- April 18, 2024
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Chamber Soirée 7: ‘Voices of Color’
5:30 p.m. at Holley Hall, 709 N. Tamiami Trail
$38-$48
Visit: SarasotaOrchestra.org.
It's a celebration of Black History Month and the artistry of African-American composers at Holley Hall. The works of William Grant Still, Valerie Coleman and Florence Price will be played, with Still's "Miniatures for Woodwind Quintet" leading off and Price's "String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor" rounding out the show.
Luca Stine Jazz Ensemble
5:30 p.m. at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, 1534 Mound St.
$40
Visit: ArtistSeriesConcerts.org.
You've seen him as a youngster. Come back and greet him as a young professional. Trumpet player Luca Stine, now studying at the University of Miami, will be back in Sarasota and playing his own compositions for the first time at Selby Gardens, and he'll be playing with a backing band of peers and friends.
Laughing Matters: Paranoia on Parade
7:30 p.m. at John C. Court Cabaret, 1265 1st St.
$18
Visit: FloridaStudioTheatre.org.
This musical sketch comedy revue is inspired by today's culture and politics, and the cast will look to make you laugh with parodies of popular songs and theatre classics interspersed with original comedic sketches.
Beloved Opera, Operetta, Broadway + Popular Classics
10:30 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church of Sarasota, 2050 Oak St.
Free
Visit: SarasotaMusicClub.org.
Soprano Anne Tormela, who has performed all over Florida's Gulf Coast, will sing selections from Verdi, Puccini and Gershwin but also Jerome-Kern and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Tormela has sang with the Pops and the Sarasota Choral Society, and she's also performed with orchestras in Italy and Poland.
Thunder By The Bay
5-10 p.m. at Sarasota Fairgrounds, 3000 Ringling Blvd.
$5
Visit Thunderbythebay.org
The 24th annual Thunder by the Bay rolls into town this weekend and it will run through Sunday. The motorcycle and music festival will feature Scarlet Drive and an Ozzy Osbourne tribute band on Friday night, and more than 80 food vendors will line the fairgrounds. The festival runs from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Greek Festival
11 a.m. to 9 p.m. at St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church, 7671 N. Lockwood Ridge Road
$5; children under 12 free
Visit: StBarbaraFestival.org.
Come by and sample Greek cuisine, music and dancing at the 33rd annual Saint Barbara Greek Festival. Festival attendees will also have an opportunity to win a raffle with a grand prize featuring $30,000 in cash or a brand new Mercedes Benz. The festival will also run from 11 to 9 on Saturday and from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday.
Jon Lovitz
6:30 p.m. at McCurdy’s Comedy Theatre, 1923 Ringling Blvd.
$42
Visit: McCurdysComedy.com.
ACTING! Jon Lovitz, perhaps best known from his days on Saturday Night Live or his stint as the voice of Jay Sherman on "The Critic," will bring his absurdist notions and punchlines to the McCurdy faithful.
Lovitz will also play shows on Saturday and Sunday.
Take Me Home: The Music of John Denver
7 p.m. at Riverview Performing Arts Center, 1 Ram Way
$25-$59
Visit: Tickets.SunEvents.com.
Country roads. Take him home. To the place he belongs. Sarasota will be entertained by tribute artist Jim Curry, whose voice was heard in the CBS telefilm chronicling John Denver's life. Prepare for a Rocky Mountain High on the eastern seaboard.
‘Dancing with the Stars’ Live!
8 p.m. at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 7777 N. Tamiami Trail
$67-$102
Visit: VanWezel.org.
Your favorite small screen dancers are coming for a big performance. "Dancing with the Stars: Live" will feature mirrorball champions Kaitlyn Bristowe and Iman Shumpert in addition to a host of familiar competitors from the TV show. Come see the tango, the salsa, the foxtrot and everything in between!
Downtown Sarasota Festival of the Arts
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Main Street, Sarasota
Free
Visit: ArtFestival.com.
Make way for the mother of all Main Street fairs! The downtown Sarasota Festival of the Arts will be celebrating its 34th edition over Saturday and Sunday, and more than 200 artists will fill the five city block area. Painting, sculpture, photography, ceramics and more will be on display at this two-day celebration of art.
Neil Diamond Tribute
2 and 7 p.m. at Manatee Performing Arts Center, 502 3rd Ave W., Bradenton
$30-$38
Visit: ManateePerformingArtsCenter.org.
Good times never seemed so good. Sing along with the infectious harmonies of Neil Diamond as tribute artist Keith Allynn hits the high notes of the troubadour's rich catalogue of hits.
Donizetti’s ‘The Daughter of the Regiment’
7:30 p.m. at Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave.
$25
Visit SarasotaOpera.org.
Decades have passed since the last time the Sarasota Opera performed "The Daughter of the Regiment," a comedic opera that first debuted in Paris in 1840. The opera — penned by Gaetano Donizetti and set to a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jean-François Bayard — tells the story of a soldier and a young girl raised by a French regiment. The opera has a passage that requires the main character Tonio to sing an aria with eight High C's, a signature moment performed by Luciano Pavarotti in 1972. There will be six other showings running through March 18.
‘Life’s a Beach’
8:30 p.m. at FST’s Bowne’s Lab Theatre, 1265 1st St.
$15
Visit: FloridaStudioTheatre.org.
Settle in and get ready to laugh as the FST cast pokes fun at everything Sarasota. The show will features sketches, singalongs and topical material touching on snowbirds, roundabouts and fun in the sun.
Old and New Music
3 p.m. at Northminster Presbyterian Church, 3131 61st Street
$5
Visit: SuncoastConcertBand.org.
The Suncoast Concert Band will bring familiar tunes and new directions to a Sunday concert at Northminster Presbyterian Church.
NEXUS Chamber Music Chicago with Maria Ioudenitch, violin
4 p.m. at Temple Sinai, 4631 S. Lockwood Ridge Road
$40
Visit: ArtistSeriesConcerts.org.
Cellist Alexander Hersh, a two-time winner of Artist Series Concert competitions, co-founded this group, and they'll be joined by young violinist Maria Ioudenitch as they play through a selection of string trio tunes.
‘A Night at the Opera’
5 p.m. at Church of the Palms, 3224 Bee Ridge Road
$35; $5 students
Visit ChoralArtistsSarasota.org.
Soprano and Sarasota native Adelaide Boedecker will appear courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera for one night only, and she'll sing through selections from The Marriage of Figaro with her husband Calvin Griffin. Boedecker, who grew up singing at the Church of the Redeemer and graduated from Pine View School, is waiting to make her Met debut. Boedecker is currently contracted as cover for the role of Thibault in "Don Carlos," which will start its production at the Met later this month, and she will depart Sarasota after her show to return to New York. Griffin, a gifted bass-baritone in his own right, made his Met debut last year in Fire Shut Up In My Bones. Joseph Holt of the Choral Artists said he is also excited to present works by Mozart and by William Grant Still.
Paul Anka — ‘Greatest Hits: His Way’
7 p.m. at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 7777 N. Tamiami Trail
$82-$132
Visit: VanWezel.org.
Canadian crooner Paul Anka is bringing his velvet voice to Sarasota, and he'll be singing his songs his way.
"My Way" was made famous by Frank Sinatra, but Anka claims it back and will sing a bunch of his most famous compositions from his 60-plus-year career in music. Anka will play just one night only in Sarasota.
Jazz at the FST Cabaret with Dan Miller Quartet
7:30 p.m. at FST’s John C. Court Cabaret, 1265 First St.
$35-$39
Visit: JazzClubSarasota.org.
Jazz trumpet player Dan Miller will team with Lou Del Gatto to bring a full jazz quartet sound to the John C. Court Cabaret. Guests will be able to purchase dinner and drinks as they take in the sounds of Miller and company.
ENSRQ + Chroma Trio
8 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 1031 S. Euclid Ave.
$25
Visit: ENSRQ.org.
ENSRQ will team up with Boston-based Chroma Trio to present a new work by composer Tyson Davis. Founder Samantha Bennett will play alongside instrumentalists Mary Ferrillo and Francesca McNeeley. Davis, a student at Juilliard, has been composing since he was just 8 years old.
‘The Learned Ladies’
7:30 p.m. at FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail
Pay what you can
Visit: AsoloRep.org.
"The Learned Ladies" will have a preview showing on Tuesday night, and then it will run through March 13. The play, a satire on academic pretension penned by Moliere, premiered in Paris all the way back in 1672. The Sarasota production is directed by Benny Sato Ambush, artistic director at the Venice Theatre.
‘The Marvelous Martha’
4 p.m. at Stone Hall at Manatee Performing Arts Center, 502 Third Ave. W., Bradenton
$8-$12
Visit: ManateePerformingArtsCenter.com.
This show focuses on the forgotten story of Martha Matilda Harper, an immigrant servant who revolutionized retail franchising by building a network of hair salons. See the world Harper lived in and the people who admired her as the Manatee Performing Arts Center celebrates the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage.
‘Celtic Thunder’
7:30 p.m. at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 7777 N. Tamiami Trail
$37-$92
Visit: VanWezel.org.
Here come the thundering hoofbeats of Irish singers. This troupe formed in 2007 and has gone on to international acclaim, and they'll bring their catalogue of traditional folk songs to the Van Wezel. Celtic Thunder played the White House during the Obama administration, and their act has been celebrated all over the world.
