Sarasota's Players Theatre announces 2014-15 Backstage season

   The Players Theatre has some really cool stuff planned for its fourth Backstage season.
   The three-show 2014-15 season, which presents shows in the Players' intimate black-box space, offers works by three of America's most exciting contemporary playwrights.

Annie Baker

   The season kicks off in October with "Breaking Out in Ives," a program of six one-act comedies by David Ives. Ives is best known for "Venus in Fur" and "All in The Timing," a highly entertaining collection of short plays, and he's among the most widely produced playwrights in the country. The shows runs Oct. 17-26.

  Starting Jan. 30, the Players will stage  "Circle Mirror Transformation" by Annie Baker, who won the Pulitzer Prize earlier this year for "The Flick." "Circle Mirror Transformation" is a drama about a group of theater students during  six weeks of theater games and acting exercises. It won an Obie Award in 2009 for Best New American Play. It runs through Feb. 8.

    Nicky Silver's comedy "The Lyons" wraps up the season, April 10-19. Silver's been a popular playwright Off-Broadway and in local theaters for decades, but "The Lyons," about a family gathered in a hospital room of the dying father, became his first Broadway play a couple of years ago. Silver's plays are generally not appropriate for children or anyone who's easily offended.

    Tickets are on sale now for $18, or $45 for all three shows. Subscriptions are available for $45 and guarantee reserved seating. Single tickets are $18.

   The Players Theatre is at 838 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Call 941-365-2494, or go to theplayers.org.