Past Events at BIG ARTS
Food, Inc. (2008) U.S.
Monday, December 6, 7 PM
Food, Inc. is an Academy Award-nominated film that "lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies …" This eye-opening documentary shows how a handful of mega-businesses are producing America's food supply and why this situation is becoming increasingly detrimental to our health and the environment. Speaking with the voices of farmers, advocates and journalists, the film offers hope. Special guest speakers from The Sanibel Farmers Market will introduce the film.
94 min. Rated PG; English
Admission: $7
Back by Popular Demand:
Singer Songwriter Livingston Taylor
Saturday, November 28, 2009, 8 PM
Livingston Taylor's intimate and laid-back musical approach has allowed him to maintain a busy concert schedule for more than 30 years. He has written most of his music, including Top Forty hits I Will Be in Love with You and I'll Come Running; and for his brother James he wrote, I Can Dream of You, and Boatman (off the double Grammy-winning album Hourglass).
General seating: $36, Loge: $41, Student: $15
Please support the food pantry at F.I.S.H. by bringing canned food or other non-perishable to the concert
West Gulf Co. LLC
The 2009 Cleveland International
Piano Competition Winner:
Martina Filjak
Sunday, December 6, 2009
3:30 p.m.
The 2009 Cleveland International Piano winner, Martina Filjak, is considered to be one of those young artists who have successfully made the path from a child prodigy to a mature musician. Her magnetic stage presence and charismatic personality regularly impress audiences and critics.
Filjak is the fifth woman to win the Cleveland International Piano Competition, which this year encompassed 32 pianists from 14 countries. As champion, she claims an award package including $50,000, a recital at Carnegie Hall, two years of artist management, and a string of concert appearances worth an estimated $100,000.
Since her debut in native Croatia at the age of 12, she has developed an extensive repertoire of piano concertos performing regularly in the most prominent concerts in her home country as well as with orchestras abroad. She has also appeared in numerous important solo engagements at such venues as the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam; Hotel de Ville, Bruxelles; Philharmonic Hall, Ljubljana; Salle Cortot, Paris; Palais des Congres, Strasbourg; National Palace of Culture, Sofia; Boesendorfer Saal, Vienna; and Steinway Hall, New York.
In November 2007 she beat 122 contestants to win first prize at the Viotti International Music Competition. In May 2008 she won first prize and the Gold Medal at the International Piano Competition Maria Canals in Barcelona. As a child she won the prize of the Boesendorfer company in Vienna, a special prize at the Okiden Competition in Japan, and first prize at the International Competitions Johannes Brahms in Austria.
Projects for 2009 and 2010 include touring Spain, Argentina and China, and a performance with Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, as a debut recording for the 'Naxos' label.
Martina Filjak
Winner of the Cleveland International
Piano Competition
Classical Afternoon
Sunday, December 6, 2009, 3:30 PM
BIG ARTS welcomes Martina Filjak, the winner of the prestigious Cleveland International Piano Competition. Flijak’s magnetic stage presence regularly impresses audiences and critics. Her wide range of repertoire includes monumental pieces such as Beethoven’s "Hammerklavier" Sonata and Bartók's Second Piano Concerto.
General: $31, Classical Afternoon series: $81 three Classical Afternoon concerts, Student/Child: free with paying adult
N-E-W Trio
Thursday, January 14, 2010
8 PM
Hailed by the Washington Post as a "polished" and "ravishing" piano trio, the N-E-W Trio has emerged as one of the nation's most promising young ensembles. after winning the grand prizes at the 2008 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, the 2007 Coleman National Chamber Ensemble Competition, and the string division first prize and audience choice award at the 2007 Plowman National Chamber Music Competition.
The trio performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City as part of a series on Beethoven and Schubert. In February of 2008, the N-E-W Trio represented The Juilliard School at the annual Conservatory Project held at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Arts in Washington, D.C. The trio returned to the Kennedy Center in April as part of the inaugural concert for Pro Musica Hebraica, an organization dedicated to the revival of rare Jewish classical music works, performing alongside renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman. In April 2007, the ensemble was honored to perform at the memorial of famed political historian Arthur Schlesinger, where actress Lauren Bacall, Henry Kissinger, Ted Kennedy, and former President Bill Clinton spoke.
The N-E-W Trio's members Andrew Wan, violin; Gal Nyska, cello; Julio Elizalde, piano are currently pursuing graduate, artist diploma, and doctoral degrees at The Juilliard School. They have worked regularly with members of the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, The Francesco Trio, The Weilerstein Trio, and the Brentano String Quartet. As soloists, each member has individually won Juilliard's concerto competition leading to performances at Lincoln Center.
Program to Include:
HAYDN - Trio in C major, H. XV:27
DVORÁK - Trio in E minor, Op. 90, “Dumky”
BEETHOVEN - Trio in B-flat major, Op. 97, “Archduke”
N-E-W Trio
Thursday, January 14, 2010, 8 PM
Hailed by The Washington Post as a "polished" and "ravishing" piano trio, the N-E-W Trio has emerged as one of the nation's most promising young ensembles. The N-E-W Trio's members, Andrew Wan, violin; Gal Nyska, cello; Julio Elizalde, piano each have individually won Juilliard's concerto competition leading to performances at Lincoln Center.
General Seating: $36, Loge: $41, Student/Child: free with paying adult
BIG ARTS Angels
The Cab Calloway Orchestra Directed by Cab’s Grandson C. Calloway Brooks
Saturday, January 16, 2010, 8 PM
Smooth shiny instruments all in a row, red-hot lyrics, spicy brass harmonies, a joyful audience bouncing and swaying to the sound of “Hi Di Ho!” filling theaters on cue, under the baton of Cab’s grandson, Calloway Brooks. The band creates an authentic brand of hot Cotton Club-style music, hijinks, and “swing that is king and jive that’s alive."
General seating: $41, Loge: $46, Student: $15
Bottle Shock (2008) U.S.
Monday, January 18, 2010, 7 PM
A genial, sun-kissed romp, Bottle Shock is based on the true story of the “Judgement of Paris” competition in 1976 where top French wines were judged against California’s best in a blind tasting. It’s new world versus old in an organic comedy about who deserves viticulture’s crown.
110 min. Rated PG-13
Admission: $7 (film only)
*Pre-Film Wine Tasting Reception
$15 includes wine tasting from 5:30-6:30 p.m. and film. Separate Ticket must be purchased.
ARTSalon: Artists, Their Work and Background Stories
Kat Epple - Interesting Travels, Stories, Sounds, Moods
and Magic of the Flute
An informal concert and talk about music, and flutes from around the world will be presented by Emmy Award-winning and Grammy-nominated flutist and composer, Kat Epple. She will also talk about composing music for film, her CDs, digital orchestration, and how music influences us. ARTSalon is an opportunity to talk with artists to better understand their creative process.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010, Phillips Gallery 10:30 AM
$5 at the door
Bring bag lunch if you wish to continue informal discussion in Boler Garden.
Opus
Wednesday, January 28, 2010
8 PM
Opus, a play by violist-turned-playwright Michael Hollinger, tells a story in a world he knows well - an insider's look at a high-strung string quartet going through changes in program and personnel.
The tension builds as a fictional world-renowned string quartet struggles to prepare for their highest-profile performance, a televised ceremony for the President of the United States. The violist, and founder of the quartet, mysteriously disappears. When a young woman is hired as the replacement, her musical gifts inspire the musicians, and they decide on short notice to abandon their friendly Pachelbel Canon program and to replace it with Beethoven's difficult Opus 131. The rehearsal room becomes a pressure cooker as passions rise, personalities clash, and the musicians are forced to tackle the ephemeral nature of their life's work.
Opus was awarded the 2006 Barrymore Award for Outstanding New Play and Outstanding Direction of a Play by Terrence J. Nolan for its world premiere in Philadelphia.
Opus
Presented by the Florida Repertory Theatre
Thursday, January 28, 2010, 8 PM
Opus presents a string quartet preparing for a televised White House performance of the challenging
General Seating: $35, Student: $15
Dan and Shirley Valentine
An Evening of Opera
with Shana Blake Hill and Ryan Taylor
Friday, January 29, 2010, 8 PM
Join soprano Shana Blake Hill and baritone Ryan Taylor, with pianist Brandt Fredriksen and violinist Peter Winograd, for an evening of musical delights from the worlds of opera and Broadway!
Our thanks to FineMark National Bank and Trust for generously sponsoring this very special performance.
General Seating: $36, Student/Child: free with paying adult
Taylor 2
Saturday, January 30, 2010, 7:30 PM
America’s greatest living choreographer, Paul Taylor, believes “in the power of contemporary dance, its immediacy, its potency, its universality.” BIG ARTS will present pieces from Taylor 2’s ever-growing collection of dances including “Company B,” Taylor’s evocation of American sentiments during World War II set to the beloved recordings by the Andrews Sisters, and “Esplanade” a piece that has critics hailing as “the most endlessly rewatchable and heart-catching work Mr. Taylor has ever made.”
General Seating: $42, Loge: $47 Student/Child: $15
Sponsor Congress Jewelers
Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis
Play the Music of Ray Charles
Presented in High Definition Video and Digital Sound
Thursday, February 4, 2010, 7:30 PM
Willie Nelson, Wynton Marsalis, and songstress Norah Jones performing Ray Charles’ hits in this DigiScreen concert from Jazz at Lincoln Center. The broadcast includes backstage interviews and rehearsal footage. Film will be shown in HD with surround sound in Schein Performance Hall.
Admission: $15
The New Christy Minstrels
Saturday, February 6, 2010, 8 PM
A Grammy-winning folk ensemble with a rich, robust vocal blend, The New Christy Minstrels have entertained millions since they were first assembled by visionary folk singer Randy Sparks. The group enjoyed chart successes with
General seating: $41, Loge: $46, Student: $15
and R.S. Walsh Landscaping
Vince Giordano
and the Nighthawks
Saturday, February 13, 2010, 8 PM
In 30 years as a bandleader, Vince Giordano has become the authority on recreating the sounds of 1920’s and ’30’s jazz and popular music, and his love of re-creating that music make them a sought-after jazz band in New York City.
General seating: $41, Loge: $46, Student: $15
Ocean's Reach Gulf Front Condominiums Resort
ARTSalon: Artists, Their Work & Background Stories
Etheric Photography by Luc Century
Artisan Luc Century is known for his engraving and glass etching, and for etching The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington D.C. Century will talk about creating his etheric photography and other current projects. His ‘abstract’ photography process results in ethereal, yet organic forms which look as though they come from another world.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010, Phillips Gallery 10:30 AM
$5 at the door
Bring bag lunch if you wish to continue informal discussion in Boler Garden.
Say Goodnight Gracie
Wednesday, February 17, 2010,
8 PM
Say Goodnight Gracie is the hit Broadway play that celebrates the love and laughter of George Burns’s life. Played by Alan Safier, George Burns is now miraculously alive and kicking. Say Goodnight Gracie was Broadway’s third longest-running solo performance show and was nominated for a 2003 Tony Award for Best Play and won the 2003-2004 National Broadway Theatre Award for Best Play.
In Say Goodnight Gracie, we discover George in limbo between this world and the next, unable to join his beloved wife Gracie Allen until he gives the ‘command performance of his lifetime’ for God. George looks back upon his life … his impoverished youth, then disastrous career in Vaudeville ... the instant chemistry he shared with Grace, with his flawless timing a perfect mate to her dizzy delivery ... their marriage and their success in the world of entertainment. Gracie’s demise forced George to start from square one in life and in his career, eventually achieving success as a solo raconteur and Academy Award-winning actor, portraying everything from a Sunshine Boy to, oh, God.
Say Goodnight Gracie is a multimedia presentation that features skillful vocal talents, evocative music, and moving images from George’s life, written by multiple Tony Award-winning playwright, Rupert Holmes. Critic Bruce Weber of The New York Times said of the play, "You'll be in heaven yourself, at least for an hour and a half."
Say Goodnight Gracie
The Love, Laughter and Life of
George Burns
Wednesday, February 17, 2010, 8 PM
Say Goodnight Gracie is the hit Broadway play that invites you to spend a hilarious, heart-warming evening in the uplifting company of the world’s favorite and funniest centenarian George Burns. Broadway’s third-longest-running solo performance show Say Goodnight Gracie was nominated for the 2003 Tony Award for Best Play and won the 2003-04 National Broadway Theatre Award for Best Play.
General Seating: $35, Student: $15
Step Afrika!
Saturday, February 20, 2010, 7:30 PM
Step Afrika! is the only professional company in the world dedicated to the art and of stepping. Stepping uses kicks, stomps, claps, and chants to create visually and musically exciting rhythms. Washington, D.C.’s critically acclaimed Step Afrika! brings high energy performance to the stage: a feast for both the eyes and ears that The Washington Post described as “electrifying.”
General Seating: $42, Loge: $47 Student/Child: $15
Supporter Traders
Chamber Orchestra Kremlin
Thursday, February 25, 2010
8 PM
Chamber Orchestra Kremlin has earned national and international recognition as one of Russia's leading ensembles. Comprising some of Russia's finest young string players, the orchestra has carved a niche for itself under the creative baton of music director Misha Rachlevsky. Whether it is the highly-acclaimed recordings or its mesmerizing concerts, Chamber Orchestra Kremlin's warmth and high energy create addictive performances that stay with listeners long after the last note has been played.
Of their performance, a 2008 New York Times review said, "Misha Rachlevsky, the ensemble’s music director (who founded it in 1991), elicited warm, full-blooded and virtuosic playing with colorfully-shaped, gleaming phrases."
In addition to an active schedule of presenting concerts and festivals in Moscow, Chamber Orchestra Kremlin tours regularly in North and South America, Europe and the Far East.
With eighteen years of excellence under its belt, a devoted audience in Moscow, an award-winning catalog of more than thirty CDs, and an increasing demand for performances internationally, Chamber Orchestra Kremlin enthusiastically continues its busy schedule of concerts, festivals, recordings, and touring.
Program to Include:
ELGAR - Serenade for Strings in E minor, Op. 20
SHOSTAKOVICH - Chamber Symphony in C minor(from the String Quartet No. 8, Op. 110)
J.S. BACH - Contrapunctus I from The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080
J.S. BACH - Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, BWV 1043
Audience Choice:
DVORÁK - Serenade for Strings in E major, Op. 22 or
SCHUBERT - String Quartet in D minor, arr. Rachlevsky "Death and the Maiden" (D. 810) or
TCHAIKOVSKY - Serenade for Strings in C major, Op. 48
Chamber Orchestra Kremlin
Thursday, February 25, 2010, 8 PM
6:30 PM Pre-concert reception celebrating the life of William "Bill" Phillips
Like the Moscow Chamber Orchestra which performed so brilliantly at BIG ARTS in 2007, the Chamber Orchestra Kremlin is one of Russia’s leading ensembles. Founded in 1991, the orchestra, comprising some of Russia’s finest young string players, has carved a niche for itself under the creative baton of its founder and music director Misha Rachlevsky, a Soviet émigré to the U.S. who studied at the College of the Moscow Conservatory and the Gnessin Academy of Music. The Kremlin will be making 150 complimentary CDs available on their 2010 tour and will have the audience choose the second half of their program from several selections. The Kremlin carries a large repertoire; as many as 36 pieces are prepared for a single tour.
General Seating: $51, Loge $56, Student/Child: free with paying adult
Joy Schein, Patricia and Davis Thurber
Five By Design’s ‘Stay Tuned’
Friday, March 12, 2010, 8 PM
Recreating early television that first brought live variety shows into living rooms across America, Five By Design brings to our stage an evening of song, dance, humor, novelty acts, and quick-change artists. So don’t touch that dial!
General seating: $41, Loge: $46, Student: $15
Sponsor Bailey's General Store
Dublin’s Traditional Irish Cabaret
BIG ARTS Annual Benefit
6 PM, Monday, March 15, 2010
What a way to get ready for St. Patrick’s Day! Dublin’s Traditional Irish Cabaret is a lively evening of song, dance and hilarious comedy. Dublin’s Traditional Irish Dancers include All Ireland Champions, with several dancers coming directly from such prestigious shows as “Riverdance,” “Lord of the Dance,” and “Gael Force.”
Patron Sponsors Chico's FAS, Inc.,
FineMark National Bank & Trust
Sponsors Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt,
Patricia and Davis Thurber, 'Tween Waters Inn,
Oswald Trippe and Company. Inc.,
Deborah and John La Gorce, The L.A.T. Foundation
Supporter The Sandy Butler
Singer Songwriter Janis Ian
Friday, March 19, 2010, 8 PM
Known for decades as one of the great singer songwriters in America, Janis is now enjoying one of the more remarkable second acts in music history. The writer of Jesse, (a song recorded by so many others that few remember Ian wrote it), Stars, and At Seventeen, a song that brought her five Grammy awards (the most any solo female artist had ever garnered), and which is now reaching its third generation of listeners.
General seating: $41, Loge: $46, Student: $15
Sustainable Living Seminar
A Practical Guide to Living Green Everyday
Saturday, March 20, 2010, 9 AM to 1 PM
Dr. Jennifer Languell is a nationally recognized leader in educating the development and construction industries, as well as homebuyers, about the benefits of sustainable development. Languell is an award-winning author, and has been featured in numerous publications and television programs including BusinessWeek, CNN Headline News, HGTV, and CNBC. She also stars in Discovery Project Earth. Seminar will include case studies by local residents and green and eco-friendly vendors.
$15
Roger Kellaway Trio with Russell Malone & Jay Leonhart
Friday, March 26, 2010, 8 PM
Three jazz greats came together in 2006 at the New York club, The Jazz Standard, to record a jazz album that has become a classic and been described as “Chamber Jazz” or an “All-Wood Trio” (piano, guitar, and bass.) Reunited at BIG ARTS, the trio will recreate that album in a night reminiscent of Ellington and Monk, Peterson, Davis, Rollins, and other bebop greats.
General seating: $41, Loge: $46, Student: $15
Dr. Paul Cherukuri
Nanotechnology - Big Things Come in Small Packages
Wednesday, March 31, 2010, 7:30 PM
Dr. Paul Cherukuri studies the control of matter at the atomic or molecular level (nanotechnology); he will explain how it is changing the way researchers think of medical treament. As the lead research scientist on the Kanzius project at MD Anderson, he will discuss how nanotechnology, used with radio waves, can be used to treat cancer. Studying under the supervision of Nobel Laureate Richard Smalley gives him a unique perspective on this leading-edge technology.
General: $25, Students $10
Sponsor - Dick & Mary Butler
The Jason Bishop Show
Friday, April 2, 2010, 7:30 PM
Jason Bishop’s show features award-winning sleight of hand, exclusive grand illusions, and more laughs than are typically expected from an illusionist. The show is delivered with a totally modern energy and an outstanding rock and pop soundtrack.
Adult: $36, Student/Child: $12
The Royal Opera Company’s La traviata
Presented in High Definition Video and Digital Sound
Tuesday, April 6, 7:30 PM
Captured live in HD at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, BIG ARTS and DigiScreen/Opus Arte present La traviata with Renée Fleming and The Royal Opera Company. This telecast series continues Thursday, April 15, with The Royal Ballet’s Swan Lake and Thursday, April 22, with The Royal Opera Company’s La Bohème.
Admission: $20, or Series of three: $51
The Cove Documentary Film
including Q & A with Filmmakers
A provocative mix of investigative journalism, eco-adventure, arresting imagery, and an urgent plea for hope.
Friday, April 9, 7:00 PM
BIG ARTS and Sanibel Sea School welcome Expedition Director Simon Hutchins and Marine Technician Greg Mooney to talk about their work on this Oscar-winning documentary. The Cove follows a group of activists as they organize an operation to expose the slaughter of dolphins occurring in a secret cove off the coast of Japan. The film won the Audience Award at Sundance, and numerous other awards.
Admission: $10, includes film, discussion, and wine and cheese reception
BIG ARTS Summer Arts Camp
June 28 through August 13
Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 3 PM
Summer art camp will offer children hands-on activities on a rotating schedule that includes 2-D art, murals, music, pottery, and dance. The program for middle and high school students provides an opportunity to be an instructor, volunteer or to take classes. Courses include fused glass, acting, pottery, photography, and film production.
For K to 5th: $115/week. $100/week for three or more weeks. Middle school: $70/week.
Sanibel-Captiva Community Bank
Art Chat - The Modern Vampire
Dr. Wendy Chase
Saturday, October 23, 7 PM
$5 at the door
Much in the same way they step from their coffins to come back to life night after night, vampires are reborn on the silver screen with predictable frequency. So what are we to make of the most recent trio of vampire stories, True Blood, Let the Right One In, and Twilight, where the vampires protect, rather than pounce, on their prey? Monsters are metaphors and this talk with examine three of the most popular contemporary vampire tales to elucidate to what extent, and for what reasons, we have domesticated these monsters who used to represent our darkest carnal desires and transformed them into guardian angels with fangs.
Restraint & Spontaneity:
A Balance of Artists
Exhibit Open October 1 – November 10
Monday – Friday, 9 AM - 4 PM, and Saturdays 1 - 4 PM
Come view and purchase artwork from top artists chosen to show in this 2D/3D Exhibition. Artists include Steven Coe, Ehren Fritz Gerhard, Philip Huebeck, Megan Kissinger, Nuch Owen, Rinny Ryan, and Heather Flowers.
Artists Reception Saturday, October 23, 2010, 5 – 6:30 PM
Visual Arts Patron Season Sponsor
June Rosner and Russ Bilgore
Doug MacGregor's Cartoons 1980-2010:
A Hysterical and Historical Journey
Exhibit Open October 1 – November 10
Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 4 PM
For 30 years Doug MacGregor has been creating weekly editorial cartoons for the Fort Myers News-Press, and is syndicated in several newspapers in Florida. MacGregor also paints, has written several books, writes songs, and plays in a band.
Artists Reception Saturday, October 23, 2010, 5 – 6:30 PM
Visual Arts Patron Season Sponsor
Deborah and John La Gorce
Che-Ke-Ka's Seminole Patchwork
Exhibit Open October 1 – December 8
BIG ARTS Gallery & Gift Shop, 2240 Periwinkle Way
Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 4 PM
Colorful fabric wall hangings by Che-Ke-Ka tell stories with time-honored Seminole patchwork designs. Sewn in the traditional way, the designs were created from the early 1900s to the 1950s. The designs and symbols tell stories of everyday life for Seminoles living in the Florida Everglades.
Meet the artist: Friday, December 3, 5 - 7:30 p.m.
Three Crafty Ladies
The Last Station (2009) Russia
Monday, November 1, 7 PM
Nominated for two Oscars, this film is about author Leo Tolstoy’s struggle to balance fame and wealth with his commitment to a life devoid of material things. Starring Christopher Plummer as Tolstoy in the latter stages of his life, and Helen Mirren as the Countess Sofya, his wife and muse, The Last Station depicts their battle over his idealistic goal of giving the rights to his entire literary works, and all his wealth and property, to the Russian people.
112 min. Rated R; (sexuality/nudity); English
Admission: $7
Songs for a New World
Songs for a New World is a musical that has been captivating audiences since its opening Off-Broadway in 1995. The Tony Award®-winning composer-lyricist Jason Robert Brown says of his Songs for a New World, “It’s about one moment. It’s about hitting the wall and having to make a choice.” The show is a collection of songs connected by the theme of embracing the moment. Brown transports his audience from the deck of a 1492 Spanish sailing ship, to 1775 colonial America with a flag maker at work, to present day in the Bronx, where a young man dreams of life as a basketball star. Soaring melodies and irresistible rhythms mark a wide range of songs influenced by jazz, pop, and gospel.
October 14 – November 6
Performances run Tuesday through Saturday 8 PM
at The Herb Strauss Schoolhouse Theater
$30, Child (16 and under) $20
Sanibel Captiva Trust Company
FGCU Writer’s Conference
Thursday, November 4 through Sunday, November 7
Writers at all stages of development – from notebook scribblers to published novelists – are invited to attend FGCU’s Writer’s Conference. There will be workshops in fiction, memoir, poetry, creative nonfiction, screenwriting, songwriting, and children's literature.
BIG ARTS members receive 20% discount on registration fee.
Click here for more information.
The Ramen Girl (2008) U.S./Japan
Monday, November 8, 7 PM
A comedy about an American girl, played by Brittany Murphy, who is abandoned and adrift in Tokyo. She seeks to find direction in life by becoming a râmen noodle soup chef under a tempermental Japanese master chef. Like chicken soup, Japanese râmen soup holds curative powers, and the Japanese have turned its preparation into a fine Zen art, requiring both the use of the right ingredients, and a proper mindset.
102 min. Rated: PG-13; English/Japanese (subtitled)
Admission: $7
Casino Jack and The United States of Money (2010) U.S.
Not for Monday Night Series
Wednesday, November 10, 1 PM
This portrait of Washington super lobbyist Jack Abramoff - from his early years as a gung-ho member of the GOP political machine to his final reckoning as a disgraced, imprisoned pariah - confirms the adage that truth is indeed stranger than fiction. A tale of international intrigue with Indian casinos, Russian spies, Chinese sweatshops, and a mob-style killing in Miami, this is the story of the way money corrupts the political process, and undermines the basic principles of American democracy. Infuriating, yet undeniably fun to watch, Casino Jack is a saga of greed and corruption with a cynical villain audiences love to hate. Film was nominated for Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival.
118 min. Rated R;
Admission: $5
Sanibel Tomorrow:
A Celebration of Mayors film
Celebrate Sanibel event
Thursday, November 11, 7 PM
Premier of Sanibel Tomorrow film, part of "Celebrate Sanibel" week. Film will be shown in in BIG ARTS Schein Performance Hall.
$7
Fear and Trembling (2003) Japan
Monday, November 15, 7 PM
An Ambassador’s daughter, Amélie, spent her early childhood in Japan, and returned there as a young adult. Fluent in the Japanese language, and seeking to submerge herself into the culture, she joined a large Japanese corporation. This film brilliantly captures the essence and nuances of Japanese corporate culture, where loyalty is prized above all, and self-propelled initiative is aggressively discouraged. Fear and Trembling, based on Amélie Nothomb's autobiography, won several foreign film awards, including France’s César Award for Best Actress.
107 min. Not Rated; French (subtitled)
Admission: $7
ARTSalon: Artists, Their Work & Background Stories
Janina Birtolo
Tuesday, November 16, Phillips Gallery, 3 - 4:30 PM
Video presentation and lecture by writer and actor, Janina Birtolo. She will discuss Amelia’s View Through Pilot Eyes, an exploration of the life and last flight of famous aviatrix Amelia Earhart.
$5 at the door
The Most Dangerous Man
in America (2009) U.S.
Not for Monday Night Series
Wednesday, November 17, 1 PM
A 2010 Oscar Nominee for Best Documentary, The Most Dangerous Man in America tells the story of Daniel Ellsberg, a high-level Pentagon official and Vietnam War strategist, who in 1971 concluded that the war was based on decades of lies and leaked 7,000 pages of top secret documents to The New York Times, making headlines around the world. Hailed as a hero, vilified as a traitor, and ostracized by his colleagues, Ellsberg risked life in prison to stop a war he helped plan. Marked by a landmark battle between America's greatest newspapers and its president, this political thriller unravels a saga that leads directly to Watergate, Nixon's resignation, and the end of the Vietnam War.
92 min. Not Rated
Admission: $5
The Beaches of Agnès (2008) Belgium
Young at Heart International Film Festival
Saturday, November 20, 7 PM
Celebrated filmmaker Agnès Varda, known for her "French New Wave" film style, turns the camera on herself for this autobiographical documentary. The octogenarian revisits her past - including memories of growing up in Belgium, becoming a film producer then wife and muse to French film producer Jacques Deny, raising children, and growing old. By incorporating photos, film clips, movies and contemporary interviews with her impish charm, inventiveness and natural empathy, Varda has created a film that plays like a fond scrapbook of a life well lived. The Beaches of Agnès won the 2009 César Award for best documentary film.
110 min.; Not Rated (some nudity); French (subtitled)
Admission: $10
Breath Made Visable (2009) Switzerland/U.S.
Young at Heart International Film Festival
Sunday, November 21, 7 PM
An inspiring account of the life and career of American dance pioneer Anna Halprin, Breath Made Visable takes its title from the choreographer's definition of dance as an expression of the basic forces within all humans. This cinematic portrait blends interviews of contemporaries such as Merce Cunningham, to tell the story of Halprin's establishment of the first multi-racial dance company in the U.S. The film is a study of movement woven through one supremely kinetic and innovative individual's life and work. Halprin has helped redefine modern art with her belief in dance's power to teach, heal, and transform at all ages of life.
82 min.; Not Rated; English
Admission: $10
Mid-August Lunch (2008) Italy
Young at Heart International Film Festival
Monday, November 22, 7 PM
Middle-aged Gianni cannot afford his own place, so he lives with his tyrannical mother. To help pay some debts, he has agreed to look after four elderly women overnight, three of whom he barely knows. Based on an actual incident in his life, film Director Gianni Di Gregorio wrote the script, acted in the film, and used his own apartment in Rome for the set. Mid-August Lunch is a brilliant, award-winning film about friendship, food and joy.
75 min. Not Rated; Italian (subtitled)
Admission: $7
The White Ribbon (2009) Germany
Not for Monday Night Series
Wednesday, November 24, 1 PM
Winner of 25 Awards and two Oscar nominations, The White Ribbon casts an unsettling and enigmatic spell. The film is set in rural Germany in the years just before World War I, where a series of strange occurrences take place over several months. These events are sinister and often involve the children of the village - not merely as victims, but also as perpetrators. At least that's the way it appears. In the end, all the strange happenings of the village are absorbed into the town's rhythm of life, a resolution which might be the most disturbing possible conclusion of all.
144 min. Rated R; Subtitled
Admission: $5
Musical Comedians Comedy Tour
"A Comedy Show That Rocks!"
Saturday, November 27, 2010, 7:30 PM
Three exceptional musical stand-up comedians, Michael Mack, Ron Feingold, and Kier, showcase an evening of music and stand-up comedy along with a closing jam session that has to be seen to be believed! All three comedians have been heard on the nationally syndicated radio program Bob and Tom and they have also been seen on national television shows, such as Comedy Central and ABC's America's Funniest People.
General seating: $36, Student: $15
The Mayors of Sanibel Film
Celebrate Sanibel event
Thursday, November 11, 7 PM
Premier of The Mayors of Sanibel film, part of "Celebrate Sanibel" week. Film will be shown in in BIG ARTS Schein Performance Hall.
$7
ARTSalon: Artists, Their Work & Background Stories
Janina Birtolo
Tuesday, November 16, Phillips Gallery, 3 - 4:30 PM
Video presentation and lecture by writer and actor, Janina Birtolo. She will discuss Amelia's View Through Pilot Eyes, an exploration of the life and last flight of famous aviatrix Amelia Earhart.
$5 at the door
Holiday Writers Read
Thursday, December 2, 7:30 PM
The Sanibel-Captiva Island Writers will perform selections from their prose and poetic works; the "reads" have been an island tradition since 1987. The selections have been chosen carefully for quality, listener friendliness, and length.
$5 at the door
The Sunshine Boys
Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys pays homage to the history of comic theatre and a tribute to the performers who make it so memorable. This is the comedic story of a once-popular vaudeville comedy team known as The Sunshine Boys. After 43 years together, they parted company on not-too-friendly terms when one partner wanted to continue his career and the other wanted to retire. When a TV opportunity comes up, their agent tries to convince them to reunite for just this one gig.
Perhaps one of Simon's greatest plays, The Sunshine Boys is a poignant look at human relationships complete with the laugh-a-minute dialogue and strong characters that are Simon's trademark.
November 13 – December 4
Performances run Tuesday through Saturday 8 PM
at The Herb Strauss Schoolhouse Theater
(No performance on December 3)
$30, Child (16 and under) $20
Sanibel Captiva Trust Company
Gulf Coast Symphony
Saturday, December 4, 7:30 PM
The Gulf Coast Symphony will present an entertaining and educational classical concert experience in an informal atmosphere. This concert will feature Liebermann's Concerto for Flute and Orchestra, Op. 39 and Brahms' Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73 from multiple perspectives, with Music Director Andrew Kurtz. The program will explore the music's context in world history, cultural movements, and how it fits into the composer's body of works. Following the concert, the conductor will hold a question and answer session.
Adult: $20, Student: $10
Messiah and More Performed by
The Fort Myers Symphonic Mastersingers
Sunday, December 5, 7 PM
Messiah and More will feature treasured choruses from Handel's Messiah and many holiday favorites ranging from the familiar to the not so familiar. A concert guaranteed to put you in the holiday spirit as The Fort Myers Symphonic Mastersingers bring the joyful sounds of the season.
Adult: $20, Student: $10
BIG ARTS Chorus
Holiday Concert
Thursday, December 9, 7 PM
The BIG ARTS Chorus, directed by Steven Cramer, will sing holiday favorites that will raise your spirits.
Adults: $7 for one concert or both Band and Chorus Holiday Concerts for $10
17 and under free with adult
Gulfshore Ballet Presents:
The Nutcracker Suites
Saturday, December 11, 4 PM and 7 PM
Southwest Florida's classical ballet school, Gulfshore Ballet, presents two performances of selections from The Nutcracker. Both matinee and evening performances will feature professional principal dancers and Gulfshore Ballet students.
Adults: Matinee $15, Evening $20
Children: Matinee $5, Evening $10
Pianist Vanessa Perez
Classical Afternoon
Sunday, December 12, 3:30 PM
Venezuelan-American pianist Vanessa Perez made her debut at age 11 in Caracas performing the Grieg Piano Concerto before an audience of 2,500 people. At age 17, she was awarded a full scholarship by the Royal Academy of Music in London. After winning top prizes at numerous competitions in South America, the U.S., and Europe, Perez has continued to perform in concert halls and festivals throughout the world including Berlin, Bonn, Turin, London, Brussels, New York, and Miami. Along with other recordings, she has recently collaborated with violinist Joshua Bell and bandoneon player Carel Kraayenhof for an upcoming Sony release.
General: $31, Classical Afternoon series: $81 three Classical Afternoon concerts, Student/Child: free with paying adult
BIG ARTS Band
Holiday Concert
Tuesday, December 14, 7 PM
The concert, performed by BIG ARTS Band, led by Don Knowland, will cover an assortment of well-known favorites that capture the light-hearted, lively spirit of this time of year.
Adults: $7 for one concert or both Band and Chorus Holiday Concerts for $10
17 and under free with adult
ARTSalon: Artists, Their Work & Background Stories
Robert Macomber
Thursday, December 16, Phillips Gallery, 3 - 4:30 PM
Internationally-recognized, award-winning maritime writer, lecturer, and television commentator, Robert N. Macomber will talk about his world travels, researching and writing adventure novels.
$5 at the door
The Maid (2009) Chile
Monday, December 13, 7 PM
This Golden Globe-nominated drama about Latin America's class gap, as experienced from the near-bottom looking up, won prizes for Best Foreign Feature and Best Actress at Sundance. Raquel, in her early 40s, has been the live-in housekeeper for a kind, moderately wealthy family for half her life. Though she is totally devoted to them, the joyless repetition of her job has begun to take its toll, both physically and mentally. Extremely popular, The Maid, led to a change in Chilean labor law requiring employers give vacation days to domestic help.
95 min. Not Rated; Spanish (subtitles)
Admission: $7
Che-Ke-Ka's Seminole Patchwork
Exhibit Open October 1 – December 8
BIG ARTS Gallery & Gift Shop, 2240 Periwinkle Way
Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 4 PM
Colorful fabric wall hangings by Che-Ke-Ka tell stories with time-honored Seminole patchwork designs. Sewn in the traditional way, the designs were created from the early 1900s to the 1950s. The designs and symbols tell stories of everyday life for Seminoles living in the Florida Everglades.
Meet the artist: Friday, December 3, from 5 to 7:30 p.m.
Three Crafty Ladies
The Digital Canvas
Exhibit Open December 10 - January 14
BIG ARTS Gallery & Gift Shop, 2240 Periwinkle Way
Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 4 PM
Understand and appreciate the art of digital photography, and artists' use of technology to manipulate images.
Artists Talk Back: Friday, December 17, from 4 to 5:30 p.m.
Three Crafty Ladies
Me and Orson Welles (2008) U.S.
Monday, December 20, 7 PM
Based in real theatrical history, this romantic coming-of-age story set in 1930s New York City pays tribute to youthful creative ambition. Richard, played by Zac Efron, is a teenage actor in a play produced by the impetuous "director-dictator" Orson Welles. The emotionally turbulent week leading up to opening night has the charismatic-but-sometimes-cruel Welles staking his career on this risky production. Richard's experiences include falling for Welles' personal assistant, Sonja, played by Clare Danes. Roger Ebert praised Me and Orson Welles as "one of the best films about the theater that I have ever seen."
114 min.; Rated PG; English
Admission: $7
Sugar (2008) U.S./Dominican Republic
Monday, December 27, 7 PM
This film was an official selection screened at the Sundance Film Festival and was chosen as "One of the Top Ten of 2008" by the American Film Institute. Sugar presents a side of the baseball world that is rarely seen, and avoids sports clichés, as it tells the story of a poor boy from the Dominican Republic who goes to Iowa to play in the minor leagues. The film is not just about baseball - it's also about the immigrant experience in America. Rolling Stone's critic Peter Travers called this smart and thought-provoking film "immensely satisfying."
114 min.; Rated R; Spanish (subtitles)
Admission: $7
Ikki & Polly: Better Than Ever!
Exhibit Open November 15 through December 29, 2010
Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 4 PM
Renowned Southwest Florida artist Ikki Matsumoto returns to BIG ARTS. A student of artist Charles Harper in the late 1950s, he became an illustrator and designer. He published a book and illustrated the 1972 bestseller, "The Joy of Cooking." Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, he produced paintings and prints for exhibitions in Sanibel and Tokyo. Now retired from owning an art gallery on Sanibel, he continues to paint with his wife, Polly. While many of Polly Matsumoto's works are mixed media - weavings on painted canvas with found objects, she also creates fiber wall hangings. She has been weaving since the 1960s.
Artists Reception Saturday, November 20, 5 – 6:30 PM
Visual Arts Patron Season Sponsor
Deborah and John La Gorce
BIG ARTS Members
Juried Show of Excellence
Exhibit Open November 15 – December 29
Monday – Friday, 1 - 4 PM, and Saturdays 1 - 4 PM
This exhibit's juror is Jack O'Brien, Curator at The von Liebig Art Center in Naples, Florida. BIG ARTS Members can submit all types of media to apply for entry into the show, and there is no theme.
Call to Artists:
Click here for Prospectus and More Information.
Artists Reception and Awards Presentation
Saturday, November 20, 5 – 6:30 PM
Visual Arts Patron Season Sponsor
June Rosner and Russ Bilgore
Coco Before Chanel (2009) France
Monday, January 3, 7 PM
Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, the most influential fashion icon of the 20th century, began life as a headstrong orphan, and through an extraordinary journey became the legendary couturier. She was a modern woman who was a timeless symbol of success, freedom and style. This film portrays the formative years of her life, the years she spent discovering and inventing herself with wit, outspokenness, and determination. The film stars Audrey Tautou, and tells the story of Coco's romantic relationships with two men who played significant roles in her life while fueling her desire to make a name for herself. Coco Before Chanel was nominated for a 2010 Academy Award, and many other film awards.
110 min.; Rated PG-13; French (subtitles)
Admission: $7
A Century of Jazz Piano: Dick Hyman
Highlights in the History
of An American Art Form
Saturday, January 8, 8 PM
Masterful jazz pianist Dick Hyman's amazing career has spanned six decades, incorporating songs from ragtime to the present day. Hyman has recorded more than 100 albums under his own name and in addition to his jazz recordings, has composed orchestral, ballet, and chamber music. His varied background includes TV and Broadway. He has also composed for many films, including a dozen Woody Allen movie scores. He continues to work in a wide variety of contexts, and with prestigious collaborators.
General seating: $41, Loge: $46, Student: $15
Aida - Verdi
Presented in High Definition Video and Digital Sound
Thursday, January 6, 7 PM
Daniela Dessì leads an all-star cast featuring Elisabetta Fiorillo, Fabio Armiliato, Juan Pons, and Roberto Scandiuzzi in this renowned and unique period production of Verdi's thrilling drama of love and emotion. Extraordinary sets delight the senses creating a magical one-of-a-kind experience on the stages of Barcelona's famous Gran Teatre del Liceu opera house.
General seating: $20, Student: $5
Southwest Florida Symphony
Chamber Series: Mozart and Company
Sunday, January 9, 7 PM
The Southwest Florida Symphony will perform Ibert's Hommage a Mozart, Nielsen's Little Suite and Mozart's Symphony no. 40. Ibert's Hommage `a Mozart is light and debonair, reflecting the mood found in Mozart's overtures to the comedies Così fan tutte and The Marriage of Figaro. Nielsen's very first opus, Little Suite, reveals his compositional originality and inventiveness, a harbinger of things to come. Mozart's Symphony no. 40, arguably his most famous symphony, is a profound and emotionally-complex work.
Single concert: $30, or Sanibel Series: $75 (all three concerts) 1/09/11, 3/20/11, 4/10/11
Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky (2010) France
Monday, January 10, 7 PM
This biopic, which picks up Chanel's story neatly from where it left off in Coco Before Chanel, portrays her short-lived love affair with composer Igor Stravinsky. The film begins with the controversial and polarizing premiere of Stravinsky's Rites of Spring, and continues seven years later when the two dynamic personalities meet and the attraction between them is instant and electric. Amid the power struggle of parallel careers conducted with a driven, single-minded fervor by two artists at the peak of their creativity, these titans are caught in a riptide. In this luxurious and lovely film, filled with music and art, there's also a bit of sexually-charged madness. Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky was chosen as the closing film of the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, and nominated for a César.
120 min.; R (some strong sexuality, nudity); French (subtitles)
Admission: $7
The Euclid Quartet
Presents Schubert's "Trout" Quintet
Thursday, January 13, 8:00 PM
The Euclid will be accompanied by pianist Paul Posnak and double-bassist Jeffrey Kipperman to perform the well-known Schubert "Trout" quintet. The Euclid will also perform Haydn's Quartet in D minor, Op. 76 No. 2, "Quinten" and selections from "At the Octoroon Balls" by Wynton Marsalis. Praised by The Washington Post for their "elegant mix of passion, ferocity and feathery delicacy," the Euclid Quartet is the only American string quartet to be awarded a top prize at the prestigious Osaka International Chamber Music competition since 1993. The Quartet has also won numerous competitions in the U.S. and a prominent "American Masterpieces" grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Euclid Quartet's BIG ARTS Program
General seating: $41, Loge: $46, Student/Child: free with paying adult
Pianist Julio Elizalde and
Cellist Bonnie Hampton
Classical Afternoon
Sunday, January 16, 3:30 PM
Praised by the New York Times for his "accurate" execution and "catlike ease" at the keyboard, Julio Elizalde is a member of the N-E-W Trio, which appeared at BIG ARTS in January, 2010. His awards include first prizes at the San Francisco Young Pianists, Mu Phi Epsilon Young Artist, Berkeley Piano Club and San Jose Music Study Club Competitions in the San Francisco Bay Area. Bonnie Hampton was a student of Pablo Casals, a founding member of the Naumburg award-winning Francesco Trio, and performed as part of the Hampton-Schwartz Duo. Their program will include Fauré's Andante from the Sonata No. 2 for Cello and Piano in G minor, Op. 117, Beethoven's Sonata for Cello and Piano in C major, Op. 102, No. 1, Debussy's Sonata for Cello and Piano, and Chopin's Sonata for Cello and Piano in G minor, Op. 65.
General: $31, Classical Afternoon series: $81 three Classical Afternoon concerts, Student/Child: free with paying adult
Sita Sings the Blues (2008) India
Monday, January 17, 7 PM
India's ancient epic Ramayana gets a fresh, funny makeover in this award-winning animated film. With song and humor, director Nina Paley juxtaposes the split between Rama and Sita with her own divorce to tell "the greatest break-up story ever told." Original 1920s recordings of singer Annette Hanshaw give musical voice to Sita, while amusing shadow puppets provide the narration for the colorful story. "I am enchanted. I am swept away. I am smiling from one end of the film to another," said Roger Ebert, about Sita Sings the Blues.
82 min.; Not Rated; English
Admission: $7
Le Nozze di Figaro – Mozart
Presented in High Definition Video and Digital Sound
Thursday, January 20, 7 PM
Mozart's music makes Le Nozze Di Figaro one of the finest jewels in the opera repertory, with a wealth of famous melodies that start from the familiar first notes of the energetic overture. A London highlight of the celebrations for the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth, this spellbinding production is graced with an international cast.
General seating: $20, Student: $5