FST Announces Summer Season Lineup

May 9, 2022 – Sarasota

Florida Studio Theatre (FST) is proud to announce the lineup for its 2022 Summer Season, featuring a three-show Mainstage Series and a three-show Cabaret Series. The Mainstage Series features a rousing musical tribute to Johnny Cash, an uplifting Southern love story, and a comedic murder mystery. The Cabaret Series features some of the country’s top Cabaret artists celebrating the power and resonance of Rock & Roll, four-part harmony, and Billy Joel’s songbook. A season schedule at a glance follows this release. 

“This summer season is all about celebrating life, with all of its ups and downs,” said Richard Hopkins, FST’s Producing Artistic Director. “On the Mainstage, we are telling stories full of humor—from the lively musical about “The Man in Black” to an unconventional Southern love story to a witty whodunit. In the Cabaret, we’re bringing three of the country’s top Cabaret acts to share their distinct twists on some of the best music from the past century.” 

Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash, a musical biography of Johnny Cash’s life, kicks off FST’s Mainstage Series on June 1 in FST’s Gompertz Theatre. From Cash’s humble beginnings in Arkansas to topping the charts as a music icon, Ring of Fire tells the artist’s remarkable life story through his extensive catalogue. Featuring more than two dozen of Cash’s best-known songs—from “I Walk the Line” and “Folsom Prison Blues” to “Country Boy” and “A Boy Named Sue”—this inspiring musical takes audiences on a rousing adventure of love, faith, and struggle.  

“The storytelling in Cash’s music was deep, honest, and real,” said Hopkins. “He had this unique willingness to feel deeply. That’s one of the many reasons why he had such a profound impact on American music and his work continues to resonate with us to this day.”  

Next on the Mainstage is Maytag Virgin by Audrey Cefaly, an inspirational, yet unconventional, love story centered on two neighbors in a small Alabama town. When the unflappable Jack Key moves in next door to the endearingly neurotic Lizzy Nash, sparks fly. Over time, neighborly nagging softens, and a deeper connection emerges between the two forty-something high school teachers. As the leaves turn yellow and the months march on, kept secrets shake loose and the pair find themselves facing the same question: how do you know when you’re ready to live, and love, again? Called “Touching” and “Powerful” by DC Metro Theatre Arts, Maytag Virgin will begin playing June 29 in FST’s Keating Theatre.  

“There are a lot of people in the world, like Jack and Lizzy, who are adrift, unmoored, and looking around for something that feels like home,” said Cefaly in an interview with Gulfshore Playhouse. “Maytag says, ‘Yeah, and you know what? That’s kind of beautiful.’ It’s beautiful because we often find ourselves at the bottom—at our worst—at the very moment we are doing our darndest to love someone or to love someone through the hell of life. Those noble efforts, that drudgery…that’s what love is.” 

FST’s Summer Mainstage Series comes to a close with Smoke & Mirrors by Will Osborne and Anthony Herrera, a comedic murder mystery that keeps the audience guessing (and laughing) until the end. Called “Outrageously funny” by the Bennington Banner, Smoke & Mirrors follows the pernicious plotting of Hamilton Orr, a top Hollywood film director who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. To gain control over a multi-million-dollar film, Orr comes up with a deadly scheme involving his wife, Barbara, and the movie’s screenwriter, Clark. When his plot doesn’t go as planned, Hamilton comes face-to-face with the wily local sheriff, Leroy, who senses that there’s more going on than meets the eye. Smoke & Mirrors will begin playing August 3 in FST’s Gompertz Theatre. 

In the Cabaret, FST will present Rock & Roll ReignitedWith Not Fade Away. Inspired by the legendary music of artists like Buddy Holly, Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, and more, this new revue reignites Rock & Roll classics with sizzle, showmanship, and style. Fresh off their national tour, Not Fade Away has performed to sold-out venues in over 150 cities. Now, the four-piece band brings the best of the ‘50s and ‘60s to Sarasota with such hits as “It’s So Easy,” “Rave On,” “Johnny B. Goode,” and more. Rock & Roll Reignited With Not Fade Away will begin playing in FST’s Court Cabaret on Tuesday, June 14, 2022. 

Next up is The Jersey Tenors – Part II, a new show created and conceived by Brian Noonan, who co-founded The Jersey Tenors about fifteen years ago. The group is an opera/rock mash-up sensation that blends iconic opera classics with Rock & Roll hits from artists like Queen, Journey, and Elton John. In their new show, The Jersey Tenors are celebrating artists from the stage to the screen. This musical revue will feature the group’s original arrangements of such songs as “Walk Like A Man,” “Your Song,” “That’s Life,” “Eye of the Tiger,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and many more. The Jersey Tenors – Part II will begin playing FST’s Goldstein Cabaret on July 19, 2022. 

FST’s Summer Cabaret Series culminates with New York State of Mind: All the Hits of Billy Joel With The Uptown Boys, the ultimate tribute to the “Piano Man,” himself. With more than 40 years of cumulative work on some of Broadway’s biggest hits, the creators of this show—Alexander Aguilar and John De Simini—put together an exciting, high-energy concert event featuring over two dozen Billy Joel classics, including “For the Longest Time,” “Only the Good Die Young,” and “Tell Her About It.” In this new show, The Uptown Boys use Joel’s rich songbook as a vehicle to share their stories of life, love, and trying to make it in New York City. This lively new show will begin playing in FST’s Court Cabaret on August 9, 2022. 

With its mission to make theatre accessible to as many people as possible, FST offers all three Summer Mainstage shows for as little as $49, and all three Summer Cabarets for as little as $49. Subscriptions are now on sale at FloridaStudioTheatre.org or at 941.366.9000.