10 shows to see in February

Celebrations, premieres among options across area stages.

From specific productions tied to Black History Month to festive affairs recognizing a legendary opera diva and the second-oldest ballet company in the U.S., here are 10 shows to keep on your February radar.

“The Wolves”

Feb. 3-5, Beavercreek Community Theatre

Sarah DeLappe’s Pulitzer Prize-nominated drama concerns a girls’ high school soccer team that “navigates big questions and wages tiny battles with all the vim and vigor of a pack of adolescent warriors.” 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday at Beavercreek Community Theatre, 3868 Dayton-Xenia Rd., Beavercreek. $13-$16. 937-429-4737 or bctheatre.org.

Credit: WRIGHT STATE THEATRE

Credit: WRIGHT STATE THEATRE

“Arcadia”

Feb. 3-12, Wright State University

Widely considered one of the greatest playwrights, Tom Stoppard (“The Real Thing,” “Shakespeare in Love”) offers a romantic play of ideas. First produced in 1993, “Arcadia” leaps between the past and the present, exploring “the possibilities life offers as we make seemingly minor, but irreversible choices.” Feb. 3, 4, 10 and 11 at 8 p.m.; Feb. 5, 11 and 12 at 2 p.m. in the Festival Playhouse of the Creative Arts Center at Wright State, 3640 Col. Glenn Hwy., Dayton. $15-$25. 937-775-2500 or www.wright.edu/theatre.

“Rewind: Celebrating the Music of the ‘80s”

Feb. 4, Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra

Enjoy a fun, melodic evening of chart-topping hits from the 1980s. 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Schuster Center, Second and Main Streets, Dayton. $5-$90. 937-228-3630 or daytonlive.org.

Credit: SCOTT ROBBINS

Credit: SCOTT ROBBINS

“The Black Tour”

Feb. 4-5, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company

DCDC presents the world premiere of “The Black Tour,” consisting of four works: Tommie-Waheed Evans’ “Home/An Untitled Portrait”; Katherine Smith’s “Strong Like We”; Crystal Michelle’s “American Mo’”; and Ronald K. Brown and Donald McKayle’s “Children of the Passage. Evans is a 2021 Guggenheim Fellow. 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday at the Victoria Theatre, 138 N. Main St., Dayton. $15-$61.50. 937-228-3630 or daytonlive.org.

“Maria Callas: A Centennial Celebration”

Feb. 5, Dayton Opera

Dayton Opera honors the legacy of Maria Callas. Sopranos Toni Marie Palmertree, Murrella Parton, Heather Phillips, and mezzo-soprano Sarah Saturnino will perform Callas’ most famous arias. 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the Schuster Center, 1 W. Second Street, Dayton. $5-$100. 937-228-3630 or daytonlive.org.

“85th Diamond Anniversary”

Feb. 10-12, Dayton Ballet

Dayton Ballet celebrates its 85th season and the 95th year of the Dayton Ballet School. Selections include artistic director Karen Russo Burke’s “A Streetcar Named Desire” and Jennifer Sydor’s “I’ll Meet You There.” 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the Victoria Theatre, 138 N. Main St., Dayton. $16-$86. 937-228-3630 or daytonlive.org.

Credit: JOAN MARCUS

Credit: JOAN MARCUS

“A Soldier’s Play”

Feb. 14-19, Dayton Live and Human Race Theatre Company

Tony Award nominee Norm Lewis leads the national tour of this Tony-winning revival of Charles Fuller’s 1982 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama. The play concerns a Black sergeant murdered on a Louisiana Army base in 1944. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, and 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sunday at the Victoria Theatre, 138 N. Main St., Dayton. $25-$79. 937-228-3630 or daytonlive.org.

“Jackie Robinson Steals Home”

Feb. 16-17, Sinclair Community College

Sinclair presents a play about Jackie Robinson paving the way for people of color to play America’s favorite pastime. Blair Hall Theatre, Building 2, 444 W. Third St., Dayton. 7 p.m. Thursday and noon and 7 p.m. Friday. Free admission. 937-512-4580 or sinclair.edu.

“The Laramie Project”

Feb. 17-26, Wright State University

Wright State acknowledges the 25th anniversary of the death of gay college student Mathew Shepard, murdered on the outskirts of Laramie, Wyoming. This acclaimed drama, written by Moises Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project, is presented in collaboration with WSU’s Office of LGBTQA Affairs. Feb. 17, 18, 24 and 25 at 8 p.m., and Feb. 19, 25 and 26 at 2 p.m. in the Herbst Theatre of the Creative Arts Center at Wright State, 3640 Col. Glenn Hwy., Dayton. $5-$15. 937-775-2500 or visit www.wright.edu/theatre.

“R.E.S.P.E.C.T. – A Celebration of the Music of Aretha Franklin”

Feb. 24-25, Dayton Live

The Queen of Soul will be saluted with an evening of her biggest hits such as “Chain of Fools,” “Think,” “Natural Woman” and “Respect.” 7:30 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday at the Victoria Theatre, 138 N. Main St., Dayton. $25-$89. 937-228-3630 or daytonlive.org.

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