- March 24, 2026
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Sarasota Opera Apprentices at Noon
12 p.m. at Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave.
$10
Visit SarasotaOpera.org.
If you think opera is only for the wealthy, think again. In this affordable concert, hear the Sarasota Opera’s apprentice and studio artists perform operatic arias, duets and ensembles in this final week of the Opera’s 2026 Winter Festival.
Four Seasons Mashup
7:30 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church of Sarasota, 2050 Oak St. $42, $5 student
Visit ChamberOrchestraSarasota.org.
You may think you’ve heard Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons,” but you’ve never heard Chamber Orchestra of Sarasota’s mashup. This program, the final of the Chamber Orchestra’s season, also features the music of Astor Piazzolla and Mark O’Connor with violinist Ilana Zaks-Nederlander performing as a soloist.
‘The Apiary’
7:30 p.m. at Urbanite Theatre, 1487 Second St.
$5-$44
Visit UrbaniteTheatre.com.
Urbanite Theatre’s “The Apiary” unfolds in the not-too-distant future. What's an apiary? It's an area for beekeeping. This one's a black comedy — and incandescent science-fiction. Kate Douglas' play zeroes in on two lab assistants, Zora and Pilar, who struggle to save the last surviving honeybee hive. But at what cost? Runs through April 19.
‘La bohème’
7:30 p.m. at Sarasota Opera, 61 N. Pineapple Ave.
$43.26-$185.40
Visit SarasotaOpera.org.
Composed by Puccini in the 1890s, ‘“La bohème” follows the seamstress Mimi and her struggling artist friends in 1830s Paris. One of the world’s most beloved operas, “La bohème’" served as the inspiration for Jonathan Larson’s Broadway musical “Rent” and the movie “Moulin Rouge.” More than a century after its debut, the opera continues to win new fans with its heartrending tale of love, poverty and loss. Runs through March 28.
‘One Hit Wonders’
7:30 p.m. at Florida Studio Theatre’s John C. Court Cabaret, 1265 First St.
$37-$42
Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.
Is it better to have had just one song top the charts than to have none at all? You’ll have time to think about that question as you listen to such hit songs as Don McLean’s “American Pie,” a runaway hit that eclipsed other success in the troubadour’s career, and “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” from Bobby McFerrin. Runs through June 21.
'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, a member of the “27 Club” (stars who died at age 27), in Randy Johnson’s show at Florida Studio Theatre. But the Black singers who influenced Joplin’s singing style (Odetta, Bessie Smith, Aretha Franklin, Etta James and others) are more than just background in this knockout production directed by Ben Liebert. The four-piece band backing Ferrari is worth the price of admission alone, with guitar player Travis F. Welch burning up the stage. Runs through April 12.
‘Art Deco: The Golden Age of Illustration’
10 a.m. at the Sarasota Art Museum, 1001 S. Tamiami Trail
Free for museum members; $20
Visit SarasotaArtMuseum.org.
It’s last call for Sarasota Art Museum’s landmark exhibition celebrating the 100th anniversary of the expo that kicked off the Art Deco movement. More than 100 eye-catching posters from the Crouse Collection as well as industrial furniture, home furnishings and other objects loaned by the Wolfsonian-Florida International University are on display. Through March 29.
‘The Merry Widow’
1:30 p.m. at Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave.
$35-$200
Visit SarasotaOpera.org.
Set in 1905 Parisian aristocracy, Franz Lehár ‘s opera, “The Merry Widow” tells the story of a wealthy widow whose life is upended when a former flame returns. One of four operas running in the Sarasota Opera Winter Festival, it is a crowd pleaser because it marries music, dance and comedy. This new English-language production is conducted by Anthony Barrese and directed by Katherine M. Carter. Runs through March 27.
Jazz at Two: Skip Conkling’s Dixie Mix
2 p.m. at UnitarianUniversalists of SRQ, 3975 Fruitville Road
$20
Visit JazzClubSarasota.org.
If you know what it means to miss New Orleans, come on out and hear Skip Conkling’s Dixie Mix play NOLA swing tunes and jazz standards. Joining Conkling, who plays drums, are Mike Evans, Marv Luckett, John deWitt, Harley Sommerfield and others in this edition of Jazz Club of Sarasota’s Jazz at Two series.
An Afternoon with Carl Hiaasen
4 p.m. at Sarasota Art Museum, 1001 S. Tamiami Trail
$125
Visit OLLIRinglingCollege.org.
A lot of great writers have come out of Florida in the last century, including Ernest Hemingway, Zora Neale Hurston and John D. MacDonald. But if the Sunshine State had an official Bard, that title would most likely go to former Miami Herald reporter, author and environmentalist Carl Hiaasen.
Le Cirque Kikasse
7 p.m. at The Ringling’s Bayfront Gardens, 5401 Bayshore Road
$40, children $10
Visit Ringling.org.
Circus meets food truck in this party zone as an adventurous troupe from Quebec transforms their truck into a beer garden, offering food and craft beers along with circus arts such as trampoline, balancing and juggling. With The Ringling’s Art of Performance Series, expect the unexpected. Runs through March 29.
Sarasota Ballet: Life and Liberty
7:30 p.m. at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail
$35 and up
Visit SarasotaBallet.org.
This program pairs George Balanchine's love letter to America, "Stars and Stripes," with Sir David Bintley's surrealistic "Still Life at the Penguin Cafe," sure to delight animal lovers. Written in 1958, "Stars and Stripes" has been likened to a Super Bowl Halftime Show with more than 40 dancers on stage dressed in red, white and blue costumes, executing fancy footwork while managing props such as trumpets and batons. Runs through March 28.
'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. Runs weekends through April 19.
Embracing Our Differences Tour
10 a.m. at Bayfront Park, 5 Bayfront Drive
Free
Visit EmbracingOurDifferences.org.
Embracing Our Differences’ annual exhibition of 50 pieces of billboard-size art from around the world celebrating kindness, inclusion and respect comes to Sarasota’s Bayfront Park. During its 23 years in existence, EOD has welcomed 5.2 million visitors. The exhibition features artwork and artists from 125 countries and 48 states. Runs through April 19 with weekly tours each Saturday at 10 a.m. Through April 19.
‘Susannah’
7:30 p.m. at Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave.
$35-$200
Visit SarasotaOpera.org.
It’s the 100th anniversary of the Sarasota Opera House, where “Susannah” is being performed, and it’s the centennial of composer Carlisle Floyd’s birth. Those looking for a Florida connection will be pleased to know that “Susannah” debuted in 1955 at Florida State University in Tallahassee. Runs through March 28.
‘Il trovatore’
1:30 p.m. at Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave.
$35-$200
Visit SarasotaOpera.org.
Under Maestro Victor DeRenzi, Sarasota Opera made its name by becoming the only opera company in the world to perform all the operas of Verdi. The Opera concluded the Verdi Cycle in 2016, but since then it has performed a Verdi opera in its winter festival. This year’s selection is “Il trovatore,” which follows the noblewoman Leonora, who is in love with the troubadour Manrico, and who does not return the affections of Count di Luna.
‘A Beautiful Noise’
7 p.m. at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail
$56-$156
Visit VanWezel.org.
The family of Neil Diamond tribute performer Mike Sardina trashed the recent movie “Song Sung Blue,” but theatergoers still left the cinema humming such Diamond hits as “Cracklin’ Rosie,” “Sweet Caroline” and “Forever in Blue Jeans.” It’s hard to get biopics right. Broadway had better luck with “A Beautiful Noise,” named for his 1976 album of the same title. The jukebox musical is presented as a series of therapy sessions in which lyrics to Diamond’s songs reveal episodes of his life. Runs through April 4.
Art, Actually: The Ringling’s Jennifer Lemmer Posey
11 a.m. at Art Center Sarasota, 707 N. Tamiami Trail
$15
Visit ArtSarasota.org.
Come one, come all to hear Sarasota’s reigning queen of circus history at this talk at Art Center Sarasota. Lemmer Posey, who is the Tibbals Curator of Circus at The Ringling, will talk about how Sarasota has served as a crossroads where circus and visual arts intersect for nearly a century.
