Fine Art Sculptors and Tributes to Broadway
By Josh Garrick

Meet Sculptor Doug Hays
On August 12, the public is invited to meet and speak with sculptor Doug Hays for a chance to ask their questions about HOW he works to bend and sculpt steel into contemporary works of art. The informal “meet and greet” will feature six sculptures (of horses) created by the artist over the past year – sculptures which were inspired in part by a grant from United Arts of Central Florida. The showing, free and open to the public, will include a work on loan from a private collection and will represent the first (and perhaps only) time that all six of the equine-themed sculptures will be shown together.

Linda Pinto, Chair of the recent Equine Exhibit at the Museum of Florida Art says, “Doug Hays’ skill as a sculptor infuses life into cold, hard metal - transforming these materials into elegant representations of horses in all their nobility. We have been honored to have Doug’s creations as featured works in our EQUUS exhibitions.”

Hays most famous work is a 14-foot-tall Blue Heron which has become an icon in the “re-branding” of the city of Eustis, Florida.  Recently Eustis adopted a logo featuring the silhouette of the 14-foot-tall stainless steel sculpture.  Placed in a public park, the sculpture has become a community icon and a gleaming example of the manner in which ART can change the life and perception of a community.

Hays, who has a prolific history of creating and advocating public art, will be at Millenia Fine Art on Wednesday August 12 from 2 pm to 4 pm.  The event is free.  Please call 407 304 8100 to RSVP.

Broadway Melodies
    In the first of a new series that promises to be “a tribute to the most brilliant composers of the Broadway theatre,” Brian and Melissa Minyard (both of whom have performed on Broadway), will bring their voices and talents to the Plaza Theatre on Saturday, August 15. 

    The new series, aptly called BROADWAY AT THE PLAZA, begins with music by the song-writing duo who basically ‘created’ the Broadway musical. Including music from Oklahoma, The Sound of Music, Carousel, and The King and I, the evening will feature the much-loved music of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. 

While Brian and Melissa (and family) live here in Orlando, they have both performed on Broadway. They say, “We are two performers who usually have to go out of town to do something on this level, but we’re here – creating this for our own community – re-introducing this much-beloved music to our friends and neighbors.  We would love to find the people in Orlando who love this kind of music, invite them to grab a glass of wine and just sit back and listen.  Brian and Melissa will be joined on-stage by singers Kevin Kelly and Lisa Rock as well as child performers from Next Generation Kids.

Performances are at 4pm and 7pm on August 15th at the Plaza Theatre.  Call the Plaza Theatre box office at 407 228 1220 or check www.theplazatheatre.com.         
 

Break Out the Bubbly
BIG TIME CONGRATULATIONS are in order for Roy Alan and his amazing crew at the Winter Park Playhouse. The Opening they have set for Friday, August 14th is certainly the most important opening night ever for this ‘home-town’ Winter Park theatre company.

After sharing a facility for seven years and regularly selling-out the charming and inventive performances they produced on a postage-stamp stage, The Winter Park Playhouse is expanding and moving into its own space at 711-C Orange Avenue in Winter Park.  If the address is familiar, it’s because it is adjacent to the theatre’s former home, but the new theatre will have a larger stage, 142 seats, a permanent box office, dressing rooms, expanded restrooms, and a lobby with a piano bar and cabaret area.  Adding to the cause for celebration, we send a “tip of the hat” to the West Orlando Rotary Club who stepped up to help renovate and build the new theatre space.

And what better way to celebrate this Opening Night than to begin with the crowd-pleasing hit musical that opened the Company’s first theatre?  I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change by Joe DiPietro and Jimmy Roberts is called “Seinfeld set to music,” dealing, as it does, with the truths and myths behind contemporary relationships.   

With performances scheduled from August 14th through the 30th, we have plenty of opportunity to visit the new space and congratulate Roy Alan (who will also be on-stage). Call 407 645 0145 or visit www.winterparkplayhouse.org.
 

Grease is Definitely the Word!
    For straightforward Broadway musical FUN, Grease is definitely the word.  The musical has been on and off Broadway since 1972, and the latest revival was born out of a TV talent competition which drew 90 million viewers weekly, and allowed America to vote for its favorite contestants to play the lead roles of “Sandy” and “Danny” on Broadway. 

Directed and choreographed by two-time Tony Award-winner Kathleen Marshall, this version also includes “American Idol” winner Taylor Hicks in the role of the “teen angel.”  As the winner of Season 5 of “Idol,” you might say he won his role on TV as well.

Unless you’ve been living on Mars for the past 20 years, you know the story of “Greaser” Danny Zuko and his on/off relationship with sweet, blonde Sandy. The new production has added songs from the 1978 motion picture including “Sandy,” the Academy Award nominated “Hopelessly Devoted to You,”  “Grease” and “You’re the One That I Want” (both of which were #1 hits on the Billboard Top 100 chart) in addition to the songs made famous by the original stage production.

This “new and improved” stage-show opens at the Carr Performing Arts Centre on August 25 and runs through August 30. Tickets are on sale at all Ticketmaster locations, online at www.BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com, or by calling 800-982-2787.

 
A Must See --
One of the finest art exhibit/installations ever at the Orlando Museum of Art (OMA) is still there through October 4. 

If you have not yet seen the “walk-thru” exhibit called Stories of the New World by glass artist Therman Statom, you definitely want to.  Because he works mostly in glass and mirrors (he paints, as well), the experience is to literally walk through a work of art.  It’s sophisticated on all levels and yet works beautifully for children as well.

Statom enjoys challenging his audience to look at glass in new ways, and he is a pioneer in the use of glass and mirrors for sculpture and room-size installation art.  As you walk through the room, you’ll be surprised to see yourself heading in your direction from several odd angles. 

While the artist uses Ponce de Leon's 1513 search for the ‘Fountain of Youth’ to explore themes of hope, discovery, and destiny, I tell my friends that a visit to the exhibit is as close as we will ever come to visiting the gleaming City of Oz.  The exhibit covers 5,600 square feet of the OMA's galleries, including a walk through a mirrored maze and a blown glass sculpture.  “Awesome” is the word used by most kids who’ve seen it … and you still have a few days left to take the kids before school starts.

Open Tuesday thru Sunday, The Orlando Museum of Art is located in Loch Haven Park at 2416 North Mills Avenue. Call 407 896 4231 or visit omart.org.

Josh Garrick is the Florida Arts Editor for Wandering Educators