Florida Culture for the Week of February 20 by Josh Garrick

Cymbeline by William Shakespeare

There’s a princess and an evil stepmother (who makes Cinderella’s stepmother look like a care-giver), but this adult “fairy tale” comes to us from Shakespeare (as opposed to Disney). Cymbeline also features one of Shakespeare's most resourceful female characters, Imogen, who in defiance of her father, King Cymbeline, secretly marries the worthy Posthumous. When the King discovers the secret marriage, he banishes Posthumous, and Imogen sets off in search of him. The journey to the couple's reunion is an adventure populated with colorful characters, sword fights, and sleeping potions. Directed by Artistic Director Jim Helsinger, Cymbeline is being performed in repertory with Romeo and Juliet through March 18 at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater at 812 East Rollins Street in Orlando. Call 407. 447.1700 or visit orlandoshakes.org.

The Sanford “Art Walk”

Edible art, zebra art, abstract art, and art about love – this month’s Sanford Art Walk has ‘themed’ Art from A to Z. On the 4th Friday of each month, galleries throughout downtown Sanford showcase local talent along with visiting artists. The event is free and runs from 6 to 9 pm with all venues within walking distance of one another. On the 4th Friday, downtown Sanford is turned into a pedestrian-friendly shopping corridor with live music, wine bars, and restaurants, all just blocks from the St. Johns River. On this Friday, February 24, the following Galleries will welcome guests: Art Affair Gallery, artaffairgallery.com; Framing 508 Gallery, 508gallery.com; Gallery on First, galleryonfirst.com; Historic Sanford Welcome Center, 407-302-2586; Hyder Galler, hydergallery.com; Jeanine Taylor Folk Art, jtfolkart.com; little fish HUGE pond, littlefish-hugepond.com; Riverhouse Pottery, potteryartgallery.net; and Sanford Flower Shop (featuring edible art). Call 407.322.1822 or visit sanfordartwalk.com

Photo: Sculpted Wine Chiller by Cathy Larson

Lyle the Crocodile

Based on the classic children’s books Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile and The House at 88th Street, by Bernard Waber, Orlando Repertory Theatre (The REP) presents Lyle the Crocodile as a musical play for children through March 25. When the Primm family moves into their new apartment on 88th Street, they hear a swish, swash, and a splash only to discover a crocodile in their bathtub. But THIS crocodile has impeccable manners, dances, and loves Turkish caviar. He charms everyone, except for their neighbor Mr. Grumps. Teaching valuable lessons about not judging others by their appearance, but loving people (and crocodiles) for who they are, “Waber’s stories are generally deeper and wordier than a typical picture book,” says director Jeff Revels. “Children and parents have kept these stories relevant and popular because of the good-heartedness and fun spirit of Lyle, and his message of tolerance.” The Orlando Repertory Theatre is a professional theatre in Orlando’s Loch Haven Park, and also serves as the University of Central Florida’s MFA in Theatre for Young Audiences graduate program. Call 407.896.7365 or visit orlandorep.com

Hedda Gabler

The play Hedda Gabler was first published in 1890 by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. Dealing with the unheard-of issue of women’s liberation, the play was negatively reviewed at its premiere, but has – over the past 100 years – attained its rightful place as a timeless classic of world drama.  Some consider the character of Hedda one of the great dramatic roles in theatre, the ‘female Hamlet,’ and like all great drama, the character may be portrayed in a number of ways. Whether you see her as an idealistic heroine, a victim of her time, an early feminist, or a manipulative villain, Mad Cow Theatre is presenting Hedda Gabler through March 25.  Ibsen's theatrical masterpiece of sex and power finds the newly married Hedda bound by the duties of marriage and the limits of being a woman in 1890. Directed by Eric Zivot, Melanie Whipple will play Hedda at the Mad Cow Theatre at 105 South Magnolia Avenue in downtown Orlando. Call 407.297.8788 or visit madcowtheatre.com

Photos by Tom Hurst; Actors - Mark Lainer and Melanie Whipple 

New Morse Museum Exhibits

More than 30 watercolors and drawings from the 1870s through the 1890s are on view in Watercolors by Otto Heinigke—A Glass Artist’s Palette as the Morse Museum of American Art opens two new exhibits. At the height of his career (1850 to 1915), Heinigke and his Brooklyn glass studio were producing fine windows for institutions including Carnegie Hall and the Library of Congress. The works in the exhibit demonstrate a passion for detail no doubt inherited from his father, a German miniaturist who immigrated to the United States. The exhibition will be on view through Feb. 3, 2013. The second, and related, exhibit includes 20 paintings from the Museum’s permanent collection – drawn from the same time period – including works by James Henry Beard, Edward Lamson Henry, John Singer Sargent, Childe Hassam and Cecilia Beaux. The paintings present American life between the horrors of the Civil War and World War I, a period when the industrial revolution brought seismic changes to the lives of most Americans. The Morse Museum is at 445 N Park Ave in Winter Park, Florida. Visit morsemuseum.org or call 877.638.1117  

The Connoisseur, c. 1888, from The Watercolors of Otto Heinigke—A Glass Artist’s Palette.

Portrait of Mrs. Henry LaBarre Jayne, c. 1895, by Cecilia Beaux.

Peak Bloom Countdown

The annual ‘rite of spring’ – when visitors watch more than 150 varieties of camellias and hundreds of azaleas along with orchids, irises and other flowering plants create an explosion of color – is the countdown for peak bloom season at Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales, Florida. “Cold weather delays the on-set of flowering and this winter has been unseasonably warm,” says Nick Baker, Director of Horticulture. “We expect azaleas to reach their peak the third week in February and continue through March.” Trees in bloom include native plums, pink and yellow tabebulia, and magnolias. Centrally located between Tampa and Orlando in hills of citrus groves, the scent of orange blossoms adds a uniquely Floridian fragrance to the Gardens during March. In more than 600 acres of woodland gardens, nature trails, and conservation lands, the visual centerpiece of the National Historic Landmark is the 205-foot Art Deco Singing Tower, a pink marble and coquina stone architectural treasure that houses one of the world’s finest carillons. This year’s peak bloom season coincides with the 21st International Carillon Festival March 3 to March 11. The 60 carillon bells ring every half hour and during daily concerts at 1 and 3 pm. Call 863.676.1408 or visit boktowergardens.org

Josh Garrick is the Florida Arts Editor for Wandering Educators