BETTY & More at “A Taste of Out in the Tropics”
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Performing Arts Showcase Sleepless Night at Miami Beach’s Colony Theatre, November 7, 2009

Gender-bending, great music, lots of laughs and some powerful takes on history and sexual identity are all part of the upcoming A Taste of Out in the Tropics Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) performing arts showcase. It begins at 10:00 pm and continues on past midnight on Saturday, November 7, 2009 at the Colony Theatre, 1040 Lincoln Road. A Taste of Out in the Tropics is part of the annual Sleepless Night event, a vibrant free indoor and outdoor cultural festival spread out over multiple locations throughout Miami Beach on the 13-hour night that marks the end of Daylight Savings Time. A Taste of Out in the Tropics is a presentation of Robert Rosenberg/Tropical Wave Productions, in association with FUNDarte and MiamiARTzine.com, with the support of the City of Miami Beach and other funders.

A Taste of Out in the Tropics’ featured performer is the women-led pop-rock group BETTY, whose hilarious and always fresh musical performances and theater work has made them popular worldwide. They are well known for their music for the groundbreaking Showtime lesbian series The L Word, including the racy theme song, as well as their Off-Broadway show BETTY Rules. Lily Tomlin has said they are “so joyously captivating, you’ll ovulate” and Gloria Steinem has commented that they “sing with heart, humor….and attitude.” BETTY will perform a full concert to close the evening.

A great line-up of local GLBT artists will open A Taste of Out in the Tropics with brief sets from 10:00 to 11:30 pm. The M.C. for the night will be Adora, South Florida’s infamous gender illusionist known for his spot-on comedy and lip-synching in both English and Spanish. Juan Carlos Zaldivar will appear in his Martí and I, a mixed-media piece that blends video and live performance. Drag It Out will present their female-to-male “drag king” show that is sure to entertain audience members of all persuasions. And finally, the evening will be rounded out with a performance from an ensemble of the always-popular Miami Gay Men’s Chorus.

A Taste of Out in the Tropics is a preview of what will be South Florida’s first full-fledged gay contemporary performing arts festival, Out in the Tropics, coming to Miami in July 2010. The festival will present award-winning, cutting-edge GLBT performing artists from around the country who address broad gender and social issues, for an extended weekend of shows and other events. “We are so excited to launch this new Out in the Tropics project by participating in Sleepless Night this year, “ says Out in the Tropics Artistic Director Robert Rosenberg. “Our intent is to create a gay and lesbian signature event that can have both a local and national profile while exposing South Florida audiences to new and exciting work that rarely if ever gets presented in the region.”

Admission to A Taste of Out in the Tropics is free, with no reservations required, as is the case for all Sleepless Night events. For more information visit www.fundarte.us and www.sleeplessnight.org or contact robert@tropicalwavemiami.com.

Robert Rosenberg, whose Tropical Wave Productions is presenting A Taste of Out in the Tropics, is the Emmy Award-winning filmmaker of the classic gay documentary “Before Stonewall;” was the Founding Director of the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival; and has worked in many capacities in presenting live performance in South Florida. A Taste of Out in the Tropics is presented in association with FUNDarte, a multidisciplinary non-profit organization dedicated to producing, presenting, and promoting music, theater, dance, film and visual arts that speak to Miami’s diverse cultures, with a special emphasis on artists from Latin America, the Caribbean and Spain; and MiamiARTzine.com, a biweekly online magazine that showcases the diverse events and activities of South Florida’s cultural organizations and individual artists.

A Taste of Out in the Tropics project and organizational support comes in part from the City of Miami Beach Cultural Affairs Program, Cultural Arts Council; Glassworks Multimedia; Mega TV; the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Mayor and Board of County Commissioners; and the Southern Arts Federation (SAF) in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Arts Council.

WHAT: Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender performance showcase featuring BETTY
WHEN: Saturday, November 7, 2009 at 10:00 pm
WHERE: Colony Theatre, 1040 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach
TICKETS: Free admission as part of the City of Miami Beach’s Sleepless Night event
INFO: Visit www.fundarte.us and www.sleeplessnight.org
High-resolution images and video are available upon request –
– Performers and presenters are available for advance interviews –
– More about BETTY at www.hellobetty.com –
– More about other artists at –
www.adoramiami.com
www.zaldivar.info
www.dragitout.org
www.miamigaychorus.org