Van Wezel Announces 2023/2024 Season

September 1, 2023 – Sarasota

The Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall is excited to share the 2023-2024 season filled with sensational Sarasota premieres and returning favorites. The upcoming season features some of the top names in live entertainment and opens with The Rocky Horror Picture Show on September 30. 

“This is our biggest season to date!” Mary Bensel, Executive Director for the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall shares. “Not only do we have an incredible Broadway lineup with smash-hits and Tony-Award winning musicals like Hamilton, Hadestown, and Ain’t Too Proud, we’re also presenting the hottest comic in America right now, Sebastian Maniscalco. We will be welcoming back stars like Sarah Brightman, Derek Hough and Johnny Mathis. Making their Sarasota debut will be the Gipsy Kings, William Shatnerand Nick Carter. I’m so excited with the variety this season will bring. Audiences will love what we have on schedule for them this year!”

The diverse musical season will include top-notch performances by John Waite, best known for his worldwide hit, “Missing You,” one of the most successful singer-songwriters in music Paul Anka, a new tour of Celtic Thunder, and the award-winning power couple David Foster and Katharine McPhee, as well as the Allman Betts Family Revival. The musical lineup also features extraordinary tribute bands and shows like Rumours of Fleetwood Mac, Johnny Cash: The Official Concert Experience, The Simon & Garfunkle Story, Always Olivia, The Rocketman Show and One Night of Queen.

Bensel adds, “We have a great mix of musicians including Marie Osmond, who will be bringing her Christmas show An Orchestral Christmas to the Van Wezel for the first time, as well as Il Divo who make a return, this time with their holiday show. We’re also welcoming back fan favorites Chris Botti and Frankie Valli. And, Emmy and Tony Award winning actress and singer Kristin Chenoweth returns to headline the Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation Inspiration Gala. It will be an incredible show not to be missed.”

This season also features an array of illusionists. Making their Sarasota debut is Champions of Magic. Described by the press as “The Avengers of magic,” audiences will witness a team of magicians who present their original, phenomenal ensemble illusions.As part of the array of holiday shows, patrons will experience thrilling and sophisticated magic of unprecedented proportions at The Illusionists: Magic of the Holidays. And hypnosis and comedy come together with Hyprov (pronounced hip-rawv), where 20 volunteers will improvise the show while hypnotized alongside Colin Mochrie from Whose Line is it, Anyway?

The Van Wezel’s powerhouse Broadway season features six Tony Award-winning shows and seven Van Wezel Premieres. Headlining our season is the smash-hit, mega musical, Hamilton. The eleven-time Tony Award®-winner, including for Best Musical in 2016, will be presented on the Van Wezel stage for two full weeks. Single tickets for Hamilton will go on sale at a later date, however, tickets can still be purchased as part of a subscription package. 

The Van Wezel will also be presenting two other full-week runs of Broadway hits. The first is the eight-time Tony Award-winner, including Best Musical in 2019, Hadestown. Hadestown was produced in part by Tim Kirdahy who makes Sarasota his home part of the year. The second show playing for a week is the Tony Award-winner for Best Choreography, Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of The Temptations. Also included in the Broadway lineup is Pretty Woman – The Musical, The Cher Show, Jagged Little Pill, Little Women, and Shrek – The Musical.

There will also be classical music and beautiful dance performances. The Academy of St Martin in the Fields featuring Joshua Bell is one of the world’s finest chamber orchestras, renowned for fresh, brilliant interpretations of the world’s greatest orchestral music, Paul Taylor Dance Company returns with their 70^th Anniversary show, and Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, the world’s foremost all-male comic ballet company, brings its internationally beloved troupe of dancers to Sarasota as part of its landmark 50th anniversary season.  

“We are ready for another star-studded season,” adds Bensel. “Every year, the Van Wezel strives to provide bigger and better performances that keep our audiences entertained, and I am hopeful we have done that again this year.”

A full show list with additional information can be found here. Please note, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Jagged Little Pill and Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo have age recommendations of 18+. 

Public on-sale is September 9 at 10:00 a.m. Tickets can be purchased at the Van Wezel Box Office, at VanWezel.org, or by phone at 941-263-6799. Pre-sale for existing Van Wezel subscribers and e-club members will take place prior on September 7-8. To join the Van Wezel e-club, please visit VanWezel.org. 

In addition to the Van Wezel’s mainstage season, the Hall’s education program will present a full season of school time performances. Local organizations including the Sarasota Orchestra, Sarasota Ballet, Ringling Townhall, and the Sarasota Concert Association will also present shows for their seasons at the Van Wezel.