IN THE ARTS

No Square to encore ABBA revue

No Square Theatre will present a cabaret-style encore of their February show, “ABBAsolutely Fabulous,” at their new venue in Legion Hall, 384 Legion St., at 7:30 p.m. April 24 and 25. Conceived, written and directed by long-time local favorite Saif Eddin, the concert will again feature hits of the ‘70s super group ABBA. The venue is getting a bit of a face lift with No Square adding theatrical draping, a new surface to the existing stage, paint, lights, sound and various other upgrades. An acclaimed performer and director, and long-time understudy to “Phantom of the Opera” star Michael Crawford, Eddin is returning to California for this special encore performance.

Performances will last about two hours including one 20-minute intermission. Tickets are $15 at nosquare.org, and tix.com. For more information, call (949) 715-0333.

‘La Mancha’ for one night at Playhouse

The Tony Award-winning musical, “Man of La Mancha” will be presented for one night only April 27 to benefit the nonprofit Newport Community Counseling Center in Newport Beach.

The show is being presented under an Actors’ Equity contract by the nonprofit Brehm Center at Fuller Graduate School in Pasadena and features a company of 19 professional actors/singers accompanied by a live band whose members include musicians performing on the “Dancing with the Stars Tour,” on Grammy award-winning albums for artists such as Marc Anthony, and the music director/keyboard artist for jazz great Herbie Hancock.

Rachae Thomas stars as Aldonza/Dulcinea, and Christopher Carothers plays Cervantes/Don Quixote.

“We are thrilled to have this group of professional artists dedicating their time and talent to helping to raise money for our organization,” said Linda Belt, executive director of the Newport Community Counseling Center. “Net proceeds from this event will be directed toward our programs for women in transition and victims of domestic violence, as well as our programs for other individuals and families in need of professional counseling services who may not have health insurance. We want to be able to help as many people as possible in this difficult economy.”

For more information, visit www.newportcommunity counselingcenter.org

Tickets to the benefit show are $75 each and include a pre-performance reception of wine and appetizers at 6 p.m. on the playhouse patio, followed by the performance at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available by phone at (949) 497-2787 or online at www.laguna playhouse.com. Laguna Playhouse is at 606 Laguna Canyon Road.

Pen Women to meet in Laguna

Women writers, artists and composers are invited to attend the Southern California National League of American Pen Women’s Retreat to the Villa by the Sea at the Pacific Edge Hotel, 647 S. Coast Hwy., April 30 and May 1.

Activities include workshops on applied arts and writing and a private showing of the play, “Mary and Myra.” The cost for two days’ attendance is $40. Single day attendance is $25 for April 30, with a buffet dinner, and $15 May 1, which features a buffet breakfast.

To register, call Laguna Beach Branch President Suellen Zima at (949) 595-4335 or Bernice Schachter at (949) 588-7804.

Wendt to mount ‘Modernism III’ show

Wendt Modern will host its new exhibition, “Champions of Modernism III,” from May 9 through July 15. The exhibition will be open for public viewing from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Monday, and a 48-page exhibition catalog will be available for $35.

The exhibition will be co-curated by Serina Manqueros, owner, and Steven Lowy, an independent curator from New York City.

“Champions of Modernism III” will feature 85 works by 11 modernist artists from the early 1900s to the present. One of the highlights of the exhibition, “Con Brio 4,” painted by Rudolf Bauer in 1917, is a key work from the period.

Bauer came to renown in the early 20th century first as a celebrated caricaturist and then through exhibitions at Der Sturm in Berlin, an important art gallery and school in Germany (like the Bauhaus in Dessau) whose exhibitors also included Marc Chagall, Vasily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Franz Marc and Hilla Rebay. Bauer and Rebay met at Der Sturm and fell in love.

Another artist who fled both Nazi Germany and fascist Italy was Xanti Schawinsky, a Bauhaus student and theater instructor. Schawinsky, also an award-winning graphic designer, made paintings with everything from his dancing feet to a Triumph TR3 automobile whose tires were covered in paint.

Schawinsky later settled in Greenwich Village where he could be found playing chess in Washington Square Park. Marcel Duchamp was a frequent opponent.

“Champions of Modernism III” continues its modernist survey from the 1940s through the 1960s with artists Seymour Fogel “” considered by many to be America’s greatest muralist “” and Irene Rice Pereira, who eclipsed Rebay as the best female Non-objective painter of her generation.

The survey concludes with a group of contemporary artists who continue to work in a modernist idiom. Gary Stephan will exhibit his masterpiece “What Objects Dream,” as well as three more recent paintings. Peter Vogel, one of the pioneers of electronic interactive sculpture and a trained physicist, will exhibit two minimal music sculptures “” works that react to changes in light and shadow, and one light sculpture that reacts to sound.

Painter Victor Matthews’ work is a blend of influences from graffiti and hip-hop to Brice Marden and Robert Motherwell, while Daniel Villeneuve plays with geometric forms in both two and three-dimensional works. Finally, the abstracted and vibrant multimedia lenticular works of Mary Ann Strandell complete the show.

Wendt Modern is at 1550 S. Coast Hwy., Suite 102. For more information, call (949) 497-4292 or visit www.wendtmodern.com

Harman announces Senate art show

Sen. Tom Harman is inviting all local artists residing in the 35th Senate District, including Laguna Beach, to submit original artwork for consideration in the California Senate’s Eighth Annual Contemporary Art Collection.

The Senate-sponsored art show is composed of local artists from each of the 40 Senate Districts. The winning entries will be displayed in the capitol and included in a catalog accompanying the art show. The artist must agree to loan their art to the exhibit for approximately 18 months. The exhibit schedule is planned from May 2009 to September 2010.

Almost any type of original art is acceptable: oil paintings, works on paper, weavings, wall hangings and sculptures are all acceptable media. The overall size of the work should not exceed 3 feet by 5 feet. No posters or prints will be accepted; all pieces must be original.

Entries should include:

?A photograph of the artwork.

?A brief (no longer than one page) description of why the artwork best represents the 35th Senate District.

?A short biography of the artist. The biography will be included in the exhibit catalog.

All submissions must be received by April 24.

Submissions should be sent to:

Sen. Tom Harman

35th Senate District, District Office

950 S. Coast Drive, Suite 240

Costa Mesa, CA 92626

For more information, call (714) 957-4555.