Kay Kipling is executive editor of Sarasota Magazine, where she has worked in one capacity or another for more than 30 years. (Yes, she’s seen a lot of changes.) She also acts as arts editor for the magazine, frequently interviewing local and national arts personalities as well as writing features on the performing and visual arts scene and online reviews of theater productions. A longtime member of the American Theatre Critics Association and the magazine’s theater critic, she spends untold nights in Sarasota’s many theaters every year and has served on numerous arts grant panels at both the state and local level. In her off time she enjoys reading, movies, nature walks and, all too seldom, the beach.

On View

Two New Exhibitions Open at Sarasota Art Museum

One features the work of a solo artist; the other borrows extensively from local collectors.

04/23/2026 By Kay Kipling

Review

Asolo Rep Presents 'Fiddler on the Roof' for the First Time

And it's well worth the wait.

04/20/2026 By Kay Kipling

Review

WBTT's 'Lies, Spells & Old Wives' Tales' Leans into Ancestral Wisdom

The world premiere show features original songs and some entertaining stories.

04/13/2026 By Kay Kipling

Review

FST Closes Mainstage Season with Poignant 'Birthday Candles'

The play by Noah Haidle is a reminder of how fleeting even a long life can be, and how important it is to savor it.

04/06/2026 By Kay Kipling

Review

'A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical' Packs in All the Hits at Van Wezel

Plus, audiences will learn a little about what lay behind the songs.

04/02/2026 By Kay Kipling

Review

What's the Buzz in Urbanite Theatre's 'The Apiary'?

The bees aren't doing so well in Kate Douglas' play. Neither are the humans.

03/23/2026 By Kay Kipling

Curtain Up!

Asolo Rep Announces Its 2026-27 Season

And it's heavy on connections to the circus and the year 1927.

03/12/2026 By Kay Kipling

Preview

'Naga-Mandala' Premieres This Weekend at the Circus Arts Conservatory

The production, by a new Sarasota company, mixes music, storytelling and more with South Indian folklore.

03/10/2026 By Kay Kipling

On the Upbeat

The Jazz Club of Sarasota’s Annual Festival Shines This Month

Plus, the club's got big plans to expand and open its own venue.

03/02/2026 By Kay Kipling

Review

Asolo Rep Takes a Wild Comic Ride with 'The Unfriend'

Steven Moffat's play makes its bow with this U.S. premiere, and it's a doozy.

02/22/2026 By Kay Kipling

Art Alive

Selby Gardens' Goldstein Exhibition Celebrates Alexander Calder

Works by the sculptor known for his mobiles are joined by horticultural creations inspired by him.

02/09/2026 By Kay Kipling

Art of the Ark

Joel Sartore’s Images of Endangered Species for the National Geographic Photo Ark May Be Crucial to Saving Wildlife

Sartore will come to Sarasota this month to show some of his images and share stories of his work in a Ringling College Town Hall program at the Van Wezel.

02/07/2026 By Kay Kipling

Review

A New FST Production Takes Us to the Moon

"The Blue-Sky Boys" presents an often entertaining picture of the engineers behind the Apollo moon landing.

02/02/2026 By Kay Kipling

Review

Urbanite Theatre Delivers a Sometimes Harrowing 'JOB'

This two-character play is an intense, packed peek into dark corners.

01/29/2026 By Kay Kipling

Review

Asolo Rep Reflects on Agatha Christie's Miss Marple with 'The Mirror Crack'd'

A new adaptation of Christie's book is problematic in several ways.

01/26/2026 By Kay Kipling

Q&A

Prolific Writer Harlan Coben Is Coming to Sarasota in February for an Author Luncheon

The event benefits the Library Foundation for Sarasota County. "Libraries are hugely important," Coben says. "A luncheon for a library, about books—that’s a win-win-win."

01/19/2026 By Kay Kipling

Review

Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe Presents Dominique Morisseau's 'Paradise Blue'

There's drama, humor and a little bit of jazz in this five-character play, set in 1949 Detroit.

01/12/2026 By Kay Kipling

Review

Asolo Rep's 'Primary Trust' Tells a Touching Story About Finding Friendship and Hope

The Pulitzer Prize winner is mostly low-key, but it still has an impact.

01/11/2026 By Kay Kipling

Final Frame

Tim Jaeger's Recent Work Started During Hurricane Milton

The swirling forms on his canvases are related not only to hurricane movement but, he says, “to what lies beneath the ocean and ourselves—the flow of community, the surge of life.”

01/02/2026 By Kay Kipling

An Artful Embrace

The Annual Embracing Our Differences Exhibition Returns to Bayfront Park

It's the most high-profile part of the nonprofit’s efforts to support the community, but it's not the only one.

01/02/2026 By Kay Kipling