< ‘SPACEMAN’ Urbanite Theatre produces a human story in a science-fiction universe. 3
BLACK TIE INSIDE:
HOSPITAL GALA: Hospital’s centennial anniversary is the cat’s meow 9 >
ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT
‘ComeFromAway’
‘MoulinRouge’
GladysKnight
RHAPSODY
PURPLE
HerbAlpert
After
being postponed for more than two months, the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall begins a sparkling season.
no doubt we’ll be hearing more about the Van Wezel’s lobby, but the current setup is not necessarily permanent. “It’s the most cost-effective, attractive solution we could come up with in time,” Bensel says.
MONICA ROMAN GAGNIER
ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
If you have family or friends who work at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall and you haven’t seen much of them lately, forgive them. Whether they’re employees of the city of Sarasota, which owns the “Purple Palace,” or contractors, they’ve been working 24/7 since Oct. 10. That’s the day after coastal surge from Hurricane Milton flooded the Van Wezel’s kitchen and orchestra pit, causing millions of dollars’ worth of damage.
Everyone involved in the historic cleanup got a little time off for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but the Van Wezel team has been working overtime to meet the deadline set by Executive Director Mary Bensel to reopen in 2025.
Whew! They made it. The Van Wezel kicked off its delayed season on Jan. 4, with “Menopause the Musical 2.” Everything went off without a hitch, with a sold-out matinee and the evening performance at 84% capacity.
Theatergoers may have noticed some changes. The carpeting in the lobby has been replaced by polished
This being a show biz story, let’s waste no time before the opening credits. These are the stars of the show, the people who helped save the remainder of the Van Wezel’s 202425 season.
Now, in Hollywood or on Broadway, agents, publicists and union officials spend a lot of time haggling over the order of the credits. We’re going to take the approach used by star-studded ensemble productions and list the players alphabetically.
According to Bensel, the Van Wezel couldn’t have opened in the new year without the tireless efforts of Ed Bopp, facilities supervisor; Griffyn Holcomb, assistant technical director; Nate Myers, technical director; Jerry Sheffer, facilities manager; and Kyle Turoff, general manager, as well as many others, including employees of Florida Power & Light.
How about a round of applause for the box office staff? They had to refund nearly $2 million worth of tickets after their phone lines were restored Nov. 4. Like other team members, they worked from home or government offices until they could return to the Van Wezel on Nov. 18.
Andrew Warfield
The saturated carpet in the Grand Foyer at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall has been replaced with polished concrete.
Courtesyimages
A moment of silence, please, for the productions that didn’t make it to the Van Wezel stage in 2024 because of Hurricane Milton.
Some performances got moved to other venues. Sarasota Orchestra’s first Masterworks of the season moved to the Sarasota Opera House as did the annual Salute to Vienna New Year’s Concert. The Allman Betts Family Revival, all the more poignant this year because of Dickie Betts’ death in April, was relocated to Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, as was Derek Hough: Dance for the Holidays.
Other shows were rescheduled for later in the year. Among them are the perennial favorite, Neil Berg’s 50 Years of Rock ’n’ Roll (Jan. 30), The Commodores (April 17) and Air Supply (May 4). Fans of Tina Turner will have to wait until 2026 to see the musical based on her life.
Unfortunately, a few of the productions that Bensel and her team worked hard to bring to the Van Wezel will not come at all because the tour is ending or the moment has passed.
That includes British-Caribbean musician Billy Ocean, whose 1984 No. 1 hit “Caribbean Queen” is still sampled by rap musicians, and a tribute show to George Michael, the sexy superstar who began his career as one half of the pop band Wham!
One canceled show that is close to Bensel’s heart is “Dear Evan Hansen,” which was to finally make its Sarasota debut on Nov. 1-2. The show tells the tale of an anxious higher schooler who finds himself embroiled in a tragedy due to a letter he wrote. “I was really looking forward to ‘Evan,’” Bensel says.
MIDNIGHT TRAIN TO SARASOTA
How about a little good news? Bensel and her right-hand woman Turoff, who is often assumed to be a man because of her first name, were able to add Gladys Knight to the Van Wezel’s lineup.
Like many soul stars of her era, Knight was a product of Berry Gordy’s hit factory, Motown Records, but her career came into full bloom when she left Motown for Buddah Records in 1973.
During her long career, Knight
(with the backing of her incomparable Pips) has recorded such hits as “Best Thing that Ever Happened to Me,” “Midnight Train to Georgia” and “Neither One of Us.”
Along the way, Knight has mastered genres such as pop, gospel and R&B with her inimitable phrasing and has won seven Grammy awards.
Knight joins a roster of highly anticipated productions whose scheduling was not upended by weather. Among the Sarasota premieres are:
n “Funny Girl,” the Broadway revival based on the life singer Fanny Brice (Jan. 14-19)
n “Moulin Rouge — The Musical,” a tale of star-crossed lovers set in the iconic Parisian dance hall (March 18-23)
n “Les Misérables,” about life on the barricades in France but not, as is commonly believed, during the French revolution (April 8-13)
n “Beetlejuice,” the musical adaptation of the hit film that has gotten a boost from Michael Keaton’s recent return to the screen as the titular character (April 22-25).
Returning to Sarasota are the Broadway shows “The Addams Family,” based on the 1960s’ TV show about a lovable macabre clan (Jan. 25-28), and “Come From Away,” about how a Canadian town welcomed stranded travelers on 9/11 (Feb. 18-20).
The closing of the Van Wezel didn’t just affect the shows that are booked by Bensel and her team. The venue is used by the Sarasota Orchestra, Sarasota Ballet and the Town Hall Lecture Series sponsored by Ringling College Library Association, among others. Bensel worked to move some performances scheduled for the Van Wezel to the historic Sarasota Opera House, which seats about 1,100, compared with the Van Wezel’s capacity of roughly 1,700 patrons.
The Town Hall Lecture Series was supposed to kick off Jan. 13 with actress Glenn Close, a favorite of Bensel’s. Close canceled, but she has been replaced by Ron Howard, who evolved from child star as Opie in “The Andy Griffith Show” to Oscarwinning director of such films as “A Beautiful Mind,” “Apollo 13” and “Parenthood.”
Howard’s down-to-earth lifestyle, which includes marrying his high
school sweetheart and raising a family in Connecticut during their marriage of nearly 50 years, is straight out of Mayberry, the fictional TV town where he grew up before our eyes.
LEARN BROADWAY DANCE MOVES IN A MASTER CLASS
The reopening of the Van Wezel brings cultural opportunities offstage as well. Want to shake off the winter doldrums? Take a master class tied to an upcoming performance taught by former Broadway hoofer Justin Gomlak, director of education and community engagement at the Van Wezel. Gomlak’s dance classes are accessible to retired professionals and newbies alike. They will leave you walking on air even if your “moonwalking” days are over. If efforts to develop a replacement for the Van Wezel have piqued your interest in the purple pavilion, help is on the way. Arts Advocates of Sarasota is reviving its popular “Behind the Curtain” tours of the Van Wezel, including its art collection, beginning Jan. 13. Visit the Van Wezel box office or call (941) 263-6799 for tickets.
As Bensel sat down for an inter-
view just before Christmas and painstakingly outlined the nuts and bolts and dollars and cents of the Van Wezel’s cleanup operation, she was surprisingly candid. Asked about ticket sales after the Van Wezel box office reopened in December, Bensel first commended the generosity of ticket holders who converted their refunds into donations. Then she admitted that ticket sales have been restrained.
“The region has worked hard to get back on its feet, but people have suffered a shock. Some have lost homes and businesses. They’re not sure what their true restoration costs are going to be. So they take a pause on spending,” Bensel says, sounding more like a business major than the theater major she once was.
The same thing happened nationwide after 9/11. People simply stopped spending for awhile.
Remember how President George W. Bush encouraged people to help the country get back on its feet after an unprecedented terrorist attack by going shopping? He took some heat for the advice, but the fact is consumer spending represents more than two-thirds of U.S. gross domestic product, for better or worse.
So maybe the way to jumpstart Sarasota’s recovery from back-toback hurricanes is to attend a live performance of music, dance or opera.
Fans of the 1960s’ sensation “A Taste of Honey” might want to take advantage of a rare opportunity to see Herb Alpert and a new version of Tijuana Brass in concert. Best known for his album “Whipped Cream & Other Delights,” Alpert is touring for the first time in 35 years.
Alpert will perform at the Van Wezel on Feb. 12 , less than a month before his 90th birthday. His compadre Sergio Mendes, whose bossa nova breakthrough album “Brasil ‘66” he produced, died in 2024. Keyboardist Mendes, whom Alpert called his “brother from another country,” introduced the trumpeter to Lani Hall, who became his wife. Not a music fan? Maybe “Come From Away,” about how humans can put aside their differences and pull together in the face of disaster, is just the ticket as Sarasota’s delayed season kicks into high gear thanks to a lot of community teamwork.
The closing of the Van Wezel didn’t just affect the shows that are booked by Bensel and her team. The venue is used by the Sarasota Orchestra, Sarasota Ballet and the Town Hall Lecture Series sponsored by Ringling College Library Association, among others.
Image courtesy of Rick Benitez
Mary Bensel has been executive director of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall for 17 years.
Urbanite’s ‘Spaceman’ is out of this world
Summer Dawn Wallace directs a human story in a science-fiction universe.
Urbanite Theatre’s “Spaceman” is an odyssey of inner and outer space.
Urbanite Theatre boldly goes where few theaters have gone before. Its trek includes edgy subjects, mind-bending story structures and occasional leaps into science fiction. Leegrid Stevens’ “Spaceman” returns to that dangerous realm in the Urbanite’s latest production. Stevens’ play unfolds in the nottoo-distant future — 20 years ahead, give or take a decade. According to director Summer Dawn Wallace, his fictional dream is reality-based and grounded in hard science — but it’s not about the gadgets. “Spaceman” is a character study. And there’s only one character.
The play’s titular “Spaceman” is a woman — Molly Jennis (Terri Wea-
gant). She’s an astronaut, a scientist and a recent widow. Her husband, Harry, was also an astronaut — until he died on a mission to Mars the previous year. One year later, Molly’s also chasing Mars.
She’s now utterly alone in the cosmos in a spacecraft built for one. Molly’s voyage to the “angry red planet” is a 90-day mission across 250 million miles. She’ll have plenty of time to wrestle with her grief, loneliness and the terrifying silence of the infinite spaces. When she’s not pushing buttons. Or making banal product plugs for her corporate backers.
NASA’s still officially in charge of space exploration. But private sponsors pay most of the costs — in exchange for off-world marketing.
Astronauts are shameless shills in Molly’s brave new world. That’s the part of the job she hates. But Molly still digs space flight.
Why did Wallace sign up for this away-mission? Simple. After reading Stevens’ script, the director knew she had to do it.
“The world of ‘Spaceman’ is incredibly exciting,” she says. “From a director’s perspective, it’s incredibly challenging. How do we bring that world to the Urbanite? How do we evoke all the high-tech elements without overshadowing Molly’s journey as a character? I knew it’d be tough to pull off, but I had to tell Molly’s story.”
“‘Spaceman’ is a human story set in a science fiction universe,” adds Wallace. “Molly’s story is the point, not the gizmos. The futuristic tech stays in the background. That’s baked into Stevens’ script, and I think it’s the right choice.”
The director’s focus is Molly’s journey, not the gee-whiz wonders of tomorrow. That said, Wallace still wants to get the futuristic details right. How hard could it be? It’s not rocket science, after all.
THE DEVIL’S IN THE DETAILS
“No,” Wallace laughs. “But it feels pretty darn close at times. Staging ‘Spaceman’ with scientific accuracy is nearly as complex as launching an actual space mission. The devil’s in the details, right? And space flight on stage has so many technical details. We want to make this world believable, but we also want to serve Molly’s story. Doing both at the same time is tough — but I think the Urbanite team made it happen.”
Tom Hansen’s spacecraft set evokes Molly’s claustrophobic isolation while keeping her actions totally visible to theatergoers. It also looks cool. “Tom’s space module has a functional, minimalist design. Clean lines, no nonsense, no unnecessary details. Everything’s there for a reason. The rest is all stripped away. It feels like an artifact from the future,” Wallace says.
Ethan Vail’s lighting design sets the emotional tone. It flips between space’s cold sterile vacuum to Molly’s white-hot interior life — a lightning storm of illumination, philosophical epiphany and sheer panic.
Rew Tippin’s sound design creates the auditory landscape of Molly’s odyssey. It’s a mix of eerie silences and the spacecraft’s technical heartbeat. “Light and sound make you feel what it’s like to be in space,” Wallace says. “They pull you into Molly’s emotional state.”
Dee Johnson’s spacesuit costume is a clue to Molly’s bottled-up rage. Why so angry? Space flight is privatized in this brave new world. To please her sponsors, Molly’s suit is slapped with more corporate logos than a NASCAR driver’s. She looks like a clown — but it’s what the sponsors want. That’s the world she lives in.
SIMULATING WEIGHTLESSNESS IN A THEATER
Speaking of world-building, Weagant’s physical acting ultimately sells you on this play’s unearthly reality. Apart from knowing her lines, this actor also had to simulate weightlessness — believably. Weagant pulls it off with a mix of mime and upper body strength and lots of practice. Simulating spaceflight — believably. That’s the short version of how Urbanite did it. The hard work and creativity is impressive. But it’s still
just background. Molly’s story is still the point.
As Wallace sees it, Molly’s story is her mission — and vice versa. There’s no way to tease the two apart. But Molly’s mission objective doesn’t resemble her sponsors’ definition. It’s personal to Molly — a question of blood and bone, not the bottom line. Her corporate backers launched her husband on the same Martian odyssey. (Harry risked his life for humanity’s future. They sent him to his death for banal publicity.) Molly’s here to finish the job. That’s what drives her, though she didn’t mention it to her sponsors.
“That’s all subtext,” notes Wallace. “Terri’s characterization really puts it across to the audience. Her delivery of Molly’s words, her actions — you’re totally clear about Molly’s motivations. Terri makes you feel what Molly’s going through. She takes you with her on her journey.” That journey isn’t a joy ride. Molly’s off on a dangerous mission for dangerous reasons. But it’s a mission of life, not a suicide mission.
Apart from her pet plant, Molly’s the only living organism inside her spacecraft. Outside, it’s a dead zone for billions and billions of light years. In a literal, physical sense, this astronaut’s utterly alone.
In Molly’s inner life, she never walks alone. Her companions include an onboard AI (aka “Jim”), a plant (aka “Sip”) and “Houston,” the voice of Mission Control back on Earth. Molly’s long-distance updates to NASA are often one-way conversations. Communication breaks down constantly. But Molly never stops talking, even when she’s talking to dead air.
Molly’s endless stream of words reveal her stream-of-consciousness — they’re an X-ray into her soul. You see what Molly’s made of — and her grace under pressure. It’s sharp, efficient storytelling — and timeless.
Molly’s mission has two possible endings: She’ll either successfully land on Mars and fly back home to a ticker-tape parade. Or she’ll crash and burn like her husband. This trip might be a one-way ticket. Molly knew that going in. But she went anyway. Is that the right stuff or what?
WELCOME BACK TO THE VAN WEZEL!
TUE-SUN • JAN 14-19
Image courtesy of Sorcha Augustine
Terri Weagant starts in “Spaceman,” which runs through Feb. 16 at Urbanite Theatre.
THIS WEEK
THURSDAY
JAZZ THURSDAY AT SAM:
HOT CLUB SRQ
5:30 p.m. at Sarasota Art Museum, 1001 S. Tamiami Trail
$25 for nonmembers Visit SarasotaArtMuseum.org.
Hot Club SRQ performs on the Marcy & Michael Klein Plaza at Sarasota Art Museum. The evening features extended hours in the galleries, Bistro and museum shop. This event is sold out online, but here’s an insider’s tip: Go to the museum in late afternoon, pay for an admission or membership and stay for the show.
‘59TH STREET BRIDGE’
7:30 p.m. at FST’s Goldstein Cabaret, 1239 N. Palm Ave.
$18-$42 Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.
Feelin’ groovy? Simon & Garfunkel fans know that expression in the hit song that gives this cabaret show its title. Florida Studio Theatre pays tribute to early folk-rock artists such as John Denver, Simon & Garfunkel, Bob Dylan and Joan Baez. Continues through March 30.
RINGLING UNDERGROUND
8 p.m. at The Ringling Museum of Art Courtyard $15, free for students and members Visit Ringling.org.
Locals and visitors in the know don’t miss Ringling Underground, an arts jamboree in The Ringling Courtyard that is free for students and members. The event mixes music, art and ambience and presents up-andcoming local and regional musicians.
DON’T MISS
JAZZ CLUB OF SARASOTA
CELEBRATES 45 YEARS
The Jazz Club of Sarasota’s 45th anniversary program features La Lucha with vocalist Alison Nash performing the music of the ’80s, Michael Ross Quartet playing hits of Motown and beyond, Jeremy Carter Quintet with Theo Valentin performing the music of Cannonball, and Nat Adderley and Nancy Wilson. The performance wraps with a grand finale featuring all the players.
IF YOU GO
When: 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 11
Where: Holley Hall, 709 N. Tamiami Trail
Tickets: $35-$55; students $15
Info: Visit JazzClubSarasota.org.
FRIDAY
JAZZ @ TWO: JAMES SUGGS QUARTET
2 p.m. at Unitarian Universalists of Sarasota, 3975 Fruitville Road $15-$20 Visit JazzClubSarasota.org.
Jazz Club of Sarasota presents James Suggs, a trumpeter who hails from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Suggs, who began playing professionally at age 16, has toured with the Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey orchestras and has performed in tribute shows to Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis. His CD, “You’re Gonna Hear From Me,” was acclaimed by critics.
MASTERWORKS:
RAVEL’S BOLERO
7:30 p.m. at SCF Neel Auditorium, 5840 26th St. W., Bradenton $39 and up Visit SarasotaOrchestra.org.
Sarasota Orchestra’s Masterworks series returns to the Van Wezel
Performing Arts Hall from Jan. 11-12. Before it gets there, it will perform the program titled “Ravel’s Bolero” at SCF Neel Auditorium in Bradenton. Directed by Shiyeon Sung, the concert honors the 150th anniversary of Maurice Ravel’s birth and will feature pianist Natasha Paremski on Ravel’s jazz-infused Piano Concerto.
SATURDAY
PERLMAN MUSIC PROGRAM CELEBRATION CONCERT
5 p.m. at the Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave. $40-$80 Visit PerlmanMusic ProgramSuncoast.org.
After nearly two weeks of free public rehearsals in a heated tent on the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus, the Perlman Music Program’s 21st winter residency culminates in a celebration concert at the Sarasota Opera House. This is the moment everyone has been working toward. The festivities continue after the concert with a dinner at Michael’s On East, which costs $250 a ticket.
MARKO TOPCHII, CLASSICAL GUITAR
7:30 p.m. at Riverview Performing Arts Center, 1 Ram Way
$40-$44 Visit GuitarSarasota.org.
Guitar Sarasota presents Marko Topchii, winner of the Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition. Born in Kiev, Ukraine, Topchii began studying guitar at the age of 4. Just 26 years old, Topchii has won more than 90 awards worldwide. He is currently pursuing a doctorate at the Tchaikovsky National Academy of Music in Kiev.
OUR PICK
WINDJAMMERS CONCERT BAND
FEATURING SAILOR CIRCUS
If you’re a student of circus history and many people in Sarasota are, you know that Windjammers Unlimited is the Circus Music Historical Society. The grand finale of the Windjammers’ annual weeklong convention in Sarasota is a free performance featuring nearly 100 musicians from around the country. After intermission, about 30 members of the group will return to back up 10 different acts by Sailor Circus students, all brought to you by the Circus Arts Conservatory.
IF YOU GO
When: 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 12
Where: Sailor Circus Arena, 2075 Bahia Vista St.
Tickets: Free Info: Visit CircusArts.org.
PAYADORA
8 p.m. at Fogartyville, 525 Kumquat Court
$26-$30 Visit WSLR.org.
An award-winning ensemble made up of superstar musicians, Payadora performs a repertoire of music drawn from Argentinian/Uruguayan traditions — tangos, milongas, waltz and chacareras — as well as its own original songs.
‘AESOP’S FABLES’
10 a.m. and noon at FST’s Keating Theatre, 1241 N. Palm Ave.
$12 Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.
On the weekend, there’s the eternal problem of what to do with the kids. Turn off their electronic devices and bring them down to Florida Studio Theatre for a fun, affordable show of “Aesop’s Fables.” They’ll learn that donkeys and asses (animals that turn up frequently in the fables) have been with us for a very long time. Runs weekends through Feb. 2.
SUNDAY
SUNCOAST CONCERT BAND: ‘ANDERSON AND GALANTE’ 3 p.m. at Northminster Presbyterian Church, 3131 61st St.
$5 Visit SuncoastConcertBand.org.
Courtesy images
Windjammers Unlimited will perform with the Sailor Circus on Sunday, Jan. 12.
Michael Ross
August Wilson’s “Fences” runs through Feb. 23 at
The theme of this week’s performance by the popular Suncoast Concert Band, now in its 92nd season, is “Anderson and Galante.” Call 941-907-4123 to check on ticket availability and please be sure to dial the right number.
MONDAY
BEHIND THE CURTAIN:
EXPLORING THE VAN WEZEL FROM THE ART TO THE STAGE
1:30 p.m. at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail
$15 Visit the Van Wezel box office or call (941) 263-6799.
Arts Advocates’ tour of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall returns after a hurricane-related hiatus. A docent leads a tour of the paintings and sculptures by Florida artists in the Purple Palace. Guests then step onto the stage where a Van Wezel guide shares stories and anecdotes. Presented in partnership with the Van Wezel, proceeds from the tour benefit the education/outreach programs of Arts Advocates and the Van Wezel.
ENSEMBLENEWSRQ:
‘VISIONS & MIRACLES’
7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 1031 S. Euclid Ave.
$30 Visit ENSRQ.org.
Contemporary classical music group ensembleNewSRQ presents five works for strings, flute and clarinet from Han Lash, Dai Wei, Gabriela Lena Frank, and Hermitage Artist Retreat Fellows Anna Clyne and Christopher Theofanidis.
TUESDAY
VIOLINIST CAROLINE CAMPBELL
5:30 p.m. at Plantation Golf and Country Club, 500 Rockley Blvd., Venice
$78
Visit ArtistSeriesConcerts.org.
Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota presents Caroline Campbell, dubbed “violinist to the stars” because she has appeared with everyone from Barbara Streisand to Beyonce. She tours regularly with trumpeter Chris Botti and has appeared with The Philadelphia Orchestra. Joseph Holt will accompany Campbell on piano.
‘FUNNY GIRL’
7:30 p.m. at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail
$50-$140 Visit VanWezel.org.
Even if you’re not old enough to remember the first “Funny Girl” in 1964, you’ve no doubt heard of the musical based on the life of singer Fanny Brice. The production coming to the Van Wezel retains the original score by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill and features an updated book from Harvey Fierstein. This revival was a big hit when it bowed on Broadway in 2022. See for yourself whether “people who need people” are really the luckiest people in the world. Runs through Jan. 19.
WEDNESDAY
GREAT ESCAPES: TV TUNES AND TREASURES
5:30 p.m. at Holley Hall, 709 N. Tamiami Trail
$47-$63
Visit SarasotaOrchestra.org.
Want to see your show before dinner? Sarasota Orchestra’s Great Escapes is just the ticket for you, with shows at 5:30 on Wednesday and Friday. This program showcases memorable music from the small screen, including soundtracks made popular by cartoons such as Looney Tunes, Popeye, The Flintstones and the scores to “Star Trek” and “Downton Abbey.” Continues through Jan. 19.
PIANIST JEAN-YVES THIBODEAU
7:30 p.m. at Riverview Performing Arts Center, 1 Ram Way
$34-$99 Visit SCASarasota.org.
French pianist Jean-Yves Thibodeau makes his Sarasota Concert Association debut in the opening concert of SCA’s Great Performers series. Thibodeau, who has been lauded for his dynamic range and vivid portrayal, will perform Debussy’s “Preludes,”
‘FENCES’
7:30 p.m. at Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, 1012 N. Orange Ave.
$22-$52
Visit WestcoastBlackTheatre.org.
Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe presents “Fences,” the sixth play of playwright August Wilson’s 10part Pittsburgh Cycle. Set in 1957, it follows Troy Maxson, a garbage collector whose baseball dreams were derailed by bigotry. His unresolved anger creates trouble with his son, Cory, who’s got his own big league ambitions. Directed by Jim Weaver, the play stars Patric Robinson as Maxson. Runs through Feb. 23.
JANUARY 29 - FEBRUARY 9
n the post-pandemic update of this iconic play, 86-year-old widower Mr. Green is almost hit by a car driven by young Ross Gardiner. Ross is ordered to make weekly visits to Mr. Green. What begins as an “odd couple” comedy becomes a dramatic roller coaster of revealed secrets and a reluctant friendship begins to heal old wounds. Plays are held at The Sarasota Players ^ Info: SarasotaJewishTheatre.org Tickets: ThePlayers.org or 941-365-2494
Jeff Baron, directed by Gus Kaikkonen
Image courtesy of Sorcha Augustine
WBTT.
Theatre Odyssey celebrates 20 years of its Ten-Minute Play Festival
After a modest start, the festival has become a mainstay of the Sarasota arts season.
MONICA ROMAN GAGNIER
ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Tom Aposporos remembers some things about Theatre Odyssey’s inaugural TenMinute Play Festival very well; others, not so much. It was held at Art Center Sarasota back in 2006, and on opening night, there weren’t enough chairs for those who had reservations to get in.
He and Larry Hamm looked around and decided they would find chairs wherever they could. “We went into the actors’ dressing rooms and took their chairs so they had to put on their makeup standing up,” Aposporos recalls. “We seated as many people as we could and told everybody else to come back the next night.”
But was it six plays or seven? No matter. The festival has since settled on a format of eight plays.
The success of the fledgling festival was a surprise to some established members of Sarasota’s theater community, Aposporos notes. “The idea of creating 10-minute plays was controversial at the time. Some people who were theater royalty said we would fail miserably, but I could already see that people’s attention spans were shortening,” he says.
Little did Aposporos know how popular the Ten-Minute Play Festival would become over the years. It moved to the Jane B. Cook Theatre in the FSU Center for the Performing Arts in 2014 and has become an established part of the Sarasota arts season.
This year’s Ten-Minute Play Festival will showcase eight new plays by Florida playwrights from Jan. 9-12
as well as the winner of last season’s Student Ten-Minute Playwriting Festival.
Following the Sunday matinee, a panel of judges will announce the winners for Best Play, which will receive a $500 prize, and the runnerup, which will get $300. The plays vying for the Vera Safran Prize (Best Play) are: n “A Very Private Person,” based on a true story of a woman who used a female pseudonym for her novels and a male nom de plume for her plays written by Don Salvo, co-founder
of the Playwrights Lab at Pittsburgh Public Theatre
n “Abduction,” about a man who gets kidnapped by extraterrestrial beings in search of genetic material, written by Stephen Walkiewicz, who has been a lighting and projection technician for Blue Man Group, Universal Studios and Cirque Du Soleil n “Feel Good Inc.,” a face-off between a modern-day life coach and ancient philosophers like Socrates, written by festival veteran Bernie Yanelli, a history and economics teacher at St. Stephen’s School
n “Love My Dog, Love Me,” the tale of an ostensibly mismatched couple on their first date who realize their pets may bring them together, written by Seva Anthony, a fest alumni who has appeared on stages in Florida, Oregon and Las Vegas n “Outcast and Rebels,” which follows a woman on the hunt for her missing granddaughter, by Marj O’Neill-Butler, a member of the Dramatists Guild, Actors Equity and SAG-AFTRA n “Something is Rotten on the Stage of Glenmark,” which chronicles
Rickey Tedesco, Tron Montgomery, William Ashburn and Yinoelle Colon starred in “The Florida Highwaymen” by Don Salvo in the 2024 Ten-Minute Play Festival.
Image courtesy of Theatre Odyssey
IF YOU GO
When: Jan. 9-12
Where: FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail
Tickets: $30
Info: Visit TheatreOdyssey.org.
an audition for a college production of “Hamlet” that goes disastrously awry, written by Ken Preuss, a longtime teacher who has performed in magic and improv comedy shows
n “Strangers Off a Train,” which explores the idea that it’s the people you meet on a journey, not the destination, that is paramount, by playwright and monologue writer Samara Siskind
n “The Intermission,” about a frantic search for a replacement musician during the intermission of a chamber music concert, written by Jan Wallace and Philippe Koenig.
As the festival evolved over the years, people jumped on board the 10-minute play train and some original participants jumped off. Who has been with Aposporos all the way?
According to the man himself, no one. “Nobody else took the whole trip,” according to Aposporos, who has had successful careers in politics and real estate in addition to his theatrical activities.
At a recent party celebrating Theatre Odyssey’s 20th anniversary, Aposporos told the crowd that Rick Kerby, producing artistic director of the Manatee Players in Bradenton, was inadvertently the catalyst for the theatrical group’s formation.
“Had it not been for Rick Kerby, it’s possible that Theatre Odyssey would not exist,” Aposporos says. Not long after Kerby’s arrival at Manatee Players more than two decades ago, he created a production of “Metamorphosis” based on the stories of Ovid that jumped back and forth between past and present.
“I was part of that award-winning cast, which was together for two years, and so was Larry Hamm. Larry and I started talking about how to help advance new playwrights. Larry really had a vision for how the plays should be selected.”
Other important players over the years include Laurie and Fred Zimmerman, Don and Jenny Aldrich Walker, Bob Trisolini and Dan Higgs, to name just a few, Aposporos says.
As Theatre Odyssey has grown, it has added a student playwriting contest and a One-Act Play Festival. Its financing has also become more elaborate.
In the beginning, Aposporos says that he and others believed if Theatre Odyssey ended the season with $300 in the bank after paying its bills, the next season’s ticket sales and donations would sustain the Ten-Minute Play Festival.
“That made sense for maybe about five years,” he says. “Then we started to grow up.”
Aposporos remembers the time that he told audiences that ticket
sales only covered 75% of the festival’s costs, only to later learn that during that season, box office revenues generated 100% of the budget.
During its existence, the Ten Minute Play Festival has received financial assistance from the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, the state of Florida and the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, according to Aposporos.
This year’s Ten-Minute Play Festival has four presenting sponsors — including one anonymous donor, Paragon Festivals (in memory of Denise Kinney), the George L. Spoll Foundation at Community Foundation of Sarasota County and CAN Community Health.
CALLING ALL CAC SUPERHEROES!
Tom Aposporos is the co-founder of Theatre Odyssey’s Ten-Minute Playwriting Festival.
Don Walker and Jenny Aldrich Walker starred in Connie Schindewolf’s “A Bottle of Vodka,” which won the TenMinute Play Festival in 2014.
Image courtesy of Cliff Roles
Strangers in a strange land
The recipe for Lloyd Suh’s tale of unlikely friendship may sound heavy, but it’s leavened with humor.
MARTY FUGATE
THEATER CRITIC
Lloyd Suh’s “The Heart Sellers” deals with immigration, miscommunication, exploitation, racism, sexism, female empowerment and Julia Child’s advice on baking a turkey. That may sound like a boring sermon or a lecture, but it’s not. It’s a very funny play. If you learn something, good for you.
The protagonists in the Florida Studio Theatre production are two recent Asian immigrants to the United States. Luna (Rona Figueroa) hails from the Philippines; Jane (Michelle Heera Kim) is South Korean.
They’ve arrived in strange days. The year is 1973. A few years earlier, the Hart-Celler Immigration Act had repealed quotas restricting Asian immigration, giving the play its title.
Richard Nixon is up to his jowls in the Watergate scandal and the Miami Dolphins are headed for the Super Bowl. Strangest of all, it’s Thanksgiving!
This holiday seems unfathomable to Luna and Jane. There’s no Korean or Philippine equivalent. Thanksgiving for what? An imaginary multicultural meal? Pilgrims in funny hats? They don’t really know the story.
But they do know this all-American feast calls for a turkey dinner. Cooking a turkey is the American thing to do — and both women want to fit in. So, Jane and Luna both go on a turkey quest — and bump into each other at the grocery store. They join forces, buy a turkey and return to Luna’s flat. Thankfully, they arrive. Now what? How the heck do they cook this big bird? Jane passes on Julia Child’s televised words of wisdom. Luna listens, nods and puts the turkey in the oven. Ah, but it’s a frozen turkey. Rock-hard, cold as ice and not cooking anytime soon.
Lacking a microwave, the women agree to turn up the heat, keep checking the oven and wait it out. After a few glasses of wine, they get to talking and forget about the bird. You should, too.
This play’s turkey is a special breed. Alfred Hitchcock might
IF YOU GO
‘THE HEART SELLERS’
When: Through Feb. 16
Where: FST’s Keating Theatre, 1241 N. Palm Ave.
Tickets: $46
Info: Visit Florida StudioTheatre.org
call it a “MacGuffin Turkey.” It’s the playwright’s excuse to get the characters together and get the play rolling. It works great. Under Kate Alexander’s deft direction, you watch the two women drop their guard and gradually open up to each other.
Suh’s dialogue is all about secrets and silences.
Luna and Jane’s unspoken words reveal far more than what they’re willing to say. Alexander reads between the lines and makes their intentions clear. And gets you laughing in the process.
Suh’s comedy has two classic ingredients; Luna and Jane are an odd couple; they’re both fish out of water. While the turkey stays cold, that recipe makes the laughter sizzle. The playwright’s jokes are all character-based. The actors smartly individualize their characters. They’re light years away from generic Asian-American caricatures.
Figueroa’s Luna talks a mile a minute. She strives to find common ground with Kim’s Jane. Coming to America seems like a good conversation-starter. Aside from her fascination with Julia Child and Kmart, Jane has little to say on the topic.
“Everything’s fine in America” is Luna’s official party line. She sounds upbeat about the USA. But she’s actually complaining but not admitting it to herself. (Evidently, Luna’s life isn’t so fine here.)
Kim’s Jane doesn’t complain — or say much at all. In the first act, she stays taciturn and guarded. Her English isn’t good, but that’s not the source of her silence.
Jane’s playing it safe and keeping her true thoughts to herself. But Luna builds Jane’s confidence — until she feels it’s safe to drop her guard. Then you see Jane’s inner depths. And her simmering anger.
THE SADDEST 1970S APARTMENT EVER SEEN
Luna and Jane’s heart-to-heart talk transpires in shabby surroundings. Isabel A. and Moriah Curley-Clay’s set is the saddest apartment ever. Imagine all the worst elements of 1970s interior design in one place. Pressed wood, Formica, cheap shag rug and avocado-green appliances.
Nothing’s built to last. There’s no place like home — and this dump definitely isn’t. Anthony Tran’s costumes are low-rent and bottom shelf. They perfectly fit the characters — or don’t.
That’s Thanksgiving night for Jane and Luna.
The hours tick away, the bird stays hard as a rock and the women talk turkey. Luna’s bubbly; Jane’s reserved. Two outsiders, two odd ducks. That recipe got the comedy cooking in the first act. The second act’s still funny. But it’s not all laughs.
Maybe it’s the wine. In vino veritas, and all that. But the women’s talk reveals a lot. And you learn something, after all.
You find out how much Jane and Luna miss their families. And the sights, sounds and smells of their native lands. They’re both homesick. But they’re not looking back on idealized childhood memories.
Both grew up under martial law. Fernando Marcos’ regime was brutal in the Philippines. South Korea’s military dictator was equally vicious. The two governments weren’t the women’s only oppressors. Their homes were dictatorships, too. In the days of their youth, South Korea and the Philippines shared rigidly patriarchal cultures.
Marriage wasn’t a democracy. The man was king of his castle. Husbands gave the orders; wives obeyed. Jane and Luna’s marriages fit that pattern. Their secondclass status continued after they came to the U.S. You discover that Jane and Luna aren’t immigrants by choice. Their husbands were physicians in training — and came to America to continue their studies. They dragged their wives along and didn’t ask permission. Their husbands are now medical interns at a nearby teaching hospital. They’re gone for most of the day, while their wives are home alone. They’ve ordered their Jane and Luna to stay out of trouble. But tonight, they don’t follow orders. After a little more wine, Jane and Luna plot a private feminist revolution of dancing, drinking and dirty movies. But it doesn’t start tonight. And not in this play.
(As far as I can tell, the turkey doesn’t get cooked, either.) Suh breaks Aristotle’s first commandment. He sets up a conflict without resolving it. Jane and Luna are in transition. Their story doesn’t wrap up before the final curtain. The characters are left with questions, not answers. So is the audience. What does it mean to be an American? Everybody’s from someplace else here. Alienation is an American birthright, right? There is no fate. You’re free to create your own destiny. Don’t hold onto the past. Forget the lessons of childhood. Just be yourself. Be what you want to be, baby! Whatever that may be. Self-invention is the true American dream. That shiny dream tempts Jane and Luna. But it also feels like a betrayal. Forget the lessons of childhood? That’d be like selling out their hearts ... And that’s how their story doesn’t end. Luna and Jane put their feminist revolution on hold. They’re still profoundly homesick. But they can’t go home again. America’s their home now. But it doesn’t feel like home. In a few years, it might. But in 1973, they’re still strangers in a strange land. But not total strangers. Thanks to Thanksgiving, they’ve each found a new friend.
Image courtesy of Sorcha Augustine
Michelle Heera Kim and Rona Figueroa star in “The Heart Sellers,” which runs through Feb. 16 at FST’s Keating Theatre.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 2025
The Hospital Gala
Saturday, Jan. 4, at The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota | Benefiting Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation
Over 550 guests attired in 1920s-style clothing poured into The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota on Jan. 4 to celebrate the eighth-annual Hospital Gala on behalf of the Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation. Guests got dolled up for this centennial celebration, with flapper-styled women adorned with hair ornaments, hats and gloves,
and men sporting their best glad rags. Amazon truly saved the day for many who said online shopping for the themed garb was the bee’s knees with so many choices and fast shipping.
The VIP party began at 5:30 p.m. and was held in the Ca’ d’Zan room for several hundred people who shelled out a few extra clams for the private party. A reception in the ballroom began with an entry designed to be a speakeasy and music by the Soul Sensations and cocktails.
This event was carefully curated with a video program and dinner followed by a 100th anniversary video, mission moment and a paddle raise. The event raised $1.5 million for the foundation.
The Hospital Gala is deemed the cat’s pajamas and at 8:45 p.m., guests were free to show off their Charleston, Texas Tommy, Black Bottoms, Shimmy and Fox Trots as they let their hair down. They filled the dance floor, which came alive with music provided by the ninepiece high energy band C’Nergy.
To date, more than $8.5 million
has been raised to support critical needs at Sarasota Memorial Hospital. Opened on Nov. 2, 1925, with 32 beds located on Hawthorne Street, the hospital has grown to 1,075 beds with a Venice location, dedicated cancer center and satellite offices. Throughout its history, Sarasota Memorial Hospital has won numerous awards and remains a publicly owned health care facility.
— JANET COMBS
Doug Holder and Mary Brady with Sheila and Greg Langley
Photos by Janet Combs
Rachel Williamson, Sally Schule and Rachael Fisk prepare to greet guests.
Amy Budke and Trey Arias enjoy the 1920sthemed party.
Brady and Denise Pedler attend the VIP event held in the Ca’ d’Zan room as part of the Hospital Gala.
Jeff and Lisa Silvershein with Tom Taylor and Margaret Wise
Dianna and Brandon Rist
Models Gina Wojciechowski and Rachel Doe greet guests and Hospital Gala attendees at The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota.
‘Who do you think you are, Jackie Kennedy?
Her words stung as I apparently shocked my mother with my burning question: “Can I be a debutante?”
I’ll never forget my mom standing in our kitchen pouring pancake batter onto the yellow West Bend electric skillet and shaking her head “no” as her words hung in the air like morning dew that won’t be missed. Steely Dan was singing about Peg (also my mom’s name) making her “big debut,” and I wanted in on the fun. Fast forward to Sarasota, where I became part of the debutante scene as a photographer. It’s a world of impeccable manners, beautiful gowns, generous volunteers and young ladies having monthly dates with their fathers as debs are taught etiquette and how to waltz and make a perfect formal curtsy. Today, debutante balls are more focused on fundraising than finding a suitable husband as debutante origins dictated.
On Dec. 21, the 2024 debutantes were presented by their families at The Debutante Program of Sarasota and Manatee Counties’ 43rd annual Debutante Ball. To date, the organization has raised over $1.5 million to benefit the Sarasota Youth Orchestra. This incubator, dear readers, is how today’s debs will become the Sarasota event coordinators, gala chairs, title sponsors and philanthropists of tomorrow.
Bigger is better!
When Brady and Denise Pedler go, they go big. Rivaling the Texasbased Central Market’s 30th anniversary charcuterie board (12 feet-by-24 feet), which made the Guinness Book of World Records in September, this dynamic duo threw a Christmas soiree with their own version of the trendy board laid atop their formal dining room table. Culinary Creations by Metz catered to some 200 guests, who also enjoyed a poolside Esteli Nicaragua cigar rolling bar. Family and friends, colleagues and clients all enjoyed this well-hosted, effervescent and unforgettable party. One guest may have even asked his son to plan his winter wedding around this annual event.
How many candles?
While there is no escaping that constant twinkle in her eye, the spark in her voice or the fact that she is forever feisty, fearless and young at heart, Mindy Printz-Kopelson celebrated her 70th birthday and Hanukkah on Dec. 26. Surrounded by family who flew in from California, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, everyone was fashion-coordinated
for family portraits as they enjoyed the gorgeous Longboat Key beach sunset and a catered dinner. Mum’s the word on what was served.
Holiday party pressures — grab a ‘gua sha!’
Suzette Jones is back in town for the winter season, and who did she trust with her party planning: only the latest go-to venue in the downtown area: Rose & Ivy. With Raff Perna at
the helm, the Rose & Ivy staff prepared a festive Christmas tabletop. Each place setting was adorned with a carefully curated Charmed Valley Farms Flower Lux Spa Box filled with toners and serums made from the flowers that Jones grows.
Also included was a gua sha stone.
Part of a traditional Chinese medicine technique, the stone is used to scrape the skin of tension, promote healing and improve circulation.
Don’t get your panties in a twist, just turn them inside out!
2025 is here and not much can be done about slowing down the passage of time, so let’s recap some traditions and superstitions.
In Bolivia people make a wish on each of 12 grapes as they consume them. Red underwear is worn to promote a happy love life and eating pork symbolizes prosperity and abundance. This is my favorite tradition, found in several cultures: Pack a suitcase and take a “trip” around the neighborhood to bring travel during the year.
“Alde Lange Syne” plays in the U.S. as we ring in the New Year with a kiss for good luck, eat cabbage, throw a cup of water over our
shoulder to get rid of last year’s tears, clean the house to remove bad experiences, open doors to let the old year out and make resolutions. Pantries should be stuffed with food, wallets with money and like the Bolivians, if you want to attract passion, wear red panties inside out, but wear yellow panties to attract financial success and happiness. Because red and yellow make orange, everyone grab a pair and wait for romance and money to fall upon you!
Do not even consider a hair wash on Jan. 1 or you risk washing good fortune right down the drain, and hard work is also bad luck and may interfere with a food, drink or that lack-of-sleep hangover.
I must implore, gentle readers, that you should not cry on New Year’s Day because it is considered to be very bad luck.
And now that we have confirmation that I’m no Jackie Kennedy, I must confess that I have a good handle on etiquette, thanks to my truly wonderful mom, and that includes crying etiquette.
If you find yourself in tears because you were reduced to using a cellphone camera, someone outbid you on the coveted Michael’s on East Private Dinner Package in the silent auction or you were the party crasher who was escorted right back out the front door, it is best to excuse yourself and find a private space as soon as you can.
Additionally, if you notice someone else crying, it is considered good manners to acknowledge their feelings (Don’t rub it in that you won the auction item!) and support them if you can. (Don’t give your auction item away!) But never, ever embarrass them by telling them to “stop crying because they are not drinking wine from Michael Klauber’s private stock.”
If you have questions about Jackie Kennedy, etiquette, where the free candy machine is located in the Pedler’s house, what Mindy served for dinner or if you have a dry or juicy bonne bouche to share, please contact me at JCombs@YourObserver. com.
Courtesy image
Mindy Printz-Kopelson and her husband, Gene, celebrate her 70th birthday and Hanukkah with family on Longboat Key.
Janet Combs
Charlotte Harber, Heather Holst-Knudsen, Suzette Jones, Joni Bergs, Susan Robinson and Jo-Ann Goebel celebrate Christmas with a dinner at Rose & Ivy.
Daryl and Trina Turner
Natalya Lizvunova, Deanne and Jeffrey Gross
Photos by Lori Sax
Bill and Patty Hughes, Lisa Knox, Maureen Neglia and Rich Folks
Carlos and Charlotte Troiano
Selby President and CEO Jennifer Rominiecki with her husband, Rob
Post Debutante Diana Buchanan and her husband, James Photos by Janet Combs Debutante Lola Delbridge is presented by her dad, Toby.
Debutante Sterlingfaith Williams waltzes with her dad, Steele.
The 43rd Debutante committee: Teri Sayre, Rosemary York, Vicki Zek, Mary Dakkak, Amanda Morris, Valerie Leatherwood, Pepper Dietz, Debbie Dietz, Heather Koester, Laura Steber, Lesley France and Jennie Lascelle.
Debutante Rylie Jackson is presented by her dad, Craig.
Debutante Mischa Doan is escorted by Beaumont Smith and Porter Douglas.
