Goodbye To All That

We are packing up to leave Sarasota to spend the next sixth months in Massachusetts, and saying goodbye to a very full exploration of the culture for which this city on the west coast of Florida has grown famous.  We have taken in all seven  plays on offer at the Asolo Repertory Theater as well as the four student productions which in terms of finish and talent rank with the professional offerings on the main stage.  The complex of theaters range from an old Italian opera house brought over in pieces and reconstructed to a 1920's Glasgow opera house equally fancy and so unexpected in this Florida setting.  But then John Ringling had already set the standard for ambitious kitsch and true beauty with the Venetian palazzo he built for his residence on the Gulf and the lavish museum filled with European art of all the great traditions, and surrounding grounds he established nearby with outdoor gardens and walks adorned with high quality reproductions of some historic ancient Greek and Roman and Italian masterpieces.  His name is attached to another center for the arts here, the Ringling School of Art, one of the nation's foremost art schools, where a visitor can wander through a variety of galleries looking at where animation, advertising, film making, graphic design and illustration as well as the creative pieces on display are made.  A little south of this lies Holley Hall where chamber music concerts of the highest level are offered; these are supplemented by the international artists who perform at the La Musica festival in the spring which because it  overlaps with the Sarasota Film Festival keeps everyone on the go.  Next to Holley Hall is the large  Van Wezel Hall where we go to hear the Sarasota Symphony Orchestra with season tickets, almost always enjoying everything played, although admitting that we may be gay but we don't know anything about music--no cognoscenti, we!  Nor opera, which takes place in a grand traditional opera house, where this year we saw/heard a most thrilling performance of Floyd's "Of Mice and Men."  Who knew we would be crying over Lenny's fate sung in such modern music?  Nearby is the Florida Studio where we see more good stuff, this year, among other things, a production of "The Columnist" which to my mind was superior to what I had seen the year before on Broadway. I omit mentioning ballet since we do not go but the Sarasota Ballet puts on a great season, and visiting companies often come to town.  All these forms of culture are encouraged among the youngsters of the community, and there are performers of all ages on display throughout the year, the most noted being Isak Perlman's Foundation for Musical Instruction among the young.  I have saved for last what I took up last but have enjoyed the most, and that is the Wednesday afternoon Einstein Circle where someone of education, talent, and original thought muses on some issue, scientific, artistic, political, social, moral, you name it, and then the audience is invited to comment.  As a retired professor who has heard too many grotesque questions from the audience I have been amazed at the erudition, precision, and thoughtfulness of those who raise their hands to speak.  Well, now time to pick up the shovel and the hoe and do my garden!