Weekend spotlight: ‘Frozen’ and ‘Encanto’ on skates

Disney on Ice, and we don’t mean Walt in a Vault, arrives all strapped in Friday at Amalie Arena in Tampa.

The musical ice-stravaganza, which combines scenes and songs from the animated 2013 smash Frozen and its sequel, along with the only slightly lesser-known 2021 Encanto, will be at the arena for seven performances between Friday and Sunday.

While Frozen – based on the Hans Christian Andersen story The Snow Queen – would seem to be a natch for a skate spectacular, Encanto (with songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda) takes place in the Colombian mountains. Where, one presumes, there isn’t a lot of ice to glide around on.

Both are beloved franchise movies, and each took the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film.

These are family-friendly shows, with lots of singing, dancing – and skating.

For tickets, including character meet-and-greets, click on this link.

Feld Entertainment, based in Manatee County, is the worldwide producer of Disney on Ice.

Anime tonight

The anime adventure series Naruto comes alive tonight (7 p.m.) at Ruth Eckerd Hall. Naruto: The Symphonic Experience pairs a live orchestra with a specially-edited film featuring segments of the Japan-made TV series’ first 200 episodes. “The soundtrack plays such a huge role in the anime’s success and is praised by the legions of fans time and time again,” producer Julien Vallespi says in the tour’s promotional package. “The original score, composed by Toshio Masuda, is a perfect blend between pop and rock arrangements as well as traditional Japanese instruments like the shakuhachi and shamisen.”

Find more details, and tickets, at this link.

Music to remember

Tonight at 8 at the Palladium Theater, musicians from The Florida Orchestra will perform (in a chamber setting) on violins, violas and cellos rescued from Europe during the Holocaust – some of the instruments come with horrific stories – and fully restored. Luthier Avshi Weinstein, who started the Violins of Hope touring exhibit program with his late father Amnon – also an instrument maker and restorer – will be in attendance. Read more in the Catalyst interview with Avshi Weinstein here.

Find tickets at this link.

New York cabaret singer Kelli Rabke, who played Eponine in “Les Miserables” on Broadway, sings with The Florida Orchestra Sunday. Publicity photo.

 Where’s the orchestra?

The Florida Orchestra proper has just one major performance this weekend. At 2 p.m. Sunday, Daniel Black conducts Blockbuster Broadway in Morsini Hall, at the Straz Center in Tampa. Joined by vocalists Kelli Rabke, Scott Coulter and Jessica Hendy, as well as pianist John Boswell, the gang will play selections from Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, The Sound of Music, The Lion King, Annie, Jersey Boys, Chicago, Cats, A Chorus Line and more. Find tickets here.

Big laughs

Another comedy-crazy weekend starts tonight, as Saturday Night Live alum Jon Lovitz takes the stage at the Capitol Theatre (click here for this week’s Lovitz interview with the Catalyst); Saturday brings Jake Shane (the Therapuss podcaster) to Ruth Eckerd Hall; Sunday night’s headliner at the Seminole Hard Rock Event Center is comic and longtime radio host Rickey Smiley.

Tonight at the Murray Theatre: Australian keyboard rocker Lachy Doley. Publicity photo.

More concerts

Former Menudo member Draco Rosa performs tonight at the Seminole Hard Rock Event Center. The Puerto Rican singer/songwriter won the 2014 Grammy for Best Latin Pop Album, for Vida, and has thus far been awarded four Latin Grammys. Tickets.

Tonight at the Murray Theatre (at Ruth Eckerd Hall): Australian rock ‘n’ roll keyboard wiz Lachy Doley, known for tearing it up on the Hammond organ and whammy clavinet. Tickets.

Singer/songwriter Andy Grammer (“Keep Your Head Up,” “Fine By Me,” “Don’t Give Up On Me,” “Fresh Eyes,” “Good To Be Alive”) is onstage Saturday at the Capitol Theatre. On his new EP, dropping April 25, he performs acoustic versions of many of his best-known songs. Tickets.

Well, St. Patrick’s Day has come and gone, but in the spirit of the green season the Irish Tenors have a show Sunday at the Capitol Theatre. Anthony Kearns, Ronan Tynan and Declan Kelly are classically-trained singers; the act is a longtime PBS favorite. Tickets are at this link.

On theater stages

Several of our bay area professional playhouses are getting ready to launch their next productions (can you say Hair in Demens Landing Park, opening March 28?). Those we do have this weekend are pretty great: Jobsite Theater is bringing Martin McDonagh’s seemingly sinister The Pillowman to visceral life (tickets here), while LAB Theatre Project – like Jobsite, it’s in Tampa – is midway through its run of a world premiere, the comedy Trust Me by Paula Fell (read all about that show in this story).

Your Weekend Spotlight appears every Thursday in the Catalyst’s CREATE section. 

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