Weekend spotlight: A little of this and some of that

It’s not a massive couple of days for arts or entertainment events – the Firestone Grand Prix has pretty much stolen the weekend thunder – but what IS happening is rich and varied.

To wit:

Two weeks into the run of the Stephen Sondheim musical Road Show, freeFall Theatre is putting on a Sondheim song-fest concert as part of its Tandem Series. What this means: Instead of a performance of Road Show tonight, the show’s cast and musical director Michael Raabe will perform (with Ann Morrison, Larry Alexander and Matthew McGee) a complement of the musical theater maestro’s best-known tunes. It’s at 7 p.m. and tickets are here.

Joey Panek and Robert Teasdale, who star as the Florida boom-building Mizner Brothers in Road Show, are Friday’s guests on our Arts Alive! podcast.

Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik co-hosts Dancing With the Stars – Live! at Ruth Eckerd Hall Saturday. The 8 p.m. performance, a spin-off of the popular TV contest show, will feature demonstrations of multiple dance styles. Featured dancers include Joey Graziadei and Jenna Johnson. Tickets are at this link.

MJ the Musical, the Tony-winning song and dance show spun about the music and artistry of Michael Jackson (specifically, the 1992 Dangerous World Tour) is at Morsini Hall, in the David A. Straz Center, with multiple performances through Sunday. Showtimes and tickets are here.

TFO gala

Master cellist Yo-Yo Ma is in the area for Friday’s 8 p.m. Florida Orchestra gala fundraising concert. With TFO, Ma will play Dvorak’s beloved Cello Concerto. The other half of the program (at Ruth Eckerd Hall) consists of Richard Strauss’ tone poem Don Juan. Michael Francis conducts; the few tickets that remain are available at this link.

Folk music legend Tom Rush is at the Jaeb Theatre (in Tampa’s Straz Center) tonight. Photo provided.

Music and concerts

Latin music at the Seminole Hard Rock Event Center: Puerto Rican merengue star Elvis Crespo tonight (tickets are sold out), and Cuban-American superstar Willy Chirino Sunday (find tickets at this link).

Veteran folk musician Tom Rush is in concert tonight in the Jaeb Theatre, part of Tampa’s Straz Center complex. Tickets to the 7:30 p.m. show are at this link.

Ray Benson and Asleep at the Wheel, who brought Western Swing to contemporary ears, play the Capitol Theatre tonight. Find tickets for the 8 p.m. show at this link.

Clearwater’s annual Sea-Blues Festival starts today a 6 p.m., at Coachman Park. Tonight’s music starts with a performance by Sons of Cream, a rock/blues power trio including Malcolm Bruce and Kofi Baker, whose late dads were members of the iconic 1960s British trio Cream (read the Catalyst interview with Malcolm Bruce here).

Sea-Blues Festival hours are 6-10 p.m. Friday, and 2-10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. More details and the full music schedule can be found at this link.

A few tickets remain (general admission) for Friday’s They Might Be Giants show at Jannus Live (our interview with TMBG’s John Flansburgh, here, includes a ticket link).

The Florida Strawberry Festival begins today and runs through March 9 in Plant City (Hillsborough County). The “small-town fair” boasts an impressive concert lineup, which you can see at this link.

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

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