Florida Studio Theatre salutes 60 years of chart-topping Stevie Wonder

Jason Cannon recalls seeing Stevie Wonder sing “Superstition” on “Sesame Street” with the Muppets when he was growing up and starting to form the soundtrack to his life.

“This was the music I grew up with. I started late and I had to catch up,” said Cannon, who is one of the creators of the Florida Studio Theatre cabaret show “A Place in the Sun: A Tribute to Stevie Wonder,” which he wrote with Richard Hopkins and Sarah Durham.

The production is a celebration of an artist whose career spans more than 60 years. At 13, Wonder became the youngest artist ever to top the Billboard Hot 100 list with his song “Fingertips,” leading him to a string of hits and groundbreaking albums.

Arts Newsletter: Sign up to receive the latest news on the Sarasota area arts scene every Monday

Theater, concerts, art, dance and more: Your November guide to the arts in the Sarasota-Manatee area

“More Than a Decade”: From Beatles to Bee Gees, Florida Studio Theatre cabaret sings hits of the 1970s

“Stevie Wonder has often been a pioneer in terms of sounds. He plays just about everything, but gravitates toward the keyboard style stuff that can be programmed to make different sounds,” Cannon said. “He’s woven into our culture and our consciousness.”

The production comes in the year that marks the 50th anniversary of his album “Talking Book,” which introduced the songs “You Are the Sunshine Of My Life,” “Superstition” and “You and I (We Can Conquer the World).”

Just four years later, he released his double album “Songs in the Key of Life,” which features “Sir Duke,” “Isn’t She Lovely,” “Knocks Me Off My Feet” and “Village Ghetto Land.”

Among other hits during his long career featured in the show are “My Cherie Amour,” “Ebony and Ivory,” “If You Really Love Me,” “I Just Called to Say I Love You,” “Higher Ground,” “Part Time Lover” and “All in Love is Fair.”

“There’s so much range. So many different styles and sounds,” Cannon said. “His music is truly timeless and it’s its own genre. What’s really is telling is how many contemporary artists still reach out to him. He guests on so many people’s albums. He discovered Andra Day and plucked her out of obscurity.”

Picking an architect: Panel named to select architect for new Sarasota Performing Arts Center

International artists: The Ringling goes eclectic for Art of Performance series

Rebuilding: Resilient Venice Theatre plans reopening after Hurricane Ian damage

The pioneer artist recorded for Berry Gordy’s Motown for more than 60 years before leaving the label. Through that time, he expressed his rage about a variety of social issues in his music and used royalties to advance many causes, like food banks.

Catherine Randazzo directs the production that stars Joshua Pyram, Ben Senneff and Hannah Taylor, with musical support from pianist Sean Holland and drummer Marcus James. Daren Server is the music director, and Jim Prosser created the arrangements.

Pyram and Seneff, making their FST debuts, play guys who share their love of Wonder’s music from different points of view, Cannon said. “One guy is the fun fact nerd guy who would win every trivia contest. The other is more soulfully attached. He understands Stevie through the lyrics, which creates a great interplay between them.”

Cannon worked at FST for about a decade, mostly as a director, dramaturg and teacher, before leaving to form his own publishing company, Ibis Books. During his FST tenure, he never had a chance to explore the cabaret shows the theater regularly creates.

He pitched an idea about the Funk Brothers and the Motown sound, but after visiting the Motown Hitsville USA museum in Detroit and exploring more, he began to focus the show on Wonder’s music, which was so much a part of his own life.

“I’ve always been a fan. He’s been on my run playlists,” he said. “I karaoke him. This deep dive into his music only strengthened my appreciation for him.”

“A Place in the Sun –: A Tribute to Stevie Wonder¨

Created by Jason Cannon, Richard Hopkins and Sarah Durham. Directed by Catherine Randazzo. Nov. 16-March 26. Florida Studio Theatre Goldstein Cabaret, 1241 N. Palm Ave., Sarasota. 941-366-9000; floridastudiotheatre.org

Follow Jay Handelman on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Contact him at jay.handelman@heraldtribune.com. And please support local journalism by subscribing to the Herald-Tribune.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Florida Studio Theatre celebrates 60 years of hits by Stevie Wonder