Enchantment and Dreams Fulfilled During
Asolo Theatre Company’s Landmark 2004-2005 Season
Closing its forty-sixth season, the Asolo Theatre Company is pleased
to report record breaking season totals and firsts.
SARASOTA, FL (September 15, 2005)– Themed the Season of Enchantment and Dreams, the Asolo is proud to report strong end-of-season totals for the newly dubbed - longest seasonin history. Officially open annually from November 1 through June 30, this year the Asolo extended its season (by popular demand) through August 21, 2005, with eight extensions of Menopause The Musical ™ serving as an encore to an already landmark season.
Producing Artistic Director, Howard Millman explained, “I believe this has been the most successful season of my ten-year tenure at the Asolo. As a result of the revenue afforded us by the enormous popularity of Menopause The Musical™ and our other season accomplishments, we were able to retire some of our past debt, augment the endowment, and establish a badly needed cash reserve. I am very pleased.”
The Asolo 2004-2005 Season of Enchantment and Dreams included the plays Peter Pan, Sherlock Holmes & The West End Horror, Broadway Bound, The Smell of the Kill, The Front Page, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Tuesday’s with Morrie and the very popular Menopause The Musical ™.
Some highlights of the 2004-2005 season:
- A total of three hundred forty-one performances of seven productions on two stages from November 2004 through August 2005. With gross ticket sales in excess of $2.7 million.
- The Asolo’s Masked Ball Gala, A Midwinter Night’s Dream, filled the Grand Ballroom of the Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota with magic and glamour on Friday, March 4, 2005. It was the most successful Asolo gala ever. More than 300 people attended the event, which raised more than $159,000 for the theatre’s artistic and educational programs.
- Michael Donald Edwards was selected to succeed Howard Millman upon Millman’s retirement in June 2006. Edwards, currently the Associate Artistic Director at Syracuse Stage in New York, will succeed Howard Millman when he retires at the end of the 2005-2006 season. Edwards’ full-time tenure is effective July 1, 2006.
- Thirty-two community leaders were inducted into the newly-created Asolo Ambassadors Society. They are honored for substantial contributions to the success of the Asolo Theatre Company since its creation in 1960, and for their steadfast belief that the Asolo enriches the quality of life in our Florida community. We are proud to be partners with these amazing individuals.
- The first annual Shake N Bake Shakespeare was the culmination of theAsolo’s participation in the prestigious National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Shakespeare in American Communities grant. 52 area high school students joined local theatre professionals to explore the world of Shakespeare through dance, acting, and stage combat. The second annual workshop is scheduled for November 2005.
- NEA Grant Success -More than 1300 students from 14 schools in four counties participated in 26 in-school workshops under the National Endowment for the Arts Shakespeare for a New Generation initiative in conjunction with the Asolo’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
- Kaleidoscope –The 10th Annual Kaleidoscope Summer Workshop successfully performed From Whispers to Shouts to thrilled audiences in July 2005. Deep into its 11th season, the Kaleidoscope Touring Company continues to explore the theme of “finding your voice” with the touring version of From Whispers to Shouts, performing for civic groups throughout the area.
- Tinker Bell Fund -More than 400 children throughout the Sarasota and Manatee area attended performances of Peter Pan during November and December 2004 thanks to the Tinker Bell Fund, a benevolent fund dedicated to sharing the magic of live theatre with underprivileged children. Participants came from area foster homes and youth groups such as The Boys and Girls Clubs of Sarasota and Manatee counties, Girls Inc. of SarasotaCounty, Just for Girls and Big Brothers Big Sisters of the SunCoast.
Honoring Florida Senator Lisa Carlton - On May 9, 2005 the Golden City Woman's Club dedicated a Tree of Gold to Carlton who asked that the tree be planted in front of the FSUCenter for the Performing Arts the building in which the Asolo Theatre Festival performs.
- The Asolo introduced its$99 pass and $25 student pass to the public, making theatre more affordable for more people. Both programs have proven to be very successful and have literally opened the door for more people to enjoy quality, professional live theatre. More than 800 passes were purchased.
October 11, 2005 marks the beginning of the Asolo’s 47th Season,and is Howard Millman’s final season before his retirement in June 2006. Casting and creative team selections for the season will be announced at the Asolo’s annual Town Hall on TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11 at 5:30 pm. Town Hall is FREE and open to the public.
The Asolo Theatre Company’s 2005-2006 season will commence on November 11 with Laughing Stock and continues with Enchanted April, A Christmas Carol, Trying, Anything to Declare?, To Kill a Mockingbird, Lady Windermere’s Fan, and Crowns another very successful musical theatre production, in the Harold E. and Esther M. Mertz Theatre. In the Jane B. Cook Theatre, audiences will experience the Asolo productions of String of Pearls and Rounding Third. Also in the Cook Theatre, the FSU/Asolo Conservatory will present Mirandolina, What the Butler Saw, Five by Tennand Pericles.
To purchase subscriptions, passes, and individual tickets, please call the Asolo Box Office at 941-351-8000 or toll-free at 800-361-8388 or visit www.asolo.org.