Editor’s Note: While Sarasota always offers more events than any one person could possibly attend, here are a few specially selected this week by ArtsBeat editors Jay Handelman and Carrie Seidman. For a full calendar list of events and performances in the area, visit our friends at the Arts Alliance of Sarasota County

March 16

I have had the chance to listen to and interview Broadway composers Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty and they have wonderful stories to share about their careers. Years ago Ahrens wrote songs for the television shorts “Schoolhouse Rock” and also wrote songs for “Captain Kangaroo.” They’ll be sharing stories about their long roster of shows, including “Ragtime,” “Seussical” and “Once on This Island” at 6:30 p.m. when they receive the second Asolo Repertory Theatre Luminary Award.

6:30 p.m. March 16 at the Ora, 578 McIntosh Rd., Sarasota. Tickets are $25, $150 for VIP seating. asolorep.org; 941-351-9010, ext. 4714

— Jay Handelman

March 19 - 22

Twice in the past, Sarasota Contemporary Dance has collaborated with Ann Hobson Pilot, the former principal harpist for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, to showcase her arrangements of the music of famed tango composer Astor Pantaleon Piazzolla, as well as the choreography of SCD founder and director, Leymis Bolanos Wilmott. Now Bolanos Wilmott has enticed Pilot out of retirement for one more go-round. If their past collaborations are any indication, this is one you do not want to miss.

“SCD + Piazzolla,” Cook Theater at the FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail. $20-$71. sarasotacontemporarydance.org

— Carrie Seidman

March 20 -21

If you caught my recent story on Azara Ballet, you already know something about this ground-breaking company, which strives to be inclusive, both in the selection of its dancers and the work it presents. This last show of the company’s season — titled “Seasons” — includes two works that are, in co-founder Kate Flowers’ words, “queer focused.” “Four Seasons” by the company’s new artistic director, Joshua Stayton, follows the course of a young man’s life from birth, through sexual awakening, to middle age and death. “The Woman in White,” by Azara co-founder (and Kate’s husband) Martin Flowers, is a fascinating, psychological study of the poet Emily Dickinson and her sexual yearnings.

“Seasons,” Riverview Performing Arts Center, 1 Ram Way. $41. azaraballet.org

— Carrie Seidman

March 20

If you’d rather do the dancing yourself, head to The Bazaar on Apricot and Lime for a day of dancing, music and community in celebration of the equinox, when the sun crosses the celestial equator. Doors open at 10 a.m. and the fun starts around 11 a.m. with a yoga class taught by Joshua Redmond. An opening circle at noon will be followed by “Ecstatic Dance” (a freeform movement practice — no choreography, no judgement) led by Kelly Atkins. Then you can hang out and enjoy the eclectic wares of the bazaars’ vendors before a closing optional nature walk at 3 p.m. Children and families welcome and all (except what the vendors are selling) is free.

“Equinox Sarasota Ecstatic Dance,” The Bazaar at Apricot and Lime, 821 Apricot Ave. Free. Reservations at bazaaronapricotandlime.com/event-details/equinox-sarasota-ecstatic-dance-1/form

— Carrie Seidman

March 20-April 4

Paula Vogel’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “How I Learned to Drive” is a play that rarely fails to generate a strong reaction from audiences, and now it comes to Venice Theatre’s Stage 2 series. It’s about a young woman trying to understand her relationship with her uncle, who is the only person who seems to treat her well. Vogel created a moving, disturbing and surprisingly funny play about family and abuse. Kristofer Geddie directs Alyssa Goudy as Li’l Bit opposite Dennis Parker as Uncle Peck.

Runs March 20-April 4 in the Pinkerton Theatre, 140 W. Tampa Ave., Venice. Tickets are $39, $28 for college students and educators and $18 for high school students. venicetheatre.org; 941-488-1115

— Jay Handelman

Through April 5

Florida Studio Theatre enjoyed a big hit with its Stage III production of Richard Hellesen’s one-man play “Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground” earlier this year. It’s about Dwight Eisenhower, the nation’s 34th president, who reflects on his military career as a prominent general in World War II and his entry into politics that led him to the White House. David Sitler, who has appeared in numerous shows in Sarasota and was the understudy in the original run of “Eisenhower,” takes over the role for the play’s return.

Runs through April 5 at Florida Studio Theatre’s Bowne’s Lab, 1265 First St., Sarasota. Tickets are $29-$42. floridastudiotheatre.org; 941-366-9000.

— Jay Handelman