The 2017-18 performing arts season offers lots of delights for young people

We’re almost inundated with performing arts in this area, and the prime audience is older adults. (Urbanite Theatre in Sarasota even offers discounts for people under 40 years old, to try to attract them to the theater.)

So it’s easy to overlook the wealth of theater for children we’re treated to. Children’s theater can be a treat even for adults. The people who create the show understand that parents will be there with the kids, and they try to make it entertaining for all ages. Plus, the tickets are often more affordable than those for “regular” shows.

The Manatee Performing Arts Center offers a season of musicals, performed by young local actors and aimed at young local audiences. The series, called “For Kids by Kids” features mostly “junior” versions of familiar musicals. These are shortened but officially licensed adaptations of shows that have been Broadway hits, and often have been featured in Manatee Players mainstage productions. This year’s “For Kids by Kids” season includes “Annie Jr.” (Dec. 9), “Godspell Jr.” (April 28), “Lion King Jr.” (June 22-23) and “The Music Man” (July 20-21). Call 941-748-5875, or go to manateeperformingartscenter.com.

In Sarasota, Florida Studio Theatre’s Children’s Theatre series features adult, professional casts on Saturday afternoons. The lineup for 2017 includes “Robin Hood” (October and November), “Deck the Halls: ’Tis the Season” (November and December), “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe” (February and March) and “The Boy Who Liked Pulling Hair” (April and May. You can see all four shows for $20, which (as FST points out on its website) is less than the cost of a movie. 941-366-9000, floridastudiotheatre.org.

Sarasota Opera offers a great way to introduce young people to opera with the world premiere of “Rootabaga Country,” commissioned by the Sarasota Youth opera and written by Rachel J. Peters. It’s an adaptation of Carl Sandburg’s “Rootabaga Stories” and it’s slated for Nov. 11-12. Tickets start at $15. 941-328-1300, sarasotaopera.org.

And though they’re not technically children’s shows, the Sarasota Ballet’s “The Secret Garden” (Oct. 27-29) and “John Ringling’s Circus Nutcracker” (Dec. 15-16) are certainly designed to appeal to young people. 941-359-0099, sarasotaballet.org.

Free music

The Sarasota Concert Association is known for bringing world-class finest classical musicians to Sarasota with its “Great Performers” series, but it also offers a free “Music Matinees” series, with great regional musicians performing jazz and classical music at noon on weekday afternoons at the Beatrice Friedman Symphony Center.

The 2017-18 Music Matinees concert season features the Bridge Trio (Cheryl Tschanz, piano; Alfred Gatta, cello; and Felicia Brunelle, violin) on Dec. 11, Sarasota Orchestra principals and EnsemblenewSRQ co-founders George Nickson, percussion, and Samantha Bennett, violin on Jan. 17), Sarasota Orchestra principal bassist John Miller performing with his John Miller Jazz Trio on Feb. 7, the State College of Florida Chamber Choir and Presidential Vocal Ensemble conducted by Melodie Dickerson on March 28); and pianist Tom Purviance on April 18.

There’s no charge, and you don’t need tickets or reservations, Just show up and sit down. The Beatrice Friedman Symphony Center is 709 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Check scasarasota.org for information about the association and its “Great Performers” series.

This story was originally published September 1, 2017 at 5:17 PM with the headline "The 2017-18 performing arts season offers lots of delights for young people."