An ogre sings outdoors in ‘Shrek’
“Shrek, the Musical,” the stage version of the hit animated film, is usually produced with a cast of roughly 30 playing everyone from the green ogre named Shrek to dozens of fairy tale characters. All of them will be on hand, but in a different way in a new outdoor production presented by the Dingbat Theatre Project. All the actors play multiple characters and manipulate a variety of puppets. It is staged by founder Luke Manual McFatrich (he also plays Dragon) and is choreographed by Brian Finnerty (who also plays Lord Farquaad). Cory Woomert plays Shrek, Alyssa Goudy is Princess Fiona and Derric Gobourne Jr. is Donkey. The cast also includes Noelia Altamirano, Amanda Heisey and Jamie Molina. Performances are outdoors at the Bazaar on Apricot and Lime, 821 Apricot Ave., Sarasota, at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and May 13-15. Tickets are $25 or $50 for blanket seating for up to four people. For more information: dingbattheatre.org
“There are many trips that I was supposed to have made that did not happen,” said Kahane in a Zoom interview last week from that same garage studio.
The concerto, incidentally, was “the very first concerto by Mozart I ever played in public,” he said. “This is a piece that has been in my repertoire longer than any other.”
The concerto was originally planned for a concert earlier in the season that, like so many other things during the pandemic, required on-the-fly adjustments.
Kahane will finally join the slimmed-down ensemble at Holley Hall for “Moments in Time,” the final concert of the 2020-2021 season. Also on the program are Pulitzer Prize-winner Caroline Shaw’s “Entr’Acte” and Grieg’s Holberg Suite.
“This is one of those programs that was sort of a virtue out of the necessity occasion,” said Kerry Smith, the orchestra’s director of artistic planning, “because our instrumentation is fixed: strings, percussion and keyboard, only masked players. We really miss the brass.”
She said several selections come from “folk music from Central and South America that actually fits with that instrumentation. Most of it will be extremely familiar to the audience.”
Principal bassist John Miller said the program will allow him to channel his inner lounge lizard.
“A lot of these Latin grooves have these really strong bass lines. A lot of these come from the bottom up. ‘La Bamba,’ Richie Valens, comes from the bottom up,” he said. “And whenever you get a chance to play any Piazzolla, the tango, one of my favorites . I’m looking forward to it. And of course ‘The Girl From Ipanema.’ It was always my dream to be playing in a lounge band.”
Sarasota Orchestra captures ‘Latin Grooves’ in Pops concert Susan L. Rife
A Latin Pops concert without brass? Well, there’s a challenge.
The Sarasota Orchestra will rise to the occasion this week for “Latin Grooves,” a collection of tunes from Spain and Latin America that will be easy on the ears and familiar to the audience. “The Girl From Ipanema,” “Tico-Tico,” two Argentinian tangos by Astor Piazzolla, selections from “Carmen” and, of course, “La Bamba” are on the Pops program.
“This is one of those programs that was sort of a virtue out of the necessity occasion,” said Kerry Smith, the orchestra’s director of artistic planning, “because our instrumentation is fixed: strings, percussion and keyboard, only masked players. We really miss the brass.”