4
Orlando
That connoisseur of metamorphoses Sarah Ruhl has adapted for the stage Virginia Woolf’s gender-bending novel about a person who lives for hundreds of years, changing sexes and carrying out romances with the likes of Queen Elizabeth I, the Russian princess Sasha, and Marmaduke, the longed-for pinnacle of Victorian manhood. Woolf wrote the novel as a tribute to her lover, Vita Sackville-West, and Ruhl preserves much of the original’s language and humor. March 4-29, Shimberg Playhouse at the Straz Center.
5
Macbeth/Romeo and Juliet
Two of the Bard’s most famous works will be presented free to the public on alternate days by the new Tampa Shakespeare Festival in Water Works Park. Jack Holloway will play Macbeth, Regan Moore will play Juliet, and since outdoor Shakespeare has been absent from area arts offerings for quite a while, the possibilities are dizzying — especially as Shakespeare in the Park has been noticeably absent from area arts offerings ever since American Stage dropped its longtime series at Demens Landing. Will TSF create a new, beloved tradition for Bay area Bardolaters? Will local kids come to be inculcated with love of sweet William? Or will the complexities of the plays, the difficulties of being heard on a windy day, the problem of finding capable actors on a shoestring, subvert the series? There’s more at stake here than most startups face, many reasons to hope, just as many to fear. March 5-22.

6
Loretta Lynn
Everyone’s favorite coal miner’s daughter graces Plant City during the Florida Strawberry Festival. The trailblazer was one of the first female artists to talk openly about birth control and female empowerment. Expect to hear great stories from her six-decade career. Florida Strawberry Festival Grounds, Plant City.

Contain It!/Trashy Treasures/Brew It!
Pods transform into storytelling art installations curated by Denis Gaston. On Friday night, the Trashy Treasures art auction sets up shop again with food trucks, craft brews and live music. March 6-7, Dunedin Fine Art Center.

7
Gasparilla Music Festival
Indie-rock heavyweights Modest Mouse were recently revealed as Saturday night headliners for the fourth annual GMF, which will follow directly on the release of their latest studio album, Strangers to Ourselves (out March 3 via Epic Records). Other highlights include New Orleans psych-rockers Mutemath; gypsy-punks Gogol Bordello; charmingly spirited indie-pop duo Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.; Daptone Records-repped, brass-blasted Afro-funk nine-piece The Budos Band; and New Jersey’s grungy faves The Gaslight Anthem (pictured). March 7-8, Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park and Kiley Garden, Tampa.

American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell
A traveling exhibition from the Norman Rockwell Museum spotlights the granddaddy of painted Americana. March 7-May 31, Tampa Museum of Art.

SunLit Festival
A new nine-day event organized by T. Allan Smith — essayist, former newspaper editor and owner of the Olde Florida Company — will be “designed by, for and about lovers of the exquisitely written word.” March 7-15, various venues.

Aesop Rock
The eminent alt hip-hop artist, rapper and producer from San Fran has issued two albums since his last stop at the State in 2012, including a surprising collab with Kimya Dawson. Sonic joins him on this date. State Theatre.

8
Dalí and da Vinci: Invention as Art
On the heels of a popular exhibition pairing Dalí with Picasso, the Dalí Museum compares the famed surrealist with another art legend: Italian Renaissance man Leonardo da Vinci. Across 75 artworks including designs for invented objects by both artists, the exhibition charts how da Vinci and Dalí — in their own times and own ways — explored mathematics, motion, anatomy and religion through art, and how Dalí looked to Leonardo for inspiration. (Pictured: The Sacrament of the Last Supper, ©Salvador Dalí, courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington.) March 8-July 26, The Dalí Museum.
11
Hundred Waters
Cooing ethereal vocals slink, soar and stutter in the indietronic art-pop of this Gainseville-bred femme-led act, which returns to headline after an impressive opening slot for Interpol in November. State Theatre.

Cirquesa! Dreamquest
The two-hour European-style human circus extravaganza features a narrative about a childhood magical journey told through aerial acts, acrobatics and dazzling theatrics. Lakeland Center.

13
Madama Butterfly
Call it a warhorse, but Puccini’s great opera still offers more gorgeous music than an earthling could hope for in one evening. You know the story: Lieutenant Pinkerton of the U.S. Navy, temporarily in Japan, arranges a wedding with 15-year-old Cio-Cio San without ever intending to stay married to her. But three years later, she (and the son he unknowingly fathered) are still waiting for his return. The music begins to soar with Cio-Cio San’s first appearance and doesn’t land till Pinkerton’s anguished call of “Butterfly!” at the end. Un bel di indeed! March 13-15, Straz Center's Morsani Hall.

Last of the Red-Hot Lovers
Poor Barney Cashman: He just wants to have sex with three women in his mother’s apartment, but their personalities keep getting in the way. A canny series of character studies, this is one of Neil Simon’s best. March 13-29, Stageworks.

Gutenberg — The Musical
Stop the presses! Matthew McGee and Chris Crawford star in a musical comedy about a pair of playwrights, the printing press inventor, and landing a Broadway contract. American Stage.

14
Lewis Black: The Rant is Due: Part Deux
The master ranter, lovable pit bull, and self-proclaimed “pissed-off optimist” disseminates our political landscape and launches into a catharsis that’s contagious. Straz Center.

16
Elvis Costello
In addition to leading that new Bob Dylan lyrical project with Jim James and Marcus Mumford (The New Basement Tapes), consummate British singer-songwriter Elvis Costello is getting down with his badass solo self on a North American “DETOUR” and bringing his relevant-through-the-eras mix of power pop, post-punk, New Wave and roots rock to Clearwater. Even more exciting, four of his 13 U.S. tour dates are in Florida, so relentlessly loyal diehards can enjoy shows in Jacksonville, Orlando, and Fort Lauderdale, too. Ruth Eckerd Hall.

Marie Yoho Dorsey: Voyages
Dorsey, whose work draws on Japanese arts including Ikebana, creates a site-specific installation out of silk thread along with embroidered works on paper. March 16-30, Gallery 221 at HCC-Dale Mabry.

17
Motown: The Musical
Imagine a jukebox musical that offers as many as 50 (often abridged) hits from the likes of Diana Ross and the Supremes, the Four Tops, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and little Michael Jackson. March 17-22, Straz Center.
19
KYLE: Catastrophes
Orlando artist KYLE responds to the chaos of contemporary life in mixed media paintings and installations. March 19-April 19, Morean Arts Center.

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Gasparilla International Film Festival
The fate of the annual cinema fest has been in question, but a shorter, hopefully sweeter run can be expected, and GIFF has successfully raised $20,000 to re-open Channelside Cinemas as the fest’s homebase. March 24-29, Channelside Bay Plaza.
27
GASP!
CL’s multi-disciplinary mini-Fringe Fest returns for another round of theater, dance, improv, music and other surprises. (Pictured: Mobile Itinerant Funk Unit.) Tampa Museum of Art.

29
Jane Lynch
Imagine our “glee” when we learned that the comedic goddess is coming to Clearwater’s oyster shell for her solo concert debut in Tampa Bay. The multi-talented performer known and loved for her role as Sue Sylvester made her Broadway debut as Miss Hannigan in Annie. Other screen credits include The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Role Models, A Mighty Wind and — all-time-greatest Lynch performance — Best in Show. Expect Lynch to make the most of her musical talents with standards and show tunes. Ruth Eckerd Hall.