Music and art with heart

Cast members, from left, Christian Gonzales, Adam Pryor, Jessica Mongerio, James Taylor and Megan Taylor, sing together during a rehearsal of the Brick City Cabaret’s “Heart and Music” at the Ocala Civic Theatre in Ocala on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2024.

Whether you want to plan a special date with your valentine or you just love good music and art, the Brick City Cabaret Company’s new collaborative show offers a celebration of love and intimacy.

The “Heart & Music” program will take place at the Brick City Center for the Arts, and patrons are invited to view the “Body Language” art exhibition during a dessert and cocktail reception before the concert. The four-run show Feb. 8-11 will benefit the Ocala Civic Theatre and Marion Cultural Alliance (MCA).

“If you enjoy an evening of entertainment and hearing good singing, you’re going to hear great voices and great harmonies,” said Jessica Mongerio, who is the co-artistic director of Brick City Cabaret Company along with Jason Bartosic. “It’s approaching the theme of love and relationships from all angles—comedic ones and also personal discovery—relationship with self, relationship with others, past relationships, present relationships. It is a reflection of the human experience from every angle, not just love in the traditional sense.”

Mongerio described the cabaret performance as “very accessible” and “very down to earth.”

“It’s not all classical music; it’s not all opera,” she explained. “We have a couple things people would know from ‘Wicked’ and there’s an Andrew Lloyd Webber trio with some songs people are probably going to recognize mixed in with some stuff written specifically for cabaret.”

The beauty of cabaret, Mongerio noted, is the way it takes the audience on an emotional journey. 

“Cabaret is really a storytelling art form,” she said. “It’s comedic and it’s heartfelt and it’s sometimes a little PG-13 and sometimes a little more contemplative. You’re going to hear things that will probably touch you emotionally, whether it’s because they’re poignant, because they’re funny or sweet, or just because they’re impressive.”

Both Mongerio and Steph Giera, who curated the “Body Language” exhibition along with fellow MCA board member Jordan Shapot, said the combination of love-themed music and art celebrating the human form will be a magical merger.

“The exhibit is exploring all these different themes: Human themes, intimacy, beauty, diversity, strength—and using the human form to do that from the visual art perspective,” Mongerio noted. “We’re doing the exact same thing, looking at strength, beauty, intimacy, friendship, love and companionship, just through a musical medium. And I think that’s a really neat experience for Ocala audiences; I don’t know that we have those types of experiences very often.”

The pairing “fell together unexpectedly,” Giera said. “It really was more of a kismet moment; it was meant to happen.

Alexis Medina, right, sings as she rehearses with other cast members, from left, Christian Gonzales, Adam Pryor, Jessica Mongerio, James Taylor, Megan Taylor and Courtney Curtis during a rehearsal of the Brick City Cabaret’s “Heart and Music” at the Ocala Civic Theatre in Ocala on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2024.

“Because the cabaret is usually very romantic and it’s an intimate setting, especially because of the place, I think that’s going to be echoed in the artwork, because we’re going to have themes of intimacy as well,” she continued. “And I think it could be a nice celebration of love of the human body. I’m sure the sounds and the work are going to merge together in a way that’s really unexpected. I’m excited about that—just seeing live music performance in a gallery with art.”

Giera explained the exhibit is multilaterally diverse—in the sizes, shapes, colors and genders of human forms represented, the participating artists and the mediums selected.

“We’re used to seeing, at the gallery spaces, a lot of paintings, photography, portraiture and some printmaking. We wanted to push the limits of the materials,” she said. “So we invited artists who are working with fabric. We have a glass artist. We have a bread artist—she’s a local baker and she’s going to be making some sourdough sculptures for the exhibit that people can actually order if they like. We also have video, and it’s very rare that you would see video. So it’s really going to be a multimedia experience.”

Participating artists include Emily Bellinger, James Blevins, David Campo, Diane Cahal, Tyrus Clutter, Kyle Corley, Charles Eady, Steph Giera, Meagan Gumpert, Josh Jacobs, Amanda Lyon, Isabelle Ramirez, Andrew Raymond, Jordan Shapot, Britt Spencer, Francia Torres, Charlita Whitehead and Gabi Zuniga.

Brick City Cabaret Company will be accompanied by Dr. John Lowe and includes singers Courtney Curtis, Christian Gonzales, Alexis Medina, Jessica Mongerio, Adam Pryor, James R. Taylor III, Megan Taylor and Scotty Tomas.

“Heart & Music” will be performed Feb. 8-11 and the exhibit is suitable for mature audiences. For tickets and more information, visit ocalacivictheatre.com or call (352) 236-2274.

Cast members, from left, Adam Pryor, Jessica Mongerio, James Taylor, Megan Taylor, Courtney Curtis and Alexis Medina sing together during a rehearsal of the Brick City Cabaret’s “Heart and Music” at the Ocala Civic Theatre in Ocala on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2024.

James Taylor, Megan Taylor. and Courtney Curtis, left to right, sing together during a rehearsal of the Brick City Cabaret’s “Heart and Music” at the Ocala Civic Theatre in Ocala on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2024.