A look at the Bradenton area’s fall performing arts season

The performing arts season is an odd thing in Florida. It gets underway around the time the weather gets gorgeous, just as we stop looking for ways to keep cool and start spending as much time as possible outdoors.

Then, when the temperatures start getting oppressive again, the performing arts season stops.

There are a lot of reasons why it works that way, not the least of which is the influx of seasonal visitors, many of whom have lots of leisure time.

At any rate, the performing arts season is definitely cranking into high gear here, with theaters and other performing arts companies in Bradenton and Sarasota offering many reasons to spend an evening (or an afternoon) indoors.

It looks like an exceptional fall, in fact. Here are some of the best bets.

Musical theater

▪ Asolo Repertory Theatre is kicking off its 2016-17 season with “Guys and Dolls,” which almost any aficionado of the form would consider one of the best musicals ever written. Frank Loesser’s songs include “The Oldest Established,” “Luck Be a Lady” and “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat.” Great Damon Runyon characters and a marvelous book by Abe Burrows and Jo Swerling. Nov. 15-Jan 1. 941-351-8000, asolorep.org.

▪ “Beauty and the Beast” is likely to be a bigger hit, and it’s a marvelous musical that’s perfect for Manatee Players. But Stephen Sondheim’s “Assassins” is a much more adventurous show musically and is dramatically more daring and (at least potentially) more fulfilling. The characters are all people who have killed, tried to kill or at least conspired to kill, American presidents, from Lincoln to Ford. Some are legendary, some are obscure. John Wilkes Booth shares the stage with Squeaky Fromme. Fascinating stories, densely written songs and a show that’s dark but also, at times, very funny. Oct. 27-Nov. 13. 941-748-5875, manateeperformingartscenter.com.

▪ If the performers are great, then “Million Dollar Quartet” at Florida Studio Theatre should be phenomenal. The show is a fictionalized account of the 1956 afternoon when Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash all ended up in the Sun Records Studio together and a legendary jam session ensued. Great songs and some fascinating rock ’n’ roll history. Nov. 9-Jan 1. 941-366-9000, floridastudiotheatre.org.

▪ “Cinderella” is not one of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s best, but it’s still a fine show. A national tour comes to Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall Dec. 27-28. 941-953-3368, vanwezel.org.

▪ An urban version “The Wizard of Oz” seems like a novelty, and maybe even a sacrilege. But “The Wiz” has withstood the decades and has become a classic in its own right. You can expect Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe in Sarasota to do a phenomenal job with this show, which opens this weekend and runs through Nov. 20. 941-366-1505, westcoastblacktheatre.org.

Plays

▪ Urbanite Theatre has pretty much gone to a 12-month season, thanks to the popularity of its style of theater. Even the theater’s artistic directors were surprised how immediately Sarasota audiences responded to its intimate space, challenging plays and innovative productions. A lot of shows were sold out before they opened, so Urbanite started planning longer runs. There’s only one show at Urbanite between now and the end of the year. Eric Coble’s “My Barking Dog” is a five-year-old drama that’s received phenomenal reviews in its few previous productions, including its premiere in Cleveland and a second staging in the Los Angeles area. The story revolves around two reclusive apartment dwellers who bond when a coyote starts visiting their fire escape. It’s been called poetic, riveting and entertaining. Nov. 11-Dec. 18. 941-321-1397, urbanitetheatre.com.

▪ “Children of a Lesser God” is a lovely and unusual play, and it’s the kind of thing that Manatee Players should do well in their studio theater. It’s a drama about the relationship between a deaf woman and her former teacher. One bonus about this production is that every performance will be interpreted in sign language, so some people who have seldom been able to enjoy theater in Bradenton will be able to appreciate this show. Oct. 20-Nov. 6.

▪ The Players Centre for Performing Arts, formerly known as the Players Theatre and still often erroneously known as Sarasota Players, is opening “Almost, Maine” this week. It’s a collection of nine interrelated short plays about different kinds of love in a small town. It’s been described as “amiably absurdist” and it has become one of the most often-produced plays in the United States, especially in high school an community theaters. It runs through Oct. 30. 941-365-2494, theplayers.org.

Opera

Sarasota Opera’s big production for the fall is “Don Pasquale.” The delightful comic opera by Gaetano Donizetti. It’s the kind of work that opera connoisseurs love and opera novices can thoroughly enjoy as well. So if you’re opera-curious this is a good one to start with, and Sarasota opera always does fine work. It’s in Italian but it’s translated into English in surtitles. Oct. 28-Nov. 13. 941-328-1300, sarasotaopera.org.

Dance

▪ You can pick any of the Sarasota Ballet’s performances between now and New Year’s Eve and you’ll no doubt have a hugely enjoyable evening. If you have to pick one, though, try the company premiere of George Balanchine’s “Jewels.” It’s a gorgeous work by one of the best choreographers who ever lived. It’s being performed with live music, which should add immeasurably to the experience. Dec. 16-17. 941-359-0099, sarasotaballet.org.

▪ “Voices of SCD” is Sarasota Contemporary Dance’s annual showcase of works by emerging choreographers who have worked with the company, and from company dancers. It’s a collection of short pieces, so you’re bound to find something you like, and you might like all of it. Dec. 1-4. 941-359-0099, sarasotacontemporarydance.org.

Classical Music

▪ The Sarasota Orchestra kicks of its Masterworks season with a concert titled “The Rite Music.” The concert progresses in chronological order with Beethoven’s “Egmont Overture” from the 18th century, “ Mendelssohn’s Violin Concert in E Minor from the 19th and Stavinsky’s daring 20th-century “The Rite of Spring.” Nov. 4-6. 941-953-3434, sarasotaorchestra.org

▪ The brand new SCF Bradenton Symphony Orchestra’s second-ever concert should be a crowd-pleaser. The orchestra, which includes musicians from the community and student musicians from State College of Florida, will perform the Christmas portion of Handel’s “Messiah” on Dec. 2. 941-752-5252, scf.edu/CampusLife/NeelPerformingArtsCenter.

There’s lots more, of course. This area is abundant in arts of all kinds, and performing arts especially. These are some of the fall season’s best bets, but there are plenty of other shows that are sure to offer great rewards for the ticket price.

This story was originally published October 14, 2016 at 4:52 PM with the headline "A look at the Bradenton area’s fall performing arts season."