Savannah Sinclair News

Summer Stock is alive and well at Venice Theatre. The annual training for young actors desiring to pursue a career in theatre delivered a sensational performance of Tony award-winning Urinetown: The Musical. With music and lyrics by Mark Hollman, Urinetown looks at a small town battling a drought that seems never-ending.

Newsies is Disney's fictional account of the actual Newsboys Strike of 1899 where paper New York hawkers, as they were called, banned together and formed their own so-called 'union' to strike in protest of their distribution centers whose publishers raised the cost of the newspapers they bought and sold in Manhattan in order to earn a living. The 1992 Disney film starring Christian Bale was not a commercial success although the film carried a large home base audience, making it a cult classic. The 2012 Broadway musical version, book by Harvey Fierstein and starring Jeremy Jordan met with more acclaim. Any ensemble attempting to produce this high energy, fast-paced, testosterone-packed production better have their act together in more ways than one. Manatee Performing Arts Center came prepared and delivered.

The memorable melodies and charismatic charm of Burt Bacharach and Hal David's music comes to center stage in FST's first Summer Mainstage production, Burt & Me. Playing from May 31 through June 18 in the Gompertz atre, it's filled with lively characters and summer fun.

Manatee Performing Arts Center in collaboration with NEXTGEN Magazine and the Early Learning Coalition of Manatee County presented three performances of Cracked Fairy Tales reaching over 600 children. The performance was generously sponsored by Brighthouse Network, introducing the magic of theatre to children from all over the Southwest Florida area.