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ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT JANUARY 4, 2024
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The hip-hop musical “Hamilton” comes to the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall from March 26 to April 7.
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TALK OF THE TOWN Be in the room for these 8 must-see events in 2024. MONICA ROMAN GAGNIER ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
A
s you take down the tree and drop friends and family at the
airport, it’s easy to catch a case of the post-holiday blues. Don’t worry — your loved ones will be
1. ‘The Lehman Trilogy’
2. ‘Yayoi Kusama: Letter to Georgia O’Keeffe’
When: Jan. 31-March 24 Where: FST’s Gompertz Theatre Tickets: $39-$56 Info: FloridaStudioTheatre.org.
Where you were a little before midnight on Jan. 14, 2008? That’s when The Wall Street Journal sent out a news alert that Lehman Brothers would file bankruptcy the next day. The collapse of the storied investment firm helped accelerate the housing crisis, but the Lehman family had 163 years of history before that fateful filing. Stefano Massini’s three-act play follows the family’s trajectory during that time period. The Tony Award winner, adapted by Ben Power, makes its Sunshine State premiere at Florida Studio Theatre in a production running three hours and 20 minutes with two intermissions.
back in no time. Spring break is just around the corner, and there
“The Lehman Trilogy” covers 163 years of family history.
are plenty of reasons to visit Sarasota in 2024, if you’re not lucky enough to live here. It’s going to be a memorable year for several reasons. First of all, 2024 is a Leap Year, so there’s another day — and night — to enjoy Sarasota’s vibrant cultural scene. It’s also a presidential election year. That bodes well for the stock market, which has delivered an average annual return of 9.9 percent since 1937 in years when voters head to the polls. Fatter investment accounts create a wealth effect, fueling discretionary spending on travel and entertainment, sweet spots for Sarasota. In a boom town with well-heeled retirees and snowbirds, the down-
side is the dreaded FOMO — fear of missing out. And in a jam-packed season, high-profile events sell out fast. Everybody wants to be in the room where it happens, to crib from the “Hamilton” song. Tickets are already sold out for the Forks & Corks food and wine festival, which moved to Jan. 22-29 after the April 2023 dates left some attendees warmer than they wanted to be. However, there are still tickets for the historical hip-hop musical “Hamilton” at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. The show’s run, from March 26-April 7, promises to
When: Feb. 11-June 30 Where: Marie Selby Botanical Gardens Tickets: $26 Info: Selby.org. Today, 94-year-old Yayoi Kusama is arguably the most famous living female artist in the world. She is certainly the most recognizable with her trademark red wig and her colorful clothing decorated with dots. But back in the 1950s, Kusama was a young woman living in Japan who was unsure about her ability to earn a living through art. She wrote to artist Georgia O’Keeffe, who wrote back and advised her to move to New York. An exhibition at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens from Feb. 11 to June 30 explores the fateful connection between Kusama and O’Keeffe.
return the Van Wezel and the Sarasota arts scene to the glory days of 2019. That was the year “The Lion King” came to the Van Wezel, attracting more than 37,000 ticket buyers who spent $3.5 million at the box office during a three-week period. It was also the year before the pandemic shut down theaters and live entertainment venues, closures from which they have yet to recover fully. While national arts attendance is down between 25% and 33% since the pandemic, it has declined just 6.5% in Sarasota County, according
The Sarasota Opera presents Donizetti’s masterpiece “Lucia di Lammermoor.”
3. ‘Lucia di Lammermoor’ When: Feb. 24-March 23 Where: Sarasota Opera House Tickets: $42-$155 Info: SarasotaOpera.org.
Prepare for an evening of music, madness and murder as the Sarasota Opera performs Donizetti’s masterpiece “Lucia di Lammermoor.” Last seen at the Sarasota Opera in 2012, “Lucia” stars soprano Ashley Milanese, making her company debut in the title role. Christopher Oglesby plays Lucia’s star-crossed lover Edgardo and Jean Carlos Rodriguez is Enrico, Lucia’s brother.
to the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County. The arts are alive and well in Florida’s Cultural Coast, and 2024 has the potential to be a record-breaker if not in attendance, certainly in dollars, as inflation pushes up ticket prices. There’s still good bang for the buck in Sarasota, especially for subscribers, who pay less for tickets. Whether you get your seat through a subscription package or buy it individually, here are eight shows and exhibitions you won’t want to miss this year. SEE MUST SEE, PAGE 2