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What's on stage this week: Benji Brown, 'No Man's Land' on screen, Florida Orchestra does Bruch

 
Comedian Benji Brown, who will perform his national stand-up tour at the Straz Center in Tampa. Photo courtesy of the Straz Center.
Comedian Benji Brown, who will perform his national stand-up tour at the Straz Center in Tampa. Photo courtesy of the Straz Center.
Published Nov. 15, 2017

KIKI OR BUST: BENJI BROWN

Wherever Benji Brown goes, Kiki follows. The comic, known for his work on the Rickey Smiley Morning Show, created the fast-talking female character on the fly when he called a girl's house in high school and her boyfriend picked up. Kiki has thoughts on everything from wigs to tax refunds, and is now a regular in Brown's popular YouTube skits. Brown, a Miami native who has worked with Chris Rock, Steve Harvey and Monique, brings his national stand-up tour of observations and impressions to the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts at 8 p.m. Saturday. $25-$29.50. 1010 N MacInnes Place, Tampa. (813) 229-7827. strazcenter.org.

ON SCREEN: NO MAN'S LAND

The Straz's entertaining run of filmed versions of performances from Britain's National Theatre continues with No Man's Land, a play by absurdist Harold Pinter. The star power here is Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart, who play aging writers: Hirst, a heavy-drinking intellectual, and Spooner, a failed poet. The two meet in a pub and keep the party going at Hirst's place. When two suspicious men show up and the liquor keeps flowing, things take a bizarre turn. 2 p.m. Sunday in Ferguson Hall. $21.75. 1010 N MacInnes Place, Tampa. (813) 229-7827. strazcenter.org.

BRUCH IS BEST: FLORIDA ORCHESTRA

The Florida Orchestra's dynamic concertmaster Jeffrey Multer takes on Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1 in this weekend's Masterworks performances. The program also includes Schubert's unfinished Symphony No. 8, Berlioz's Roman Carnival Overture and Hindemith's Symphonic Metamorphosis. Larry Rachleff conducts. Concerts start at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg and 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater. $15-$45. (727) 892-3337. floridaorchestra.org.

OVER DRINKS: ST. PETERSBURG OPERA

Don Giovanni seduced more than 2,000 women until the demons carried him to hell. Don José repaid Carmen's tossed flower by killing her, but for the three acts in between, the danger fueled multiple romances. Artistic director Mark Sforzini will decode these kinds of attractions with the help of St. Petersburg Opera singers in Bad Boys and the Girls Who Can't Resist Them, the latest installment of Cocktails With the Maestro. 6 p.m. Thursday at the Iberian Rooster, 475 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. $20, $17 seniors, $10 students. (727) 823-2040. stpeteopera.org.

TOOL TIME: TIM ALLEN

Tim Allen has always had an against-the-grain streak, but recently the comedian has branded himself a dangerous conservative in liberal-leaning Hollywood. He's talked at length about his displeasure with ABC canceling his sitcom Last Man Standing, on which he played a conservative father (ABC denied politics had anything to do with it). Allen, also known for Home Improvement and Toy Story, brings his brand to Ruth Eckerd Hall Thursday in a show for mature audiences only. $45-$150. 8 p.m. 1111 N McMullen-Booth Road, Clearwater. (727) 791-7400. rutheckerdhall.com.