The Hermitage Artist Retreat will welcome Tony Award-nominated Broadway star Betsy Wolfe as the headliner for its 17th annual Artful Lobster: An Outdoor Celebration on Saturday, November 8, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The sold-out event will return to the Hermitage’s historic beachfront campus on Manasota Key after being displaced by last year’s hurricanes.
The annual fundraiser, which supports the Hermitage’s internationally recognized artist residency program, will also feature performances by Latvian composer and guitarist Matīss Čudars, the 2023 Hermitage Prize in Composition winner, and Raleigh Mosely II, the 2024 Hermitage Cross Arts Collaborative Fellow.
Each year, The Artful Lobster draws artists and supporters from across the region for a festive outdoor luncheon featuring a lobster feast catered by Michael’s On East and live performances by Hermitage Fellows. This year’s event is co-chaired by Sondra and Gerald Biller and Michael and Carol Clark.
Wolfe, known for her celebrated Broadway performances, recently starred as Anne Hathaway in & Juliet, earning a 2023 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She will soon take the stage in Death Becomes Her, playing Madeline Ashton. Her other notable roles include Jenna in Waitress, Cordelia in Falsettos, and Cathy in The Last Five Years. Wolfe has also appeared with the Metropolitan Opera and performed with more than 60 major orchestras worldwide.
Čudars, a Latvian-born guitarist and composer, holds degrees from Amsterdam Conservatory and the Yale School of Music. His compositions blend math rock, jazz, classical, and folk influences rooted in Latvia’s choral traditions.
Mosely, a member of Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, has appeared in Dreamgirls, Purlie, Soul Crooners, Marvin Gaye: Prince of Soul, and In the Heights. He will be accompanied by Dr. Joseph Holt, a frequent Hermitage collaborator and acclaimed conductor, pianist, and arranger.
The Artful Lobster remains one of the Hermitage’s most anticipated annual events, celebrating creativity while raising vital funds to support artists across disciplines.
