'The Next Horizon: The Latest from Playwright Bess Wohl' Comes to the Hermitage in November

The Hermitage Artist Retreat presents a conversation on the beach with 2020 Tony Award-nominated playwright and 2021 Hermitage Fellow Bess Wohl. "The Next Horizon: The Latest from Playwright Bess Wohl" is Thursday, November 4, 5:30 p.m. (ET), live on the Hermitage Beach, 6660 Manasota Key Road. This event will also be available via livestream. This outdoor Hermitage event is presented in partnership with the Asolo Rep, which will host the regional premiere of Wohl's play Grand Horizons starting in January of 2022.

Following its Broadway run, Wohl's comedy Grand Horizons received a 2020 Tony Award nomination for Best Play. The story takes an intimate look at the unpredictable and enduring nature of love after 50 years of marriage. The regional premiere is at the Asolo Repertory Theatre on January 19, 2022.

Also, as part of the Hermitage's partnership with the Asolo Rep, FSU/Asolo Conservatory will present its production of Much Ado About Nothing on the Hermitage Beach. This event, on Monday, November 1, 5:30 p.m., is part of the "BardWired" community touring series.

Both outdoor events are free with a $5 per person registration fee. Capacity will be limited due to social distancing. Registration for all live and virtual Hermitage events is required at HermitageArtistRetreat.org.

In addition to Grand Horizons (2020 Tony Award Nomination for Best Play), Hermitage Fellow Bess Wohl's plays include Small Mouth Sounds (New York Times, "Best of 2016"), Make Believe (New York Times, "Best of 2019"), Continuity, American Hero, Barcelona, Touched, In, Cats Talk Back, and Pretty Filthy. She is an associate artist with The Civilians, an alumna of Ars Nova's Play Group, and the recipient of new play commissions from Manhattan Theatre Club, Hartford Stage, and Lincoln Center. Wohl is also the recipient of the 2015 Sam Norkin Special Drama Desk Award and the John Gassner Outer Critics Circle Award. A Harvard and Yale alumna, she currently holds new play commissions from Lincoln Center, Manhattan Theatre Club, and Williamstown Theatre Festival. Her plays have been produced or developed at theaters in New York and around the country, including Second Stage, Manhattan Theater Club, Ars Nova, The Williamstown Theatre Festival, Goodman Theatre, The Geffen Playhouse, People's Light and Theatre Company, The Contemporary American Theater Festival, Vineyard Arts Project, The Pioneer Theatre, The Pittsburgh Public Theater, The Northlight Theater, TheaterWorks New Works Festival, Ojai Playwright's Conference, the Cape Cod Theatre Project, PlayPenn, and the New York International Fringe Festival (Award for Best Overall Production).

The Hermitage hosts artists on its Gulf Coast Manasota Key campus for multi-week residencies, where diverse artists from around the world and across multiple disciplines create and develop new works of theater, music, visual art, literature, and more. As part of their residencies, Hermitage Fellows participate in free community programs, offering audiences in our region a unique opportunity to engage with some of the world's leading artists and to get an authentic "sneak peek" into extraordinary projects and artistic minds before their works go on to major galleries, concert halls, theaters, and museums around the world. These free and innovative programs include performances, lectures, readings, interactive experiences, open studios, school programs, teacher workshops, and more, serving thousands in our regional community each year.

Hermitage Artistic Director and CEO Andy Sandberg recently announced that all of the Hermitage's live fall programming would continue entirely outdoors, all with socially distanced seating.

To learn more about the Hermitage or to register for upcoming programs, visit HermitageArtistRetreat.org.