The Asolo Theater is currently showing Shakespeare Hamlet. It is the largest Equity theatre in…read moreFlorida, and the largest Repertory theatre in the Southeastern United States. Asolo Rep is a resident regional theatre company which also invites in guest artists. It works in conjunction with Florida State University's MFA Acting program, the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training. This is a horse-shoe shaped theatre with 4 tiers of boxes and was modeled after La Fenice. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries the building was the home theatre of the great Italian actress Eleonora Duse. In 1930, the Asolo Theatre was dismantled and put into storage. In 1949 the museum director of the John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art learned of the theatre's existence and saw the theatre as an ideal acquisition for the museum. It's been in existence here for 67 years since 1958.

Stunning architecture, this building is from the 1500's in Oslo, Norway. It was transported to this…read morelocation & is truly remarkable how they are able to keep it up. There are very small parts of it that had to be reconfigured & restored that was damaged & didn't make the trip over, however about 85% of it is still in its original condition. It seats about 550 people & the acoustics are marvelous. My family & I went to see Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. As being someone who grew up going to broadway shows, this show transported me back to New York City! The friendliness of about half of the staff could be significantly better, nevertheless, everything else about this place was spectacular. Thanks Team Asolo Theater!

As snowbirds, we love to support and enjoy local theatre. The Manatee Players are exquisite in…read moretheir sets, execution and hospitality. The venue is very nice. Our first play, The Cemetary Club, was held in the smaller theatre. Only con was the proximity of the chairs to the foward row. My 5'10" friend had her knees jammed into a chair back for most of the show. Our second play, Bright Star, was in the Stone Hall portion of the venue. It was true theatre seating and elevated stage. These volunteers do a wonderful job of entertaining. Highly recommend.

Saw "Newsies" at Manatee Players tonight (Friday). Best opening show since Les Miserable in my…read moreopinion. The cast defies adequate superlatives to communicate their amazing performance. The youthful cast permeates the audience with their energy and enthusiasm. Music is by Alan Menken, lyrics by Jack Feldman and book by Harvey Fierstein and the show is based on Disney's the Newsies. It takes place in the 1890's but the story seems very relevant to today's news. Rick Kerby has outdone himself with this production. His direction of dance numbers leave the audience exhilarated and clapping. Kudos to the entire production team but special note to the set designer Donna Buckalter. In the opening number the set moves like a Rubik's cube into cleaver formations. Each and every member of the cast is perfection. They work together like they have done it for years. Everyone should be mentioned but due to space I will laude the leads Austin Greshem as Jack Kelly, Alexander Zickafoose as Crutchie, Savannah Sinclair (Katherine Plummer) and all the newsies. Javisha Strong as Medda Larkin is literally show stopping in her number "That's Rich". The cast dance numbers are Broadway worthy. Simply breathe taking. The tap number at the opening of the second act had my heart beating faster than it should. The entire show reminded me why I love theater. This show is not to be missed if you are in the area. 5/5 stars.

Saw LES MIS last night - a performance by super-talented high school actors & younger. It was well…read moreover a ten! The minimalist, effective sets & handling their setups was effective. The youth were superbly talented in their approach to this classic play, in full, glorious voice & touching roles well-played. Very hard to believe these were not professional actors - but then they were! It is brilliant, it shines, it is not to be missed if you can get on standby as the plays are all sold out at this point - but I got in, so tickets can be had... DO NOT MISS IT! Absolutely stunning in presentation, quality & presentation!

I have been volunteering both on and off stage as well as seeing shows at the players and I have…read morealways had a blast. The staff here is amazing and always very kind. Service wise, I have never had a negative experience here and performances are always great, considering that it's a community theatre. I would also recommend volunteering if you can, it really helps the theatre out and it's allot of fun working with and meeting new people every show you do.

December 2025 - Been going here as annual supporters/members since 2021 when we moved. Had been at…read moreWalnut Street Theater in Philly for two decades and then in Long Island and on Broadway for 16 years. FST ------- WE LOVE IT!! Of course no pictures BUT we did get a little snake the other day and since I usually do only food reviews on Yelp....... here is one for the FST. Banana Ice Cream Sandwich (new) is fantastic!!! And the Pecan Pie with vanilla Ice cream is very good (in truth the pie is pecan covered on top but the pie filling is just a sugary gelatinous filling and could be improved....but it was slightly warmed and was very nice. (see pictures) We don't go here for the food, but a lite snack and drinks are awesome and convenient and fairly priced!!!

This little theater was fantastic. Very intimate. But don't let the size fool you! The sound…read moretranscends. It was a great space with not a bad seat in the house. The sound and lighting effects are phenomenal here. We popped in to visit a friend who had flown down from Broadway and we were treated to the sights and sounds of an amazing production: Lucky Stiff! Will be planning a trip back to the Sarasota area and will have to catch another show when we return. The prices were very reasonable for such an equity cast. Brava!

What a great circus! It is intimate and small. The performers were excellent. After the show…read morethere was an opportunity to meet the performers - speak with them and get photos with them. I highly recommend this circus!

5 stars obviously! So fun! Johnny is sigma. Its a cool experience to have! But the bathrooms are…read morereally gross...

We have been coming here for years, but it seems we are coming less and less because we just aren't…read moreenjoying the shows. It's so disappointing because I love local theatre, but honestly haven't seen anything good for awhile. We just saw 39 Steps and none of the 4 of us cared for it at all. We left at intermission which I don't like doing, but it just wasn't enjoyable.

Not a bad seat in the house. The show Prince of Egypt was incredible. What highly recommend to…read moresee any show that they put on!

Here for the first time for a Sarasota Orchestra performance. Much smaller than the Van Weitzel…read morewith ample parking, easy in/out, a well marked campus ( it is the PAC for the State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota). Great acoustics, comfortable seats with lots of leg room that allows for easy navigation to one's seat, intimate with a GORGEOUS organ. Friendly and helpful ushers, clean bathrooms. Great performance by the Sarasota Orchestra in their Master Works series ( we attended Beethoven's Fifth- fantastic!!) I was told this is the last performance by the Sarasota Orchestra here--- very disappointed in that.... But otherwise an asset to the community.

Will return. A town…read morewith 54,842 residents, their ballet company is quite exceptional. Although they perform at various sites, including their Opera House, this venue, next to Ringling Museum, is their main home. Many patrons do dress up for the occasion. This ballet company was founded in 1987 by dancer Jean Weidner-Goldstein (Your observer; Tribune). The current director Iain Webb (1959-) was once a dancer, started out with Royal Ballet (1931-) of UK. Tonight's performance P4 Quintessential has three individual segments: Rococo Variations | Choreography by Renato Paroni | Music by Tchaikovsky Brandenburgs | Choreography by Paul Taylor | Music by Bach World Premiere | Choreography by Gemma Bond | Music by Rachmaninov Modern ballet with classical music - a good combo. The Tchaikovsky piece is in light blue tutu; the second and the third are modern costume, skimpy skintight. I enjoyed the first two, especially the second one by Rachmaninov. Reportedly many come to see the third. Oh well, I'm not a Bach fan -:) Rachmaninov's music sounds tumultuous, struggles, pathos but this ballet interpretation is beautiful and well done. I also like their costume the best, simple clean line is aesthetically pleasing. All dancers are more or less of the same physique, with good skill. I don't really follow ballet but saw Misty Copeland once. No one in this ballet company is of Misty Copeland's fame but the dancers are very enjoyable to watch. Out of curiosity, I googled the following annual budget: $102m The New York City Ballet's (NYCB) 2024 $45m The American Ballet Theatre (ABT) where Copeland dances $9m Sarasota ... oh well - someone is doing well with less

The Sarasota Ballet is a treasure which delights with every fresh viewing. The venue is gorgeous…read moreand offers wonderful sight lines from a variety of seats. I am from out of state and always enjoy coming here when I am in town. Most recently I went to see the Mark Morris Dance Group show which included his works Pacific, Ten Suggestions, Candleflowerdance, and Going Away Party. All four pieces were exquisitely done and evocative in vastly different ways. The dancers were top notch. I especially was moved by Candleflowerdance. The performances here stay with you for a long time. I found the audience here to be respectful and quiet. That is always a pleasant occurence in public art spaces. Well recommended. Sarasota should be proud of their amazing arts offerings.