TONIGHT: Pay what you can at Asolo Conservatory, Sarasota

Brian Nemiroff, Zlatomir Moldovanski and Ben Williamson in FSU/Asolo Conservatory's production of "The Aliens." Photo by Frank Atura provided.

Pay What You Can Night: For today's 8 p.m. (Wed. Jan. 2), preview performance of "The Aliens," audience members pay whatever they can afford for their ticket. These special tickets are available on day of performance only.

FSU/Asolo Conservatory brings Annie Baker’s acclaimed dramedy ‘The Aliens’ to Sarasota

Two outcasts, both about 30 years old, befriend a high school-age coffee shop barista in a small Vermont town in Annie Baker’s acclaimed play “The Aliens,” the latest production by The FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training.

The dramedy has been a critical darling and crowd-pleaser since it premiered off-Broadway in 2010.

The FSU/Asolo Conservatory production opening Jan. 3 is directed by Brendon Fox, the conservatory’s second-year acting teacher who directed last year’s engaging comedy drama “Lobby Hero.”

“It’s not an accident the play takes place just before, after and during the Fourth of July,” Fox said. “It’s reflecting on what America means to these characters and very clever of Annie Baker to pin it to that week where they are questioning everything about how the world really works.”

Details: Jan. 3-20, 2013, Cook Theatre in the FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Tickets: $29 (evenings); $28 (matinees). Information: 941-351-8000 or www.asolorep.org.