October explodes with new arts events in Sarasota-Manatee area
NEXUS Chamber Music
Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota launches its 28th season with a return visit from NEXUS Chamber Music, which first performed in the series last year. The trio features cellist and NEXUS co-founder Alexander Hersh and Marlboro Music Festival alums violinist Stephanie Zyzak and pianist Evren Ozel. 4 p.m. Oct. 1. First Presbyterian Church, 2050 Oak St., Sarasota. $40. 941-306-1200; artistseriesconcerts.org
Hermitage Playwriting Workshop
UPDATE Oct. 4: Due to a family emergency, writer and actor Halley Feiffer is unable to take part in the launch of a new season of Hermitage Sunsets @ Selby Gardens. The program will go on with Hermitage Artist Retreat Artistic Director and CEO Andy Sandberg discussing his efforts to champion new work, and the London production of Alan Brody’s “Operation Epsilon,” which opened last month. 6 p.m. Oct. 5 at Selby Botanical Gardens, 1534 Mound St., Sarasota. $5 registration fee required. Hermitageartistretreat.org
‘Murder at the Howard Johnson’s’
Charlotte Players takes audiences to a Howard Johnson Motor Inn (remember those?) for this suspense comedy by Ron Clark and Sam Bobrick. It’s about a love triangle involving a woman, her lover and her husband, who they initially plot to kill, but the tables keep turning as the story develops. Oct. 5-15. Langdon Playhouse, 1182 Market Circle, Port Charlotte. Tickets are $27, $14 for students. 941-255-1022; charlotteplayers.org
‘Cuban Project: Historias’
Leymis Bolaños Wilmott, co-founder and artistic director of Sarasota Contemporary Dance, brings back her personal dance piece based on her own family history. After a series of performances in Miami, the production will be presented at 8 p.m. Oct. 7 at the Manatee Performing Arts Center. It explores her parents’ forced migration from Cuba through the Operación Pedro Pan exodus of children in the early 1960s. 502 Third Ave. W., Bradenton. $38. 941-748-5875; manateeperformingartscenter.com
‘Rare Gems’
This Sarasota Orchestra Chamber Soiree features pieces for strings and piano, including Mahler’s Piano Quartet and Debussy’s String Quartet. The Mahler piece was rediscovered in the 1960s and is Mahler’s sole surviving work for chamber ensemble. It was featured in the Martin Scorsese film “Shutter Island.” 4 p.m. Oct. 8, Holley Hall, 709 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Tickets start at $42. 941-953-3434; sarasotaorchestra.org
‘Romeo & Juliet’
The powerful romance of Shakespeare’s “Romeo & Juliet” is told through dance in a production from the International Ballet of Florida, featuring principal guest artists from the National Ballet of Ukraine, Lithuania Ballet, Atlanta Ballet and more. Choreographed by Vadim Fedotov, set to traditional music by Sergei Prokofiev, it tells the story of young love fighting to survive against family objections. 5 p.m. Oct. 8, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. $30-$89. 941-263-6799; vanwezel.org
Ilya Yakushev
The New York Times said that Russian pianist Ilya Yakushev “can do just about anything he wants.” Sarasota audiences will get to hear what that means when he performs for Artist Series Concerts in a program that also features a quartet that includes Daniel Jordan, concertmaster of the Sarasota Orchestra, in a performance of the Shostakovich Piano Quintet and Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition.” There will also be images of artwork displayed on a screen. 7:30 p.m. Oct. 10, Historic Asolo Theater, 5401 Bay Shore Rd., Sarasota. $30-$50. 941-306-1200; artistseriesconcerts.org
‘New York, New York’
Sarasota Orchestra’s Great Escapes series takes audiences on a trip to the Big Apple with music from Broadway, jazz, pop and more, and selections by Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Scott Joplin, Leonard Bernstein and more. David Alan Miller conducts. Oct. 11-14, Holley Hall, 709 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. $44-$63. 941-953-3434; sarasotaorchestra.org
‘Write, Edit, Translate, Publish!’
Kristen Renee Miller, translator of award-winning poet Marie-Andrée Gill and the editor in chief of Sarabande Books in Louisville, will read from selected works and discuss her career in this Hermitage Artist Retreat program at 6 p.m. Oct. 12 at Bookstore1Sarasota, 117 S. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota. $5 registration required. Hermitageartistretreat.org
Art Center Sarasota season opens
Four new exhibitions kick off the Art Center Sarasota, including Randy Globus' "Personifications"; Clifford McDonald’s “Soundtrack”; Zach Gilliland’s “Agglutinated Moments” and the juried show “Storytelling: A Visual Narrative.” A series of artist talks will be held through the run of the exhibitions, Oct. 12-Nov. 11, and an opening reception is scheduled for 6-8 p.m. Oct. 12. 707 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. 941-365-2032; artsarasota.org
Ringling College Art Walk
All the galleries on the Ringling College campus will be open for a fall art walk. Among the shows still up through Oct. 20 are “Teaching and Learning,” a donor photography exhibition, the 2023 Annual Summer Exhibition, “Creatures, Characters and Curious Places” (a first-year student exhibit) and the 2023 Annual Faculty Exhibition. 5-8 p.m. Oct. 13. Ringling College of Art and Design, 2700 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. 941-359-7563; ringling.edu/galleries
Bored Teachers Comedy Tour
The school year is just getting underway, but Bored Teachers are ready to share their humorous look at the challenges and frustrations of the job in this “We Can’t Make This Stuff Up” tour. It features some of the funniest teacher-comedians around trying to ease the stress of a challenging job. 7 p.m. Oct. 13, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. $35-$65. 941-263-6799; vanwezel.org
‘Bachtoberfest’
Key Chorale undertakes one of its most ambitious projects yet with this series of four concerts over three days built around the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and featuring such guest artists as soprano Mary Wilson, trumpeter Aaron Romm, mezzo Thea Lobo, tenor Matt Morgan and bass David Tinervia. All concerts will be held at Church of the Redeemer, 222 S. Palm Ave., Sarasota. And the festival will close with a Biergarten experience featuring German food, beers from Calusa Brewing and Bill Milner’s Oompah Band. Oct. 13-15. $15-$200, with passes and single tickets available. 941-552-8768; keychorale.org
‘Red’
Audiences get an inside look at the artist Mark Rothko and his creative process in John Logan’s Tony Award-winning play “Red,” which opens the inaugural season of Katherine Michelle Tanner’s Tree Fort Productions Projects, inside the Crossings at Siesta Key Shopping Mall. Tanner is directing. Oct. 13-29. 3501 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. $40. Treefortproductionsprojects.com
‘The Addams Family’
They’re creepy and they’re kooky. And they also sing in Andrew Lippa’s musical about the unusual family created by cartoonist Charles Addams who later became the subject of a TV series and several films. Katrina Ploof directs a cast headed by Randy Ronco as Gomez and Erica Jade Drew as Morticia, with Brennan Reisinger as Pugsley, Sophie Buchmeier as Wednesday and Ross Boehringer as Fester. Oct. 13-Nov. 12. Venice Theatre Raymond Center, 140 W. Tampa Ave., Venice. $37, $22 for college students and $15 for youth. 941-488-1115; venicetheatre.org
Italian art at The Ringling
The Ringling opens two exhibitions with a focus on Italian art. In “Friar with a Gold Earring,” it explores a rare portrait by the Italian Baroque painter Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri), which the museum acquired in 2015. The exhibit features 35 works that explore the portrait by revealing the life of its sitter, Fra Bonaventura Bisi, known as Il Pittorino. The exhibit is on display Oct. 14-Jan. 7. The museum also is presenting “500 Years of Italian Drawings from the Princeton University Art Museum,” which features 95 works from the late 15th century to early 20th century. It is open Oct. 14-Jan. 21. The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota. 941-359-5700; ringling.org
Singer Joseph Parris
The bass-baritone Joseph Parrish joins pianist Joseph Holt for an Artist Series Concerts dinner program at Plantation Golf & Country Club. Parrish has performed in major opera houses and concert halls. He was the winner of the 2022 Young Concert Artists Susan Wadsworth International auditions. His program will include traditional spirituals, opera arias and Broadway songs. Holt is the former director of artistic programs for Artist Series and the artistic director Choral Artists of Sarasota. 5:30 p.m. Oct. 18; 500 Rockley Blvd., Venice; $78; 941-306-1200; artistseriesconcerts.org
‘Let’s Murder Marsha’
Marsha is a happy housewife who loves reading murder mysteries. But all that reading is going to her head. In Monk Ferris’ comical mystery, Marsha overhears her husband planning a birthday surprise with an interior decorator, but Marsha gets mixed signals and thinks they’re cooking up a plot to kill her. The play runs Oct. 18-Nov. 5 at Lemon Bay Playhouse, 96 W. Dearborn St., Englewood. $25, $20 for students. 941-474-9610; lemonbayplayhouse.com
‘Nature’s Voice’
Diane Cook, author of such works as “The New Wilderness” and “Man V. Nature,” joins with vocalist Carmina Escobar, who finds inspiration from the natural world, for this Hermitage Artist Retreat program as they touch on the connection between art and nature. 6 p.m. Oct. 19, Conservation Foundation’s Bay Preserve, 400 Palmetto Ave., Osprey. $5 registration required. Hermitageartistretreat.org
‘Newsies’
Extra! Extra! The newsboys are clashing with their publishers once again in the lively Tony Award-winning musical, which features a score by Alan Menken and Jack Feldman and a book by Harvey Fierstein. This production features a young cast that are part of the Rise Above Arts program and it is directed with Broadway star and Tony nominee Kerry Butler, who was featured in the original casts of “Hairspray” and “Xanadu,” among other shows. The cast is led by Joseph Tricarico as Jack Kelly. Oct. 19-29. 3501 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, Suite 1105. $25-$35. 941-702-4747; riseabovearts.com
‘The Rocky Horror Show’
The musical many know from a film version showed at special midnight screenings comes to the Manatee Performing Arts Center for the first time, live on stage, with the couple Brad and Janet getting tangled up with some experiments led by the off-kilter mad scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter. Oct. 19-31, Manatee Performing Arts Center Kiwanis Studio Theatre, 502 Third Ave. W., Bradenton. $27. 941-748-5875; manateeperformingartscenter.com
La Dame Blanche White Hot Fete
The Ringling kicks off the cultural arts season and its own Art of Performance series with a big party in the courtyard featuring La Dame Blanche with DJ Moses Belanger. It’s a white party with neo-Latin and techno dance music. Food and drinks are available for purchase with general admission tickets and are included in VIP tickets. 7 p.m. Oct. 20. The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota. $35, $31.50 for members and $125 for VIP. 941-360-7399; ringling.org
Sarasota Ballet: ‘Progression in Rep’
The Sarasota Ballet opens a new season with a world premiere by Gemma Bond, set to music by Alberto Ginastera, on a program with Frederick Ashton’s “Varii Capricci” and Johan Kobborg’s “Salute.” A year ago, the company presented another Bond premiere called “Excursions.” Sarasota Ballet helped save “Varii Capricci,” described as a self-parody of the Royal Ballet’s traditions. And Kobborg’s “Salute” is a humorous piece about soldiers going off to war and the women they leave behind. Oct. 20-22. FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. $40-$125. 941-359-0099; sarasotaballet.org
‘Winter Flowers’
Lily Rusek’s play deals with the challenges faced by Delphie, a woman who has spent most of her life caring for her adult younger sister, who has the mental ability of a child. But Delphie has some health challenges of her own and must determine how best to care for Rosie, while she still has time, even though the sister refuses to leave their family home. Oct. 20-29, Players Studio Black Box Theatre, 1400 Boulevard of the Arts, Suite 200, Sarasota. $27. 941-365-2494; theplayers.org
‘The Sound Inside’
Urbanite Theatre opens its 10th season with the regional premiere of Adam Rapp’s recent Broadway drama about the relationship between a Yale University creative writing professor and one of her brilliant students, and a request that challenges their bond and his abilities. Kristin Clippard directs a production that features Vicki Daignault. Oct. 20-Dec. 3, Urbanite Theatre, 1487 Second St., Sarasota. $42, $28 for those under 40 and $5 for students. 941-321-1397; urbanitetheatre.com
‘London Calling’
Sarasota Orchestra launches a new season of its Discoveries concerts, roughly hour-long programs that provide a bit more connection between the conductor, musicians and the audience. Conductor Nicholas McGegan leads this program that features Richard Strauss’s Serenade, Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro for String Quartet and Strings, and Haydn’s Symphony No. 104 (London). 7:30 p.m. Oct. 21, Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota. $35-$79. 941-953-3434; sarasotaorchestra.org
Juana Valdés: Embodied Memories, Ancestral Histories
Cuban-born artist Juana Valdés has been turning her ideas, thoughts and feelings into works of art that are anchored in stories, often from her own personal experiences. The Sarasota Art Museum opens an exhibit that allows Valdés to explore her Caribbean identity, her Cuban roots and her African ancestry. Oct. 22-Feb. 11, 1001 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. 941-309-4300; sarasotaartmuseum.org
‘Contemporary/Traditional’
Over the years, Richard and Barbara Basch have built an impressive collection of glass work. In this new exhibit, the Sarasota Art Museum will be displaying contemporary glass art from the late 20th and early 21st centuries. It will feature more than 20 works from some of the world’s leading glass artists. Oct. 22-Feb. 11, 1001 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. 941-309-4300; sarasotaartmuseum.org
‘Beyond the Veil’
ensembleNEWSRQ begins its eighth season with an assortment of haunting works for string quartet and piano representing some of the newest voices in contemporary classical music. It features works by Nia Imani Franklin, Julia Adolphe, Chris Rogerson and Philippe Manoury. 7:30 p.m. Oct. 23, First Congregational Church, 1031 S. Euclid Ave., Sarasota. $25, $10 for a livestream. Ensrq.org
‘The Drowsy Chaperone’
The Manatee Players stage a new production of this hit musical about a lonely, musical-loving man, who plays a recording of his favorite old musical, “The Drowsy Chaperone,” which suddenly comes to life inside his small apartment. Cory Boyas directs a cast that includes some longtime Manatee Players performers such as Rodd Dyer as the Man in the Chair, Sarah Yonko as Janet van de Graafff and Ellen Kleinschmidt as Mrs. Tottendale. Oct. 26-Nov. 5. Manatee Players, Stone Hall, 502 Third Ave. W., Bradenton. $38. 941-748-5875; manateeperformingartscenter.com
‘Siddhartha: A Hermitage Collaboration of Words and Music’
Herman Hesse’s iconic work “Siddhartha” about the search for the meaning of life and spiritual fulfillment provides the inspiration for a Hermitage Artist Retreat collaboration between poet Melissa Studdard and Grammy-nominated composer Christopher Theofanidis. They will present an early sharing of an oratorio they are creating together. 6 p.m. Oct. 27, Hermitage Artist Retreat beach, 6660 Manasota Key Road, Englewood. $5 registration fee. Hermitageartistretreat.org
‘Star Wars: A New Hope’
You can probably already hear John Williams’ music in your head. In this special event, the Sarasota Orchestra plays Williams’ score to the original “Star Wars” movie that introduced audiences to a battle of forces in a galaxy far, far away. The music will be played live during a screening of the film (now Chapter 4 in the series.) 7:30 p.m. Oct. 27-28, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. $49-$110. 941-953-3434; sarasotaorchestra.org
‘Pickleball’
Playwright Jeff Daniels (yes, the famous actor), taps into the national obsession with this screwball comedy about the game that has swept the country. Ric Goodwin directs a cast that includes such familiar actors as Joseph Giglia, Lynne Doyle and Neil Kasanofsky, among others, as the game comes to life in the Venice Theatre’s Pinkerton Theatre, 140 W. Tampa Ave., Venice. Oct. 27-Nov. 19. $35, $22 for college students, $15 for youth. 941-488-1115; venicetheatre.org
Artist Series salon
Cellist Amit Peled is joined by Solomon Eichner for this Artist Series Concerts salon at the Fischer/Weisenborne home in Sarasota. The New York Times has said Peled has “a glowing tone, a seductive timbre and an emotionally pointed approach to phrasing that made you want to hear him again.” The two artists will be performing a variety of music by American composers. 4 p.m. Oct. 29-30. 7459 Cabbage Palm Court, Sarasota. $60. 941-306-1200; artistseriesconcerts.org
Continuing
Florida Studio Theatre
Two shows continue at Florida Studio Theatre. “Up on the Roof,” which runs through Feb. 4, is the recently opened cabaret revue that features highlights of the creative output of songwriters working in the iconic Brill Building, like Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Burt Bacharach, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The final summer cabaret show “Creedence Clearwater Remixed” continues through Oct. 22 in the Goldstein Cabaret. And the FST Children’s Theatre production of “The Velveteen Rabbit,” which kicks off a new season of productions aimed at young audiences, continues through Oct. 15. 1241 N. Palm Ave., Sarasota. 941-366-9000; floridastudiotheatre.org
‘Peter Pan’
A new adaptation of J.M. Barrie’s classic story about the boy who did not want to grow up is being presented by the Dingbat Theatre Project. It is an immersive production that has been inspired by Brechtian and story theater techniques. Luke Manual McFatrich directs and designs the scenery. Gretchen Beaumier plays Peter Pan, Kim Kollar is Mrs. Darling and Captain Hook, Liz Pascoe plays Wendy and McFatrich plays Tinker Bell. Through Oct. 15 at the Loveland Center Performing Arts Theatre, 157 S. Havana Road, Venice. $12-$40. Dingbattheatre.org
‘Ruthless’
The Players presents the Off-Broadway and cult favorite musical about an 8-year-old girl who is willing to kill to become a theater star, even as her mother tries to give her a normal childhood. This musical is described as a cross between “Gypsy” and “The Bad Seed.” Performances continue through Oct. 15. The Players, 3501 S. Tamiami Trail, Suite 1130, Sarasota; $30, $13 students ages 24 and younger; 941-365-2494; theplayers.org
‘Reefer Madness’
A campy and subversive musical that pokes fun at the 1936 cult favorite film that warned of the dangers of marijuana returns to Venice Theatre’s Pinkerton Theatre through Oct. 8, with a cast of familiar performers including Jason Ellis, Caitlin Ellis, Patrick Mounce, Vera Samuels and Steven O’Dea. 140 Tampa Ave. W., Venice; $37, $22 college students, $15 youth (who must be at least 18); 941-488-1115; venicetheatre.org
Ringling Museum
In addition to new shows, continuing Ringling exhibits include “Lorna Bieber: Natural World,” featuring work built on the principles of appropriating, recycling and manipulating imagery, through Oct. 15 in the Monda Gallery; “Art Deco Lacquer and Textiles from Japan” continues through Oct. 22 in the Chao Gallery; and “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. Ringling Museum, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota. 941-360-7399; ringling.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 also runs through Oct. 29. 1001 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. 941-309-4300; sarasotaartmuseum.org
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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Arts groups offer dozens of new events in Sarasota-Manatee area
