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Weekend spotlight: May the Fourth be with you
The Catalyst’s every-Thursday guide to Tampa Bay entertainment and the arts.
It’s 4th of July weekend, so unless you’re heading out to celebrate with family, fun and fireworks (here’s the lowdown on those Independence Day happenings), you won’t find a lot of entertainment options out there.
Notably, St. Pete Opera’s got a full orchestra at the Mahaffey Theater Saturday at 6 p.m., with a varied cast of vocalists on “patriotic, classical American and Broadway musical selections.” The concert, SPO’s 4th of July Pops Spectacular, has been timed so attendees can exit in time to enjoy the city’s 9 p.m. fireworks display over the bayfront. Find tickets at this link.
Michael McGreevy, left, Aaron Ford and Katherine Yacko appear in Wendy Graf’s “The Cross and the Saber,” new this weekend from LAB Theater Project. Publicity photo.
Opening tonight at LAB Theater Project in Ybor City is a dramatic variation of the good ol’ American “let freedom ring” thing. Playwright Wendy Graf’s The Cross & The Saber imagines a dystopian future in which government and religion are in cahoots to oppress the population. Dissent is roundly punished. It’s dark, disturbing stuff.
LAB’s founder and executive director Owen Robertson guests on Friday’s edition of our Arts Alive! podcast.
Find showtimes and tickets for The Cross & the Saber at this link.
In St. Petersburg, freeFall Theater’s original production, the musical comedy Bash of the Titans, continues. Meet cast member Kissy Simmons, and learn about the show, in this Catalyst story. And find all showtimes and tickets here.
Joe Jackson plays the Capitol Theatre tonight. Publicity photo.
Great Britain’s Joe Jackson, a longtime musical innovator best known for his Night and Day album and its remarkable hits “Steppin’ Out” and “Breaking Us in Two,” brings his band to the Capitol Theatre tonight. If you’re really going out with him, the show starts at 8, and tickets are at this link.
More up-and-coming pianists are in recital tonight (8 p.m.) at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center, part of the ongoing Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival. Tickets at this link.
Tonight at the Palladium Theater Side Door Cabaret: Jazz pianist Simon Lasky and his “New York Quintet,” featuring vocalist Allison Nash. Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. performance are here.
Tonight at the Mahaffey Theater: Celtic Throne II – Psalter of Ireland. It’s a high-energy Irish dance show, fusing dance, music and theatrical storytelling. Tickets for the 7 p.m. event can be found here.
There’s a Fourth of July Big Band Concert, with Florida Jazz Express, Sunday at 3 p.m. at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center. Find tickets here.
Coming soon
July 8 Victor Wainwright & The Train at the Palladium Side Door Cabaret
July 8 Post Malone, Jelly Roll (new date) at Raymond James Stadium
July 9 Dear Jack Dear Louise (Tampa Repertory Theatre) opens at the Straz Center Shimberg Playhouse
July 9 Tame Impala at Benchmark Arena
July 10 St. Pete Collective: The Music of James Taylor at the Palladium Side Door Cabaret
July 10 Tori Amos at Ruth Eckerd Hall
July 10 Train at the Mid-Florida Credit Union Amphitheatre
July 11 Amare: Ella & The Bossa Beat Quartet at the Palladium Side Door Cabaret
July 11 Willy Chirino at Ruth Eckerd Hall
July 12 Billy Bob Thornton & the Boxmasters at the Capitol Theatre
July 14 Ne-Yo, Akon at the Mid-Florida Credit Union Amphitheatre
July 14 Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival at the James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art
July 15 American Idiot from Jobsite Theater opens at the Jaeb Theater (Straz Center)
July 15 Elona & Jodi in Broadway Cabaret at the Palladium Side Door Cabaret
July 15 J-Cole at Benchmark Arena
July 15 Chicago, Styx at the Mid-Florida Credit Union Amphitheatre
Your Weekend Spotlight appears every Thursday in the Catalyst’s CREATE section.
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