The cultural capital of Florida's west coast, Sarasota is home to a host of performing arts, especially during the winter season. To get the latest update on what's happening any time of year, call the city's 24-hour Artsline (tel. 941/365-2787). Also check the "Ticket" section in Friday's Herald-Tribune (www.newscoast.com), the local daily newspaper; the Sarasota Convention and Visitors Bureau usually has copies.
The Performing Arts -- Located at the FSU Ringling Center for the Cultural Arts, the Florida State University Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41; tel. 800/361-8388 or 941/351-8000; www.asolo.org), presents the winter-through-spring Asolo Theatre Festival. This annual program of ballet and Broadway-style musicals and drama is one of the state's finest. In addition to the Asolo Theatre, a 19th-century Italian court playhouse moved here from Asolo, Italy, in the 1950s by the Ringlings, the center uses the 487-seat Harold E. and Ethel M. Mertz Theatre, originally constructed in Scotland in 1900 and transferred piece by piece to Sarasota in 1987. The 161-seat Asolo Conservatory Theatre was later added as a smaller venue for experimental and alternative offerings. The complex is under the direction of Florida State University (FSU).
The city's other prime venue is the lavender, seashell-shaped Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41), at 9th Street (tel. 800/826-9303 or 941/953-3368; www.vanwezel.org). Recently renovated, it offers excellent visual and acoustic conditions and a wide range of year-round programming, including touring Broadway shows and visiting orchestras and dance troupes. It and the FSU Center host performances by the Florida West Coast Symphony (tel. 941/953-4252; www.fwcs.org), the Jazz Club of Sarasota (tel. 941/366-1552 or 941/316-9207; www.jazzclubsarasota.com), the Sarasota Pops (tel. 941/795-7677), and the Sarasota Ballet (tel. 800/361-8388 or 941/351-8000; www.sarasotaballet.org).
Downtown Sarasota's theater district is home to the Florida Studio Theatre, 1241 N. Palm Ave., at Cocoanut Avenue (tel. 941/366-9000; www.fst2000.org), which has contemporary performances from December to August, including a New Play Festival in May. Built in 1926 as the Edwards Theater, The Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave., between Main and 1st Streets (tel. 941/366-8450; www.sarasotaopera.org), presents classical operas (in their original languages) as well as highbrow concerts. Next door to The Opera House, the Golden Apple Dinner Theatre, 25 N. Pineapple Ave. (tel. 941/366-5454), presents cocktails, dinner, and a professional Broadway-style show year-round. The professional, nonequity Theatre Works, 1247 1st St., at Cocoanut Avenue (tel. 941/952-9170), presents musical revues and other works year-round.
The Club & Music Scene -- You can find plenty of music to dance to on the mainland at Sarasota Quay, the downtown waterfront dining-shopping-entertainment complex on Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41), a block north of John Ringling Causeway. Just walk around this brick building and your ears will take you to the action. The laser sound-and-light crowd gathers at In Extremis (tel. 941/954-2008), where a high-energy DJ spins Top 40 tunes for 20-somethings. Michael's Mediterranean Grill turns into Anthony's After Dark rocking disco at 10:30pm. An older but still energetic crowd dances to contemporary jazz at the Downunder Jazz Bar (tel. 941/951-2467).
Over on St. Armands Circle, the Patio Lounge in the Columbia restaurant (tel. 941/388-3987) is one of the liveliest spots along the beach strip, featuring live, high-energy dance music Tuesday through Sunday evenings. And on Siesta Key, the pubs and restaurants along Ocean Boulevard in Siesta Village have noisy rock-and-roll bands entertaining a mostly young crowd, but you can retire to the pleasant confines of the wine bar at Blasé Café (tel. 941/349-9822) for live jazz.
