Japanese Taiko drummers to perform outdoor concert
LARGO — Taiko Drummers Peaceful Forest, featuring world champion Taiko drummer Takumi Kato and his three children, will present an outdoor performance on Friday, March 6, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., on the terrace and portico at the Central Park Performing Arts Center, 105 Central Park Drive, Largo.
This outdoor performance is free and open to all ages, with seating provided.
Peaceful Forest, led by Takumi Kato and his three sons, is a family-centered traditional Japanese Taiko drumming ensemble. Over the past three years, the group has toured nationwide with the goal of performing 1,000 shows in all 50 states, reaching more than 580 performances in 40 states to date. The Largo performance is part of Peaceful Forest’s first Florida tour, with additional performances scheduled in Pensacola, Miami, and St. Petersburg.
Takumi, born in Ena City, Gifu Prefecture, Japan, trained with Kodo, the internationally recognized Japanese drumming performance group based in Sado City. In 2008, he earned the grand prize in the Big Japanese Drum category at the Tokyo International Wadaiko Competition and later established his studio, Forest of Nukumori, in his hometown.
For information, visit LargoArts.com or call 727-587-6793.
EBDT presents ‘Baggage’
CLEARWATER — “Baggage,” by Sam Bobrick, opened Feb. 28 at the Early Bird Dinner Theater, 13355 49th St. N., Clearwater.
The production will run through April 12. The price for buffet and show is $50 including tax. Call 727-446-5898 for reservations. For availability, visit earlybirddinnertheater.com or email susan.ebdt@yahoo.com.
Directed by Janice Creneti, the cast of this production features Chris Sanner, Daniel Harris, Mark William Myers and Courtney Wilkins. Mike Arnold is stage managing. Domenic Bisesti, Gina Cielo, Rob Colwell and Gloria Rice are understudies.
“Baggage is hilarious,” said Susan Linardos, producer. “When an airline snafu is untangled, Phyllis and Bradley meet … what happens next? Laughs guaranteed … matching luggage optional.”
Romance at any stage of life is not for the faint of heart but as we get a little older, we come into our relationships with more history and thus, more baggage. Bobrick, an award-winning playwright, delivers a humorous and heartfelt story of two people trying to move on from being disappointed by love.
Creneti has assembled a delightful cast of new and familiar faces for this wacky romp through the twists and turns of an unlikely couple searching for their happy ending.
Coming in April, Early Bird Dinner Theater will present the comedy “Becky’s New Car,” directed by Domenic Bisesti.
Tarpon Arts, TSHS theater department to stage ‘The Last Five Years’
TARPON SPRINGS — Tarpon Arts will partner with the Tarpon Springs High School theater department to present a special one-act version of “The Last Five Years” on Friday, March 13, 7 p.m., at the Tarpon Springs Cultural Center, 101 S. Pinellas Ave., Tarpon Springs.
Reserved seating is $15 a person. Cost for Tarpon Arts members is $13. Visit TarponArts.org.
This award-winning student production earned top honors at the District Thespian Competition and will serve as a showcase performance as the cast prepares for the State Thespian Championship. Audiences are invited to experience this intimate, emotionally charged musical in a focused one-act format that highlights the depth, artistry, and maturity of these student storytellers.
“The Last Five Years” is a two-person musical that chronicles the rise and fall of a five-year relationship between novelist Jamie Wellerstein and actress Cathy Hiatt. Told through intersecting timelines — with Jamie moving forward in time and Cathy moving backward — their stories meet at a single moment, offering a raw and emotionally honest portrait of love, ambition, and missed connections.
“It is rare to witness this level of onstage maturity in high school performers, and we are beyond thrilled to present this piece to the public,” said Antonia West, Tarpon Springs High School theater director and social studies teacher. “This production was a true collaboration of creative student minds, impressing district competition judges so deeply that they stopped writing notes altogether and simply watched with joyful tears.”
The cast of this production features Angelina Anderson as Cathy Hiatt and Griffin Abrams as Jamie Wellerstein. Behind the scenes, the creative and production team includes Faye Collord, student director and stage manager; Antonia West, director; Jessica Moraton, assistant director; and Amelie Trujillo, sound engineer, along with the backstage crew of Mario Sanchez, Jelissa Matos, Aleksander Donoghue, and Zoey Davison.
Tarpon Art Guild announces March exhibit
TARPON SPRINGS — A reception for the March back wall exhibit will take place on Saturday, March 14, 5 to 7 p.m., at the Tarpon Art Guild Gallery, 161 E. Tarpon Ave., Tarpon Springs.
The March back wall exhibit will feature the work of Lisa Gjoen, artist. The artist will be on hand at the reception. The event is open to the public.
Gjoen earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1983 and a Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1985, both from the Rhode Island School of Design. Her paintings have been on exhibit in local galleries including the Dunedin Fine Arts Center and the Stirling Art Studios & Gallery.
Her work consists of figurative paintings created with acrylics on canvas. Gjoen strives to reveal her passion for the amazing beauty of nature through color, form, and light. Her objective is to capture the three-dimensional quality and depth through light, shade and shadow, as well as the beauty of nature’s colors. The result is a portrayal of likeness, while maintaining an awareness that the piece is a painting rendered with human emotion and brush strokes.
Gjoen’s paintings are acrylics on canvas, and all are original works. She also paints by commission, including portraits, either stylized or realistic.
Douglas Love-Ramos joins Straz Center
TAMPA — Straz Center President and CEO Greg Holland recently announced that Douglas Love-Ramos will join Straz Center’s Patel Conservatory on April 1 as chief arts education officer.
Love-Ramos is a nationally recognized leader in performing arts–based education, with an extensive background spanning live performance, media, publishing and digital innovation. His work has reached tens of millions of learners worldwide and has consistently combined artistic excellence with scalable, sustainable business models. He is a creator of Dramatic Learning@WorldBook.com, the world’s most widely adopted arts education platform, serving more than 11 million subscribers in 23 countries. He also helped launch the Adrienne Arsht Center’s Learning Through the Arts initiative in Miami. He has served as managing director of the regional theaters A Noise Within in Los Angeles and Orlando Shakespeare Theater, which, during his tenure, expanded instructional programming, student matinees, educator engagement and youth classes and camps.
In addition to his arts education leadership, Love-Ramos served as the vice president of television and live entertainment for independent movie studio Walden Media, created and produced the Emmy-nominated Disney series “Out of the Box” and developed long-running family programming for HBO Family. He worked with Marlo Thomas to bring her award-winning, multi-media phenomenon, “Free to Be … You and Me” to Broadway roadhouses across the United States. He has also authored more than 35 books and plays for major publishers and led the creation of new musical theater works.
For information about Straz Center, visit www.strazcenter.org.
Suzanne Benton to present monoprints at DRV Gallery
GULFPORT — An exhibition of intricate monoprints by internationally recognized artist Suzanne Benton will open during the First Friday Art Walk on Friday, March 6, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., at DRV Gallery, 5401 Gulfport Blvd., Gulfport.
A pioneer in experimental printmaking and a long-time advocate for women in the arts, Benton began creating monoprints using the Chine collé technique in 1983 while a resident artist in Köln, Germany. Her work draws inspiration from decades of international travel and research into global visual traditions. Benton has been Guest Printmaking Artist at Eckerd College since 2006.
Throughout her career, Benton has created series referencing Indian, Hebrew, Medieval and Turkish manuscript painting; South Asian folk art; Korean lore and legend; Renaissance imagery; Greek mythology; Russian icons; and the lives of nineteenth-century women writers, educators, and feminist activists. Her work also reflects influences from North and West African culture, Afro-American and Native American subjects, and landscapes encountered during artist residencies around the world.
In addition to her thematic series, Benton also creates commissioned monoprints incorporating family portraits. Her most recent work is “From Paintings in Proust,” “Circling Vermeer,” and the artworks shown at DRV Gallery.
The opening reception will feature live music by Jim Gilmour and Friends and a selection of wine from Stella’s Divine Wine and Gourmet. The public is invited to attend and meet the artist. Visit www.drvgallery.com.
Imagine Museum presents ‘Visions of the Future’
ST. PETERSBURG — “Visions of the Future,” a limited-time sci-fi exhibition, recently debuted at the Imagine Museum of Contemporary Glass Art, 1901 Central Ave., St. Petersburg.
This immersive sci-fi inspired showcase explores speculative worlds, futuristic identities, and imagined realities through contemporary glass and mixed-media works, redefining how art envisions what lies ahead. “Visions of the Future” spans the museum’s second floor rotating gallery, transforming the space into a forward-looking landscape of vivid color, experimental form, and otherworldly imagery. The exhibition features striking sculptural works, illuminated glass forms, and wall-based pieces that evoke advanced civilizations, cosmic environments, and the intersection of humanity and technology.
Through dramatic lighting and carefully curated installations, the exhibition invites visitors to step into a space where art and imagination collide. Each work reflects a unique vision of the future, from surreal sci-fi portraits to abstract forms suggesting alien terrains, artificial intelligence, and post-human narratives.
Featuring works by contemporary artists locally and from around the world, “Visions of the Future” highlights innovative techniques and materials while pushing the conceptual boundaries of glass as a medium.
Imagine Museum is open Tuesday and Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Wednesday and Friday through Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information, visit www.imaginemuseum.com.
Creative Clay announces online exhibit, auction
ST. PETERSBURG — Registration is now open for “Boundless Expression,” an online art auction and exhibit to benefit the member artists and programs of Creative Clay.
All art was created by Creative Clay member artists. The auction will run March 1-31. The exhibit can be viewed at Creative Clay’s Good Folk Gallery, 1846 First Ave. S., St. Petersburg. Hours are Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., through March 31.
An opening reception will be held Saturday, March 14, from 5 to 9 p.m. All bids and purchases must be made online. Register online at https://cbo.io/app/public/bidapp/creativeclay.
Member artists whose work was chosen include Cecil C, Justin D., Ivy Jenkins, Lindsay Johnson, Lawrence Jones, Christopher Joseph, Joey Kette, Scott McIvor, Emily M., Grace P. Marquise Russ, Samuel S., Ashton T., Ali Vasquez and Hanna Vogeler. Creative Clay has experienced a significant reduction in funding over the past two years and hopes to find community support through increased art sales, which benefit both member artists and the organization.
Since 1995, Creative Clay’s mission has been to help people with disabilities achieve full and inclusive lives by providing expressive, educational and vocational experiences in the arts. Currently, 62 member artists are enrolled in the program.
For information, visit www.creativeclay.org.
West Coast Players to stage ‘The Curious Savage’
CLEARWATER — A production of John Patrick’s “The Curious Savage” will be presented March 6-11, at West Coast Players, 21905 U.S. 19 N., Clearwater.
Tickets are $25. Call 727-437-2363. Visit wcplayers.com.
Directed by Rick Bronson, the show opens on Friday, March 6, and runs through March 22 with performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. There is an additional matinee on Saturday, March 14.
The cast includes Suzanne Delaney, Donna Donnelly, Rebecca Fillmore, Jill Finlayson, Greg Garbers, Sean Higgins, Cynthia Hoffman, Anne Pedersen, Briana Rittersporn, Todd Sengstack, and Jared Thomas.
“The Curious Savage” is a bittersweet comedy about Ethel Savage, a wealthy widow, whose greedy stepchildren commit her to a sanitorium. It celebrates whimsy and skewers notions of “sanity” with warmth, humor and dignity. Instead of distributing her inheritance to her stepchildren as they expect, she establishes a trust fund for the “kindly, foolish, and neglected” patients of The Cloisters.
To submit arts and entertainment news, email editorial@TBNweekly.com. Please include contact information on all submissions. Announcements are printed as space allows.