Asolo Repertory Theatre

History of the Historic Asolo Theatre

The original performance space for the Asolo Repertory Theatre was housed in a historic theatre that was initially located in Asolo, Italy just outside Venice. Built in 1798 by Italian impresario Antonio Locatelli, the theatre stood in the former audience hall of the castle of Caterina Cornaro, the former Queen of Cyprus. The horse-shoe shaped theatre contains four tiers of boxes and was modeled after La Fenice. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries the building was the home theatre of the great Italian actress Eleonora Duse.

In 1930, the Asolo Theatre was dismantled and put into storage. In 1949 the museum director of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art learned of the theatre's existence and saw the theatre as an ideal acquisition for the museum. The State of Florida agreed and purchased the theatre which was crated and shipped to Sarasota, Florida. In 1952 the theatre was set up in a gallery in the Ringling museum. In the late 1950s it was decided that the theatre should be reconstructed so that modern theatre performances could be staged. The reconstructed theatre therefore incorporates the historic architecture into a building that is modern in design.

The Asolo Theatre opened its doors on January 10, 1958 with a production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail. Presented by the New York City Opera, the production was directed and conducted by Julius Rudel. The opera starred Robert Rounseville as Belmonte, Beverly Bower as Konstanze, Herbert Beattle as Osmin, and Jacquelynne Moody as Blonde.

The theatre has since been moved to another location on the Ringling grounds and is now known as The Historic Asolo Theatre. The Asolo Repertory Company still puts on a few productions there each year, but it is no longer its primary location. Most shows for the Rep Company are performed at the Mertz Theatre, which is housed in the Florida State University Center for the Performing Arts, which is across the street.

History of the Mertz Theatre

The Harold E. and Esther M. Mertz Theatre was brought over from Scotland, where it had its first life as the Dunfermline Opera House. The Mertz Theatre was dedicated on January 27, 1990. The 2009/2010 season marks its 20-year anniversary, which will be celebrated with a Scottish-themed event in January.

2011–2012 Season

2010–2011 Season

The Asolo's 52nd anniversary season will be presented under the helm of Michael Donald Edwards, who has been serving as Producing Artistic Director for the past four years. [2]

Mainstage

Off-main

The FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training

World Premieres, American Premieres, and Pre-Broadway Runs

Asolo Rep frequently incorporates new works into its seasons.

The 2010–2011 season will involve a pre-Broadway run of Bonnie & Clyde: A New Musical by Frank Wildhorn (music), Don Black (lyrics), and Ivan Menchell (book). The production will be directed by Jeff Calhoun, and will run November 19, 2010 - December 19, 2010.

The 2009–2010 season showcased the world premiere of a new adaptation of the play Parfumerie by Miklós László called The Perfume Shop (adapted by E.P. Dowdall). Under the helm of KJ Sanchez, the Conservatory class of 2010 created a play based on over 250 interviews with high school students, called Life in the Middle. It was also the inaugural year of the "Asolo Rep Unplugged Festival" of new works. [3] The festival involved How to Pray by Michelle Carter; The Innocents by Steven Drukman; Higher by Carey Perloff; Fizz by Rogelio Martínez; Lend Us Your Voice - original ensemble works by area high school students; Love & Irony by Craig Lucas

A Tale of Two Cities (musical)

In September 2007, rehearsals started for the Asolo's first major new musical endeavor - a Broadway tryout production for Jill Santoriello's A Tale of Two Cities (musical). The musical agreed to hold audition for local actors, many of which were featured in the ensemble. All set pieces were built in Sarasota, and those set pieces were all held in storage in New Jersey while Tale waited for a Broadway theatre. The production starred James Stacy Barbour, Derek Keeling, who was freshly off of the NBC Casting show Grease: You're the One that I Want!, and Jessica Rush as Lucie Mannette. It featured Alex Santoriello and Natalie Toro, among others in the large cast from both Tale alums from previous workshops in New York (and new New York faces) and several local actors.

The show received mixed to positive notices from Sarasota and select national critics, but the show was declared a hit from the people at the Asolo and in Sarasota. Tale's run was entirely sold out, and provided a big boost for the Asolo economically, and re-put them on a national level. Tale transferred to Broadway after 10 months in August 2008, but closed, with mainly negative reviews and due to the troubled economy in November.

Artists

The Asolo has engaged a collection of talented artists throughout the years, including all those listed below.

Actors

Directors

Designers

Other artists