Theater & Performing Arts

Performing arts of all kinds thrive in Sarasota, known as Florida's Cultural Coast®

From the Sarasota Opera, now in its 64th season – staged in an intimate art deco opera house in downtown Sarasota, to the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation-designed Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, which hosts traveling shows ranging from musical acts to Broadway revivals, Sarasota's performing arts scene is a year-round showing.

The Sarasota Orchestra is the oldest continuing orchestra in the state, while the Sarasota Ballet has featured several world premieres under the direction of internationally famed Iain Webb. A half-dozen different theater companies perform comedies and dramas on a variety of stages in Sarasota and Venice, improv groups and stand-up comedians tickle audiences, and live music rings from pubs and clubs across town on any given night.