One has to think that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is playing the part of the famed character Ebenezer Scrooge in playwright Charles Dickens ‘A Christmas Carol’ as a Christmas in June production. DeSantis seems to be the real Scrooge. Last month, DeSantis vetoed $32 million that was earmarked for 577 Florida cultural arts not for profit organizations, leaving many of the companies that fuel our creativity and imagination with works of comedy, dance, drama, music, theater among other arts without expected government support.
All leaders of Florida cultural arts organizations denounced the veto, many of them critical of Desantis in not supporting the arts, just as the ghosts of Christmas past, Christmas present and Christmas future were angry at Scrooge for his lack of wisdom. What is particularly upsetting is that DeSantis has ignored the fact that the cultural arts is as an economic engine to our tourism industry,
given that so many tourists come to visit Florida to see our art galleries, dance studios, museums, theaters at both small and large venues, such as the Arsht, Broward and Kravis Centers for the Performing Arts in South Florida.
Scrooge, of course, came around to understand the pitfalls of his pettiness and scorn for Christmas to the delight of the many people that depended on his willingness to do good, but we can’t expect the same change of heart in DeSantis. Leaders in Florida arts communities are being positive, citing the need to rely on private corporations and philanthropists in our state to come through with financial and moral support, even extending DeSantis an invitation to come see a ballet, drama. musical comedy or visit a museum.
Hopefully, DeSantis, like Scrooge may change his ways too, but until he sees the wisdom of supporting cultural arts in Florida, call him DumbSantis. He is Scrooge: cruel, narrowminded, petty and any other negative quality one can think of.
Maybe there is a light- a very bright light indeed- if Florida cultural arts organizations can align themselves with the appeal, celebrity and power of Florida’s many professional sports teams. Don’t underestimate the power of a celebrity to lead a worthwhile cause, such as the need for all of us to attend a cultural arts event and support the arts with our dollars and volunteer and fuel an alliance with cultural arts organizations.
In Florida, we have at our doorsteps many powerful pro athletes and their organizations that are looked upon especially by young people as gods who command instant attention on and off the playing field, such as soccer star Lionel Messi, hockey stars Alexander Barkov and Matthew Tzachuk who last month led the Panthers to the Stanley Cup championship, and Miami Dolphins football
quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Our arts organizations need the celebrity status of Tkachuk among others to help sell the worthiness of the cultural arts to thousands of sports fans in our community.
I have been writing about both the Florida arts scene and Florida professional sports teams for over 40 years and learned there is a lot more common ground between the cultural arts and sports teams than one would think, even if many of the famed athletes are multi-millionaires and the actors, artists, dancers, playwrights and singers are getting by economically only with the help of second
jobs.
Pro athletes and cultural artists in Florida are alike in being entertainers whose skills and talents draw lots of people to their events. In sports, I savored the excitement when I witnessed the beauty of the skaters and hard nosed plays of hockey’s Panthers when they won the Stanley Cup. It was so exciting to see Lionel Messi score and pass on the soccer field and when Tua Tagovailoa threw the football with such precision last season. The beauty of seeing our athletes excel is the same beauty that is seen in the
skills of our actors, artists, comics, dancers, musicians, singers shine either on the canvas, in the studio or on the stage.
For at least 20 plus years, I have enjoyed the high energy and leaps of dancers like Hanna Baumgarten of Dance Now Miami, the comic timing, singing and eloquent character portrayals by actors Avi Hoffman, Patti Gardner, Wayne LeGette, Margot Moreland, Laura Turnbull, among many more who were led by visionary artistic directors, like the late Joseph Adler, Ruth Foreman and Jan McArt. My eyes and ears had a savory experience each time I heard great musicians like conductor Sebrina Alfonso do her magic with the South Florida Symphony Orchestra. How wonderful it is to see the recent emergence of a younger generation of performers shine, such as actor/singers Aaron Bower of Wick Theater and Leah Sessa, who both can act, be funny, dance and sing each time they perform. Ditto for our new artistic directors, such as Bari Newport of GableStage, Andy Rogow of Island City Stage and Stuart Meltzer of Zoetic Stage, all whom instinctively can select plays that make audiences cry, laugh and create tensions that lead to so much joy and discussion after the presentations.
The pro athletes, cultural artists and the leaders of both the very profitable sports franchises and not for profit cultural organizations need to align and bond to support the cultural arts that is all part of the daily life in South Florida. The alternative is for Florida to be a cultural wasteland with nothing to do after a day at the beach to entertain ourselves. Denying ourselves the opportunity to see a ballet, a concert, go to a museum or a play is like living in dire poverty. Athletes are celebrities who can rally in support of the arts just by deciding to go to a cultural arts event or by handing out thousands of shirts stating “Our Team Supports The Cultural Arts” at all the sports venues. Imagine how positive it would be for our community for one of the Florida Panthers to showcase the Stanley Cup prior to or following a concert at Broward Center or at an opening night reception by GableStage before a play or having a South Florida actor sing the national anthem before a sports event.
Here is one specific idea to get the idea of sports and arts organizations working together. Upcoming this season GableStage will be staging the play ‘King James’ about how a pro basketball team brings people together. It would be wonderful for Miami Heat basketball players to come watch the play and GableStage can return the favor by selling Heat tickets after the presentation. The bond between cultural arts and pro sports, the common bond of survival for cultural artists and athletes can be profitable for all of us.
