ASA updates
• Ajijic Society of the Arts (ASA) celebrated one year since Bethany Putnam was elected president at its monthly membership meeting February 6. Membership has risen from 138 to more than 320 members in the last year, some 85 of whom are Mexican citizens.
• ASA holds its first 20X20 exhibition “forever. love.” at Galeria MC at Town Square 2B in San Antonio Tlayacapan, opening Tuesday, February 14, 4 to 6 p.m.
All works by ASA members will measure 20cm x 20cm and will represent love in some way. All mediums, Lots of Love.
• ASA holds a third Thursday of the month get together for members, friends at La Bodega de Ajijic, February 17, 4 to 6 p.m. No agenda, only fun!
• The ASA Art Market will once again be held in the beautiful grounds of Garden of Dreams Boutique Hotel, Constitucion 105 in Ajijic, Saturday, February 18, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event showcases more than 50 artists work, has live music and food and drink.
See ajijicsocietyofthearts on Instagram and Facebook.
Jazz in Chapala
The Kotori Jazz Trio will give a free concert, Sunday, February 12, 12:30 p.m. at the Centro Cultural Gonzalez Gallo. The group’s repertoire combines traditional jazz standards with their own take on soul, R&B and hip hop. Some of the composers that will be featured are Oscar Hammerstein, Thelonious Monk, Esperanza Spalding, Kamasi Washington, José James and singers such as Chet Baker, Cecile McLorin and Ella Fitzgerald.
Musical at LLT
Lakeside Little Theatre’s next production is the musical “Side by Side,” which opens February 17 and runs through February 28. Directed by Ann Swiston, this revue-style extravaganza from the musicals of Andrew Lloyd Webber, Stephen Sondheim and Rogers and Hammerstein encompasses a wide variety of genres, including ballads, rock n roll, solos, duets, chorus and ensemble numbers. The production will feature more than 30 songs, sung by 27 singers: 14 women and 13 men (including three married couples), and live piano accompaniment. Six Lakeside artists will produce 17 different stage backdrops, including some with three-dimensional effects. A variety of projections will also be featured. Dave McIntosh is the assistant director; music direction is by Gary Wayne Young and choreography by Alexis Hoff.
Concerts in the Park
Debby Holiday presents Queens and Kings of Rock, Sunday, February 26 at Steve Balfour’s Concerts in the Park series at the Lake Chapala Society, with shows at 2:30 and 5:30 p.m. Tickets for these shows, 500 pesos for VIP and 350 for general seating, are available at the LCS office or at lakechapalasociety.com.
Bare Stage
Bare Stage Theatre presents “Jonas & Barry in the Home” by Norm Foster as its next production February 24 to 26.
Billed as “a lighthearted buddy comedy about living life to its fullest,” the play presents hilarity in the first half combined with clarity and compassion in the second.
The audience will be captivated through every minute of the comedy confirmed by show-pausing laughter as well as covert gulps and serious sniffles. Fasten your seatbelt for the roller coaster of emotions.
The setting is Gateway Gardens, an assisted living seniors’ residence where Rosie, the director of Life Enrichment, has encouraged her father Barry to move in so she can oversee his health. Barry spends his time taking naps and having dinner with his daughter, and that’s good enough for him. Enter Jonas, who likes to indulge in the finer things in life, like decadent dates and nice clothes, and he sees Barry the curmudgeon as a ‘fixer-upper’. Their antics are funny and healing; Barry is able to give back emotionally both to Jonas and to his troubled daughter.
Foster has penned over 50 plays, the substance of which is renowned for fusing humor with heart, with relatable empathy and with a keen perception regarding the everyday tribulations of life.
Sharon Jarvis directs her cast: Peter James, Brian Kaulback and Florette Schnelle. This is Jarvis “maiden voyage” as a director with Bare Stage, although she’s appeared on its stage several times this season. James was last seen in “Lips Together Teeth Apart” in February 2020. Kaulback is new to Bare Stage and to Lakeside, but he brings years of acting experience with him from Canada. Schnelle was last seen in “It’s a Wonderful Life” at LLT and “Gossip of Goderich” here last January. See the ad page 20 for inormation.