A&E Picks and Highlights

From: Bijou Café, 1287 First St.

What is it? This small plate is featured on the updated bar bites menu. Gravlax is a Scandinavian appetizer. As opposed to lox, gravlax is unsmoked, cured salmon.

What’s special about it? Bijou cures the gravlax in-house from fresh Scottish salmon using sugar, salt and dill. It is then washed, leaving a flavorful healthy fish. A patron of Bijou had the idea to serve it on potato crisps — and it was a sudden hit.

Best paired with: A raspberry lemon drop martini

On display: At State of the Arts Gallery, 1525 State St., Sarasota

Size and medium: 38 inches by 48 images. Mixed mediums with layered epoxy resin.

Inspiration: “I’m as affected by the frog I saw yesterday sitting on the lit globe of my outside light as I am by the distant memories of a gray hut I once saw in China or a blue mosaic tile I saw 30 years ago when I lived in Israel. My biggest influences come from the many cultures I’ve deeply experienced, from nature and from the legacy of art and invention passed through the DNA in the women of my family to me. These join together and feel like an invisible hand guiding me in my work, where it’s as if colors take over my whole being.”

Role: Christine Colgate in “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” which opens March 20 at The Players Theatre.

Where were you before Sarasota? Kansas City

What’s your favorite word? Smitten.

If you were a con artist, who would you con? I would try to con Steve Jobs into a ton of money and Apple Tech so I could con other people like Oprah into giving me all of her favorite things. Then Joss Whedon so I could be in the next “Avengers” movie — that’s what everyone would do, right?
you have to kiss two actors on stage in this production. what’s your most memorable on-stage kiss? In high school, a character shot me in the stomach after we kissed. I thought that was pretty exciting.

If you had to describe “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” in three words: A riot, risqué and really-really-really-fantstic-so-come-see-it. I think I cheated a little.

Would you rather be dirty, rotten or a scoundrel? A scoundrel. It makes you sound like an old-timey rouge that robs trains. Also, I imagine a scoundrel would wind up super rich, and I could definitely live with that.

A&E EDITOR'S PICKS: 

Thursday, March 20
nowHERE Gallery Performance: Todd Reynolds
6:30 p.m. at The Ringling
Tickets $10. Call 359-5700.

‘Dirty Rotten Scoundrels’
7:30 p.m. at The Players Theatre
Runs through March 30.
Tickets $25 to $30. Call 365-2494.

Great Escapes Series: ‘Come Fly with Me'
Sarasota Orchestra
7:30 p.m. at Holley Hall
Runs through Saturday
Tickets $29 to $49. Call 953-3434.

‘Man of La Mancha’
Manatee Players
7:30 p.m. at Manatee Performing Arts Center
Runs through April 6
Tickets $27 to $37. Call 748-5875.

‘Mama Won’t Fly’
8 p.m. at The Island Players
Runs through April 6.
Tickets $20. Call 778-5755.

Friday, March 21
Pineapple Antique Show preview party
The Rotary Club of Sarasota Sunrise
5 p.m. at Sarasota Municipal Auditorium
Show runs 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday
Tickets $15. Visit sarasotasunrise.com.

nowHERE Genre Creates Ghetto: The Artist and The Curator
The Ringling
6:30 p.m. at Mildred Sainer Pavilion
Tickets $5. Call 360-7399.

‘Faces of Change: Growing America’
7:30 p.m. at Asolo Repertory Theatre
Runs through Saturday.
Free, call to reserve. 351-8000.

‘The Barber of Seville’ by Gioachino Rossini
Sarasota Opera
8 p.m. at Sarasota Opera House
Tickets $19 to $120. Call 328-1300.

Vince Gill with special guest Amy Grant
8 p.m. at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
Call 953-3368.

Saturday, March 22
YouthArts Fest
Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County
9 a.m. at Five Points Park
Free. Call 365-5118, Ext. 304.

Arts Day. Margaret Barbieri Conservatory of Dance
10 a.m. at 5 Points Park
Free. Call 359-0099.

‘Jérusalem’ by Giuseppe Verdi
Sarasota Opera
1:30 p.m. at Sarasota Opera House
Tickets $19 to $120. Call 328-1300.

nowHERE Genre Creates Ghetto: Curating in a Post-Genre World
The Ringling
6:30 p.m. at Mildred Sainer Pavilion
Tickets $20; $15 members. Call 360-7399.

New Stages 2014 — ‘Inuksuit: in the Capacity of the Human’ by John Luther Adams
7:30 p.m. at The Ringling
Tickets $30, $25 members. Call 360-7399.

‘Il trovatore’ by Giuseppe Verdi
Sarasota Opera
8 p.m. at Sarasota Opera House
Tickets $19 to $120. Call 328-1300.

Jazz Juvenocracy – All Star Reunion Concert
8 p.m. at Glenridge Performing Arts Center
Tickets $20. Call 552-5325.

6th annual Sarasota Challenge
8 p.m. at Hyatt Regency Sarasota
Runs through Sunday.
Visit SarasotaChallenge.com.

Sunday, March 23
David Cleaveland
2 p.m. at Bookstore1Sarasota
Call 365-7900.

Unplugged New Play Festival
Asolo Repertory Theatre
7 p.m. at Asolo Rep rehearsal hall. Call 351-8000.