updated| Reviews: MY THREE ANGELS at Florida Rep (3)

Joel Reuben Ganz in "My Three Angels."

Who on earth could possibly want to spend Christmas in 105-degree weather?

Well, nobody actually does. But you'll want to after watching Florida Rep's "My Three Angels."

Three convicts come down from the roof in Cayenne, French Guiana on Christmas Eve. They provide everything. Except morals.

Director Chris Clavelli senses that audiences might want a true Christmastime comedy this year. Graham Smith, Michael Edwards and Joel Reuben Ganz play the convicts - the titular angels. The casting could not be better. The acting could not be better. The show could not be better.

When real life features knock-down fights over towels and toasters in Wal-Mart at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day itself, the charming Dulcotels make for a special treat.

"My Three Angels" plays at 8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday with matinées at 2 p.m. Wednesday & Sundays through Dec. 22. Tickets are $40 & $45. Call 239-332-4488 or floridarep.org. | Read the complete review

ALL REVIEWS:

Chris Silk (Naples Daily News)
Florida Rep opens charming holiday parcel 'My Three Angels'

Charles Runnells (The News-Press)
Christmas takes a dark turn in Florida Rep's 'My Three Angels'

Nancy Stetson (Florida Weekly)
There’s some heavenly holiday humor at Florida Rep

updated with previews | Ticket Special: Half-off tickets to "We Will Rock You" in Fort Myers (plus more photos!)

"We Will Rock You" runs Dec. 17-22. Tickets are $34-$69. Call (239) 481-4849 or online at www.bbmannpah.com. For more information on the show, visit wewillrockyou.com and schoolswillrockyou.com.

We've also got a special deal on tickets to "We Will Rock You." BBMann has a limited time offer - use code CHAMPION (now where did that come from?) - and get 50% off your tickets. Now that's a real deal!

Buy tickets for "We Will Rock You" online here:
http://www.bbmannpah.com/performance.php?id=555.

Here's my preview:
Chris Silk (Naples Daily News)
Music of Queen promises Fort Myers: 'We Will Rock You' next week!
Tracey Flye has loved the music of Queen since high school. "They have such a huge canon," she told me. No surprise then that she's been with Queen musical "We Will Rock You" since its North American debut in 2007. Wait. A Queen .. MUSICAL? (read the full preview)


Charles Runnells (The News-Press)
The Queen musical 'We Will Rock You' opens Tuesday at Mann Hall
He steps into the spotlight, electric guitar in hand, and launches into the face-melting solo from “Bohemian Rhapsody.” At the moment, he’s more than just Tristan Avakian, guitarist. He’s a rock god. Or, more specifically, he’s the Spirit of Rock ‘n’ Roll. (read the full preview)

I'll be there Tuesday night - come find me - and tell me what you think of the show!
In the meantime, enjoy all these photos from the show!

Baker Museum to host Art After Hours on Dec. 18; (free art!)

Frederick J. Whiteman
Four Figure Abstraction, 1934
Oil on canvas
Artis—Naples, The Baker Museum. 2000.15.257. Museum purchase.

Christmas bonus! Because the last Wednesday of the month falls on Christmas day this year, the Baker Museum's "Art After Hours" will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 18.

And I get to attend this month! I never get tired of free art - even though I've seen everything there twice now. Free art is cool.

The Baker Museum will be open - for free - to the public from 6-9 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 18. There will be a band and refreshments available from Cafe Intermezzo (congratulations Jeremy B., who named the cafe).

Please take this opportunity to view the Hanneke Beaumont sculptures. Those really are the star of the fall season. Sculpture speaks to people in different ways - but I love the cool gaze on her figures.

If you get a chance, wander through the third floor as well. The modern pieces from the Ahmet Ertegün collection (and some from vaults) offers an interesting perspective on a period in American art. Go left after you get up the stairs, then cross the staircase and go into right-most galleries. Finish at the end of the Chihuly tunnel and what I call the "sexy room," with works that are more figurative and less abstract.

If you take the exhibit as a whole, you can see modern art moving slowly from frenzied to something more controlled; the artists harness their anger and power. Walking through the rooms, taking in the works, I get the sense of a kind of breaking free of bounds - or maybe finding an opening out of oppression. I'm not an art critic - but that's what I get out of the show.

Albert Swinden
Untitled, 1937
Oil on board
Artis—Naples, The Baker Museum. 2000.15.278. Museum purchase.

Auditions: FRANKENSTEIN at the Island Theater Company

Not everyone can be in "The Drowsy Chaperone." What about a musical that is a little more … (re)animated?

The Island Theater Company will hold auditions for "Frankenstein: A New Musical" from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. at Marco Lutheran Church, located at 525 North Collier Boulevard on Marco Island. Show dates are March 7-9; contact Pattie Ziesig at (239) 394-0080 for more information or to schedule an alternate audition time..

**The Island Theater Company will partner with Marco Lutheran Church on this community theater project.

Treat yourself to a little something spooky for the holidays!

Naples Players Video Spotlight: Volunteer Danna Paglino

Here's the Naples Players latest "Volunteer Spotlight" video, on Danna Paglino. Paglino has worked behind the scenes, although she was a finalist in the "Sylvia" essay contest in 2010.

TheatreZone announces cast for January's "Whistle Down the Wind"

Here's the cast list for TheatreZone season opener "Whistle Down the Wind."

Gerritt VanderMeer as The Man
Brigid Kegel as Swallow
Alxander Jon as Amos
Paige Miles as Candy
Steven Geyer as Boone
Ledarian Townsend as Edward
Billy Sharpe as the Revival Preacher
Greg Jensen as Earl
Michael Freshko as The Sherriff
Stephen Ray as the Minister
Jessica Daniels as Brat
Elliott Needle as Poor Baby
Dawn Lebrecht - Ensemble
Sharon True - Ensemble
Laura Needle - Ensemble
Juliet Jewett - Ensemble

"Whistle Down the Wind" runs Jan. 9-19, 2014. To purchase tickets, call 1-888-ZONE-FLA (1-888-966-3352); visit the onsite Box Office Wednesdays from 10 a.m. - noon or review seating chart and purchase tickets online at theatrezone-florida.com.

If you're not familiar with "Whistle Down the Wind," here's the Wikipedia entry on the show.

Sculptor Hanneke Beaumont to offer "walk & talk" lecture Monday at Artis–Naples

Artis–Naples is offering the rare opportunity for patrons to get up close and personal with sculptor Hanneke Beaumont.

The artist, whose impressive, moody, introspective (and a host of other adjectives) sculptures are currently on display in and around the first floor of the Baker Museum in the exhibit "Connected & Disconnected: The Sculpture of Hanneke Beaumont." The artist will give a "Walk & Talk" lecture at 2 p.m. Monday, Dec. 16.

Tickets are $20; space is EXTREMELY LIMITED. Purchase online here: https://tickets.artisnaples.org/single/SelectSeating.aspx?p=15489

Ghostbird hopes to raise funds (and raise the roof) at Frosty Swamp Stomp '13

Ghostbird Theatre Company presents their inaugural Frosty Swamp Stomp, a holiday fundraiser, on Dec. 21 at the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center in Fort Myers.

Doors open at 7 p.m., entertainment (provided by Pearlie Mae and the Crawdaddy Boys) starts at 8 p.m. Find a silent auction, skits, songs and carols, along with hors d’ouevres, various refreshments and of course a cash bar. For tickets ($25), go to www.sbdac.com or facebook.com/GhostbirdTheatreCompany.

Or buy tickets online here: https://www.vendini.com/ticket-software.html?w=b3dc8b65e2fb56788dedc1c7dbc81786&t=tix


Complete press release below.

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Florida Rep has a place for your wild howler monkey over the Christmas holiday - Wild Winter Arts Camp!

To enroll, visit Florida Rep's Education Department online at
www.FloridaRepEducation.org, or by calling 239-332-4665x36

Here's the press release for Florida Rep's "Wild Winter Arts Camps." Like, I wish I could have done such fun things when I was little.

Complete press release below.

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Enrollment Now Open for Wild Winter Arts Camps!

Florida Rep and the Alliance for the Arts are pleased to announce that enrollment is now open, and slots are filling up for Wild Winter Arts Camps for students ages 5-17!

Four fun-filled sessions offer something for every student! The two-day intensive camps run Dec 23-Jan 3 and will allow students to experience a wide variety of theatre fun!

Auditions: Director casting for "It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play"

Dan Lombardo is casting for a production of "It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play." Inspired by the classic American film, "It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play" is performed as a 1940s live radio broadcast in front of a studio audience. Eight actors perform the dozens of characters in the radio play as well as produce the sound effects.

Performances (Feb. 11-13) will be held in February at Saint Leo the Great Catholic Church to benefit the Rotary Club of Bonita Springs Foundation. Dan Lombardo, artistic director of the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater in Massachusetts is directing.

Casting will be done via Skype or video. Email Dan Lombardo at lombardo.alfa@gmail.com or call 413-336-0764.

BIG ARTS announces cast for "Holiday Spectacular," opening Dec. 19

"Holiday Spectacular" runs through Dec. 31. For tickets ($35), call the BIG ARTS Marks Box Office at 239-395-0900, the Herb Strauss Theater Box Office at (239) 472-6862 and at BIG ARTS, 900 Dunlop Road, Sanibel or purchase online at BIGARTS.org.

Here's the latest press release for the spectacular-spectacular "Holiday Spectacular" out at BIG ARTS. We also finally get a cast list. I'm so excited to see big-voiced divas Elizabeth Urbanczyk and Annie Freres on the same stage. Please let there be a diva-off. Please?

BIG ARTS Herb Strauss Theater unwraps its original Christmas revue "Holiday Spectacular" on Dec. 19. The show will be co-written, co-directed and co-choreographed by Bobby Logue and John Ramsey. An array of stars from previous shows will return, including Elizabeth Urbanczyk, Sami Doherty, Annie Freres and Jessica Humphrey.

"Holiday Spectacular" runs through Dec. 31. For tickets ($35), call the BIG ARTS Marks Box Office at 239-395-0900, the Herb Strauss Theater Box Office at (239) 472-6862 and at BIG ARTS, 900 Dunlop Road, Sanibel or purchase online at BIGARTS.org. | Buy tickets here: http://www.bigarts.org/theatre.php

updated with photos | Marco Players Children's Theater telling "A Christmas Story"

Hey, we've got photos (two) from the Marco Player's Children's Theater production of "A Christmas Story." Check out the latest email update here.

Just a reminder,  "A Christmas Story" plays at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 20 and Saturday, Dec. 21 with a 3 p.m. matinée on Sunday, Dec. 22. Tickets are $10 for children, $20 for adults. Call (239) 642-7270 or themarcoplayers.com. Or click here.

Yep, it's little Ralphie Parker and his quest for a genuine Red Ryder BB under the tree. Gina Sisbarro directs the play, taken from Jean Shepherd's memoir of growing up in the 1940's Midwest.

Opera Naples sets sail for Nog & Grog 2013

The Opera Naples Guild invites friends and opera lovers for goodies, nog, grog, fun and a bit of singing aboard the Naples Princess for Nog & Grog 2013 on Thursday, Dec. 19.

Ship boards at 4:30 p.m. w/7 p.m. return. Tickets are $75 with cash bar and heavy hors d'oeuvres. RSVP to (239) 963-9050.

More holiday theater and events.