Visual and performing artists and events in the news in March, 2025

This is who and what’s creating news in Southwest Florida’s visual and performing arts community during the month of March, 2025:

1     ART NEWS AND EXHIBITIONS

Rachel at the Well is fine, even if her ‘surround’ is not

Fort Myers City Council voted 5 to 2 on February 18 to start over procuring bids for repairs to the columns and fencing that surround Rachel at the Well. Rachel, a 99-year-old statue of a Grecian maiden that stands at the entrance to Edison Park at Llewellyn Drive and McGregor Boulevard, is fine, but her “surround” has still not been rebuilt more than two and a half years after Hurricane Ian. When it was installed in 1926, the statue was flanked by two tall columns that were connected by a curved wrought iron fence. Over the years, the bougainvillea planted behind the sculpture became entwined in the fence’s vertical spires. During Hurricane Ian, that bougainvillea acted like the sail of ship, toppling the heavy wrought iron fence along with the top of the westernmost column. The fence landed on Rachel, breaking her back and neck. Read/hear the full story on WGCU.

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2     ART FAIRS AND FESTIVALS 

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3     ON STAGE AT AREA THEATERS

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4     ACTORS & DIRECTORS

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5     THEATER

Cultural Park Theatre’s production of ‘Something Rotten’ closes on March 2 with 3 p.m. matinee

Eggs are top of mind for a lot of people right now. Back in 1595, they were for Nick and Nigel Bottom, too. The Bottom Brothers are playwrights. They’re vying with William Shakespeare for fame and fortune, but the Bard is a rock star. They’re not. To gain an edge, Nick visits a back alley soothsayer. “Nick goes to Nostradamus and is like ‘What’s Shakespeare’s next biggest hit?’ He says that it’s ‘Omelet,’ and not ‘Hamlet,’” explains Cultural Park Choreographer Reese Thurmer. Read/hear the review on WGCU.

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6     OPERA AND BALLET

Nicoletta Pavarotti to reflect on life with Luciano and recent accomplishments 

Famous opera singer Luciano Pavarotti died in 2007 at the age of 71. Six months later, his widow, Nicoletta Pavarotti, established a foundation in his name to keep his memory alive and bring opera to more people, as he always tried to do. She’s in Naples this week and next for the Opera Naples Festival Under the Stars. On March 3, she’ll appear at the Wang Opera Center to share details of her life with the famed tenor.

Read/hear the full story on WGCU.