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ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT
An Opera House CENTENNIAL
The Sarasota Opera plans an epic celebration of its Med-Rev masterpiece’s 100th anniversary.
MONICA ROMAN GAGNIER
A+E EDITOR
As the Sarasota Opera prepares to celebrate the centennial of the Sarasota Opera House, let’s pause before the victory lap to recall how close the city came to losing this Mediterranean-Revival architectural jewel.
Today, the opera house not only is the home of the world-renowned Sarasota Opera, but it serves as a venue for other arts groups. Among them are the Sarasota Orchestra and its summer Sarasota Music Festival for up-and-coming classical musicians, Sarasota Ballet, Perlman Music Program Suncoast and the Sarasota-based chamber music festival La Musica.
In short, the opera house is the cultural heart of Sarasota. It’s the place where Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe hosts its annual tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and where the Arts and Cultural Alliance holds presentations to highlight the importance of the arts to Sarasota’s economy.
“The Sarasota Opera House plays a uniquely central role in the city’s civic and cultural life because it is both a historic anchor and a living stage,” says Architecture Sarasota President Morris “Marty” Hylton III. “Origi-
nally built as the Edwards Theatre, it has always been a place where the community gathers, not just for entertainment, but for shared experience.”
Hylton describes the opera house as a “kind of civic living room” that “brings together residents, visitors, artists and students, creating a space where culture is experienced collectively. That’s especially important in a city like Sarasota, where the arts are central to our identity and economy.”
In 2023, PBS TV station WEDU held a public screening of “The Sarasota Experience,” Shaun Greenspan’s documentary about 100 years of Sarasota County’s history, at the Sarasota Opera House. Greenspan got the chance to introduce his film in the same auditorium where Cecile B. DeMille’s “The Greatest Show on Earth” premiered in 1952.
Despite the opera house’s current splendor and stature, it was nearly lost, not once but twice, according to Sarasota historian Jeff LaHurd, whom the Sarasota Opera commissioned to write a book in honor of the building’s centennial.
The first time was in 1972, when bulldozers were ready to raze the theater, built in 1926 by Sarasota Mayor and developer A.B. Edwards, as a venue for movies, vaudeville and other live performances. First known as the Edwards Theatre, it was renamed the Florida Theatre in 1936.
During its heyday, which lasted until mid-1960s, the theater hosted many high-profile entertainers and events, including the Tommy Dorsey Band, “The Greatest Show on Earth” premiere and a concert by Elvis Presley in 1956. But by the 1970s, downtown was down on its luck and so was the Florida Theatre. “With the current real estate boom, it’s hard to imagine, but back in the 1970s, one politician said you could play a game of marbles in the middle of Main Street,” LaHurd says. As the Florida Theatre’s demolition loomed in those days of urban decay, Dwaine and Patricia Glenn purchased the building for
Director Shaun Greenspan introduced his documentary, “The Sarasota Experience,” at the Opera House in 2023.
Courtesy images
Maestro Victor DeRenzi takes a bow. In 2016, “Aida” finished the Verdi Cycle.
Image courtesy of Rod Millington
Image courtesy of Annie Watt
Itzhak Perlman conducts the Perlman Music Program Celebration Concert at the Opera House in 2025.
Sarasota Opera apprentices Margaret Maier Henry, Henry Horstman, center, and Matteo Adams perform from the balcony of the Opera House in 2025.
Image courtesy of Sorcha Augustine
Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe holds its annual celebration for Martin Luther King Jr. Day at the Sarasota Opera House.
The Sarasota Opera House opened as the Edwards Theatre in 1926 and is celebrating its 100th anniversary.
$83,000 to house their Radio Engineering Institute, saving it for the first time.
REI operated a simulated radio station to train its students. It used the theater’s screen to show Christian films. The school leased out offices on the second floor to organizations, including the Asolo Opera Guild, the predecessor to the Sarasota Opera.
The second time the Med-Rev building at 61 N. Pineapple Ave. narrowly escaped the wrecking ball was in 1979. At that time, developer Jay Foley, who later bought and renovated The Gator Club on Main Street and several other nightclubs, was eyeing the REI property.
LaHurd says Foley was considering the site for an upscale private fitness club. It’s not clear whether the former Florida Theatre would have been destroyed or just gutted, but its days were numbered.
While Foley and other developers were circling, Deane Allyn, president of the Sarasota Opera Society, spearheaded efforts to find a permanent home for Asolo Opera, which had been performing in The Ringling’s Historic Asolo Theater since 1960, but was outgrowing the space.
Before a developer could make a deal, Allyn persuaded Opera Guild
Chair Leo Rogers to wire $50,000 as a down payment for the purchase of 61 N. Pineapple Ave. for $173,000.
At the time, Rogers was at his summer home in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. But with the help of Allyn, a deal was negotiated that gave the Glenns a three-year lease to continue operating their radio school. It also provided the opera company time to raise funds to renovate 61 N. Pineapple Ave. Engineer and philanthropist Don Smally led a capital campaign to raise funds for the building’s $3 million renovation, LaHurd says.
DONORS TO THE RESCUE
Thanks to the efforts of Allyn, Rogers, Smally and other benefactors, the former Edwards Theatre became the new home of the Sarasota Opera. While the opera was moving from the Historic Asolo Theater to its new downtown location, Victor DeRenzi was hired as artistic director in 1982. Under DeRenzi’s direction, Sarasota Opera would become the only opera company in the world to perform all of Verdi’s operas, a feat completed in 2016.
To write his 100-year history of the opera house, LaHurd combed newspaper archives, documents and other records stored at the Sarasota County History Center.
He also conducted interviews with key players and mined the research he has accumulated for the more than 20 books about Sarasota history that he has written over the years.
When LaHurd was growing up in Sarasota in the 1950s, there were two movie theaters in downtown — the Ritz Theatre, which had opened as the Virginian Theatre for vaudeville in 1906, and the Florida Theatre, which he says was the fancier of the two.
LaHurd was often sent by his parents to spend Saturdays at the Ritz, where he saw a double feature of B movies, featuring sci-fi characters such as Buck Rogers.
His first memory of the Florida Theatre was when his mom took him and his cousin to see “The Wizard of Oz.” Even though the movie was made in 1939, it regularly played in movie theaters during the 1950s before becoming a holiday staple on network TV in the 1960s.
LaHurd was impressed by the Florida Theatre. “It was such an upscale-looking place,” he says. Years later, when the building was undergoing renovations after being purchased by the opera, LaHurd and his wife snuck into the balcony, he says. From 2007-08, the opera house underwent a $20 million renovation under Sarasota Opera Executive Director Susan B. Danis.
During his research about Sarasota’s history, LaHurd formed some definite opinions. First and foremost is that other landmark buildings in Sarasota could have been saved the way the Sarasota Opera House was.
If things had turned out differently, the John Ringling Hotel would have celebrated its centennial this
past year. Originally built in 1925 as the El Vernona Hotel at 111 N. Tamiami Trail, the Ringling Hotel was demolished in 1998 to make way for a Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
Still, LaHurd believes it was the crowd that stayed at the Ritz-Carlton helped make the opera what it is today.
“When they came to Sarasota on vacation, rich people needed something to do besides boating, fishing, golf, tennis and going to the beach. They needed the arts,” he adds.
Another one of LaHurd’s realizations is that the city’s acquisition of land in the early 1990s to create Five Points Park across the street from the opera helped make downtown a destination once again.
LaHurd says much of the credit goes to Jack Gurney, a former city commissioner and mayor of Sarasota.
In keeping with the opera house’s dual role as a beacon of high culture and a welcoming venue for community events, there will be two celebrations for its centennial. The first will be a concert on April 11, followed by a gala at Michael’s On The Bay at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens.
The next day, there will be a public screening of a documentary about the opera house’s centennial. The free event will include a presentation by Architecture Sarasota’s Hylton, who was interviewed for the film.
Before joining Architecture Sarasota in 2022, Hylton was a preservationist and an academic. He’s a PowerPoint master and an eloquent speaker so his talk should be lively.
Playing devil’s advocate, we asked Hylton why we should care about the opera house. He says the building “bridges Sarasota’s past and present. Architecturally, it tells the story of the city’s early ambitions when it was evolving into a cultural destination. But it’s not a static monument. It continues to evolve as a vibrant home for opera, performance and public life.”
Adds Hylton: “At its 100th anniversary, the opera house reminds us where we have been, actively shapes who we are as a community today and who we aspire to be in the future.”
“At its 100th anniversary, the opera house reminds us where we have been, actively shapes who we are as a community today and who we aspire to be in the future.”
The name of Michael Stephen Brown's composition, “Carnival of the Endangered Wonders,” was stated incorrectly in the Thursday, April 2, edition of the Observer
Courtesy images Sarasotans line up for the premiere of “The Greatest Show on Earth” in
Historian Jeff LaHurd
— Morris “Marty” Hylton III, Architecture Sarasota president
‘Fiddler’ plays a timeless tune
Director Peter Rothstein brings the music onstage in Asolo Rep’s production of ‘The Fiddler on the Roof.’
MARTY FUGATE
CONTRIBUTOR
More than 60 years after its Broadway debut, “Fiddler on the Roof” is hitting the Asolo Repertory Theatre stage for the first time. This musical adaptation of Sholom Aleichem’s short stories boasts a script by Joseph Stein, music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. According to the musical’s director, Asolo Rep Producing Artistic Director Peter Rothstein, the result is a delicate balancing act between tradition and change, simplicity and showmanship and hilarity and heartbreak. In the following talk, Rothstein shares how he kept his creative balance — and found a fresh take on this timeless story.
“Fiddler” is one of Broadway’s most familiar musicals. How do you reimagine it?
The biggest difference is that we make all the music onstage. There’s no orchestra in the pit. Twenty-six actor-musicians play everything live.
It’s a cast of actor-musicians? All of them?
Yes. That, to me, sets it apart from any production I’ve seen. I’ve seen dozens of productions, but none where the characters both sing and play instruments. We’re still doing Jerome Robbins’ choreography — the bottle dance is there — but the characters are now playing trombone or string bass. That changes the energy entirely. The villagers are literally making their own music while living their lives.
That’s brilliant — but it’s a step away from historical accuracy. Not exactly. The village of Anatevka was a self-sufficient com-
munity. The people made their own clothes, their own food and their own music. So, putting the orchestra onstage is actually more authentic than having an invisible symphony accompanying the cast.
Our fiddler (Andrii Padkovskyi) is a young musician who fled Ukraine with his family. He’s from the same part of the world as the story — just 120 years later. His brother (Yurii Padkovskyi) is our clarinetist. They’re extraordinary musicians — and both refugees from that same piece of earth. That resonance isn’t lost on us.
What are the dominant images in your staging?
Our costumes are traditional, and the scenery is inspired by earlier designs. On a deeper level, there are several important images at work. One set comes from Roman Vishniac’s photographs of Russian shtetls in “The Vanished World.”
They show how closely people lived to the earth — dirt floors, fragile walls, brutal weather. That sense of being rooted in the land is central to our design. Even indoors, grasses grow around furniture. Time is also palpable — sunrise, sunset, seasons turning. Act One is spring; Act Two moves into the depths of winter. The elements — earth, seasons — are front and center. Early on, I thought about having the fiddler fly at the end of “Tradition,” to honor Chagall. But a friend pointed out that if the fiddler could fly, he wouldn’t need to keep his balance.
Right. Like Superman playing a violin.
Yes, exactly. You’re not worried he’s going to fall. That’s the meaning of the image — so we abandoned the flying. Our fiddler’s still precariously balanced. And this whole musical is really a balancing act on so many levels. There’s a constant tug of war between tradition and change, simplicity and showmanship, comedy and tragedy ...
The musical’s tone shifts between hilarity and heart-
break. How do you know when to not play a scene for laughs? That’s the genius of the piece. Every day in rehearsal, we’re asking: If we go for the laugh here, what does that cost us later? Does it undercut the stakes? For me, each scene must be grounded in emotional truth. Humor is often a survival mechanism — a way of confronting adversity. But it must come from real people in real situations. Otherwise, it becomes gimmick. And that’s a trap. I’ve seen productions where the humor overwhelms the emotional gravity. That might be entertaining, but it loses the heart of the story.
How do you evoke the musical’s Jewish subculture? Do you take a realistic, approach, or is your Anatevka a dream world?
We embrace both sides. “Fiddler” is culturally specific, but also a work of art — a kind of dream. The dream sequence gives us the most freedom. It’s explicitly theatrical — Tevye’s construction of a dream. To create it, we drew on early Yiddish theater traditions, using masks and heightened imagery. In that sequence, the characters have
grasses growing up their legs, as if they’ve risen from the earth itself. They enter pulling roots behind them. That connects back to the image of being rooted in the land — and makes their eventual uprooting more painful. So, our approach is grounded in culture, but also metaphorical. That tension is part of the piece’s DNA.
How do the actors honor their characters while avoiding stereotype?
That’s always a challenge when cultural identity is central. Where’s the line between stereotype and reality?
From day one, we’ve had a dialogue about that. We brought in Dr. Liat Alon, a cultural historian and chief learning officer from the Jewish Federation, and Michael Shefrin, a rabbi from Temple Emanu-El. We also have Jewish artists in the cast and on the creative team. Non-Jewish actors are often afraid of falling into “the cadence” — the ethnic cliché of the musical “Jewish accent.”
So, we try to create a room where actors can experiment without fear.
Do you approach this musical as if the film didn’t exist?
IF YOU GO
‘FIDDLER ON THE ROOF’
When: April 18 through May 24
Where: FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail Tickets: $31-$97
Info: Visit AsoloRep.org.
No. It’s impossible to create this show in a vacuum. Many of our actors grew up with the film — it’s part of their cultural DNA. Our Tevye, Jeremy Radin, has done multiple productions, so he brings that history with him. My goal isn’t to reject that or overturn expectations. It’s to honor it — and go deeper. The actor-musician approach helps us do that. It reflects a community that truly relied on itself. Our reimagining isn’t about novelty — it’s about rediscovering essential truths in the source material and its adaptations.
How does the Asolo Rep creative team maintain its balance?
The piece itself complicates things. Ordinarily, the script is the Bible. But we have more than one “Bible,” so to speak. We’re informed by the historical shtetl, but also Sholem Aleichem’s fictionalized version. The musical’s creators were Jewish Americans — and they filtered his stories through an American art form. So instead of asking, “What’s the correct choice?” we ask, “What’s the richest choice?” That’s our North Star. Open communication. Multiple perspectives. And accepting that eliminating what one person might see as stereotype would make someone else feel like you’ve erased their culture.
Why does “The Fiddler on the Roof” endure?
Because it asks timeless questions. How do you embrace change while holding onto where you came from? How do you define your beliefs when they’re being challenged — internally and externally? What does it mean to love your children when their worldview is different from your own? We’re still asking those questions today. That’s why it endures.
CAUSEHOPE
Neuro Challenge Foundation for Parkinson’s annual Cause 4 Hope Gala, Saturday, April 25, at The Ora.
Featuring: Special entertainment by the acclaimed Sarasota Key Chorale and the Off-Key Chorale.
Honoring Sarasota’s acclaimed gala planner and long-time Neuro Challenge supporter Mary Kenealy.
Also: The year’s “you-won’t-believe” and “must-have” auction items.
Tickets are going fast. For information, go to:
NeuroChallenge.org/events/cause4hope.
Mary Kenealy
Image courtesy of Adrian Van Stee
The cast of Asolo Rep’s “Fiddler on the Roof” will play as well as sing and dance.
OUR PICK
‘THE MUSIC MAN’
One of the most beloved Broadway musicals comes to the Van Wezel in a revival that swept audiences off its feet and kindled a love affair between its two stars, Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster. Alas, the touring show doesn’t feature Jackman and Foster. It stars Nicholas Carroll as Professor Harold Hill, a musical instrument salesman of dubious ethics, and Elizabeth D’Aiuto as Marian the Librarian, whose virtue makes Hill question his way of life. The rousing soundtrack includes such Great American Songbook standards as “Til There Was You” and rousing favorites as “Trouble” and “The Wells Fargo Wagon.” Americana never sounded so good. Runs through April 11.
IF YOU GO
When: 7 p.m. on Friday, April 10
Where: Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail
Tickets: $56-$111
Info: Visit VanWezel.org.
THURSDAY
JAZZ THURSDAYS AT SAM
5:30 p.m. at Sarasota Art Museum, 1001 S. Tamiami Trail
$25 Visit JazzClubSarasota.org.
This month’s edition of Jazz Thursdays at SAM features the Suncoast Jazz Ambassadors, led by director David DeWitt. Their repertoire ranges from Big Band favorites by Duke Ellington and Count Basie, the influences of Stan Kenton and Woody Herman to today’s sounds of Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Join them for al fresco jazz on the Marcy & Michael Klein Plaza with extended hours in the galleries, Bistro and the gift shop.
NEIL BERG’S 100 YEARS OF HOLLYWOOD
7 p.m. at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail $41-$81 Visit VanWezel.org.
Here’s looking at you, kid, as Broadway veterans performs songs from such classic films as “Casablanca,” “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” “The Wizard of Oz,” “Goldfinger,” “Titanic” and many more in honor of Hollywood’s centennial. When it comes to Broadway and Hollywood tribute shows, Neil Berg’s troupe is the gold standard.
ABBA NOVA BAND TRIBUTE TO FLEETWOOD MAC
7:30 p.m. at Tree Fort Productions, 3501 S. Tamiami Trail $40 Visit TreeFortProductionsProjects. com.
Katherine Michelle Tanner’s Tree Fort Productions presents the Abba Nova Band Tribute to Fleetwood Mac. You can go your own way, but just make sure it leads to this performance in The Crossings at Siesta Key mall.
‘HADESTOWN’ TEEN EDITION
7:30 p.m. at Rise Above Performing Arts, 3501 S. Tamiami Trail
$25-$35 Visit RiseAboveArts.com.
Weaving together two mythical love stories, “Hadestown” takes the audience on a journey of the underworld to an infectious soundtrack that marries American folk music and New Orleans jazz. Runs through April 19.
2 CARNIVALS
7:30 p.m. at Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave. $70-$85 Visit LaMusica.org.
This La Musica chamber concert pairs Saint-Saens’ “Carnival of the Animals” with “A Carnival of Endangered Wonders,” a new work by pianist and composer Michael Stephen Brown. Described by Brown as a “zoological fantasy,” the composition will premiere at the Sarasota Opera before moving to Mote Science Education and Aquarium on April 10.
‘CHERRY DOCS’
7:30 p.m. at The Sarasota Players, 3501 S. Tamiami Trail
$40 Visit SarasotaJewishTheatre.com.
If you don’t know what “Cherry Docs” are, count yourself lucky because these shoes are the favored footwear of neo Nazi white supremacists. Never afraid to shine light on darkness, Sarasota Jewish Theater presents David Gow’s “Cherry Docs,” about a young Jewish lawyer (Michael Raver) assigned to defend a small-time racist (Jim Floyd) charged with murdering an immigrant. Runs through April 19.
‘THE APIARY’
7:30 p.m. at Urbanite Theatre, 1487 Second St.
$5-$44
Visit UrbaniteTheatre.com.
Urbanite Theatre’s “The Apiary” unfolds in the not-too-distant future. What’s an apiary? It’s an area for beekeeping. This one’s a black comedy — and incandescent science-fiction. Kate Douglas’ play zeroes in on two lab assistants, Zora and Pilar, who struggle to save the last surviving honeybee hive. Runs through April 19.
‘A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN’
7:30 p.m. at Florida Studio Theatre’s Keating Theatre, 1241 N. Palm Ave.
$59
Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.
Francesca Ferrari gets top billing as Janis Joplin, a member of the “27 Club” (stars who died at age 27), in Randy Johnson’s show at Florida Studio Theatre. But the Black singers who helped inform Joplin’s singing style (Odetta, Bessie Smith, Aretha Franklin, Etta James and others) are more than just background singers in this knockout production directed by Ben Liebert. Runs through April 26.
FRIDAY
‘ONE HIT WONDERS’
2 p.m. and 6 p.m. at Florida Studio Theatre’s John C. Court Cabaret, 1265 First St. $37-$42 Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.
to such hit songs as Don McLean’s “American Pie,” a runaway hit that eclipsed other success in the troubadour’s career, and “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” from Bobby McFerrin. Runs through June 21.
2026 SARASOTA FILM
FESTIVAL OPENING NIGHT FILM:
‘DEEP WATER’
6 p.m. at New College of Florida/ Sainer Pavilion, 5315 Bay Shore Road
$40 opening night film, $20 regular screenings, $1,500 festival pass. Visit SarasotaFilmFestival.org.
Producer Gene Simmons, cofounder of the rock band Kiss, and director Renny Harlin will be in attendance for “Deep Water,” the opening night film of the 28th annual Sarasota Film Festival. Based on this year’s surrealist poster of a manatee with a bowler hat ascending over Sarasota Bay, the 2026 SFF is ready to fly high. This year’s lineup includes 47 features, with four world premieres, 17 Florida premieres and 39 short films. Runs through April 19.
BIRTHDAY CANDLES’
8 p.m. at Florida Studio Theatre’s Gompertz Theatre, 1265 First St. $46 Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.
“Birthday Candles” stars Rachel Moulton as Ernestine Ashworth, whose 17th birthday celebration does a time warp and moves ahead to her 41st, 70th and 107th birthdays, all with the same cake. This Southeastern premiere is directed by Kate Alexander. Runs through May 17.
SATURDAY
‘THE PIRATE SHIP AND THE SEA MONSTER & OTHER WINNING PLAYS’
10 a.m. and 12 p.m. at FST’s Keating Theatre, 1241 N. Palm Ave. $12
Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.
Don’t let the kids spend weekends glued to digital devices. Bring them out to Florida Studio Theatre for family-oriented fare. A 50-minute program of short plays written by grade schoolers from around the world features professional actors bringing heroes of all kinds to life. Runs weekends through April 19.
ALEXANDER CALDER
IN-STUDIO WITH SARASOLO
3 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Sarasota Contemporary Dance Home Studio, 1400 Boulevard of the Arts, Suite 300 $15-$30 Visit SarasotaContemporaryDance. org.
Is it better to have had just one song top the charts than to have none at all? You’ll have time to think about that question as you listen
In this performance produced by Blake Walton and Ann Morrison’s artist incubator, Sarasolo, three Booker High VPA students (Tyler
Courtesy image
The Broadway revival of Meredith Wilson’s “The Music Man” comes to the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall April 10-11.
Ashlock, Robert Heath and Selena Leyva) will perform plays they
JAMES AUSTIN SMITH: HEARING MEMORY
7 p.m. at St. Boniface Episcopal Church, 5615 Midnight Pass Road
$45 Visit SoundboxVentures.org.
In this concert presented by Max Tan’s Soundbox Ventures, oboist James Austin Smith explores a chapter overlooked by history, that of the East German avant-garde. Through documentary interviews, storytelling and music, Smith and pianist Cory Smythe look back on the bold classical music scene of 1970s East Germany.
AN TRAN, CLASSICAL GUITAR
7:30 p.m. at Riverview Performing Arts Center, 1 Ram Way
$40-$44 Visit GuitarSarasota.org.
Many people associate classical guitar with the Spanish tradition, and for good reason. But An Tran has introduced a Vietnamese flavor into the genre to great effect. Often described as a Vietnamese Guitar Virtuoso, An’s 2020 debut album, “Stay, My Beloved,” virtually created a genre overnight.
SUNDAY
SPRING IS HERE
3 p.m. at Northminster Presbyterian Church, 3131 61st St.
$5 Visit SuncoastConcertBand.org.
Now in its 93rd year, Suncoast Concert Band has evolved from its trailer park roots to a concert band of seasoned musicians led by conductor Robert Stoll. This week’s theme is “Spring is Here.” Call 941907-4123 to reserve your ticket in advance and please be sure to dial the right number.
MONDAY
EXPLORING THE VAN WEZEL FROM THE ART TO THE STAGE
1:30 p.m. at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail $15 Visit ArtsAdvocates.org.
In this Arts Advocates tour, a docent educates participants about the paintings and sculptures in the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. Participants then step onto the stage where a Van Wezel guide shares stories and anecdotes. Proceeds from the tour benefit the education/outreach programs of Arts Advocates and the Van Wezel.
DON’T MISS
OUTDOOR POPS: PARROTS & PALMS
This Sarasota Orchestra Outdoor Pops concert doesn’t start until 7:30 p.m. but it will be 5 o’clock somewhere for this celebration of parrots, palms and “good vibes only on island time.” On the playlist are such laid-back favorites as “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” “Under the Boardwalk” and “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” as well as hits by tropical troubadours like Jimmy Buffett, Bob Marley and the Beach Boys. The show’s finale is a spectacular fireworks display. Runs through April 11.
IF YOU GO When: 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 10
Where: Ed Smith Stadium, 2700 12th St. Tickets: $25 and up Info: Visit SarasotaOrchestra.org.
TUESDAY
‘MRS. DOUBTFIRE’
7 p.m. at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail $56-$121 Visit VanWezel.org.
For many, Robin Williams will forever be Mrs. Doubtfire because of his starring role in the film of the same name. But a new generation has discovered this delightful tale through the hit Broadway show about an out-of-work actor who will do anything for his kids. Runs through April 15.
WEDNESDAY
GIVING CHALLENGE CONCERT
6 p.m. at St. Armands Key Lutheran Church, 40 N. Adams Drive Free Visit StringsConBrio.org.
Founded by Monica Sirocchi in 2015, Strings Con Brio steps up when it’s most needed. Conducted by Kenneth Bowermeister, former artistic director of The Venice Symphony, Strings Con Brio will perform a free concert to highlight the Giving Challenge, where local nonprofits take advantage of matching grants as they raise funds.
Image courtesy of Peter Acker
Local cottage-core cafés offer a cozy escape
Step away from the noise and enjoy the vintage charm of the area’s culinary cottages.
It feels like the world is moving at a pace my nervous system simply didn’t sign up for. I’m one notification away from placing my phone face down, walking outside and politely screaming at the universe, “What are we doing here?” So, I’ve started silencing things. Not everything, just enough to breathe again. Sometimes, peace looks like not knowing everything the second it happens. And in that newly reclaimed notification-free time, I’ve found myself daydreaming about a slower kind of life. Old Florida folks know what I’m talking about. The kind where mornings don’t start with doomscrolling and nights don’t end with a blue-light glow. A life rooted in cozy corners, vintage charm, homegrown ingredients and the simple joy of making something with your hands.
The internet calls this aesthetic “cottage-core.”
So consider this your gentle nudge to step away from the noise, put the phone down (at least for a little while) and lean into the cozy. Find a cottage, order something that makes your do the “yummy dance” and remind yourself what slowing down actually tastes like.
THE BREAKFAST HOUSE
1817 Fruitville Road, Sarasota; 941-366-6860; SarasotaBreakfastHouse.com
Slow Down, You’re Doing Fine: Start your cottage-core culinary adventure at this historic eatery, in business for over 16 years. Their lemon lavender stuffed blueberry pancakes ($15.49) are little stacks of fluffy, fragrant bliss that will help you forget whatever headline was stressing you out five minutes earlier. Bright, soft and just indulgent enough, this ricotta-layered breakfast plate is one of my absolute favorite dishes in Sarasota.
Foodie Folklore: Any excuse to order a side of the sensational sweet potatoes with onions and peppers is a cozy moment you won’t soon forget. Pair it with an omelette (Make it your way with four ingredients for $14.99.) entree that looks more like a pillow than a meal and suddenly a post-breakfast nap feels like the only logical next step.
slowing down and eating well feels. Oh, this is a food column — order the German schnitzel ($19.90) with sides ($5 each) like spätzle, red cabbage or cucumber salad.
Foodie Folklore: Get your hands on a giant German pretzel ($12.90) with Bavarian mustard to share with your friends. This simplistic, savory, salty and a hint of sweet and spicy mix forces you to slow down and enjoy the small moments with the people you literally are breaking bread with.
THE COTTAGE
153 Avenida Messina, Siesta Key; 941312-9300; CottageSiestaKey.com
there’s a Lakewood Ranch outpost if you don’t want to see spring breakers take over Sarasota’s streets. From the sprawling Banyan tree out front, to the tire swing tucked in the back, this spot is steeped in simple Southern living. The welcoming vibe lets you kick back, fill up on Floridian flavors and savor simple joys that make you remember, “These are the days.” Order up spicy jambalaya with shrimp, chicken, andouille, crawfish and dirty rice ($27.99) or the cornmeal crusted catfish with spicy collards, grits and brown butter ($24.99).
Foodie Folklore: If perfection had a flavor, it would be the Parmesan beignets ($17). I’ve probably written about them before and I’ll happily write about them a million times more. Each bite is drizzled with local honey, kissed with fresh thyme and perfectly paired with sweet pears. A meal full of magic that makes you forget the rest of the world exists outside of this cottage, for as long as you make it last. EATING WITH EMMA
Which is why hearing about the potential loss of those beloved cottages along Fruitville Road in downtown Sarasota hit a little harder than expected. You know the ones, straight out of a storybook, full of character, charm and that rare feeling that not everything has to be sleek and new to be special. The colorful collection of cottages represent something we’re all in need of: warmth, comfort and a safe space that feels like home. We can’t control everything changing around us, but we can choose where we spend our time.
SIEGFRIEDS RESTAURANT & GERMAN BIERGARTEN
1869 Fruitville Road, Sarasota; 941330-9330; Siegfrieds-Restaurant. com
Slow Down, You’re Doing Fine: Opened in 2019, this cottage taps into my deep-rooted love for Rhineland-style German cuisine Kim, René and their crew make you feel transported somewhere far more comforting than whatever’s waiting outside. It’s cozy, it’s welcoming and it’s the kind of place that reminds you just how good
Slow Down, You’re Doing Fine: My college friend used to make the trip from Ohio to Siesta Key a few times a year to visit his late grandfather. A good time was guaranteed with him and the funniest 90-something-year-old, affectionately called “Pa.” One of Pa’s favorite spots on the strip? The Cottage, where you savor worldly flavors, soak up cozy Floridian charm and indulge in adult beverages with anyone lucky enough to snag a seat at the table. My go-to? The Cucumberita ($14) with gold tequila, St. Germaine, agave nectar, fresh cucumber pieces and lime juice. Foodie Folklore: Need something to soak up the booze? Snack on tuna tiradito ($17) with Aji Amarillo truffle sauce, the black mussels ($23) with Parmesan-crusted garlic bread or the Peruvian ceviche ($19) with Mahi Mahi, white corn and sweet potato.
OWEN’S FISH CAMP
516 Burns Court, Sarasota; 941951-6936; 6516 University Parkway, Lakewood Ranch; 941-951-5052; OwensFishCamp.com
Slow Down, You’re Doing Fine: While the downtown location is a quintessential “cottage” at heart,
Foodie Folklore: As my dad would say, “Keep it simple, stupid,” as he sipped his Jack Daniels and ordered his fish and chips ($22.99). Me? I’m noshing on the naked fish (market price) with a choice of sauce (always the lemon-caper butter) and two sides (the my way or the highway cheesy grits and garlicky green beans).
INDIGENOUS 239 S. Links Ave., Sarasota; 941706-4740; IndigenousSarasota.com Slow Down, You’re Doing Fine:
Good luck finding a table on OpenTable from January through April, but come summer, a loved one might sigh, “Emma, we’ve already been to that South Links cottage this week, you sure you want to go again?” And the answer is always, “Yes.” Since 2011, Indigenous has been serving up cottage-core vibes through a menu that celebrates peak-season ingredients, sourced from local farmers and fishermen, with sophisticated indoor and outdoor dining only seen in simpler times. My Uncle’s Burger ($25) is easily the coziest, most comforting rendition of a sandwich I’ve ever sunk my teeth into.
Emma Burke
The original Owen’s Fish Camp in Burns Court defines the quintessential “cottage.”
Pine View grad Roger Zare solves for ‘Gamma’ in his latest music composition
DragonBoot Quartet premieres Zare’s piece at an Artist Series Concert event on April 12.
MONICA ROMAN GAGNIER
EDITOR
A+E
As a child growing up on Florida’s Gulf Coast, pianist and composer Ryan Zare’s attention was often turned to the Sunshine State’s East Coast, where NASA launches rockets into space from Cape Canaveral.
When a reporter called on April 1 to talk about Zare’s new composition, “Gamma,” he was livestreaming the preparations for that evening’s launch of the Artemis II, the first crewed mission to the moon’s vicinity in 54 years.
“Growing up in Florida, space travel was a big inspiration for me. One of my first compositions, for the Sarasota Youth Orchestras, was called ‘Lift-Off.’ It was written when NASA was returning the Space Shuttle to flight in 2005,” Zare says.
Later in his career, he returned to the topic of space travel by composing, “We Choose to Go to the Moon,” based on President Kennedy’s famous 1961 declaration.
If you’re not from Sarasota, you may not be familiar with the term “Pine View kid.” Zare is one of them. The term refers to students of Pine View, the only standalone public school for gifted kids in the state, according to the Sarasota County Schools website.
After passing an IQ test, Zare attended Pine View from second grade (when it begins) until he graduated from high school in 2003. Zare began playing piano when he was 5 years old, but after sampling Pine View’s elective classes, he settled on the violin and orchestra in junior high.
In high school, a friend introduced him to notation software, which allowed him to compose his first orchestra piece that was appropriately called “Die Erste Musik” (Ger-
IF YOU GO DRAGONBOOT QUARTET
When: 4 p.m. on April 12
Where: First Presbyterian Church, 2050 Oak St.
Tickets: $50; $10 students
Info: Visit ArtistSeriesConcerts.org.
man for First Music), when he was 14.
After he showed his piece to his teacher, Ken Bowermeister, it was performed in the school’s final concert. “I realized I wanted to keep on doing this,” Zare says.
That desire has led to multiple degrees and awards. We’ll just name the degrees: a doctorate of Musical Arts (2012) from the University of Michigan, a Master of Music (2009) from Maryland’s Peabody Conservatory of Music and a Bachelor of Music (2007) from the University of Southern California.
Over the years, Zare has found inspiration in science and math for his music, and life has presented him with some fortuitous opportunities.
While he was working on his doctorate at the University of Michigan, he got the chance to travel to Switzerland and participate in a music program at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, better known by its acronym CERN.
Zare was chosen to participate in a workshop CERN presented at the Montreux International Jazz Festival called “The Physics of Music and the Music of Physics.” The Donald Sinta Quartet performed Zare’s saxophone quartets LHC and Z (4430).
While at CERN, Zare got to tour the Large Hadron Collider, a massive underground accelerator that smashes ions and protons together at nearly the speed of light. The crash course in subatomic physics really got his creative juices flowing.
Zare’s latest composition, “Gamma,” is based on a mathematical constant discovered by Leonhard Euler in the 18th century and later refined by Lorenzo Mascheroni. On his website, Zare explains
Over the years, Zare has found inspiration in science and math for his music, and life has presented him with some fortuitous opportunities.
gamma to novices: “We don’t fully understand to this day, but it shows up in many seemingly unrelated places in analytic number theory and calculus and has been dubbed by some as the third most important constant behind pi and e.” Wow! Are you with me on this, folks?
Commissioned by Katie Lombardi for Shahen Mirzoyan, Zare’s “Gamma” will be performed by DragonBoot Quartet, whose four members are students in the Honors Chamber Music Program at the Juilliard School of Music in New York City. Made up of Cate Carson and Katya Moeller on
violin, Sydney Whipple on viola, and Lila Holyoke on cello, DragonBoot won the Grand Prize in the Coltman Chamber Music Competition.
Audiences at the Artist Series Concert at First Presbyterian Church will discover how Zare’s composition turns a seemingly abstract mathematical concept into music. Perhaps some of his fellow travelers in the worlds of music, science and math will truly grok (to use an old sci-fi term) what he has achieved. Not all of Zare’s compositions are inspired by weighty topics. One of his recent works, which premiered at ensembleNewSRQ’s Jan. 19 concert, is called “Equilibrium.” It’s about Zare’s efforts to find balance in his newfound discipline of running. With Zare’s curiosity, intellect and drive, inspiration lies around every corner.
Pictured here seated: Gary Heard, John Hart, CEO, Renee Armbruster
Standing: Drew Gehring, Andrew Gibbons, Chandler Pennington and Brian Volner
Courtesy image
DragonBoot Quartet performs the world premiere of Roger Zare’s “Gamma” for string quartet on April 12.
Arts groups get ‘Squeezed’ for Giving Challenge
Falling this year on April 15, the biannual Giving Challenge might seem to be putting the squeeze on taxpayers who’ve just shelled out money to the government. Gallerist Marianne Chapel gets the joke. Chapel, founding director of Spaaces art gallery in the Limelight District, is banding with several arts organizations to host an energetic fundraising event for the Giving Challenge. It seems fitting that she’s dubbed it “Squeeze.” (Chapel’s Princeton Street gallery uses all caps in its title and so does the Giving Challenge event. But newspaper tradition frowns on the extraneous use of capital letters, so please bear with us.)
For Squeeze, Spaaces has joined hands with deejay Karim Manning, Sarasota Contemporary Dance, Upward Notes and Artist Series Concerts to throw a five-hour party of dance and music surrounded by visual arts.
Right now, the show up at Spaaces is “Object/Subject: The Body, Space and Acts of Transformation,” which is on display through May 16. That exhibition features artists LaMichael Leonard Jr., Laine Nixon, Yosnier Miranda, Rose Marjanneke Williamson, Matt Hollis and Whit The Poet.
Squeeze is free, but attendees are encouraged to take part in the Giving Challenge’s 24-hour fundraiser, presented by the Community Foundation of Sarasota. From noon on April 15 until noon April 16, donations of between $25 and $100 made to eligible local non-
profits will be 100% matched by a gift from the Patterson Foundation.
The idea for the Squeeze collaboration came out of conversations that Chapel had this past summer when Leonard, a former Martha Graham Dance Company member, was at the gallery. Leonard is currently artist in resident at The Ringling.
“We were talking about how to describe the energy of bringing multiple art forms and people into one shared moment, and Squeeze felt right,” Chapel says. “It held a lot of meaning at once.”
Squeeze “speaks to how nonprofits operate, especially during the Giving Challenge, where there is a very limited window to rally support and every gift must happen within that compressed timeframe,” she says.
But Chapel notes that Squeeze “also works as a broader metaphor. A squeeze gathers things together and holds them closely, which reflects how organizations like Spaaces bring together people of different ages, disciplines and backgrounds into one shared space.”
At the center of the Squeeze Giving Challenge event are two live performances at 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Each half-hour show features a classical string quartet from Upward Notes and Artist Series Concerts alongside beatbox artist Manning and Sarasota Contemporary Dance members. Using Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” as inspiration, they will create an dynamic, interdisciplinary experience.
Throughout the evening, guests can enjoy light refreshments and opportunities to support partici-
pating organizations through the Giving Challenge. Donors can also participate in the fundraising event online at GivingChallenge.org.
From 7-10 p.m., Manning, who goes by the handle DJ Karim, will host a dance party. What a way to get squeezed!
Sarasota museum curator heading to Seattle
Rangsook Yoon, senior curator of the contemporary Sarasota Art Museum campus of Ringling College and Design, is leaving to join the Frye Art Museum in Seattle.
Yoon’s last day at SAM, which is housed in the former Sarasota High School on Tamiami Trail, is May 1.
“That will allow me to see our upcoming exhibition, ‘Something Borrowed, Something New,’ through its completion on April 17,” Yoon says.
The exhibition features major modern artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Chuck Close, David Hockney, Yoko Ono, Kara Walker and Ai Weiwei. Their works have been loaned by private collectors in Southwest Florida to SAM for the show, which runs from April 19 through Sept. 27.
Commenting on Yoon’s departure, SAM Executive Director Virginia Shearer said in an email to the Observer, “Rangsook has had a lasting and positive impact on SAM. The quality and appeal of SAM’s exhibitions and her deep commitment to scholarship, all stand as hallmarks of her successful tenure.”
Shearer added, “On a personal note, we will greatly miss her collegiality, leadership and generosity of spirit. We wish her every success in the next chapter of her journey.”
Yoon was recruited for the newly created role of senior director of curatorial affairs at Frye during a national search managed by DSG Global. She starts her new job at the end of May.
Since joining SAM in 2022, Yoon has curated numerous exhibitions that increased attendance and drew national attention for SAM. Among them are “Art Deco: The Golden Age of Illustration,” “Joe Fig: Contemplating Vermeer,” “Chris Friday: Where We Never Grow Old,” “Stephanie J. Woods: my paper used to play checkers” and “Judy Pfaff: Picking up the Pieces.” Pfaff’s show was a two-pronged exhibition inspired by Hurricane Ian in 2022 and a whirlwind housecleaning effort by the celebrated art professor at Bard College in upstate New York.
Yoon was SAM’s curator during its participation in Skyway 2024, a collaboration of five Tampa Bay museums, including three in Sarasota, that showcased the work of contemporary Florida artists.
Yoon collaborated with the Hermitage Artist Retreat in Englewood for the exhibition, “The Truth of the Night Sky: Anne Patterson and Patrick Harlin.”
Prior to joining SAM, Yoon served as director of curatorial affairs and curator of modern art at Artis-Naples, The Baker Museum. Previously, she was director of experiences and curator at the Art & History Museums in Maitland.
Born and educated in South Korea, Yoon studied French language and literature at Korea University in Seoul before moving to the U.S. to pursue art history education. She earned a master’s degree from Cleveland State University and a Ph.D. from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University.
While researching her dissertation, Yoon spent several years in Europe, including a year in Munich studying German and conducting archival research. She gained expertise in the Munich Secessionists, whose work forms an important part of the Frye’s founding-era collection, the museum noted in a press release.
Created by 13 founding members, mainly artists and philanthropists, in 2003, the Sarasota Art Museum was able to transform the Sarasota High School building into a contemporary art museum through a partnership with Ringling College of Art and Design. It opened to the public in 2019.
Three Sarasota theaters jump on the trolley together
It sometimes takes an act of God, such as a pandemic or a hurricane, to foster real collaboration among Sarasota’s arts groups, which compete for donors and audiences. But three theaters are jumping on the cooperation bandwagon. Actually, it’s a trolley.
On April 18, the Asolo Repertory Theatre, Florida Studio Theatre and the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall will present Sarasota: A Theatre Trolley Tour, a free family friendly arts adventure. The excursion is presented as part of Suncoast Remake Learning Days, now in its fifth year.
In a press release, it was noted that the theater trolley tour marks the first time the three organizations have collaborated on a shared family arts experience.
A free trolley will transport families to the theaters, where they will participate in activities designed to spark creativity and curiosity. Guests will explore backstage spaces, experience a live theater performance, and take part in an interactive movement workshop — all in one morning of arts discovery.
The journey begins at Asolo Repertory Theatre, where participants will get an insiders’ look at the craftsmanship behind professional theater. Guests will tour rehearsal halls, costume shops and backstage spaces where productions take shape and learn about the artistry, craftsmanship and collaboration that take stories from the page to the stage.
Next, families will travel to Florida Studio Theatre to see “The Pirate Ship and the Sea Monster & Other Winning Plays.” The annual production brings winning student-written plays to life with professional actors, celebrating the creativity of elementary school playwrights from around the world.
The final stop is the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, where participants will join Broadway veteran and Van Wezel Director of Education Justin Gomlak for an energetic movement workshop.
Blending dance and storytelling, the session invites participants of all skill levels to explore musical theatre performance through character and choreography.
The morning ends with an icecream social.
Families may attend individual activities or attend all three to participate in the full trolley tour experience. Download the Suncoast Remake Learning Days app to register.
DragonBoot Quartet, April 12, 4:00 pm
Juilliard School student quartet presents the WORLD PREMIERE of Sarasota composer Roger Zare’s Gamma for string quartet, and Haydn’s String Quartet Op. 33
Voice of the Cello, April 21, 7:30 pm
Cellist Andres Sanchez-Linares and pianist Ying Li perform music by George Crumb, Robert Schumann, and Beethoven’s Cello Sonata no. 3 in A major, Op. 69
Baroque Treasures, May 10, 4:00 pm
Oboe, harp, strings, and harpsichord come together for Handel, Debussy, and more on Mother’s Day
Courtesy image
Sarasota DJ and beatbox artist Karim Manning
Monica Gagnier
Sarasota Art Museum Senior Curator Rangsook Yoon poses in front of an unnamed piece in Judy Pfaff’s exhibition, “Picking Up the Pieces.”
Sheila Weiss, Michael Goldman, JFCS President and CEO Dr. Helene Lotman, Ellen Goldner, Marion Levine and Sasha Rosin make up the Hope in Bloom committee.
Eve and Marc Kanoff are honored at Hope in Bloom held at Selby Gardens on March 29.
Photos by Janet Combs Lydotta and Larry Taylor
John Marlette, a Hope in Bloom speaker, is pictured with his family, Tiffanie and Violet Marlette.
Jimmy Glover and Sue Rosin
Al Cohen
Terri Brackett and VP of Operations
Lucia Branton
John Havasy, Dede Moore, Ann Havasy and Brian Moore
