Theaters usually pick shows based on what they think audiences want to see, actors want to perform in and the capabilities of volunteers and staff to produce them.
But for Venice Theatre, reconstruction of its hurricane-damaged mainstage Jervey Theatre “influenced every decision” that was made about show selection for the 2026-27 season, said Interim Artistic Director Murray Chase.
The building’s fly tower and interiors were heavily damaged during Hurricane Ian in 2022, and the rebuilding process began as quickly as possible, though leaders knew it would take millions of dollars in donations and many months of clean up to get the building reopened. In the meantime, Venice Theatre quickly transformed a former law office (and one-time Venice Public Library) that was slated to become its education facility into a temporary theater to keep audiences and volunteers engaged.
As with most construction projects, the renovations have taken longer than originally thought. At one point, Chase said there was hope the theater would be ready in time for its biennial AACT WorldFest in June, which usually attracts theater troupes from around the world. Then it was November, in time for the theater’s annual production of its original musical version of “A Christmas Carol.”
“But with construction timing working out the way it has been, we don’t feel that’s a safe assumption and we’ve adjusted the schedule to make sure we’re opening the Jervey in the spring season,” Chase said.
The target is now Feb. 19 with a long-awaited (and much delayed) production of the Tony Award-winning “Kinky Boots,” which was in rehearsal when Hurricane Ian tore through the building. Chase said if the opening date gets pushed back again, the theater will likely change titles. "Kinky Boots,” with a book by Harvey Fierstein and a score by Cyndi Lauper, is based on a film of the same title about a struggling English shoe factory that becomes a a financial success when it shifts production to focus on boots for drag queens.
“People have been waiting for ‘Kinky Boots for a long time, so we’d probably wait to produce it until we’re ready,” he said.
Chase, who joined Venice Theatre in 1995 and spent many years as either artistic or executive director (or both) before stepping back, was named interim artistic director in 2025 after leading the renovation project for the Jervey Theatre.
Expectations are now that the staff can start getting access to the theater in January and that a temporary certificate of occupancy will be approved that month. “Then we can open in the last week of January with a series of one-nighters and concerts, to sort of kick the tires and make sure things are working,” Chase said.
Even as it awaits a chance to test drive the new space, the theater is not taking it easy with plans for the new season, which also includes productions in the Raymond Center and the smaller Pinkerton Theatre, which was mostly undamaged from the storm.
Chase said the season puts an emphasis on contemporary shows that are new to Venice Theatre.
“I believe in the classics, I believe we should do them,” he said. “But as we head into a new era, we need to make a statement that we’re fresh and we’re going to make sure we represent contemporary stuff. We want everybody to realize next year that this is a fresh look and as the years go by we’ll have plenty of seasons to do the classics.”
The season will kick-off with the annual Summer Stock series for high school and college students with a production of “Head Over Heels,” a musical built around the hits of the pop group The Go-Gos.
From there it’s a mix of comedies, dramas and musicals planned for the three venues.
The fall includes “Four Old Broads,” a comedy by Leslie Kimball about four women who want to escape their senior living facility and an evil nurse; “Lizzie,” a musical that looks at the life of Lizzie Borden and explores whether she could have killed her parents, but does it with contemporary rock music; and “Freaky Friday,” a musical based on the novel by Mary Rogers about a mother and daughter who swap bodies for a day. It features a score by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, who also wrote “Next to Normal” and “If/Then.”
The fall also includes Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning “August: Osage County,” about the highly dysfunctional Weston family. The father has disappeared, the mother is addicted to pills, sisters are holding onto secrets, and everything explodes during a family gathering in Oklahoma. ’
2027 kicks off with Laddy Sartin’s play “Catfish Moon,” about three lifelong friends dealing with old tensions when they have a reunion at their old fishing spot in North Carolina. The theater will also present the regional premiere of “Blood of the Lamb” by Arlene Hutton, who grew up in Bradenton and is the author of the Nibroc Trilogy, which the theater has previously produced. “Blood of the Lamb” is about a pregnant woman who is detained at a Texas airport with a court-appointed attorney representing her baby.
“We’ve done three of her plays before but this is the most challenging one for audiences. I read it and couldn’t put it down. It’s really raw,” Chase said.
In addition to “Kinky Boots,” the theater will present “Come From Away,” a Tony Award-winning musical about what happened to thousands passengers on United States-bound planes diverted from after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the people around Gander, Newfoundland, who came together to help them. The Manatee Players will produce its own production in January.
The theater also has plans for the musical “Tuck Everlasting,” based on the novel by Natalie Babbitt about an 11-year-old girl who meets a mysterious family that has the secret to eternal life. And for the first time in several years, Shakespeare returns to Venice Theatre with a new production of “Taming of the Shrew.” Chase will co-direct the production with Kelly Wynn Woodland.
Chase has directed the play once, and Woodland has done it twice.
“She’s such a good actor-coach. We’ll bring our different takes to it, and have that male-female pull,” Chase said.
Raising Money
The theater set a $25 million capital campaign goal to pay for the restoration and renovation project, said Camille Cline, director of advancement.
“We still have a little ways to go,” she said. “You’ve heard this before from me. I’m going to say we need $5 million until we only need $100,000. The reason is that the things that go into the theater fluctuate. Until (Executive Director) Kristofer Geddie has paid for delivery and every element that needs to go in there, we don’t know exactly how much we need.”
The theater has secured a loan from Seacoast Bank to cover costs that will be reimbursed later from government grants and other sources but must be paid now. “We can’t afford other any pauses in construction at this point. We need to keep rolling and that’s what this loan afford us,” Cline said.
To secure the loan, she said the theater had to show that it’s in a strong financial position.
“Please quote me on this. We are in the best fiscal position we’ve been in in 76 years,” she said.
On May 5, the Sarasota County Commission voted to award Venice Theatre $2 million in federal funds allocated after Hurricane Ian to help transform the Raymond Center into the theater’s Raymond Center for Education, which was the plan before the hurricane. The theater has scaled back the scope of that project to make it more eligible for the Resilient SRQ funds from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“The county commission voted unanimously to award us the money and showed their faith in us,” Cline said. The theater will eventually launch another campaign to expand its arts education programs.
AACT WorldFest
Since 2010, Venice Theatre has hosted the American Association of Community Theater’s WorldFest, which brings in an international array of theater troupes for a week of performances, evaluations and prizes. The festival was held every four years, but eventually became a biennial event. It was canceled in 2020 due to COVID and again in 2024 because of the storm.
This year’s event will run June 15-20 and will include performances, workshops for actors, directors and technical theater. There also will be dinner, post-performance receptions, drum circles and more.
Chase said the theater staff had hoped to use the Jervey Theatre for the event, but it will be a “different festival. It will have a different feel. We will have outdoor ceremonies, weather permitting and we will try to keep it as close to the property as we can because of transportation.”
The theater companies and nations represented have not yet been determined. And Chase said it will be a smaller gathering, with fewer nations represented, partly because of issues with immigration and visa requirements. “We had one group back out because of concerns about immigration.” The theater also will sell fewer tickets because of more limited seating in its two operating venues.
For more information on WorldFest: venicetheatre.org/international
Venice Theatre
2026-27 season
140 W. Tampa Ave., Venice
941-488-1111; venicetheatre.org
"Head Over Heels": July 24-Aug. 8. Pinkerton Theatre
"Harriet the Spy": Sept. 11 – Sept. 20, 2026, Pinkerton Theatre
"Four Old Broads": Sept. 18 – Oct. 11, 2026, Raymond Center
"Lizzie": Oct. 9 – Nov. 1, 2026, Pinkerton Theatre
"Freaky Friday": Oct. 30 – Nov. 22, 2026, Raymond Center
"August: Osage County": Nov. 19 – Dec. 13, 2026, Pinkerton Theatre
"A Christmas Carol": Dec. 9 – Dec. 22, 2026, Raymond Center
"Catfish Moon": Jan. 15 – Feb. 7, 2027, Raymond Center
"Blood of the Lamb": Jan. 22 – Feb. 7, 2027, Pinkerton Theatre
"Kinky Boots": Feb. 19 – March 14, 2027, Jervey Theatre
The Silver Foxes: March 18 – March 21, 2027, Jervey Theatre
"Tuck Everlasting": April 2 – April 18, 2027, Raymond Center
"Come From Away": April 16 – May 9, 2027, Jervey Theatre
"Taming of the Shrew": April 23 – May 16, 2027, Pinkerton Theatre
Pinky’s Players: May 20 – May 23, 2027, Jervey Theatre
This story was originally published by ArtsBeat, a non-profit website producing coverage of the arts scene in the Sarasota area. Learn more at ArtsBeat.org.
