- December 9, 2025
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Holiday entertainment often focuses on the snow and the northern areas of the globe.
Yet the biggest children's show of the year at Florida Studio Theatre is set in a place where you're much more likely to find sand, as Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus and a group of elves enjoy a trip to Sarasota.
Attendees can watch Santa try his hand at pickleball, or elves offering treats made with marsh water from the Everglades, in "Deck the Halls," which began its run this year on Dec. 6.
Director Caroline Saldivar said when she moved to the area 10 years ago from New York City, someone tasked her with creating a show about the holidays in Sarasota.
"I wanted to capture that it's really fun to spend the holidays here, and that we don't have to compare it to something else; we can simply enjoy it for what it is," she said.
It's a topic that is explored with lots of singing and humor in the show, in a way that seeks to engage younger audience members.
That includes students who may attend the show as an add-on to the theater's Write a Play program, which works with local schools, mainly those in Sarasota and Manatee counties.
Students in the program write their own plays to be performed at the end of the season and have the chance to see productions by Florida Studio Theatre.
"No matter what holiday you are celebrating, there is something slightly special or reverent about the season, and I hope that we can celebrate that through the laughter of the show," Saldivar said.
Started eight years ago, the play, which includes both Christmas and Hanukkah elements, is becoming a tradition in the community, Saldivar says.
"I have preteens coming now who've been coming since they were, like 5, 6 years old, and they might come every Christmas Eve," she said.
Jillian Hurley, who plays Mrs. Claus, said before she stepped into the role this year, she wasn't "a big Christmas person."
However, she says the experience has caused her to reflect more on her relationship with her family, connection and community during the time of the holidays.
She says it's easy to maintain that spirit while on stage because of how the audiences respond.
"I think definitely, the kids are giving you so much joy, so it's easy to give it back to them, because you receive that from from them," she said.
Dellan Short, who has played the role of Santa Claus since 2023, echoes Hurley when he says he enjoys being part of a local tradition.
"I think the thing that keeps me coming back to it is just that you get to interact with with all of the kids..." he said. "I've been able, over the last three years, to see some of the same kids grow up, which has been really, really exciting."
Hurley says the team talks a lot about the degree of tradition involved, whether it's the special field trip kids get to go on, or the families who return year after year to see what is different and what is the same.
"I think that's really special to be a part of somebody's holiday tradition," she said. "That's that's really exciting to me."
