Evita at the Shakes

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Evita is a musical based on the book and lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It charts the young and ambitious Eva Duarte’s meteoric rise to sainthood. The play opened with an audience trying to watch a film, which is interrupted by the news flash that Eva Perón had died.The blood curdling screams made it clear that a great and beloved soul had been lost.

The set by scenic designer Jim Hunter made the rise to the iconic balcony scene accessible via a spiral staircase. Pam had a good laugh because I was blocking in the set in my sketch, when all of the pieces of staging on casters were rolled to new locations up stage.

Evita (Yael Reich) had a passion for life and she went through a revolving door of lovers, each of which brought her rising fame. She was a humble actress who wanted to rise above her middle class upbringing.

Juan Perón (Rodrigo
Ignacio Cruz) was also rising in power through the ranks of the military. Generals played a game of musical rocking chairs to see who lasted on the way to the top. When he and Eva met they were the perfect fit. Eva marched into his home and kicked out his young mistress.

Since she was from the streets, the people loved her but the elite snubbed her. Despite not being accepted into the ruling class, she initiated reforms that would help the people of Argentina.

Che (Dan Domenech) was a true revolutionary who saw her reforms as ways to win the love of the public instead of truly offering the people the power of democracy.  Evita’s passionate life was lived as a candle burning from both ends. Under her bold impassioned pleas there was a delicate frame. For one song she stood beside me in the aisle and belted out her song. I was amazed at the purity and strength of her voice in such a small frame.

Evita runs through October 6, 2019 

TICKET INFORMATION

PRICING

Wednesdays – Saturdays
at 7:30 p.m. and every Sunday and select Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. – starting at
$35

Preview Performances and
Senior Matinees – starting at $25

DISCOUNTS (May not be combined
with any other offers)

Group Sales: 20% off
groups of 10+

Student Rush: $25 – 30
minutes prior to show w/ valid student ID

Student and
Active/Retired Military: $10 off single ticket prices w/ valid ID (Only available
in Price Levels A and B)

$25 Under 35: Patrons
under 35 years old can purchase $25 tickets for evening and weekend matinee
performances during September 18-22. Call the Box Office at (407) 447-1700 ext.
1 or purchase online with code word: 25UNDER35 (Only available in Price Levels
B and C.)

Senior Matinees: September 18, &
25 and October 2 at 2:00 p.m.

Talk Back Performance: September 29 at 2:00
p.m.

Baldwin Bark

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As I write this, Hurricane Dorian has become a category 5 storm, causing devastation in the Bahamas as it heads west towards Florida. Earlier in the week, Orlando was right in the line of the storm’s path, but newer computer forecasts show the storm turning north and heading up the coast of Florida without making land fall. Orlando is still in the cone of uncertainty. This is all happening on Labor Day weekend, which was already a long weekend because of the holiday, and now the city of Orlando, as well as Orange County, have shut down through Wednesday. The result is cabin fever, since most events that I would want to sketch are also cancelled.

For three days in a row Pam and I have taken the dogs to the dog park to let them run and expend some energy. The result is calmer, sleepier puppies. Although Donkey is a bit of a hurricane in her own right. That dog had already eaten a coffee table and several TV remotes. Couches are shredded and toys are just tiny shredded bits that get clogged Debbie the Deebot in any clean up attempt. The threat of a possible storm outside pales to the ongoing devastation from Hurricane Donkey inside.

At the dog park Donkey runs everywhere at full speed with her long tongue hanging out of her mouth. She has a high pitched bark that is created without her ever moving her jaws. Sprout, on the other hand, tracks dogs in order to hump them, from the front or back, it doesn’t matter. He was fixed but that doesn’t stop that primal urge to shake those hips. The final trip to a dog park ended with an outer rain band soaking everyone. I was the only person with an umbrella but it wasn’t much help with the rain coming in horizontally in high winds. Now we are hunkered down and just waiting to see if the storm will turn to the north before hitting us. The forecasters might have fancy computer models, but the storm will do what it wants. Right now Orlando is under a tropical storm warning and I can see the hurricane on my iPhone radar. For the first time I can watch the storms progress any time I want. I’m hoping the winds that hit Orlando will just be around 39 miles per hour. We will just have to wait and see.

Weeki Wachee Mermaids

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Pam Schwartz and I spent a weekend out by Weeki Wachee. We found a motel with a dock right on one of the streams that flow from the spring. We brought along two kayaks and explored the waterways the first day. It was plenty busy at the start of the trip with people swinging off of ropes and splashing into the crystal clear water. As we paddled further on the crowds thinned and the old native Florida habitat took over.

The next day we made our way into the Weeki Wachee Srings State Park (6131 Commercial Way, Spring Hill, FL 34606). “Weeki Wachee” was named by the Seminole Indians. It means “little
spring” or “winding river.” The spring is so deep that the bottom has
never been found. Each day, more than 117 million gallons of clear,
fresh, 74-degree water bubbles up out of the subterranean caverns.

In
1946, Newton Perry, a former U.S. Navy man who trained Navy Frogmen
to swim underwater in World War II, scouted out Weeki Wachee as a good
site for a new business. In 1947, the first show at the Weeki Wachee
Springs underwater theater opened. In the 1950s, Weeki Wachee was one of
the nation’s most popular tourist
stops. The attraction received worldwide acclaim. Movies were filmed at
the spring, like Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid.

Of course we had to see the Mermaid Show. Women with air hoses acted as the mermaids and performed such astonishing stunts like drinking a bottle of Coke under water. I do have to admire their calm demeanor as they dove further down than I have ever tried. They were always smiling while waiting for their next breath of air from a hose. The best mermaids made the hose seem unnecessary. The shows climax came with a stirring tribute to the American flag which rose up behind the mermaids in the water.

The rest of our day was spent in Buccaneer Bay which had some steep water slides. The line up the wooden staircase was excruciatingly long. And the slide was terrifying, but over in a split second. The bay itself was relaxing, but we did see a woman slip on the cement ledge and fall – first hitting the cement and then falling in the water. Someone helped get her out of the water and life guards revived her. I then lost sight of her and don’t know if she left or was taken for further treatment. The lazy river tubes were my favorite way to stay cool and relax.

Now that school has started for most kids, the lazy river and water slides are closed Monday through Friday.

Weekend Top 6 Picks for September 7 and 8, 2019

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This month’s concert held at the Timucua White HouseSaturday September 7, 2019

9am to 5pm. $50-$68  Florida Blog Con. Full Sail University, 3300 University Blvd, Winter Park, FL 32792. The
Florida Blogger and Social Media Conference (aka #FLBlogCon) is a
one-day gathering of the state’s biggest bloggers, social media pros,
content creators, marketing and PR pros, and online influencers. Now in
our 9th year, the FLBlogcon planning team is excited to present once
again a day packed with break-out sessions, hands-on classes, and
informative keynotes.

4pm to 7pm Free. Found Spaces: New Paintings by Robert Ross. Arts on Douglas Gallery, 123 Douglas St., New Smyrna Beach, FL 32168. Sept.
7-28, 2019. The show, Found Spaces: New Paintings by Robert Ross, will
feature 38 brand-new art works I created over the past year exploring
interiors and landscape spaces. The exhibit includes a series of
10×10-inch paintings called “DOMUS” that riff on the classic geometry of
domestic spaces.

10:30pm to 12:30am Free but get food and drink. Son Flamenco. Ceviche Tapas Orlando, 125 W Church St, Orlando, FL 32801. 

Sunday September 8, 2019 

9:30am to 12:30pm $275 Crealde Urban Sketching Class. Crealde School of Art, 600 St Andrews Blvd, Winter Park, FL 32792. I am instructing this 6 week course in Sunday mornings.  Learn to sketch from subject to the environment. Classroom sessions will
focus on sketching clothed models and progress towards sketching the
model and classroom environment. Learn how to incorporate storytelling
into your sketches in our location sessions. These trips to local venues
will challenge you to use your sketchbook the way a photojournalist
uses a camera. The six-week goal is to produce finished sketches using
pencil, pen, and watercolor within two hours. Skill level: Intermediate.

Noon to 2pm Free. 10th International Urban Sketchers Symposium Travelogue by USk Orlando.  Sam Flax Orlando 1800 East Colonial Drive 2nd Floor Orlando, FL 32803. Join USk Orlando as we show and tell what we gained from the Urban Sketchers Symposium in Amsterdam! We’ll meet at Sam Flax on Sunday, 9/08 at 12pm.

trav·e·logue

/ˈtravəˌlôɡ/

noun

a movie, book, or illustrated lecture about the places visited and experiences encountered by a traveler.

Join us as we present a travelogue of our personal experiences at the 10th International Urban Sketchers Symposium held in 2019 in the beautiful city of Amsterdam. We will have a Q&A session, show & tell of our sketches done on location during the symposium, and demonstrations of workshops. Stay after and shop at the artist’s mecca, Sam Flax, then join us for a traditional Drink & Draw at Dandelion Communitea Café.

“The Dutch capital city has a history that dates back to the 13th century, and nowadays is a world city with historic as well as modern architecture. It has inspired artists for centuries with its idyllic bridges, canal houses and cobblestones.Amsterdam hosts 180 nationalities so everyone will feel right at home. It has everything you need for spending the perfect day in the City. Hosting world-class museums, it’s not just decked with old canals, charming gabled facades, drawbridges, and windmills but also with cutting edge modern design like the EYE Film museum. Truly an urban sketchers paradise.” http://www.urbansketchers.org/p/usk-amsterdam-2019_99.html

2pm to 4pm $5 Film Slam. Enzian Theater, South Orlando Avenue, Maitland, FL. Originally
a project of University of Central Florida’s Downtown Media Arts
Center, Enzian became the home of FilmSlam when DMAC closed in 2006. FilmSlam will usually be held on the second Sunday of each month at 1PM at Enzian.

Coney Island Drive Inn

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Pam Schwartz and I drove west towards Weeki Wachee. Along the way we stopped at Coney Island Drive Inn (1112 E Jefferson St, Brooksville, FL 34601). This place has served the same huge foot long hot dogs and sausages for the past 40 years. Stepping in felt like going back to the 1950s. Elvis posters adorned the walls, along with vintage pop logos and advertising. I ordered a standard foot long with mustard and sauerkraut along with
fries. It was good. Pam naturally had something a little more interesting. I wish this place was closer to Orlando. If I had my way, I could live on hot dogs and pop. I taste the varieties of hot dogs much the way a sommelier tastes fine wines, and this was a rare blend.

They serve John Morrell all-meat Hot Dogs, both short and the
“World Famous” Foot Long Hot Dogs. Everything is cooked with
steam. The Hot Dogs can be served many ways and they will custom make
them any way requested. The Coney Sauce is a meat sauce
with no beans, or they also have a made from scratch chili with beans. They offer a variety of specialty Hot Dogs as well as Corn Dogs and many other sandwiches.

On July 7, 1960, Darrell and Gertrude Todd and family from Brooksville opened Coney Island Drive Inn in an old boat manufacturing building. In 1961 Elvis Presley was in Inverness, Florida filming a movie and legend has
it he ventured down to Coney Island Drive In for one of the famous foot longs. The business has changed owners four times over the years, but Fred Rice was the master hot dog slinger for over 24 years and he still keeps an eye on the place. If you are ever driving West on 50, this a definite required stop for a foot long.

The Oakland Mill

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Jenni Schwartz and Roger Wood held a second baby shower in Maquoketa, Iowa, which is Jenni’s home town. Lacey McDevitt and Nick Szebeni own the historic Oakland Mill (22095 IA-64, Maquoketa, IA 52060). Lacey is an old friend of Jenni’s and offered the mill as a venue. The theme of this shower was woodland creatures and Lacey, and another friend Season, did an amazing job of decorating. Photos of cute baby critters were hung on the wall near the food serving table. Centerpieces were elegantly appointed. A large horse-drawn hoe hung from the ceiling.

The historic building, originally known as Oakland Mill, was built by Joseph Willey in 1867. The 2½-story stone building has a
partial basement and is capped with a gable roof. A water-powered
turbine, still extant, supplied the power to operate the mill. The
location of the mill race can still be seen on the east side of the
property, and remnants of the damn remain in Prairie Creek. None of
the mill workings remain on the inside. Willey sold the mill to Seneca
Williams in 1867, and he operated in until 1904. The building was
converted into a barn in 1920. The building was listed on the National
Register of Historic Places in 1976. Wildlife artist Patrick J. Costello used the old mill as a residence and studio from 1979 to 2006.
Today it is operated as a reception
hall. I wish I had seen the place when it was an artist’s studio.

I fell in love with the site. From several outdoor balconies you can watch the creek as it flows gently by. The large wheel no longer turns because the owners are not allowed to build a small dam to divert some of the river’s flow.  The back yard has a nice paved path with a fire pit at the end of it a quiet gazebo. This baby shower never moved outside however.

This event was quite a bit larger than the party in Des Moines, Iowa. Food consisted of several large casseroles and cinnamon rolls. Bright blue cupcakes were arranged in the shape of a baby carriage. They had some kind of jelly center and were delicious. Though sketching, I ate more than I needed to. The couple opened presents in front of the “Oh Baby” banner. Between the two showers, the couples surely have more than they need to start their newborn’s life in this world.

Robert Ross Exhibit

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Found Spaces: New Paintings by Robert Ross will have its opening reception at Arts on Douglas Fine Art and Collectables (123 Douglas Street, New Smyrna Beach, FL 32168.) I have been fascinated by Robert’s work for years. He creates oil paintings that depict empty interiors and exteriors. They break up the canvas into well defined, sharp-edged shapes, with warm and cool colors playing off of each other along with warm and cool greys. They create a sense of deep space while evoking, to me, a lonely atmosphere.

This sketch is of an opening at Mills Gallery in Orlando. Robert walked through the exhibit with guests explaining his process. I liked his response to one patron’s esoteric question about the underlying meaning of what he paints. He explained that he simply loves the process of painting. Years from now the critics can read what they want into the paintings but his goal is to keep creating. He said, “My paintings reveal the beauty, mystery, and hidden life in ordinary,
overlooked places. My paintings often convey a quiet stillness, a sense
that something has just happened, or is about to happen. While good
design is always my starting point, I also want my paintings to transmit
the pleasures of light and color.”

Artist Dana Hargrove will also be exhibiting in the galleries alt_space. Dana’s work questions the ties that surround our daily lives, whether cultural,
political, religious, or social. She looks at how our ideals and values are
shaped by the fabric of our society and our identity within a nation. To me, her work looks like colorful shipping container architectural communities. 

The opening will be on on Saturday, September 7, between 4-7 PM. During this event, Arts on Douglas will be featuring the smooth jazz stylings of Trio with Ron Gilotti on the upright bass, Howard Post on the guitar, and Tyler Rosenke on the drums. Light refreshments will also be served.

A Book of Baby Names

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The dining room table is the heart of the Schwartz family home in Iowa. Jenni Schwartz is expecting a baby boy this October and her sister-in-law, Kim, revived a silly book Pam and Jenni had given her when she was pregnant with her first child. They painstakingly went through every page of the book and wrote in new names, made jokes in the margins, and illustrated some names.

She, Pam and Kim poured through the book looking for possible names for baby wood. They all laughed hysterically at the ridiculous jokes and suggestions. Jenni laughed to the point of tears and complained it isn’t so easy to keep from peeing a little when you’re pregnant. I can confirm that the baby boy’s is not likely to be names Aapo, Aaro, or Abasi. I don’t think they got past the A section of the book.

Before this sketch was complete the table was cleared or another family meal and then a round of games. I did not try my hand at Canasta this time around, instead relaxed, finishing this sketch with color.

Family History in a Cardboard Box

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Pam Schwartz has been assembling her family history for years. Her grandmother, Martha, on her father’s side died in June 2018. Her dad’s sister, Carol had been taking care of Grandma Martha in her final years. I got to experience one Christmas at her grandmother’s home. It was full of tradition, for instance, the men got to sit in the kitchen and eat dinner before the women and children.

Aunt Carol had a large box full of old family photos, documents, and newspaper articles. This was the first time Pam had seen many of the photos. She had never really seen an image of her grandmother as a young beautiful woman. One newspaper article was about couples who had been married for a combined 187 years. Her great-grandparents were the youngsters of the group having just been married for 58 years. Pam took cell phone photos of every photo and document, believing this was her one chance to document this history.

On the plane ride back home she read a long transcript of a court case. It involved an auto accident which killed several of her relatives. Back in 1958, the family was driving home from a party in an Oldsmobile. As they approached a curve in the road a truck was approaching from the opposite way. The truck driver looked down for just a moment. The family car drove off the road onto the shoulder to try and avoid the truck but the the truck slammed into the car on the driver’s side. The car had its roof peeled back by the bed of the truck which was carrying dozens of cartons of eggs. The driver (Pam’s great uncle) and his wife behind him were instantly killed. Pam’s grandmother on the passenger side survived along with her children (Pam’s father and Aunt Carol). Eggs broke all over the roadway. The story is that the family was rushed to the hospital but when they got there, Pam’s father was nowhere to be found. Police returned to the crash site to find the 2 year old boy wedged under a car seat, cold but very much alive. It is hard to imagine a family bouncing back from such a horrific accident.

Aunt Carol decided to give the box of family history documents to Pam, and she is now tasked with sorting through the thousands of new facts and images. That one box of documents is a genealogist’s dream come true.

Sunburst Celebrity Impersonator Showcase

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The Sunburst Celebrity Impersonator Showcase is always a great sketch opportunity for me. As I entered the Florida Hotel and Conference Center (1500 Sand Lake Road, Orlando, 32809) I saw Colonel Sanders in the lobby with an ice cream cone. Jack Sparrow was wearing a Captain America costume. He must have been a celebrity impersonator impersonating another celebrity. Marylin Monroe was putting out buttons on her marketing table. The Queen posed with James Bond, as Donald Trump was adjusting his suit’s shoulder pads for the best effect. He has our lunatic POTUS’s mannerisms down pat. Across the room Breaking Bad‘s Heisenberg was talking to Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia. Sheriff Rosco from Dukes of Hazard took some interest in the fact that a sketch artist was in the room. For me, this is an annual ritual to sketch the stars in their element.

Celebrity impersonators of legendary actors, singers, comedians, politicians, and sports figures perform, delight, and entertain the masses. Guests can also get their picture taken with their favorite “celebrity” during intermission and following the showcases.

Each year, over 100 of the world’s best professional celebrity impersonators, lookalikes, and tribute artists fly, drive, and cruise into Orlando for the Sunburst Convention to gather, mingle, network, educate themselves, and have an unforgettable time. They are joined by numerous talent buyers, talent agents, producers, and meeting planners from all over the country who are invited to watch the imitators perform live and make a lasting impression.

Sunburst features performance showcases, themed parties, an awards banquet, promotional room, and tons of photo opportunities. The general public is also invited to attend and rub elbows with the “Just About Famous” stars, and with special public access again this year, now even more spectators can enjoy the unique, fun and one-of-a-kind entertainment Sunburst has to offer.

Join the 17th Annual Sunburst Convention and Showcase of Celebrity Impersonators on Saturday, August 31. For more information and to purchase public showcase tickets online, visit www.SunburstShowcase.com.

Tickets range from $15 to $25.