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    • News and Reviews

    1. 'West Side Story' among top stage picks

      06/19/13 StageBy John Fleming, Times Performing Arts Critic

      'West Side Story'

      The Sharks and Jets battle it out in the revival of West Side Story that playwright Arthur Laurents revised and directed before he died in 2011. The big news was that Laurents — part of the 1957 musical's legendary creative team with Leonard Bernstein (music), Stephen Sondheim …

      Core Performance Company’s Claire Molla, Anna Bracewell, Stefanie Boettle, Rose Shields and Joshua Rackliffe perform in SHIFT.

    2. Maks Chmerkovskiy, Mary Murphy, Tony Dovolani to be at dance party

      06/19/13 StageBy John Fleming, Times Performing Arts Critic

      They're calling it "An Afternoon in Havana," at the Coliseum in downtown St. Petersburg, but the hottest part might be the hosts — namely Maks Chmerkovskiy of Dancing With the Stars bad-boy fame. He'll be joined by Mary Murphy (So You Think You Can Dance) and DWTS's Tony …

      Maks Chmerkovskiy

    3. Show Palace kicks off one-night stands

      06/18/13 StageBy Michele Miller, Times Staff Writer

      The Show Palace kicks off a season of One-Night Specials with an overload of panache and a lot of laughs as a Dame Edna act takes the stage Saturday night, donning her trademark rhinestone cat-eye glasses, glittery gowns and swirly, lilac-colored bouffant.

    4. Updated 'West Side Story' comes to Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater

      06/15/13 StageBy John Fleming, Times Performing Arts Critic

      David Saint is an accomplished man of the theater, as artistic director of the George Street Playhouse, a respected regional theater in New Jersey, but in recent years he has taken on increased importance through his friendship with the late Arthur Laurents and the playwright's longtime partner, Tom Hatcher.

      Working with Arthur Laurents “was like a tutorial for me,” says director David Saint.

    5. Wisdom from the dog whisperer, Cesar Millan

      06/12/13 StageBy Sharon Kennedy Wynne, Times Staff Writer

      Cesar Millan had a rough couple of years recently, but the trainer who gained fame as the "Dog Whisperer" has licked his wounds and is back with a new show, a new book and on Saturday a live seminar in Tampa where he will share his secrets for being the leader of your own pack. • Millan helmed nine seasons of …

    6. Gay pride fills bay area stages

      06/12/13 StageBy John Fleming, Times Performing Arts Critic

      BY JOHN FLEMING

      Times Performing Arts Critic

      With Gay Pride being celebrated this month, bay area theatergoers have several works to choose from in marking the occasion. They range from The Boys in the Band, Mart Crowley's 1968 play that was the first commercially successful gay play …

      Martha Wilkinson, left, stars with Jonelle Meyer, Vincent Stalba and Stefanie Clouse in Seven Homeless Mammoths Wander New England.

    7. Florida Dance Festival goes Bollywood

      06/12/13 StageBy John Fleming, Times Performing Arts Critic

      Sheetal Gandhi has starred in Cirque du Soleil's Dralion and Bombay Dreams on Broadway. Now the Indian-American dancer is bringing her Bahu-Beti-Biwi (Daughter-in-law, Daughter, Wife) to the Florida Dance Festival, which starts its 12-day run next week at USF.

      Photo by Cedar Bough T. Saeji

    8. Tony Rock hits the Improv Comedy Theater in Tampa

      06/12/13 StageTimes staff

      Tony Rock is one of eight kids, including older brother Chris (yeah, that Chris). Tony hasn't had the same level of success, but he is host of the newly revamped talent competition Apollo Live on BET. The actor-comedian has been on other TV shows over the years — though, come to think of it, …

      Comedian Tony Rock attends the BET Networks’ 2013 Los Angeles Upfront at Montage Beverly Hills in April.

    9. Sarasota Orchestra names Estonian woman as music director

      06/11/13 StageBy John Fleming, Times Performing Arts Critic

      Anu Tali, an Estonian conductor, was named music director of the Sarasota Orchestra on Tuesday. Tali, 40, agreed to a three-year contract and will assume the position on Aug. 1. She trained at the St. Petersburg State Conservatory in Russia and, in 1997, co-founded the Nordic Symphony Orchestra with her twin sister, …

    10. West Coast Players keeps gay rights in the spotlight with The Boys in the Band

      06/11/13 StageBy Piper Castillo, Times Staff Writer

      CLEARWATER

      For its last show of the 2012-2013 season, West Coast Players is producing the comedy-psychodrama The Boys in the Band, the groundbreaking play by Mart Crowley.

      Actors Leary Baptiste, Mark Myers, Zachary Tranter, Chris Warren and Brad Brady run through a scene at dress rehearsal for the West Coast Players’ production of The Boys in the Band.