Hermitage Reveals New February Programs, Featuring Award-Winning Playwrights, Performers, and Musicians

Hermitage Artist Retreat has announced newly added February 2026 programs featuring a range of artists working across theater, music, comedy, and literature. The newly announced events will take place at Nathan Benderson Park, the Hermitage Great Lawn on Manasota Key, and Selby Gardens’ Historic Spanish Point.

Artists participating in February programs include Tony Award-nominated Broadway performer Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, 2025 Aspen Music Festival Hermitage Prize winner Harriet Steinke, world-renowned flutist Claire Chase, author Kirstin Valdez Quade, comedian and writer Morgan Bassichis, and Pulitzer Prize– and Tony Award–winning playwright Doug Wright.

All Hermitage programs are free and open to the public, with a $5 per-person registration fee. Advance registration is required at HermitageArtistRetreat.org.

Newly Announced Hermitage Programs

Hermitage Sunsets @ Benderson Park: “Chamber Flights & Broadway Nights”

Thursday, February 5 at 5:00 p.m.
Nathan Benderson Park, Sarasota/Bradenton

This program will feature returning Hermitage Fellow Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, who will share excerpts from theatrical writing and stories in development, alongside original music by composer Harriet Steinke, winner of the 2025 Hermitage Prize in Composition at the Aspen Music Festival. Steinke’s works will be performed by a classical ensemble outdoors at the park. The program is presented in partnership with the Nathan Benderson Park Conservancy.

“A Decade of Density / A Lifetime of Story: An Evening of Flute and Literature”

Friday, February 13 at 5:00 p.m.
Hermitage Great Lawn, Manasota Key

Returning Hermitage Fellow Claire Chase joins fellow Hermitage artist Kirstin Valdez Quade for an evening combining contemporary flute music and literature. Chase, a MacArthur Fellow and Avery Fisher Award recipient, will share music connected to her ongoing Density 2036 commissioning project. Valdez Quade, winner of the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize, will present selections from her writing. This marks the first Hermitage program on Manasota Key in the new year.

Hermitage Sunsets @ Selby Gardens: “The Highs and Lows of Going Solo”

Thursday, February 19 at 5:30 p.m.
Selby Gardens’ Historic Spanish Point, Osprey

Hermitage Fellows Morgan Bassichis and Doug Wright will explore the solo performance form through conversation and excerpts from their work. Bassichis’s recent solo show Can I Be Frank? completed an Off-Broadway run, while Wright is the author of I Am My Own Wife, which earned both the Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award. The program is presented in partnership with Marie Selby Botanical Gardens.

Previously Announced Hermitage Programs

“What Freedom Means to Me” with Roger Q. Mason

Monday, January 12 at 5:30 p.m.
Venice Theatre
Presented in partnership with Venice Theatre

“On Living and Dying with Dignity” with Deepa Purohit

Wednesday, January 14 at 3:00 p.m.
Asolo Repertory Theatre Koski Center Weiler Rehearsal Hall
Presented in partnership with Asolo Repertory Theatre and the Greenfield Foundation

Music Mondays with Eden Espinosa

Monday, January 26
10:30 a.m. – Church of the Palms, Sarasota
3:00 p.m. – Venice Presbyterian Church
Presented in partnership with the Sarasota Institute of Lifetime Learning

Hermitage Sunsets @ Selby Gardens: “The Rising Stars of Jazz and Soul”

Thursday, January 29 at 5:30 p.m.
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, Downtown Sarasota

Registration and Additional Information