THEATER REVIEW
Actresses shine, Sol Theatre grows in `Stop Kiss'
A kiss acknowledges love and engenders hate as two very different New York women connect in Diana Son's intense, lovely play.
( BY CHRISTINE DOLEN, cdolen@herald.com, 01/12/2004 03:01 AM EST)

THEATER REVIEW
'Déjá Vu' perfectly fits mold of French farce
Adroit farceurs provide the pleasure in a followthe-formula comedy about the French, sex and identity.
( BY CHRISTINE DOLEN, cdolen@herald.com, 01/12/2004 03:01 AM EST)

MEDIA PERSONALITIES
The hardest working guy on the air
In the world of radio and television hosts, Ryan Seacrest is the real American idol.
( BY HOWARD COHEN, hcohen@herald.com, 01/12/2004 03:01 AM EST)

HOBBIES
Hotties: Radioactive stuff keeps hobbyists aglow
Collectors use Geiger counters to find their prizes. The most fanatical probe everything in sight: cat litter, camera lenses, old spark plugs.
( BY STEVEN LEVINGSTON, Washington Post Service, 01/12/2004 11:34 AM EST)

MIAMI
'Perfect' site for event
The third annual Made In Miami Film Festival kicks off this week in a new location -- an historic hangar on the Coconut Grove waterfront.
( BY KATHLEEN FORDYCE, kfordyce@herald.com, 01/12/2004 09:52 AM EST)

Portrait of an era
The granddaughter of Winston Churchill recalls the late English prime minister's lively traveling ways and Miami holidays in a new book tracing Churchill's travels around the world.
( By MARGARIA FICHTNER, mfichtner@herald.com, 01/12/2004 08:42 AM EST)

The next Pavarotti?
Salvatore Licitra is the latest Italian male singer to shake up the opera world
He was just plain up-and-coming, then he stumbled into history. Salvatore Licitra, who makes his South Florida debut Friday night in Norma, already was on track for a promising career in Milan when a call came from New York asking the impossible: Could he fill in for Luciano Pavarotti? Right away?
( BY OCTAVIO ROCA, oroca@herald.com, 01/11/2004 03:01 AM EST)

THIS WEEK IN TROPICAL LIFE
MONDAY PEOPLE Naomi Fisher and Hernan Bas are two prime examples of the hot South Florida art scene: They're young, longtime friends who are attracting global attention.
( 01/11/2004 03:01 AM EST)

Seeing's not believing at Fairchild field
Colorful twists on strict geometry enliven art at the garden and the Main Library, while a Red Grooms retrospective at the Lowe showcases his sense of humor.
It's a botanical mystery: Thousands of tulips have sprouted in the tropics. South Florida's wintry bout with tulip-mania is a panorama of artful illusion, simple and majestic. At Fairchild Tropical Garden in Coral Gables, what looks to be a field of dazzling pink, orange and pomegranate-red flowers is really a lawn jabbed with 100,000 small plastic flags, the sort of mundane marking devices used on construction sites.
( BY ELISA TURNER, elisaturn@aol.com, 01/11/2004 03:01 AM EST)

BETH DUNLOP/ARCHITECTURE
JAPAN RISING: 'Tokyo: The Imperial Capital' at the Wolfsonian-FIU traces the emergence of the city as a modern wonder
Tokyo: The Imperial Capital is an exhibition that starts with a simple premise, that of showing a series of woodblock prints in the collection of The Wolfsonian-FIU, but it actually has dimensions that stretch well beyond its 65 striking images.
( 01/11/2004 03:01 AM EST)

SCREEN GEMS
BIG SCREEN Here are the films scheduled to be released this week. Release dates may change. Along Came Polly (PG-13) -- Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston star in this romantic comedy.
( 01/11/2004 03:01 AM EST)

Opera tenor's visit leaves teen singers anything but calm
Ten teenagers get the surprise of their lives Saturday when Plácido Domingo becomes their voice coach during ARTS week 2004.
Though 18-year-old Scott Johnson is accustomed to the pressure of singing opera in front of an audience, an impromptu performance Saturday caused more stress than usual.
( By JENNIFER MOONEY, jmooney@herald.com, 01/11/2004 03:01 AM EST)

IF YOU GO
Luminous Gardens, by Venezuelan artist Patricia Van Dalen, can be seen through Feb. 7 at Fairchild Tropical Garden, 10901 Old Cutler Rd., Coral Gables. Hours are 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. daily. Admission: $10 adults, $9 seniors, $5 children 3-12; free for Garden members and children under 3. Call 305-667-1651 or visit www.fairchildgarden.org.
( 01/11/2004 03:01 AM EST)

CD REVIEW
'Debut' shows off Licitra's talent
The tenor calls Salvatore Licitra: The Debut his calling card, and the CD is certainly designed to make a stunning first impression: Here is a sweet and truly Italianate sound displayed to great advantage in Verdi and Puccini arias the man was born to sing.
( 01/11/2004 03:01 AM EST)

IF YOU GO
IF YOU GO WHAT: Bellini's Norma in concert. WHO: Maria Guleghina, Salvatore Licitra, Kate Aldrich, Alexander Vinogradov; Miami Master Chorale of Florida International University, Symphony Orchestra conducted by Roberto Rizzi Brignoli.
( 01/11/2004 03:01 AM EST)

IF YOU GO
WHAT: Theodore Bikel in The Chosen, Aaron Posner's stage adaptation of the Chaim Potok bestseller. WHERE: The Coconut Grove Playhouse, 3500 Main Hwy., Coconut Grove, through Feb. 8.
( 01/11/2004 03:01 AM EST)

CD REVIEW
Box sets add modern beauty to old sounds
JORDI SAVALL EDITION Pieces for the Viols: Music of Henry Purcell, John Dowland, Matthew Locke, Christopher Tye and Tobias Hume. Naxos-nave, $45, five CDs.
( 01/11/2004 03:01 AM EST)

Dark, pessimistic side of 'Rings' missing in action
Critics heap praise on Peter Jackson's cinematic takes on Tolkien's trilogy, but some scholars say he glossed over the author's views of war and evil.
An obscure English linguist was doodling on a piece of a paper in 1930 when he suddenly wrote an odd sentence that startled him. ``In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.''
( BY JOHN BLAKE, Cox News Service, 01/11/2004 03:01 AM EST)

TELEVISION
Awesome 'Astro Boy' is back 40 years later
s Most young viewers aren't familiar with ''Astro Boy,'' the popular cartoon robot from the 1960s. But without him, they might not have enjoyed such current animated favorites as Pokémon and Dragon Ball Z.
( BY STEPHEN BATTAGLIO, New York Daily News, 01/11/2004 03:01 AM EST)