ArtsBeat

It’s unlikely any other company in the world – with the possible exception of The Royal Ballet itself – could have mounted or so authentically performed the program with which The Sarasota Ballet concluded its season this weekend at the Sarasota Opera House.

As he nears the end of his first season as music director of the Sarasota Orchestra, Giancarlo Guerrero is quickly feeling part of a large community of music lovers. Even as he spends most of his time flying around the world for other engagements, he has been a frequent visitor to Sarasota, conducting numerous concerts, working on plans to build a new music center and getting to know the musicians, donors and staff.

Art is one of life’s mixed blessings in that it has the somewhat cursed quality of affecting each of us in our own way. Just because a piece of music doesn’t satisfy one person’s musical palate does not mean that it will not satisfy another’s. Some people love red onions. I prefer them in small quantities and as a flourish to the main course. ensembleNEWSRQ performs Steve Reich’s “Music for 18 Musicians” at the Sarasota Opera House on April 24, the 50th anniversary of the work’s premiere.

The sweet musical “Big Fish,” which closes the Manatee Players’ mainstage season, is all about an adult son trying to understand his tall tale-spinning father and determining the truth from the hyperbole. Adapted from Daniel Wallace’s 1998 novel and a 2003 film that was directed by Tim Burton, it is far from a perfect musical with some choppy transitions and a few plot points that seem to drift away.

At a time when diminishing government support means private philanthropy is more important to the arts than ever before, donations to arts and cultural organizations participating in the 2026 Giving Challenge were up slightly from the previous 24-hour online fundraiser two years ago.

From the window of his second floor office in the Manatee Performing Arts Center, Producing Artistic Director Rick Kerby can see his company’s future under construction. A view of the construction site for an addition to the Manatee Performing Arts Center where the four-story Sara’s Studios will allow the company to add rehearsal rooms and music studios for expanded programs.

At the April 17 opening night of the Asolo Repertory Theatre’s often stunning production of “Fiddler on the Roof” I happened to chat with four people who had never seen the show before. The cast of the Asolo Repertory Theatre production of “Fiddler on the Roof.” Photo by Adrian Van Stee provided by Asolo Rep It’s good for a critic to be reminded that there are always newcomers to even the most classic warhorses of American musical theater.

April 23-May 10 The cast of the musical “Big Fish” rehearsing at the Manatee Performing Arts Center. Photo by Diane Shelby You can expect some tall tales and adventures in the musical “Big Fish,” which closes the mainstage season for the Manatee Players. Producing Artistic Director Rick Kerby stages the show with a book by John August and music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa.

Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe founder and Artistic Director Nate Jacobs has certainly been on a creative tear with his brother Michael Jacobs recently, creating three wholly different and original world premiere musicals at the theater in just three years. Cast members from the Westcoast Black Theatre’s world premiere of “Lies, Spells & Old Wives’ Tales” create a quilt.

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is arguably William Shakespeare’s most popular and produced comedy, a beloved tale of mismatched lovers cast under a spell by mischievous fairies before most everything in the world is righted.