Culture Vultures

More than 150 published definitions of the word culture exist. It’s a human thing — other animals don’t do culture. Hell, they don’t even try. More helpful than any of the documented definitions are two events hitting local stages. Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana — based on hundreds of 13th-century poems and songs and created in the mid-Thirties — will resonate through the acoustically brilliant Gusman Center for the Performing Arts at 7:30 p.m. when the New World School of the Arts launches its season. Alfred Gershfeld will direct more than 180 musicians, rendering the classic in Latin. Tickets are $10 for adults, five for students and seniors. Call 305-237-7855, or visit nwsa.mdc.edu.

The Alliance Theatre Lab opens its season with John Patrick Shanley’s Danny and the Deep Blue Sea – which is not in Latin — at the Main Street Playhouse, 6766 Main St., Miami Lakes. The play, directed by Adalberto J. Acevedo and starring Travis Reiff and Jennifer Toohey, portrays a man and a woman who meet at a bar, exorcises their inner demons through conversation, and get carried away with a night of passion. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for students and seniors. Call 305-567-2721, or visit www.thealliancetheatrelab.com.

Thu., Nov. 29, 2007