Everybody has a story, and every story has several sides. If you don't believe that, you will after seeing Japanese director Akira Kurosawa's critically acclaimed 1950 film Rashomon. It's twelfth-century Japan and a crime has occurred in a forest: A woman is raped and her husband killed. What actually happened? The story told via flashbacks presents four different accounts told by those who participated in the crime and by a witness. Who -- if anyone -- is telling the truth? Winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, the classic movie marked Kurosawa as a towering figure in Japanese cinema. Highlights include a riveting performance as the bad guy by Toshiro Mifune, one of Japan's greatest actors, and the striking cinematography that makes a forest, even though it's filmed in black and white, seem extra creepy. The screening takes place at 7:00 p.m. at the Wolfsonian-FIU, 1001 Washington Ave., Miami Beach. Admission is free with five-dollar museum admission. Call 305-531-1001. (NK)
Friday 4/2
He's cute. He's sexy. He goes by one name. And he sings like a Puerto Rican songbird. Of course, he's Chayanne, holder of many titles -- singer, dancer, actor, telenovela star. The babelicious Boricua is touring the world with a song-and-dance extravaganza that promises to bring the most adoring fan to tears. Though he has not broken through to mainstream crossover appeal like his fellow Puerto Rican crooners Ricky Martin and Marc Anthony, Chayanne has made the effort. Who could forget his appearance opposite Vanessa Williams in the compelling 1998 flick Dance With Me? He'll be shaking his thing in an energetic, pop-driven salsa show at 7:00 p.m. at the Miami Arena, 721 NW 1st Ave. Tickets range from $52 to $87. Call 305-530-4400. (JCR)
Saturday 4/3
For her new Get Lucky tour, warrior woman songstress Melissa Etheridge is visiting clubs around the country again. Before she made it big time, the throaty-voiced singer played Rolling Stone Ron Wood's old club, the now-defunct Woody's. Things are a bit different for her now. But she's back again, offering an intimate gig that will show off her style and passion for song. Be sure to look around. The chunky chick holding the lighter above her head and singing "Come to My Window" next to you just might be Rosie O'Donnell! Doors open at 7:30 p.m. at Mansion, 1235 Washington Ave., Miami Beach. Tickets cost $75. Call 305-532-1525. (JCR)
Sunday 4/4
By the time you join the crowd at the American Cancer Society's annual fundraiser Relay for Life today, participants will have completed an entire night and morning of walking and running through a course in Coral Gables's Douglas Park (2755 SW 37th Ave.). The runners and walkers are working together in teams that will continuously be handing off to each other to keep the relay going. Each team is working to raise at least $1000 to help fight cancer. The event culminates today with a victory lap where survivors of cancer complete a turn, then are joined by other teammates. The event continues through 11:00 a.m. Donations are accepted on site. Call 305-443-2956. (JCR)
Monday 4/5
Hold it right there. Although it's National Clean Out Your Fridge Week, please resist any temptation to rid your icebox of all hazardous materials. Before you toss out the furry strawberries, the chunky milk, the gray bologna, and the orange juice that just isn't orange anymore, grab your camera and take a picture! Yes, the disgusting contents of your refrigerator could be important and we're not referring to the potential Nobel Prize-winning science experiments lurking inside. Send the photo and an essay (no more than 50 words) recounting "How My Fridge Got this Way" to www.cleanoutyourfridge.com. If your putrid food-preservation pit wins the Nation's Fullest Fridge Contest, you could soon be the proud owner of a new Whirlpool refrigerator and a year's supply of Glad food storage containers and trash bags. To curb any nasty habits and prevent recidivism, you'll also get a fridge makeover from a home organization expert. (NK)
Tuesday 4/6
To celebrate that six-month-long migraine you've finally shaken, your husband, the dear, got you tickets to Stomp. Don't feel bad, but we think your husband is trying to kill you or at least drive you straight to the loony bin. Why else, after your long ordeal, would he send you to a show that is all about percussion? Yes, the energetic cast whacks, bangs, slams, and bonks everything it can get its hands on to make sounds. Hubcaps, brooms, trash cans: Nothing is out of bounds. Our two favorites, which may become yours when your head begins to pound again? Zippo lighters and plastic bags! At 8:00 tonight, tote your industrial-sized bottle of aspirin over to the Jackie Gleason Theater of the Performing Arts, 1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach. The show runs through Sunday, April 11. Tickets range from $20 to $51. Call 305-673-7300. (NK)
Wednesday 4/7
Have you hugged a tree today? Maybe you should. It's Arbor Day, an observance established in 1872 that urges folks to plant trees and nurture them. Well, not really -- the final Friday in April is actually the officially designated day to celebrate greenery and the positive things it does for us -- but the City of Coral Gables doesn't care. The lushly landscaped area is too busy trumpeting the fact that for the nineteenth year it has been named a Tree City USA by the National Arbor Day Foundation. That means the city has someone in its administration responsible for its trees and has a tree care ordinance on the books, in addition to a community forestry program. Tree Cities also have to throw a yearly Arbor Day Celebration and Tree Planting, which will occur at Granada Boulevard and Alhambra Circle this very day at 11:00 a.m. Admission is free. Call 305-460-5131. (NK)
