Thursday 10.11
Too Bad to be True A zany adult comedy, Trailer Trash Tabloid! centers on the 12 cartoonish residents of New Drawl City Mobile Home Village & Putt-Putt Golf, Skoal County, Ga. The play by Lewis Routh takes place on The Lamont Lazarus Hour, a newsmagazine TV show, covering the mysterious death of Frank Forkenberg, the Velveeta-King magnate. The New Drawl City residents tell their side of the story, and through these interviews the farcical history of the city and its inhabitants unfolds. The play, which originated in Orlando and was a bit hit there, runs through Oct. 28, with show times at 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, at 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center's Jaeb Theater. Tickets cost $26.50. TBPAC is at 1010 N. MacInnes Place, Tampa (813-229-7827).
Friday 10.12
Mixed Signals Merrick Gallery exhibits Sign Language, new works by Steve Carlisle, a mixed-media artist whose images deal with the use of signs to persuade and manipulate people. A graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute, Carlisle incorporates photography, digital printing and screen printing into his work. He has been a photographer for the St. Petersburg Times, worked in offset print shops and collected imagery for 30 years. A reception takes place from 6 to 9 p.m., and the exhibit runs through Nov. 25. Merrick Gallery is at 330 Beach Drive N.E., St. Petersburg (727-896-2787). Hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 1 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
Island Whirl Since their 1994 inception, Plena Libre, a 13-piece band from Puerto Rico, have gained worldwide popularity and critical acclaim for their interpretation of the native Afro-Puerto Rican folk song form, plena. Led by bassist, composer and producer Gary Nunez, Plena Libre fuses plena's intoxicating, drum-fueled rhythm with salsa, jazz and other Afro-Caribbean genres to produce a joyous, vocally rich mixture of voluptuous dance music. The band performs at 8 p.m. at the Coliseum, an event cosponsored by WMNF-88.5 FM and the city of St. Petersburg. Tickets cost $16 advance, $20 at the door, and the show is smoke free, BYOB. The Coliseum is at 535 Fourth Ave. N., St. Petersburg (727-892-5202). For more, check out the Music column.
Saturday 10.13
A Professional Opinion Admit it, you've spent an hour or two watching Antiques Roadshow. You've been awed by the parade of gawdy trinkets and plain furniture unearthed at yard sales, sold to someone on a whim for a few shekels and, lo and behold, that $10 set of wooden puppets turns out to be worth $10,000. Well, here's your chance to find out what, if anything, your own antiques might be worth. An Antique Appraisal takes place at 10:30 a.m. in the Fletcher Lounge of Plant Hall. Tickets for appraisals cost $5 per item, limit three. If furniture is too large to bring, provide a good photograph. Plant Hall is on the campus of the University of Tampa, at 401 W. Kennedy Blvd., Tampa (813-253-3333).
Bailar The Salvador Dali Museum celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month with a dance workshop introducing Las Sevillanas, one of the best known regional dances of Spain. The workshop is led by Michele Young, a former member of the Ballet Folklorico d'Ybor, familiarizing participants with the dance's basic steps, arm movements, terminology, rhythms, palmas, fans, mantones, castanets and costumes. Come dressed in workout clothes or comfortable attire (full-circle skirts advised for women). The workshop takes place from 1 to 4 p.m., and costs $20, $7 for children under 13. The museum is at 1000 Third St. S., St. Pete (727-823-3767).
Sunday 10.14
American Me The Museum of Fine Arts exhibits Americanos: Latino Life in the United States, an exhibition of 120 images by 30 prize-winning photographers. The documentary photographs cut across economic groups and tell the story of an array of Latinos, from portraits of celebrities such as Carlos Santana and Sammy Sosa to children playing chess and physicians at work. Americanos has been organized by the Smithsonian Institute, and MFA is the only Florida venue for the exhibit. The show runs through Jan. 6 and is complemented by numerous educational programs. The exhibit opens with a performance by the La Rosa Flamenco Theatre of Miami. Admission on Sundays is free. Regular admission costs $6 for adults. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. MFA is at 255 Beach Drive N.E., St. Pete (727-896-2667).
Pedal to the Medal The second annual Dade Battle of Brilliance, named in commemoration of historic Dade Battlefield, hosts competitive Olympic-style cycling. The full day of racing includes 12 amateur and professional races, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., on a half-mile track on the streets of downtown Dade City. Race organizers anticipate the participation of several top cyclists, including Ivan Dominguez of Team Saturn, Josh Thornton of the U.S. National Team and Derek Wilkerson of Team Mercy Hospital. Admission is free. Directions to the race from I-75: Exit 59 east on State Road 52 and drive approximately 10 miles; turn right on Meridian Avenue. Call 352-567-2378. www.kvjewels.com/dadebattleofbrilliance.
Monday 10.15
Trombonist Tribute The USF School of Music's Monday Night Jazz Series presents A Tribute to J.J. Johnson, featuring USF trombone and euphonium professor Tom Brantley. J.J. Johnson, who died in February, was regarded as one of the preeminent trombonists of modern jazz. The concert will include Monk's Misterioso, Porter's What is This Thing Called Love, as well as five songs by Johnson. The concert takes place at 8 p.m. in the Music Recital Hall (FAH 101), USF-Tampa. Tickets cost $10, $5 for students and seniors. The Music Recital Hall is at 4202 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa (813-974-2323).
Tuesday 10.16
Tales of the South Pacific A duo of Broadway's brightest stars, Michael Nouri and Erin Dilly, re-create the lead roles of Rodgers & Hammerstein's enduring classic, South Pacific. The timeless musical of wartime romance in an island paradise has won nine Tony Awards, including best score, which is full of unforgettable standards, such as, I'm Going to Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair and Some Enchanted Evening. Nouri's most recent feature role is playing Joe DiMaggio in the film *61, while Dilly comes direct from her Broadway role as Young Phyllis in Follies. Tickets cost $20.50-$62.50. The show runs through Oct. 21 at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center's Carol Morsani Hall, with show times at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday. TBPAC is at 1010 N. MacInnes Place, Tampa (813-229-7827).
Wednesday 10.17
Witness to Risk Anthropologist, lawyer and former legislator of Cauca, Colombia, Juan Diego Castrillon offers a firsthand account of the conflict in Colombia in a lecture titled Scholars at Risk: Colombia. Castrillon is on a speaking tour sponsored by Witness for Peace and is hosted by the USF Department of Latin American and Caribbean Studies. The lecture takes place at noon on the fourth floor of the USF Library, at 4202 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa. Call 813-974-3547.
This article appears in Oct 11-17, 2001.