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Theater, Art and Music Seasons
Theater, music, dance and the visual arts all spring to life this season in a variety of Lee County venues, including a Victorian playhouse, mystery trains and a schoolhouse theater. If sculpture, ballet, jazz or musicals capture your imagination, you'll find that The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel puts on a great show.
By Lisa Codianne Fowler
Theater, music, dance and the visual arts all spring to life this season in a variety of Lee County venues, including a Victorian playhouse, mystery trains and a schoolhouse theater. If sculpture, ballet, jazz or musicals capture your imagination, you'll find that The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel puts on a great show.
By Lisa Codianne Fowler
  The Wizard of Oz |
Theatrical Offerings
Fort Myers sets the stage with its many playhouses and programs. The Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre serves up healthy portions of vibrant musicals after each lunch or dinner. The theater kicks off its season with the award-winning musical Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story through mid-November, and closes the season in mid-August 2008 with the classic favorite The Wizard of Oz.
The Florida Repertory Theatre continues to prove that variety is the spice of life. Its season includes such selections as a modern-day, Harlem-set rendition of Romeo and Juliet, the London hit Stones in His Pockets, the whimsical Almost, Maine, the mesmerizing drama Doubt, the popular musical farce A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, the madcap Breaking Legs and a study of friendships titled Visiting Mr. Green. All are presented in the charming Arcade Theatre, a renovated 1908 Victorian playhouse.
From musicians to magicians, the stars shine at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall. This season, enjoy class acts Kenny G, Natalie Cole, David Copperfield, concerts by The Southwest Florida Symphony and Billy Joel and Twyla Tharp's Movin' Out, to name a few. This year's Broadway series begins in January with the holiday special Irving Berlin's White Christmas and the music of Johnny Cash in Ring of Fire. Tony award-winning Monty Python's Spamalot keeps the momentum going in February, and The Wedding Singer and Blast bring the season to a close in April.
For dinner and a show on the go, board the Seminole Gulf Railway's Murder Mystery Dinner Train and enjoy dinner while a hilarious "whodunnit" performance swirls around you. Cocktails, fine wines and five courses are served while the mystery unfolds and guests help pinpoint the perp. The train winds north toward Punta Gorda, crossing the scenic Caloosahatchee River and the Intracoastal Waterway on its three-and-a-half-hour trek. Shows are performed five nights a week year 'round.
In Cape Coral, local thespians take center stage at The Cultural Park Theatre Company. Upcoming shows include the classics Cinderella and Singing in the Rain. The season ends in May 2008 with Harvey. The community theater is part of Cultural Park, Cape Coral's fine arts center, which encompasses Cape Coral Arts League, Cape Coral
 Monty Python's Spamalot |
The new and highly original Stage 88 Theatre has opened in Bonita Springs. Just in time for the holidays, it brings The Everything You Don't Know About Christmas Show, an original variety show, to the stage in December.
Music & Dance
Not to be upstaged by Fort Myers' big-city box office, Sanibel Island boasts The Schoolhouse Theater, a professional musical theater that offers Broadway-caliber talent in an intimate atmosphere. The comical Forever Plaid closes Dec. 1, 2007. Holiday Follies rings in the Christmas season, and four other revues and musicals fill the season.
Ballet aficionados will recognize Sanibel resident Melinda Roy, a former principal dancer with the New York City Ballet and a Tony-nominated choreographer. Co-founder of Gulfshore Ballet School in Fort Myers, she keeps the area on its toes by bringing New York to Southwest Florida.
Art, Fine and Folk
Wildlife, sunsets and spirit... Lee County's essence has been captured on canvas for decades. Local, national and international artists continue to be inspired by the region's colorful palette of possibilities.
The Alliance for the Arts in Fort Myers is buzzing with exciting exhibitions and events in 2008. Artists in all media, from painting and design to performance and culinary arts, come together for the fifth annual Art Royale exhibit in November. This year's theme is "The Games People Play." A series of monthly Jazz Alliance outdoor concerts runs March through May.
The Bob Rauschenberg Gallery of Fine Art at Edison College welcomes back its namesake in January and early February with an exhibit of poster prints designed by the internationally renowned artist. Mark Messersmith's "A Southern Landscape" exhibit depicts the South's natural side from November through early December.
Seaweed Gallery features art glass, pottery, photography, furniture, jewelry and paintings. With locations at Sanibel, Captiva and Matlacha, Seaweed showcases the works of more than 60 artists and artisans. Watch for information on Art Nights in Matlacha and on Sanibel Island.
BIG ARTS is Sanibel and Captiva's home to all the arts. In addition to monthly exhibits by Southwest Florida-based artists at its Phillips and Founders galleries, it hosts workshops, a speakers' forum, an independent film series and a variety of plays and special dance and musical performances in its Schein Hall. Catch the The World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra in January.
ArtFest Fort Myers, Southwest Florida's premier fine art festival, takes place in downtown Fort Myers in early February. The free, two-day celebration of the arts decorates downtown with exceptional artwork, entertainment and children's art activities. Bonita Springs National Art Festivals are held in January and March and feature the artwork of more than 200 national and international artists.
If you go...
Alliance for the Arts, 239-939-2787, www.artinlee.org
ArtFest Fort Myers, 239-768-3602, www.artfestfortmyers.com
Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall, 239-481-4849, www.bbmannpah.com
BIG Arts, 239-395-0900, www.bigarts.org
Bob Rauschenberg Gallery of Fine Art, 239-489-9313, www.edison.edu/lee/gallery
Bonita Springs National Art Festivals, 239-495-8989, www.artinusa.com/bonita
Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre, 239-278-4422, www.broadwaypalm.com
Cape Coral Festival of the Arts, 239-945-1988, www.capecoralfestival.com
Cultural Park Theatre Company, 239-772-5862, www.culturalpark.com
Florida Repertory Theatre/Arcade Theatre, 239-332-4488, www.floridarep.org
The Schoolhouse Theater, 239-472-6862, www.theschoolhousetheater.com
Seaweed Gallery, 239-472-2585, http://www.seaweedgallery.com
Seminole Gulf Railway's Murder Mystery Dinner Train, 239-275-8487, www.semgulf.com
Stage 88 Theatre, 239-513-8600, www.stage88.com
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