More than two dozen arts events to help you keep and feel cool in August
If the summer heat is getting to you, Sarasota-Manatee area arts organizations are giving you plenty of reasons to step inside cool buildings for a wide variety of new theater productions, talks and discussions and art exhibits during the month of August.
Artist talk and tour at Ringling Museum
Curator Ola Wlusek talks with artists Alyssa Osceola, Corinne Zepeda and Wilson Bowers about their artistic practices and work, some of which is featured in the current Ringling Museum show “Reclaiming Home: Contemporary Seminole Art.” Conversation at 11 a.m. Aug. 1. One-hour gallery talk at 6 p.m. Aug. 3. The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Rd., Sarasota. 941-360-7399; ringling.org
‘A Comedy of Tenors’
Florida Studio Theatre brings its mainstage summer season to an end with Ken Ludwig’s comedy “A Comedy of Tenors,” a sort of sequel to his first hit “Lend Me a Tenor.” But you don’t need to have seen that comedy to get caught up in the story of a promoter struggling to get three tenors on stage for a major stadium concert in Paris in 1936. New FST Associate Director Sean Daniels stages the production. Aug. 2-20, Florida Studio Theatre Gompertz Theatre, 1265 First St., Sarasota. $25-$39. 941-366-9000; floridastudiotheatre.org
‘Clowns Like Me’
Scott Ehrenpreis returns to the stage with an encore run of the one-man play “Clowns Like Me,” a dramatic and funny look at how he lives with a range of mental health and developmental issues. The play, which was first performed in May, was written by director Jason Cannon based on hours of interviews with Ehrenpreis about his experiences, and how he comes alive on stage. Aug. 3-6 in the cook Theatre at the FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. $30. $500 for an exclusive donor performance and reception at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 3. lifelineproductionsinc.com/clowns-like-me.
‘Poetry Today: Undeniable Storytelling’
John Murillo, author of “Contemporary Amerikan Poetry” and the director of creative writing at Wesleyan University, joins with Nicole Sealey, a recipient of the Rome Prize and a frequent contributor to “Best American Poetry” for this Hermitage Artist Retreat program in which they will read from and discuss their work. 6:30 p.m. Aug. 4. Hermitage Artist Retreat Palm Studio, 6660 Manasota Key Rd., Englewood. $5 registration. hermitageartistretreat.org’
Summer New Play Festival
Florida Studio Theatre launches a series of three staged readings of new works with “The Secret Wisdom of Trees” by Christine Toy Johnson, an actor, playwright, director and advocate for inclusion. It is about a woman preparing herself and her family for the beginnings of Alzheimer’s by planting trees at the locations of her biggest memories. 3 p.m. Aug. 11. “The God Committee” by Mark St. Germain will be presented Aug. 18 and Bernardo Cubria’s “The Hispanic/Latino/Latina/Latinx/Latine Vote” will be presented Aug. 25. $10 for single tickets, $15-$25 for all three readings. Keating Theatre,. 1241 N. Palm Ave., Sarasota. 941-366-9000; floridastudiotheatre.org
‘Mountains of the Mind’
The Ringling opens a new exhibit in the Chao Center for Asian Art featuring unusual rocks known as “gonshi” (spirit stones) or “scholar rocks” in English because of their connection with literati in East Asia. The exhibit runs Aug. 6-June 23. Rhiannon Paget, curator of Asian Art, leads a gallery talk through the exhibit at 11 a.m. Aug. 15, 6 p.m. Aug. 17. The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Rd., Sarasota. 941-360-7399; ringling.org
‘Something Rotten’
The Manatee Players opens its 75th season with the musical “Something Rotten” about the Bottom brothers (played by Alex Zickafoose and Dylan Savaadra), playwrights competing with William Shakespeare (Dylan Lack) in Elizabethan England, who create the world’s first musical comedy. Producing Artistic Director Rick Kerby stages the production. Aug. 10-20, Manatee Performing Arts Center, 502 Third Ave., West, Bradenton. $38-$40. 941-748-5875; manateepeformingartscenter.com
‘Portraits from a Stolen Past’
Bradenton artist Gary LaParl is artist in residence Aug. 15-21 at Art Ovation Hotel with an exhibit of oil paintings and mixed-media oil collage works based on vintage portraits. LaParl will be in the hotel’s lobby studio 4-8 p.m. daily to meet people and talk about his work. Featured in the exhibition are portraits of local performing artists, including Sarasota Rising Executive Director Jeffery Kin, Sarasota, Contemporary Dance Artistic Director Leymis Bolaños Wilmott and FSU/Asolo Conservatory graduate Alex Pelletier. An opening reception is 5-7 p.m. Aug. 18. 1255 N. Palm Ave., Sarasota. garylaparl.com
‘The Graduate’
Terry Johnson’s stage version of the Charles Webb novel and classic film. A young man named Benjamin Braddock (played by Anuj Naidu), seeking direction in his life after graduating college, has an affair with Mrs. Robinson (Eve Caballero), the bored wife of his father’s business partner, and falls in love with her daughter. Elliott Raines directs. The Players Centre, 3501 S. Tamiami Trail, Suite 1130, Sarasota. Aug. 16-27. $28-$30, $13 for students age 24 and younger. 941-365-2494; theplayers.org
MindTravel
Pianist, composer and tech pioneer Murray Hidary presents a silent piano concert at Siesta Beach. Participants will use wireless headphones to allow the music to flow directly into their ears to create a more intimate and personal connection to the music. Rain or shine (except for lightning storms), 6-8 p.m. Aug. 17, Siesta Beach, 948 Beach Road, Sarasota, Yellow Lifeguard Tower. $35-$65 for adults, $15 for 12 and younger. For more information: https://bit.ly/44Wpa7I
‘The SpongeBob Musical’
The Broadway musical inspired by the hit animated series takes audiences down to Bikini Bottom where the residents, including SpongeBob SquarePants and his friends, face annihilation unless an unlikely hero can save them. The score features original songs by Steven Tyler, Yolanda Adams, Sara Bareilles, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend and more. Aug. 17-27. Rise Above Arts, 3501 S. Tamiami Trail, Suite 1005. $17-$32. 941-702-4747; riseabovearts.com
FST New Play Reading
Florida Studio Theatre presents a staged reading of a new play by Mark St. Germain, who is the most-produced playwright in the theater’s history. He is the author of such plays as “Dancing Lessons,” “Best of Enemies” and “Becoming Dr. Ruth.” His new work, “The God Committee,” about a hospital heart transplant committee that has only minutes to decide which of three patients will receive a heart, is described as a cross between “12 Angry Men” and “E.R.” 3 p.m. Aug. 18, Keating Theatre, 1241 N. Palm Ave., Sarasota. 941-366-9000; floridastudiotheatre.org
‘From the Heart of Philly’
Playwright and poet Dave Harris, one of the first fellows in a new partnership between the Hermitage Artist Retreat and the Roundabout Theatre Company in New York, reads from and talks about his work in a Hermitage program at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 18. Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, 1012 N. Orange Ave., Sarasota. $5 registration fee. hermitageartistretreat.org
The Gothic Library
The return of live radio theater features live retellings of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “Lot No. 249” and Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game.” Ren Pearson is the writer and director for the performances featuring local actors who will be announced later. 8 p.m. Aug. 18 and 19. Bookstore1Sarasota, 117 S. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota. $15. 941-365-7902; sarasotabooks.com
Sarasota Opera Family Day
Sarasota Youth Opera is looking for some new singers and introducing the community to the program with a free Family Day. The Youth Opera will perform and participants can attend a “Find your Own Opera Voice” singing session and take part in acting games, backstage tours, wig and makeup demonstrations and stand on the Opera House stage. Auditions will be held Aug. 22 and 24. Family Day is noon to 2 p.m. Aug. 19 in the Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota. sarasotaopera.org/familyday
Banned Book Club
Bryn Durgin leads Bookstore1Sarasota’s Banned Book Club, a group that focuses on the most threatened books of our generation. The August discussion is on Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” which has been controversial since shortly after it was published in 1884. 11 a.m. Aug. 22, Bookstore1Sarasota, 117 S. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota. $11 (including a copy of the book). 941-365-7902; sarasotabooks.com
‘Creedence Clearwater Remixed’
A group of four friends take audiences on a musical journey through the songbook of hits by Creedence Clearwater Revival, in this revue with such hits as “Proud Mary,” “Bad Moon Rising” and “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” Aug. 22-Oct 22. Florida Studio Theatre Goldstein Cabaret, 1241 N. Palm Ave., Sarasota. $18-$39. 941-366-9000; floridastudiotheatre.org
‘Secret Song: Unraveling the Mystery of Berg’s Lyric Suite’
Musician, filmmaker and Hermitage Artist Retreat fellow Hilan Warshaw returns to Sarasota to discuss his 2020 documentary film “Secret Song,” about the creation of Austrian composer’s Alban Berg’s chamber piece Lyric Suite for string quartet. The film features footage of Renée Fleming and the Emerson String Quartet. 6 p.m. Aug. 23. Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota. $5 registration fee. hermitageartistretreat.org
Three Solo exhibitions
Art Center Sarasota closes its season with three solo shows and a juried show with an Abstract View theme. It features work by Lauren Mann, a portrait artist based in Clearwater; Irene Tate, originally from Sofia, Bulgaria and now based in Gainesville; and Ry McCullough, an artist and educator working in Tampa. The juried show encompasses all forms of non-representational art from Abstract Expressionism to Cubism and Minimalism. Aug. 24-Sept. 30. Opening reception 6-8 p.m. Aug. 24. Art Center Sarasota, 707 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. 941-365-2032; artsarasota.org
FST New Play Reading
Florida Studio Theatre concludes its 2023 Summer New Play Festival with a staged reading of Bernardo Cubría’s “The Hispanic/Latino/Latina/Latinx/Latine Vote.” Cubría is a Mexican playwright and winner of the 2021 Smith Prize for Political Theatre. His play is about a university professor who reluctantly takes a job helping a political party understand the Hispanic/Latin vote before a presidential election. 3 p.m. Aug. 25. Keating Theatre,. 1241 N. Palm Ave., Sarasota. $10. 941-366-9000; floridastudiotheatre.org
‘Golf With Alan Shepard’
Carter W. Lewis’ comic drama is about a group of grumpy old men playing golf, discussing their problems, loves and fears about life as they have an out-of-this-world encounter with the astronaut who hit the longest golf shot in history. Aug. 25-Sept. 10. Venice Theatre Raymond Center, 140 W. Tampa Ave., Venice. $35, $22 for college students and educators, $15 for youth. 941-488-1115; venicetheatre.org
“Working Conditions”
An exhibition that explores how photography has communicated impressions about human labor since the 19th century through examples from The Ringling’s photography permanent collection. Curated by Christopher Jones, the Stanton B. and Nancy W. Kaplan Curator of Photography and Media Art at The Ringling. Aug. 26-March 3. 5401 Bay Shore Rd., Sarasota. 941-360-7399; ringling.org
Continuing
ArtCenter Manatee
ArtCenter Manatee closes its 2022-23 exhibition season with “We Are All One,” an open, all-media, juried exhibit through Aug. 8. 209 9th St., West, Bradenton. 941-746-2862; artcentermanatee.org
‘The Cemetery Club’
Ivan Menchell’s touching comedy about three Jewish widows who get together for chats once a month before they visit their husbands’ graves, returns after a hit winter run at Venice Theatre with the same cast and director Brad Wages. Through Aug. 13. Raymond Center, 140 W. Tampa Ave., Venice. $35, $22 for college students and educators, $15 for youth. 941-488-1115; venicetheatre.org
Florida Studio Theatre
The terrific drama “Black Pearl Sings,” which brings actress Alice M. Gatling back to Sarasota after a long absence, returns to Florida Studio Theatre for the first time since 2009, in a fine production that also features FST regular Rachel Moulton. It is about imprisoned Black woman in Texas in the 1930s and the white musicologist who wants to record the slave songs she knows. Through Aug. 6. Keating Theatre. $25-$39. In the Court Cabaret, the touring “Divas Three,” a salute to some of the most influential women over four decades of pop music history, has been extended through Sept. 17. $25-$39. And in the Goldstein Cabaret, “The Surfer Boys” continues through Aug. 13 with the hits of The Beach Boys. 1241 N. Palm Ave., Sarasota. 941-366-9000; floridastudiotheatre.org
Sarasota Art Museum
At the Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College, work by multimedia artist Chakaia Booker, who manipulates unconventional materials into new compositions, is on display in “Surface Pressure” through Oct. 29. The installation “Reassembling Spilt Light” by multimedia artist Carlos Bunga, runs through Oct. 29. “The New Black Vanguard: Photography Between Art and Fashion” is on display through Sept. 17 Multimedia artist Stephanie J. Woods’ “my papa used to play checkers” continues through Sept. 17. She works primarily in photography, fiber, video and sculpture. Sara Berman’s Closet looks at the impact of order and organization of one woman’s closet as recreated by her daughter and grandson. Through Sept. 17. 1001 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. July 23-Oct. 29. 941-309-4300; sarasotaartmuseum.org
‘Chicago’
The Dingbat Theatre Project’s production of the John Kander-Fred Ebb musical “Chicago” continues through Aug. 5, directed by co-founders Brian F. Finnerty and Luke Manual McFatrich. Loveland Center, 157 Havana Rd., Venice. $25, $2.25 service fee. Dingbattheatre.org
‘Diving Into Nature’
Sarasota designer and illustrator John Pirman is highlighted in a career retrospective exhibit “Diving Into Nature” which has a summer run at Selby Botanical Gardens. Through Sept. 17. 1534 Mound St., Sarasota. 941-366-5731; selby.org
Ringling Museum
Continuing Ringling exhibits include “From the Chambers: Honoring John Sims,” focused on the life and work of the late Sarasota artist and activist, through Aug. 6 in the Searing East Wing; “Lorna Bieber: Natural World,” featuring work built on the principles of appropriating, recycling and manipulating imagery, through Oct. 15 in the Monda Gallery; “Reclaiming Home: Contemporary Seminole Art,” the museum’s first presentation of contemporary art by Native American artists with historic ties to Florida, through Sept. 4 in the Searing West Wing Galleries; “Art Deco Lacquer and Textiles from Japan” continues through Oct. 22 in the Chao Gallery; “As long as there is sun, as long as there is light. Selections from the Bring Gift and The Ringling Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art” continues through Jan. 7 in the Searing Wing; “Fabulous Arts Foundation: Drag Culture Timeline,” featuring costumes and photos from Stonewall National Museum and Archives, through Aug. 8 in the Community Gallery. Ringling Museum, 5401 Bay Shore Rd., Sarasota 941-360-7399; ringling.org.
‘Summer Circus Spectacular’
The annual summer circus collaboration between the Circus Arts Conservatory and The Ringling returns for another summer of family entertainment, featuring hand balancing, juggling, clowns, an aerial rope act and more. Through Aug. 12. Historic Asolo Theater, The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Rd., Sarasota. $20, $13 for children 12 and younger. 941-360-7399; ringling.org
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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: August heats up with arts events in Sarasota-Manatee area
