Your weekend arts forecast: Wanda Sykes, Second Saturday ArtWalk

Tart-tongued comedian Wanda Sykes, whose cross-country tour stops at the Mahaffey Theater Friday night, was one of the three women hosting the Academy Awards telecast March 27.

You know, the Will Smith slap Oscars.

The incident, Sykes told Ellen DeGeneres, was “sickening.” She noted, like so many have, that it took much-deserved attention away from others in the auditorium that evening.

“I physically felt ill and I’m still a little traumatized by it,” she said. “And for them to let him stay in that room and enjoy the rest of the show and accept his award – I was like, ‘How gross is this?’”

Sykes, who rose to fame because of her semi-regular appearances on Curb Your Enthusiasm, won an Emmy Award in 1999 for her writing contributions to The Chris Rock Show.

Rock, of course, was the target of Smith’s sudden outburst on Oscar night. “I just felt so awful for my friend Chris,” Sykes said.

Tickets for her Mahaffey appearance are here.

Comedian Marlon Wayans, meanwhile, takes the stage tonight at the Hard Rock Event Center in Tampa. Tickets.

ArtWalk Saturday

It’s Second Saturday ArtWalk again. Check out this list of galleries and studios that will welcome visitors and be ready with chat, explanation, fellowship – and, in some cases, something to drink and/or nibble on. The Art Walk covers the Central Arts District, Edge District, Grand Central District, Warehouse Arts District, Uptown Arts District and the downtown Waterfront District.

Here are a few opening-night receptions to investigate:

B Stark Studio, Arts Lofts: Stiticherotica II, a wholly unique exhibition of “naughty” fiber art – sexy sayings and various body-type objects knitted, crocheted and otherwise fabricated. Read all about it here.

Frank Strunk III: The one-of-a-kind metalworker opens Nox Lux et Motus Saturday, with lights and motion, with a 8-10 p.m. reception at Studio Strunk, 2638 Sixth Ave. S.

Creative Pinellas exhibit

Across town at the Creative Pinellas Gallery, 12211 Walsingham Road (in Largo), the opening reception for The Things They Left Behind is today from 6 to 8 p.m. This exhibition is community-curated and memorializes (through crafts, writing, photography and other memorabilia) those who passed away over the last two years, from Covid-19 and other causes.

The Jazz Daddy O’s, a New Orleans jazz memorial band, will perform for the reception, which will also introduce a meditation area and interactive art activities.

More information (and RSVP form) here.

Music

Joan Jett will perform at the Hard Rock Event Center Sunday. Publicity photo.

Rock ‘n’ roll’s Afghan Whigs play the Orpheum in Tampa tonight. Tickets.

Jazz pianist Judy Carmichael (read all about who she is and the style she plays in the Catalyst interview here) plays the Side Door Café, downstairs at the Palladium Theater, Friday. She’ll be accompanied by St. Pete guitarist Nate Najar.

It’s Mozart’s Requiem weekend for conductor Michael Francis and The Florida Orchestra, who’ll perform the dramatic classical masterwork with the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay Friday (Straz Center Morsini Hall), Saturday (Mahaffey Theater) and Sunday (Ruth Eckerd Hall). The program also includes Britten’s Sinfonia da Requiem, Allegri’s Miserere Mei, Deus and more. All tickets here.

At the Capitol Theatre, Clearwater, piano balladeer John Ondrasik’s Five For Fighting is in concert (with string quartet) Friday, while the unequalled world champion of fingerstyle acoustic guitar, Australia’s Tommy Emmanuel, is onstage Friday. All tickets.

Big country music double-bill Friday at the Mid-Florida Credit Union Amphitheatre – Miranda Lambert and Little Big Town. Tickets.

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts play the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Event Center Sunday. Tickets.

Theater

Bertolt Brecht’s vicious satire The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui opens Friday at Jobsite Theater (Straz Center Shimberg Playhouse). There’s a preview performance tonight. Read all about it here.

Now in performance at Stageworks Theatre, in Tampa’s Channelside District: Nilo Cruz’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Anna in the Tropics. It’s onstage Friday evening and Sunday afternoon, with two shows on Saturday – both of the Saturday performances are in Spanish (Anna en el Tropico). Want to know more? Read on.

LAB Theater Project (Ybor City) is in the final live weekend of the remarkable drama The Sugar Ridge Rag, although a streaming option will continue through May 26. Tickets.

ThinkTank Theatre For Young Audiences is putting on a cabaret Friday and Saturday at Dark Door Spirits, 6608 Anderson Road, Tampa. The cast of Boozy Broadway includes a number of well-known adult performers, including Susan Haldeman, Patrick A. Jackson, Susan Tellier, Ryan Sturm and ThinkTank founder Georgia Mallory Guy, along with members of the Youth Ensemble. Additional details and tickets are here.

Matthew McGee is back in drag to introduce (and quip relentlessly during) the horror film Friday the 13th Part VI this Friday (because it is). The curated screening happens at 7 p.m. at freeFall Theater, and tickets are here.

Sunday brings the return of cabaret performer Ann Morrison (from Sondheim’s original Merrily We Roll Along on Broadway, and numerous other stagey stagethings) to freeFall. Our interview with the vivacious Ms. Morrison will appear in this space Friday. Tickets are here.

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