PLATO launches new season in a new space

PLATO has found a home at the Ramada Waterfront in Sarasota, 7150 N. Tamiami Trail, which will house the nonprofit professional theatre company’s new season, scheduled through January, according to an announcement Tuesday.

What will happen after January?

“Golden Apple will speak for Golden Apple, but PLATO is looking for a more permanent place to call home,” Kyle Ennis Turoff, president and artistic director of PLATO, says in an email. “So, if there are any philanthropic people out there with an extra building…hint, hint.”

Turoff mades the point to define the line between The Golden Apple Dinner Theatre and PLATO, which are two separate entities regardless of close connections.  The Golden Apple was evicted two months ago from its previous location.

The Ramada Waterfront’s Harborside Ballroom will be transformed into a 150-seat theatre.

“Obviously, we are creating a performance space out of a ballroom, so we expect that will be a challenge unto itself,” Turoff says, “But we are confident people will have the intimacy they have come to expect from one of our shows — that will transfer.”

PLATO has added children shows. There will be two holiday shows performed by the education programs children of PLATO’s ByKids4Kids, and the seniors of PLATO Platinum Players.

The new season kicks off Nov. 15 with “Waist Watchers: The Musical” by Alan Jacobson, and it will run through Jan. 6. Tickets are $35. It’s a show about four women and their lov-hate relationships with food, dieting and exercise directed by Kyle Ennis Turoff. Call 363-1727 for more information.

PLATO’s Magic Box Theatre, a performance troupe of professional adults, will present “Rumplestiltskin,” by Beth Duda and Adam Ratner, directed by Jared Walker. It’s a modern take on a classic story for families and children. It will begin Nov. 17 and run through Dec. 8 for $10.

Turoff says she’s nervous and excited, but that she’s “Jumping in with both feet.” For a full schedule and tickets, visit platoarts.org.