JUNE 16 THURSDAY
COMIC THERAPY Richard Lewis was propelled into a career of comedy because of the death of his father. Having written material for other comedians and with no other means to express himself, he found comfort in humor and brought his problems to the stage, sharing his numerous obsessions and neuroses with a surprisingly receptive audience. More than 30 years and 50 combined Tonight Show and Late Show appearances later, he continues to attract followers with his derisive self-doubt, despite loads of therapy and eight years of sobriety. Perhaps it's because he makes people laugh at their own troubles. Or maybe they just like knowing there's someone out there who's both rich and funny but still worse off than they are. Either way, Lewis is a success, if not entirely positive about it. Apart from his stand-up tours, he makes regular appearances on the HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, and will release a DVD boxed set in the fall. You can see him perform this weekend at The Tampa Improv. 8 p.m. Thur., 8 and 10:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 7 p.m. Sun., June 16-19. $18-$20. 1600 E. Eighth Ave., Ybor City, 813-864-4000.
GET DOWNTOWN Verve Tampa Bay is a self-directed group committed to making the Bay area a better place for young professionals to live, work and play. With this in mind, and in response to young professionals groups who've expressed the need for a more active nightlife in downtown Tampa, the collective has organized Verve Plays: Downtown Tampa After Six. This event celebrates the urban heart of Tampa and all of its diverse offerings (who knew?) by highlighting an array of downtown venues all within a reasonable walking distance from each other, including Tampa Museum of Art, The Hub, Au Rendez Vous, Sumo Thai, Got Pizza Music Café, Old Tampa Book Company and Tampa Theatre. Members from a slew of the area's professional and social organizations hit the streets of downtown Tampa to bring business to these venues and to reveal what happens when a specific demographic unites to serve a common principle. The public is encouraged to attend. For a complete list of participating venues, visit www.vervetampabay.com. 6-10 p.m. $3 (includes a map of participating venues and a list of organizations hosting special events or gatherings). Check-in occurs at Jerk Hut, 207 E. Twiggs St., 813-223-4473.
JUNE 17 FRIDAY
A JADED HISTORY Jade Esteban Estrada is a jack of all performance trades. He's appeared on Comedy Central's The Graham Norton Effect, danced in Charo's stage show, performed in a handful of overseas theater productions, and shared the stage with such luminaries as Cyndi Lauper, Sarah MacLachlan and k.d. lang. He's the first openly gay Latin pop star (according to Out Magazine), a "creative non-fiction performing artist," and he's coming to a theater near you. Gypsy Productions hosts a short run of Esteban's ICONS: The Lesbian and Gay History of the World, Vol. 1, an original, one-man musical theater piece in which Esteban portrays six gay icons: Sappho, a Greek poet and reputed lesbian who wrote almost exclusively about women (the term lesbian is actually derived from the name of her island home, Lesbos); legendary Italian sculptor and admirer of the male figure, Michelangelo; flamboyant Irish playwright Oscar Wilde; Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas' better half and arguably one of the most famous lesbians of all time; Sylvia Rivera, the transgendered woman who was present at the 1969 Stonewall Riots; and talk show host/gay community spokeswoman Ellen DeGeneres. This event is held in conjunction with St. Pete Pride 2005. 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 1:30 p.m. Sun., June 17-19. $18. The Suncoast Theatre, 3400 34th St. S., St. Petersburg, 727-456-0500.
JUNE 18 SATURDAY
RESIDENT TALENTS TAKE SHAPE Last weekend, HandMade in Florida Craft Gallery opened the 2005 Artist-In-Residence Show, a ceramics exhibition of works created by six artists from the St. Petersburg Clay Company. The pieces range from functional vessels to large wall pieces, and all are marked with the artists' signature styles. Michael Payne's free-form ceramics feature carved symbols from medieval alchemy and Christian mysticism, while Bonnie Hughson's work reflect her continued fascination with stability and the tripod shape. Chloe Rothwell's works are inspired by objects found in nature, and Eckerd College alumni Ian Meares finds inspiration from his travels, his abstract work expressing a desire to understand the world and its inhabitants. Jason Lachtara's functional clay pieces are decorated with slender, rune-esque symbols; Texas native Jason Snelson displays wood-fired pieces that are naturally glazed, the unique flame patterns the result of hours of baking in the kiln. Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat.; the works are on display through July 6. 1903 N. 19th St., Ybor City, 813-247-7902.
JUNE 19 SUNDAY
A BRIGHT BAND A little while ago, while flipping through an issue of Spin disgustedly and realizing once again that I no longer fit into the type of crowd to which the magazine caters (I could care less about My Chemical Romance, U2 or The Killers), I stumbled upon a band that I was actually interested in reading about. I'd heard about Lucero (Spanish for "bright star") from a friend, who encouraged me to check them out after I complained about there being too few good alt-country bands. Of course, I'd never gotten around to it, so Spin's "Band of the Day" blurb was a welcome reminder. While the band's Memphis roots are apparent in vocalist/guitarist Ben Nichols' soulful rasp (a cross between Beck and Kurt Cobain), Lucero's sound is more a fusion of driving Southern alt-rock and new wave punk with a downhome, countrified flavor. The band has toured with a wide range of artists, including The Breeders and Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and their fourth full-length album, Nobody's Darlings, was produced by Memphis legend Jim Dickinson. The foursome plays an all-ages show at the Orpheum; The Honorary Title and Cory Branan round out the night's bill. 7-11 p.m. $10. 1902 Republica de Cuba, Ybor City, 813-248-9500.
JUNE 21 TUESDAY
GRAVE TIDINGS Jerry Fowler, one of the nation's leading experts on human rights, appears at USF-St. Petersburg tonight to give a lecture on worldwide genocide. The topic, "Genocide Emergency of Darfur: Who Will Survive Today?" explores the reasons for a high alert human rights emergency in Darfur, the civil war-ravaged western region of Sudan where an estimated 180,000 people have died since 2003. As a Stanford University-educated attorney, Fowler has worked on issues that include international justice and refugee and asylum policy. He also heads the Washington D.C.-based Committee on Conscience, an organization created in 1995 "to alert the national conscience, influence policy makers, and stimulate worldwide action to confront and work to halt acts of genocide or related crimes against humanity." Last year, Fowler visited Sudanese refugee camps in Chad, collecting personal stories and first-hand accounts of the Darfur situation from survivors. A few months after this visit, the Committee on Conscience declared a genocide emergency, the first time it had ever used its highest alert level. For more information about committee concerns, or to just satisfy your curiosity about the organization, visit www.ushmm.org/conscience. 7 p.m. Free. Campus Activities Center, located on the corner of Second Street and Sixth Avenue S., St. Petersburg, 727-553-4870.
This article appears in Jun 15-21, 2005.