Charlotte County Florida Weekly

Snowbird season ends with a bang





 

 

It’s the time of year when snowbirds begin flying north for the summer. It’s been a great season, jam-packed with theater and music and all kinds of interesting events. And while there’s lots to do during our ever-extending shoulder season, it’s time for this columnist to take a break. So I’m signing off until the fall — after leaving you with some parting suggestions for fun things to do.

“Madama Butterfly”

Gulfshore Opera will close its season on March 31 with “Madama Butterfly.” Puccini’s opera tells the story of a 15-year old geisha sold into marriage to a U.S. naval officer. She is excited to be marrying an American. He is marrying her, though, with no intention of growing old together. Instead, she’s a placeholder of sorts until he can find an American wife. The story does not have a happy ending.

Seon Duk Kim will take on the title role in Gulfshore Opera’s “Madama Butterfly.”

Seon Duk Kim will take on the title role in Gulfshore Opera’s “Madama Butterfly.”

Korean soprano Seon Duk Kim will take on the role of Butterfly. The production

>>What: Gulfshore Opera presents “Madama
Butterfly”
>>When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 31
>>Where: Charlotte Performing Arts Center,
701 Carmalita St., Punta Gorda
>>Cost: $48-$68
>>Info: www.gulfshoreopera.org or
(239) 529-3925

will be her American debut, after performing the part in Paris and Seoul.

Blues musician Randy McAllister will headline the Blues, Brews and BBQ Festival.

Blues musician Randy McAllister will headline the Blues, Brews and BBQ Festival.

When casting the role, Gulfshore Opera’s Steffanie Pearce felt it was important to find a soprano who embodied Butterfly in voice, look and appearance.

Asked how she located Ms. Kim, she said with a laugh, “I’m a shopper.”

The performance will also feature tenor Cody Austin as Lt. Pinkerton, mezzo Francesca Agudo as Butterfly’s maid, Suzuki, and baritone Gustavo Feulien as U.S. consul Sharpless.

The opera will be performed in Italian with English surtitles.

>>What: Blues, Brews and BBQ
>>When: 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday, April 8
>>Where: Great Lawn at Sheraton Four Points,
33 Tamiami Trail, Punta Gorda
>>Cost: $30
>>Info: www.puntagordachamber.com or
639-3720

“Celebrating Friendship” by Adorable Monique, in the Embracing Our Differences art exhibit.

“Celebrating Friendship” by Adorable Monique, in the Embracing Our Differences art exhibit.

Blues, Brews and BBQ

For a totally different musical experience, check out the Blues, Brews and BBQ festival on April 8. Now in its third year, the festival has been moved to April from July for a more temperate listening experience.

Randy McAllister and the Scrappiest Band in the Motherland will be making a return appearance after last year’s performance was rudely interrupted by inclement weather. Their music is classified as East Texas Blues/Roots, a genre expansive enough to include gospel, Zydeco and rockabilly in addition to straight up blues.

Joanna Olsen as Wallis Simpson in her one-woman show.

Joanna Olsen as Wallis Simpson in her one-woman show.

Mr. McAllister is a fifth-generation Texan who bought his first set of drums when he was in fifth grade. (He earned the $40 purchase price mowing lawns.) He’s known for playing his drums barefoot.

While in the Air Force, Mr. McAllister picked up the harmonica, an instrument eminently more transportable than a drum kit. By the time he returned home to Texas, he was an accomplished harp player who had begun writing songs as well. The rest, as they say, is history.

The afternoon will be rounded out musically with Deb and the Dynamics and Mike Imbasciani and his Bluez- Rockerz. Deb Bielo and her band have become Southwest Florida favorites for their rocking blues. Mr. Imbasciani is a popular local musician who got his start with Punta Gorda’s own Guitar Army.

With the blues aspect of the afternoon queued up, you might be wondering what’s on tap for the brews component. Peace River Distributing will be on hand with 90-plus national and international craft ales to sample. The tastings are included with your festival ticket.

And as for the BBQ , savory treats with a wide variety of flavor profiles will be available for purchase.

To get people in the mood for the festival, the Punta Gorda Chamber is sponsoring a free street party on Friday, April 7. The Boogie Men will take the stage at 6 p.m. sharp. Make sure to wear your dancing shoes!

Wallis Simpson: A Royal Obsession

It’s hard not to be intrigued by the story of Wallis Simpson. King Edward

>>What: Wallis Simpson: Royal Obsession
>>When: 6 p.m. Friday, April 7
>>Where: Mid-County Regional Library, 2050
Forrest Nelson Blvd., Port Charlotte
>>Cost: Free
>>Info: 613-3160

III did, after all, abdicate the English throne to marry her.

On April 7, actress Joanna Olsen will provide a look into the life of this American socialite with her one-woman show.

Ms. Olsen says when she decided to write a play, she wanted to portray someone controversial. Ms. Simpson seemed a good choice given our fascination with British royalty.

In the course of her research, Ms. Olsen’s concept of telling the story through Wallis’ eyes fell by the wayside. Too many conflicting views exist about Wallis and her relationship with Edward. The show evolved into a four-character play, with Queen Mary, a maid and a gentleman acquaintance sharing the stage with Ms. Simpson. Ms. Olsen handles these character shifts with changes in dialect and lots of hats.

When asked why Edward fell so hard for Wallis, Ms. Olsen posited it was because Ms. Simpson treated him as a man first and a king second.

For the whole story, though, you’ll have to take in Ms. Olsen’s performance.

Embracing Our Differences art exhibit

Embracing Our Differences is a Sarasota based nonprofit whose mission is “to use the transformative power of the arts to educate and inspire to create a better world.”

The centerpiece of the organization’s program is an annual exhibit of billboard sized combinations of artwork and quotes that speak to “enriching lives through diversity.”

This year, 10,761 submissions from 48 states and 115 countries were submitted for consideration. The selection committees chose 48 pieces of art and 46 quotes for inclusion in the show.

“Celebrating Friendship” by Adorable Monique is one image that made the cut. A Naples resident, Ms. Monique says her goal was to show that “learning from others helps us find ourselves and embrace others.”

The accompanying quote was written by Alice Danae Morisette from Israel. It reads: “May our outstretched hands always form a bridge over the chasm of our differences.”

The free exhibit is on display in Bayfront Park through May 31.

Go forth and enjoy all our community has to offer! ¦

>>What: Embracing Our Differences art exhibit
>>When: April 1-May 31
>>Where: Bayfront Park, Ringling Blvd. and
Bay Front Drive, Sarasota
>>Cost: Free
>>Info: www.embracingourdifferences.org or
404-5710


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