Tom Hall

This week, one show opens, five close and 12 others continue their runs at equity and community theaters from Naples to Sarasota.

As outdoor art festival season begins to wind down, three more outdoor art fairs visit Southwest Florida the weekend of March 29 & 30.

This week, Sarasota Ballet performs “Romeo & Juliet;” Sarasota Opera House closes its 2024-2025 season with seven opera performances plus its Salute to the Stars; Gulfshore Opera performs Rusalka with the Florida Philharmonic; and Opera Naples screens the second of four Spring Film Series movies.

In addition to being one of Southwest Florida’s pre-eminent art centers, the Alliance for the Arts plays an advocacy role within Lee County, and beyond. With more than 20 years as a community advocate and organizer, Neil Volz is uniquely suited to empower the Alliance to discharge this aspect of its overarching mission as its new Executive Director. Volz’s views on the art of advocacy are people-centric.

When West Side Story premiered in September of 1957, theater critic Walter Kerr wrote, “The radioactive fallout from ‘West Side Story’ must still be descending on Broadway this morning.” Against a backdrop of midnight arrests and deportation flights, the musical’s portrayal of the immigrant experience promises to be just as explosive. But Gulf Coast Symphony’s production of “West Side Story” this weekend will also remind audiences of the role great theater plays in telling and retelling timeless stories filled with iconic characters and music.

In 1991, retired Texas retailer Roger Horchow convinced Broadway Producer Elizabeth Beck Williams that they should remake George and Ira Gershwin’s 1930 dud “Girl Crazy.” They got permission from the songwriters’ estate and had Ken Ludwig to write a totally new musical using songs from the Gershwins’ Great American Songbook. The result was “Crazy for You,” which is on stage at Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre through April 5.

On Tuesday, the director of grants, Jessica McElwee, told the Fort Myers Public Art Committee that the city is preparing to open the application window for this year’s arts & culture grants. If all goes well, that window will open April 1 and close on May 16, 2025.

This is the 39th year that the Alliance for the Arts has organized its 'All Florida Exhibition.' As the name implies, it features work by artists from across the state of Florida. Overall, the exhibition reflects the wide array of subjects and themes that weigh on the minds and hearts of Florida-based artists.

Two outdoor art festivals take place in Southwest Florida March 22 and 23: the 37th Annual Downtown Naples Art Fair and the Art League of Marco Island Craft Show.

This week, only Sarasota Opera House is conducting performances. It is staging eight performances of five separate operas between Tuesday and Sunday afternoon.