Highlights
Art
Art Center Sarasota. On exhibit here through Oct. 22: The Other Persona, an all-media members’ show exploring issues of identity and costume. Also: Out of Mind: Costumes and Ephemera by Ray Peper; drawings, paintings and assemblages by Jo Proietti; and Food for Thought, paintings by Vicki Chelf and Jeff Schwartz. 365-2032.
Selby Gallery. Continuing on view here and at other galleries on the Ringling College campus, through Oct. 26: the annual Ringling College Faculty and Staff Exhibition. 359-7563.
Ringling Museum of Art. Sculpting Sound, an exhibit of mechanized kinetic sculptures of Swiss artist, Zimoun, opens Oct. 11 in conjunction with the Ringling International Arts Festival and runs through Jan. 8. Continuing through Jan. 29 here is The Amazing American Circus Poster: The Strobridge Lithographing Company, 1878-1939, an exhibition showcasing the cultural influence of the circus on America. Through Jan. 16, you can also see Artists of Advertising, other historic lithographs printed between 1880 and 1925, in the Circus Museum’s Tibbals Learning Center. Plus Crosscurrents of Design, featuring Asian ceramics, and The Art of Jade also remain on view through Oct. 30. 359-5700.
Longboat Key Center for the Arts. Two shows open here Oct. 6: Proactive Petti-coats, featuring works by members of the Petticoat Painters, through Nov. 10; and Fresh Paints, displaying work by Ringling College illustration alums Andy Espinoza, Matteo Coloiaro and Brook Olivares, through Dec. 15. 383-2345.
Dance
Sarasota Ballet. Just back from their performance of Balanchine’s Diamonds with the Suzanne Farrell Ballet at the Kennedy Center, the company presents a Sarasota premiere by Ricardo Graziano, along with Peter Darrell’s Othello, and Tchaikovsky’s Ballet Fantasy, Oct. 28-30 at the FSU Center for the Performing Arts. 359-0099 ext. 101.
Miscellaneous
Henson Alternative’s Stuffed and Unstrung featuring The Miskreant Puppets. How to describe a show with a title like this? Promotional materials simply call it “delightfully unpredictable,” as six puppeteers improvise songs and sketches based on audience suggestions to create a comedic variety show for adults only. At 8 p.m. Oct. 5 at Van Wezel. 953-3368.
Festival sARTee. This community-wide festival takes place Oct. 8-23 with a mix of visual arts, dance, poetry, circus art and more, at various venues throughout Sarasota and Manatee counties. sartee.com.
Ringling International Arts Festival. The festival returns for its third year Oct. 11-16 in the theaters and on the grounds of the Ringling Museum, in partnership with the Baryshnikov Arts Center. Among the offerings: an opening night block party to the sounds of the Asphalt Orchestra, a repurposing of Richard Burton’s Hamlet by the Wooster Group, Doug Elkins & Friends’ Fraulein Maria, string quartet Brooklyn Rider and tango songs and moves with Soledad Villamil and Hermanos Macana. 360-7399 or (800) 660-4278.
Music
Sarasota Orchestra Journeys to Genius. Conductor Christopher Confessore tries to unravel some of the mysteries of composer Edward Elgar’s famed Enigma Variations in “Solving Elgar’s Enigma,” Oct. 8 and 9 at the Sarasota Opera House. 953-3434.
k.d. lang and The Siss Boom Bang. Canadian country star Lang and her band perform at 7 p.m. Oct. 9 at Van Wezel, with Brit rocker Teddy Thompson as special guest. 953-3368.
Sarasota Orchestra Great Escapes. Celebrate “Movie Heroes” with music from films JFK, Gone with the Wind and Forrest Gump, among others, with performances Oct. 12-15 at Holley Hall. 953-3434.
Celtic Thunder. Get your Irish on with this ensemble saluting the musical culture of their home country, at 8 p.m. Oct. 14 at Van Wezel. 953-3368.
Ariel String Quartet. This youthful quartet, originally from Israel, performs a free concert at 2 p.m. Oct. 16 at Church of the Palms, as an outreach program of the Perlman Music Program/Suncoast. 955-4942.
Dolly Parton. Country legend Parton makes a stop at Van Wezel on her Better Day world tour, at 7 p.m. Oct. 16. 953-3368.
The President’s Own United States Marine Band. Stirring patriotic sounds from this musical corps, onstage at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 17 at Van Wezel. 953-3368.
I Got Rhythm! Mickey & Judy’s Hollywood.
Key Chorale: Music in Bloom. The Key Chorale Chamber Chorus performs music related to nature, from composers including Stephen Sondheim and Aaron Copland, in the natural setting of Selby Gardens. 921-4845.
Madama Butterfly. The Sarasota Opera’s fall season presents Puccini’s tragic masterpiece, with performances Oct. 28 through Nov. 15 at the Opera House. 328-1300.
Beautiful Melodies from Bach to Broadway. Tenor Robert Lischetti and cellist Julie Cornwall combine talents with pianist Lurray Myers on a selection of favorite solo pieces and duets spanning three centuries of music. At 4 p.m. Oct. 30 at the Unitarian Universalist Church. 371-4974.
Jessica Mathaes. Violinist Mathaes performs works by Korngold, Franck and Vaughan Williams at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 30 and Nov. 1 at the Historic Asolo Theater. An Artist Series Concert offering. 360-7399.
Theater
The Sound of Music. The nuns, the hills, those Von Trapp kids…it’s all back onstage, through Oct. 9 at the Manatee Players Riverfront Theatre. 748-5875.
The Dixie Swim Club. Five Southern women enjoy a long friendship, rebonding every summer at a beach cottage. Through Oct. 16 at Venice Theatre. 488-1115.
Spring Awakening. The Tony Award-winning musical about troubled teens in late 19th-century Germany makes its Florida community theater premiere Oct. 6-23 at Venice Theatre’s Stage II. 488-1115.
Hamlet Redux. The Asolo Rep’s New Stages season features this special adaptation of Shakespeare’s masterpiece, aimed at students and touring to various venues. Opening night public performance in the Cook Theatre is Oct. 6. 351-8000.
Disenchanted. A new musical revue about fairy tale princesses unhappy with their lives in the Disney theme parks and films, onstage at the Golden Apple Dinner Theatre Oct. 11-23. 366-5454.
The Addams Family. The Broadway musical adaptation of the classic dark-humored cartoons of Charles Addams runs Oct. 18-23 at the Straz Center in Tampa. (813) 229-7827.
Tales at the Crosley. The Powel Crosley Theater returns to the Crosley Estate with an evening of scary stories presided over by the ghosts of Oscar Wilde, Dorothy Parker and George Bernard Shaw. Performances Oct. 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27, 30 and 31. 722-3244 ext. 0.
Seussical the Musical. Return to the stories of Dr. Seuss—The Lorax, Horton Hears A Who and The Cat in the Hat, of course—in this musical, onstage Oct. 20-30 at the Players Theatre. 365-2494.
Jerry’s Girls. The women of composer Jerry Herman’s shows—Mame, Dolly, ZaZa—are remembered in this tribute to his Broadway works, playing Oct. 27 through Nov. 13 at the Manatee Players Riverfront Theatre. 748-5875.
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