- July 15, 2025
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Summer Circus Spectacular
11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at The Ringling’s Historic Asolo Theater, 5401 Bay Shore Road
$20 adult, $13 child
Visit CircusArts.org.
Pack up the car with Grandpa and the kids and head for the Circus Arts Conservatory’s annual Summer Circus Spectacular at The Ringling’s Historic Asolo Theater, a jewelbox venue that elevates any show. This thrilling, 60-minute circus of fresh new acts is perfect for people of all ages with short attention spans. There’s room for walkers, strollers, wheelchairs, you name it — but please arrive early so ushers can store them. Make it a circus day by adding a ticket to The Ringling’s famed Circus Museum for just $5 on the day of the show. Runs through Aug. 9.
Haydn and Rachmaninoff
4:30 p.m. at Holley Hall, 709 N. Tamiami Trail
$30-$43
Visit SarasotaOrchestra.org.
There are sure to be many memorable moments in the final artist showcase of the 2025 Sarasota Music Festival, which opens with Haydn’s Divertimento No. 1. New York Philharmonic violist Rebecca Young and cellist Emmanuel Feldman make their festival debut in Joaquín Turina’s 1931 Piano Quartet. The program finishes on an emotional note as SMF director Jeffrey Kahane and Feldman bring their considerable talents to Rachmaninoff’s Cello Sonata, one of his few chamber works. Festival runs through June 21.
Night Market: Pride Edition
6:30-9:30 p.m. at The Green at UTC
Free
Visit UTCSarasota.com.
Shop local vendors offering produce, handcrafted goods, cocktails, live music by by Merge Eleven Band and more on The Green in the UTC West District. This month's market celebrates Pride Month in partnership with Project Pride.
‘From 145th to 98th Street’
7:30 p.m. at Urbanite Theatre, 1487 Second St.
$30-$44
Visit UrbaniteTheatre.com.
Urbanite Theatre wraps its season with Nia Akilah Robinson’s world premiere, “From 145th to 98th Street,” which follows a Black family’s search for a better life. The American Dream proves elusive when the family’s son is wrongfully accused of a crime committed by someone with the same name. But the power of family prevails in this realistic tale of New York City life sure to resonate with all audiences. Runs through June 29.
‘Beetlejuice Jr.’
7:30 p.m. at The Sarasota Players, 3501 S. Tamiami Trail, Suite 1130
$20
Visit ThePlayers.org.
It's summer children’s theater season. When you see a familiar name with the appendage “Jr.,” it means the show is about 60 minutes, its performers are young and/or both. This musical presented by the Sarasota Players Studio, the community theater’s youth arm, follows Lydia Deetz, an unusual teenager who finds some otherworldly friends when she and her father move to a new house. Runs through June 22.
‘How Sweet It Is’
7:30 p.m. at FST’s Goldstein Cabaret, 1239 N. Palm Ave.
$18-$42
Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.
As the mercury rises, locals know how to escape the heat with Florida Studio Theatre’s Summer Cabaret. The series kicks off with a Motown tribute called “How Sweet It is.” Led by dynamic vocalist and songwriter Luke McMaster, an energetic trio demonstrates the enduring appeal of hits like “Tracks of My Tears,” “You Can’t Hurry Love” and “Stop! In the Name of Love.” Runs through Aug. 3.
'Jesus Christ Superstar'
7:30 p.m. at FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail
$35-$95
Visit AsoloRep.org.
This is it — the one we've been waiting all season for! Broadway director Josh Rhodes ("Spamalot") returns to Sarasota to direct and choreograph Asolo Rep's production of "Jesus Christ Superstar," the granddaddy of rock musicals. The show is everything we'd hoped for — and more. Look for Sarasota's own Ann Morrison, Mary in the original Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim's "Merrily We Roll Along," as King Herod. Runs through June 28.
‘Dames at Sea’
8 p.m. at FST’s Gompertz Theatre, 1265 First St.
$42 and up
Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.
Fresh from his success with Florida Studio Theatre’s “Jersey Boys,” Ben Liebert directs and choreographs “Dames at Sea.” A parody of 1930s musicals starring Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell, “Dames at Sea” first debuted Off-Off Broadway in 1966 starring Bernadette Peters. With the help of a sailor/songwriter Dick, Utah chorus girl Ruby lands a role in a musical that’s trying to find its footing. FST’s Ruby is Emily Ann Brooks, making her FST debut. Runs through June 29.
Sarasota Music Festival: Rising Stars 3
2:30 p.m. at Holley Hall, 709 N. Tamiami Trail
$15-$25
Visit SarasotaOrchestra.org.
Sarasota Music Festival Fellows demonstrate their newfound skills and confidence by playing selections from Mozart, Janacek, Poulenc, Brahms and other composers. See the global classical musical stars of tomorrow on stage today in Sarasota. Festival runs through June 21.
Sights + Sounds: Florida Studio Theatre Improv
6 p.m. at Waterside Place, 1560 Lakefront Drive, Lakewood Ranch
Free
Visit LakewoodRanch.com.
Enjoy nonstop laughs as the Florida Studio Theatre Improv! takes center stage at the Waterside Place pavilion for the free Sights + Sounds series. The group uses no script or plan. The content is influenced by the audience's suggestions. The cast creates sharp sketches, hilarious musical numbers, and classic improv games that celebrate (and poke fun at) life in paradise. The material will include snowbird season chaos and roundabout confusion to dogs in strollers and the never-ending construction. Limited seating is available so please bring a lawn chair. No outside food or drink is permitted.
In The Round
7 p.m. at SCD Home Studio, 1400 Boulevard of the Arts, Suite 300
$20
Visit SarasotaContemporaryDance.org.
In the Round gives rising choreographers from across the country the chance to set a work in progress during Sarasota Contemporary Dance’s Summer Intensive. The choreographers are given feedback during the performance from audience members led by SCD Artistic Director, Leymis Bolaños Wilmott.
‘Heirloom’
7:30 p.m. at Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave.
$29-$52
Visit SarasotaOrchestra.org.
The history of Sarasota Music Festival director Jeffrey Kahane’s family runs through this program, which features two pieces composed by his son Gabriel Kahane. Gabriel will first play solo piano on his piece, “October 1, 1939/Port of Hamburg.” Then father and son will switch places as Gabriel conducts the festival orchestra and his father plays piano on Gabriel’s three-movement concerto called “Heirloom,” which tells the story of three generations of their family.
Liz Longley
8 p.m. at Fogartyville, 525 Kumquat Court
$26
Visit WSLR.org.
Nashville-based artist Liz Longley has a new album, “New Life,” which explores the impact of motherhood on her life, including a bout of postpartum depression and changes in relationship dynamics. In 2020, Longley made a name for herself with “Funeral For My Past,” which was released after an amicable split with her former record label,and a successful crowd-funding campaign on Kickstarter.
Sarasota Music Festival Finale
7:30 p.m. at Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave.
$29-$72
Visit SarasotaOrchestra.org.
Festival alum Elena Urioste performs Korngold’s post-Romantic Violin Concerto, instantly recognizable from film scores. Also on the bill is Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 2, which pays tribute to the music of Haydn, Mozart and Schubert while also honoring Bach. The Sarasota Orchestra is promising a real “Hollywood ending” for the 61st edition of the Sarasota Music Festival.
Juneteenth Arts Festival
11 a.m. at Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, 1012 N. Orange Ave.
Free
Visit WestcoastBlackTheatre.org.
Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe’s third annual Juneteenth Arts Festival runs all day, both inside and out, at the WBTT campus. There will be live performances by WBTT artists, food trucks, displays by visual artists and a screening of “Soul Crooners: The Documentary.” Don’t miss student performers at 5 p.m. and a jazz concert starring Dee Lucas at 6 p.m., both inside the Donelly Theatre.
HD at the Opera House: Herald’s ‘La fille mal gardée’
1:30 p.m. at Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave.
$20
Visit SarasotaOpera.org.
Fans of Sir Frederick Ashton, rejoice! There are more than there used to be because of Sarasota Ballet Director Iain Webb, who has championed Ashton’s works since taking the helm of the company in 2007. “La fille mal gardée” (“The Wayward Daughter”) was the last ballet choreographed by Ashton. It tells the story of Lise, a farmer’s daughter who defies her mother’s marriage plans for her. An ode to the English countryside, this Royal Ballet rendition stars Natalia Osipova as Lise and Steven McRae as her true love Colas.
Rauschenberg: A Centennial Celebration
The John and Mable Ringling Art Museum, 5401 Bay Shore Road
Free with $25 admission; Mondays free
Visit Ringling.org.
The Ringling joins museums around the world in honoring the centenary of maverick artist Robert Rauschenberg, who burst onto the art scene in the mid-20th century with his collages he called “combines.” The first American to win the grand prize at the Venice Biennale, Rauschenberg set the stage for the Pop Art movement. The exhibition includes works that The Ringling has in its collection, including pieces Rauschenberg created during his time on Captiva Island on Florida’s Gulf Coast, where he moved in 1968 and remained until his death 40 years later. Runs through Aug. 3.
'Lilian Blades: Through the Veil’
10 a.m.. at the Sarasota Art Museum campus of Ringling College,1001 S. Tamiami Trail
Free for museum members; $20
Visit SarasotaArtMuseum.org.
Award-winning artist Lillian Blades invites visitors to get lost in her first solo museum exhibition at Sarasota Art Museum. Her installation of “veils” combines handcrafted and found objects to create a mesmerizing display. Blades attributes her use of dazzling color to her childhood in The Bahamas and her process of creating large-scale assemblages from a hodgepodge of materials to her late mother, an accomplished seamstress. Runs through Oct. 26.
‘George Harrison: A Gardener's Life’
10 a.m. at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens,1534 Mound St.
$28
Visit Selby.org.
"George Harrison: A Gardener's Life" is the ninth installment of the annual Jean and Alfred Goldstein Exhibition Series. Walking around the 15-acre sanctuary on the Sarasota bayfront where gardens and botanical displays have been erected to mirror those in Harrison’s estate, Friar Park, you can't help feeling that the late Beatle would approve of this living tribute. Pro tip: Arrive as soon as you can after opening time for a serene experience. Stop for lunch in the world’s first net-carbon free restaurant, The Green Orchid. You can’t go wrong with the BLT. Runs through June 29.
‘Too Darn Hot: Songs for a Summer Night’
7:30 p.m. at FST’s Court Cabaret, 1265 First St.
$39 and up
Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.
Songstress Carole J. Bufford easily skips eras and genres. Whether she’s singing songs by Ray Charles, whose ditty, “Sinner’s Prayer,” is featured in the film “Sinners,” Frank Sinatra or Patsy Cline, she exudes a retro vibe. What’s more, her cool costumes in “Too Darn Hot” evoke everything from flappers of the 1920s to the neo-swing era of the 1990s. Runs through Sept. 14.
