From familiar-ish theatre productions, to edgy world premiers, the Tampa Bay theatre community went all out this February.
Scroll for a list of shows in Tampa, St. Pete, Sarasota, and the places beyond that we will consider Tampa Bay - all available for your viewing pleasure this February.
We don’t play favorites, but our top five “must sees” are productions you just can’t miss.
This list is written and compiled by Abby Baker, and if you don’t see your theater here, feel free to shoot me an email.
#1 Florida Studio Theatre (FST)
Babel (Through Feb. 10)Jacqueline Goldfinger’s Babel is a futuristic, feminist, comedy giving fans of shows like “Black Mirror” and “The Twilight Zone” what they’ve been craving: Disturbingly realistic sci-fi. In Babel, future parents can know what their children will be like before they’ve even grown fingers in the womb. Children with certain characteristics may be subject to a doomed life. The concept tugs at the idea of what should we have access to. At what point have we gone too far? Dystopian done right is the scariest genre possible in 2023, and I’m ready to be horrified.
1241 North Palm Ave., Sarasota
#2 freeFall Theatre
The Agitators (Jan. 27 - Feb. 26) If anyone knows how to make a historical personality piece compelling, it’s freeFall. I also had no idea that Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass were frenemies until now. The Agitators will follow these abolitionists and show the bright moments between the two, as well as the times they clashed in their 45-year friendship. I think we could all stand to learn something, and I prefer to learn something about revolutionary American history while sucked into historical drama.
6099 Central Ave., St. Petersburg
#3 Straz Center for the Performing Arts
Shear Madness (Feb. 15- April 8) If I had a date locked in for Valentine’s Day, I’d test their general agreeability and patience levels by taking them to Shear Madness at the Straz. It’s an interactive murder mystery set in a hair salon - the audiences are kept guessing whodunnit until the killer is revealed. It’s silly, there’s bound to be lots of hairy puns, and the clues change every night.
1010 . W C MacInnes Pl., Tampa
#4 Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe
Dreamgirls (Feb. 22-April 9) Westcoast Black Theatre knows how to put on a musical. And Dreamgirls is that musical. The rising Motown group in the show may be fictional, but the hope, glamor, and tragedy following the girl group is pulled from real inspirations. To understand the excitement and influence of Motown groups is to understand a piece of what paved the way for the artists we know and love today. Plus, songs from the 2006 hit film of the same name (with Beyoncé and Jennifer Hudson) are thread throughout the show. It’s fun, and we can assume it’s Beyoncé-approved.
1012 N. Orange Ave., Sarasota
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#5 Asolo Repertory Theatre
Chicken and Biscuits (Feb. 15-April 13)
Sadly, Chicken and Biscuits closed early during its 2021 Broadway run due to COVID-19-related issues. Not sadly for the Sarasota area, it’s coming to the Asolo this February. The plot is centered around a plucky family, The Jenkins family is gathering after the death of a family member. They have family secrets, fights, and unspoken and spoken social cues between each other. It’s a classic tale of Southern connection, and if it couldn’t live out its run on Broadway, we can at least give the story a proper Tampa Bay greeting.
5555 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota
The Tampa Repertory Theatre
The Elephant Man (Feb. 2-19)
HCC Ybor Performing Arts Building, 1411 E 11th Ave, Tampa
Mad Theatre
Falsettos (Feb. 3-19)
Shimberg Playhouse, W Tyler St., Tampa
Sarasota Opera House
Madama Butterfly (Through March 24)
61 N Pineapple Ave., Sarasota
Stageworks Theatre
The Smell of the Kill (Feb. 10-26)
1120 E Kennedy Blvd suite #151, Tampa
Straz Center for the Performing Arts
Hamlet (Through Feb. 5)
Norma (Feb. 10 & 12)
1010 . W C MacInnes Pl., Tampa
Powerstories Theatre
In McClintock’s Corn (Feb. 23-March 12)
2105 W Kennedy Blvd, Tampa
Stage West Playhouse
Leading Ladies (Feb. 17 – 26)
8390 Forest Oaks Blvd., Spring Hill
Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe
Flying West (Through Feb. 12)
1012 N. Orange Ave., Sarasota
West Coast Players
Little Shop of Horrors (Through Feb. 5)
21905 US-19, Clearwater
Jobsite @ Straz Center for the Performing Arts
Hamlet (Jan. 11-Feb. 5)
1010 . W C MacInnes Pl., Tampa
Studio Grand Central
This is Our Youth (Feb. 9-19)
2260 1st Ave S, St. Petersburg
freeFall Theatre
Movies With Matthew: Young Sherlock Holmes (Feb. 1)
6099 Central Ave., St. Petersburg
Asolo Repertory Theatre
Silent Sky (Through March 5)
Ken Ludwig’s The Three Musketeers (Through March 26)
5555 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota
Florida Studio Theatre (FST)
What the Constitution Means to Me (Through Feb. 26)
Network (Through March 19)
Babel (Through Feb. 10)
A Place in the Sun (Through April 2)
FTS Improv: Life’s a Beach (Feb. 4, 18, 25)
1241 North Palm Ave., Sarasota
Studio @ 620
Never Had A Friend by Dr. Micah E. Johnson (Feb. 18)
Shades Off: A Black History Poetry Showcase (Feb. 24)
620 1st Ave S., St. Petersburg
Francis Wilson Playhouse
Gypsy: A Musical Fable (Feb. 16-March 5)
302 Seminole St., Clearwater
Carrollwood Community Players
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (Feb. 10-25)
4333 Gunn Hwy, Tampa
Early Bird Dinner Theatre
Birthday Club (Through Feb. 26)
13355, 49th St, N, Clearwater
Nancy and David Bilheimer Capitol Theatre
Blue Man Group (Feb. 2-3)
Mutts Gone Nuts (Feb. 5)
Dancing WIth the Stars: Live! (Feb. 18)
Justin William Comedy Show (Jan. 23)
405 Cleveland St., Clearwater
Duke Energy Center for the Arts - Mahaffey Theater
Patti LaBelle (Feb. 5)
Pink Martini (Feb. 10)
Mania: The ABBA Tribute (Feb. 17)
400 1st St. S., St. Petersburg
themahaffey.com/shows-and-events
Suncoast Broadway Dinner Theatre
Buddy - the Buddy Holly Story (Through Feb. 12)
16128 US-19, Hudson