Season in Picks

JANUARY
‘Nik Wallenda: His Journey Continues’
Circus Sarasota
Jan. 25 through Feb. 15, at The Big Top
Tickets $10 to $25. Call 355-9805.

It’s the greatest show on Earth — or at least in January. Ring in the new year with the annual Circus Sarasota show. Nik Wallenda will take the center ring, rather the air, high above the center ring, to perform a night of daredevilry. It’s his first full performance in Sarasota since braving 300 feet of wire as the first man to successfully cross Niagra Falls.

“It’s always an honor to perform for my hometown,” Wallenda says.

During the past five years, the only circus in which he’s performed is Circus Sarasota because, as Wallenda says, it’s better than a five-star circus: “Once you step in the tent at Circus Sarasota, your feet never touch the ground again!”

Between stunts performed by the King of the High Wire and the Wallenda family’s acts will be 27 performances from internationally-acclaimed artists.

Understudies
Masterworks: ‘The Emperor’
Runs from Jan. 11 through Jan. 13, at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
Tickets start at $30. Call 953-3434.

‘You Can’t Take it With You’
Asolo Repertory Theatre
Runs from Jan. 4 though April 20.
Tickets $20 to $75.
Call 351-9010.

FEBRUARY
HERB RITTS: L.A. Style
Feb. 23 through May 19, at The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
Tickets $25.
Call 359-5700.

The modern exhibit is coming to Sarasota, thanks to the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, and features the fashion, celebrity and nude portraits of the late Herb Ritts.

Ritts’ fine-art photography emerged in the ’80s and was celebrated in the glossy pages of Vogue, Vanity Fair, Interview and Rolling Stone. Before he died in 2002, he was photographing campaigns for the likes of Chanel, Valentino and Calvin Klein and closed the gap between art and business.

Understudies
Sarasota Opera’s ‘Turandot’
Feb. 9 through March 23, at Sarasota Opera House.
Tickets $19 to $120. Call 328-1300.

‘9 to 5: The Musical’
Feb. 14 through Feb. 24, at The Players Theatre
Tickets $25. Call 365-2494.

MARCH
‘Miss Saigon’
Manatee Players
March 28 through April 14, at Manatee Performing Arts Center
Tickets: TBD. Call 748-5875.

This production will be the first to take place in Manatee Players’ new state-of-the-art Manatee Performing Arts Center. It’s a demarcation and celebration for the $15 million project, which contains an educational wing, community meeting rooms, concert rental center and banquet facilities complete with a catering kitchen. The full construction will not be finished until early summer.

The musical is a pop-opera based on Puccini’s classic “Madama Butterfly.” Set during Vietnam, it tells the story of a Japanese woman who is left-behind by her American lover. The sky’s the limit for what they could do with the helicopter scene from “Miss Saigon” in its new space!

Understudies
‘In the Book Of’
March 27 through May 19, at Florida Studio Theatre. Tickets $19 to $36. Call 366-9000.

‘Clybourne Park’
March 15 through May 2, at Asolo Repertory Theatre. Tickets $20 to $75. Call 351-9010.

APRIL
Sarasota Film Festival
April 5 through April 14, at Regal Hollywood 20
Tickets TBD.
Call 800-435-7352.

Get the popcorn and Sour Patch Kids ready because Sarasota’s 15th film festival is right around the corner. It’s a can’t-be-missed week full of the best and newest cinema. Last year’s festival brought more than 235 films, documentaries, shorts and family-friendly picks from around the world; the filmmakers and crew that made them; and actor appearances by the likes of Frank Langella and Dominic Monaghan, to name a few. The festival gets better each year, emphasizing the best in cinema and those creative people that make them happen. The festival is still taking submissions, but stay tuned for more information.

Understudies
‘Candida’
April 9 through April 28, at FSU/Asolo Center for the Performing Arts
Tickets $28 to $29. Call 351-9010

Art Center Sarasota’s 5th annual iconcept Runway Fashion Event
April 5, at Sarasota
Municipal Auditorium
Tickets $45 to $125.
Call 365-2032.

MAY
‘Theatre of Dreams’
May 3 to May 5, at FSU Center for the Performing Arts

The seventh and final program of The Sarasota Ballet season will highlight a side of the dancers that can only be seen once in a season — their talent for choreography. The program will highlight five world-premiere performances choreographed by Sarasota Ballet dancers. It’s a program that has become an audience favorite and an end-of-season tradition that is full of fun, entertaining and unique performances.