Tom Hall

The Gulf Coast Jazz Collective opens its season with “A tribute to Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong.” Music Director Andrew Kurtz says the Gulf Coast Jazz Collective plays the best professionally curated jazz in Southwest Florida. On November 13, the Collective will be playing all of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong’s classic hits.

United Way needs more tax return preparers and will provide volunteers with free training, certification, and all the support needed to become IRS certified tax preparers.

The regional premiere of Christian St. Croix’s “Monsters of the American Cinema” takes center stage at Urbanite Theatre this Halloween. Debuting on Oct. 31 and running through Dec. 7, this award-winning play takes audiences on a haunting journey through fatherhood, queerness, and the monsters inside of us.

An unnamed investor and the Captiva Island Fire Department have made an offer to purchase Bob Rauschenberg’s 22-acre compound from his foundation. To persuade the foundation to accept that offer, the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation has initiated a letter writing campaign. It is encouraging people to tell the Foundation how important the property’s conservation is to islanders and to honoring the late artist’s memory.

At FSW, lies a hidden treasure: The Bob Rauschenberg Gallery. Currently on display is Rauschenberg 100: A Centennial Celebration of one of the most prolific artists of the 20th Century.

Construction begins Wednesday on Florida Studio Theatre’s McGillicuddy Arts Plaza. The new complex will include a state-of-the-art mainstage theatre, two cabarets, three stories of parking, and on-site artist housing to cultivate local talent.

The 37th Annual Downtown Venice Art Festival is November 1 & 2. It features over 100 prominent artists from across the nation. Attendees can meet the artists, admire a diverse range of media and motifs, purchase original artworks and even commission bespoke pieces.

Nearly 40,000 IRS employees remain on the job, including 3,500 new customer service representatives who began training on September 22nd. While walk-in Taxpayer Assistance Centers are closed, the IRS customer service telephone lines are still open, although taxpayers and practitioners are reporting difficulty in getting through to an IRS representative. IRS will not respond to correspondence during the shutdown.

This week, four shows open, five close, 11 continue their runs and there are three limited engagements at Southwest Florida equity and community theaters.

In American musical theatre, Black musicals occupy a unique and special place. On Wednesday, November 4, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe’s “Voices Community Forum” will take a brief look at the history of the genre, explore several celebrated works, composers and playwrights, and examine the styles most often utilized and the caricatures typically seen.