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Three picks: 'Birds of a Feather,' 'The Barber of Seville,' 'First Date'

 
Valerie Witherspoon and Michael Mahany star in First Date at the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts.
Valerie Witherspoon and Michael Mahany star in First Date at the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts.
Published Jan. 28, 2015

Birds of a Feather

In Marc Acito's Birds of a Feather, two gay penguins named Silo and Roy adopt an egg together in the Central Park Zoo, hatch it and raise the baby. Four actors including Scott Daniel and Robert Richards Jr. play 25 characters in the play, based on a true story, opening at Stageworks Theatre on Friday. The cast went into rehearsals on the same day that same-sex marriage became legal in Florida, and Stageworks is seizing the opportunity to encourage discourse. After Sunday's matinee, a panel of parents and adoption experts will discuss blended families, and on Feb. 8, Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner and Tampa Bay Parenting magazine's Angela Ardolino will stay to talk LGBT parenting. Shows are 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays. $15-$30, $40 for opening night. 1120 E Kennedy Blvd., #151, Tampa. (813) 374-2416. stageworkstheatre.org.

The Barber of Seville

If only everyone's hairdresser could help them out of a love jam. The St. Petersburg Opera Company presents Rossini's The Barber of Seville, a comic opera starring the famous barber, Figaro, who works as Count Almaviva's wing man to secure the affections of the beautiful Rosina. See the opera starring Elizabeth Pojanowski, Gabriel Preisser and Blake Friedman at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Tuesday, and 2 p.m. Sunday, at the Palladium Theater, 253 Fifth Ave. N, St. Petersburg. $22-$67. (727) 823-2040. stpeteopera.org.

First Date

Everyone has endured an awkward date. But what if during that date, everyone in the restaurant turned into your singing subconscious, your friends, and worst of all, your parents? First Date opened on Broadway in 2013 starring Chuck's Zachary Levi and Smash's Krysta Rodriguez. Locally, the musical is being produced by the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa and starring Michael Mahany and Valerie Witherspoon. There are lots of chances to see it starting Tuesday and running through April 19 at the Straz's Jaeb Theater. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays and 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. $40. (813) 229-7827. strazcenter.org.

Contact Stephanie Hayes at shayes@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8716. Follow @stephhayes.