Photo courtesy of the Straz Center.
Downton Abbey New Year’s Eve Premiere Party and An Evening with Garrison Keillor among coming events.
DECEMBER 2013
Jazz on the Bay A Red & Black Affair with Nathan Mitchell and Special Guests, Dec. 21, Jaeb Theater, Sat. 8 p.m.: Regularly priced tickets are $30. The Straz Center and EncoreVision Entertainment team up to present Jazz on the Bay at the Jaeb Theater. This monthly series will showcase local artists as well as nationally renowned jazz, R&B and comedy entertainers. These intimate events offer a sophisticated audience an upscale evening of music, entertainment and dancing as well as cocktails and a tapas menu provided by the Straz Center’s own Maestro’s Restaurant.
USF Opera and Florida BoyChoirs present Amahl and the Night Visitors, Dec. 22, Ferguson Hall, Sun. 4 p.m.: Regularly priced tickets are $18.50-$26.50. The Florida BoyChoirs join together with USF Opera to present this special Christmas performance for the entire family. The program opens with a concert of Christmas choral music by the ChoirBoys of the Sarasota, St. Petersburg and Tampa BoyChoirs along with alumni and men’s voices. Part two of the performance is a fully staged production of Gian Carlo Menotti’s classic Christmas opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors. The program will be accompanied by orchestra with Choir Master Brian Collar conducting.
Stand-up Here! – A Night of Comedy at The Straz, Dec. 28, TECO Theater, Sat. 8 p.m.: Regularly priced tickets are $12.50. Stand-up Here: Laughs for Toys Drive! The biggest and brightest stand-up comedy series in Central Florida is giving back. Join Stand-up Here producer and Tampa comedy veteran, “ranney” (aka Mr. Funny Black Man) and a hilarious line-up of comedians while making the holidays brighter for many families. Bring a gift for the toy drive and get $5 off of admission per person.
Downton Abbey New Year’s Eve Premiere Party, Dec. 31, Ferguson Hall, Tues. Pre-show cocktail party 7-8 p.m., Screening 8-9:15 p.m., New Years Eve Party 9:30 p.m.-1 a.m. Regularly priced tickets are $160. Ring in the New Year with true Crawley family style and elegance. Dance the night away to a live band; enjoy an exciting themed menu, a champagne toast at midnight, and best of all — a sneak peek of season four of Downton Abbey. 1920s era attire is encouraged!
Garrison Keillor. Photo courtesy of the Straz Center.
JANUARY 2014
Jobsite Theater presents The Hound of the Baskervilles, Jan. 8-Feb. 2, Shimberg Playhouse, Thurs.-Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 4 p.m.: Regularly priced tickets are $28. An ancient family curse, a desolate moor, a spectral hound and a deranged killer on the loose. The Hound of the Baskervilles is the most celebrated Holmes story of all, a masterpiece of mystery and suspense. And it’s scary … really, really scary.
An Evening with Garrison Keillor, Jan. 12, Carol Morsani Hall, Sun. 7:30 p.m.: Regularly priced tickets are $35.50-$55.50. Writer, humorist and author (including Lake Wobegon Days), Garrison Keillor is best known as the host of the wildly popular NPR broadcast A Prairie Home Companion. His trademark segment is the “News From Lake Wobegon,” a monologue about a fictional Midwest town “where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking and all the children are above average.”
