- April 24, 2024
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Great Escapes: ‘Sounds of Spring’
7:30 p.m. at Holley Hall, 709 N. Tamiami Trail
$45-$108
Visit SarasotaOrchestra.org.
Sarasota Orchestra’s spring program includes sunny selections from musicals such as “Mary Poppins,” “Oklahoma!” and “South Pacific.” Also on the bill is Tchaikovsky’s “Waltz of the Flowers” and the “Spring” movement of Piazzolla’s “Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.” Continues at 5:30 p.m. Friday and 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
'Chicken & Biscuits’
1:30 and 7:30 p.m. at FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail
$33 and up
Visit AsoloRep.org.
Presented by the Asolo Repertory Theatre, the play introduces the Jenkins family as they celebrate their recently deceased father and grandfather. When a secret is revealed, the comedy leads audiences through all the hilarious drama and antics that only family can inspire from one another. This is the last night of the show.
‘Mean Girls’
7:30 p.m. at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail
$47-$122
Visit VanWezel.org.
“Mean Girls” follows African transplant Cady Heron’s transition to suburban Illinois, where she is hazed by a trio of “frenemies.” The creative team behind the musical includes book writer Tina Fey (“30 Rock”), composer Jeff Richmond (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”), lyricist Nell Benjamin (“Legally Blonde”) and director Casey Nicholaw (“The Book of Mormon”). Runs through April 16.
'Paralyzed’
7:30 p.m. at Florida Studio Theatre’s Bowne’s Lab Theatre, 1265 First St.
$18-$39
Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.
In this world premiere, the lives of two strangers — Leigh and Lee — with little in common besides their names come together after the discovery of a mysterious suicide note. Runs through April 23.
Sculling Championships
8 a.m. at Nathan Benderson Park, 5851 Nathan Benderson Circle
Free
Visit FloridaRowing.org.
The Florida Scholastic Rowing Association Sculling Championships will bring together middle school and high school crews from across Florida to race. Parking is $10.
'Jazz at Two: Tom Carabasi’
2 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Sarasota, 7935 Fruitville Road
$15-$20
Visit JazzClubSarasota.org.
Tom Carabasi and friends play samba sounds from Brazil, selections from the American Songbook and jazz favorites.
‘Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help’
8 p.m. at FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail
From $33
Visit AsoloRep.org.
Travel back to 1973 with the Asolo Repertory Theatre to see how the O’Shea family does damage control when their prized respectability is threatened. Runs through April 22.
World Circus Day
10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Road
Free
Visit Ringling.org/events/world-circus-day.
It’s better under the big top! The Ringling celebrates World Circus Day with a host of activities and free admission to the Circus Museum and the Bayfront Gardens. (The Museum of Art and Ca' d'Zan are not included in the offer.) Buster Bailey archival film footage will screen from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. At 10:30 a.m. family art making starts in the Education Building and lasts until 3 p.m. A juggling party gets underway at 11 a.m. in the Bayfront Gardens.
La Musica Festival: ‘Friendships’
4:15 p.m. at Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave.
$62
Visit LaMusicaFestival.org.
As a fitting tribute to La Musica’s co-founder and longtime Associate Artistic Director Derek Han, Wu Han has designed a program that explores the deep musical friendships between composers Johannes Brahms, Antonin Dvorak and Harry Burleigh.
FST Improv Presents ‘Comedy Roulette’
7:30 p.m. at Florida Studio Theatre’s Bowne’s Lab Theatre, 1265 First St.
$15
Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.
It’s a good bet that FST’s team of four experienced improvisers will spin the wheel on a fast-paced show featuring a mashup of short form, long form and musical improv. Runs Saturdays through May 27.
‘Visit Joe Whitefeather (and bring the family!)’
8 p.m. at Florida Studio Theatre’s Gompertz Theatre, 1265 First St.
$25-$39
Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.
Faced with a decline in tourism during the 1970s, a small Pennsylvania town decides to rename itself in honor of a dead Native American war hero who never even visited Beaver Gap while he was alive. Runs through May 21.
'Meet the Williams’
3 p.m. at Northminster Presbyterian Church, 3131 61st St.
$5
Visit SuncoastConcertBand.org.
Now in its 90th year, the Suncoast Concert Band is made up of retirees, and musicians who enjoy daytime rehearsals.
Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley
7 p.m. at Fogartyville, 515 Kumquat Court
$27; members $22; students $13.50
Visit WSLR.org/fogartyville.
After an earlier show was canceled due to a family emergency, the duo of Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley will weave together blues, bluegrass, country, rock and other string styles to form a musical quilt that defies genre boundaries. Ickes co-founded the bluegrass group Blue Highway and has been a sought-after Nashville session player and live performing musician for decades. Hensley has been called “Nashville’s hottest young player” by Acoustic Guitar magazine and has received kudos for his soulful baritone vocals.
Hard Heart Burlesque
8 p.m. at McCurdy’s Comedy Theatre, 1923 Ringling Blvd.
$37
Visit McCurdysComedy.com.
Florida burlesque favorites Miss Marina Elaine and Karma Kandlewick put on a delectable show featuring showgirls, vocalists and some vaudevillian surprises.
John Rutter’s ‘The Magnificat’
7 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church of Sarasota, 2050 Oak St.
$35; students free
Visit MusicaSacraSarasota.org.
Conducted by Dr. Robert E. Parrish, “The Magnificat” by John Rutter is a musical setting of the biblical canticle “Magnificat,” completed in 1990. The composition is based on the Latin text interspersed with an anonymous English poem dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The performance includes elements with a Latin American flavor.
Guitar Sarasota Community Showcase
7:30 p.m. at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 2256 Bahia Vista St.
Free
Visit GuitarSarasota.org.
Guitar Sarasota provides opportunities for local youth, retirees and classical guitar students of all ages to perform for an audience.
‘1976’
7:30 p.m. at Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave.
$25
Visit ENSRQ.org.
Founded by percussionist George Nickson and violinist Samantha Bennett, EnsembleNewSRQ features 40 musicians performing a double bill of contemporary classics composed in 1976 — HK Gruber’s “Frankenstein” and Louis Andriessen’s “De Staat.”
‘We All Fall Down’
1:30 p.m. at The Players Centre, 3501 S. Tamiami Trail, Suite 1130
$36
Visit ThePlayers.org.
Sarasota Jewish Center presents a new play by Lila Rose Kaplan directed by Jeffery Kin. Linda, the matriarch of the decidedly secular Stein family of Westchester County, decides to hold the first Stein family Seder ever, but where is David with the brisket? Runs through April 23.
Art Exhibit and Artist Reception
5:30-7 p.m. at Longboat KeyTown Hall, 501 Bay Isles Drive, Longboat Key
Free
Call 316-1999.
Meet the 13 talented artists showing in the Town Hall Art Exhibit. Artists will be sharing additional work, and everything is for sale. Complimentary refreshments will be served.
‘Love’s Labour's Lost’
8 p.m. at The Ringling Museum of Art’s Bayfront Gardens, 5401 Bay Shore Road
$35
Visit AsoloRep.org/conservatory.
FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training presents the early Shakespeare comedy about four young men, one of them a king, who try to swear off women. Runs through April 23.
‘Hazing’ Documentary
7 p.m. at Fogartyville, 515 Kumquat Court
Free
Visit WSLR.org/fogartyville.
Filmmaker Byron Hurt embarks on a personal journey to understand the underground rituals of hazing, revealing the abuse college students will engage in to be accepted by their peers. A one-hour reception with Hurt starts at 6 p.m.
‘Cats’
7:30 p.m. at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail
$42-$97
Visit VanWezel.org.
Andrew Lloyd Weber’s long-running smash hit musical of Broadway and London’s West End has been delighting audiences since 1981. This rendition will certainly revive a “Memory” or two for Sarasota arts patrons. Continues through April 20. Adoptable cats from Cat Depot will be in the main lobby of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall for all performances. Patrons interested in adopting can complete an application at www.catdepot.org.
‘Big Sexy: The Fats Waller Revue’
7:30 p.m. at Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, 1012 N. Orange Ave.
Runs through May 28
$20-$50
Visit WestcoastBlackTheatre.org.
Nate Jacobs’ original tribute features Fats Waller’s signature songs, including “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” “Honeysuckle Rose,” “Your Feet’s Too Big,” “The Joint is Jumpin’” and many more. Runs through May 28.
