Sarasota Orchestra is moving forward into a new season
I can only imagine how difficult it has been on many levels for the staff of the Sarasota Orchestra since the death of Bramwell Tovey, who was in the process of taking over as music director this fall.
Tovey planned to be actively involved in the new season of Masterworks, Pops, Great Escapes, Discoveries and chamber concerts. With his passing, the staff had to deal with the loss of a close colleague, but also figure out how to replace him.
As our story about the new season reveals, Sarasota Orchestra has signed up several more guest conductors to fill in the gaps, while revising some of the programs that were designed around Tovey’s unique skills.
But as much as possible, orchestra leaders say they are sticking with the lineup that he put together as they prepare to relaunch a search for a new music director.
The Sarasota Ballet has just completed a run of performances at the Joyce Theater dance center in New York City. The company presented two works by Frederick Ashton and a world premiere by Jessica Lang. The week of performances attracted some reviews from numerous publications offering varied opinions on the pieces, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Broadway World.
Somehow, Urbanite Theatre is about to launch its ninth season. The company was started by two graduates of the FSU/Asolo Conservatory with a partner who just happened to own a building in downtown Sarasota and arranged to add on a new theater space.
Co-artistic directors Brendan Ragan and Summer Dawn Wallace have set a theme of “Heredity” for the new season, with plays that touch on issues of family. But Ragan said while last season may have had a lighter tone as audiences cautiously returned to the theater, the 2022-23 season will be more like the early days of Urbanite with daring mentally and emotionally challenging plays never seen in the area.
Students in the three-year FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Professional Actor Training, are just getting started with a new year with a new director. Andrei Malaev-Babel, who has been an acting teacher and director in the graduate acting program for 16 years, was named the director this summer, succeeding Greg Leaming, who retired. Malaev-Babel said he is working to provide opportunities for alumni, diversify the roster of performances and guest artists and focus on the skills the students need for careers in everything from stage work to film, television and voice overs.
You have a few more days to see the Players Centre’s final production of the Summer Sizzler season, the musical “Let it Be,” which tells the story of two families with the help of two dozen or more Beatles songs. It runs through Sunday.
Florida Studio Theatre has extended the run of its comedy mystery “Smoke and Mirrors” by a week. It now runs through Sunday, and “Jersey Tenors II” will be sticking around an extra week through Sept. 18. Another cabaret show, “New York State of mind – All the Hits of Billy Joel with the Uptown Boys” will be playing in the Court Cabaret through September.
Coming up next weekend in the Sunday Arts section and online, look for the announcement of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall’s 2022-23 season, which will feature dozens of singers, comedians, Broadway shows, acrobats and holiday favorites.
Enjoy your week.
Jay Handelman
Arts Editor
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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota Orchestra is moving forward into a new season
