, belting out a formal concert program including chant, folk, barbershop, and American contemporary standards. The rest of the chorus will also perform inspirational choral music and ballads. The shows are today at 6:00 p.m. at the Coral Gables Congregational Church (3010 De Soto Blvd., Coral Gables) and Friday, March 18, at 8:00 p.m. at the St. John's on the Lake United Methodist Church (4760 Pine Tree Dr., Miami Beach). Tickets cost $15 to $20. Call 305-604-8787, or visit www.miamigaychorus.org. -- Margaret Griffis
Voluptuous Heroines
Real Women take the stage
THUR 3/10
Sick of Latina stereotypes that shattered women's body images, Mexican-American playwright Josefina Lopez wrote Las Mujeres Reales Tienen Curvas, a comedy centered on a group of intelligent, beautiful women with bodies that can't be corseted into size six dresses. She won critical praise when the play was made into the film Real Women Have Curves. Tonight you can laugh, cry, and enjoy a play that most women in this country can relate to all too well. If you habla inglés, lo siento mucho. This performance is en español. Be there at 8:30 p.m. at the Venevision International Theater in the Riviera Plaza Shopping Center, 1560 S. Dixie Hwy., Coral Gables. Call 305-442-3411, or visit www.venevisioninternational.com. --Patrice Elizabeth Grell Yursik
Nobody's Fool
FRI 3/11
Local musician Jim Camacho has taken on a compositional challenge. He's written Fools' Paradise: A Musical of Love and War, a rock opera inspired by his WWII veteran father. See this sonic whirlwind tonight at 9:00 at the Miami Museum of Science and Planetarium, 3280 S. Miami Ave., Miami. Tickets cost $12. Call 305-646-4234, or visit www.miamisci.org. -- Patrice Elizabeth Grell Yursik
