By Caron Schwartz
Free Beer The Choir of Man has extended its stay at the Straz to 12/10. Known as “the ultimate feel-good show,” The Choir of Man offers 90 minutes of singing and dancing in an onstage bar with real taps. And free Coppertail beer for all! www.strazcenter.org
Holiday Fun Leave it to Largo to present holiday entertainment for the entire family. From Martin Barre of Jethro Tull (11/11) and Dave Brubeck’s kids Chris and Dan (12/3) to Christmas with Elvis (12/14) and The Nutcracker (12/17), you’ve got the holidays covered! Central Park Performing Arts Center www.largoarts.com
Creative Clay Benefit St. Pete’s ArtWalk 11/11 should be a blast! It’s also an opportunity to support Creative Clay during a benefit featuring Faces & Dogs: The Folk Art of Marie & Rusty Hammer, along with live music and refreshments. www.creativeclay.org
Laughter Anyone Coastal Creative presents something to laugh about: Giulio Gallarotti (11/10-11), Sam Miller (11/17-18), and Ben Bailey (12/8). www.coastalcreativetv.com
Book ‘Em Danno The Museum of the Arts & Crafts Movement celebrates a new acquisition of Roycroft handmade books on 11/16, 6-7:30pm. View these exquisite books in the museum’s library while enjoying libations and light bites. www.museumaacm.org
Font Of Glass Mike da Ponte’s Communication, on exhibit at Duncan McClennan Gallery through December, is an ongoing investigation of two-dimensional typography and 3D glass casting and their storytelling abilities. www.dmglass.com
Big Top Bonanza Feld Entertainment’s plans to reboot the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus have come to fruition. The revamped Greatest Show on Earth features never-before-seen acrobatic stunts, extreme skateboarding, bombastic dancing, and more – but no animals. See it all 1/5-7/2024 at the Amelia Arena. www.ringling.com
Circus Circus The Circus Arts Conservatory, the nation’s only nonprofit organization that combines professional circus performances and youth circus training, launches its 2023-2024 season with holiday shows: Brave New Wonderland, 11/18-12/31 featuring Nik Wallenda, and youth circus program Sailor Circus Academy’s Candyland, 12/27-31. www.circusarts.org
Classical Gas The Perlman Music Program Suncoast presents the music of Beethoven and Ravel played by the Tobias Quartet, alumni of the program, 11/15, 7pm at the Sarasota Art Museum, and a free outdoor concert 11/18, 5pm at The Green at UTC. https://bit.ly/3ZRczRS
Joy at the James You are invited to Honey’s Mini Therapy Adventures’ First Annual Gala, Mini Miracles at The James Museum, 11/9, 6:30-8:30pm, celebrating the museum’s fifth anniversary. Come dressed in your best boots and bling and help us commemorate the miracles we facilitate while enjoying cocktails and appetizers. www.minitherapy.org
The American West Immerse yourself in stories of resiliency and self-determination in the James Museum’s From Far East to West: The Chinese American Frontier. From the Gold Rush and Transcontinental Railroad to Angel Island and Chinatowns, the work of contemporary Chinese-American artists transports you back in time to when Chinese immigrants helped build the American West. Now through 1/28/2024. www.thejamesmuseum.org
She Persisted Chabad of St. Pete presents the incredible journey of resilience and hope from one of the last Holocaust survivors, Helga Melmed, who survived the horrors of Auschwitz and the brutal conditions of labor camps during World War II. Her story is one of courage, strength, and the unbreakable human spirit. The Palladium, 11/6, 6pm. https://bit.ly/48KbzmD
Arts Advocates is pleased to feature its member artists who have served in the US Armed Forces in an exhibit 11/25, 2-4pm, featuring the works of Diana De Avila, Jessica Hartman, John Quigley, and Mark Wiseman. www.artsadvocates.org
Gifts Galore An autumn destination for art favored by enthusiasts, collectors, and holiday shoppers, the Florida CraftArt Festival returns to St. Pete 11/18-19. Artist demonstrations, music, a children’s activity tent, food trucks, wine and craft beer will add to the festivities. The juried festival is dedicated to showcasing the best in contemporary fine craft. https://bit.ly/3ZTsMWO
Feel Good @freeFall Get nostalgic at freeFall Theatre’s Miracle on 34th Street: A Live Musical Radio Play. When a department store Santa claims he’s the real Kris Kringle, his case gets taken all the way to the Supreme Court, and a little girl’s belief makes all the difference. 11/24-12/24 www.freefalltheatre.com
American Stage presents Acts of Faith, a story about the power of belief, the disillusionment of youth, and the eternal struggle between good and evil. The story follows Faith, a young woman who gets mistaken for a prophet and whose travels test her convictions. 11/12-12/17 www.americanstage.org American Stage also presents White Rabbit Red Rabbit as part of its Beyond the Stage series. Each night, a different actor steps on stage with a script they’ve never seen before. The true meaning of one-night-only, it’s emotionally vulnerable at times and hilarious at others. No rehearsals. No director. No do-over. 11/2-19
On The Mark Drew Marc Gallery, the newest gallery at The Factory St. Pete, features national contemporary art. The first exhibition, which showcases artwork from about a dozen nationally acclaimed artists, will be on display until 11/10. The gallery will host an opening every Second Saturday ArtWalk. www.drewmarcgallery.com
Backstage Blues The Heirs of Pretending by Jared Eberlein runs through 11/19 at LAB Theater Project, with taped performances available through 11/30. Set backstage at a theater, this melancholy comedy charts what happens when the dream of being on stage again runs up against the realities of age, family, rivalry, and the nature of theater itself. www.labtheaterproject.com
Art & History The Florida Center for Partnerships in Arts Integrated Teaching (PAInT), received a $2.6 million US Dept. of Education grant to launch “Bill of Writes Storytellers (BOWS),” a program to include arts in the teaching of social studies. Through BOWS, teachers will develop artistic skills in performance, visual, and/or literary arts, to empower students to use art to demonstrate their understanding of American history, government, civics, and geography. https://bit.ly/46rVhNG
Sticky notes Stickman’s Against the Wall: The New Works, is on display at Michael Murphy Gallery 11/17-25. Trevor “Stickman” Stickel specializes in musically based visual art that captures legendary moments, powerful ideas, and raw emotion. His work is described as gritty-yet-fresh, complex-yet-simple. You can meet the artist at receptions 11/17 and 18 6-9pm. RSVP https://bit.ly/46KOheN www.mmgart.com
Fortunate Finds An English woman paid $100 for a 12-inch sculpture at a flea market. She took it to the BBC’s Fake or Fortune (the British version of Antiques Roadshow) and it turned out to be an Elisabeth Frink “Small Warrior,” one of a series of 10, worth $72,000. The St. Pete Museum of Fine Arts recently discovered its own fortunate find. In 1969, the MFA was gifted a pastel portrait long believed to be by noted British painter Francis Cotes. This attribution, which remained unchallenged for over 50 years, is incorrect. The artist is almost certainly Katherine Reed, another equally important, though historically less well-known, artist.