Arts & Entertainment

Soap Making Workshop
The Dearborn Coffeehouse & Bakery is hosting “Sip & Suds” on Friday, April 19, 5 to 7pm. Have fun making your own soap, with the scents of your favorite lattes: espresso, vanilla, honey, cinnamon and more. The cost is $40 and includes all materials, light refreshments and choice of drink. Call 941•681•8044 for registration or stop by the Dearborn Coffeehouse at 450 W. Dearborn Street.

Southern Grand Slam
Big Boy Toyz Expo Show brings the Southern Grand Slam Music Festival back to the Charlotte County Fairgrounds on Friday and Saturday, April 19 & 20. Two full days of music, vendors, food trucks and fun! Scotty McCreery headlines on Friday and Chris Young on Saturday. Also appearing are Jason Cross, Southbound 75, Emily Brooke and Jaren Hovis. One day admission is $55 and weekend admission is $100 (plus fees & sales tax). Lawn chairs welcome but no tents or blankets. The fairgrounds are at 2333 El Jobean Road, Port Charlotte. Purchase tickets online at evenbrite.com.

Sarah Gancher

 

An Obie Award-winning playwright whose work has been produced at some of the country’s leading theaters, Hermitage Fellow Sarah Gancher is no stranger to writing for the stage. From works such as the recent Off-Broadway play “Russian Troll Farm” to collaborative musical projects like “Hundred Days” and “The Lucky Ones” with The Bengsons, Gancher has done it all. In a special program on Wednesday, April 24, 3:30pm, Gancher will offer insight into how she approaches a range of projects, give updates on what is next for her and share samples of her original works. Hear her presentation at the State College of Florida (Venice), Studio 307, 8000 S. Tamiami Trail, Venice. Registration is $5 at hermitageartistretreat.org. Gancher’s Hermitage residency is made possible by the Annette Dignam State College of Florida Residency in Literature at the Hermitage.

Summer Repertory Theatre Craziness
“Two on the Aisle, Three in a Van” is currently on stage at the Langdon Playhouse, 1182 Market Circle, Port Charlotte. This Charlotte Players’ production revolves around the Summerfun Repertory Theatre, where actors spend their downtime around an aging techie’s van. This asphalt oasis includes a stressed artistic director, a diva realizing her ingenue expiration date has passed, a man vying to direct musicals with a Tarantino spin and a choreographer wanting to include a kick line in “The Glass Menager.” The show proves the old adage that somehow, some way, the show must go on. It does...just not always as planned. The play runs through Sunday, April 28th with showtime on Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30pm and 2pm on Sunday. Tickets are $27 adult and $14 student (plus fees). Purchase tickets online at charlotteplayers.org or call the box office at 941•255•1022.

Dance, Dance, Dance!
Be prepared to dance when the North Port Concert Band presents “Dance, Dance, Dance” on Sunday, April 21, 3pm, at the North Port Performing Arts Center, 6400 W. Price Blvd., North Port. The band presents dance music from many decades and the rhythm of the music will make you want to move. From Tango to Samba, to Swing to Waltz, they cover it all. Tickets are $17.19 adult and $6.77 student and may be purchased online at northportconcertband.com or call 941•426•8479.

Youth Artwork Exhibit
Come view the work of area youth artists who submitted artwork created during the 2023/24 school year at the Englewood Art Center (EAC), 350 S. McCall Road. The exhibition will be on display in the Loranger Gallery from Tuesday, April 23 through Friday, May 3. Drop off for the exhibit is Saturday, April 20, 9:30am to 2:30pm. A reception for families will be held Saturday, April 27, 2 to 4pm. The free reception is open to the public and attendees have the opportunity to paint their own “Remy”, the armadillo mascot for Ringling College (a small plaster sculpture or wooden laser cut). For more information, call 941•474•5548.

The Truth of the Night Sky: Hermitage Collaboration
Multimedia artist Anne Patterson and composer Patrick Harlin, explorer of soundscape ecologies, collaborate to create an awe-inspiring immersive installation for Sarasota Art Museum. The exhibit opens Sunday, April 21 and runs through Sunday, September 29 at the museum located at 1001 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Patterson, a synesthete who sees color and shape when hearing music, has frequently collaborated with musicians, including Harlin, to design mesmerizing environments. Patterson and Harlin met at the Hermitage Artist Retreat in 2014 and recognized in each other a similar artistic affinity for drawing inspiration from nature. For this collaborative project, “The Truth of the Night Sky”, they are expanding upon Harlin’s original composition “Earthrise” (2022), an orchestral piece inspired by the eponymous photograph of the earth taken from Apollo 8 by William Anders in 1968. Harlin’s composition will be the processional that plays as visitors pass through the galleries, so that the ambiance evokes a lunar voyage. This immersive installation will engage the senses: visitors will plunge into color-filled light or enveloping darkness and move in rhythm with exalting music or in ambient sound. With each step, visitors will travel imaginatively through space and time. The exhibition will feature Patterson’s “Stars Spinning Through Spring”, “The Truth of the Night Sky” and “We Are All Stardust”, plus her signature installation work. 

Friday Night Concert
The Friday Night Concert at Centennial Park in Venice on Friday, April 26 features Joe Lawhorne. The free concert is 7 to 9pm and attendees must bring their own seating to Centennial Park, 200 W. Venice Avenue, Venice. No alcohol permitted. For more information, go to visitvenicefl.org.

Sting & Police Tribute
“Brand New Day – Sting & Police Tribute Band” will be at the Venice Community Center on Friday, April 26 at 7pm. “Brand New Day” is pulling out all the stops to present a show that you can’t take your eyes off of, for fear of missing something. The diverse catalog covers from reggae-tinged new wave of the 70s to the jazz & pop stylings of Sting’s eclectic solo catalog. Tickets are $35-$45 and may be purchased by calling 941•861•1380. Venice Community Center is located at 326 Nokomis Avenue South, Venice.

Venice Symphony: “Crown Jewel Finale”
The Venice Symphony concludes its season on Friday & Saturday, April 26 & 27 with “The Crown Jewel Finale” at Venice Performing Arts Center, One Indian Avenue, Venice. Sarasota’s Key Chorale and acclaimed vocalists, Deanna Breiwick and Dashon Burton, join the orchestra on stage. The program includes “The Crown”, William Walton’s “Crown Imperial”, Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “English Folk Song Suite” and “Dona nobis pacem” by Vaughan Williams. Concert times are Friday at 7:30pm and Saturday at 3:30pm and 7:30pm. Tickets are $39-$66 and may be purchased online at thevenicesymphony.org.

Watercolor with Gela
The popular watercolor class taught by local artist Gela Galant returns on Saturday, April 27, 11am to 3pm, at the Englewood Chamber of Commerce, 601 S. Indiana Avenue. No experience is necessary, and you will create your own unique painting based on this month’s subject - sailboats on the water in lovely pastels. Class cost is $45 and includes all materials and mount. Have fun, create a beautiful painting, and know that your class cost will support Angel Land Food Forest (a non-profit 501(c)3 charity). To register, call Angel Land Food Forest at 941•909•0500. Payment is collected at the class.

Bach to the Beatles
Take a journey through time when Venice Chorale presents “Bach to the Beatles” on Sunday, April 28, 7pm, at the Venice Performing Arts Center, One Indian Avenue, Venice. The choir weaves a tapestry of harmonies, taking you on a musical journey through the centuries from Baroque brilliance to modern pop perfection. Tickets are $25 and may be purchased online at veniceperformingartscenter.com or call 941•218•0627.

Strike Up the Band!
Venice Concert Band ends their season with “Strike Up the Band!”, under the baton of artistic director and conductor, Mr. Bob Miller, on Monday, April 29, 7pm, at the Venice Performing Arts Center, One Indian Avenue, Venice. The concert features some of the most recognizable music from the modern-day band repertoire and opens with George Gershwin’s “Strike Up the Band”. There will be something from every music genre, from jazz, Broadway musicals, modern band sound, as well as traditional concert band music. The “Light Cavalry Overture”, by Franz von Suppe, will end the concert and the season. Tickets are $14 and may be purchased online at veniceconcertband.com or by calling 941•218•3779. Tickets may also be purchased the night of the concert at the door for $14 cash.

Venice Musicale Scholarship Concert
Venice Musicale reveals the winners for the 2023-2024 season in its upcoming Scholarship Concert. This event is the “Grand Finale”, their ten-concert season, and performances by these amazing student musicians will be on Tuesday evening, April 30, 6pm, at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 508 Riviera Street, Venice. Proficient on instruments from piano to tuba, students from 5th through 12th grades were judged by Lunetta Knowlton, Beth Morrison and Linda Vasilaki, distinguished music educators from Charlotte and Sarasota Counties. All auditioners will perform in the concert and the winners will be revealed at that time. Venice Musicale is excited to be awarding the most in financial assistance through their Scholarship Program since the program began many years ago. You won’t want to miss enjoying the talents of these extremely skilled young musicians. The concert is free and open to the public, but space is limited. For information about Venice Musicale and their Scholarship Program, please visit VeniceMusicale.org.

Hermitage Sunsets @ Selby Gardens Series

Although so much is conveyed through the spoken word, in the hands of a gifted artist, the notes in between and the gestures underneath unlock even deeper expression. Hear from two such creators in “Sound and Silence” as part of Hermitage Sunsets @ Selby Gardens series, featuring returning Hermitage Fellows Bill Bowers and Kavita Shah on Thursday, May 2, 6:30pm, at Historic Spanish Point, 401 N. Tamiami Trail, Osprey. A celebrated mime by training and a master of physical theater techniques, Bill Bowers is a charismatic storyteller who is currently writing his remarkable life story in a memoir about making theater all over the world. Hailed for her “amazing dexterity for musical languages” (NPR), Kavita Shah speaks several languages and sings amazingly in them all. These two Hermitage Fellows embrace both the sounds and the silences surrounding them as opportunities for connecting through performance. Registration fee is $5 at hermitageartistretreat.org.

Call For Artwork
Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast invites local artists of all ages and experience levels to enter their original work in Conservation Foundation’s inaugural Community Art Show. With a focus on paintings and drawings, this juried art exhibit will showcase local natural lands through the eyes of the community at large. Submissions must be Florida-centric and showcase nature. Contest categories are divided by age and include a youth category. A jury will determine which pieces make it into the final exhibit. Each artist may submit up to two pieces for jury consideration. Submissions will be accepted through Tuesday, April 30. The exhibit will be on display from June through August at Bay Preserve, 400 Palmetto Avenue, Osprey. The opening reception is Wednesday, June 5, 5 to 7pm. View contest submission guidelines and learn more at conservationfoundation.com/events.

Hee Haw! by Pinky’s Players
Delight again in the inspiring performances of Pinky’s Players, Venice Theatre’s Community Engagement Program that gives adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities a chance to share their artistic talents. This season’s show is inspired by the old TV show, “Hee Haw”, featuring country music and down-home humor. The show starts at 7:30pm Thursday through Saturday, May 2-4 and at 2pm on Sunday, May 5. All seats are $22 at Venice Theatre, 140 Tampa Avenue West, Venice. Purchase tickets online at venicetheatre.org or call the box office at 941•488•1115.

This Bank Heist Is Comical
Venice Theatre presents “Bank Job”, Friday, May 3 through Sunday, May 19, in the Pinkerton Theatre at 140 Tampa Avenue West, Venice. Two brothers pull off a bank heist. But their escape plan through an executive washroom hits an unexpected snag when a young woman, a cop, and a hostage show up. What ELSE could go wrong? The steal gets stopped in this comic romp that explodes in hilarious, high-energy shenanigans…with a little romance thrown in. Performances start at 7:30pm on Tuesday through Saturday and a 2pm show on Sunday. Tickets are $32 adult and $15 student; purchase tickets online at venicetheatre.org or call the box office at 941•488•1115.

ensembleNEWSRQ: Paris Refraction
As part of The Ringling’s “Art of Performance Series”, ensembleNEWSRQ (enSRQ) presents “Paris Refraction”, a four-part “micro festival” that explores new music compositions that embody or have been inspired by the “City of Light”. Violinist Samantha Bennett and percussionist George Nickson, enSRQ’s founders and co-artistic directors, explain that the festival is a collaboration with principal members of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, ensembleNEWSRQ Core and guest artists, and “some of new music’s brightest stars.” In Sarasota, the festival is Thursday, May 9, 7:30pm; Friday, May 10, 7:30pm; and Saturday, May 11, 2pm and 7:30pm, at the Historic Asolo Theatre, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota. Single tickets are $30-40. For more information and ticket purchase, visit ringling.org/event/ensemblenewsrq/ or call 941•360•7399.

“The Brothers Doobie” •  Sat. May 12

“The Brothers Doobie”, a “Doobie Brothers” tribute band, take the stage on Sunday, May 12, 2pm, at the Venice Performing Arts Center, One Indian Avenue, Venice. The Brothers Doobie delivers powerful harmonies and a fun-filled high-energy performance covering a catalog of Doobies’ hits spanning both the Johnston and McDonald eras. Ticket price is $50, and tickets may be purchased online at venicetheatre.org or by calling the box office at 941•488•1115.

The Flip Side of Life
Life is strange, and the people are even stranger. Florida Studio Theatre presents “Flip Side”, an evening of sardonic, ironic, and even histrionic, witty tunes full of moronic characters and sophisticated lyrics that reveal the present state of the world–the good, the bad, and the funny. With songs like “I’m My Own Grandpa”, “The Ballad of Sigmund Freud”, “Still Gonna Die”, “Killed by a Coconut”, and others, this offbeat Cabaret pays tribute to some of the best comic songwriters of the 20th Century. The show is running through Sunday, June 16th, with both evening and matinee performances available on select dates at the John C. Court Cabaret, 1265 First Street, Sarasota. Ticket price is $18, and tickets may be purchased online at floridastudiotheatre.org or by calling 941•365•5118.

Charlotte Players’ 2024/25 Season
General public ticket sales start Thursday, April 18th for Charlotte Players’ 2024/25 season. The scheduled plays are “Always a Bridesmaid”, “Beware the House on Haunted Hill”, “No Sex, Please: It’s Christmas”, “Four Old Broads”, “Drinking Habits”, “A Murder is Announced”, “Sex, Please, We’re Sixty” and “Nana Does Vegas”. You can also purchase tickets for the new season’s special event shows. Series subscription packages are Series A (Eight Langdon shows) $202 and Series B (four Langdon shows) $105. The Langdon Playhouse is located at 1182 Market Circle, Port Charlotte. For more information and the order form, go to charlotteplayers.org/in-the-news/ or call the box office at 941•255•1022.

Venice Symphony Subscription Sales
For the first time, The Venice Symphony (TVS) will begin its season in October, with Music Director Troy Quinn and the orchestra performing “A Symphonic Spooktacular”, growing the season to eight concert weekends. Joining the packed concert line up, The Symphony will be adding a fourth “Home for the Holidays” concert, giving audiences more opportunity to experience the typically sold-out December performances. TVS is also adding more non-traditional concerts. The “Rat Pack is Back” will feature The Venice Symphony Jazz Orchestra with Michael Andrew, former headliner and bandleader of the legendary Rainbow Room in New York City. That concert will transport you to a time and place when crooners like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin dominated the world of music and pop culture. The season schedule and order form can be found at thevenicesymphony.org. Season subscriptions are currently on-sale through the box office (941•207•8822), and individual tickets go on sale August, 2024.

These are as accurate as possible. Please call the listed numbers for confirmation and further information. If you have an art event or happening you would like to have considered for “Art Chat,” please send information and/or photo to The Englewood REVIEW, 370 W Dearborn St, Suite B, Englewood, FL 34223, or email: [email protected]. Visit our website at www.englewoodreview.com and check out our interactive calendar where you are invited to add your event.