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 2
Need to feel a little more hopeful about the future? Catch Key Chorale’s “Tomorrow’s Voices Tonight: A Student Scholar Soiree,” presented at the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe’s Donelly Theater. Local students will showcase classical and musical theater selections that demonstrate the results of their training with voice teachers and masterclasses with guest artists. There’s a wealth of talent in the upcoming ranks.
5:30 p.m. $30. West Coast Black Theatre Troupe, 1012 N. Orange Ave. (941) 552-8768; KeyChorale.org
— Carrie Seidman
March 4-6
Ahamefule J. Oluo weaves live music and narrative to explore the things that connect us all in “The Things Around Us,” part of The Ringling museum’s “Art of Performance” series. / Photo courtesy The Ringling
Ahamefule J. Oluo is a composer, writer, musician and comedian and all of his gifts come to fore in the final work of his latest trilogy, “The Things Around Us,” which layers live music (trumpet, electronic) and storytelling to explore the things that connect us. Read Carrie’s review from opening night of this latest entry in The Ringling museum’s “Art of Performance” series and don’t miss the final performances of this run.
7:30 p.m. at the Historic Asolo Theatre, 5401 Bay Shore Drive. $40-50. (941) 360-7399; ringling.org/event/ahemfule-j-oluo/
— Carrie Seidman
March 6
This year, Sarasota’s “One Book, One Community” selection is Patrick Bringley’s “All the Beauty in the World,” a portrait of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and its treasures. Not only did Bringley work for a decade as a guide at the museum, he’s also a former staffer at the New Yorker, which means he knows a bit about writing too. He’ll be giving two talks in Sarasota about the book and both are free. But it’s first-come, first-served seating and this is sure to be a popular event, so plan for seasonal traffic.
Patrick Bringley, author of “All the Beauty in the World,” Sarasota’s “One Book, One Community” selection for the year, will be giving two talks in the county on March 6.
10:30 a.m. Shannon Staub Library, 4445 Career Lane, Northport. 7 p.m. Selby Library, 1331 First Street, Sarasota. sarasotacountylibraries.org/my-library/events/one-book-sarasota
— Carrie Seidman
Through March 8
This year’s Circus Sarasota big top show is called “Epic,” and it’s a fitting title for a show that is filled with dangerous thrill acts, adorable dogs and some comedy with the clown Chris Allison. My personal favorites is the rolla bolla act featuring Rubel Medini and Quincy Azzario, in which he rocks on a teetering board, suspending her while she rests upside down on his head. And the Cardenas Team gets the blood pumping with their Wheel of Steel act.
Clown Chris Allison gets audience members involved in his acts during Circus Sarasota’s “Epic” at Nathan Benderson Park. Photo by Jay Handelman
“Epic” runs through March 8 under the big top at Nathan Benderson Park, 5851 Nathan Benderson Circle, Sarasota. Tickets are $40-$100. circusarts.org; 941-355-9805.
— Jay Handelman
Through March 22
I laughed a lot during the American premiere of Steven Moffat’s “The Unfriend,” but I also felt bad about it at times. The play generates contrasting emotions even as it makes you chuckle. Moffat is best known for his TV writing on such hit series as “Dr. Who” and “Sherlock.” This is his first play and I think there’s more he can do to better focus on the heart of the story. It’s about a British couple reluctantly hosting a lively and pushy American woman with dark secret in their London home after they met her briefly on a cruise. Their guest, Elsa, is full of surprises. Moffat dwells on some extraneous elements that don’t add much to the overall story, but you’ll still be laughing.
The cast of the American premiere of Steven Moffat’s “The Unfriend” at Asolo Repertory Theatre. Photo by Adrian Van Stee
The Unfriend” runs through March 22 at Asolo Repertory Theatre, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Tickets are $35-$105. asolorep.org; 941-351-8000.
Through April 26
I have now been to the Sarasota Art Museum three times to look at its impressive exhibit “Art Deco: The Golden Age of Illustration.” It features about 100 rare advertising posters for everything from Chrysler cars to cruise lines and drinks, that are filled with a wonderful sense of movement and life. it is on display through March 29. On my latest visit, I had my first chance to see, on the third floor, “Janet Echelman: Radical Softness,” which traces the journey of the artist’s career from drawings and paintings to massive sculptures made of different textiles. It’s on display through April 26./
One of the sculptures crafted by Janet Echelman on display at Sarasota Art Museum in the exhibition “Radical Softness.” Photo by Jay Handelman
“Art Deco: The Golden Age of Illustration’ through March 29. “Janet Echelman: Radical Softness” through April 26. Sarasota Art Museum, 1001 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. sarasotaartmuseum.org; 941-309-4300
— Jay Handelman
