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What's on stage this week: 'Spamalot,' Trevor Noah and 'Hundred Days'

Get your laughs with the Monty Python play, Daily Show host or comedian Cameron Esposito, or go more serious with Hundred Days and Innovocative Theatre's Columbinus.
 
Photo by Brad Barket
Trevor Noah will perform at the Yuengling Center in Tampa on Jan. 20, 2019. Photo: Brad Barke
Photo by Brad Barket Trevor Noah will perform at the Yuengling Center in Tampa on Jan. 20, 2019. Photo: Brad Barke
Published Jan. 16, 2019

Existential Rock: Hundred Days

In what the New York Times called a "luminous musical memoir," real-life couple Shaun and Abigail Bengson explore losing the person you love the most. Hundred Days, now at Tampa's Straz Center, recounts the couple's true story of meeting at band rehearsal and getting married within three weeks. Through a soundtrack of folk-punk anthems played by a full band, the show focuses on how being in love makes one face one's own mortality, which provokes ideas about making the most of the time we have. You might want to bring tissues. Held in the intimate Jaeb Theater, the production runs now through March 24. 1010 N MacInnes Place, Tampa. $44 and up. (813) 229-7827. strazcenter.org.

Extreme Silliness: Spamalot

Spamalot, the play within a play based on the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail that satirizes the legend of King Arthur, coconut clops its way through Ruth Eckerd Hall for two performances Saturday. Described as "lovingly ripped off" from the film, it was written by Monty Python member Eric Idle, with music and lyrics by Idle and John Du Prez. Just like the film, it delivers on silliness, with flying cows, killer rabbits and taunting Frenchmen. But in all seriousness, it has won multiple Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and a Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album. 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday. 1111 McMullen-Booth Road, Clearwater. $35-$100. (727) 791-7400. rutheckerdhall.com.

True Tragedy: Columbinus

Sadly, school shootings are much more common than they were 20 years ago when the Columbine High School massacre happened. But they'll always be shocking and people will always wonder why they happened. Innovocative Theatre goes back to that tragedy with Columbinus, which illuminates adolescent culture while weaving in excerpts from discussions with survivors, family members and police officers. 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 3 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Stageworks Theatre, 1120 E Kennedy Blvd., Tampa. $30. (813) 374-2416. stageworkstheatre.org.

'DAILY' OUTRAGE: Trevor Noah

Not that Trevor Noah needs the practice. But his performance at 8 p.m. Sunday at the Yuengling Center should be a nice little warmup for The Daily Show With Trevor Noah's planned live episode on Jan. 29, following President Donald Trump's State of the Union Address. By the time that date rolls around, this week's headlines might be old news. But that should be no problem for Noah, whose standup has always been rooted in culture and identity, as evidenced by the humanist touch of his recent Daily Show excursion to his homeland of South Africa. 4202 E Fowler Ave., Tampa. $35 and up. (813) 974-3004. yuenglingcenter.com.

SOMETHING TO SAY: Cameron Esposito

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When she burst onto the national standup scene a few years ago, Cameron Esposito seemed like a fully formed organism, a prolific podcaster and tireless L.A. scene curator. She has grown into one of comedy's most outspoken voices for LGBTQ inclusion and advocacy, hosting her own podcast. Queery, and co-creating the Seeso series Take My Wife. In 2018, she released one of the most talked-about standup specials of the year in Rape Jokes, a special about sexual assault from the perspective of a survivor. If you don't think that sounds like obvious comic fodder, you haven't experienced Esposito's sharp wit and effusive presence. 7 and 10:30 p.m. Friday, 7:30 and 10 p.m. Saturday. Improv, 1600 E Eighth Ave., Ybor City. $17 and up. (813) 864-4000. improvtampa.com.

GREAT STUFF: Schubert and Joshua Roman

They call Schubert's rousing Symphony No. 9 "The Great," and with a nickname like that, you'd better bring talent to match. The Florida Orchestra has done that in cellist Joshua Roman, one of those young, chiseled "rock star" cellists your teenager's always swooning over. He'll perform a cello concerto composed by his longtime collaborator Mason Bates, conducted by Joshua Weilerstein, a former assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic. Also on the bill, in a nod to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend, is a performance of African-American composer William Grant Still's Poem for Orchestra. 8 p.m. Friday at the Straz Center in Tampa; and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg. $18 and up. (727) 892-3337. floridaorchestra.org.