Best Bets: A&E Calendar

WHAT TO SEE IN A&E

BY DAVID WARNER

HELPING DAD: A still from A Voice That Carries, a new documentary about fathers and daughters by Tampa-based filmmaker Brett Culp that will receive its world premiere at Tampa Theatre on June 3. Info at tampatheatre.org.

dRTB BEST BETS

Roy and Silo were chinstrap penguins, like the ones pictured here.

Photo: noaa.gov.

FLOCK TOGETHER

Marc Acito’s play Birds of a Feather is based on the true story of Roy and Silo, the two Central Park Zoo penguins who partnered, adopted an egg, hatched and raised a chick together, then became the subject of a children’s book, And Tango Makes Three, that was temporarily one of the most banned books in America. When Stageworks Theatre did this romantic comedy six years ago, rehearsals began on the day same-sex marriage became legal in Florida. Gulfport Community Players’ production coincides with a different kind of milestone: it’s being presented during an historic St. Pete Pride Month. Whereas the focus of past Prides was a huge LGBTQ+ parade that attracted tens of thousands, this year’s celebration has been modified into something more appropriate to our almost-post-Covid climate: a series of smaller themed events, including a waterfront festival in Vinoy Park June 5; a family gathering on the St. Pete Pier June 12; an “Arts & Qulture” event at The Factory St. Pete on June 19; and a Pride Picnic in Straub Park on the 26th. As for Birds of a Feather, it’s not a St. Pete Pride event per se, but its love story couldn’t be more timely — or more fun. Birds of a Feather, June 10-20, Catherine Hickman Theater, 5501 27th Ave. S., Gulfport, Thurs-Sat,8 p.m., Sat-Sun, 2 p.m. Tickets: $20, available online only at GulfportCommunityPlayers.org. For info on St. Pete Pride events, go to stpetepride.org.

Awareness 41 by Clearwater-based artist Bassmi Ibrahim is in the MFA’s SKYWAY show.

FOUR MUSEUMS, FIVE COUNTIES, ONE SKYWAY

The SKYWAY exhibition is a miracle of collaboration, not least because this huge survey of local art, now in its second iteration, had to be postponed from 2020 till now because of Covid. Internationally known curator Claire Tancons teamed with curators at the four participating museums to choose work by artists in Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas and Sarasota counties, meaning that visitors will be exposed to a wide sampling of some of the most compelling art being created in our area today. The Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg is first out of the gate (May 22-Aug. 22) with a show of 15 artists who address, by varied means, the natural environment. SKYWAY exhibitions follow at the Tampa Museum of Art (June 3-Oct. 10); the USF Contemporary Art Museum (June 14-Sept. 1) and the Ringling in Sarasota (June 20-Sept. 26). Of special note at the MFA: In addition to SKYWAY, two fascinating shows are on view. Antioch Reclaimed showcases the gorgeously restored, centuries-old mosaics that were the first shipment of art received by the museum in 1964, and tells the extraordinary, Indiana Jones-worthy tales behind their excavation (through Aug. 22). And Margins to Mainstays features works by photographers who were marginalized because of gender, race, sexuality or nationality but in many cases rose to become giants of the medium (through Sept. 26). SKYWAY info at skywaytampabay.com; MFA info at mfastpete.org.

Aaron F. Henderson, 400 Years (2019), gouache on paper.

CAN YOU HEAR IT?

Reverberations is a show with resonance. In artwork done exclusively by African American artists, it seeks to showcase the highs and lows of the Black experience in America, highlighting themes of family and community as well as marginalization and prejudice. “Can you hear the song that has been playing for over four centuries?” asks curator Desmond Clark. “Can you feel how it vibrates our nation?” The show also resounds because of the partnership that’s making it happen: It’s presented by the Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum at the James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art. For the Woodson, the show is a harbinger of the kinds of exhibitions the museum could realize in its proposed new home in South St. Pete. For the James, it’s a chance, says Executive Director Laura Hine, to “amplify the voices of artists not often found at the forefront of American Art and demonstrate the strength of an African American museum in our region” — a means of exploring “our shared past and present.” Even the show’s opening date resonates: It’s Juneteenth, the holiday celebrating the emancipation of enslaved peoples in the U.S. Reverberations, June 19-Aug. 29, The James Museum,150 Central Ave., 727-892-4200, thejamesmuseum.org.

Image courtesy Clearwater Marine Aquarium.

WHALE’S TALE

A few years ago on Cape Cod, friends of mine wanted to go whale-watching. I declined to accompany them, since anytime I’d gone on one of those cruises I’d seen exactly zero whales. Well, now’s my chance to rectify that, with a visit to Whales: Living with Giants at Clearwater Marine Aquarium’s newly expanded visitor center. Thanks to a state-of-the-art Virtual Reality theater, visitors to the exhibition can assume the role of marine biologists, getting up close and personal with humpback whales and other underwater wildlife. To get a visceral sense of just how big these awesome mammals can be, you can also walk through a life-sized replica of the mouth of a giant blue whale. Through Aug. 31, cmaquarium.org.