Michael Donald News

Asolo Repertory Theatre has been awarded an Arts Appreciation Grant of $70,000 by Gulf Coast Community Foundation.

BroadwayWorld has just learned that students and alumni of Florida State University's Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training have released a letter calling the program to implement an anti-racist plan of action.

Asolo Rep announced today that it will present GROUND FLOOR: MAKING MUSICALS, a four-part new musical competition designed specifically for an online audience.

When Asolo Rep canceled the remainder of its 2019-20 season in March due to the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis, it had to temporarily lay off 60% of its 200-person workforce including members of its administrative and box office staffs, as well as its acting company.

Asolo Rep announced today that one of the plays originally named as part of its 2020-21 season has been taken out of the lineup.

Asolo Repertory Theatre will receive two grants totaling $175,000 from the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation, including a $125,000 one-year award for general operating support. In addition, the foundation elected to give Asolo Rep a further $50,000 in assistance for navigating uncertainties resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Asolo Repertory Theatre and the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training announced their 2020-21 seasons today in a virtual event broadcast via Facebook and YouTube Live.

Asolo Rep announced today it will broadcast a Virtual Season Announcement event live on its Facebook and YouTube pages on Friday, April 3 at 2:00pm. Michael Donald Edwards, Asolo Rep Producing Artistic Director, will unveil Asolo Rep's 2020-21 season and Greg Leaming, Director of the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training, will announce the Conservatory's season.

Asolo Rep announced today that it will begin online streaming of a live performance of Into The Breeches! The production, written by George Brant and directed by Laura Kepley, was cancelled one week before its scheduled closing date of March 21.

Challenging times call for creative solutions. Asolo Rep announces Asolo Rep Engage, a new online platform that presents new ways for the community to engage and connect with the theatre remotely during the unprecedented circumstances brought on by the COVID-19 virus.

Asolo Rep announced today that it is suspending all public performances and related events for the remainder of the 2019-20 season due to growing global concern around the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally scheduled to run through June 28th, the canceled productions include The Great Leap, Knoxville, Hood and Snow White.

Asolo Repertory Theatre will present the world premiere of KNOXVILLE, a new musical by Frank Galati, Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, opening April 10 (with previews starting April 3). The musical reunites the Tony Award®-winning creative team behind Broadway's Ragtime (1998). Frank Galati, an Asolo Rep associate artist, also directs the production, which will run through April 25. The world premiere of KNOXVILLE is made possible by a generous grant from The Roy Cockrum Foundation.

Asolo Rep, in conjunction with Miami New Drama, presents THE GREAT LEAP, a sharp-witted new drama by award-winning playwright Lauren Yee. Directed by Vanessa Stalling, THE GREAT LEAP previews March 18 and 19, opens March 20 and runs through April 11 in the Cook Theatre, located in the FSU Center for the Performing Arts.

World-renowned playwright and Tony Award® nominee Ken Ludwig (Murder on the Orient Express, Crazy for You, Lend Me a Tenor), will be in residence at Asolo Repertory Theatre February 19-21. On Wednesday, February 19, following the performance of his adaptation of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express, Mr. Ludwig will take part in a post-show talk back with Asolo Rep Dramaturg and Literary Manager, James Monaghan. Actor James DeVita, who plays the role of Hercule Poirot, will also be part of the discussion. The talk back is open to all ticket holders for that performance; limited seating will be available to the public, based on availability. In addition, on Friday, February 21, Mr. Ludwig will be the guest speaker at Asolo Rep's Board of Directors Advance at the Embassy Suites in downtown Sarasota.

Asolo Rep continues its 2019-20 season with George Brant's INTO THE BREECHES! Helmed by Cleveland Play House Artistic Director Laura Kepley, this bright new comedy, set during World War II, puts the women on the front lines. INTO THE BREECHES! previews February 12 and 13, opens February 14 and runs in rotating repertory through March 21 in the Mertz Theatre, located in the FSU Center for the performing Arts.

YPT will introduce young audiences to a wild, multi-media adaptation of Jungle Book, from creators Craig Francis and Rick Miller (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea), based on Rudyard Kipling's beloved classic. Inventive and timely, Jungle Book will transport you from the urban jungle to Mowgli's childhood in the forests of India for this extended engagement on YPT's Mainstage from February 13 to March 21.

Who isn't infatuated with trains - such a unique and even elegant way to travel. Although these coaches aren't leaving from Platform 9 ¾ for Hogwarts and your fellow passengers won't be Harry Potter and his curious classmates, the ride will be just as thrilling, if not more so. You'll be joining the infamous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot and a host of very cleverly enigmatic travelers aboard a train filled with mystery and a touch of mayhem. You may have taken this ride before but not quite like this. Asolo Repertory starts its winter season on the fast track with Agatha Christie's MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, featuring a new off the rails adaptation by two-time Tony Award-winner Ken Ludwig and pushing full steam ahead with direction by Asolo Rep Associate Artist Peter Amster.

Asolo Repertory Theatre's ambitious capital and endowment campaign, Staging Our Future, has made a significant leap forward with the awarding of a challenge grant from the Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation.

Asolo Rep continues its 2019-20 season with George Brant's INTO THE BREECHES! Helmed by Cleveland Play House Artistic Director Laura Kepley, this bright new comedy, set during World War II, puts the women on the front lines. INTO THE BREECHES! previews February 12 and 13, opens February 14 and runs in rotating repertory through March 21 in the Mertz Theatre, located in the FSU Center for the performing Arts.

Asolo Rep continues its winter repertory season with the recent Broadway sizzling hit dramedy THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT, by Jeremy Kareken & David Murrell and Gordon Farrell. Directed by Asolo Rep Associate Artistic Director Celine Rosenthal, THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT previews January 22 and 23, opens January 24 and runs through March 19 in rotating repertory in the Mertz Theatre, located in the FSU Center for the Performing Arts.