THURSDAY 9.23
He Was Always Chasing Rainbows "I'm no good," Liberace once admitted. "I've just got guts." So what was it about an outrageous, piano-playing borderline drag queen that caused women to swoon like schoolgirls? The mystery continues even beyond his death and you can try to figure it out at Liberace, the Legend Lives, presented by American Stage. This re-creation of Liberace's stage show is complete with crystal candelabra, a rhinestone-encrusted grand piano and six different authentic, glittering costumes. Mr. Showmanship is played by Martin Preston, an actor and musician who's devoted the past 14 years to recapturing the music and glamour of Liberace, and the only person ever to receive authorization from the Liberace estate to appear as the famed star. He is joined by Broadway song stylist William Garon, who performs numbers from Oklahoma! and Phantom of the Opera, as well as "Song on the Sand" from La Cage Aux Folles. For tickets or more information, please call 727-823-7529 or go to www.americanstage.org. 7:30 p.m. on Thu., 8 p.m. on Fri. and Sat. and 3 p.m. on Sun., Sept. 23-26. Tickets: $25-$30. Palladium Theater, 253 Fifth Ave. N., St. Petersburg. 727-822-3590.
Sunny Days A spaceship is stranded on Sesame Street and two Martians need help getting home. Find out how they manage in Sesame Street Live's Out of This World, which stops in Tampa this weekend. In the name of research, I took a "Which Sesame Street Muppet Are You?" online quiz. Apparently, as a young, somewhat pessimistic neo-hippie, I have a personality similar to that of Aloysius Snuffleupagus, Big Bird's mopey best friend who resembles a woolly mammoth minus tusks. Not surprisingly, he's one of the few characters missing from the live performance, but you can still see Big Bird, Elmo, Bert & Ernie, Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch, Grover, Count Von Count and many others having a grand old time singing, dancing and — of course — imparting some sort of vastly cheerful wisdom about life. Tickets: $12.50-$20.50. Performances are 7 p.m. on Thu., 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Fri., 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Sat., and 1 and 4:30 p.m. on Sun., Sept. 23-26. Carol Morsani Hall, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, 1010 N. MacInnes Place, Tampa. 813-229-7827.
FRIDAY 9.24
A Collective with the Moves Tampa dance collective Moving Current kicks off its eighth season with Lucid Echoes, a contemporary dance recital featuring an array of performances by artists at the top of their game. Because Moving Current is a collective, not a company, the core dancers and choreographers work with outside artists from here and around the world. So, artistic directors Erin Cardinal and Cynthia Hennessy present works alongside guest choreographers Michael Foley, a USF dance professor and winner of the Weekly Planet 2003 Best Choreographer award; Lynn Wimmer, a USF dance professor and National Endowment for the Arts recipient; Jennifer Salk, a professor of dance at the University of Washington and an American Dance Festival faculty member; and Maria Capitano, artistic director for the Dance Music Design company. For more information about the collective, please go to www.movingcurrent.com. 8 p.m. on Fri., 2 and 8 p.m. on Sat., Sept. 24-25. Tickets: $15 general admission/$10 students and seniors/$8 USF students. USF College of Visual & Performing Arts Theater I, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa. 813-237-0216.
SATURDAY 9.25
Family Photos The Museum of Fine Arts opens its latest exhibit today, Through the Lens of the Masters: The Loebel Family Donation of Photographs. According to the folks at the museum, this is one of the most significant additions to its rather hefty photography collection, both for the quality and amount of works provided. There are 30 separate artists represented and the display encompasses 32 works that were, for the most part, produced in the 20th century. (The two 19th-century pieces are a landscape by British photographer Farnham Maxwell Lyte and a tintype portrait of Butch Cassidy by an unknown artist.) Other works include Lewis Hine's famous "Three Riveters, Empire State Building" (1931) and "Unemployment Line" (1935) by Dorothea Lange. The museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tue.-Sat. and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Admission is $8 adults, $7 seniors, $4 students and free to children 6 and younger. Continues through Dec. 5. For more information, please go to www.fine-arts.org. Museum of Fine Arts, 255 Beach Drive N.E., St. Petersburg. 727-896-2667.
Sex, Drugs and Charity Jobsite Theater presents its fourth-annual summer fundraiser in a single performance of Eric Bogosian's Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll, a play that explores the cultural absurdities of contemporary America. This is obviously not your typical charity affair — you know, the kind that requires some sort of formal attire and inspires an immediate please-get-me-out-of-here-as-soon-as-possible attitude. Jobsite's members always seem to go out of their way to make sure that their supporters are comfortable and happy. Past fundraisers drew crowds that were entertained by The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) and live performances by The Vodkanauts and the Joe Popp Band. Put in an early appearance at this year's event (7 p.m.) and try your luck in a special drawing for prizes donated by area businesses. The show begins at 8 p.m. Tickets: $25. For more information, go to www.jobsitetheater.org. Shimberg Playhouse, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, 1010 N. MacInnes Place, Tampa. 813-229-7827.
Walking Aware Show your support for awareness and prevention of the AIDS pandemic by taking part in the first annual FACT AIDS Walk in St. Petersburg. Jan Gentry from Survivor Thailand serves as the master of ceremonies for the 5k walk that begins and ends at North Shore Park in downtown St. Pete (North Shore Drive and 10th Avenue N.E.). Of the funds raised, 90 percent benefit clients of FACT (For AIDS Care Today), a program of AIDS Service Association of Pinellas (ASAP) working to provide "high quality, culturally competent, compassionate services" to people infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS. Because FACT has committed its efforts to help in the global fight against AIDS, the remaining 10 percent of proceeds go to HIV/AIDS-affected people in the Hospice of Soweto, South Africa. Registration starts at 9 a.m. and the walk begins at 10 a.m. For more information or to register in advance, please go to www.aidswalkstpetersburg.org.
SUNDAY 9.26
Quiet Comedy In 1928, physical comedian Buster Keaton starred in his last independently produced feature film and one of the industry's last silent comedies, Steamboat Bill, Jr. Tampa Theatre offers an afternoon screening of the classic, which features the age-old story of a father and son coming together in spite of their seemingly irreconcilable differences. It's well worth the trip if only to witness the crazy special effects, especially the famous stunt where a cyclone blows down a two-story wall on top of Keaton, who passes unharmed through an open window. Watching a good silent movie with live musical accompaniment (courtesy of Rosa Rio and the theater's Mighty Wurlitzer Organ) is a rare treat, like taking a trip back in time without having to buy a Delorean. 3 p.m. Tickets: $10 general admission/$8 seniors, students and military. Tampa Theatre, 711 Franklin St., Tampa. 813-274-8286.
This article appears in Sep 22-28, 2004.