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© St. Petersburg Times, published September 12, 2002
A new season, by George!
St. Petersburg Little Theatre begins its 78th season with George M!, the musical story of George M. Cohan, full of flag-waving standards such as Give My Regards to Broadway, Harrigan and Yankee Doodle Dandy. Jason Fortner directs a cast of more than 40, with musical direction by Jason Tucker, pictured here at the piano in a rehearsal.
SPLT is the oldest continuously operating community theater in Florida. The rest of its 2002-03 lineup includes Sylvia by A.R. Gurney (Nov. 7-17), Murder by Misadventure by Edward Taylor (Jan. 9-19), Bus Stop by William Inge (Feb. 27-March 9), Annie Get Your Gun by Irving Berlin and Herbert and Dorothy Fields (April 24-May 4) and Lost in Yonkers by Neil Simon (June 12-22).
George M! runs through Sept. 29. Tonight's opening includes a gala in the lobby with displays by local police and fire departments and an appearance by St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker. Showtimes are 8 p.m. today, Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $8 and $16. (727) 866-1973.
-- JOHN FLEMING, Times performing arts critic
The 1944 Meet Me In St. Louis was one of the great MGM musicals, with magical performances by Judy Garland and, as her scene-stealing little sister, Margaret O'Brien. Some 45 years later, it was turned into a Broadway musical, which naturally failed to live up to the movie, though it had all the Ralph Blane-Hugh Martin songs: The Boy Next Door, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, The Trolley Song.
This weekend, Spanish Lyric Theatre stages the musical, with a cast that includes Danielle Hall and John Smitherman, above. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday in Ferguson Hall of Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Tickets: $10.50-$19.50. (813) 229-7827 or toll-free 1-800-955-1045 or www.tbpac.org.
-- JOHN FLEMING, Times performing arts critic
Steve Kostelnik opens the 2002-03 Florida Guitar Alliance recital series in Tampa. Kostelnik, a finalist in the 1996 Guitar Foundation of America competition, has works of Daniel Batchelar (Mounsieur's Almaine), Fernando Sor, Johann Kasper Mertz (Hungarian Fantasy), Joaquin Rodrigo (Three Spanish Pieces), Jonathan Kulp and Agustin Barrios on his program.
Also appearing in the series are the Aurora Guitar Quartet (Nov. 15), Greek guitarist Antigoni Goni (Feb. 14) and Italian guitarist Andrea Vettoretti (April 4).
Kostelnik, who is studying for his doctorate in music from the University of Texas, plays at 8 p.m. Friday in the Student Services Auditorium on the Dale Mabry Campus of Hillsborough Community College. Tickets: $7 (free to HCC students). (813) 988-2734.
-- JOHN FLEMING, Times performing arts critic
Cirque du Soleil's production of Quidam has added seven more performances Nov. 7 to 12. Tickets for the new shows (in the Tropicana Field parking lot in St. Petersburg) are available today through Saturday at www.cirqueclub.com (you will be asked to join the Cirque Club by answering a few marketing questions), or starting Sunday at noon at www.cirquedusoleil.com or at toll-free 1-800-678-5440. Tickets are $45-$65 adults, $31.50-$45.50 children. For ages 13 to 17, and seniors, prices are $40.50-$58.50 for shows Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and at 5 p.m. Friday. For group reservations for 40 adults or more, call toll-free 1-800-450-1480 or visit www.cirquedusoleil.com.