Welcome to On the Radar, where we preview upcoming arts events to mark your calendars for. Here’s a quickdraw rundown of three fab theater events across Pinellas this weekend: First, the newly-formed St. Petersburg Shakespeare Company (pictured) hosts an open mic night at American Stage, where you can dust off those old college essays, sing Shakes-inspired songs, read Bard-like poetry, act out your fave scene – or just sit back and enjoy the iambic pentameter.
Curtis Belz and Dahlia Legault – two of Tampa Bay’s most explosive actors – collide for a supernova of theatrical proportions at The Studio@620’s staging of Danny and the Deep Blue Sea. It’s Pulitzer-winner Patrick Shanley’s story of a street-brawling trucker and a self-loathing young woman who meet in a Bronx bar – proving the redemptive power of love can alight in the most unexpected places. It’s also infused with dance choreography and an original score.
Belz also resurrects his one-man performance of Jails, Hospitals and Hip-Hop at Ruth Eckerd Hall for one night only, about which CL theater critic Mark Leib raved
This article appears in Apr 7-13, 2010.