Trainer Makes Stars of Rescue Dogs

Bill Berloni estimates he has trained and shined a spotlight on nearly 400 dogs over the last 45 years. Your purebreds and your designer breeds are all well and good, but if you want the job done right – and if that job is acting – get yourself a mutt. That’s the advice of Bill... Continue Reading →

You Oughta Know …

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 →

Temptations Still Proud After 60 Years

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 →

I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar

Celebrate International Women’s History Month with Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman,” a No. 1 hit and a fitting soundtrack for 1972, a year highlighted by milestones for the women’s movement When ‘70s hit-maker Helen Reddy passed in 2020, most obituaries reported that three of her many hits reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.... Continue Reading →

Facts About CHICAGO!

Before you paint the town and see CHICAGO at The Straz, check out these fun facts and all that jazz about the long-running musical. CHICAGO is the longest-running American musical in Broadway and West End history. The Ambassador Theatre in New York City has been home to CHICAGO since 2003. CHICAGO is the second longest... Continue Reading →

Talking With Rochelle Bard

Opera Tampa favorite Rochelle Bard made her company debut as Magda in Puccini’s La Rondine in 2009 under the baton of Maestro Anton Coppola. She has since graced the Straz Center stages in productions of The Merry Widow and Die Fledermaus and in Coppola’s 2011 Fond Farewells Concert. She has performed leading roles with companies... Continue Reading →

ARTISTS WE LOVE: George Balanchine

Ballet. Balanchine. The names are practically synonymous. In fact, it’s hard to imagine the former, in the U.S especially, without the prolific efforts of the latter. It’s also nearly impossible to overstate the importance of Lincoln Kirstein, a wealthy New Englander with a love of the arts. Kirstein provided the framework in which George Balanchine... Continue Reading →

Hip-Hop’s Influence Spreads Far and Wide

Hip-hop, the “fad” that parents, teachers, government officials and close-minded rockers couldn’t wish away fast enough 40 years ago, now has its own government-sanctioned month. (Pictured above) A dramatic reenactment of the public hearing a hip-hop song for the first time. Last year, Congress designated November as National Hip-Hop History Month, a sign not only... Continue Reading →

Unfollowing the Rules Works Well for Wainwright

As the year 2020 began, anticipation for Rufus Wainwright’s upcoming album was running high. Unfollow the Rules would be Wainwright’s first album of new pop material in eight years. Fans had been clamoring for it since news of Wainwright recording with producer Mitchell Froom (Los Lobos, Elvis Costello) first surfaced in 2018. The album cover... Continue Reading →

Florida Orchestra Flutist Not Afraid of Hard Work

In honor of Classical Music Month, Caught in the Act tapped Straz media relations manager and classically-trained flutist Natasha Brown to chat with Clay Ellerbroek, principal flutist of The Florida Orchestra for nearly 15 years. Ellerbroek initially began his instrumental studies on the trumpet, but transferred to the saxophone soon after and later discovered the... Continue Reading →

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