Sarasota Jewish Theatre Unveils 2026-27 Season of Powerful Stories, Music and Survival
Sarasota Jewish Theatre will explore survival in its many forms during a wide-ranging 2026–27 season featuring a new locally written drama, a musical celebration and three mainstage productions.
The organization’s seventh season begins in October with the premiere of “Kaddish for the Barrio,” written by Sarasota actor and playwright Gabriel Ortiz. The Howard J. Millman Performance Series follows in early 2027 with plays examining complicated families, Hollywood history and the lasting emotional consequences of war. For more local context, read about Sarasota Jewish Theatre’s recent three-play reading series.
Broadway performer Lauren Molina will also headline a special January concert celebrating the Jewish artists and traditions that helped shape American musical theater.
A new Sarasota play opens the season
“Kaddish for the Barrio” brings together two people whose lives might otherwise never intersect: a troubled young Latino gang member and an elderly rabbi.
Their relationship develops inside a deteriorating East Los Angeles synagogue that has been repurposed as a community center. Through humor, poetry, rap and prayer, the play examines violence, guilt, forgiveness and whether people carrying deep emotional wounds can find a path toward healing.
Preston Boyd will direct the production, marking the first time Sarasota Jewish Theatre has participated in the development of a new play.
Performances are scheduled for October 7–11, 2026, at The Sarasota Players, 3501 S. Tamiami Trail in Sarasota. Tickets are $36.
Lauren Molina celebrates Jewish musical theater
Sarasota audiences will have another opportunity to see Lauren Molina when she stars in “Sing in the Season,” a musical journey through Jewish theater history.
The program will trace the development of Jewish musical theater from its Yiddish roots through the work of influential Broadway composers and lyricists, including Stephen Sondheim.
Molina appeared as Golde in Asolo Repertory Theatre’s 2026 production of “Fiddler on the Roof.” Her Broadway credits include “Sweeney Todd” and “Rock of Ages.” Asolo Repertory Theatre and Playbill confirm those recent and Broadway roles.
“Sing in the Season” will be presented January 9 at 7:30 p.m. and January 10 at 1:30 p.m. at Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe’s intimate Howard J. Millman Black Box Theatre, 1012 N. Orange Ave. in Sarasota. General admission tickets are $96.
Three plays examine what it means to survive
The Howard J. Millman Performance Series will run from February through May 2027 at Payne Park Auditorium, 2100 E. Laurel Street in Sarasota.
“We Had a World”
Joshua Harmon’s deeply personal family drama follows a playwright looking back at his relationship with a charismatic but emotionally complicated grandmother. The story moves between affection and resentment as decades of family conflict, secrets and devotion come into focus.
The play received its world premiere Off-Broadway in 2025 in a Manhattan Theatre Club production starring Joanna Gleason, Andrew Barth Feldman and Jeanine Serralles. Manhattan Theatre Club confirms that original production closed May 11, 2025.
Directed by Gus Kaikkonen, Sarasota Jewish Theatre’s production runs February 2–14, 2027, with the February 2 performance designated as a preview.
“Moonlight and Magnolias”
The season changes direction in March with Ron Hutchinson’s fast-moving comedy about the frantic effort to rescue “Gone with the Wind.”
Set in 1939, the play finds producer David O. Selznick shutting down production because the screenplay is not working. He pulls director Victor Fleming away from “The Wizard of Oz” and recruits screenwriter Ben Hecht. The three men then seclude themselves in Selznick’s office for five exhausting days of rewriting.
The comedy is inspired by real figures and events surrounding one of Hollywood’s most famous productions, although the play heightens the situation for comic effect. “Moonlight and Magnolias” premiered at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre in 2004. Concord Theatricals lists Ron Hutchinson as the playwright and describes the work as a period farce.
Peter Amster will direct the Sarasota production, scheduled for March 16–28, 2027. March 16 is the preview performance.
“Kindertransport”
The season concludes with Diane Samuels’ “Kindertransport,” a moving drama inspired by the rescue effort that brought thousands of predominantly Jewish children from Nazi-controlled Europe to Great Britain before World War II.
The story moves between past and present as a woman who escaped Germany as a child confronts the identity she left behind. Her experience reveals that physical survival does not erase separation, grief or the effects of trauma on later generations.
Directed by Vickie Daignault, “Kindertransport” runs May 18–30, 2027, beginning with a preview on May 18.
Tickets and season information
Subscriptions for the three-play Howard J. Millman Performance Series range from $113 to $130. Individual play tickets range from $24 to $48.
Tickets for “Kaddish for the Barrio” and the mainstage series are available through The Sarasota Players or by calling 941-365-2494. Tickets for “Sing in the Season” and additional information are available from Sarasota Jewish Theatre.
Sarasota Jewish Theatre’s 2026–27 season is supported in part by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, The Exchange and Manatee Community Foundation.
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