A roundup of Bradenton-area arts and entertainment news
Here's some great news for you. Last week the Sarasota Orchestra and the union representing musicians reached an agreement on a new four-year collective bargaining agreement. Barring something calamitous, that means the orchestra will be able to keep performing through the 2018-19 season. There's lots of minutiae involved, but the main points are that the musicians are getting annual raises and better travel compensation, and the orchestra is contributing more to the musicians' retirement accounts. Sounds as though both sides are really happy with the new deal. The orchestra is now in its 67th season and it performs more than 125 concerts each year in the Bradenton-Sarasota area. And it always sounds amazing.
Chicago, Fire
Bands from the '70s who are still touring today typically don't have many original members left. But Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire both have significant chunks of their starting lineups intact and they've just announced that they'll be touring the country together. The tour stops at Tampa's MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre on March 26. Chicago features original members Robert Lamm, Lee Loughnane, James Pankow and Walter Parazaider. Singer Philip Bailey still fronts Earth, Wind & Fire, and original members Verdine White and Ralph Johnson are still with the band. (Maurice White is an official member, but doesn't tour anymore.) Tickets are $18.95-$118 plus service charge at livenation.com
More 'Sugar'
If you happen to be in New York City in December you can support Manatee County artists while you're there. The Collective, a respected ensemble co-founded by Amy Schumer (who is still part of the ensemble), is staging "No Sugar," a short comedy by Anna Ma
ria Island's Philip Hall, Dec. 9-13. This is the second time the Collective has staged this particular play. It's even included in a collection of short plays the company published a couple of years ago. Margaret Champagne stars. If you watch "Inside Amy Schumer" you'll recognize her from several roles she's played on that show over the past three years. You'll probably see a lot of familiar faces from "Inside Amy Schumer" in the other pieces, because the show casts Collective members regularly. You can get details at thecollective-ny.org.
Screen time
Carmike Royal Palm 20 in Bradenton has been offering some very cool "alternative programming," which means anything besides the first-run movies. This afternoon, at 12:55 p.m., the Royal Palm will be showing the Bolshoi Ballet's staging of George Balanchine's "Jewels." At 12:30 p.m. Nov. 21, the theater will be screening the Berg opera "Lulu," live from New York's Metropoltitan Opera (with encore presentations on Wednesday and Thursday). And on Nov. 20, you can catch Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale" from the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company in London, with a cast featuring Judi Dench and Branagh himself. It's not quite the same as seeing a live performance, but it's a very good substitute and it's generally affordable. The Carmike Royal Palm 20 is at 5125 26th St. E., Bradenton. Call 941-752-3796 or go to carmike.com for details.
Marty Clear, features writer/columnist, can be reached at 941-708-7919. Follow twitter.com/martinclear.
This story was originally published November 13, 2015 at 5:36 PM with the headline "A roundup of Bradenton-area arts and entertainment news ."