THURSDAY 10.21
Deliciously Horror-ble Before he achieved worldwide fame with the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Peter Jackson directed one of the greatest, most disgusting splatterpieces of the comedy/horror genre — 1992's Dead Alive (aka Braindead). In this flick, we meet Lionel, who lives with his overbearing, disapproving mother. Being a pain-in-the-ass, dear old mom follows Lionel on a date to the zoo and in a trick of fate (or movie-making), she's bitten by a poisonous "rat monkey." Shortly after, she becomes a rotting zombie and terrorizes the town and its animals with relish and dead enthusiasm. Before and after the show, Jeff Strand, author of the comedy/horror novels Graverobbers Wanted (No Experience Necessary) and Single White Psychopath Seeks Same, and teen horror novelist Lynne Hansen (The Return, Altdeath.com), sign copies of their respective works. Also featured are Christopher Holland and Scott Hamilton, webmasters of the B-movie website www.StompTokoyo.com, and authors of Reel Shame. 7:30 p.m. $8 general admission/ $7 members/$6 students, seniors and military. Tampa Theatre, 711 Franklin St., Tampa, 813-274-8286.
Post Friday The only ordained clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence was John Witherspoon, not to be confused with comedian John Witherspoon, who acted his way to national fame as the dog-catching, bathroom-loving father in Ice Cube's Friday movies. The comedian may not be as distinguished or important as Ice, but he sure knows how to make folks laugh, and you can see his stand-up routine anytime this weekend. Now, before you start grumbling about actors trying to make careers out of stand-up, bear in mind that, like many other comedians, Witherspoon was doing stand-up long before his ugly mug appeared on the big screen. In the early '70s, Witherspoon was performing alongside Sandra Bernhard, Robin Williams, David Letterman and Time Reid, to name a few. So check him out —- we're pretty sure you won't be disappointed. 8 p.m. on Thu., 8 and 10:30 p.m. on Fri. and Sat., and 7 and 9:30 p.m. on Sun., Oct. 21-24. Tickets: $22-$25. The Improv Comedy Theater & Restaurant, 1600 E. Eighth Ave., Tampa, 813-864-4000.
FRIDAY 10.22
My Kingdom for a Horse! Experience a grand display of equine pageantry in Merlin's Magical Horses, a tour that rides into town for two performances at the USF Sun Dome. To the haters out there — I know it seems absurd that horses could be anything but boring. However, as you may have surmised from the title of the show, these horses are far from ordinary. They don't fly (that's impossible) but they're unquestionably stars of the equine world. Live acts include cossack riders (folks who do tricks on horses), Andalusian dressage (tricks performed by the horses in response to signals from the riders), giant percherons (big French workhorses) and mini horses, white Arabian and Lipizzaner stallions, jousters and jesters, comedy acts, acrobats on horseback, aerial daredevils, Las Vegas-style magic, a big equestrian musical and much, much more. Show times are 2 and 8:30 p.m. Tickets: $16-$35. USF Sun Dome, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa, 813-974-3000.
SATURDAY 10.23
A Walk and a Pawty Today, you can help support two very important animal rescue agencies during two separate events — and if you're a true animal lover, you may decide to make an appearance at both. The first happening is SPCA of Pinellas County's 14th Annual Paws on Parade Pet Walk, which takes place in North Shore Park (North Shore Drive and 10th Avenue N.E., St. Petersburg) from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Participants in the one-mile walk collect monetary donations and the proceeds help the SPCA provide food, shelter, and medical care for homeless and abused animals. The fundraiser also features contests, entertainment, vendors, activities, prizes, refreshments and, of course, some adoptable SPCA pets. For more information, call 727-586-3591; to register online, go to www.spcaofpinellas.org. In the evening, PAWS (Protect Animals With Sterilization) of Hillsborough County's "Bark at the Moon" Halloween benefit party takes place from 7:30 p.m. to midnight at the Winthrop Theater Building (11275 W. Bloomingdale Ave., Riverview, 813-213-8783). This is a Halloween costume party for adults, and the $25 entrance fee (or $45 per couple) includes a dinner buffet catered by Tia's Tex Mex, tickets for drawings, beverages and dessert. (Beer, wine and margaritas are available for $1.50.) In addition, there's dancing, a silent auction and a costume contest with prizes for the funniest, most original, scariest and best costumes. For more information, call 813-655-7297; to register, go to www.pawsofhc.org.
MONDAY 10.25
Native American Expose A few weekends ago, the Florida Holocaust Museum opened an exhibit with little attention from the media. I, too, missed out on the unveiling of Reservations: Rethinking the Native American, a narrative by and about American Indians. The three artists represented are Hachivi Edgar Heap of Birds, a Cheyenne/Arapaho Indian who creates typeset and printed messages, drawings with words and paintings that reflect his political concerns about what he feels is the historical manipulation and distortion of the "History of Art"; Francis Yellow, a Lakota artist and poet who adapts classic ledger art and the Lakota pictorial style into contemporary, metaphorical paintings and sculptures; and Oscar Arredondo, a Minnesota-based artist of Aztec heritage who explores the disparaging attitude towards Indians with drawings based on the Cleveland Indians' cartoon mascot. Arredondo also presents a 37-foot-long collage of product labels, magazine advertisements, logos and toys titled, "A Mile in My Moccasins." The exhibit also includes works by artists Leroy Osceola and Noah Billie on loan from the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum of the Seminole Tribe (located in Clewiston, Fla.). Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., and noon to 5 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Admission is $8 adults, $7 students and seniors, and $3 students 18 and younger. (Children 6 and younger enter free.) Continues through Jan. 9. Florida Holocaust Museum, 55 Fifth St. S., St. Petersburg, 727-820-0100.
TUESDAY 10.26
Home on the Range Richard Rodgers was an epic composer; Oscar Hammerstein II, an accomplished librettist/lyricist. Together, they were the most consistently prolific and successful creative team in American musical theater and their first collaboration, Oklahoma!, opens the 2004-05 Broadway Series at the Tampa Bay Performing Art Center tonight. The award-winning play is about a young woman (Laurey) living in the Oklahoma Territory in the early 1900s, and her difficulties with two men competing for her affection: Charley, a charming cowboy, and Jud, a brooding farmhand. Directed by Fred Hanson and choreographed by Ginger Thatcher. 7:30 p.m. Tue.-Thu., 8 p.m. on Fri., 2 and 8 p.m. on Sat., and 2 and 7:30 p.m. on Sun., Oct. 26-31. Tickets: $20-$66.50. Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, 1010 N. MacInnes Place, Tampa, 813-229-7827.
WEDNESDAY 10.27
A Classical Harvest Florida Musician's Educational Society (FloriMezzo) begins its 2004-05 season with a Fall-Halloween chamber music concert at the Palladium Theater. FloriMezzo, a nonprofit organization that works to provide performance opportunities for community musicians, teams up with members of The Florida Orchestra and over 50 local musicians and students for an evening of chamber music called a "mystical fantasia of sounds." The program includes Danse Macabre by Camile Saint Saëns, Death of Ase by Edvard Grieg, W.A. Mozart's Musical Joke, Ambience by Eryn Bauer, Darius Milhaud's La Creation Du Monde, David Roger's Cow Music and a composition by artistic director Mark Sforzini titled Approaching Midnight. 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $12 adults/$10 seniors/$5 students. Palladium Theater, 253 Fifth Ave. N., St. Petersburg. 727-822-3590.
This article appears in Oct 20-26, 2004.
