The best things to do around Sarasota this week | arts and entertainment
Thusday
“An American in Paris”
7:30 p.m. at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 7777 N. Tamiami Trail
$77-$107
Visit: VanWezel.org.
Damn it ! “An American in Paris” takes you to post-war France, where you’ll hear classic Gershwin tunes and watch the world rediscover the majesty of dance and the power of love. The play won four Tony Awards in 2015 when it ran on Broadway and is inspired by the Oscar-winning film released in 1951.
Open call for volunteers
6:00 PM at Circus Sarasota Big Top Tent on Regatta Island at Nathan Benderson Park
To free
Contact: [email protected] or 355-9335, extension 305
Here is your chance to join the circus. The Circus Arts Conservatory is looking for volunteers to help draw crowds to Circus Sarasota in exchange for the opportunity to see a free show.
Israeli conductor Yaniv Dinur has performed around the world, and he will be in Sarasota to lead the Masterworks performances. (Courtesy picture)
Masterpieces 4: Beethoven and Tchaikovsky
8 p.m. at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 7777 N. Tamiami Trail
$35 to $98
Visit: SarasotaOrchestra.org.
Guest conductor Yaniv Dinur will lead the Sarasota Orchestra through a number of thought-provoking masterpieces. First comes Gabriella Smith’s “Field Guide,” which samples the sounds and rhythms of the natural world. Next is Grammy Award-winning violinist Augustin Hadelich, who will perform Beethoven’s Complicated Violin Concerto. The program will conclude with a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4, completed in 1878. The Masterpieces event will also have a Saturday performance at 8 p.m. and a Sunday matinee finale scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
Friday
Music on Hand
6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Lakewood Main Street
To free
Visit: LakewoodRanch.com.
Get your Lakewood Ranch rhythm. The monthly community block party will feature Goodbyeddie playing popular hits, and the event will benefit The Players Center for Performing Arts. Lakewood Ranch’s main street will be lined with food vendors and beer trucks, and there will be rides and activities for kids.
Bobby Collins
6:30 and 8:50 p.m. at McCurdy’s Comedy Theater, 1923 Ringling Blvd.
$31
Visit: McCurdysComedy.com.
Bobby Collins rose through the ranks from the humblest comedy clubs to sold-out venues across the country. Collins, a former sales manager in the fashion industry, has put his sharp insights into a brand new career. Watch as Collins uses physical comedy and sharp timing and observation to explore the weaknesses of the human condition. Collins will play two shows on Friday night and two shows on Saturday night for the McCurdy comedian crowd.
First Friday Sip and Shop
5-8pm in downtown Sarasota
To free
Visit: DestinationDowntownSarasota.com.
Downtown Sarasota is very welcoming this weekend. Destination Downtown Sarasota presents the February edition of First Friday Sip & Shop, which will give visitors the opportunity to shop and enjoy refreshments. Local businesses will stay open later than usual to entertain crowds, who will be treated to live music and live circus performers.
“A Night at the Oscars”
7:30 p.m. at the Venice Performing Arts Center, 1 Indian Ave., Building 5, Venice
$31-$56
“Peace and War” by Mara Torres Gonzalez. (Courtesy picture)
Visit: TheVeniceSymphony.org.
Walk the red carpet and savor your own Oscars experience. The Venice Symphony Orchestra will perform alongside world-renowned bagpiper Eric Rigler, who will cover some of the famous film tunes that put him on the world map. Rigler will play signature tunes you may have heard from Oscar-nominated movies like “Braveheart” and “Titanic,” and the Symphony will perform tunes from several other beloved classics.
DO NOT MISS
‘Duality’
Mara Torres Gonzalez invites you to contemplate her work and take full measure of her accomplishments. “Duality” will feature large-scale and mixed-media works, and the exhibition will open with a 90-minute reception with pianist Alan Wasserman.
Gonzalez opened her gallery in the Rosemary District in 2020, and her mission is not only to exhibit her own art but also that of several regional artists from the Sarasota community and beyond.
The “Duality” exhibition will continue until March 25.
When: 5:30-7 p.m., February 4
Or: MARA Studio Gallery, 1421 5th St., Suite A
Tickets: To free
Information: MARAStudioGallery.com
Saturday
Longboat Key Arts Festival
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Longboat Key Town Center Green, 600 Bay Isles Road
To free
Visit: ArtFestival.com.
Longboat Key’s busiest spot will host an outdoor arts festival this weekend. Come stroll through the newly landscaped downtown park and shop for artwork for your home or office. The festival will also take place on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
‘Love is in the air’
7 p.m. at SCF’s Neel Performing Arts Center, 5840 26th St. W., Bradenton
To free
Visit: ManateeConcertBand.org.
February begins and Valentine’s Day is not far away. Come join the Manatee Concert Band for a free show as they perform some of the greatest love songs ever composed. Zarita Mattox will lend her pretty voice to the catchy tunes of the group.
Cuban guitarist Rene Izquierdo will be Guitar Sarasota’s guest of honor. (Courtesy picture)
René Izquierdo, classical guitarist, Cuba
7:30 p.m. at the Riverview Performing Arts Center, 1 Ram Way
$35-$39
Visit: GuitarSarasota.org.
The second act of Guitar Sarasota’s 2022 international artist series brings Cuban guitarist Rene Izquierdo to town. Izquierdo, a graduate of Yale University School of Music, is a professor of classical guitar at Wisconsin State University and has won numerous international guitar competitions.
Sunday
Giving Hunger the Blues
Noon at Nathan Benderson Park, 5851 Nathan Benderson Circle
$15 to $100
Visit: JazzClubSarasota.org.
It’s a charity event and also a good time. The Sarasota Jazz Club hosts its annual Giving Hunger the Blues event, bringing together a number of talented artists at Nathan Benderson Park. Headliners Selwyn Birchwood and Albert Castiglia will take the stage, as will Ariella, Big Night Out, Bird Tribe, Fogt’s All Stars, the Jeremy Carter Quartet, Frankie Pineiro and the Cole Hazlitt Quintet. Proceeds from the event will go to the Mayor’s Feed the Hungry program, which has collected and distributed more than 600 tons of food and more than $4,000,000 in food gift cards since its inception in 1987.
“One for the Ladies”
3 p.m. at Northminster Presbyterian Church, 3131 61st St.
$5
Visit: SunCoastConcertBand.org.
It’s Ladies Night with the Suncoast Concert Band. Join us as the Community Orchestra serenades the better half of society with a Command Show at Northminster Presbyterian Church.
Harpsichord dedication concert: Mark Kroll and Carol Lieberman
5 p.m. at Church of the Redeemer, 222 S. Palm Ave.
$25
Visit: RedeemerSarasota.org.
Where else can you hear Bach’s sonatas performed this weekend? Mark Kroll and Carol Lieberman will perform Bach’s Violin and Harpsichord Sonatas together on Sunday as part of the great musical series of the Church of the Redeemer.
“proper pronouns”
7:00 p.m. at Sainer Auditorium, 5313 Bayshore Road
$10
Visit: WSLR.org/Fogartyville.
It’s a perfect event for him, her and them. There are 30 ordained transgender ministers in the United States, and six of them are in North Carolina. “Pronouns Proper” takes a look inside the lives of some of these ministers and documents the sometimes arduous journey they undertake to live their lives in public. The screening of the film will be paired with a Q&A session with a panel featuring Meg Daniels, the film’s director. Proceeds from the event will benefit ALSO Youth.
Wednesday
Gayle Martin, piano
10:30 a.m. at Selby Library, 1331 First St.
Free, prior registration required
Visit: SarasotaMusicArchive.org.
She graced some of the biggest stages in the world. And now she’s coming to Sarasota. Gayle Martin gained international prominence at the International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow, and she has performed at both Lincoln Center in Manhattan and the White House. Martin has toured extensively across North America and has performed on stages in Europe and Asia. Martin will play selections from Beethoven and Chopin.
Violinist Amanda Nix and the Sarasota Orchestra are ready to help you celebrate Valentine’s Day with their performance Be Mine. (Courtesy picture)
OUR CHOICE
Great Escapes 4: “Be Mine”
It’s an early celebration of Valentine’s Day with the Sarasota Orchestra.
Bring your loved ones and settle in for some of the most familiar romantic themes in popular entertainment.
The orchestra, conducted by Sarah Hicks, will play selections from “Gone with the Wind,” “Cinema Paradiso,” “Superman” and more. Hicks, who grew up in Hawaii, conducts the Minnesota Orchestra’s “Live at Orchestra Hall” series and is also a conductor at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.
The program “Be Mine” will also be broadcast on Thursday (7:30 p.m.), Friday (5:30 p.m.), Saturday (8 p.m.) and Sunday (4 p.m.)
When: 5:30 p.m., February 9
Or: Holley Hall, 709 N. Tamiami Trail
Tickets: $42-$65
Information: SarasotaOrchestra.org.
Dinner Series: Rick Costa Jazz Quartet
6:00 p.m. at Plantation Golf & Country Club, 500 Rockley Blvd., Venice
$58
Visit: ArtistSeriesConcerts.org.
It’s a fine dining and musical experience with percussionist Rick Costa and his expert backing artists. Costa is backed by vocalist and keyboardist Liston Gregory III, trumpeter Camilo Molina and bassist Michael Ross. And what’s on the menu? Salad, shrimps, potatoes and cheesecake.
Jenna Cormey will make her Florida Studio Theater debut in “Laughing Matters.”
“Laughing Matters”
6 p.m. at Florida Studio Theater’s Court Cabaret, 1265 First St.
$18
Visit: FloridaStudioTheatre.org.
This musical skit revue is inspired by both politics and culture, and features parodies of popular songs alongside original comedy sketches. The show will feature Nick Anastasia, Richie McCall and William Selby in addition to a newcomer to the FST scene. Jenna Cormey, who has previously starred in regional productions of “Hairspray” and “Rent,” will make her first appearance at the Florida Studio Theater. The show will continue until June 19.
“The big jump”
8:00 p.m. at the Asolo Repertory Theater, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail
$26-$90
Visit: AsoloRep.org.
Lauren Yee wrote this piece, and Vanessa Stalling directs the tale about family and history that straddles a timeline in 1971 and another in 1989. The story is about an Asian American basketball player who wins the opportunity of playing in an exhibition game in China, and it tracks past and present relationships all the way to the final buzzer. Until April 2.