Banyan Theater Company Announces 14th Season
SARASOTA, FL – The Banyan Theater Company will produce its 14th season of summer entertainment from June 25 to August 23, 2015. “Art” by Yasmina Reza opens the season on June 25 and closes July 12; “The Amish Project,” by Jessica Dickey, runs from July 16 to August 2; and “My Old Lady” by Israel Horovitz takes the stage from August 6 to 23.
The Banyan Theater Company performs in the Jane B. Cook Theatre at the FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. A three-show subscription costs $70, a two-show package is $52 and single tickets are $28.50. To purchase tickets, visit www.banyantheatercompany.com.
“Art” by Yasmina Reza, translated by Christopher Hampton, June 25-July 12
One white painting, three colorful opinions about what makes art, well, art. Serge, indulging his penchant for modern art, has purchased a large, expensive, completely white painting. His longtime friend Marc is horrified, which causes considerable strain in their relationship. Yvan, caught in the middle, tries to please and mollify both of them. Lines are drawn and they square off over the canvas, using it as an excuse to relentlessly batter one another over various failures. As their arguments become less theoretical and more personal, they border on destroying their friendship … and possibly that piece of “art.” Winner of the 1998 Tony Award for Best Play and the 1996 Olivier Award for Best Comedy.
2:00 pm June 27, 28; July 5, 7, 11, 12
8:00 pm June 25, 26, 27; July 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
“The Amish Project” by Jessica Dickey, July 16-August 2
“The Amish Project,” featuring one woman (Katherine Michelle Tanner) portraying all seven roles, is a devastating and beautiful play that compels us to question the paths we take at the crossroads of grief, rage and clemency. Inspired by the 2006 school shootings in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, this fictional account of a real-life tragedy allows us to glimpse into the world of Amish culture, and to come to grips with the true limits of compassion and forgiveness.
2:00 pm July 18, 19, 25, 26; August 1, 2
8:00 pm July 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 24, 25, 29, 30, 31; August 1
“My Old Lady” by Israel Horovitz, August 6-August 23
When a down-on-his-luck middle-aged man inherits an apartment in Paris, he plans to solve his financial woes by selling it. He discovers, much to his dismay, that the elderly woman living there has lifetime habitation rights under an arcane French law and she is not about to give them up. Because he has no other place to go, she invites him to stay in the spacious apartment. There, he learns friendship, falls in love, and must finally deal with the death of his father.
2:00 pm August 8, 9, 15, 16, 22, 23
8:00 pm August 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 22
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