Gulfshore Insider

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Spend a Sunday watching the Harlem Globetrotters show off their skills at Germain Arena on March 6 at 2 p.m. The Globetrotters have even created a new four-point shot that must be taken from designated areas on the court. Watch for dramatic dunks and trick shots throughout the game. For tickets, call (800) 745-3000.

See It!

In 1970, the late Robert Rauschenberg began spending most of his time living and working on Captiva Island. In this print, Big and Little Bullys, from his Ruminations Series, he incorporated images from his past, including those of his mother, Dora, and father, Ernest. Photographs from his childhood incorporated into this work are personal to him yet ambiguous to the viewer.

The artist allows each of us to interpret the images we see to create our own narrative. His color palette is a subtle one of gray tones that imparts the print with a mood of nostalgia. The viewer can imagine a relationship of the figures and settings.

Rauschenberg learned from his experimentation in every medium. In this work, we can see how his interest in painting was transferred to working with an etching technique. He appears to have painted these images rather than having engraved them.

In the succeeding four decades, Rauschenberg continued to push the boundaries of what a print could be. He experimented with inks and papers, staying current with developments and inventions related to art production. This work and others by Rauschenberg can be seen this month at the Naples Museum of Art.—Mark Ormond

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Enjoy flower-centric festivities at the 58th annual Naples Flower Show March 25–26. Offerings range from live music, art exhibits, vendors and six gardening demonstrations. Included in the demonstrations is Ikebana, or the art of Japanese flower arranging. A preview party is March 24 from 5:30–8 p.m. For details, call 643-7275.

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Singing the smooth and classic music his father once performed, Frank Sinatra Jr. will be at the Philharmonic Center for the Arts on March 4 at 8 p.m. for Sinatra Sings Sinatra. The man is more than just heir to the famous name; he is a professional musician in his own right. For more information, call 597-1900.

Don’t Miss It! 

For more than 30 years, Andrea McArdle has performed on Broadway, acted in soap operas and sung on stages. Her stage work includes roles such as Fantine in Les Misérables, Sally Bowles in Cabaret and Belle in Beauty and the Beast. She is best known, however, for her role as the little orphan Annie from the original Broadway production in 1977. Her love for the stage has even resonated with her daughter, Alexis Kalehoff, with whom she has worked on several shows. Together they will appear in the dark musical Blood Brothers, presented by TheatreZone March 10–20. For tickets or details, call (888) 966-3352.

Is it challenging to perform with family? We have a great time working together, and it is interesting to see a mother-daughter dynamic if you can get personal things aside and be a real professional.

Are you excited to be back performing at TheatreZone? I had such a great experience down at TheatreZone doing Evita, and I also was down there and did my [one-woman show] for a week. I love the people down there; I love the audiences. I know what it takes to build any kind of theater group like that, and they’ve grown in all the right ways. [TheatreZone Artistic Director] Mark Danni was my assisting conductor and drummer on the national tour of Les Miz; so, he conducted my daughter, and he conducted me as well.

In Blood Brothers, you play the underdog. Do you enjoy roles like this more than something like Belle? They are really my favorite roles to play. It’s fun because even though things she does are questionable, you understand why she has to make these tough decisions, so you feel for her. This is a whole different ball game; these more mature women. They’re not flat, one-dimensional performances. They require a lot more, and it’s a challenge. It took so long for people to give me those roles, so I’m really enjoying that.

Will audiences be able to relate to Blood Brothers? It’s still running on the West End in London, so I think it’s even more pertinent today because of all these problems that Americans didn’t have for a lot of years. Now we see ourselves, and it’s not so unlike Europe—people not having enough money [for] either medicine or food—and we didn’t see that in this country for quite a while. These are characters that everybody, especially now, can identify with.—Kristie Aronow

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Olympic athletes are strong, committed—and, in some cases, exceptionally artistic. Art of the Olympians Museum and Gallery in downtown Fort Myers honors their passion by exhibiting their artwork. Prince Albert II of Monaco, an Olympic bobsledder and art enthusiast, will help celebrate the grand opening on March 5, while Larry Young, a bronze medalist in long-distance walking whose work will also be on display, hosts an opening reception March 4 from 5–8 p.m. For details, call 332-5055.

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This month, the Florida Repertory Theatre, which was named one of the top repertory companies in the country by The Wall Street Journal, offers a dark comedy about some of humankind’s worst destructive tendencies—suicide, sexual molestation and addiction. August: Osage County, the story of a family hitting its total meltdown point, is onstage March 11–27. For more information, call 332-4488.