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Looking forward: The month of January in the arts
Want to know what’s on local stages in the month to come? Look no further.
It’s somewhat surprising that more of today’s contemporary singing stars don’t come to toasty Florida in January, when it’s f-f-freezing cold in most of America. The January concert calendar includes just one chart-topper – from the last three decades – in the band Kings of Leon, playing Benchmark Arena at the end of the month.
Nor, in fact, is there anyone heading our way here who has a record in the current charts. Any of them.
The other side of this coin, no doubt, is that the artists who’ll be visiting the bay area in January most likely have strong and faithful fan bases here. That’s got to be why Pat Benatar, Al DiMeola, Judy Collins, Kevin James, John Waite, Blue Man Group, Leo Kottke and Benise, among others, make the journey here to entertain on an annual basis, like clockwork.
Let’s start with a quick quintet of January’s most noteworthy scheduled concerts (as always, be advised that dates are subject to change):
Rhett Miller at Safety Harbor Art & Music Center, Jan. 21. Solo performance by the enigmatic singer/songwriter from Americana pioneers the Old ‘97s.
Renee Fleming at Straz Center Ferguson Hall, Jan. 14. The acclaimed soprano in recital; the program, Voice of Nature – The Anthropocene, reflects the opera superstar’s passion for the healing power of music.
Gregory Alan Isakov at the Mahaffey Theater, Jan. 18. The indie singer/songwriter lives (and works) a Colorado farm, and his music is rural, dusty, and surprisingly potent.
Penn & Teller at the Mahaffey Theater, Jan. 29. Incredibly, the master illusionists have been doing what they do, together, for 50 years.
Jerry Harrison at the Capitol Theatre, Jan. 21. Talking Heads’ keyboard player screens the classic concert film Stop Making Sense, talks and takes questions. You may ask yourself … how did I get here?
Americana artist Gregory Alan Isakov plays the Mahaffey Theater Jan. 18. Publicity photo.
The concert calendar
Jan. 8 The Kingston Trio at Central Park Performing Arts Center
Jan. 10 Brendan Nolan at the Side Door Cabaret
Jan. 13 Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass at Ruth Eckerd Hall
Jan. 14 Renee Fleming at the Straz Center Ferguson Hall
Jan. 14 Leo Kottke at the Capitol Theatre
Jan. 14 Chamber Music Series at the Palladium Theater
Jan. 15 The Coral Reefer Band at the Mahaffey Theater
Jan. 16 Benise & Pavolo at the Palladium Theater
Jan. 16 St Paul & The Minneapolis Funk All Stars at Central Park Performing Arts Center
Jan. 16 Tig Notaro at Tampa Theatre
Jan. 16-18 Blue Man Group at Straz Center Ferguson Hall
Jan. 16 Kevin James at Ruth Eckerd Hall
Jan. 16 Jesse Cook at the Capitol Theatre
Jan. 17 Bored Teachers Comedy at the Tampa Theatre
Jan. 17 John Lamb’s Birthday Concert at the Side Door Cabaret
Jan. 17 Chuck Redd with La Lucha at New Tampa Performing Arts Center
Jan. 17 Al DiMeola at the Capitol Theatre
Jan. 18 Judy Collins at the Capitol Theatre
Jan. 18 Gregory Alan Isokov at the Mahaffey Theater
Jan. 21 Rhett Miller at Safety Harbor Art & Music Center
Jan. 21 Jerry Harrison at the Capitol Theatre
Jan. 22 Gaelic Storm at the Capitol Theatre
Jan. 23 Diana Krall at Ruth Eckerd Hall
Jan. 23 Close Enemies (with Aerosmith’s Tom Hamilton) at Central Park Performing Arts Center
Jan. 23 23 Great White & Slaughter at Ferg’s Event Center
Jan. 27 Aaron Lewis at Seminole Hard Rock Event Center
Jan. 28 Forever Motown at the Mahaffey Theater
Jan. 29 Penn & Teller at the Mahaffey Theater
Jan. 29 Pat Benatar and Neil Geraldo at Seminole Hard Rock Event Center
Jan. 30 Bert Kreischer at Benchmark Arena
Jan. 30 Geoff Tate at Ruth Eckerd Hall
Jan. 30 John Waite at the Capitol Theatre
Jan. 31 Ronnie Baker Brooks at the Safety Harbor Art & Music Center
Jan. 31 Kings of Leon at Benchmark Arena
On theater stages
The Tony-winning musical adaptation of the S.E. Hinton novel (and the movie from Francis Ford Coppola) The Outsiders is on the bill for the Straz Center’s Broadway series, Jan. 1-4 in Morsani Hall.
Running Jan. 8-18 at the Off-Central, Gruesome Playground Injuries by Rajiv Joseph is an intense and darkly comic drama about two adult friends-since-childhood “drawn together through pain, accidents, and unseen wounds of the heart.”
Stageworks Theatre’s Touching the Void (Jan. 16-Feb. 1) is playwright David Greig’s adaptation of mountain climber Joe Simpson’s real-life book about his perilous journey into the Peruvian Andes.
For Jobsite Theater’s annual Shakespeare production, artistic director David M. Jenkins has set The Comedy of Errors in the Swingin’ ‘60s. Oh, behave! Dates are Jan. 14-Feb. 8.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic morality story The Scarlet Letter gets what American Stage calls “a contemporary treatment” Jan. 21-Feb. 15. Adaptation by Kate Hamill.
Onstage Jan. 21-25 at The Studio@620, Drilled! The Final Term? is an original musical comedy – of the dental and political variety – by St. Petersburg’s Bill Leavengood and Constantine Grame.
TheatreFor’s co-founder Stephen Bell – well known for his years of acting and directing work with the Gulfport Community Players and others – passed away Sept. 7; in true “the show must go on” spirit, the Clearwater theatrical startup has continued. TheaterFor is back for its first show of the new year, Truth Will Out: Unrehearsed Shakespeare Jan. 23-Feb 8.
Himself and Nora, the hit off Broadway musical about the great Irish writer James Joyce and his wife and muse, opens the year at freeFall Theatre Jan. 30-March 8.
Samantha Martí-Parisi stars in the one-person show The Pink Unicorn Jan. 29 and 30, the first play from a new production company called Story Keepers. Written by Elise Forier Edie, The Pink Unicorn is about a conservative mother navigating the complexities of her queer child’s identity.
Yasmina Reza’s tart drama God of Carnage is the next show from Tampa Repertory Theatre, Jan. 20-Feb. 15 at Hillsborough Community College Performing Arts Center.
LAB Theatre Project’s latest production is the musical The Trail to Oregon, directed by Zachary “Hippie” Griswold. It’s Jan. 30-Feb. 15, and it’s heralded by these words from LAB: “The show will change every night – not only does the audience get to name the family, but they will also decide the ultimate fate of one of our travelers!”
Flamenco dancer Irene Rodriguez will accompany The Florida Orchestra during Manuel de Falla’s ballet “El Amor Brujo” Jan. 30 and 31. Publicity photo.
The orchestra and the opera
The Florida Orchestra’s month looks like this:
Jan. 9-11: Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 21 (Evren Ozel, soloist), Shostakovich. Symphony No. 15, Wagner, Siegfried’s Rhine Journey. Jan. 14 and 15 (morning concerts): Handel’s Water Music, Richard Rodgers’ Victory at Sea Medley, Mendelssohn’s The Hebrides; Jan. 16 and 17: The Billy Joel Songbook; Jan. 23-25: Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe, Ravel Piano Concerto (soloist George Li), The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (Dukas) and Griffes’ The Pleasure Dome of Kubla Khan. Jan. 30 and 31: Soundwaves concert w/ Manuel de Falla’s ballet El Amor Brujo (with vocalists, narration and flamenco dancers), Danny Elfman’s Suite for Chamber Orchestra and Piazzolla’s Libertango.
And St. Pete Opera’s latest full-scale production is Handel’s dramatic Giulio Cesare, Jan. 30 and Feb. 1 and 3 at the Palladium Theater.
Dance
Choreographer/dancers from projectALCHEMY will create site-specific dance works at various St. Petersburg locations Jan. 1-4. The ambitious project is called Mixed Across St. Pete and it finishes up with a cumulative performance Jan. 10 at The Studio@620.
Websites
Central Park Performing Arts Center
Palladium Theater/Side Door Cabaret
Safety Harbor Art & Music Center
Seminole Hard Rock Event Center
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