Florida Studio Theatre Announces its 2010-2011 Winter Seasons

Smart. Hip. Contemporary. Florida Studio Theatre presents its exciting new 2010-2011 Main-stage season, filled with award-winning hits and cutting edge dramas. The season kicks off with the musi-cal everyone loves, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, followed by the hysterically funny, fast-paced mystery, The 39 Steps, based on Alfred Hitchcock's movie of the same title. The season continues with the provocative legal drama Race, by the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet.

It ends with Michael Hollinger's Ghost-Writer, the smart new play about art and its creator. Subscriptions to all 4 shows can bepurchased for $39-$61 by calling FST's box office at 941-366-9000 or visiting FloridaStudioTheatre.org.Artistic Director, Richard Hopkins stated, "This season is filled with Broadway hits, award-winning shows andpremieres that were crafted with the audience in mind. From David Mamet's provocative and in-your-faceRace, to the mysterious new play Ghost-Writer, it is a great season to be part of FST." I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, beginning November 10th in the Keating Theatre and playing through January 2, 2011, played 5,003 performances off-Broadway.

Also a worldwide success, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change has played in over 400 cities and has been translated into 13 languages. Poi-gnant and tuneful, the book and lyrics are cleverly handed by Joe DiPietro with music by Jimmy Roberts. A musical joyride through the phases of love. From the first stages of romance, to marriage, parenthoodand beyond. This witty revue about love and relationships exposes everything you've secretly thought aboutromance but were afraid to admit!Florida Studio Theatre previously produced a highly successful I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change in 2001.

Richard Hopkins said, "After revisiting the script and the music, I was reignited by its relevance to today's audience. I'm amazed how well the show has held up. It's a show that everyone loves and everyonecan relate to. This universal musical is quick-paced, fun, and insightful, bringing audiences of today a freshperspective on life and love."Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps opens in the Gompertz Theatre on December 8, 2010 and plays throughJanuary 30, 2011. Adapted by Patrick Barlow, based on the novel by John Buchan, and based on the movieby Alfred Hitchcock, The 39 Steps is a classic spy thriller, where vintage Hitchcock meets Monty Python!Richard's life is turned upside down when a beautiful spy is murdered in his apartment. Soon, the spy ringis hot on his trail in a cross-country manhunt that climaxes in a death-defying finale.

This two-time Tony and
Drama Desk Award-winning treat is packed with more than 150 zany characters (played by a talented castof four), an on-stage plane crash, and some good old-fashioned romance! The 39 Steps was a Broadway hit in 2008, and continues to run off-Broadway at New World Stages theater.The New York Times coined the Broadway production, "Theatre at its finest."FST's third production of the season brings David Mamet's Race to the Sarasota stage, after it freshly closedon Broadway in August 2010. Race opens January 26, 2011 and plays through March 20, 2011 in the Keat-ing Theatre. Three attorneys. Two black. One white. When a wealthy white man is charged with a crime against a young black woman, a debate ensues over whether or not to defend him. A fast-paced and engaging investigation into how society deals with guilt, class, sex, lies and race. Race was the longest-running play of the 2009-2010 Broadway season, and will be a regional premiere at Florida Studio Theatre. A planned production will also appear in January at the Philadelphia Theatre Com-pany.

The 2010-2011 Mainstage Season concludes with Ghost-Writer by Michael Hollinger, a mysterious tale ofartistic creation and forbidden love. Ghost-Writer opens on April 6, 2011 and plays through May 29, 2011.In early 20th century New York, novelist Franklin Woolsey dictates his latest book to his young secretary.

As they work they form a romantic and creative bond. Or do they? When their relationship is called into ques-tion, the devoted secretary must defend the truth as she sees it. A smart new play about the relationship between art and its creator.Ghost-Writer will have its world premiere at The Arden Theatre of Philadelphia in September 2010. FloridaStudio Theatre presented Michael Hollinger's Opus in 2007 to rave reviews, and Richard Hopkins said, "We're thrilled to work with Michael Hollinger. Our production of Opus received a tremendous response from Sarasota audience. Michael's work as a playwright is inspired, intelligent, and fraught with feeling. Florida Studio Theatre is lucky to present his work yet again."All 4 shows of the Mainstage Season - I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, The 39 Steps, Race andGhost-Writer - will be presented at both FST's Keating Theatre and Gompertz Theatre.

Single tickets rangefrom $19 for previews to the Mainstage Season to $29-$34 for regular performances. A subscription to all 4 of the Mainstage Season ranges from $39-$61. Both subscription tickets and single tickets may be purchased from the FST Box Office in person or by calling (941) 366-9000 or online at www.FloridaStu-dioTheatre.org . FST's website is also an excellent source for videos, articles and information about FST'sproductions.

ABOuT FlORIDA Studio TheatreKnown as Sarasota's Contemporary Theatre, Florida Studio Theatre was founded in 1973 by Jon Spelman. Starting out as a small touring company, FST traveled to places such as migrant camps and prisons. Thecompany eventually settled down into a permanent home, acquiring the former Woman's Club building -now renamed the Keating Theatre. In the years that followed, Florida Studio Theatre established itself as a major force in American Theatre, presenting Contemporary Theatre in its three theatre venues: the Keating Theatre, the Goldstein Cabaret and its newest space, the Gompertz Theatre.

Even with its growth, Florida Studio Theatre remains firmly committed to making the arts accessible andaffordable to a broad-based audience. under Richard Hopkins, Artistic Director and CEO, FST develops theatre that speaks to our living, evolving, and dynamically changing world. As FST grows and expands, itcontinues to provide audiences with challenging, contemporary drama and innovative programs

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