This weekend in Baltimore has it all: a new downtown arts festival, plays, concerts and more. Time to fill up your calendar.
Thursday, March 20
‘Akeelah and the Bee’
Based on the 2006 movie starring Keke Palmer, this inspirational play centers on promising preteen Akeelah Anderson and her journey from a tough Chicago neighborhood to the Scripps National Spelling Bee. The production, directed by Jerrica D. White and featuring cast members from the Baltimore School for the Arts, opens its preview run on Thursday and continues through April 13.
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Baltimore Center Stage (700 N. Calvert St.)
The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.
Price: $10-$54.
Family friendly? Yes.
Read More
Blake Shelton
The veteran country hitmaker and former “The Voice” judge headlines CFG Bank Arena ahead of the release of his 13th studio album, “For Recreational Use Only,” due out May 9. Craig Morgan, Deana Carter, Trace Adkins and Emily Ann Roberts will also perform.
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: CFG Bank Arena (201 W. Baltimore St.)
The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.
Price: $44.65-$144.30.
Family friendly? Yes.
Friday, March 21
Wide Awake Showcase
Taking place Friday and Saturday, this inaugural arts festival will feature more than 80 creatives from the area, including musicians, visual artists, photographers and more. Attendees can enjoy live performances and immersive presentations, along with food vendors such as Ekiben, Glizzys Wagyu Dogs, Sistahs’ Sweets and more.
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Baltimore War Memorial (101 N. Gay St.)
The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.
Price: $22.13 for daily tickets; $33.04 for a two-day pass.
Family friendly? 18+
‘Poppea’
Claudio Monteverdi’s famed 17th-century opera receives a modern update thanks to new dance music by composers Ami Dang and Rajna Swaminathan and direction from IN Series Artistic Director Timothy Nelson.
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Baltimore Theatre Project (45 W. Preston St.)
The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.
Price: $20-$30.
Family friendly? While student pricing is offered, also be aware that it’s a story about love, power and sex.
Jordan Jensen
As seen on “The Late Late Show with James Corden” and Comedy Central, comedian Jordan Jensen has won over audiences with unfiltered observations on everything from her obsessive-compulsive disorder to finding love on the apps (“Is Run Club the Future of Dating?”).
Time: 8 p.m.
Location: Baltimore Soundstage (124 Market Place)
The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.
Price: $33
Family friendly? No, it’s 18+
Saturday, March 22
Music Box: Life in the Water
It’s a morning of family fun with music — led by host Maria Broom and a piano quintet — all about frogs, fish and the water. Just remember a blanket as you’ll be seated on the floor.
Time: 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.
Location: Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (1212 Cathedral St.)
The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.
Price: $10
Family friendly? Yes.
Jerrell Gibbs’ ‘Fearfully and Wonderfully Made’
Baltimore artist Jerrell Gibbs’ new solo exhibition, “Fearfully and Wonderfully Made,” challenges ballet’s long-held standards of beauty and shape with paintings of Black dancers that draw inspiration from Edgar Degas and the French impressionist’s own interrogation of body standards.
Time: Saturday’s opening reception is from 6-8 p.m.
Location: Galerie Myrtis (2224 N. Charles St.)
Price: Free.
Family friendly? Yes.
‘Golden Girls: The Laughs Continue’
What if Dorothy, Blanche, Rose and Sophia were still around, dealing with 2025 problems like online dating and electronic surveillance? This production, directed by Eric Swanson, dares to find out.
Time: 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Location: The Hippodrome Theatre (12 N. Eutaw St.)
Price: $36-$101.50.
Family friendly? 18+
Pressing Strings
After nearly two decades, this Annapolis blues band is still going strong. Presented by WTMD, which named the act’s “Forty Miles” a Top 10 song of 2024, Pressing Strings headlines Metro Baltimore before heading out to Colorado for a four-show run at the end of the month.
Time: 8 p.m.
Location: Metro Baltimore (1700 N. Charles St.)
Price: $21.63.
Family friendly? It’s an all-ages show.
Sunday, March 23
‘Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’
The Pulitzer Prize-nominated play still packs an emotional and suspenseful wallop more than six decades after its Broadway debut. Directed by Everyman Theatre founder Vincent M. Lancisi, the play kicks off with a final dress rehearsal that doubles as “Theatre Night for Teens,” which includes dinner and discussions with the production artists. Runs through April 20.
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Everyman Theatre (315 W. Fayette St.)
Price: $20 for students; parents of students can pay what they choose.
Family friendly? Yes.
Just announced
Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight and Stephanie Mills — a tour appropriately dubbed “The Queens” — will perform at CFG Bank Arena on May 23. General tickets go on sale 10 a.m. Friday.
Memphis rapper Key Glock brings his “Glockaveli” tour to Pier Six Pavilion on June 7, while Japanese kawaii metal trio Babymetal headlines the waterfront venue on June 21, with support from Black Veil Brides and Bloodywood. General tickets for both concerts go on sale 10 a.m. Friday as well.
Comments
Welcome to The Banner's subscriber-only commenting community. Please review our community guidelines.