As I watch Disney's Aladdin for the twelve hundredth time with my sister, I can't help but be reminded of Roman Holiday, this week's selection for the Summer Sunset Film Festival (weird, I know, but follow me, here). The kids' cartoon and the 1953 classic (starring Gregory Peck and a regal Audrey Hepburn [pictured] — who won an Oscar for the performance), share striking similarities; both follow bored princesses as they escape the confines of their royal obligations and embark on whirlwind rendezvous with men considered too rough around the edges for women of a princess pedigree. Joe, the American journalist who leads Princess Ann (Hepburn) on her impromptu tour of Rome, promises his editor an exclusive with the escaped princess (without her knowledge, naturally). The Studio@620 and Push Ultra Lounge team up to present the free movie series in celebration of the picturesque Florida sunset at 8:30 every Monday through August 31. Mon., Aug. 17, 8:30 p.m., Push Ultra Lounge, 128 Third St. S., St. Petersburg, studio620.org.
The Suncoast AIDS Theatre Project presents Die, Mommie, Die as part of the The Summer Nights of Alternative Theater Series. The show benefits the Metropolitan Charities, providing services to locals living with HIV and AIDS. This campy, comedic melodrama borrows from 1960s thriller flicks, and follows Angela (played by Matt McGee), who poisons her husband via suppository (ew). Angela's vengeful daughter convinces her brother to kill their mother. When Angela drinks the LSD-laced coffee her son gives her, all of her dark secrets come tumbling out. Visit americanstage.org for more info. Aug. 17 and 24, Mon., 7:30 p.m., American Stage, 163 Third St. N., St. Petersburg, all shows are "pay what you can" admission.
This article appears in Aug 12-18, 2009.