Syndee Winters, the multi-talented singer, dancer and actress, has had a passion for the arts since she was an adolescent dreamer growing up in Miami. The youngest of three children, the Palmetto High grad moved here from New York at age 13 to live with her father and grandmother. Now she returns to Miami as Nala in the Broadway tour of the Tony award-winning smash hit The Lion King, which opens tomorrow night and runs through June 10 at the Arsht Center.

We spoke to Syndee about growing up in Miami, The Lion King, her solo career, and her unbridled excitement for being featured in Miami New Times. She likes us, she really likes us!
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All photos by Laine Doss

The Coconut Grove Playhouse gets a group hug at the "give it back" rally

A cheer catchier than the material girl's new song that chants MDNA rang through the streets of Coconut Grove last evening. Calls of "Give it back, give it back" could be heard reverberating off the facade of the Coconut Grove Playhouse, which was shuttered in 2006 and left to decline ever since.

Coconut Grove residents and activists, led by Nathan Kurland, are seeking to reclaim the playhouse and reopen it again for theatrical productions.  A few weeks ago, yellow ribbons on trees and signs proclaiming "give it back" popped up all over the neighborhood. Last evening's rally was the culmination of the ribbon campaign.

Pulling out all stops for the rally, everyone from local politicians like City of Miami District 2 Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, City of Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado, and Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez, to adorable children and dogs were in attendance, all seeking to gain control of the playhouse.
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Courtesy of Pig Iron Theater Company

​Have you read your Chekhov lately?

Well, these guys sure have. The phenomenal Pig Iron Theater has been invited to perform in Miami as part of the MDC Live! Performing Arts Series March 23 and 24.

Their funny and accessible comedic melodrama​ Chekhov Lizardbrain will be playing in the Colony Theater in Miami Beach.

New Times caught up with co-artistic director and actor Dito van Reigersberg to get the inside scoop about the play.
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​Of all of Shakespeare's plays, none has captured the public's imagination quite like Hamlet, the Bard's harrowing tale of betrayal, murder, sexual politics, and dead people looking for vengeance (okay, all of William's plays are pretty much like that).

But you haven't seen Hamlet until you've seen it performed as an opera.

And, even more to the point, the way Carson Kievman and the Soundtheater will be performing it at the SoBe Institute of the Arts from February 24 through March 11.
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The Boston String Quartet

​A spoonful of Nintendo helps the Beethoven go down. That's the philosophy that the Boston String Quartet has applied to getting high school students excited about classical music with its Ethno-Urban Orchestra.

Through this initiative, the BSQ will invite about 100 high school students from around Miami to collaborate with them and a professional rock band in an energetic performance that will incorporate world music, rock and roll, film soundtracks, and video game music -- all on a single stage. The show goes on at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, January 21 at The Julius Littman Performing Arts Theater in North Miami Beach. Half the show will be dedicated to showcasing the young talent alongside the pros; the other half will feature only the BSQ and a professional, albeit very young, family rock band, Scarlet Fade.
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The "supergroup" is nothing new. From Cream to Temple of the Dog to Audioslave, we've seen big names from rock join forces -- either to make some bad-ass music, or to fail miserably trying. (Velvet Revolver, anyone?)

But December 4, 1956, at the renowned Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee, saw the first ever supergroup come together -- albeit by pure chance -- when Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash popped in to catch a Carl Perkins recording session while up-and-coming piano rocker Jerry Lee Lewis sat in. Million Dollar Quartet, which opened last night at the Arsht, is the raucous musical that captures that fateful day and brings to life this iconic photograph.
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​Best and Worst lists are so arbitrary and subjective. But we do them anyway, because it's a fine way to recap the year while celebrating the good and pissing on the bad. As a theatre critic, though, it's tough to write about productions that suck. I prefer to criticize shitty plays by not using the word shitty. Instead, I like to offer constructive criticism whenever possible.

I realize theatre houses are entirely funded through donations, and one bad review (even by a lowly cat such as myself) can do damage to some hard working and otherwise talented people. So, instead of calling it The Worst, I'll call it The Disappointments. As for The Winners, well, they're winners so they'll be addressed as such.

Let's do this.
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courtesy of Victoria Pike!

​Not so enthused with the job market? Go hang yourself... upside down from 40-foot silk scarves, that is.

Victoria Pike! -- exclamation intended -- isn't even out of high school, but she's already setting her sights on an untraditional career path: the circus. The quirky 16-year-old has spent the past two years learning how to suspend herself above crowds, walk on stilts, and "fire dance."

"I (wanted) to try something exciting and filled with adrenaline opposed to the Hamster-wheel exercise mind set that has been established over time," she says. It hasn't been easy.
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​Reading the biography/history section of the Carpetbag Brigade's website may cause seizures. The San Francisco group puts on visual extravaganzas using improvisation, acrobatics, music, circus antics, and butoh (explanation below).

This Saturday, the Carpetbag Brigade will perform their live show, "Callings," as part of the much anticipated Sleepless Night, an overnight culturalpalooza taking place on Miami Beach from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. We recently got a chance to pick the brains of various Brigade members and talked about silly stuff like ocean teardrops and clouds.
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​You might remember Ana Gasteyer, the current star of ABC's Suburgatory, better as sweater-clad Margaret Jo McCullen, whose NPR spoof show Delicious Dish featured Pete Schweddy sharing his delicious trademark Schweddy Balls and Betty White giving the ladies a taste of her "dusty muffin." Or if that doesn't ring a bell, you might have fond memories of Lilith Fair protest singer Cinder Calhoun's passionate diatribe against pantyhose, "Leotarded," or Marty and Bobby Culp's awkward middle school music instruction that regularly received the finger from students.

The six-year Saturday Night Live veteran will revisit her comedy sketch roots on Friday in Aventura for a one-woman show, "Elegant Songs from a Handsome Woman." We spoke to Gasteyer about her favorite SNL characters, why humorless people are hilarious, and how to do elegant the right way.
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