This third week in March has kept me busy. I photographed two shows: the opera Madama Butterfly by Puccini presented at the Miramar Cultural Center by Opera International. The scenery, costumes, and music were beautiful. The other show was a wonderful, and highly appreciated by audiences play, The Radiant by Shirley Lauro, at the NEW Theatre in Coral Gables.
The Radiant, portrays the seemingly tragic life of Madame Curie, and her discoverer of Radium. Curie's life, after the early death of her husband and colleague, was full of ups and downs. She fought to survive in a male dominated academic and scientific community, an adulterous love affair with her scientific assistant, rejection by French society, and a painful death from radiation. Lauro, the playwright, brings three actors from New York including Angelica Torn, a well respected stage, TV and screen actress.
Ricky Martinez, the NEW Theatre's artistic director, directed this world premiere. Stephen Neal, a local actor, and no stranger to the NEW Theatre, helped bring the production to fruition. The NEW Theatre is a wonderful, hard working, theatre company. They put on six or seven annual productions, and have a nice following in the very competitive Miami theatre scene. One more production, Tennessee William's A Street Car Named Desire, concludes this season.
