On the heels of its celebrated production of The Grapes of Wrath, Asolo Rep's Producing Artistic Director/Director of The Grapes of Wrath Michael Donald Edwards and the play's Tony Award-winning adapter Frank Galati will be featured speakers in a special panel entitled Steinbeck on Stage, presented by Smithsonian Associates and the National Steinbeck Center. Select scenes from Asolo Rep's production of The Grapes of Wrath will be performed by Asolo Rep actors Christian Conn (Tom Joad), Peggy Roeder (Ma Joad), and Andrew Sellon (Jim Casy). The panel will be Thursday, April 24, 2014 at 7pm at the National Museum of Natural History Baird Auditorium in Washington, D.C.
On Tuesday, March 18, 2014, Asolo Repertory Theatre announced its 2014-2015 season and the third season of its ambitious five-year American Character Project, an in-depth exploration of the soul of this country's people, past and present. Producing Artistic Director Michael Donald Edwards and FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training Director/Asolo Rep Associate Artistic Director Rep Greg Leaming presented both season line-ups to more than 350 patrons in Asolo Rep's Mertz Theatre.
Be among the first to hear the innovative new plays penned by today's freshest playwrights. Beginning Sunday, March 23 and continuing each consecutive Sunday through April 13, Asolo Rep will present its fifth annual Unplugged play festival. The 2014 festival will feature four specially selected new plays. All four performances will begin at 7pm in Asolo Rep's rehearsal hall, located at 5555 N. Tamiami Trail, in Sarasota. Festival passes are $21 and include admission to all four plays. Tickets for each individual reading are $7. Festival passes and tickets are available by visiting Asolo Rep's Box Office, located in the lobby of the theatre, or by calling the box office at 941.351.8000 or 800.361.8388, or online at www.asolorep.org.
In celebration of the richly diverse American melting pot, Asolo Rep will host its second annual documentary theatre project Faces of Change: Growing America. The original play will explore the experiences of local immigrants - their arduous journeys, daily struggles and triumphs, and what it truly means to be an American immigrant in 2014. Faces of Change will be March 21 and 22 at 7:30pm in Asolo Rep's Cook Theatre. Each performance will be followed by a question and answer session with the cast and creators. Admission is free, however tickets are required. Tickets are available by visiting Asolo Rep's Box Office, located in the lobby of the theatre, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, by visiting www.asolorep.org or calling 947-351-8000 or 800.361.8388.
Asolo Rep continues its 2013-2014 season with Frank Galati's triumphant adaptation of John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel THE GRAPES OF WRATH, directed by Producing Artistic Director Michael Donald Edwards. Frank Galati's adaptation premiered at the Steppenwolf Theatre of Chicago in 1988. The Broadway production won the Tony award for Best Play and Best Direction of a Play in 1990 and was nominated for six additional Tony Awards. Galati also won a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director in 1990 and the play was nominated for four additional Drama Desk Awards. Previews will be March 12 - 13, opening night will be on March 14 at 8pm and the play will run through April 19.
Asolo Repertory Theatre's 2013-14 season will go out with the booming sounds of BARITONES UNBOUND: Celebrating the UnCommon Voice of the Common Man. The classic baritone voice is back and bolder than ever in this momentous musical event featuring three dynamic singers. The show's preview will be Friday, June 6, opening night will be Saturday, June 7 at 8pm and the show will run through Sunday, June 29 in the Mertz Theatre. Creator and three-time Tony Award nominee Marc Kudisch will star in this charming musical journey, which was developed at ArtsEmerson with Director of Artistic Programs David Dower, and had its world premiere at Boston's Paramount Center Mainstage last October.
Be the first to hear about Asolo Rep's 2014-15 season! Asolo Repertory Theatre, and the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training will announce their exciting 2014-15 seasons on Tuesday, March 18, 2014 at 3pm in the Mertz Theatre. Asolo Rep's Producing Artistic Director Michael Donald Edwards and FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training Director/Asolo Rep Associate Artistic Director Greg Leaming will lead the presentation. This will replace the previously scheduled Season Announcement event on Monday, March 17, 2014. The Season Announcement event is free and open to the public, however tickets are required. Asolo Rep subscribers and donors at the Angels level or higher will receive preferred seating.
'Thicker Than Water: Exploring the American Family,' a special interactive evening of live theatre and discussion, will explore these questions as well as the second season of Asolo Rep's American Character Project. The one-night-only event will be held on Monday, March 3, 2014 at 7pm in Asolo Rep's Cook Theatre, located at 5555 North Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34243.
VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE, the hysterically twisted, Chekhov-inspired 2013 Tony Award winner for Best Play, continues Asolo Rep's 2013-14 season. Directed by Peter Amster, previews for this laugh-out-loud comedy will be held January 22-23, opening night will be on Friday, January 24 at 8pm, and the show will run through April 13.
The politically divided and emotionally stunted Wyeth family puts the 'fun' in dysfunctional in Jon Robin Baitz's OTHER DESERT CITIES. Previews for this ferocious production will be held January 15 - 16, opening night will be on January 17 at 8pm, and the show will run through February 27. FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training Director/Associate Artistic Director of Asolo Rep Greg Leaming will be at the helm of this five-time 2012 Tony Award-nominated production. OTHER DESERT CITIES, a 2012 Pulitzer Prize Finalist, had its Off Broadway premiere in January 2011 and transferred to Broadway in November 2011.
Asolo Repertory Theatre opens its 2013-14 rep season with PHILADELPHIA, HERE I COME! Directed by Academy Award nominee and two-time Tony Award winner Frank Galati, previews for the show will be held January 7 - 9 and the production will run from January 10 - April 12.
A grant from the Koski Family Foundation funded and supported Asolo Rep's Show Boat Family Day, held on Saturday, November 30, 2013 at the theatre. This grant made it possible for Asolo Rep to offer a discounted package of four tickets to families for $50, as well as $10 tickets for each additional child.
On December 5, 2013, Asolo Repertory Theatre will induct Stanley Kane, and Janet Kane in memoriam, into its Crystal Society - the theatre's highest donor level - recognizing their personal and foundation cumulative gifts of more than $1,000,000. This special induction ceremony will honor Stanley and his beloved late wife Janet, avid supporters of Asolo Rep for more than 25 years.
Asolo Repertory Theatre will host its first OUT@AsoloRep event on Thursday, December 5, 2013 at 7pm. OUT is a dynamic series that offers the chance to connect with local LGBT organizations, socialize with fellow arts enthusiasts, and experience an evening of engaging theater.
Asolo Repertory Theatre announced yesterday that two anonymous donors have put forth a matching challenge for Asolo Rep's Endowment in partnership with Gulf Coast Community Foundation. The Challenge is the next major component of Asolo Rep's Campaign for Excellence. The mission of the Campaign is to secure debt-free facilities and equipment essential to Asolo Rep's mission, and to build and strengthen the theatre's endowment. The priority of the Campaign over the last three to four years has been capital projects. With the onset of the Matching Challenge, the focus has been shifted to building Asolo Rep's endowment in order to protect these investments and expand the theatre's artistic and educational possibilities.
On Friday, October 25, 2013, Asolo Repertory Theatre hosted its SHOW BOAT maiden media voyage press conference on board the Marina Jack II yacht. Scroll down for photos!
Asolo Repertory Theatre Presents the First Inside Asolo Rep Event of the 2013-2014 Season on Wednesday, October 30, 2013 at 11 a.m. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Show Boat with director Rob Ruggiero and music director Wade Russo.
Asolo Repertory Theatre presents its 2013 New Stages Tour, an FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training production of ROMEO & JULIET, adapted from the play by William Shakespeare. This 45-minute version includes post-show discussions at each performance. As its fourth touring season begins, New Stageswill travel to schools and community organizations across the state of Florida. Last year, over 18,000 audience members were reached throughout the state, with 60 performances at 45 venues. This new adaptation of ROMEO & JULIET by Lauryn E. Sasso and Dmitry Troyanovsky, and directed by Troyanovsky, will embark on a two month tour beginning October 1, 2013. Performances can be scheduled by contacting the Education and Outreach staff at Asolo Rep.
Is laughter really the best medicine? The popular adage is put to the test in this hysterically funny, one-woman tour de force about picking up the pieces of a broken heart and beginning life again, My Brilliant Divorce. In its only second major American regional production, Asolo Rep's Producing Artistic Director Michael Donald Edwards directs celebrated Broadway star Mary Testa, a two-time Tony Award nominee, as Angela, the 40-something housewife blindsided by her philandering husband's desertion in Aron's engaging, mid-life crisis comedy.
