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Stage
Hot Ticket
By JOHN FLEMING, Times Performing Arts Critic
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 9, 2003
The artist and his brother
Vincent portrays the relationship between Vincent van Gogh and his brother, Theo. Written by Leonard Nimoy, it's a one-man show starring F. Reed Brown as both brothers in a production this weekend and next at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.
Nimoy (Mr. Spock in Star Trek), who performed the play on Broadway and in a PBS telecast in the early 1980s, based it on a trove of letters written by the artist to Theo, an art dealer who never lost faith in his older brother. The setting is Paris in 1890, with Theo delivering an impassioned eulogy for the painter of Starry Night and other masterpieces. Vincent received scant recognition in his lifetime. His most infamous act was cutting off his ear and giving it to a prostitute. He died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at 37.
Brown, above, a University of South Florida graduate who co-founded the Ozark Actors Theatre, performs Vincent Friday through Jan. 19 in TBPAC's Shimberg Playhouse. Shows are at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $15.50. Call (813) 229-7827 or toll-free 1-800-955-1045.
Violinist-turned-conductor makes guest appearance
Peter Oundjian conducts the Florida Orchestra this weekend. Oundjian, former first violin with the Tokyo String Quartet, turned to conducting only six years ago after a repetitive motion injury caused him to stop playing. He is artistic director of the Caramoor International Music Festival in New York and has guest-conducted orchestras throughout North America and Europe.
In December, the Toronto Star reported that Oundjian, 46, was the top candidate to succeed Jukka-Pekka Saraste as music director of the Toronto Symphony. In listing his qualifications to take over the troubled orchestra, the newspaper described him as "relatively young, he's considered a rising star, he's good-looking, unpretentious and affable. He's also a visionary with a sense of humour, and he has a personality that would help win over musicians, audiences, politicians, board members and community leaders."
Oundjian's contract in Toronto was still being worked out when the news broke. An official announcement is expected this month.
His program with the Florida Orchestra includes Debussy's Afternoon of a Faun, the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 2, with soloist Alon Goldstein, and Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2. Concerts are at 8 p.m. Friday in Ferguson Hall of Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, 8 p.m. Saturday at Mahaffey Theater and 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Ruth Eckerd Hall. Tickets: $20-$42. Call (813) 286-2403 or toll-free 1-800-662-7286 or see www.floridaorchestra.org.
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