A musical about musicals
The Players Center for Performing Arts launches its new season in a new temporary location with the unusually titled musical “[title of show]. “You didn’t read it wrong. That’s the actual title of a musical about two songwriters creating a new show for a new musical theater festival. And the show they’re writing is the one that the audience watch. Brian F. Finnerty, Andrew Smiley, Debbi White and Jennifer Baker star on this show about the creative process, hopes and dreams of young writers and actors. The production will be shown at the Art Center Sarasota, 707 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, today through October 17. For more ticket information: 941-365-2494; theplayers.org
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Fly high with Selby orchids
Selby Gardens takes off with a nod to the circus for the annual orchid show, with this year’s theme “Aerialists from treetop to marquee !. It is presented in collaboration with the Ringling Museum and combines orchids found in the treetops with images of circus performers who delight audiences with their aerial skills. Selby says he has the best scientifically-documented orchid collection in the world, and this year’s show pays homage to the Sarasota Circus’s long history, since Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus via the Circus Arts Conservatory and the Sailor Circus Academy. In the Museum of Botany and the Arts, visitors can view antique circus posters from the Tibbals Circus collection at the Ringling, and you can also learn about the science of orchids. The orchid show opens Saturday and runs through November 28 in Selby, 1534 Mound St., Sarasota. For more information: 941-366-5731; selby.org
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Celebrating the music of Eubie Blake
Eubie Blake is best known as the songwriter of the hit song “I’m Just Wild About Harry”, which is one of two dozen songs from the music review “Eubia!” It’s a celebration of the composer who broke racial ground by opening up Broadway to black actors, designers and producers in the 1920s. The show opens a new season for the Westcoast Black Theater Troupe, where Jim Weaver directs and choreographs the production. It now runs through Nov. 21 at the Theater, 1012 N. Orange Ave., Sarasota. For more information: 941-366-1505; westcoastblacktheatre.org.
Go solo to a new place
After a year of video and streaming performances, the SaraSolo Festival is back with live performances Tuesday through October 17 in a new location. The company will perform as a pop-up theatrical event at Tree Fort Productions inside the crossroads of Siesta Key Mall, 3501 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. There are two individual shows each day at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. They include Clara Francesca in “Manifesting Mrs. Marx, A Portal â€, a multimedia piece about Jenny Marx, the wife of Karl Marx. Storyteller Dennis McSorley tells stories about his growing years in “A Kid From Queens”. Paula Broadwater presents a cabaret play called “Til Somebody Cares” with songs and stories that touch on different relationships. And Sylvia Day performs her play “Send in the Clones” by playing a virtual assistant who is too talented in her job. Tickets cost $ 22 or $ 10 for students and veterans. For more information: sarasolo.org. SaraSolo is following the #SafeArtsSarasota initiative requiring a negative COVID-19 or proof of vaccination and all clients must wear masks.
New version of a children’s classic
The classic “Cinderella” story takes a contemporary twist in a new take on Sarah Durham who opens the Florida Studio Theater children’s drama series this weekend. Directed by Jason Cannon, Durham integrates contemporary pop hits, audience interaction, and physical comedy into the story of the young woman from a dysfunctional household who meets the Prince. Durham says the play has “themes of redemption, hope, and the discovery of magic, even in the most difficult times.” We have all found our own “fairy godmothers†who have helped us through the difficult times in our lives. The production features a cast of acting FST apprentices, including Facia Lee as Ella, Chase Walker as Prince Charming and Ariel Friendly as Fairy Godmother. He is launching a series of four shows aimed at a family audience. Performances take place Saturdays and Sundays through November 7 at FST’s Keating Theater, 1241 N. Palm Ave., Sarasota. Tickets are $ 10, or $ 20 for the four-show series. For more information: 941-366-9000; floridastudiotheatre.org. The seats will be socially distanced and masks are mandatory.
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frSRQ is back for a new season
ensembleNewSRQ kicks off a new season Monday at 8 p.m. with a “Don’t Look Down” concert featuring pianist Conor Hanick, director of Solo Piano for the Music Academy of the West and founding member of the American Modern Opera Company. He returns to Sarasota for the Florida premiere (and only the second performance) of Chris Cerrone’s “Don’t Look Down”, written for piano and percussion quartet. The concert also includes the ethereal and reflective sounds of Yaz Lancaster’s 2019 “Sequoiaâ€. Hanick will also join enSRQ founders Samantha Bennett and George Nickson for the world premiere of Max Grafe’s “Shadow Theaterâ€, commissioned by the contemporary ensemble. Tickets are $ 25 for the live show at the First Congregational Church, 1031 S. Euclid Ave., Sarasota. Subscriptions for all five live concerts of the season and archive streaming are $ 115, and a streaming pass for all five concerts is $ 45. For more information: ensrq.org/tickets. Nickson and Bennett also present a lounge for the New Music New College series at 5:30 p.m. Friday at the Mildred Sainer Pavilion, 5313 Bay Shore Rd., Sarasota. For more information: newmusicnewcollege.org
A “grand” piano concert
Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota kicks off their return to live performance with a new variation of their popular Piano Grand series. This year’s 4 pm Sunday program is the fifth in the series and is dubbed “The Fab Fourâ€. It features pianists Joseph Holt, Don Bryn, Thomas Purviance and Susan Woodruff Versage performing on concert grand pianos on the stage of the Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota. They will perform the overture to “The Magic Flute” by Mozart, “Eugene Onegin Waltz” by Tchaikovsky, “Marche triomphale” by Verdi from “Aida”, “Take Five” by Dave Brubeck and Harold Arlen’s classic “Over the Rainbow. », Among others. rooms. Tickets are $ 20 to $ 55, with $ 5 student tickets available at the door with idea. Negative COVID-19 tests or proof of vaccine are required and customers must wear masks. For more information: 941-306-1202; artistseriesconcerts.org
Create an ‘ark’ for the future
A New College graduate and interdisciplinary ecological performance artist, Raychel Ceciro presents the world premiere of “Make Thee An Ark,†a piece she created with Logan Gabrielle Schulman at Historic Spanish Point in Selby Gardens. Shown at Mary’s Chapel, the play takes place 300 years in the future in a new arch floating above an underwater Florida and carrying what may be the last representatives of humanity after global warming. The play will be presented from Friday to Sunday and from October 15 to 17. It combines storytelling with immersive performances, projections and puppets and story guilds involving the Spanish Point campus. Tickets cost $ 20. A free roundtable called Ark Dialogues will be held at 2:30 p.m. on October 17. For more information on tickets: tinyurl.com/maketheeanark.
You could dance
The Sarasota Orchestra may get patrons wanting to move and stomp their feet in two separate shows this week. Sunday at 4 p.m., the second chamber night of the season is titled “Shall We Dance†and features music from ballet to the ballroom, including “The Story of Tango†by Astor Piazzolla, the composition 2013 by Quinn Mason String Quartet No. 2, and Arturo “Danza de mediodia” by Marquez. On Wednesday, the Great Escapes series begins with the first of four concerts until October 31. 16 from “The Roaring Twenties”. Guest conductor Steven Jarvi conducts a program that includes “Sweet Georgia Brown, selections from Irving Berlin and“ Charleston Rag â€by Eubie Blake. Both concerts are held at Holley Hall, 709 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. For more information on tickets: 941-953-3434; sarasotaorchestra.org
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Talking (and playing) the piano
Sarasota’s Music Archive is focusing on local musicians for its “The Versatile Piano / Pianist” series running through November 10. Wednesday at 10:30 am, the series will feature Don Bryn, head of the piano department at State College. of Florida (and featured artist of the “Piano Grand V” concert, and Eddie Tobin, music director, pianist and conductor of Engelbert Humperdinck for over seven years. They will perform and talk about the life of a commercial pianist in the program “The Popular and Jazz Pianist.†It will be presented at the Geldbart Auditorium of the Selby Public Library, 1300 First St., Sarasota. Due to security protocols, registration is required at Registration is required on bit.ly/3zGc4ev
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