Hot Tickets

But for year-rounders and part-timers alike, there's something about the magical date of Nov. 1 that marks it as the beginning of the real season-the time when you'd better be sure you've ordered your tickets, had your best evening togs dry cleaned, and inscribed all the important show dates on your day planner or Palm Pilot. This year, the United Arts Council is emphasizing that timing by naming November "Celebrate the Arts" month in Collier County.

Every year, there's more to celebrate in Southwest Florida's arts and entertainment scene, with more shows, exhibitions and special events for audiences-and artists-to enjoy. Take a look at the highlights we've singled out, and stay tuned month by month with our Along the Gulfshore calendar listings.

November

A number of cultural organizations mark anniversaries this season. One of the biggest is the Philharmonic Center, celebrating its 15th on Nov. 8 with a reception and conductor Doc Severinsen leading the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra. The music will range from Puccini to polka, and Severinsen will shine on some trumpet solos too. Also this month at the Phil, the Miami City Ballet returns with the George Balanchine version of the holiday classic The Nutcracker, Nov. 29 and 30. Next door at the Naples Museum of Art, one of the young museum's most exciting exhibitions to date offers a retrospective of the work of modernist giant Hans Hofmann, Nov. 1-March 21. Read more about this landmark show on page TK.

This is also the month for young art lovers to celebrate, with a brand-new group that will mix social and art-related activities. The Contemporaries have been founded for the "young at art" (maybe 25-50, say), and you don't have to be rich to belong. You do, however, have to join the von Liebig Art Center at some membership level; and then you can enjoy the benefits of special tours, talks and get-togethers. The first of these takes place Nov. 14 at the home of art collectors Fran and John Fenning in Fort Myers; for more info, call 262-6517.

The Southwest Florida Symphony kicks off its season with Shakespeare in Song, a full-bodied presentation that brings together the symphony's orchestra, chorus, children's chorus, youth orchestra and chamber groups in a tribute to the Bard. Husband and wife Douglas Renfroe and Lorraine Murphy-Renfroe will team on songs from Kiss Me, Kate. Excerpts from Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet and jazz pianist George Shearing's Shakespeare Sonnets are also on the bill. That's Nov. 1 at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall.

Have you reserved your "isle seat" for the sixth annual Marco Island Film Festival? Steadily moving up the ranks in the film-fest world, the Marco event promises screenings of new indie films, celebrity parties, and, of course, movies on the beach, Nov. 5-9. Where else but in Southwest Florida?

December

A world premiere at the Phil is big news locally this month. Miami City Ballet artistic director Edward Villella and co-choreographer Frank Regan present a new dance, Gismonti Brazil, set to music by Brazilian composer Egberto Gismonti, on Dec. 9. Gismonti typically mixes both classic and contemporary sounds with a special Brazilian flair; that should warm up the hall. Also at the Phil: the touring production of Broadway's Seussical, the Musical, the family show based on the work, of course, of Dr. Seuss. The Cat in the Hat, Horton the Elephant and other Seuss characters take to the stage Dec. 26, 27 and 28.

A more tempestuous Broadway hit comes to the Barbara B. Mann, Dec. 2-7, with Miss Saigon. This show about the love between a GI and a Vietnamese woman has been at the Mann before, but this production offers a new interpretation that emphasizes the human story over the admittedly impressive spectacle.

The Naples Press Club presents its second annual Authors and Books Festival Dec. 6 and 7 at the Collier County Professional Development Center. Among the authors to meet are exposé master Leslie Waller (who really killed Princess Diana?), Florida mystery writers James W. Hall and Tim Dorsey, and Pine Island's very own Randy Wayne White, who will premiere his film on Cuban baseball at the Sugden Theater. A writers' conference portion of the event helps wannabes learn about agents, self-publishing and the freelance market.

January

"Everything today is thoroughly modern"...ring any bells? If you have fond memories of the film version of this comedy about a small-town girl turned flapper, in which Carol Channing and Mary Tyler Moore co-starred, head for the Phil this month to see the first national tour of the six-time Tony Award-winning version, Jan. 27-Feb. 1. Lots of Jazz Age razzle-dazzle. Another "modern" meaning is examined with Yasmine Reza's hit play Art, which is turning up everywhere these days, including at the Sugden in a Naples Players production Jan. 14-Feb. 7. It's about the strain that burdens the friendship of three men when one of them buys an all-white painting. Is it really art?

The art of the portrait photographer shines in Ruth Harriet Louise and Glamour Photography, an exhibition on view Jan. 30-April 1 in the Phil Galleries. Louise joined MGM in the 1920s as Hollywood's only female portrait photographer, which may have given her insight into shooting Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford and Norma Shearer. Those famous faces and more fill this show; we've seen the accompanying book, and it's a beauty. Too bad Louise isn't around these days to photograph the incredibly glamorous Dame Edna (aka Barry Humphries). The outrageous Edna certainly has her own sense of style, along with a wicked wit; he/she will perform Jan. 27-Feb. 1 at the Barbara B. Mann.

Art of a more down-to-earth style is featured in American Folk Art: From Outside the Mainstream, which opens at the von Liebig Art Center Jan. 31 and runs through March 13. Works by the late Howard Finster, Minnie Evans, Purvis Young and other artists working far from the art world's centers are included.

If you're used to only seeing an Arthur Miller play whenever Death of a Salesman is revived, you should stop by Florida Repertory Theatre Jan. 9-Feb. 1, when the playwright's earlier All My Sons is onstage. This drama about defective airplane parts that end up costing soldiers' lives and the impact it has on one family is still devastating. By the way, it also appears on the Sugden's stage April 14-May 8, in case you miss it this month. And Theatre Conspiracy at the Foulds Theater in Fort Myers presents a Florida premiere this month. Walking on Turtle Island, by storyteller Robert Greygrass, is a one-man show featuring 21 characters. Based on tales of his Lakota heritage, it features a spirit narrator, powwow songs, jokes and history, and it will be performed in the round.

February

This is a month with lots of art on view, and it's wide-ranging. We're intrigued by two shows at the Naples Museum. The first is Clement Greenberg: A Critic's Collection, a peek into what this famed and controversial critic, who championed so many abstract expressionist artists of the mid-20th century (de Kooning, Pollock, David Smith), had in his own collection. Works by Larry Poons, Jules Olitski and, yes, Jackson Pollock are included. That's on view Feb. 14-May 9.

The second show, Agnes Denes: Portraits for Public Spaces, offers a rare chance to see work by an artist famed as an originator of conceptual art and a pioneer of environmental pieces that are often monumental in size. We won't see a full-scale installation here, but there will be images of her realized projects in the U.S. and abroad as well as drawings, models and maquettes. On view Feb. 14-May 2.

There's plenty more art on view at the Naples National Art Festival, which celebrates its 25th anniversary Feb. 21 and 22 in Cambier Park. Artists working in a variety of media from all over the country participate. Proceeds benefit programs at the von Liebig (which, by the way, notes its fifth anniversary; the Naples Art Association which calls it home is observing 50 years in the nonprofit arts world).

Opera star Renee Fleming makes her Southwest Florida debut Feb. 8 at the Phil, and if you're lucky enough to snag a ticket you can revel in a voice that's been called both "ravishing" and "sumptuous" by the critics. Those in the mood to revive some quintessential '60s memories should show up for The Graduate, Feb. 10-15 at the Barbara B. Mann. The show has garnered mixed reviews in London and New York, but there's something irresistible about seeing Benjamin, Elaine and Mrs. Robinson (played here by The Sopranos' Lorraine Bracco) again. And there's definitely something nostalgic about Say Goodnight Gracie, the hit Broadway show that brings us Frank Gorshin as beloved comedian George Burns, Feb. 14 and 15 at the Phil. It's not just a comedy, though; it's also a love story, written by Tony winner Rupert Holmes.

March

The Sanibel Music Festival has made a name for itself with its high-quality chamber concerts performed in the intimate Sanibel Congregational Church. This month's fest, with concerts March 6, 9, 13, 16, 20, 23 and 27, brings us the Jerusalem String Quartet (unable to come last year because of visa snafus), fest favorite pianist Jon Nakamatsu, fellow pianists Christopher Taylor and Bryan Wallick, the Ying Quartet, The Artis String Quartet and the Julliard Vocal Ensemble to the island. Naples Dinner Theatre proves we Americans don't really hate the French when it revives Gigi, the "Thank Heaven for Little Girls" musical, March 1-April 10. NDT's Barry Marcus will take on the Maurice Chevalier role, with Joe Spieldenner (who grew up in Southwest Florida and recently played the national tour of South Pacific) as Gaston, and young Kit Paquin as Gigi.