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Banyan Theatre Company

The Banyan Theater Company was founded in 2002 by Jerry and Terri Finn, who moved from New Jersey to Sarasota in 1999. At that time, they found summer theater offerings to be nearly non-existent and felt the need to remedy the situation. Consultations with many in the business offered a grim outlook for a summer-only theater company: it won’t work, there’s no market for summer theater in Sarasota, and if there is, they certainly don’t want to see “serious” plays. Nonetheless, the Finns moved forward to make their vision a reality. The first offering was simple – three professional actors on a rather plain set performing Harold Pinter’s “Betrayal.” For the second show that summer, those three actors were joined by a fourth for a staged reading of George Bernard Shaw’s “Don Juan in Hell.” The company’s premiere was hailed as “the hottest item on the Sarasota menu.”

2003 was the beginning of the three-play summer season. Cast sizes grew and sets became a little more complicated. Still not as elaborate as productions being put on by regular season theater companies, the Banyan Theater Company was, however, cited as a staple on the Sarasota scene and “sweet fruit for local audiences who may have a taste for something a little more challenging than tired revivals and musical comedy.”

By 2005, the Banyan Theater Company was given credit for “enriching Sarasota’s long, hot summer with meaningful, substantive theater.” Awards and critical praise were being received by the company since its first season, but in 2005 the Banyan’s three shows received 13 nominations/awards from area press. Who said this summer theater idea would never work?

The Banyan Theater Company is now in its eighth season, with lavish productions in the Jane B. Cook Theatre that rival professional theater companies nationwide and new offerings outside of summer. Artistic Director Carole Kleinberg, currently in her second year with the company, developed Banyan Becoming, a play reading series that begins Monday featuring the works of local playwrights performed by professional actors. Audience members will have the opportunity to provide feedback on the plays to help the playwrights fine tune the scripts to become fully-staged shows. The company’s summer season opens June 25 with Martin McDonagh’s “The Beauty Queen of Leenane.” Directed by Gil Lazier, this dramatic tour-de-force is an exciting blend of uproarious comedy, grand melodrama and bleak tragedy. The second show in the line up is “Old Wicked Songs,” which was written and will be directed by Jon Marans. It’s a twisting, turning tale of loss and redemption across two generations. The season closes with Neil LaBute’s hit comedy “Fat Pig,” a profound examination of love and cultural influences. Broadway actress Margot Moreland will star in this show, directed by Greg Leaming. Visit banyantheatercompany.com for more information and tickets.

[photos top row: Colleen McDonnell, Bradford Wallace in "A Doll House"/photo Maria Lyle. Douglas Jones, Lisa Morgan in "Mrs. Warren's Profession"/photo Gary Sweetman. photos bottom row: Stephen Clark Pachosa, Jessica K. Peterson in "A Moon for the Misbegotten"/photo Gary Sweetman. Sarah Stockton, Sharon Spelman in "The Glass Menagerie"/photo Frank Atura.]