Lewis Black brings his 'Rant' to Sarasota's Van Wezel

Lewis Black seems to love West Central Florida, and apparently audiences around these parts can't get enough of him.

The gravelly voiced curmudgeon performed in Tampa in March, and he played to a capacity crowd at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in Sarasota last year. Just this past summer, American Stage in St. Petersburg produced Black's play "One Slight Hitch," which he had workshopped at the Straz a few years earlier.

Black's returning to Sarasota this week, for a Friday evening show at the Van Wezel. Last time he appeared at the Van Wezel, he was doing a show called "The Rant Is Due." Now he's moved onto its sequel, "The Rant is Due: Part Deux."

He performed "Part Deux" in Tampa eight months ago, but this will probably be quite a different show. Black writes constantly, and every show is full of new material. The subject matter, he said in a phone interview, is "anything that's annoying me on that particular evening."

Black, in case you don't know, is an actor, a playwright, a teacher and a longtime commentator on "The Daily Show." But he thinks of himself primarily as a stand-up comic, and he does something like 200 live shows a year.

Even with his frequent performances in the area lately, Friday's show has been selling briskly, so it'd be a good idea to get tickets as soon as possible.

Details: 8 p.m. Nov. 13, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Tickets: $64.50. Information: 941-953-3368, vanwezel.org.

-- Marty Clear

This story was originally published November 11, 2015 at 4:55 PM with the headline "Lewis Black brings his 'Rant' to Sarasota's Van Wezel ."