Sondheim, Dvořák and The Rolling Stones: Your weekend in the arts

Spring is already kicking into high gear in the metro Detroit arts community; each weekend, there are more and more opportunities available. From classic rock to visual arts to challenging theater, here are a dozen options for your jam-packed arts weekend, plus a mid-week event to check out.

Just a shot away

On Saturday, Detroit Symphony Orchestra and conductor Brent Havens will present Windborne’s “The Music of The Rolling Stones: Mick Jagger and Keith Richards 1969” to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Rolling Stones’ iconic albums “Beggar’s Banquet” and “Let It Bleed.” Classics like “Gimme Shelter,” “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” “Midnight Rambler,” “Sympathy for the Devil” and more will be performed, as well as other hits such as “Brown Sugar,” “Ruby Tuesday” and others. Vocalist Mick Adams and a full rock band will join the orchestra to pay tribute to one of the all-time great rock and roll bands.

Orchestra Hall, 3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit. 313-576-5111. dso.org. Tickets start at $50.g

Ivy League blues

Detroit Repertory Theatre opens its latest play, Lucy Thurber’s “Transfers,” on Friday. Running through April 23, it’s directed by Kolton Bradley, making his Detroit Rep debut along with four actors new to the DRT stage. “Transfers” is the story of Cristofer and Clarence, two community college students from the South Bronx who are up for the same scholarship to an Ivy League university, an opportunity that would change their lives. Class, race, identity and privilege come to the surface as they grapple with shared history and what it means to succeed. The opening night performance will be followed by a champagne afterglow with the cast and crew.

Detroit Repertory Theatre, 13103 Woodrow Wilson St., Detroit. 313-868-1347. detroitreptheatre.com. Runs through March 5. Advance tickets $25, same-day tickets $30. Theater opens one hour before curtain and shows begin exactly on time; latecomers will not be seated.

Celebrating Black love

Detroit’s Norwest Gallery of Art will host the closing of its exhibition “Expressions of Black love” this weekend. The show was curated by gallery owner Asia Hamilton to celebrate the northwest Detroit gallery’s fifth anniversary, and is open to the public through Sunday, March 19 in . Shirley Woodson, Sheefy McFly, Judy Bowman, Douglas Jones, DaJanier Rice, Philip Simpson and Mieyoshi Ragernoir (whose solo exhibition “I’m Coming Out” will follow in April) are some of the major Detroit talents included in the show.

Norwest Gallery of Art, 19556 Grand River Ave., Detroit. 313-293-7344. norwestgallery.com. Exhibition is free to attend.

Struggles in brushstrokes

Also closing this weekend is Taurus Burns’ “Created Equal,” which wraps with an artist talk and reception Saturday from 4-6 p.m. at Ferndale’s M Contemporary Art. Burns’ provocative works take a look at systemic racism and its impact on Black and brown people as it still goes largely unnoticed by those who take a colorblind view of race in America.

M Contemporary Art, 205 E. 9 Mile Road, Ferndale. 347-665-7011. mcontemporaryart.com. Free to attend; masks required for entry.

Vibe sessions

Poet and activist Jessica Care Moore’s “Vibe Sessions” series returns to Detroit’s Carr Center on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Billed as "an eclectic, intimate live music and conversation experience," the event will include a pop-up art show, Heston Francis, Kenny Watson and DJ Drake Phifer in an evening of uniquely Detroit entertainment.

The Carr Center Performance Studio at The Park Shelton, 15 E. Kirby St., Detroit. 313-437-9244. thecarrcenter.org. Tickets start at $10.

Everybody’s got the right

One of the most controversial stage musicals of all time, Stephen Sondheim’s “Assassins” will complete its run this weekend at Ferndale’s Ringwald Theatre. The multiple Tony Award-wining tour-de-force uses witty, incisive lyrics and punchy music to examine America’s obsession with celebrity and firearms through the stories of the nation’s four successful and five would-be presidential assassins. Bold, original, disturbing, and alarmingly funny, it’s a show that has to be seen to be believed. Performances run through Monday at 8 p.m.

The Ringwald Theatre at Affirmations LGBTQ+ Community Center, 290 W. 9 Mile Road, Ferndale. 248-398-7105. theringwald.com. Tickets start at $20.

Dvořák’s violin concerto

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra will perform two works by Antonin Dvořák at 8 p.m. Friday and at 3 p.m. Sunday. The concert begins with his triumphant “Carnival Overture” and continues with his “Violin Concerto in A minor” with soloist Tai Murray, whom The New York Times has called “superb.” The evening concludes with Myroslav Skoryk’s “Melody,” inspired by his native Ukraine, and Beethoven’s second symphony. Michael Balke will conduct. Friday’s performance will take place at Monroe’s Meyer Theater, 1555 S Raisinville Road; Sunday’s show will be at Beverly Hills’ Seligman Performing Arts Center, 22305 W. 13 Mile Road (at Lahser).

313-576-5111. dso.org. Tickets are $30 general admission, $10 for students.

And more Dvořák in A2

Saturday, the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra will play Dvořák’s Symphony No. 7 with violinist Kyung Sun Lee and conductor Timothy Muffitt at 8 p.m. at Ann Arbor’s Michigan Theater. Debussy (“Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun”) and Prokofiev (“Violin Concerto No. 2”) round out the program. A pre-concert talk will be held at 7 p.m. with Muffitt and flutist Alaina Bercilla.

Michigan Theater, 603 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor. 734-994-4801. a2so.com. Tickets start at $25.

Art and literature, combined

Detroit’s David Klein Gallery will host a writer’s meet-up from 1-3 p.m. Saturday as a special event accompanying Ricky Weaver’s solo exhibition, “Crucify My Flesh” (which closes April 1). Weaver’s practice is deeply informed by theory and writings that examine Blackness, femininity, conceptual art and the intersection of all three. Attendees will receive a curated reading list compiled by the artist to deepen understanding of her artwork. Light refreshments will be provided.

David Klein Gallery, 1520 Washington Blvd., Detroit. 313-818-3416. dkgallery.com. Free to attend.

Presenting young artists

The Carr Center’s “As I See Me: Artists Under 30” opened this week and runs through April 22. On Friday, an opening reception will be held from 6-8 p.m.; the artists will be in attendance and refreshments will be served. “As I See Me” is a three-part, generational series focusing on self-portraits that reflect how artists at varying stages of their lives see themselves. “Artists Under 30” is the first of the three parts, curated by Carr Center gallerists Lina Stephens and Tia Nichols. Registration is required to attend the free reception.

The Carr Center Performance Studio at The Park Shelton, 15 E. Kirby St., Detroit. 313-437-9244. thecarrcenter.org.

A journey through American music

Violinist Daniel Hope and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra will perform at Ann Arbor’s Hill Auditorium at 8 p.m. on Friday, presenting a surprising new program exploring the roots of American music through both familiar and unfamiliar tunes by a variety of American composers including Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, Kurt Weill, Duke Ellington and Philip Glass.

Hill Auditorium, 825 N. University Ave., Ann Arbor. 734-764-2538. ums.org. Tickets starting at $14.

A master pianist returns

One of the world’s most admired pianists, Yefim Bronfman, returns to the Chamber Music Detroit stage for the first time in over a decade on Saturday for an 8 p.m. solo recital featuring works by Schubert, Schumann and Chopin. Famed for his massive strength on the keys, he’ll bring his signature intensity to Beverly Hills’ Seligman Center just days before his 65th birthday. Also, the concert slate for Chamber Music Detroit’s 2023-24 season — the group's 80th anniversary — will be announced at the performance.

Seligman Performing Arts Center, 22305 West 13 Mile Road, Beverly Hills. 313-335-3300. chambermusicdetroit.org. In-person tickets starting at $25; digital access tickets with viewing available March 18-28 available for $12.

And one for mid-week

Popular podcaster and writer Sarah Marshall will bring her “You’re Wrong About” tour to Detroit’s Majestic Theatre on Tuesday at 7 p.m. “You’re Wrong About” is one of the most listened-to podcasts in the United States, and host Marshall doesn’t hold back when digging deep into cultural touchstones and figures that have been unfairly whitewashed by history. The A.V. Club has stated, “It’s clear that remaining host Sarah Marshall is still ready to tackle papered-over histories with empathy, wry humor and research.” She’s been profiled in TIME, and “You’re Wrong About” was named Podcast of the Year at the 2022 I Heart Radio Podcast Awards.

Majestic Theatre, 4140 Woodward Ave., Detroit. 313-833-9700. majesticdetroit.com. Tickets $35 in advance, $40 same day.

Contact Free Press arts and culture reporter Duante Beddingfield at dbeddingfield@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Sondheim, Dvořák and The Rolling Stones: Your weekend in the arts