Eighty-six pages – that is how long a book needs to be to become one of the most beloved novels of all time, inspiring the imagination of millions of fans year after year. At least that is the case for Lewis Carroll’s classic Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. First published in 1865, Wonderland was an immediate... Continue Reading →
National Tap Dance Day is May 25. The date commemorates the birth of Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, one of tap’s greatest practitioners. He may be best known for his stair dance routine with Shirley Temple in 1935’s The Little Colonel. But his career stretched back to vaudeville and minstrel shows and continued through Broadway, movies, radio... Continue Reading →
JAGGED LITTLE PILL is about a lot more than one woman’s anger. Alanis Morrissette was not rock’s first angry woman. We know, get the smelling salts. Leslie Gore wasn’t having it on “You Don’t Own Me," all the way back in 1963. That same year, Betty Everett told the jerk “You’re No Good,” an emotion... Continue Reading →
Crowns was one of the highlights of the Straz Center’s 2021-2022 season. Playwright Regina Taylor’s musical celebration of the proud and faithful women of the African-American church was such a hit with Straz audiences that it’s returning to the Jaeb in a new, intimate presentation. Tampa playwright-poet-stand-up comic-etc. R.M. Lawrence, better known as “ranney,” will direct... Continue Reading →
For its first decade or so of existence, Detroit-based record company Motown was the American Dream in excelsis. Founder Berry Gordy nurtured his small, local business into a worldwide success. Gordy was smart, resourceful and hard-working. Most importantly, he knew white kids could dig R&B just as much as the black kids. The label’s slogan,... Continue Reading →