May Events
Kay Kipling


On Exhibit
VISUAL SEDUCTION
There is a temptress in the galleries of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. She is Salome, as painted by the American artist Robert Henri. From within her gold frame in the corner of a room, she emerges from the darkness of her canvas and looks in our direction. Her eyes lock with ours, and we imagine the power of her performance.

As the legend goes, her dance was to please her stepfather, King Herod, so her mother could be rid of John the Baptist. Henri’s Salome appears less than evil but hardly guileless. She seems more like an actress in costume than a woman from the Bible.

We can see that Henri enjoyed the experience of painting his model. He luxuriated in the lush pigment as he stroked the paint on, the pressure of his brush meeting the tautness of the canvas. He has taken particular delight in the application of dabs of rich color to indicate the flash of the jewels that adorn her fingers, wrist and arms. Her torso is thrust in all the right directions as she flirts with us. The sheer fabric of her black costume reveals as much as it conceals, all of this leaving us to wonder—what mischief awaits?—Mark Ormond

ART
Galleria Silecchia. On view through May 31, photographs by Michael Kahn and new works and “sold-out” collectibles by Glenna Goodacre. Opening May 4 to run throughout the month is an exhibit featuring works in bronze from the original wood carvings of Leo E. Osborne. 365-7414.


Art Center Sarasota.Sarasota County students hangs here through May 5; it’s followed by the fourth annual Florida Photo Open Show, running May 15 through June 16. 365-2032.


Venice Art Center. South County students have their art hanging here through May 10, followed by a Venice Art Center student show, running May 18 through June 14. 485-7136.


Selby Gallery. The 2007 Best of Ringling Annual Student Exhibitions continue here through May 11. Coming up May 25, to run through June 15, an exhibition of work by members of the Florida Artists Group, and a show featuring Sarasota sculptor Frank Colson. An opening reception is set for 5 to 7 p.m. May 25. 359-7563.


Sonnet Gallery. San Francisco-based artist Kate Anderson is highlighted in the Towles Court gallery this month, with Gone with the Circus on view through May 23. 955-6433 or 928-6490.


Ringling Museum of Art. Bedazzled: 5,000 Years of Jewelry from the Walters Art Museum continues on view in the new Searing Wing through May 27. Up next: In Our Time: The World as Seen by Magnum Photographers, May 19 through Aug. 12. This exhibition celebrates 50 years of photographic agency Magnum’s recording of events around the globe; organized by the George Eastman House. 359-5700.


Salvador Dali Museum. Continuing on view at this St. Petersburg museum through June 24: Dali and the Spanish Baroque. (727) 823-3767.


Museum of Fine Arts. The St. Petersburg museum presents On the Road: Photographs Across America (including works by Brett Weston, Robert Rauschenberg and Rodger Kingston) through July 8. Also on view for those dates: 20th-century North Carolina pottery. (727) 896-2667.


Longboat Key Center for the Arts. In the Durante Gallery, The Colors of Summer exhibit continues through Sept. 28, while the Glen Gallery features works by the center’s faculty members, May 3 through Sept. 27. 383-2345.


State of the Arts Gallery. On view all month here: the White Hot exhibition, featuring artworks in white. 955-2787.


Palm Avenue Gallery Walk. The monthly stroll takes place from 6 to 9 p.m. May 4 along the avenue. 955-1315.


Dabbert Gallery. All That Jazz, a group show, opens with a reception at 6 p.m. May 4 and continues through May 29 at the Palm Avenue gallery. 955-1315.

CHILDREN
Anne of Green Gables. A Theatre for Young People production of the beloved L.M. Montgomery story of an orphan girl, onstage May 10-20 at Venice Little Theatre. 488-1115.

COMEDY
McCurdy’s Comedy Theatre. It’s a full lineup this month at the North Tamiami Trail club, with Diane Ford performing May 2-6; Janet “The Tramp” Williams up May 9-13; Valerie Storm May 16 and 17; Tommy Chong and partner Shelby May 18-20; Jim McCue May 23-27; and Jim Brick May 30 and 31. 925-3869.

FILM
Chinese Film Festival. Two movies, Chinese food, and pre- and post-movie discussions, at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. May 21 at the Players of Sarasota. 365-2494.

MISCELLANEOUS
St. Armands Circle Association. On the circle this month: Classic Corvettes, May 5; and a Circle of Boats, May 19 and 20. 388-1554.

*UPDATED* Historical Society of Sarasota County, Inc. The Historical Society presents a re-enactment of the 1885 Bidwell murder trial at 8 p.m. on May 19 in the Sarasota Courthouse's restored courtroom, with a pre-trial reception at 7 p.m. and post-trial desserts and beverages at 9:30 p.m. at the Center Pointe building on Main Street. $150. 358-7737.

*UPDATED* Wordsmitten Writers' Workshop. Sarasota Magazine editor Robert Plunket will be a featured speaker at Wordsmitten's Writing Your Life workshop on Saturday, June 9, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Feather Sound Country Club in Clearwater. Cost is $95 if you pre-register or $125 at the door. Seating is limited. For more information, call (727) 409-0550 or visit www.wordsmitten.com.

MUSIC
Jazz on the Water. Join Jazz Club members on the LeBarge, departing at noon May 6 from the Sarasota bayfront for an afternoon of fun, sun and jazz. Tickets $35 ($30 for members). 366-1552.


Artist Series of Sarasota. This month’s offerings include performer Joan Curto’s Of Thee I Sing: Lyrics of Ira Gershwin, May 6 and 8; and Songs of the American Musical Theatre with soprano Ann McMann and baritone Kenneth Nichols, May 20 and 22, all at 7:30 p.m. at the Historic Asolo Theater. 360-7399.


Bjorn Again: The ABBA  Experience. Take yourself back in time 30 years or so with this interactive re-creation of the band responsible for Dancing Queen, Fernando, etc. At 8 p.m. May 9 at the Van Wezel. 953-3368.


Festival Latino. A musical celebration of Latino culture, at 7:30 p.m. May 11 and 12 at the Players of Sarasota. 365-2494.


Salon Afternoon. The Florida String Quartet presents a Spring Bouquet, with works by Puccini, Shostakovich and Ravel, at 4 p.m. May 13 at Holley Hall. 953-3434.


Cocktails at the Cà d’Zan. Live entertainment and refreshments on the Cà d’Zan terrace, from 6 to 9 p.m. May 17. 359-5700.


Patriotic Pops. From Sea to Shining Sea, a musical adventure across America, includes songs like St. Louis Blues, Yellow Rose of Texas and Georgia on My Mind. A Florida West Coast Symphony Symphonic Pops presentation, 8 p.m. May 19 at the Van Wezel. 953-3434.


Smooth Jazz on St. Armands: Fourth Friday with Style. Live entertainment from performers TBA, starting at 6 p.m. May 25 on the circle. 388-1554.

SPORTS
Make-A-Wish Tennis Tournament. The 16th annual event to benefit the Foundation, set for May 5 and 6 at Bath & Racquet. 926-9474.


Sarasota Ski-A-Rees. The water skiing team closes out its winter season with a final show at 2 p.m. May 6 at City Island Park. 388-1666.


Life of Riley Run/Walk. To benefit the Life of Riley Foundation, May 26 on Siesta Key Beach. For more info call 812-8679.

THEATER
A Few Good Men. Aaron’s Sorkin’s courtroom drama ends its Asolo Repertory Theatre run May 5. 351-8000.


Pride and Prejudice. The Catherine Sheehy adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic continues through May 6 at Asolo Rep. 351-8000.


Blue Window. A play by Craig Lucas (Prelude to a Kiss), centering on young New Yorkers discovering the true depths of their friendships. Onstage through May 6 in an FSU/Asolo Conservatory production at the Cook Theatre. 351-8000.


Measure for Pleasure. A 21st-century take on Restoration comedy that’s all about unrequited love, in many connected cases. Onstage through May 13 at Florida Studio Theatre. 366-9000.


A Chorus Line. The musical hit about dancers’ lives runs through May 13 at the Manatee Players Riverfront Theatre. 748-5875.


A Marriage Minuet. This David Wiltse comedy about tangled marital relations continues through June 9 on Florida Studio Theatre’s mainstage. 366-9000.


Laughing Matters…Too. A satiric revue aiming at politics and pop culture, among other targets, continuing through June 10 at Florida Studio Theatre’s cabaret space. 366-9000


Call Me Madam. The Irving Berlin tunefest about a famous Washington hostess turned ambassador, running through June 17 at the Golden Apple Dinner Theatre. 366-5454.


Once On This Island. The Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe speaks in a Caribbean accent with this calypso-flavored Lynn Ahrens-Stephen Flaherty musical about a pair of star-crossed lovers. Onstage May 3-19 at the Historic Asolo Theater. 360-7399.


Guest in the House. A piece about the disturbing effects of the visit of a seemingly innocent cousin to the Proctor family, onstage May 10-20 at the Island Players. 778-5755.


Ella. The late, great Ella Fitzgerald gets her due in this show focusing on one night of her life, spent in a Los Angeles recording studio. Opening May 11 to run through June 10 on the Asolo Rep mainstage. 351-8000.


Over the Tavern. Tom Dudzick’s popular piece centers on a Catholic family living through some challenging times; it runs May 15-27 at Venice Little Theatre. 488-1115.


Darwin in Malibu. A comedy-drama by Crispin Whittell that places evolutionist Charles Darwin in a contemporary Malibu beach house, where his sojourn is interrupted by a visit from two figures from his distant past. Running May 16 to June 10 in an Asolo Rep production in the Cook Theatre. 351-8000.


The Rocky Horror Show. The stage version of the cult movie classic about a pair of innocents who come across a houseful of horror movie characters, playing May 25 through June 10 in a Venice Little Theatre cabaret space show. 488-1115.