Scene & Heard

+ Drag Queen Bingo makes debut in Venice
Felicity Liemont and Heather De Haven will be ruffling some feathers June 17, when their bawdy bingo show takes center stage at the Venice Theatre.

Calling out lucky numbers and awarding winners is, of course, part of the plan. But these professional female impersonators will taunt and tease until you’re laughing your socks off with a show that includes singing, dancing, improv and wardrobe changes in a cabaret setting.

According to Allan Kollar, producing director, the timing is finally right to host the show.
“What better place for a drag show than the theater that has put on ‘Rocky Horror,’ ‘Reefer Madness’ and ‘Evil Dead, the Musical?’” Kollar asks. “This is a perfect fit for us. Felicity (Liemont) and I began talking about it a while ago, and I’m glad we’re able to put it on the schedule now. I think our audiences are going to eat it up.”

Tickets cost $10 and include one card for each of the four games, plus the show. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Bingo games start at 8 p.m. June 17, June 18, June 24 and June 25, at Venice Theatre, 140 W. Tampa Ave. For information, call 488-1115 or visit www.venicestage.com.

+ All hail the king
Arts and Entertainment Editor Heidi Kurpiela’s eminent “bump” has officially deflated.

Weighing in at 8 pounds and 12 ounces, “King” Henry Richard Bardi assumed his throne at 1:05 p.m. Sunday and has since taken over the green “baby cave” in the Kurpiela/Bardi household.

The Observer team wishes its arts and entertainment editor and her husband, Joe Bardi, the best. Heidi notes since she’s been on maternity leave for the past week-and-a-half that she hasn’t had to meet any deadlines — except Henry’s due date — which she missed by five days. Her official due date was June 1.

+ Booker grad gets ‘cadaver’ claim to fame
In summer 2012, Sarasota native Charlie Barnett will be dueling aliens alongside Will Smith, Josh Brolin and Emma Thompson in “Men in Black III.”

For now, you can see Barnett hang out with some dead bodies Sunday, June 12, when he stars star in the “Cadaver” episode of “Law and Order Criminal Intent.”

Barnett graduated in 2006 from the Booker High School Visual Performing Arts theater program and then obtained his bachelor’s of fine arts degree from the Juilliard School, in New York City.
It will be Barnett’s second time on “Law and Order.” Last November, he starred in an episode on “Law and Order SVU.”

+ HOT TICKETS
SARASOTA MUSIC FESTIVAL: For three weeks each June, the Sarasota Music Festival brings together internationally recognized guest artists and student musicians to study and perform chamber music. Co-founded by Paul Wolf, the festival began in 1965 as a one-week event with seven guest mentors. Today, the festival, a program of the Sarasota Orchestra, hosts 70 guest artists and is led by Artistic Director Robert Levin. Performances include artist showcases, Levin lectures, master classes, Friday festivals, Saturday symphonies and student recitals. The festival, which runs through June 18, takes place at Holley Hall in The Beatrice Friedman Symphony Center, 709 N. Tamiami Trail, and the Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave. Tickets are $10 for a one-day pass and $30 for a one-week pass. Call 953-3434 or visit www.sarasotaorchestra.org/sarasotamusicfestival for information.