Manifesto Destinies

Local artists push their policies

THUR 3/17

The explosion of Miami’s real estate development meets the expression of hip-hop and graffiti art in Queens during “Here and Now: 2005.” The Miami Light Project and Miami Performing Arts Center present the works of South Florida artists Octavio Campos, Joanne Barrett, Ico Manzanero, Natasha Tsakos, and Lisandro Perez-Rey over the next two weeks. In tonight’s opening performance, Octavio Campos presents time-based experiments in IPO: The Bored Room, in which he is “looking at corporate structure and building a performance around that.” Campos will ask the question, “Can I really sell myself?” as he attempts to auction off his hand.

You might not be able to bid on their body parts, but you’ll enjoy Barrett’s intuitively choreographed piece Milhojas, which follows the parallel lives of three women. Perez-Rey’s film Boomtown Fever opens Friday night’s performance with a time-lapsed look at the transformation of Miami’s landscape. Campos says to “come with an open mind” tonight at the Light Box, 3000 Biscayne Blvd., Suite 100, Miami. “Program A” runs March 17, 18, 19, and 21; “Program B” runs March 24, 25, 26, and 28. Performances start at 8:00 p.m. and tickets cost $20. Call 305-576-4350, or visit www.miamilightproject.com for a complete schedule. –Lyssa Oberkreser

Dramatic Aspirations

Tubbs tackles frogs, dogs, and magic cookies

SAT 3/19

It’s pretty unusual when a tough icon like Philip Michael Thomas writes and produces a family-oriented musical, especially if you consider that he’s best known as the voice of gangster Lance Vance in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. (He also starred in this old TV show called Miami Vice, by the way.) Thomas’s latest claim to fame, which he co-wrote with Sandi Morais, is Sacha: A Musical Review at the Byron Carlyle Theater (500 71st St., Miami Beach). Sacha (Timetta Phillips) is a young girl full of hope who dreams of the bright lights of Broadway. She meets fantastical characters on her way to overcoming dilemmas while on her inspiring quest. Musical direction is by Melton Mustafa. The curtain rises tonight at 8:00 and Sunday at 3:00 p.m. Tickets cost $28 for adults and $20 for children. Call 305-358-5885. –Margaret Griffis

Siamese Saxophone Dreams

Inventor toots his own special horn

MON 3/21

Sonically inspired by the layered, multitonal singing of African pygmies and yearning to push the soprano saxophone to its limits, reed-master François Louis created a new woodwind instrument. His aulochrome looks like the mutant child of a clarinet and a saxophone. Through the inventor’s innovation, the keys of both pipes can be played either separately or simultaneously. There is currently only one aulochrome in existence, and tonight’s performance will mark the American debut of this double soprano saxophone. Hear its sweet polyphonic and chromatic sounds at 7:30 p.m. at the University of Miami’s Henry Fillmore Hall, 5501 San Amaro Dr., Coral Gables. Call 305-284-5813, and learn more about François Louis’s unique instrument at www.aulochrome.com. –Patrice Elizabeth Grell Yursik