Visual and Performing Artists and Their Events – June 1-7, 2023
This is who and what’s creating news in Southwest Florida’s visual and performing arts community this week:
1 ACTORS
Aubrey Barnhouse reprises role of Cosette in ‘Les Miserables’ for Melody Lane Theatre
Aubrey Barnhouse reprises the role of Cosette in Melody Lanes Theatre’s encore production of Les Miserables, which Melody Lane originally performed in 2021. plays the part of Katherine Plumber in Newsies for Belle Theatre. The 16-year-old is a member of TAG at Cypress Lake High School, where she is involved in many extracurriculars and AP classes (all while maintaining straight A’s). Past roles include Katherine Plumber in Newsies for Belle Theatre, Jasmine in Aladdin Jr., Jack’s Mom in Into The Woods, Morticia in Addams Family Jr. and the Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods Jr.
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Gerrie Benzing is Gertrude in ‘Save Hamlet’ at Lab Theater
Gerrie Benzing plays Gertrude in Lab Theater’s summer spoof Save Hamlet. Gerrie’s recent credits include Raven in Trouble (at the Vista View Mobile Home Estates) for Florida Rep, Brooke in Other Desert Cities for The Studio Players, Florence Ungar The Odd Couple: Female Version (Belle Theatre, 2022), Madame de Volanges in Dangerous Liaisons (Lab Theeater, 2022) and Lee in Charles Busch’s The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife for New Phoenix Theatre (2022). Go here for Gerrie’s full profile.
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Nick Beyor plays Lord Pinkleton in ‘Cinderella’
Nick Beyor plays the role of Lord Pinkleton for Belle Theatre in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Beyor’s character is the second in command to Prince Topher’s Lord Chancellor, Sebastian, and as town crier, is tasked with heralding all of the kingdom’s important events. Beyor previously played Seymour for Belle Theatre in Little Shop of Horrors, Musidorus in Head Over Heels at New Phoenix Theatre and Billy Jr. in On Golden Pond at Cultural Park Theater.
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Sophia Brook in ensemble of ‘Les Miserables’ at Melody Lane
Sophia Brook appears in the ensemble of Les Miserables for Melody Lane Theatre. Sophia has been performing since a very young age. Her prior credits include Rapunzel in Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods, Sandy in Grease, Margot Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank and Mary in Mary Poppins. In 2023, Sophia earned the All Star Award at the Atlanta Junior Theater Festival, and she scored five Superiors at the District Thespians with a Best in Room accolade.
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Jania Boucher is Marcella in ‘Save Hamlet’ at Lab Theater
Jania Boucher plays the part of Marcella in Save Hamlet for Laboratory Theater. Marcella is one of a bevy of women disguised as men who band together to prevent Hamlet’s uncle, the new king, from murdering Hamlet. As in the actual play, Marcella’s companion on the midnight watch is Bernadette, and together they convince Horatio to join them in their efforts to thwart the new king’s plans to have Hamlet killed. Go here for more on Jania’s stage credits.
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Steven Coe is Hamlet in Lab Theater summer spoof ‘Save Hamlet’
Actor Steven Coe plays Hamlet in Lab Theater’s summer spoof Save Hamlet in June of 2023. Steven’s most recent credits include David in The Foreigner for Players Circle Theatre, Happy Mahoney in Clown Bar for Theatre Conspiracy at the Alliance for the Arts, Mitch Brenner in The Birds: A Parody, the impudent, bitingly witty rake Vicomte de Valmont in Lab Theater’s production of Dangerous Liaisons and Chris in Killer Joe. Read here to see the rest of Steven’s stage and film credits.
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David Cooley is Laertes (Ophelia’s dad) in ‘Save Hamlet’
David Cooley plays the part of Laertes in Save Hamlet. His stage credits include Lorenzo de Medici in Botticelli in the Fire, Leonard in Let Nothing You Dismay, various roles in DMV and Starveling in Lab Theater’s socially-distanced rendition of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He appears next as Laertes in Lab’s summer spoof Save Hamlet. It may seem appropriate for David, a Collier County public defender, to perform in a parody of The Bard since Shakespeare is oft-quoted for the line from Henry VI that “the first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” But Shakespeare actually respected solictors because “for there to be tyranny, we must eliminate those who protect rights.”
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Chloe Elliott-Chan is Bernadette in Lab’s spoof ‘Save Hamlet’
Chloe Elliott-Chan plays the part of Bernadette in Lab Theater’s summer spoof Save Hamlet. The role signals Chloe’s return to the Lab, where she previously appeared in the role of Madam de Tourvel in last season’s production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses. A theatre major at Florida Gulf Coast University, Chloe has performed in a number of productions in FGCU’s TheatreLab, including Hamlet, An Enemy of the People, Antigone and On Baile’s Strand. Having just closed Hamlet at FGCU while simultanesously rehearsing this profane retelling of that classic play has been … unique. Read Chloe’s full profile here.
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Harvey Evans reprises role of Jean Valjean in ‘Les Miserables’
Harvey Evans reprises the role of Jean Valjean in Les Miserables for Melody Lane Theatre June 23-25. He originally played the part for Melody Lane in its 2021 production of the musical. Previous credits include Charlie Luther Mason in Admissions for Players Circle Theatre, Jack Kelly in Newsies, Ned Schneebly in School of Rock for Belle Theatre and Christopher Boone in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time for Players Circle Theatre. Go here for Harvey’s full profile.
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Jorja Evans in ensemble of ‘Les Miserables’ at Melody Lane
Jorja Evans appears in the ensemble of Les Miserables in Melody Lane Theatre’s encore production of the musical June 23-25. Her previous credits include one of Jesus’ modern-day disciples in Godspell for Fort Myers Theatre, Amy March in Little Women, work in the ensemble of Elf Jr., Miss Honey in Matilda, Jr., Mrs. McKee in The Great Gatsby, Margot Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank and Ursula in Fort Myers Theatre’s summer show The Little Mermaid Jr. (2020).
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Declan Ireland plays Garfield killer Charles Guiteau in Sondheim’s ‘Assassins’
Declan Ireland plays the part of Charles Guiteau for the Alliance Youth Theatre in Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins. Guiteau assassinated President James A. Garfield on July 2, 1881. Guiteau had written a political speech that was used twice by Garfield during his campaign for the presidency. Prone to illusions of grandeur and possibly suffering from paralytic dementia from late-stage syphilis, Guiteau attributed Garfield’s win to the speech and demanded an ambassadorship as his reward for the important role he had played in Garfield’s victory. Slighted, he was filled with rage when he didn’t get it. Prior to being hanged, Guiteau recited a poem he’d written, “I am Going to the Lordy.” Ireland recites that poem in the musical, and is terrific in the role. For more on Declan, please read here.
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Art Keen is Claudius in Lab summer spoof ‘Save Hamlet’
Art Keen appears in the role of Claudius in Lab’s summer spoof Save Hamlet. Art’s local stage credits include Alonso in The Tempest, The Crucible, Jimmy Rogers in Lab Theater’s world premiere of Zalman Velvel’s D.M.V. and Manolo Costazuela in Del Tura Repertory Company’s production of The Odd Couple: Female Version.
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Mark King appears as Guildenstern in Lab’s ‘Save Hamlet’
Mark King appears in the role of Guildenstern for Lab Theater in its summer spoof, Save Hamlet. Mark has previously appeared as Amos Hart in Chicago for Gypsy Playhouse, in the ensemble of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street for Lab Theater, various roles (Sholes, Harry, Bird) in Lab Theater’s 2022 summer spoof of the 1963 Alfred Hitchcock horror film The Birds, as Major Domo in Dangerous Liaisons, as Trekkie Monster in Avenue Q and comedian Eddie McCuen in The Musical Comedy Murders of the 1940s. For more on Mark, read here.
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Guinevere Bortnicker Kiniry is Horatia in Lab’s summer spoof ‘Save Hamlet’
Guinevere Bortnicker Kiniry plays the part of Horatia for Lab Theater in Save Hamlet. Her stage credits include the roles of the San Mateo auditioner Maggie Winslow in Fort Myers Theatre’s production of A Chorus Line, Bakers Wife in Into the Woods Jr, numerous roles in Anastasia (2022), multiple parts in Bible Herstory (2021), Mimi in Pippin (2019) and a townsperson in Hunchback of Notre Dame (2018).
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Terry Lavy is the Ghost in Lab’s ‘Save Hamlet’ summer spoof
Terry Lavy appears as the Ghost in Lab Theater’s summer spoof Save Hamlet. Terry’s previous credits include Cogsworth in Beauty and the Beast for Fort Myers Theatre, the detective, Hunyak’s defense attorney and the prosecutor in Chicago for Gypsy Playhouse, Mr. Lawrence in Little Women, the Von Trapp butler, Franz, in The Sound of Music (2023), the Narrator in The Rocky Horror Show (2022), Uncle Fester in the Addams Family musical (2022) and the grieving killer, Wilson, in The Great Gatsby (2022).
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Brandon Lee plays John Wilkes Booth in Sondheim’s ‘Assassins’
Brandon Lee plays the part of John Wilkes Booth in Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins. He is imposing, at times tyrannical, in the role. With direction by Carmen Crussard, Lee evinces the delusions that characterized Booth’s final days, as federal troops pursued him through Maryland and into Virginia over a span of 12 days following his assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
Go here for the rest of this spotlight.
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Eileen Little is Ophelia in ‘Save Hamlet’ at Lab Theater
Eileen Little appears in the role of Ophelia in Lab Theater’s summer spoof Save Hamlet. Little was last seen as Roxie Hart in Chicago for Gypsy Playhouse, in the ensemble of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street at Lab Theater. Musicals are Eileen’s forte. She’s an alumni of Florida Southern College with a BFA in Musical Theatre and minor in music.
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Paul LoPristi plays husband Paul in ‘Murder at the Howard Johnson’s’
Paul LoPresti plays money-obsessed used car salesman Paul for The Studio Players in Murder at the Howard Johnson’s. Paul most recently performed at The Naples Players as Mr. Fezziwig in A Christmas Carol and as Herr Von Hussler in Mary Poppins. He has performed at TNP over the years in the productions of Calendar Girls, as Tom Buchanan in The Great Gatsby, as Lt. Brannigan in Guys and Dolls and as D.A. Mara in Miracle on 34th Street, as well as in Music Man, My Fair Lady, Hello Dolly, Anything Goes, Fiddler on the Roof, Secret Garden, and Cabaret.
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Christi Lueck-Sadiq is Arlene in ‘Murder at the Howard Johnson’
Christi Lueck-Sadiq makes her debut for The Studio Players in the role of Arlene in Murder at the Howard Johnson’s, a woman in an unfulfilling marriage to a money-obsessed used car salesman who starts an affair with the couple’s dentist. When her husband refuses to give her a divorce, she goes from flighty and fickle to femme fatale deciding, convincing her lover to off her hubbie. The rest of Christi’s profile is here.
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Ariana Milian is Francesca in Lab Theater’s summer spoof ‘Save Hamlet’
Ariana Milian plays Francesca for Lab Theater in the world premiere of Save Hamlet. Ariana’s previous stage credits include the ensemble of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street at the Laboratory Theater of Florida, Sister Sophia in The Sound of Music for Fort Myers Theatre, one of the phantoms in The Rocky Horror Show, a member of the ensemble of Rent, one of the cut dancers in A Chorus Line and Alice in Alice in Wonderland. The rest of this profile is here.
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Kristen Noble 2023 HSMTA Outstanding Performer in Female-Identifying Role
On May 4, Cypress Lake High School senior Kristen Noble was named by a 6-judge panel as the Outstanding Performer in a Female-Identifying Role at the 2023 High School Musical Theatre Awards at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Center for her portrayal of Sandra Templeton in Big Fish. The singer-songwriter has extensive musical theatre credits, including Anya in Anastasia, Mitchie in Camp Rock!, Lucinda in Into the Woods, the colorful lazy Mayzie la Bird in Seussical the Musical, Kitty in The Drowsy Chaperone, Sharpay Evans/Taylor McKessie/Ensemble in High School Musical 2! and Elle Woods in Legally Blonde Jr. Go here to view the rest of Kristen’s profile.
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Samantha Pudlin plays stepsister Gabrielle in ‘Cinderella’
Samantha Pudlin is a resident performer in the Southwest Florida theater community. She is appearing as Gabrielle in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella at The Belle Theatre. Ah, while she starts out as a self-absorbed somewhat heinous stepsister, in this version of the age-old fairy tale, Gabrielle finds camaraderie with Ella after confessing to her that she’d gladly give up all her wealth to be with her true love, a poor revolutionary by the name of Jean-Michel. Pudlin’s recent stage credits include one of the disciples in Godspell at Fort Myers Theatre, the role of Meg in Little Women for Fort Myers Theatre, ensemble work in Head Over Heels for New Phoenix Theatre, the Lady of the Lake in Spamalot, Crystal in Little Shop of Horrors and Marcy Park in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, all for Cultural Park Theatre. Wait, there’s more.
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2 DIRECTORS
Paula Keenan directs ‘Murder at the Howard Johnson’s’ for The Studio Players
Paula Keenan directs Murder at the Howard Johnson’s for The Studio Players. Her directing credits include Other Desert Cities, Barefoot in the Park, The Waverly Gallery, Over the River and Through the Woods, The Cocktail Hour, Bakersfield Mist and Agnes of God for The Studio Players; On the Farce Day of Christmas, Silver Alert, Come Blow Your Horn and Flamingo Court for The Marco Players; and The Ladies Odd Couple, Sex Please We’re 60, Drinking Habits, Fiddler on the Roof and Right Bed Wrong Husband. Additionally, she directed Norm Foster’s Opening Night and Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple for the Azuay Community Theater in Cuenca, Ecuador, where she spends part of the year.
3 ART SHOWS AND EXHIBITIONS
Margaret Hodge exhibition on view in Alliance main gallery through June 9
On exhibit in the main gallery of the Alliance for the Arts May 5 through June 9 is Bits and Pieces: The Realm of Creation, featuring the art of Margaret Schnebly Hodge. The Florida abstract painter is widely known as a serious large format painter with a mastery of brushstroke and color.
Hodge’s art 
often evinces her interest in the fundamental nature of existence. Art historian and author Gary R. Libby writes that since early 2020 “she has been drawn to the mysterious inner mechanics of artistic creation in a series of new works which are reflections of how the cerebral cortex of our brain uniquely synthesizes bits and pieces of memory and, along with our imagination, creates meaning in paintings that contain a unique shorthand of colored marks, shapes, and forms. This new visual 
language reflects how this artist creates deep and profound meaning in abstract works of art based on the process of visualization and its relationship to conscious and unconscious memory, the storehouses of the human brain, and imagination, the unique way that an individual artist links these bits and pieces of cerebral data to create dynamic 
abstraction. Here, viewers in magical ways but based on the science of perception, thought, memory and creative imagination share meanings understandable to all sentient beings. Each painting contains multiple forms / codes whose ultimate expression is unique to each viewer.”
Raised in Florida from an early age, Hodge grew up during the pop culture movement of the 1950’s and the counter-culture 
movement of the 1960’s. “Her mother’s work in outdoor recreation and her father’s work in the space industry introduced her to a wide range of experiences from running barefoot in sunshine, rain, and storms, to watching rockets reach space and the moon for the first time,” Libby continues. “The complex and dynamic flux of societal norms and the ever-dynamic physical activity and environmental conditions of those years remain influential in her work today.”
Opening reception for this exhibit is from 5:00-7:00 p.m. on May 5.
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Barbara Yeomans’ art in Theatre Gallery at the Alliance May 5 through June 9
The art of Barbara Yeomans is in the Theatre Lobby at the Alliance for the Arts May 5 through June 9. Barbara Yeomans is a Florida based painter and printmaker. For the past 30 years, her work has shown in galleries, museums and various arts organizations in the United States and abroad.
Barbara was born in London and grew up during WWII. This turbulent war time would later inform her work as an artist. Interested in arts and crafts at a young age, she was awarded an art scholarship, which allowed her to pursue a degree in fashion at Cheltenham College of Art. While at college, she won design awards and studied under the leading artists of the day.
In the 1950’s, 
her college career was put on hold when she met and married a young American man. She emigrated to America and raised a family while continuing her interest in the arts as a volunteer arts teacher in Fort Myers, Florida.
In the 1980s, Barbara returned to school and enrolled in a printmaking class at a local college. Over the years, she has had several one-woman shows in Florida, England, New Jersey and New York. Her work is sold in New Jersey at the Broadfoot & Broadfoot Gallery. Her work has been collected and placed in homes and businesses everywhere from Sag Harbor, Montreal, Calgary, New York to Milan and Hong Kong.
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Alyona Ushe named Executive Director of Centers for the Arts Bonita
After an extensive executive search process led by a team of experts from Arts Consulting Group and a committee of Board members, Alyona Ushe has been selected as the new Executive Director of the Centers for the Arts Bonita Springs.
“We are thrilled Alyona will be joining us to lead the Centers for the Arts in our commitment to enrich the lives of the community by providing opportunities for artistic expression, 
education, and appreciation for all,” says CFABS Board Chairman Fred Weinman. “Alyona shares our commitment and passion for the arts and brings exceptional leadership experience to our organization. The future is bright!”
Alyona began her career by founding Classika-Synetic Theater in the Washington DC Metro area.
Go here for the rest of this story.
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New director of Bonita Springs’ Center for the Arts is creating magic behind the scenes
The new director for Bonita Springs’ Centers for the Arts thinks that creating magic behind the scenes is an art form all of its own. WGCU’s Tom Hall provides this insight into how Alyona Ushe’s previous experience uniquely positions her to guide the Art Center into playing an even greater role in the local arts community. Listen here.
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4 ARTISTS
Spotlight on River Basin muralist Rod Acosta
Local artist Rodney Acosta has painted two panels for the Fort Myers River Basin Mural Project. The first is the actual fort’s guardhouse and a survey map that was drawn to scale by a major who came in 1856 to find out why so much money was being spent to build the fort. The second is a rendering of Fort Myers’ colorful sheriff, Frank Tippins, in a boat on the Caloosahatchee River with three other men.
The rest of Rodney’s bio is here.
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Spotlight on River Basin muralist Lorrie Bennett
Lorrie Bennett is one of 39 artists who have painted murals for the River Basin Mural Project being conducted by the City’s Public Art Committee, Community Redevelopment Agency and Fort Myers Mural Society. Lorrie has painted two River Basin murals – one of Seminole Chief and feared warrior Billy Bowlegs and the other of Uncle Marion Hendry’s Grocery Store at the northeast corner of Hendry and Front Streets. Lorrie describes herself as a self-taught intuitive, contemporary, and expressive mixed media artist and illustrator who, from an early age, had an affinity for drawing and painting. For Lorrie, creating has always been a journey of experimentation and exploration. The rest of Lorrie’s credits can be read here.
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Spotlight on River Basin muralist Sherry Lynn Diaz
Sherry Lynn Diaz is one of 39 artists who have painted murals for the River Basin Mural Project being conducted by the City’s Public Art Committee, Community Redevelopment Agency and Fort Myers Mural Society. Sherry has contributed two murals to the project, the first being this one of the great Seminole chief and warrior Billy Bowlegs. Sherry has exhibited her art in juried local, state and national shows, earning awards on all three levels. She has enjoyed two well-received one-woman shows. Her art can be found in private and corporate collections in the Dominican Republic as well as many places throughout the United States. Please go here to see Sherry Lynn’s full profile.
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Spotlight on River Basin muralist Ruben Dimas
On the Hendry Street side of the detention basin next to Luminary Hotel three stanchions south of Edwards Drive is a mural of Henry Ford sitting in a Model T. It’s the car that Ford had the local dealer deliver to his friend and neighbor Thomas Edison on the occasion of the latter’s birthday in 1916. The mural was rendered by Fort Myers Mural Society member Ruben Dimas, an automotive artist born and raised in Fort Myers, Florida. He specializes in automotive illustrations, graphic design, and product design for the auto industry. Go here to see the rest of Ruben’s credits.
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Spotlight on River Basin muralist Claudia Goode
Mural 8 in the Fort Myers River Basin Mural Project depicts the town’s namesake, Colonel Abraham C. Myers. But what you probably don’t know is how the fort that the Army built here came to be named for the Colonel – or why the artist who painted his portrait placed a pile of skulls at his feet. Once you do, it will come as no surprise that the artist who rendered this mural is none other than Claudia Goode.
Please go here to read Claudia’s bio.
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Spotlight on River Basin muralist Michelle J. McDonald
As you walk around the basin next to Luminary Hotel, you’ll come across a mural depicting the arrival of colorfully attired guests on the pier at Thomas Edison’s home downriver on McGregor Boulevard. It was rendered by Michelle J. McDonald, who currently works primarily in acrylics and pastels. She is also known for her “Beautiful Bookmarks,” which are comprised of scraps of paper that create a collage. Michelle’s story is like that of many other later-in-life Florida artists. Go here to find out how.
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Spotlight on River Basin muralist Lesley Morrow
Lesley Morrow is one of 39 artists who have painted murals for the River Basin Mural Project being conducted by the City’s Public Art Committee, Community Redevelopment Agency and Fort Myers Mural Society. Lesley painted the portrait of John Alexander Weatherford that appears on one of the stanchions across from Ella Mae’s Diner at the Luminary Hotel. Morrow is locally known for expressive oil, acrylic, airbrush and mixed media paintings that express the feminine experience and mystique. Featuring vibrant brushstrokes and a distinctive palette, Morrow’s paintings are bold, raw and eye-appealing. You can read Lesley’s full biography here.
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Spotlight on River Basin muralist Eric Riemenschneider
Eric Riemenschneider is one of 39 artists who have painted murals for the River Basin Mural Project being conducted by the City’s Public Art Committee, Community Redevelopment Agency and Fort Myers Mural Society. Eric’s contribution to the project is a portrait of a Miccosukee warrior named Billy Fuel who fought alongside Seminole Chief Billy Bowlegs and Miccosukee Chief Sam Jones during the Seminole wars.Eric is a portrait artist who also reimagines commercial spaces to match the theme of the business through murals and collections of paintings. Go here to read Eric’s full bio.
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Spotlight on River Basin muralist Roland Ruocco
Muralist Roland Ruocco has contributed four compositions to the Fort Myers River Basin Mural Project, a homage to iconic Fort Myers banker, businessman and real estate developer Harvie Heitman that will be installed on one of the four obelisks on Edwards Drive and panels to be installed on the stanchions surrounding the basin that depict the shuffleboard courts that were located at one time next to the Hall of 50 States, the fire that claimed the Lee County Packing House on Memorial Day in 1953, and drovers unloading cattle from a barge, on which he collaborated with his artist wife, Wendy White. Go here to view Roland’s education, training and more on his body of work.
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Spotlight on River Basin muralist Samantha Taylor
Samantha Taylor is one of 39 artists who have painted murals for the River Basin Mural Project being conducted by the City’s Public Art Committee, Community Redevelopment Agency and Fort Myers Mural Society. She has painted two of the murals included in the project, the first being the Father of Fort Myers, Captain Francis Asbury Hendry and the second being The King, Elvis Pressley, who performed twice during the 1950s at our City Auditorium.
A native Floridian, Samantha is known for her portrait paintings, local murals and tattoo artistry. As an avid painter specializing in oils and fluid mediums, Sam is inspired by the human form and surrealism. Go here for the rest of Samantha’s bio.
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Spotlight on River Basin muralist Erik Schlake
Fort Myers Mural Society muralist Erik Schlake is one of 39 artists participating in the Fort Myers River Basin Mural Project. Not only is he contributing a mural panel for the obelisks that flank either side of Edwards Drive, he is leading the team that is installing the mural panels on the stanchions and obelisks that encircle the detention basin. Schlake has been influenced over the years by traditional decorative art as 
well as contemporary street art. He combines various styles in his work, infusing classic painting with elements of trompe l’oeil, grisaille, and other traditional decorative art in an effort to engage and interact with the viewer a less formal mode of communication. It’s a style he often refers to as “modern traditionalist.” The rest of this post is here.
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Spotlight on River Basin muralist Brian Weaver
The Florida alligator fascinates out-of-state visitors. This was true of the sportsmen who patronized the Tarpon House on Punta Rassa between 1885 and 1913 and of the tourists who stayed at Hugh O’Neill’s Royal Palm Hotel in downtown Fort Myers beginning in 1897. Back then, many steamship companies through the state touted the opportunity to shoot alligators from the upper decks of their boats. Still, it surprises many that Fort Myers advertised itself to northern and Midwestern visitors by means of postcards like the one that local artist Brian Weaver painted in this mural, titled Gator Hunt, which can be found near the entrance to the river basin at the intersection of Bay and Hendry Streets in downtown Fort Myers.
Read the rest of his post here.
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Spotlight on River Basin muralist Dawn Webb
Dawn Webb is one of 39 artists who have painted murals for the River Basin Mural Project being conducted by the City’s Public Art Committee, Community Redevelopment Agency and Fort Myers Mural Society. Dawn painted a mural of Fort Myers first African-American settlor, Nellis Tillis, who, with his wife, Ellen, were also the town’s first interracial couple.
Dawn is a proud born-and-raised Southwest Florida native. Born in Fort Myers, she has watched the city develop and grow since the 1970s. On the fine arts side, Dawn works in the medium of acrylic painting. But she is also a gifted tattoo artist. Go here for the rest of Dawn’s bio.
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Spotlight on River Basin muralist Wendy White
Based on a vintage 1930s-era postcard, this mural depicts the many activities that visitors can enjoy during a fun-filled trip to Fort Myers. Titled Florida Fun, it was rendered Wendy White who is an accomplished artist, curator, director, playwright, screenwriter and teacher. Born in Rockaway Beach, New York, Wendy’s palette and writings are strongly influenced by her early environment of living by the sea. Her father was a painter and while she was growing up, she and her twin brother would frequently model for him as muses. Go here to view Wendy’s impressiver resume.
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Spotlight on River Basin muralist Alex Wilkinson
One of the murals you’ll see when you walk around the river basin adjoining Luminary Hotel is a painting of a steamboat named the St. Lucie. It’s the steamship where Andrew and George Kinzie got their start as seafarers and that eventually inspired them to form a steamship line that served Fort Myers into the 1960s. The mural was painted by Alex Wilkinson. Alex is a self-educated mixed media artist who works in acrylics, traditional pen and ink, colored pencils, pastels, markers, paper and found objects. A former needle arts designer and instructor, Alex’s oeuvre influences her present-day mixed media “Zen tangle inspired art.” Her designs often include small, stitch-like, black-and-white line patterns in the ancient Zen Tangle-inspired art style.
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5 THEATER PRODUCTIONS
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella comes to Belle Theatre June 9-18
On stage at The Belle Theatre in Cape Coral Friday, June 9 through Sunday, June 18 is Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella, a timeless fairy tale retold with grace, originality, charm and elegance.
Originally presented on television (starring Julie Andrews) in 1957, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella was the most widely viewed program in the history of television, drawing an astonishing 107 million viewers. Its recreation (starring Lesley Ann Warren) in 1965 was no less successful in transporting a new generation to the miraculous kingdom of “Dreams Come True,” and a second remake in 1997 set a new standard for representation and diversity in screen musicals when it cast Brandy as Cinderella and Whitney Houston as her Fairy Godmother.
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Footloose’ plays at Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre May 16 to July 1
Playing on the main stage at Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre May 16 through July 1 is Footloose, the extraordinary musical that celebrates the exhilaration of youth, the power of forgiveness, and the community that’s found in dance and 
music.
With music by Tom Snow, lyrics and book by Dean Pitchford (who made some modifications to the original screenplay), the story revolves around a teen named Ren McCormack whose mother upends his life when she moves the two of them from Chicago to 
the small farming town of Bomont after his father abandons them. Upon arriving, Ren finds himself at odds with most of the town, including the Reverend Shaw Moore. The Reverend has convinced the town to outlaw dancing. But with the help of the Reverend’s daughter, Ariel, and Willard (a country hick who becomes his best friend), Ren convinces the Reverend to let the teenagers dance, 
and in the process helps the town to heal from a tragedy that affected them all.
Including such popular songs as The Girl Gets Around, Holding Out For A Hero, Let’s Hear It For The Boy, Almost Paradise and the title song, Footloose, the scores for the 1984 film starring Kevin Bacon and 1998 
musical received two Oscar, two Grammy and two Tony Award nominations and the soundtrack displaced Michael Jackson’s Thriller as #1 on the Billboard Top 200 after a year at the top of the chart.
Performances are Wednesday through Sunday evenings with selected matinees. Tickets are $55 to $85 with children and group prices available. Tickets are now 
on sale and can be reserved by calling (239) 278-4422, by visiting https://broadwaypalm.com/shows/footloose/ or by stopping by the box office at 1380 Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers.
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Crimes of the Heart plays at Cultural Park Theater June 1-11
Crimes of the Heart plays at Cultural Park Theater June 1-11. The story follows three sisters who have reunited for the first time in a decade at their Granddaddy’s house in Hazlehurst, Mississippi. Lenny Magrath is the eldest. She actually never left Hazlehurst, remaining in the small Southern town to take care of the cantankerous old coot. It’s Lenny’s birthday, but her sisters seem hell-bent on spoiling the occasion with a laundry list of dirty little personal problems that not even Lenny can clean up. Read the full advance here.
Go here for play dates, times and a full cast list.
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Fringe Fort Myers on WGCU
Taking place June 1st through the 4th, the inaugural Fringe Fort Myers festival features nine shows in three theaters. Listen on WGCU as I shine a spotlight on three acts to look forward to.
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Spotlight on ‘Carousel of Burlesque’
Fringe Fort Myers invades the Alliance for the Arts and Off Broadway Palm Thursday, June 1, through Sunday, June 4. One of the acts attendees can see on the Foulds Theatre stage is Pixel Winters and Freckles Galore’s rousing Carousel of Burlesque.
Pixel and Freckles have structured the show around the history of burlesque in the United States.
“We have a narrator who will be taking us through time,” Pixel explains, “taking us through not only burlesque’s place in American entertainment history, but how it has changed over time and where it’s possibly going.” Go here for the rest of this advance.
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Read Nancy Burnham’s review of ‘Carousel of Burlesque’
On Friday night, reviewer Nancey Burnham was in the Foulds Theatre for a performance of Carousel of Burlesque, presented by Pixel Winters and Freckles Galore, who both hail from Naples. With a little help from their friends Lela Starlit and LaBelle Michelle, Winters and Galore took the audience on a carousel ride that began with the arrival of Lydia Thompson and The British Blondes in New York way back in 1868.
“They toured the United States with a combination of comedy, music, social satire and bold sexuality,” writes Burnham, who started 
the National Honor Society for Dance Arts for the State of Florida in 2006. “[Pixel, Freckles and company] then ventured into burlesque being presented as a cultural act and for educational purposes and the act of ‘Little Egypt’ and belly dancing. The carousel of time moved then into the art of fan dancing and the technique and challenges early fan dancers performed so elegantly. The journey continues into the 50’s and 60’s and the strip club culture and finally into the 80’s and 90’s with a resurgence of old school burlesque ideas being brought by Madonna and others. The early 2000’s brings a Latin American homage.’
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Spotlight on Fringe Fort Myers show ‘The Light Bringer’ and writer/performer Laila Lee
One of the shows included in the inaugural Fringe Fort Myers is The Light Bringer, a true-life storytelling show written and performed by Laila Lee. In this one-woman show, Laila brings to light her experiences growing up Muslim in the American South, how she discovered her own place in the world, and the sacrifices she’s called upon to make in order to fit into American culture. The Light Bringer has already garnered several awards, including the Tech Choice Award at the 2022 Tampa International Fringe Festival, Best of Fest at 2020 Tampa International Fringe Digital and the Jenny Award for Telling Like it Is at the 2019 Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival. Go here for the full advance.
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‘Light Bringer’ not just an hour well spent, but wise investment in time
On the same day that hundreds of people took to Fort Myers’ streets to protest Florida’s new anti-immigration law, Laila Lee did her part to put a very human face on the heavy price immigrants are willing to pay to assimilate into the fabric of American society. Her 60-minute show, The Light Bringer, made its debut in the Alliance Classroom Theatre on the first night of the inaugural Fringe Fort Myers festival. Read the full review here.
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‘Light Bringer’ Laila Lee asks what story you’d tell to save your life
One of the shows included in Fringe Fort Myers is The Light Bringer, written and performed by Tampa-based creative Laila Lee. It has been well-received at the other fringe festivals where she’s performed the show. Laila proclaims that the secret to the success she’s enjoyed to date with The Light Bringer comes from a lesson she learned from her favorite book, The Thousand and One Nights (a/k/a The Arabian Nights). Go here for the rest of this post.
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Spotlight on Paco Erhard, Worst. German. Ever.
German comedian Paco Erhard is coming to Southwest Florida for Fringe Fort Myers, and he’s bringing with him a show that features social commentary, belly laughs and mischief from an international perspective. It’s called Paco Erhard: Worst. German. Ever. It’s a show that may or may not feature homeless financial advisors on Sunset Blvd, racist grandmas, English orgasms, idiotic homophobia, Florida adventures, and the reason why there is no German Breaking Bad.
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Paco Erhard stand-up show delivers cackles, howls and incessant belly laughs
One of the nine ticketed shows in the inaugural Fringe Fort Myers is a stand-up comedy act by Paco Erhad: Worst. German. Ever.
Everyone needs a good laugh some time. Paco Erhard delivers a solid hour of not just laughs. Not mere giggles and guffaws. But cackles, howls and belly laughs that had tears streaming down the cheeks of some audience members last night.
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Spotlight on Francine Wolf: Please Don’t Tell My Children
One of the shows included in the inaugural Fringe Fort Myers is Francine Wolf: Please Don’t Tell My Kids!, which Ms. Wolf co-wrote with acclaimed British comedy writer and fringe performer, Gerard Harris. In this memoir-style one-woman show, Wolf shares true stories from an interesting lifetime of work spanning four decades, structured around the premise that she would prefer her family never find out about the more salacious incidents.
Read the rest of this advance here.
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Spotlight on ‘The Hunt for Milo Gatto’
One of the shows included in the inaugural Fringe Fort Myers is The Hunt for Milo Gatto, a Tiny___Theare show that was originally created as a live, online interactive curiosity streamed by two local actors from a tiny closet in a back bedroom of their home during the COVID lockdown. After entertaining more than 7,000 viewers online around the world, 
this wackadoodle catch-me-if-you-can mystery now heads to the stage at the inaugural Fringe Fort Myers.
Conceived, written and performed by professional stage and screen actors Brendan Powers and Rachel Burttram, this goofy tour de force has this husband/wife team playing all the roles — and the audience saving the day! When calamity befalls a prominent member of the city, Detectives Lila Bockhorn and Harrison Locke are eager to track down one Milo Gatto.
You will find the remainder of this preview here.
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Read Fran Thomas’ review of ‘Hunt for Milo Gato’
The play was written by the husband and wife performers, Rachel Burttram and Brendan Powers and offered virtually during theater shutdowns during Covid. The Fringe production is the first time they have done their show in front of a live, in person audience. The duo is well known in Fort Myers theatrical circles, and many in the audience on opening night seemed to be personal friends. The rest of Fran’s review is here.
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Spotlight on ‘Future Perfect’
One of the shows included in the inaugural Fringe Fort Myers is Future Perfect, a modern dance performance that aims to explore the ideas of temporality, choices and expectations. Combining solo performances with choreographed numbers, a diverse and dynamic group of six accomplished performers give life to a quote from Zadie Smith, “The past is always tense; the future perfect.”
Read the rest of this preview here.
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Read Nancy Burnham’s review of ‘Future Perfect’
“Future Perfect was such a fitting name for this modern dance piece,” writes reviewer Nancy Burnham, who has a BFA in dance performance from the New World School of the Arts in Miami. “It was conceived and realized by Alyce Bochette and Kelly Natella Mathuru with collaboration from an extremely talented ensemble of dancers including Diana Alvizuris, Stephanie Mas, Sarah Thornburg, Madeline Wellman and Smantha Vos with featured choreography by Eddy Borges.”
“The Foulds Theatre 
was the idyllic setting for this incredibly intimate piece,” continues Burnham, who also has an MFA in Choreography from Jacksonville University. “The space added an extra sense of not only being close to the performers, but lending a sense of being an interactive part of what was happening on the stage. It provides a space for the viewer to be held and understood as a being in our world today. The proximity of the dancers also emphasized that feeling of connectedness and support.”
The rest of Nancy’s review is here.
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Spotlight on ‘Flamencodanza’
One of the shows included in the inaugural Fringe Fort Myers is Flamencodanza, a powerful and elegant show of Flamenco dance and guitar by Aylin Bayaz and Raul Mannola.
Flamencodanza is a project that premiered in 2021 at Avignon Fringe in France. It has gone on to be performed in France, Spain, the Czech Republic, the U.K., Australia, New Zealand and in the United States. Read the balance of this preview here.
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Read Nancy Burnham’s review of Flamencodanza
Nancy Burnham was in the house last night when Flamencodanza premiered in the Foulds Theatre at the Alliance for the Arts during the second day of Fringe Fort Myers. “Flamencodanza! was presented by Aylin Bayaz and Raul Mannola,” writes Burnham, who is a board member of Florida Dance Education. “The pair ventured from Madrid, Spain to bring a performance packed with passion, elegance, inspiration and breathtaking beauty. The evening opened with Mannola in a soft spotlight making magic happen on the guitar. You have never heard 
one play with such finesse and ease. The music he creates is mellow, soothing and inviting,almost haunting as it transports you away to somewhere in Spain where you are now one with the music. This trance continues on as the music begins to build with intense multi rhythms and a heartbeat of its own. We are then introduced to Bayaz as she enters the space. She exudes elegance, passion and fire.” Go here to read the rest of Nancy’s review … and then get your tickets to the final two performances of Flamencodanza!
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Spotlight on ‘Southern Gothic Novel’ and Frank Blocker
One of the shows included in the inaugural Fringe Fort Myers is Southern Gothic Novel: The Aberdeen Mississippi Sex-Slave Incident, written by Frank Blocker who, coincidentally, plays all 17 characters portrayed in the play.
This advance could tell you that the play recounts an incident that occurred in a Mississippi town of just 5,218 residents, when a tall, dark, handsome, great smelling stranger arrived in town and swept the local assistant librarian completely off her feet at the very same time someone 
began kidnapping Aberdeen’s young women.
It could tell you that Blocker received a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Solo Performance or that the play was the critical darling during its debut season for its revelation in storytelling. You can read the rest of this preview here.
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Fran Thomas reviews Frank Blocker’s ‘Southern Gothic Novel’
“Gothic novels, by definition, have an atmosphere of mystery and terror, so Southern Gothic Novel is an apt title for this show at Fort Myers Fringe,” writes Fran Thomas. “Playwright and performer Frank Blocker set his tale in Aberdeen, Mississippi, where young women are disappearing. Blocker acts out the novel and all 17 characters within it. In the relatively small confines of the Off-Broadway Theater, his facial expressions are visible and priceless. He is also a master of physical comedy.”
You can enjoy the rest of Fran’s review here.
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Save Hamlet’ continues Lab Theater’s tradition of joke-laden summer spoofs
Extending its rich tradition of irreverent summer spoofs, the Laboratory Theater of Florida presents the world premiere of Mark Harvey Levine’s Save Hamlet from June 2nd to June 24th. Save Hamlet is a goofy, charming, joke-packed spoof of Shakespeare’s most famous play that’s funny even if you don’t know the difference between “where” and “wherefore.” In addition to the prestige of being a world premiere, this show was a runner-up for the 2022 Louise Wigglesworth Excellence in Playwriting Award.
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Melody Lane producing encore of acclaimed 2021 musical ‘Les Mis’
Melody Lane Theatre is producing an encore weekend of its highly-acclaimed 2021 production of Les Miserables School Edition, with many members of the original young adult cast returning from college to reprise their roles.
Seen by more than 70 million people and performed in over 40 countries and 22 languages, Les Mis brings Victor Hugo’s revolutionary novel blazingly to life. With a lush, swelling score that features such famed songs as “I Dreamed a Dream,” “On My Own” and “Bring Him Home,” Les Miserables is one of the world’s most iconic and longest-running musicals.
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‘Murder at the Howard Johnson’s’ full of laugh lines and extravagant sight gags
The Studio Players’ production of Murder at the Howard Johnson’s plays at Golden Gate Community Center May 19 through June 4. According to Variety, the comedy about a love triangle in a Howard Johnson Motor Inn has “enough laugh lines, mirth provoking situations and extravagant sight gags to outfit two rapid fire farces of the absurd.” The rest of this advance is here.
About the Author
Tom Hall is both an amateur artist and aspiring novelist who writes art quest thrillers. He is in the final stages of completing his debut novel titled "Art Detective," a story that fictionalizes the discovery of the fabled billion-dollar Impressionist collection of Parisian art dealer Josse Bernheim-Jeune, thought by many to have perished during World War II when the collection's hiding place, Castle de Rastignac in southern France, was destroyed by the Wehrmacht in reprisal for attacks made by members of the Resistance operating in the area. A former tax attorney, Tom holds a bachelor's degree as well as both a juris doctorate and masters of laws in taxation from the University of Florida. Tom lives in Estero, Florida with his fiancee, Connie, and their four cats.