The best things to do in Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, Longboat for April 23-29

Thursday, April 23

10th Town Hall Art Exhibition
5-6:30 p.m. at Longboat Key Town Hall, 501 Bay Isles Road, Longboat Key
Free
Visit LongboatKey.org.

View works by local artists at this annual art showcase, part of the month-long Arts in April celebration of Longboat's creatives. Enjoy complimentary appetizers and beverages. 

‘Fiddler On The Roof’
7:30 p.m. at FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail
$37-$99
Visit AsoloRep.org. 

At Asolo Repertory Theatre, what’s old is new again under Producing Artistic Director Peter Rothstein. Director Rothstein breathes new life into “Fiddler on the Roof,” the feelgood musical set in a Russian village circa 1900, by casting actor/musicians. Famous from both stage and screen, “Fiddler” follows Tevye’s efforts to find husbands for his daughters as he balances the traditions of the past and the opportunities of the present. Runs through May 24. 

Photo by Adrian Van Stee

‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’
7:30 p.m. at FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail
$40
Visit AsoloRep.org.

In Shakespeare’s crowd-pleasing comedy, four lovers who venture into an enchanted forest outside Athens discover a troupe preparing a play to celebrate the upcoming nuptials of Duke Theseus and Hippolyta. The line between reality and illusion gets blurred as naughty fairies led by Puck and his magical potions create mischief among the players. Runs through April 26. 

‘A Night With Janis Joplin’
7:30 p.m. at Florida Studio Theatre’s Keating Theatre, 1241 N. Palm Ave.
$59
Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.

Francesca Ferrari gets top billing as Janis Joplin in Randy Johnson’s show at Florida Studio Theatre. But the Black artists who helped inform Joplin’s singing style (Odetta, Bessie Smith, Aretha Franklin, Etta James and others) are more than just backup singers in this knockout production directed by Ben Liebert. Runs through April 26. 

‘Too Fat for China’
7:30 p.m. at Urbanite Theatre, 1487 Second St.
$5-$48
Visit UrbaniteTheatre.com. 

Phoebe Potts’ “Too Fat for China,” which made its Sarasota debut at Urbanite’s 2025 Modern Works Festival, returns for an encore performance. The autobiographical tale follows a comic storyteller’s efforts to adopt a baby. Runs through April 26.

Friday, April 24

Something Borrowed, Something New
10 a.m. at the Sarasota Art Museum campus of Ringling College, 1001 S. Tamiami Trail
$20
Visit SarasotaArtMuseum.org. 

Curated by Rangsook Yoon, “Something Borrowed, Something New” features major modern artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Chuck Close, David Hockney, Yoko Ono, Kara Walker and Ai Weiwei. Their works have been loaned by private collectors in Southwest Florida to SAM for the show, which runs through Sept. 27.

Jazz at Two: Paul Gormley Quartet
2 p.m. at Unitarian Universalists of SRQ, 3975 Fruitville Road
$20
Visit JazzClubSarasota.org.

Roll into the weekend with Jazz Club of Sarasota’s Jazz at Two series. This week’s featured artist is bassist Paul Gormley and his quartet, which will play classic jazz and favorites from the Great American Songbook.

Dinner and a Movie
5:30 p.m. at Longboat Key's Bayfront Park, 4052 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key
$85
Visit LBKGardenClub.org.

Join the Longboat Key Garden Club for its annual dinner and a movie, featuring the film "Knives Out." Tickets include entry, a gourmet dinner, a chance to win a door prize, popcorn, concession candies and more. Also features a live auction. 

Image courtesy of Matthew Holler

Music for 18 Musicians
7:30 p.m. at Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave.
$30
Visit enSRQ.org. 

It’s a year of big birthdays in Sarasota and Samantha Bennett and George Nickson’s ensembleNewSRQ is offering up a trifecta. Exactly 50 years after its premiere, enSRQ will perform Steve Reich’s “Music for 18 Musicians” at the Sarasota Opera House during Reich’s 90th birthday year. It’s one of the highlights of enSRQ’s 10th anniversary season. 

Saturday, April 25

Cops, Cars & Coffee
8-10 a.m. at Whitney Plaza, 6920 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key
Free
Visit LongboatKey.org.

Show off your wheels at a social with first responders from the town of Longboat Key Police Department. Officers will be meeting with community members while spotlighting local businesses at Whitney Plaza. Coffee and food available by purchase.

'The Pirate Ship and the Sea Monster & Other Winning Plays’
10 a.m. and 12 p.m. at FST’s Keating Theatre, 1241 N. Palm Ave.
$12
Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.

Don’t let the kids spend weekends glued to digital devices. Bring them out to Florida Studio Theatre for family-oriented fare. A 50-minute program of short plays written by grade-schoolers from around the world features professional actors bringing heroes of all kinds to life. Through May 2. 

Photo by Sorcha Augustine

SCD In-Studio: HuMangrove
3 and 7 p.m. at Sarasota Contemporary Dance Studio, 1400 Blvd. of the Arts, Suite 300
$15-$30
Visit SarasotaContemporaryDance.org.

Tania Vergara’s contemporary piece celebrates the mangrove in dance, music and poetry by Florida conservationist Marjory Stoneman Douglas illuminated by projections of paintings by Guillermo López González. The dance explores how humans and mangroves are linked through visible and invisible networks. 

Sunday, April 26

‘Elmo’s Got the Moves’
2 p.m. at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail
$46-$66
Visit VanWezel.org.

Elmo’s got the moves and he’s bringing them to Sarasota’s Purple Palace, formally known as the Van Wezel. This new Sesame Street Live show features singing, dancing and favorite songs such as “Sunny Days” and “Letter of the Day.” 

Suncoast Concert Band
3 p.m. at Northminster Presbyterian Church, 3131 61st St.
$5
Visit SuncoastConcertBand.org.

Suncoast Concert Band’s Happy 250 tribute to America’s semiquincentennial includes “Star Spangled Spectacular,” a medley of George M. Cohan patriotic songs as well as “Songs for My Country” and Irving Berlin’s “Songs for America.”

Chamber Soirée 6: Sounds of the Americas
4 p.m. at Holley Hall, 709 N. Tamiami Trail
$48 and up
Visit SarasotaOrchestra.org.

It’s America’s 250th birthday, but the U.S. isn’t the only country in the Americas. Sarasota Orchestra presents a chamber music program featuring music from Argentinian composer Alberto Ginastera, Uruguayan native Enrique Crespo and Cuban jazz musician Paquito D’Rivera. Their compositions will be played by a string quartet, a brass quintet and a wind quintet, respectively. 

Monday, April 27

WBTT Artist Showcase: Sieglinda Fox
7:30 p.m. at Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, 1012 N. Orange Ave.
$39-$100
Visit WestcoastBlackTheatre.org.

Get on board Sieglinda Fox’s “Soul Train” with a WBTT show that tells the story of her life in word, song and dance in “A Survivor’s Journey of Life, Love and Happiness.” The showcase allows Fox to explore the moments that shaped the dynamic artist she is today.