Francis has a busy weekend. Friday (8 p.m.) and Sunday (2 p.m.) he\u2019s conducting the orchestra for the Opera Tampa production of Mozart\u2019s The Magic Flute in the Straz Center\u2019s Ferguson Hall. Tickets for the opera are here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Bania!<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s gold, Jerry.\u201d The immortal words of hack comic Kenny Bania on Seinfeld continue to reverberate through the ages, like so many catchphrases from that groundbreaking series. Steve Hytner, who portrayed Jerry\u2019s obnoxious almost-pal, is onstage at 7:30 tonight in the Jaeb Theatre, also in the Straz Center complex. Hytner\u2019s show (titled Soup\u2019s Not a Meal, another reference to his turn on the series) consists of standup comedy, Seinfeld trivia and an audience Q&A. Find tickets at this link<\/a>. See you at Mendy\u2019s!<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Blues festival in Clearwater<\/p>\n Clearwater\u2019s Coachman Park is ground zero for the 2026 Sea-Blues Festival, Saturday and Sunday. Music starts (with the exemplary Florida-based musician Ben Prestage) each day at 2 p.m., and the headliners (Robert Jon & the Wreck on Saturday, North Mississippi All-Stars Sunday) start their evening-ending sets at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free, there\u2019ll be food and beverages for sale, and this link<\/a> will tell you all you need to know.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Outdoor art in Tampa<\/p>\n More than 250 artists will be set up Saturday and Sunday at Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park in Tampa, for the annual Gasparilla Festival of the Arts. It\u2019s a juried art show \u2013 that\u2019s a tacit guarantee of quality stuff \u2013 and the estimated attendance is 30,000 (admission is free) Get all the necessaries at the festival website<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n On theater stages<\/p>\n American Stage\u2019s \u201cTales By Twilight\u201d show Fairyland: A Midwinter Night\u2019s Dream continues through March 8 at Boyd Hill Nature Preserve. It\u2019s a \u201cpromenade play,\u201d meaning the actors and the audience move \u2013 in this case, along the wooded trails of Boyd Hill, after sunset. For info and tickets, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Himself and Nora, the freeFall Theatre musical about Irish novelist James Joyce and his beloved and long-suffering wife, is onstage through March 15. Find showtimes, tickets and other details here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Robert Teasdale plays novelist James Joyce in the freeFall Theatre musical \u201cHimself and Nora.\u201d Photo provided.<\/p>\n Concert calendar<\/p>\n Alabama\u2019s smoking hot St. Paul & the Broken Bones are onstage tonight at Jannus Live. Here\u2019s our interview<\/a> with vocalist Paul Janeway from earlier this week (it includes a ticket link).<\/p>\n Tonight brings former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett to Ruth Eckerd Hall. This year\u2019s show is called Best of Genesis & Solo Gems. Here\u2019s a Catalyst interview<\/a> with the British prog legend, from 2024. Tickets for tonight\u2019s concert are here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Cedric The Entertainer, one of the \u201cOriginal Kings of Comedy,\u201d is onstage tonight at the Seminole Hard Rock Event Center. Tickets for the 8 p.m. show are at this link<\/a>.<\/p>\n Classic Albums Live is back at the Capitol Theatre tonight, blasting through Led Zeppelin II in all its guitar-hero glory. In this story<\/a>, find everything you need to know about this Canadian concert enterprise. Tickets for tonight can be tracked down here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Friday\u2019s Vodkanauts concert at freeFall Theatre is sold out.<\/p>\n Friday brings Styx and Cheap Trick back to the bay area once again; this 7 p.m. show is at the BayCare Sound amphitheater, and tickets are at this link<\/a>.<\/p>\n At Ruth Eckerd Hall Friday: Jay Leno. Publicity photo.<\/p>\n None other than Jay Leno is back in our midst, for a standup comedy show Friday at Ruth Eckerd Hall. Opening set from Arsenio Hall (none other). Tickets<\/a>.<\/p>\n In case you didn\u2019t hear, Friday\u2019s Barry Manilow concert at Benchmark International Arena has been postponed again. The singer\u2019s health issues are keeping him off the road. A new date has not been announced.<\/p>\n More familiar faces: Jazz group Spyro Gyra is at the Capitol Theatre Friday. Find tickets here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Bill Medley and Bucky Heard, known to the world as the Righteous Brothers, return to Ruth Eckerd Hall Saturday for their annual visit (tickets at this link<\/a>). Here\u2019s the 2025 Catalyst interview<\/a> with founding RightBro Medley.<\/p>\n Singer, songwriter and pianist Alicia Witt, performing at the Murray Theatre (part of Ruth Eckerd Hall) Sunday, is an accomplished actress (Dune, Longlegs, Twin Peaks, Mr. Holland\u2019s Opus, et cetera) who\u2019ll tell you all about herself in this Catalyst interview<\/a> from earlier in the week (it has a ticket link, too).<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Friday for families: Gregory Popovich and the Popovich Comedy Pet Theater at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center. Publicity photo.<\/p>\n For families<\/p>\n Russian juggler and mime Gregory Popovich and his Popovich Comedy Pet Theater, a charming stage show featuring trained dogs and cats \u2013 all rescued from animal shelters \u2013 has a show at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center. Find info and tickets at this link<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Up next<\/p>\n Monday at the Capitol Theatre: Original Beach Boy Al Jardine and band, with a tribute to the late Brian Wilson. Info and tickets<\/a>.<\/p>\n Monday at the Safety Harbor Art & Music Center: Blues veteran Bobby Rush, 83. Info and tickets<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tuesday at the Capitol Theatre: Jake Shimabukuro, the \u201cJimi Hendrix of the Ukulele.\u201d Info and tickets<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tuesday at the Seminole Hard Rock Event Center. Rod Stewart. Info and tickets<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Your Weekend Spotlight<\/a>\u00a0appears every Thursday in the\u00a0Catalyst\u2019s CREATE section.\u00a0<\/p>\n Please add us to your mailing list \u2013 send all press releases and event info to\u00a0bill@stpetecatalyst.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/freeFall_Theatre_Himself_and_Nora-53-300x200.jpg\")
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