Hermitage Artist Retreat plans spring program in Boca Grande with Joe Iconis and Lauren Marcus
The Hermitage Artist Retreat this week announced new programs in February and March, including an event in Boca Grande and a return to the Hermitage Beach in Sarasota County.
The Boca Grande event on Friday, March 20 at 6:30 p.m. is entitled “Joe & Lauren: Making Music in Boca Grande” and features Hermitage Fellows Joe Iconis and Lauren Marcus. Iconis and Marcus are partners in art and life. Iconis wrote the hit score for Tony Award-nominated Broadway musical Be More Chill, the show where Marcus made her Broadway debut playing Brooke Lohst. A celebrated writer and composer, Iconis is recognized as a leading voice in the world of contemporary musical theater, with works spanning Broadway, Off-Broadway, and theaters across the globe. He regularly performs concerts with Marcus and other frequent collaborators as “Joe Iconis & Family” at venues throughout New York. Marcus is a beloved Hermitage artist and performer in her own right – actor, writer, and singer-songwriter are all hats she comfortably and regularly shifts between.
The couple will share original work during the beachside sunset concert at Boca Grande, presented in partnership with Barrier Island Parks Society. This Boca Grande program is generously sponsored by Alice & David Court. Registration is required at HermitageArtistRetreat.org ($5/person registration fee). Gasparilla Island Lighthouse – Range Light, 220 Gulf Boulevard, Boca Grande, FL 33921.
Other newly announced events include award-winning poet, writer, and author Jessica Care Moore and Obie Award winner James Jackson Jr. for a special Black History Month program on Thursday, February 26 at 5:30 p.m.
Jessica Care Moore has recorded her poetry with hip-hop legends like Common, Nas, Jeezy, Talib Kweli, and others. Moore launched into national attention in the 90s when she won the legendary “It’s Showtime at the Apollo” competition a record-breaking five times in a row – with a poem. She is the current Detroit Poet Laureate and the author of five collections of poetry. James Jackson, Jr. is a seasoned Broadway, Off-Broadway, and cabaret performer who has also graced the stages of Radio City Music Hall and Carnegie Hall. Celebrated for his roles in Hermitage Fellow Michael R. Jackson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning A Strange Loop and White Girl in Danger – developed in part at the Hermitage – Jackson also created the popular “Juneteenth Cabaret” in Provincetown to celebrate the history of Black performers in the city.
These two incredible performers will share their talents on the Hermitage Beach with “Speak the Word and Lift Every Voice” – a program celebrating Black culture and identity on the Hermitage Beach. This event is being presented in partnership with Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe.
Note: due to the ongoing campus recovery and shifting residency schedules, Hermitage programs throughout the remainder of season will continue to be announced on shorter notice than usual. Audiences are encouraged to keep an eye on HermitageArtistRetreat.org, where newly added events will be added as they open for registration.
