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Weekend spotlight: Gaffigan, ballet and a bubble show

Standup comedian Jim Gaffigan is on the road again – in fact, he’s always on the road – and he’s got a show at Tampa’s Amalie Arena Saturday. Gaffigan appears in the bay area around this time every year (Florida in the winter, don’t you know) but this is his first time in a local venue the size of Amalie (20,000 +).
He recorded his 2023 special, Dark Pale, at the Straz Center; his 11th streamer, The Skinny, premiered on Hulu Nov. 22.
Saturday’s show – not the full, to-the-ceiling Amalie configuration, but close – is selling quite well. At press time there were few floor seats remaining.
Next week, Gaffigan and Jerry Seinfeld launch a cross-country, co-headlining tour in Toronto.
Tickets for Gaffigan’s 7 p.m. Saturday show start at $35, and are available at this link.
Ballet & orchestra
The State Ballet Theatre of Ukraine, another dependable January visitor, presents Swan Lake Friday at the Mahaffey Theater. These professional dancers will be accompanied by Tchaikovsky’s timeless score, with Aaron Collins conducting the Gulf Coast Symphony Orchestra. Performance is at 7:30 p.m., and tickets are available at this link.
Bubble boy
Tampa’s Blaise Ryndes was an aspiring magician when he discovered, 15 years ago (he was 10), the delighted reactions of audiences who saw him do amazing things with bubbles both large and small. He describes his family-friendly performance, Spheres Bubble Show, as “a comedic fusion of art, science and magic.” He was a contestant on Season 13 of America’s Got Talent.
He performs Friday at 7 p.m., and Saturday at 11 a.m., at Central Park Performing Arts Center in Largo.
Information and tickets are available here.

“Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations” is back at the Straz Center this weekend. Photo: Joan Marcus.
Return of the Tempts
The Tony-winning jukebox musical Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations sneaks back into the Straz Center’s Broadway Series schedule for five performances Friday and Saturday. Find showtimes and tickets here.
Ain’t Too Proud earned St. Petersburg native Ephraim Sykes a Tony nomination in 2019. Sykes is not in this touring production – he’s currently appearing in his seventh Broadway show, a revival of Our Town (it closes Jan. 19).
Your Weekend Spotlight appears every Thursday in the Catalyst’s CREATE section.
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