What's Happening: Poetics of Resistance in Gainesville, 'Dreamgirls,' 'Death by Chocolate'

APRIL 14

The Poetics of Resistance in Gainesville and the States: The Matheson History Museum is hosting a poetry workshop with Alejandro Aguirre in partnership with ARTSPEAKSgnv’s Bard and Broadside: North Central Florida Poetry Festival. The festival runs April 13-16, and this year’s theme is “Unity in the Community Through Text and Image.” This free workshop — set for 7 p.m. April 14 in-person at the Matheson as well as online via Zoom — explores the place of poetry in response to a history of segregation. Following a discussion of examples from Natasha Trethewey, Rowan Ricardo Phillips and Jericho Brown, visitors will compose a collaborative poem via the "exquisite corpse," a technique invented by the surrealists. A paper will be passed around the room. Each visitor will add two lines to its poem and fold away the first so that the following contributor may only draw inspiration from the last line. (Those less inclined to writing original lines may write an erasure poem instead, transforming transcripts of oral histories from the exhibition into poems.) Responding to the exhibits at the Matheson, particularly “We’re Tired of Asking: Black Thursday and Civil Rights at the University of Florida,” guests will leave the workshop with a new poem of resistance to recite and share. Aguirre was a finalist for the Atlanta Review's Dan Veach Prize for Younger Poets. His poems are published or forthcoming in Rattle, I-70 Review, Hawai’i Pacific Review and Islandia Journal. The Matheson History Museum is located at 513 E. University Ave. Registration is required for the event, and can be done online at bit.ly/poeticresist and bit.ly/poeticresistzoom. For more information about the poetry festival, visit artspeaksgnv.org/north-central-florida-poetry-festival. For more information about Aguirre, visit alejandromaguirre.com.

APRIL 14 THROUGH APRIL 16

“DREAMGIRLS”: In “Dreamgirls,” the newest production from Gainesville Community Playhouse, a young female singing trio from Chicago get their big break at an amateur competition and begin singing backup vocals for James “Thunder” Early. However, things begin to spin out of control when their agent, Curtis Taylor Jr., makes Deena — and not Effie — the star of what will become known as “The Dreams.” Through gospel, R&B, smooth pop, disco and more, “Dreamgirls” explores themes of ambition, hope and betrayal — all set in the glamorous and competitive world of the entertainment industry. Catch a show at 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through April 16 at the Gainesville Community Playhouse, 4039 NW 16th Blvd. Tickets are $23 for general admission, $19 for seniors and $12 for students. For more information, or to purchase tickets online, visit gcplayhouse.org.

APRIL 14 THROUGH APRIL 30

“DEATH BY CHOCOLATE”: In “Death by Chocolate,” the newest production from High Springs Playhouse, members of the newly renovated Meadowbrook Health Resort are dropping like flies — including famed chef Edith Chiles! This is not the best advertisement for the eve of the grand reopening. It’s up to John Stone, the manager, to find the cause and the murderer. Delightfully sarcastic and cynical, Stone finds himself teaming up with Ed Parlor, mystery writer and amateur sleuth, in a wacky race against time. The clues point to a sinister box of chocolates, and the suspects include all the outlandish characters working for the resort. Could it be Lady Riverdale, owner of the resort and a woman with dark secrets? Or Ralph Deadwood, gym instructor and all around cad? Dick Simmering, the aerobics instructor? Anne, the panic-stricken nurse? Or could it be “Sweet Pea” Meadowbrook, overweight and grieving daughter of the recently deceased founder of the resort? Death by Chocolate combines all of the elements of classic murder mysteries with a scathing satire of today’s health crazes. Catch a showing at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays plus 2 p.m. Sundays through April 30 at the High Springs Playhouse, 130 NE First Ave. in High Springs. Tickets are $15 for general admission, and $10 for students and ages 65 and older. For more information, or to purchase tickets online, visit highspringsplayhouse.com.

APRIL 15

DOWNTOWN HIGH SPRINGS ARTWALK: The seasonal Artwalk events return to historic downtown High Springs from noon to 5 p.m. April 15 featuring 15 to 20 local artists and makers situated on the sidewalks of downtown. Downtown High Springs also offers many eclectic restaurants and shops showcasing High Springs’ walkable, charming small-town hospitality they have become famous for. This seasonal monthly event is an opportunity for local artisans and artists to demonstrate and display their talents and offer their works for sale in front of storefronts throughout the downtown area. Participating merchants will offer specials and sales during the event. After Artwalk, from 5 to 8 p.m., begins the free art reception celebrating the cumulation of plein air artworks from the sixth annual Santa Fe Plein Air Paintout at Lanza Gallery and Art Supplies, 23645 W. U.S. 27 in High Springs. Eighteen artists have painted springs and river paintings from local parks the week before. A percentage of all paintout sales will go to the Howard T. Odum, Florida Springs Institute for the preservation of springs and waters. Light refreshments will be served. For more information, visit facebook.com/downtownhighsprings.

APRIL 16

SUNDAY ASSEMBLY: Sunday Assembly Gainesville will feature guest speaker Jan Tucci, an elementary school teacher for 41 years with a special interest in children’s literature. She graduated from Nova Southeastern. The title of her talk is “Book Banning: Who, What, Where, When, How.” Music will be provided by Sunday Assembly musicians. Sunday Assembly Gainesville is a secular congregation that celebrates life at 11 a.m. the third Sunday of each month. The group will meet at the Pride Center in the Liberty Center, 3131 NW 13th St. Vaccinations, boosters and face masks are recommended and encouraged. It also is possible to attend via Zoom. Sunday Assembly Gainesville is a chapter of the Global Secular Sunday Assembly Movement. For more information, visit sagainesville.weebly.com or email SundayAssembly32601@gmail.com.

APRIL 16

15TH ANNIVERSARY SPRING YOUTH CONCERT/“ALICE’S ADVENTURES”: Sun Country Dance Theatre will present its 15th anniversary Spring Youth Concert beginning at 2:30 p.m. April 16 at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, 3201 Hull Road. Featured on the program will be an encore of SCDT’s original story ballet, “Alice’s Adventures,” choreographed by Artistic Director Judy Benton and premiered in 2018. In this captivating tale of curiosity and adventure, the audience follows Alice as she takes a journey down the Rabbit Hole, where she encounters many unique and beloved characters, including the harried White Rabbit, the cunning Cheshire Cat, mischievous Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, the “mad” Mad Hatter, the Rose, the Caterpillar and the infamous Queen of Hearts, along with many others. This imaginative ballet features an exciting compilation of music from such well-known composers as Georges Bizet, Amilcare Ponchielli, Sergei Prokofiev and Giuseppe Verdi. The lavish and fanciful costumes, along with the vibrant sets, exciting special effects and splendid dancing by SCDT’s talented young dancers, is sure to charm adults and children alike. To celebrate this important anniversary, Benton also has selected several works from the company’s past seasons to re-stage for this year’s production, including “Double Vision” (2009), a dynamic piece showcasing the juxtaposition of classical ballet and hip-hop, with restaged choreography by Benton and Sachi Patel; and “With An Ocean In The Way” (2014), a beautiful contemporary piece choreographed and restaged by Brittany Benton. The concert also will showcase a diversity of newly choreographed works by guest choreographers, including “Will I Ever Breathe Again,” an emotional modern piece choreographed by Paige Levecque, and “I Want To Live And Not Just Survive,” a powerful contemporary work choreographed by Sydney Pomeranz. Contributions to the production by other local performing artists, as well as special guest performers from New York and Orlando, further celebrates the diversity of the arts and the collaboration of many performing artists to share the love of their art with the community. For more information, contact scdancetheatre08@gmail.com. Tickets are $15 for general admission and free for ages 11 and younger when purchased in-person at the box office. Contact the box office at 392-ARTS, 800-905-ARTS or performingarts.ufl.edu.

APRIL 16

CHRIS CAIN: The North Central Florida Blues Society is set to host 10-time Blues Music Award nominated blues musician Chris Cain at Heartwood Soundstage, 619 S. Main St., at 6:30 p.m. April 16. Take some influence from B.B. King, Albert King and Ray Charles, add a pinch of Albert Collins and dazzling blues and jazz guitar chops, a rich soulful baritone vocal delivering original, often wry and beleaguered lyrics with sophisticated chord changes and instrumentation, and skills on various horns and keyboards — all delivered with an uptown cool that never lacks searing passion. It all adds up to the one and only Chris Cain, who has gone from being a newcomer phenomenon bursting onto the scene in 1987 with a classic debut release, to being a legend, inspiration and long-established member of the blues pantheon. His vocals — gruff, lived-in and powerful — add fuel to the fire. His indelible original songs keep one foot in the blues tradition and both eyes on the future. The pure joy Cain brings to his playing and singing is palpable, and draws fans even closer in. His indelible original songs keep one foot in the blues tradition and both eyes on the future. Cain received two 2023 Blues Music Award nominations, for Best Contemporary Blues Male Artist and Best Instrumentalist-Guitar. That makes seven Blues Music Award nominations in just the last three years, and it’s hard to keep up with all of his accolades gained since he released his first album, which garnered four W.C. Handy Blues Award nominations (what the Blues Music Awards used to be called). Also performing is Sheba the Mississippi Queen and the Bluesmen. Sheba’s music draws from her life experience from hurt and pain, addressing universal themes people can understand. Sheba was born Martha Booker in Sunflower, Mississippi, to a sharecropper family, whose father was a gospel singer. As a teenager, she and her twin sister came to South Florida in a migrant’s worker bus. The family started working in the tomatoes, bean fields and lime groves in Homestead. Sheba formed a singing group that she named the Grove Girls that would sing in all the fields and on the bus on their way to and from work. She later moved to New York City to form the band The Swingers, which recorded with New York Jazz Big Bands. Later she restarted her career in Miami, playing jazz in supper clubs, but returned to her blues roots with the band Sheba and The Rhythm Kings. She formed the band Sheba the Mississippi Queen and the Bluesmen in 2018, and were International Blues Challenge semifinalists in 2019. Blues festivals that she has performed in include Springing the Blues, the Coral Gables Blues Festival and the Long Island Blues Festival. General admission is $25; North Central Florida Blues Society members get in for $15. Doors open at 6:00. The concert will start at 6:30. The North Central Florida Blues Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation, cultivation, nurturing and promotion of blues music. See ncfblues.org for more details.

APRIL 20

“THE SWAMP PEDDLERS”: The Matheson History Museum will welcome historian and author Dr. Jason Vuic to share about his latest book, “The Swamp Peddlers: How Lot Sellers, Land Scammers, and Retirees Built Modern Florida and Transformed the American Dream,” beginning at 7 p.m. April 20. In his lecture, which can be attended either in person or online via Zoom, Vuic will dive into the history of the "installment land sales industry” that seemingly appeared out of nowhere to sell billions of dollars of Florida residential property, sight unseen, to retiring northerners. For only $10 down and $10 a month, working-class pensioners could buy a piece of the Florida dream: a graded homesite waiting for them in a planned community when they were ready to build. The result was Cape Coral, Port St. Lucie, Deltona, Port Charlotte, Palm Coast and Spring Hill, among many others — sprawling exurban communities with no downtowns and little industry, but millions of residential lots. These communities allowed generations of northerners to move to Florida cheaply, but at a price: high-pressure sales tactics begat fraud; poor urban planning begat sprawl; and developers cleared forests, drained wetlands and built thousands of miles of roads in grid-like subdivisions that, 50 years later, played an inordinate role in the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis. Originally from Punta Gorda, Vuic is a graduate of Wake Forest University, and holds an M.A. in history from the University of Richmond and a Ph.D. in history from Indiana University Bloomington. His first book, “The Yugo: the Rise and Fall of the Worst Car in History” (2010) was featured in Mother Jones and the Economist, and received rave reviews in more than 100 print and Web-based publications. In 2021, Vuic published “The Swamp Peddlers,” which won the Phillip and Dana Zimmerman Gold Medal Prize for Florida Nonfiction at the 2021 Florida Book Awards, as well as the 2021 Charlton Tebeau Award for outstanding general interest book from the Florida Historical Society. The Matheson History Museum is located at 513 E. University Ave. Registration is required and can be done via bit.ly/vuic23 and bit.ly/vuic23zoom.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: What's Happening: Downtown High Springs Artwalk, Sunday Assembly, more