Jay Handelman

Sarasota

Arts Editor and TV Critic at Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Arts Editor and Theater critic for Sarasota Herald-Tribune. President Foundation of the American Theatre Critics Assoc. Past ATCA chair.

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Articles

Florida Studio Theatre stays cool in summer with plays, musicals and cabaret shows

2 weeks ago | heraldtribune.com | Jay Handelman

After a winter season that included several provocative and politically tinged dramas along with major musicals, Florida Studio Theatre is focusing on more light-hearted themes as it prepares for its 2025 summer season. Summer heat generally makes audiences less interested in heavy thinking at the theater, said Producing Artistic Director Richard Hopkins. But this year, there’s more to it. “Everything is going through a big change in the world and nobody knows where it’s going to end.
Three world premieres planned for Sarasota Ballet’s 2025-26 season

3 weeks ago | heraldtribune.com | Jay Handelman

As he nears 20 years as artistic director of The Sarasota Ballet, Iain Webb is looking for ways to provide more work to its dancers with each new season. Last summer, the company did its first international tour to London to take part in the Royal Ballet’s Ashton Celebrated series, and it has performed several times at the Joyce Theater in New York City.
Actor delivers memorable performance in ’Good Night, Oscar’ at Asolo Rep

1 month ago | heraldtribune.com | Jay Handelman

Actor Max Roll may not look an awful lot like the real-life character he plays in Doug Wright’s “Good Night, Oscar” at Asolo Repertory Theatre, but he sure makes you believe he’s the real deal.
Musicals about major pop stars part of new Van Wezel Broadway lineup

1 month ago | heraldtribune.com | Jay Handelman

Musicals about real pop music superstars are prevalent among the Broadway hits that will be part of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall’s 2025-26 Broadway season.
Sarasota Players heads ‘Into the Woods’ for Sondheim’s cautionary fairy tale musical

1 month ago | heraldtribune.com | Jay Handelman

To cap a season built around family stories in classic and modern literature, the Sarasota Players combines a variety of fairy tales for its production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s “Into the Woods.”The musical is all about life lessons, and director and choreographer Brian F. Finnerty said the show has taught him a lot over the years. “I’ve always loved ‘Into the Woods.’ I think most people do because it’s a beautiful show,” he said.
Legendary musical ‘Les Miz’ storms back into Florida theaters

1 month ago | heraldtribune.com | Jay Handelman

Even though he’s traveling the country with his wife and young daughter, Nick Cartell said he feels a bit like a reclusive monk to have the voice and energy to play Jean Valjean eight times a week in the national tour of “Les Misérables,” which returns to the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall April 8-13, followed by stops in Fort Myers and West Palm Beach.
Sarasota Orchestra unveils initial design for new music center campus

1 month ago | heraldtribune.com | Jay Handelman

The initial concept design for the new home of the Sarasota Orchestra reveals an expansive campus of three buildings connected by an outdoor courtyard that leaders hope will be seen as a welcoming refuge on a busy roadway.
Sarasota Players’s 96th season will be last in temporary theater space

1 month ago | heraldtribune.com | Jay Handelman

The Sarasota Players will focus on stories about resilience, about characters needing to express themselves and the impact of those voices on the world around them in what the company expects will be the last season in its temporary shopping mall home. The area’s oldest performing arts organization will present one local premiere and several familiar titles in its 96th season, beginning with the musical “The Wedding Singer,” based on the 1998 Adam Sandler film.
Four Seasons backstory gives ‘Jersey Boys’ some punch at FST

1 month ago | heraldtribune.com | Jay Handelman

Audiences may be singing along before the finale of “Jersey Boys,” the lively and dramatically emotional musical about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons that closes Florida Studio Theatre’s 2024-25 mainstage season. The musical deftly uses more than two dozen songs, most of them by the group’s main songwriter and singer Bob Gaudio, to track the 30-year history of the Four Seasons from their start on the streets of New Jersey to their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
Guest conductor makes Sarasota Orchestra debut with Masterworks concert

1 month ago | heraldtribune.com | Jay Handelman

When he makes his Sarasota Orchestra debut conducting the “Grand Treasures” masterworks concerts April 4-6, Earl Lee will be returning to a place where has fond memories as a cello student in the annual summer Sarasota Music Festival. “I know things are a bit different now, but I loved that it was intensive on chamber music, which I love, and I had a lot of great teachers there. It was a great summer,” he said in a telephone interview from his home in New York City.

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