Over the next week, head down to the Rosemary District to check out Urbanite Theatre’s The Burdens, which has seen its run extended to December 4th. The play, written by Matt Schatz and directed by Urbanite Theatre’s co-artistic director Brendan Ragan, is a dark comedy that follows two siblings, Mordy and Jane, that hatch a hairbrained plan to relieve their family of their emotionally and financially taxing grandfather. The production, which opened in late October, is the first of four mainstage productions in Urbanite’s 2022-23 season, which is titled Heredity.

“This season is all about reconnecting with family or navigating difficulty inside family,” says Ragan. “The theme ran parallel to realizing that several of the plays on our short list contained those elements – as we were choosing this play and that play before you knew it, we’d selected a series of plays that all had somewhat of a connection, but also complimented each other really well because they were very different stories. Once we had identified that theme of heredity, it was like a lightbulb going off for us in our season selection process.”

The Burdens, which stars Morgan Lavenstien and Jacob Fallen, takes a comedic look at how we treat our elders – even when they may not always deserve the respect that’s given to them.

“What’s great is the whole entire play is told via text messages and there’s no projections or voice overs or things like that – the actors are going to be able to say things that they normally wouldn’t because you can kind of toy with saying more via text. It’s funny, it’s silly, but it also has some poignancy because it really thinks about what we owe our elders even when they’re bad people. How do you deal with someone who’s quite literally an emotional and financial burden on your mother, who's making her life actively worse?” says Ragan.

October 21st - December 4th, 1487 2nd Street, Sarasota, 941-321-1397. 

Pictured: Morgan Lavenstein and Jacob Fallon in The Burdens. Photo courtesy of The Urbanite Theatre.

Florida Studio Theatre (FST) is pleased to announce the extension of its opening Winter Mainstage production, Something Rotten!, which is now held over through Sunday, January 8, 2023, in FST’s Gompertz Theatre. With Book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell and Music and Lyrics by Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick, this popular musical comedy was nominated for ten Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Tickets are on sale at FloridaStudioTheatre.org or at 941.366.9000. Critics are praising the production of Something Rotten!, calling it “Glorious,” “Terrific,” and “Clever” (Sarasota Herald-Tribune). The Observer writes that FST “Serves up something delightful” with Something Rotten!,” highlighting that the “Dance numbers are full throttle” and the show is “Hilarious.” Sarasota Magazine agrees, describing the musical as “A fun night out, whether you’re into Shakespeare or not.” The production is also a hit with audiences, who are calling Something Rotten! “Amazing all the way around,” “Outstanding,” and “Sensational.” Chris K. said, “It was like seeing a Broadway hit up close!” and Sunny P. shared, “The jokes came faster than I could count them. The show and cast are winners.” “I am absolutely thrilled that audiences are enjoying Something Rotten!” said show director Ellie Mooney. “They’re not only loving the comedy and fun of the show, but they’re also connecting with its heart and sincerity. It’s one of the things I love most about Something Rotten!—one moment, the play is lovingly poking fun at musical theatre, and the next, it is reminding us about the importance of staying true to ourselves.” Set in Elizabethan England, Something Rotten! follows two brothers—Nick and Nigel Bottom—who are forced to live in the shadow of William Shakespeare, the rockstar writer who everyone in England is fawning over. Desperate to one-up “The Bard,” Nick visits a soothsayer named Nostradamus to learn what the next big thing in the theatre world will be. Nostradamus sees a little too far into the future and discovers that musicals are going to be all the rage. With this new insight, Nick and Nigel set out to create a show where performers act, sing, and dance—all at the same time. Conceived by Karey Kirkpatrick and Wayne Kirkpatrick, Something Rotten! hasnbeen held over and is now playing through Sunday, January 8, 2023. Tickets are now on sale at FloridaStudioTheatre.org or at 941.366.9000. 

Pictured: Charlie Tingen and Ensemble of Something Rotten!. Photo by John Jones.

Choral Artists of Sarasota’s 44th season, entitled “United in Song,” continues with “Peace on Earth,” Sunday, December 11, 7 p.m., at Church of the Redeemer, 222 S. Palm Avenue, Sarasota. The Choral Artists singers, conducted by Artistic Director Joseph Holt, will sing traditional holiday carols resounding with themes of peace that are interspersed with “In Terra Pax,” a work of childlike serenity that is both intimate and universal by celebrated British composer Gerald Finzi. Soloists include Danielle Talamantes, soprano; Kerry Wilkerson, baritone; Susan Versage, piano; and Dr. Ann Stephenson-Moe, organ. Kevin Trapasso, associate conductor, will also conduct some of the selections. Tickets are $35; students $5. A “Meet the Music” session with Holt is Thursday, December 1, 5:30-7 p.m., at Art to Walk On, 16 South Palm Avenue in downtown Sarasota. The event, free to all ticket holders for the concert, includes a wine and hors d'oeuvre reception and a presentation by Holt with musical guests highlighting the program. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.ChoralArtistsSarasota.org or call 941-387-4900. 

Pictured: The Choral Artist Singers. Photo by Barbara Banks.

After more than five years trying to add to their family, a North Port couple is doubly thankful this year. Mattheaw and Crystal Lintz are bringing their newborn twin girls home, just in time for their first Thanksgiving. Olive and Piper Lintz were born Monday at Sarasota Memorial Hospital-Venice. Olive was born at 8:35 am weighing 4 pounds, 11 ounces, and sister Piper was born a minute later weighing 5 pounds, 15 ounces. The girls met their 10-year-old brother Tristan on their birth day, just a few days after he celebrated his own. Like many other families, Crystal and Mattheaw say they struggled with infertility. After six years of trying to get pregnant naturally, they sought medical intervention. Their first embryo transfer in September of 2021 resulted in a miscarriage, but they decided to try again. Obstetricians Angela Marshall, MD, and Anthony Canino, MD, and the SMH-Venice labor and delivery team were thrilled to deliver the twins during Thanksgiving week. Since opening in November of 2021, SMH-Venice has delivered more than 200 babies, but the Lintz girls were the first set of twins delivered at SMH-Venice. The Lintz family says they will spend the holiday quietly at home, but look forward to introducing their newest additions to more family around Christmas time. 

If you’re looking for Santa, we’ve got him—and a whole lot more—at Manatee County’s Annual “A Night Before Christmas” event, Friday, December 9, 2022, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Bradenton’s G.T. Bray Park. The night of family fun—highlighted by visits and photo-ops with Santa and Mrs. Claus—will also include face painting, bounce house, the movie “Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas” (presented by Double Deez Chicago Style Hot Dogs) playing at the amphitheater and—new for 2022—a foam zone. Local vendors will be showing their holiday spirit, and a fabulous food truck line up will ensure that dinner is covered! Entry to the event is FREE; however, a suggested donation of one new, unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots, per family, is kindly requested. Wristbands will be sold for $5 apiece to allow access to the foam zone, bounce house, face painting, a special photo-zone for keepsake pictures and more. Pre-sale wristbands will be available at the G.T. Bray Park front desk, beginning December 2. They will be on sale on a cash-only basis at the event entrance on the day of event. G.T. Bray Park is located at 5502 33rd Avenue Drive West in Bradenton. Visitors may access the park from 59th St. W. or 51st St. W. and are asked to park near the Recreation Center off of 33rd Ave. Dr. W. For more information about Manatee County Government, visit mymanatee.org or call (941) 748-4501. Follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @ManateeGov. 

The REALTOR® Association of Sarasota and Manatee (RASM), the largest trade association in the two-county region, recently hired Jenna Nelson to fill a new position that will lead the organization’s membership development. With previous experience in membership organizations, Nelson’s primary responsibilities as RASM’s Member Experience Coordinator will be to foster relationships with leading brokers and company owners to enhance communication with their agents, and thereby improving engagement within the Association. Jenna Nelson joins the REALTOR® Association with a background in communications, advocacy, tourism, and hospitality management, and with a Bachelor of Science in Communication from the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse. Before RASM, she was most recently the Member Development Representative for the Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance where she handled member development and engagement across the two counties. RASM CEO Jeff Arakelian welcomes Nelson as a valuable member of the Association staff, supporting the Association’s goal for improved relationships with broker owners. The Member Experience Coordinator position is new to the REALTOR® Association and was set forth by the Board of Directors through the 2022 Strategic Plan. The primary goal of the position is to forge a deeper connection with the growing membership of REALTORS® by directly communicating with the leaders of local real estate offices. 

Sunday School students, families and teachers at Church of the Redeemer in Downtown Sarasota have collected over 200 items for Lee County schools in need after Hurricane Ian. The items include paper, pencils, markers, crayons, pencil sharpeners, books, and games. Every item that was donated was on a Lee County teacher’s wish list. The supplies were delivered earlier this month to Lee County Schools as a helping hand from the Redeemer family. The wish list of supplies was provided by the Lee County schools, specifically for the displaced teachers whose classes were absorbed into other schools. Lee County School District estimated that Hurricane Ian caused schools at least $150M in damages, displacing numerous teachers and students. Redeemer’s efforts were coordinated by Director of Children’s Christian Formation Jacki Boedecker, who states, “What touched my heart most about the Lee County project was that our kiddos could so easily imagine what it would mean to lose their school due to the storm - or what it would be like to welcome into their school so many kids displaced by the storm. Having the Sunday School classes help so directly made a huge impact on all of us.” Redeemer has taken a three-part approach to helping those impacted by Hurricane Ian: spiritual, economic, and physical. In addition to forming prayer teams and offering direct financial assistance, Redeemer has sent numerous teams to affected areas to help with clean-up and rebuilding. To learn more about how Redeemer is coordinating Hurricane Ian relief and how to get involved with these efforts, please visit RedeemerSarasota.org/HurricaneIanResponse. 

Lighthouse Vision Loss Education Center is starting a new monthly support group in December 2022. The group is specifically for caregivers and loved ones (spouses, significant others, adult children, etc.) of older adults with vision loss. The group will be facilitated by Lighthouse’s new Family Engagement Coordinator, Erin Vincent. The group is open to the public and conducted over Zoom so Lighthouse may offer support across the 5 counties they serve. There is no fee to participate in the support group. The first meeting will be on Monday, December 5th from 2-3pm. For questions or registration information, please contact Erin Vincent at 941-359-1404 extension 713 or via email at Erin.Vincent@LighthouseEducationCenter.org. 

LANDING IN SARASOTA | Ryan Weston helps grow the next generation of circus acrobats as the Head of Acrobatics and Program Development at the Sailor Circus Academy.

Celebrate Ryan’s revolutionary contribution to Circus Arts Conservatory’s Sailor Circus Academy through this link, on our social media, or in the November edition of SRQ Magazine! 

Read Here!