BACKSTAGE: 'Body Worlds 2' headed to San Diego

By PAM KRAGEN - Staff Writer | Wednesday, November 19, 2008 10:18 AM PST ∞

"Body Worlds 2," the skinned cadavers "art" exhibit that has been seen by 26 million people worldwide, will make its first local appearance next spring at the San Diego Natural History Museum.

Gunther von Hagens' "Body Words 2 & The Brain: Our Three Pound Gem: The Original Exhibition of Real Human Bodies" will open March 5 for a limited engagement. This is the second body parts exhibition to arrive in San Diego. "Bodies ... the Exhibition" closed an eight-month exhibit last January at the University Towne Centre mall.

The difference between "Body Worlds" and "Bodies ... the Exhibition" is the style in which the bodies are presented. "The Exhibition" presents itself as an educational look at the wonders of the body's organs, skeletal and vascular systems, while Von Hagens' "Body Worlds" turns the bodies into sculptural art, with the plasticized corpses depicted in surprisingly realistic poses ---- on horseback, riding skateboards or motorcycles, dancing, playing chess, guitar and sports and in some cases wearing articles of clothing. Von Hagens invented the procedure of plasticizing human body parts back in the early 1980s and his exhibits have been seen worldwide.

Joining "Body Worlds 2" will be a special exhibit on the human brain, which will focus on recent findings in neuroscience on brain development, function, disease, disorders and brain performance and improvement.

"Body Worlds" will be a separate-ticket exhibition at the museum and are now on sale. Prices range from $16 to $27 for adults, $13-$23 for seniors, $13-$21 for students and $11 to $18 for children ages 3 to 12. Tickets can now be pre-ordered on the museum's Web site for March 5 through Oct. 4, 2009. Visit sdnhm.org or call (877) 946-7797.

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White Dog Theatre Company will be the beneficiary of a community garage sale taking place from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at 729 Alta Vista Drive in Vista.

Charlotte Atkinson is hosting the sale, which will feature clothing and other household items from her home and donated by neighbors. All proceeds will benefit the White Dog theater troupe, founded by North County resident Rob Wolter, who sings in the same choir with Atkinson.

"I've known Rob from choir and I just wanted to do something to help out his theater company," Atkinson said.

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Legoland California in Carlsbad announced that it will debut a "Bob the Builder" film next spring.

In a partnership with HIT Entertainment, Legoland owner Merlin Entertainment Group announced that it will debut "Bob the Builder in 4-D: Bob the Builder and the Roller Coaster" at all of its theme parks worldwide next March and April.

Based upon the children's animated television series "Bob the Builder," the 10-minute film is called "4-D" because it features interactive effects including three-dimensional computer-generated animation (requiring 3D classes), and special effects the audience can "feel," such as spray mist on their faces.

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The Lux Art Institute in Encinitas earned a Grand Orchid from the San Diego Architectural Foundation as part of its annual "Orchids & Onions Awards Show."

The 1-year-old institute, built on a five-acre hillside in the San Elijo Lagoon Preserve at 1550 El Camino Real, was honored for its environmental sustainability, artistic vision and ecological conservation goals.

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Also winning an Orchid from the architectural foundation was the Birch North Park Theatre in San Diego. Built in 1928 as a movie theater, the Moorish-deco theater had been shuttered since the mid-1980s until a public/private redevelopment project began to revamp the theater, which reopened three years ago. Now managed by Lyric Opera San Diego, and home to several San Diego performing arts groups, the 700-seat theater at 29th and University avenues has served more than 300,000 patrons since it reopened.

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Stephen Schwartz, composer/lyricist of such musicals as "Wicked," "Godspell," "Working" and "Pippin," will bring a few of his musical friends to the Old Globe next March for a one-night-only fund-raising concert.

Schwartz, whose musical "Working" will be revived at the Old Globe next spring, offered to present an intimate evening of songs and stories about his shows with vocal accompaniment by Broadway singer/actors Debbie Gravitte, Liz Callaway and Scott Coulter. Tickets to the concert, at 7:30 p.m. March 9, are $49-$79. A special VIP ticket package, for $139, will include access to a "meet and greet" post-show party with Schwartz. All proceeds will benefit the Globe's programs. Tickets are now on sale to subscribers. Single tickets will be available on Feb. 8. For details, call (619) 234-5623.

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The Downtown Encinitas MainStreet Association is seeking entries for its second annual Cottonwood Creek Environmental Film Festival, which will be presented June 5-7, 2009.

The association is seeking films that deal with environmental topics and that promote awareness, discussion, and action. The entry deadline is Feb. 27. For submission guidelines, visit cottonwoodfilm.com.

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For the first time in more than 20 years, the Julian Pioneer Museum is undergoing expansion.

Last week, the museum began work on its renovation, which will expand the exhibition area to create a new section dedicated to local Indian artifacts as well as a new research library. The museum, in operation for more than 80 years, features a collection of clothing, photographs, household and mining equipment, vehicles and more that chronicle life in the mountaintop village during its Gold Rush heyday of 1896 to 1913.

The renovation program, underwritten by local donations, including a shipment of free lumber from Dixieline Lumber, is scheduled for completion next fall.

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Pam Kragen is the arts editor of the North County Times.