Tampa Is…?

Editor’s note:  As hoped, we found someone who graciously volunteered to review Jobsite Theater’s The History of the Devil.  Say hello to Adonna, and we promise to give her a proper welcome soon.  In the meantime, here is her review.

Forget Georgia; the Devil is down in Florida this month in The History of the Devil, a dark, witty tale of historical fiction and human nature. The story begins as the Devil selects his “advocate,” an appeals lawyer who must counsel Satan himself in his appeal trial to return to heaven after centuries on earth. In a courtroom in Kenya, a hot, hellish setting full of death and decay, the audience sits as a jury, witnessing accounts of the Devil’s earthly encounters.

We follow Satan’s story from his first moments on earth through to his judgment. As the prosecution and defense call their witnesses, we see reenactments of Lucifer falling from heaven, learning what it is to be human, encouraging depravity and destruction, bargaining with Jesus and more.

Witnesses are resurrected from their graves to testify at the trial, and we see that Lucifer is quick to persuade others to indulge in their dark side, even admiring their perversity, but hesitant to take direct action himself. Throughout this “history,” he struggles with his human qualities, experiencing innocence, pain, lust, betrayal and more—all while groveling for a chance to return to heaven, pleading his innocence as a mere scapegoat for mankind’s sins.

Overall, The History of the Devil is a delightful guilty pleasure for those with an open mind and a curiosity for history and religion. As the plot unravels, it raises some interesting questions of human nature and justice, with a wicked mix of historical cameos you just might feel guilty for laughing at.

The final scenes are a delightful trick, with a twist of fate for the court’s final remarks and judgment. Led by a talented and witty cast, a nearly three hour play quickly flies by for an engaged audience treated to the animated performances of a wide array of characters.

The History of the Devil presented by Jobsite Theater continues through November 16th at the Shimberg Theater, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.  Tickets are $24.50.

I got an email from that cool artsy theater-type himself, Mr. David Jenkins.  He was concerned that the two local daily newspapers may not be sending a reviewer to the latest Jobsite production, thereby depriving all of their readers the chance to read what’s going on (not to mention the publicity for Jobsite that comes with it).  Update:  The Tribune confirmed they will not review it.

Unfortunately, I’m going to be busy being a rock star and a dad to attend any of the performances this weekend, much less make my thoughts of it somewhat coherent.  So, I figured I would ask you great readers to do the job of the local dailies, and go see a play, and write a review for it.

Here’s the advance from the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center:

The History of the Devil

Jobsite’s 10-year anniversary production, and by all accounts the show that put Jobsite on the lips of area theatergoers. Jobsite is excited to revisit this epic courtroom drama where the Devil is up for parole that sold out every performance in 1999. The trial of the new millennium is about to begin – and you’ve been called for jury duty! Old Nick believes he’s done his time and deserves to be readmitted to heaven. History is examined (Christ’s temptation, Nazi crimes), witnesses are called (including a belligerent Dante Alighieri), and the audience is left to consider whether the Prince of Darkness has spent his time as an outcast, as a mastermind or in the service of man in this black comedy.
Contains adult language, situations and subject matter.

RUNNING TIME:  Approximate run time is two hours and 45 minutes including a 15-minute intermission.

You may also want to take a look at Jobsite’s longer description of the play.  Also, CreLo’s Leilani Polk previews the production, and from a nearby cubicle, Anthony Salveggi recommended the show.

If it sounds intriguing enough for you to consider, then please just buy the tickets and enjoy History of the Devil.

However, if you feel like doing the job of our local daily newspapers and promise to write up a small review of the play for publication on Sticks of Fire, use the CONTACT FORM to send me your phone number, and I’ll make sure you get hooked up (aka FREE TIX) for the showing of your choice.

And yeah, both David and I want you to give your honest thoughts on the show.

Soon, the 18-year-old woman who was raped and beaten in April at the Bloomingdale Regional Public Library is expected to leave the rehabilitation center where she has been receiving treatment.
The house where her family lives and where she will reside needs extensive renovations to accommodate her medical needs when she returns home.

Thankfully, people have been stepping up to offer assistance.

If you would like to offer assistance, there are a number of ways to do so:

• Pink and red latex bracelets with the inscription, “Everyone’s Daughter, Everyone’s Friend,” are available at the Ruskin Chamber of Commerce for a $5 donation. The bracelets will be available at the chamber, 315 S. Tamiami Trail, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and at the office of Child Protection Education of America, 3439 Brook Crossing Drive, Brandon, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
• Bloomingdale High School’s PTSA is hosting a 5-kilometer run/walk fundraiser November 1st at Bloomingdale High School. Registration is at 9 a.m. and the event starts at 10 a.m.
• Also on November 1st, the International Independent Showmen’s Association, 6915 Riverview Drive, Riverview, is presenting a fundraising entertainment extravaganza beginning at 12 p.m. Tickets are $25 and will be sold at the door. The outdoor concert is being organized by St. Petersburg resident Jim Brady, and will feature doo-wop, country and Latin entertainers. Bring your own chairs and blanket. Food and drinks will be available for sale.
• Aaron Fredricks, proprietor of East Coast Pizza in Ruskin is planning two events in cooperation with the Ruskin Chamber of Commerce. The first is a barbecue on November 22nd and the second is a golf outing on December 5th. These events are still in the planning stages, so if you’d like more information, or would like to offer your services, please contact Mr. Fredricks at (813) 234-1700 or fred12582@aol.com.

And if you’d like even more info, here are some additional resources:

• Tampa Tribune report, June 2008
• A column by Steve Otto of the Tampa Tribune
• A report on fundraising efforts at Sticks of Fire.com.
• A fund to assist the victim’s family is being administered by SunTrust Bank
• Contact info for Sarina Fazan of WFTS TV in Tampa, who has been actively involved with reporting on the case itself as well as various fundraisers and other assistance efforts.

(Cross posted at Ridiculous trickle of consciousness)

Ok, forget what anyone has said about pivotal moments for the Rays. The three game series against the Boston Red Sox that began last night is undoubtedly the biggest thing to ever happen in Tampa Bay baseball history…to date anyway. After Wednesday night’s game, the Rays could find themselves anywhere from feeling free to place an order for division championship t-shirts to locked in a battle to even make the postseason.

It’s time to go to the games, folks. If you’re a fan of this team at all, there are simply no valid excuses. It’s the middle of September and meaningful major league baseball is being played in Tampa Bay. This is what the collective we have been saying we wanted for more than 20 years! So suck it up, drive over there (carpooling saves gas and gets you free parking), ignore the dome and the fake grass (but feel free to enjoy the air conditioning and not being rained on), deal with being a little tired at work after staying up late and root, root, root for the home team. It will be worth it.

OK, I admit it - I don’t get out much anymore.  Three kids under seven at home will do that to a couple.  But sometimes you just need to get out of the house.

I am a long time karaoke junkie. I’ve been haunting the best (and worst) karaoke bars in the Bay Area for 12 years. When I heard about Rock Star Fridays at Stump’s Supper Club at Channelside, I just had to check it out.

102.5 The Bone has been pushing this heavily the past few weeks and had folks from the Cowhead Show on hand as well.

The cover was very reasonable, only $5.  They offered $1 Bud drafts all night, plus well prices are reasonable. If you have never been to Stump’s, it’s very nice. We sat at the bar towards the back, which has an indoor portion and an outdoor area on the water. My wife smokes, so this is where we ended up. We still had a good view of the stage and could hear everything, despite being outside.

The Jimmy James Experience, led by Tommy Tutone bass guitarist Jimmy James, is the house band for Stump’s. They’ve been there seven years now. They are an awesome band, but for karaoke night they played without their normal sax player and female lead vocalist. But the sound was really tight.

I was nervous, I had never sung before such a large crowd. There were probably 100 people on the dance area in front of the stage and the place was filled to capacity with patrons. Add to that the excitement of being on stage with a real band, and I was in need of some liquid encouragement.

The only drawback is that they do not have lyrics on a monitor like a standard karaoke show. No “bouncing ball.” So I would recommend that you pick a song you know well. I chose one of my 80′ s standards, Simple Minds’ “Don’t You Forget About Me.” I did alright, I know I was a bit tipsy and flubbed a little, but the crowd did not seem to notice, they really got into it.

OK, and now for the icing on the cake. They put your video on YouTube. From the looks of it they get to it midweek, so Tuesday or Wednesday the videos from the previous Friday are posted. Just add famousleo to your subscriptions and you’ll get the new ones as they are posted.

I highly recommend Rockstar Fridays. I will definitely be back for it.

Each year since 2003, the City of Tampa has chosen a photographer to chronicle the city for The Big Picture Photographer Laureate Program.

The purpose of the project was to commission an artist to photograph and respond to life in the City of Tampa. The Photographer Laureate Program is inspired by historic photographic projects including the Farm Workers Administration, the National Endowment for the Arts, and regional Photographic Archives. The program’s long-range vision is to build a public collection comprised of images that are representative of the life and times in Tampa, by regional, national and international photographers.

Over the course of the multi-year project, an artist will be commissioned to “add a volume” for one year. The volume must be built upon a theme/topic selected by the artist/photographer and approved by the committee. Over the course of time, the city hopes to accumulate and display a full and varied representation of the multiple and diverse perspectives of artists on Tampa.

The artist chosen for 2007 was Marion Belanger (www.marionbelanger.com) from Connecticut, and the Big Picture Photographer Laureate, Volume V is now finished, and Marion’s work is open to the public.

Check out Real Estate/Spaces in Transition on view at the American Institute of Architects Gallery in downtown Tampa at 200 N. Tampa Street, Suite 100.  Find it on the west side of Tampa St. just south of Jackson.

You may want to check out the online work of previous Tampa Photographer Laureates, including 2003 Photographer Laureate Beth Reynolds, 2004’s Suzanne Camp Crosby, pinhole photographer Rebecca Sexton Larson in 2005, and 2006’s Steven S. Gregory.

The 2008 photographer, Jeremy Chandler, is busy taking photos now.  Look for his exhibit in about a year.

She had earned a full scholarship to attend the University of Florida, and celebrated her 18th birthday on April 22.  Two nights later, the East Bay High School senior swung by the Bloomingdale Regional Library to drop off books at the night drop.  She was on her cell phone with a friend when someone brutally attacked her:

She told the friend there was a weird-looking man sitting on the bench near the depository. Then she screamed, there was a bell-like sound, and the phone went dead.

Friends and family rushed over, someone called 911, and the young lady was found unconscious and badly injured.  Detectives found blood everywhere - on the driveway, on a sidewalk, on a signpost, and on the west wall of the library.  She had been raped and beaten.  She suffered multiple strokes during the attack, and lost her sight.

She was airlifted to Tampa General Hospital, and remained in critical condition for weeks.  By June, she had not had the ability to speak, and although doctors still did not know the extent of her injuries, social workers were attempting to push her out of the hospital, to a nursing home.

As of late July, the young girl was undergoing physical therapy at a rehab center, while friends and family prayed.  She cannot see, she cannot talk, and she cannot swallow, but her friends helped to celebrate her graduation from high school this week.

Meanwhile, her family is nearly bankrupt.  All of their insurance has been used up, went to Medicaid, and were told recently that Medicaid would no longer pay for her care, because she is not making sufficient progress.  The family is happy with the care at the rehab center, but just staying there costs about $30,000 a month.

Clark recently told you that SunTrust Bank has established a “Bloomingdale Library Assault Victim Fund” to help with expenses, and lots of people have given a bit of money to help out.  But it’s just not enough.

That’s why you will hear about various fundraisers around the community from your friends at the newspapers and television stations, including an effort by the guys in my band.  Yesterday, I spoke with Sarina Fazan from ABC Action News.  She has been covering the various fundraisers for the young girl, and on yesterday’s 6pm newscast, she talked about what the JGLB has planned.

This Saturday night, my band - JGLB - is playing a fundraiser at the L.A. Hangout.  For a small donation, we will take requests for all sorts of songs, and 100% all the tip money we collect will go to the Bloomingdale Library Assault Victim Fund.

If you don’t have the chance to make it to a SunTrust Bank to leave a donation, please come by the LA Hangout on Saturday night, listen to some great local music, and help a neighbor that truly needs it.

Thanks for your consideration.

A caveat first. Mary Jordan, who co-stars in the New Tampa Players production of Same Time Next Year for the next couple of weekends at the Carrollwood Cultural Center is my niece. So I’m biased.

That said, the two-act play, which also stars Marc Sanders, is a hoot.

Sander and Jordan reprise the rolls played by Ellen Burstyn and Alan Alda in the 1978 movie, based on the play by Bernard Slade.

The pair - Doris and George - meet in a country inn in northern California in 1951.

That initial extramarital tryst is repeated the same weekend year after year until 1975 with hilarious - and bittersweet - results.

Both Jordan and Sanders (whom I am not related to) give extremely strong performances.

Is the play - which runs July 18, 19, 20 and 25, 26, 27 - as good as I think it is?

I’m not a theater critic, so I don’t know what an educated “critic” would say. My standard of excellence about entertainment, whether on stage, television or movies, is: Does it make me laugh or touch me in some way? Same Time Next Year does both.

Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for seniors and children and groups of 10 or more.

The play does include some racy language, so if you are easily offended or worried about tender ears, don’t go.

The Carrollwood Cultural Center is at 4537 Lowell Rd. Call (813) 386-6687 for reservations.