One is a coming-of-age comedy that takes place on the last day of a 1976 Texas high school and follows the various rites of passage experienced by several freshmen and senior students. The other is a dramatic 1960s musical that re-imagines Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, with the star-crossed lovers coming from rival gangs in Manhattan's Upper West Side. Beach Theatre screens Dazed and Confused as part of its Late Night Cult Flicks series while across the bay, Tampa Theatre presents West Side Story in honor of its Great American Musicals Series. Dazed and Confused, with a set of hard rock classics by Freight Train Annie at 10 p.m. and the screening at midnight Fri., Jan. 4, Beach Theatre, 215 Corey Ave., St. Pete Beach, $8, 727-360-6697, beachtheatre.com; and West Side Story, 3 p.m. Sun., Jan. 6, Tampa Theatre, 711 Franklin St., Tampa, $8, 813-274-8981, tampatheatre.org.
This article appears in Jan 2-8, 2008.