FRIDAY 20
ONSTAGE: The King and I
Shall we dance? That’s the question the King of Siam asks Anna Leonowens, a widowed English governess he’s hired to teach his family about Western culture. He wants to modernize his small nation, but he’s not always open to changes. And she’s not quite ready for the feelings they develop for one another. The romantic, tuneful show opened on Broadway in 1951, won five Tony Awards — including Best Musical — and presented more than 1,200 performances during its three-year run. It’s a perennial hit on Broadway: The touring production now at the Aronoff was the Best Revival of a Musical in 2015. Through Sunday. $30-$107. Aronoff Center, 650 Walnut St., Downtown, cincinnatiarts.org. — RICK PENDER
COMEDY: Steve Byrne
Steve Byrne’s latest hour, Tell the Damn Joke, premiered on Showtime last year to rave reviews. He’d been building the hour since his TBS sitcom Sullivan & Son was cancelled in 2014. “Now I’m writing another scripted show, working on a feature and I’m also working on a documentary on the Amazing Johnathan,” he says. He was also part of last year’s Wild West Comedy Festival in Nashville and the Goddamn Comedy Jam, where comedians do stand-up and then sing a song. Byrne sang The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside.” As for Byrne’s other ventures, singing will not be among them. “No way,” he laughs. “I’m not a singer at all. Doing that Goddamn Comedy Jam was really nerve wracking. You’re taking comedians out of their element. It’s reminiscent of the early years of doing stand-up because it’s such a euphoric feeling when you’re done. But I’m not a singer by any stretch.” Through Sunday. $15-$17. Funny Bone Liberty, 7518 Bales St., Liberty Township, liberty.funnybone.com. — P.F. WILSON
EVENT: The 420 Experience
Celebrate the dankest day of the year at mecca OTR, where bleary-eyed locals can burn the midnight (cannabinoid) oil while taking in an exhibit of glass-blown art presented by The Cupboard — Ohio’s oldest headshop. Mecca will dish out the munchies while local artists Ezra Kalmus and Tyler Durden demonstrate live glass-blowing. As if that weren’t cool enough, you and your pals can hit the dancefloor from midnight to 2 a.m., reveling in witching-hour haziness. Don’t miss out on this opportunity: 4/20 only comes around once a year. 4 p.m.-2 a.m. Friday. Free. mecca OTR, 1429 Walnut St., Over-the-Rhine, the-cupboard.net. — JUDE NOEL
SATURDAY 21
MUSIC: Record Store Day at Shake It
Most record shops across Greater Cincinnati will participate in Record Store Day, Saturday’s global celebration of independent music retailers (visit recordstoreday.com to see which ones). Recently voted the best “CD/Record Store” by CityBeat readers in our Best Of Cincinnati issue, Shake It Records is once again doing up RSD in a big way. Along with carrying hundreds of the RSD exclusives being made available for the celebration by artists big and small Ñ including a 7-inch vinyl EP from Cincy greats Wussy that includes covers of songs by The Beatles, The Afghan Whigs and others — Shake It (which opens at 8 a.m.) will feature morning DJ sets from Cincinnati Hip Hop legends Mr. Dibbs and Animal Crackers and live performances by Lung, Arlo McKinley and area Boogie Woogie piano prodigy Ben Levin. Rhinegeist will also be helping Shake It party, offering the first sips of its Slow Jam IPA at the store, which is also offering a 10 percent discount on your RSD purchase if you bring a canned-good donation. Visit citybeat.com for more on the local Record Store Day action. 8 a.m. Saturday. Free. Shake It Records, 4156 Hamilton Ave., Northside, shakeitrecords.com. — MIKE BREEN
COMEDY: Adam Sandler Live with Rob Schneider
If you like buddy comedies, stand-up and miss early-’90s SNL, mark your calendar for Saturday. Adam Sandler and BFF Rob Schneider are coming to the Taft Theatre for an evening of comedy. If you don’t know who Sandler is — or Schneider — there’s a chance you didn’t watch TV or movies from like 1995 until now. After stints on Saturday Night Live, both men (frequently together) went on to make highly quotable movies like Billy Madison (“Stop looking at me, swan”), Happy Gilmore (“You eat pieces of shit for breakfast?”), The Waterboy (“Now that’s what I call high-quality H20”), Big Daddy, Mr. Deeds, That’s My Boy (please watch this if you haven’t) and Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (“That’s a huge bitch”). The promo photo for the live show features Sandler with a guitar, so it may be an evening of comedy/stand-up and music. (If so, you can probably bet on a performance of “The Hanukkah Song.”) Whatever the evening holds, it should be entertaining. There’s a reason these guys have been household names for decades and influenced frat boys and out-of-touch adult males to shout, “Want to touch the hiney” at various women for just as long. 7:30 p.m. Saturday. $59.50-$250. Taft Theatre, 317 E. Fifth St., Downtown, tafttheatre.org. — MAIJA ZUMMO
EVENT: Market Bleu
There’s a new curated artisan market coming to Cincinnati. Market Bleu, held quarterly at the Contemporary Arts Center, will showcase elevated handmade products and fine arts from local vendors. The juried show includes some of the city’s top makers, including Chertova jewelry, Eco-Raw Studio textiles (from Sonja Thams of Deerhaus Décor), multidisciplinary artist Megan Bickel and Eliza Dot Design hand-dyed textiles from Beth Kalinksy, co-founder of the market. The more streamlined approach to a modern market means there will be a focus on high-quality works from working artists. And the evening hours — the market runs 6-10 p.m. — means it’s a perfect place to pop by before or after dinner or cocktails. 6-10 p.m. Saturday. Free admission. Contemporary Arts Center, 44 E. Sixth St., Downtown, marketbleu.com. — MAIJA ZUMMO
EVENT: Cincinnati Earth Day
Despite our president’s logic that cold Decembers in New York have signaled the end of American environmental troubles, Cincinnati’s annual Earth Day celebration will go on this Saturday at Summit Park in Blue Ash. Hosted by the Greater Cincinnati Earth Coalition, the environmentally conscious and kid-friendly festival kicks off at noon and will feature educational exhibits, an Earth Day scavenger hunt and a petting zoo. The full schedule is posted online, but you can also expect live music from local bands like Room for Zero, the Brandon Coleman Quartet and Hickory Robot. It’s unclear how one prepares to Rock & Roll with mother nature, but we’re guessing it starts somewhere between fertile soil and local produce. Noon-5 p.m. Free. Summit Park, 4335 Glendale Milford Road, Blue Ash, cincinnatiearthday.com. — MCKENZIE ESKRIDGE
SUNDAY 22
ONSTAGE: Actresses Megan Mullally and Stephanie Hunt take the stage at the Taft Theatre as their musical duo Nancy And Beth. See interview here.
MUSIC: Texas singer/songwriter Walker Lukens will shine bright onstage at MOTR Pub. See Sound Advice here.
MUSIC: X Ambassadors bring The Joyful Tour to Bogart’s. See interview here.
EVENT: Running of the Goebel Goats
Covington’s safer and more family-friendly alternative to Pamplona’s Running of the Bulls, the third annual Running of the Goats is your chance to celebrate community on the other side of the Ohio River, snack on local grub and craft beer, indulge in some greenery at the Westside Plant Show and — of course — catch a glimpse of the Goebel Goats’ annual “goat run” to their summer home: Goebel Park. These goats aren’t your everyday animals. They spend the warmer part of the year keeping MainStrasse cleaner, chomping on hard-to-tackle tangles of weeds and undergrowth that can sometimes begin to grow at the park. Drop by the Hellman Creative Center Sunday to thank them for their service. 2 p.m. Sunday. Free. Hellman Creative Center, 12th Street and MLK Blvd., Covington, facebook.com/goebelgoats. — JUDE NOEL
EVENT: Earth Day OTR
There’s no time like the present to start advocating for our planet’s health. Let Earth Day be your catalyst for change. Head to Washington Park to recognize the holiday with your fellow Cincinnatians, taking part in an afternoon’s worth of eco-friendly activities presented by Keep Cincinnati Beautiful. From noon-5 p.m., a diverse lineup of international musical acts ranging from the Latin Jazz of April Alosio Trio to Reggae sextet Queen City Silver Stars performs. In the meantime, Chicken Mac and Kona Ice will whip up poultry bowls and snowcones by the truckload while you peruse booths tabled by environmentally conscious vendors, including The Green Store Cincy, Rooted Juicery + Kitchen and Urban Greens. Noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Free. Washington Park, 1230 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine, keepcincinnatibeautiful.org. — JUDE NOEL
EVENT: History in Bloom at Spring Grove
Go on a tour through history as a horse-drawn carriage takes you around the grounds of Spring Grove Cemetery & Arboretum. There are three separate docent-led walking tours to choose from: First is the Walk in the Grove/Women of the Grove, next is the Memorial Mausoleum Windows/Spring Avenue: Affluent Families of the Gilded Age and last but not least is the History and Heritage tour. The grounds of Spring Grove have been used by horticulturalists since the mid-19th century as an arboretum for the study and display of a diverse array of native and non-indigenous plants and trees, and many will be in full bloom this weekend. See flowering trees and foliage and meet some of the cemeteries notable residents aka people in historic costumes. Noon-4 p.m. Sunday. Free. Spring Grove Cemetery & Arboretum, 4521 Spring Grove Ave., Northside, springgrove.org. — ZACHARY PERRIN
This article appears in Apr 18-25, 2018.