with Broadway Producer Tom Kirdahy
February 25th on Longboat Key
January 7, 2022 (Sarasota County, Florida) — The Hermitage Artist Retreat brings the next installment of its “Artists & Thinkers” series to Longboat Key with “Theater Today: Process & Production,” a conversation with Tony Award-winning Broadway producer Tom Kirdahy (Hadestown; The Inheritance; Little Shop of Horrors). This event will be held outdoors on Friday, February 25th at 5:30pm, at the Town Center of Longboat Key, 501 Bay Isles Road, Longboat Key, FL 34228.
A champion of new work and a resident of Longboat Key, Kirdahy will speak with fellow Tony Award winner and Hermitage Artistic Director and CEO Andy Sandberg about the inextricable link between theatrical development and production, and the multi-year creative journey from an idea to production. Following a successful event in 2021 hosted on the Hermitage Beach – part of the Hermitage “Artists & Thinkers” series – Kirdahy and Sandberg will continue their candid conversation in the town of Longboat Key.
Kirdahy is a Tony and Olivier Award-winning producer whose projects have spanned Broadway, Off-Broadway, and the West End, as well as national and international tours. Select New York/London credits: Hadestown (8 Tony Awards, including Best New Musical), The Inheritance (Tony Award for Best Play; 11 Tony nominations), Little Shop of Horrors (Drama Desk Award, Best Musical Revival), Terrence McNally’s Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (2 Tony nominations, including Best Revival). Additional Tony nominations: The Visit, Mothers and Sons, After Midnight, Ragtime, and Master Class. He is the recipient of the Robert Whitehead Award for Outstanding Achievement in Commercial Theater Producing. Kirdahy serves on the Broadway League Board of Governors and the Board of Trustees of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. As an attorney, he spent nearly two decades providing free legal services to people living with HIV/AIDS and served for many years on the Executive Committee of the NYC LGBT Center. Graduate Studies: New York University School of Law, NYU CAS.
“I am truly looking forward to continuing this dialogue with my friend and colleague Tom Kirdahy,” said Sandberg. “Tom is a thoughtful and accomplished producer who has shepherded some truly extraordinary plays and musicals to the stage, even amidst the most challenging of circumstances. Moreover, Tom is a true champion of artists and the creative process. He understands and appreciates the importance of early development and collaboration in guiding new work from the page to the stage, and we’re honored to have him in the Hermitage family!”
All of the Hermitage’s scheduled programming in early 2022 will continue outdoors unless otherwise indicated, all with socially distanced seating. Hermitage programs are free and open to the public with a $5/person registration fee. Due to capacity limitations and social distancing, registration is required at HermitageArtistRetreat.org.
The Hermitage hosts artists on its Gulf Coast Manasota Key campus for multi-week residencies, where diverse artists from around the world and across multiple disciplines create and develop new works of theater, music, visual art, literature, and more. As part of their residencies, Hermitage Fellows participate in free community programs, offering audiences in the region a unique opportunity to engage with some of the world’s leading artists and to get an authentic “sneak peek” into extraordinary projects and artistic minds before their works go on to major galleries, concert halls, theaters, and museums around the world. These free and innovative programs include performances, lectures, readings, interactive experiences, open studios, school programs, teacher workshops, and more, serving thousands in our regional community each year.
The newly announced program:
- Hermitage on Longboat Key: “Theater Today: Process & Production,” Friday, February 25 @ 5:30pm: Broadway producer Tom Kirdahy, a Tony Award-winning champion of new work and resident of Longboat Key, speaks with fellow Tony Award winner and Hermitage Artistic Director Andy Sandberg about the inextricable link between theatrical development and production, and the multi-year creative journey from an idea to production. Following a successful event in 2021 hosted on the Hermitage Beach – part of the Hermitage “Artists & Thinkers” series – Kirdahy and Sandberg continue their candid conversation in the town of Longboat Key in February of 2022. Registration is required at HermitageArtistRetreat.org ($5/person registration fee). Outdoors at the Town Center of Longboat Key (501 Bay Isles Road, Longboat Key, FL 34228)
About the Hermitage Artist Retreat:
The Hermitage is a non-profit artist retreat located in Manasota Key, Florida, inviting accomplished artists across multiple disciplines for residencies on its beachfront campus, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Hermitage artists are invited to interact with the local community, reaching thousands of Gulf Coast residents and visitors each year with unique and inspiring programs. Hermitage Fellows have included 14 Pulitzer Prize winners, Poets Laureate, MacArthur ‘Genius’ Fellows, and multiple Tony, Emmy, Grammy, Oscar winners and nominees. Works created at this beachside retreat by a diverse group of Hermitage alumni have gone on to renowned theaters, concert halls, and galleries throughout the world. Each year, the Hermitage awards the $30,000 Hermitage Greenfield Prize for a new work of art, the newly announced $35,000 Hermitage Major Theater Award for an original theater commission, and the Aspen Music Festival’s Hermitage Prize in Composition.
For more information, visit HermitagArtistRetreat.org.
The Hermitage is supported by:
Hermitage programs are supported, in part, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts; by Sarasota County Tourist Development Tax Revenues; and by the Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture, the Florida Council of Arts and Culture and the State of Florida (Section 286.25 Florida Statutes), as well as the Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation, and the Community Foundation of Sarasota County.
PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED HERMITAGE PROGRAMS:
NOTE: For the January 7th program, Amir ElSaffar replaces Chet’la Sebree.
Friday, Jan 7 @ 5pm, “Journeys of Identity in Music” with Hermitage Fellows Amir ElSaffar and Wang Lu (Live on the Hermitage Beach)
Wang Lu’s Hermitage Residency generously sponsored by Ina Schnell in memory of Susan Brainerd
Friday, Jan 14 @ 5pm, “Walk on Through” with Hermitage Fellow & Tony Award Winner Gavin Creel (Live on the Hermitage Beach)
Gavin Creel’s Hermitage Residency generously sponsored by Charlie Huisking
Presented in partnership with leading Sarasota County theaters: Florida Studio Theatre, The Players Centre, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Venice Theatre, and Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe
Friday, Jan 21 @ 5:30pm, Hermitage Sunsets @ Selby Gardens: “The Work,” with Hermitage Fellow & Pulitzer Prize Winner Michael R. Jackson (Live at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens)
Presented in partnership with Marie Selby Botanical Gardens
Friday, Jan 28 @ 5pm, “Natural Inspiration,” with Hermitage Fellow Ni’Ja Whitson (Live on the Hermitage Beach)
Presented in partnership with Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast
Friday, Feb 11 @ 5pm, Hermitage @ Booker: “Pen to Paper with Pulitzer Prize-Winning Playwright Paula Vogel,” with Hermitage Fellow Paula Vogel (Live at Booker High School)
Presented in partnership with Booker High School’s Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) Program
Friday, Feb 18 @ 5:30pm, “Say Their Names,” with Hermitage Fellow Matthew Evan Taylor (Live on the Hermitage Beach)
Presented in partnership with Manasota ASALH
Thursday, Feb 24 @ 6pm, Hermitage Sunsets @ Selby Gardens: “Violin: Dope, Honest, & Evolved,” with Hermitage Fellow Lady Jess (Live at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, Downtown Campus)
Presented in partnership with Marie Selby Botanical Gardens
Friday, Feb 25 @ 5:30pm, Hermitage Artists & Thinkers: “Theater Today: Process & Production,” with Tony Award-Winning Broadway producer Tom Kirdahy (Live at the Town Center of Longboat Key). HermitageArtistRetreat.org