Editor’s Note: While Sarasota always offers more events than any one person could possibly attend, here are a few that stood out this week to 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 23
Greg Bickley as Elton John./ Photo by Caryn Hodge
If you missed it over the weekend, this is the last night for the Pops Orchestra of Bradenton and Sarasota’s “Elton!” a tribute to the unforgettable music and outlandish costumes of Elton John. Greg Bickley will be the guy behind the star-shaped sunglasses and atop the platform shoes, singing everyone’s favorites. (Mine, for perhaps obvious reasons, is “Tiny Dancer.”)
“Elton!” The Pops Orchestra of Bradenton and Sarasota. State College of Florida’s Neel Performing Arts Center, 5840 26th St. W, Bradenton. 7:30 p.m. $35-$65. 941-926-7677; thepopsorchestra.org
— Carrie Seidman
March 25-April 6
From left, Ariana Fitzgerald, Vincent Pearson, Jamie Saunders and Adrian Van Stee star in the Sarasota Players production of Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible.” Photo by Adrian Van Stee, provided by The Sarasota Players
Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” was the playwright’s response to the efforts of Sen. Joseph McCarthy to root out Communists in the United States, and the impact his hearings had on the society and culture in the 1950s. Amanda Heisey directs a new production of the play set during the Salem witch trials for the Sarasota Players, with a cast that includes Vincent Pearson as John Proctor, Ariana Fitzgerald as his wife, Elizabeth and Jamie Saunders as Abigail.
March 25-April 5, Sarasota Players, Crossings at Siesta Key Mall, 3501 S. Tamiami Trail, Suite 1130. Tickets $30, $15 for students for the March 25 preview and $35 and $15 for students for other performances. theplayers.org; 941-365-2494
March 27-28
Nicolas Moreno in the Sarasota Ballet’s 2018 production of “Still Life at the Penguin Cafe” by Sir David Bintley. Frank Atura photo provided by The Sarasota Ballet.
I don’t get to see as much ballet and dance as Carrie, but I vividly remember being impressed and moved by Sir David Bintley’s “Still Life at the Penguin Cafe” when it was first presented by The Sarasota Ballet in 2018. The company is bringing it back for its “Life and Liberty” program at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. Set to music by Simon Jeffes and his Penguin Cafe Orchestra, it is a piece that ponders how we are treating the environment. The piece is paired with George Balanchine’s popular “Stars and Stripes,” set to music by John Philip Sousa.
March 27-28. Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Tickets are $35-$125. sarasotaballet.org; 941-359-0099
— Jay Handelman
March 28-29
It’s time once again for Florida Studio Theatre’s annual production of award-winning plays by elementary school children. This year it’s “The Pirate Ship & The Sea Monster” (and other winning plays from around the world). At the very least, the work of these youthful playwrights is endearing; at best, surprisingly sophisticated. Who knows? You may just discover the next Eugene O’Neill.
“The Pirate Ship & The Sea Monster,” Florida Studio Theatre’s Keating Theater, 1241 N. Palm Ave. 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. Reservations at 941-266-9000; floridastudiotheatre.org (Additional shows through April 18)
— Carrie Seidman
March 29
Wondering about the pipeline of homegrown arts talent in Sarasota? Have I got a show for you! Key Chorale and the Circus Arts Conservatory are bringing together, for one night only, a fusion of talent showcasing local youth artists. “Illuminate” features hundreds of young singers, orchestra members, dancers and performers from the Sailor Circus filling the Circus Arts arena with song and spectacle. Now we just have to figure out how to keep them all here.
“Illuminate,” Key Chorale and the Circus Arts Conservatory. Circus Arts Conservatory Arena, 2075 Bahia Vista. $20-40. 941-355-9805; keychorale.org
— Carrie Seidman
Through March 29
Hanna Brammer stars in the title role of Carlisle Floyd’s “Susannah” at the Sarasota Opera. Rod Millington photo
You have just a few more days to catch the four productions featured in this year’s Sarasota Opera season, the final one being led by Artistic Director Victor DeRenzi before he steps down this spring. I enjoyed them all, including “La Boheme,” “The Merry
Widow” and “Il trovatore,” to different degrees, but really encourage people to try Carlisle Floyd’s “Susannah” a try because it’s so different. It’s a 1955 American opera about mob mentality that features a shimmering performance by Hanna Brammer in the title role of a young women shunned by her religious community for all the wrong reasons.
Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave. Sarasota. Tickets are $25.75-$215.27. sarasotaopera.org; 941-321-1300
— Jay Handelman
