Scene & Heard

+ Hermitage couple brings work to LBKCA
Artist Rebecca Allan and composer Laura Kaminsky have been together for 10 years, yet they’ve never worked together on a joint project.

That is until they landed residencies last year at The Hermitage Artist Retreat on Manasota Key.

“Horizon Lines,” which was composed by Kaminsky in 2011, was inspired by the coastal landscape surrounding the quiet retreat. A multidisciplinary work, the piece was written for oboe, bassoon and piano.Commissioned by the Seattle Chamber Music Society, it includes paintings by Allan and a digital film by John Feldman.

On Friday, Jan. 6, the New York-based ensemble O3XYGN will perform the piece at the Longboat Key Center for the Arts. The program, which runs from 7 to 9 p.m., also includes a performance of “Multiple Oneness,” a live painting by Ken Cro-Ken with accompaniment by oboist Matt Sullivan.
Allan and Kaminsky arrived at the Hermitage shortly after Christmas.

As with most New York artists who set up shop in Florida, the couple was instantly captivated by what Allan calls the “maritime light.”

“We live on the Hudson River,” Allan says. “It’s Northeastern river light. Here my work has had a radical shift because of the tropical landscape. Maritime light has a clear and brilliant quality. We literally and metaphorical see things differently here.”

+ Boyhood band nerds star in FST show
As a former clarinet-playing band nerd, I find this back story from Florida Studio Theatre’s “Shake, Rattle and Roll!” to be especially touching.

Two of the show’s musicians, Eric Scott Anthony and Jonathon Brown, have a history that goes back further than most people’s closest friendships.

The two met as preschoolers in St. Louis, and from there they went on to attend the same public elementary school.

In fourth grade they joined the school band. (They were both saxophone players.) In high school they formed a band. (They wanted to be rock stars.) And after high school they started working in musical theater, touring with the show, “Pump Boys and Dinettes,” a musical about four men who work at a gas station and croon down-home country tunes.

Now 36, they’re performing together again in FST’s musical tribute to the legends of early rock-and-roll.
The show, developed by Richard and Rebecca Hopkins and Jim Prosser, is a revue of tunes by Buddy Holly, Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry and The Everly Brothers, to name a few. It opened Jan. 4 in the Goldstein Cabaret.

The all-male cast includes New York actors Dominick Cicco and Casey Gensler and percussionist Tony Bruno from the 2010 production of “Night Train to Memphis.”

Anthony and Brown are thrilled to bring their camaraderie to Sarasota.

“All of our early musical memories were with each other,” Anthony says.

And, they’ve stayed true to their hometown roots. When they’re not on the road for work, they play acoustic coffee shop gigs around St. Louis, covering Top 40 hits from the 1980s and 1990s.

HOT TICKETS
‘Once in a Lifetime’: This satire by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart follows a trio of down-on-their-luck vaudeville performers who decide to get out of Dodge (i.e: New York City) and head to Hollywood as the entertainment industry transitions from silent films to “talkies.” Misadventures ensue. The play runs Jan. 6 to Feb. 29, at the Asolo Repertory Theatre. For more information, call 351-8000 or visit asolorep.org.

‘Lobby Hero’: A young security guard for a Manhattan apartment building attempts to rebuild his life after being tossed out of the military. Along the way he gets embroiled in a murder investigation involving crooked cops. Written by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Kenneth Lonergan, “Lobby Hero” is a character-driven suspenseful cop drama with comedic flair. Performed by the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training, it’s up now through Jan. 22 in the Cook Theatre. For more information, call 351-8000.