Best bets: Things to do this weekend and beyond

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Darko Butorac
Darko Butorac
Marcia Paulk, Nikki Parker (front row) Lisa Reasoner Hall, Colleen McClure (Sally Bowles), Alex Brookins (back row)
Marcia Paulk, Nikki Parker (front row) Lisa Reasoner Hall, Colleen McClure (Sally Bowles), Alex Brookins (back row)

Art opening

Expect the unexpected (splatter paintings, detailed drawings of spores, “myth-noir” creations, stylized animal skulls, etc.) when the “2014 Emerging Artist Show” opens with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, at LeMoyne Center for the Visual Arts, 125 N. Gadsden St. Illustrator-artist-scientist Angela Mele‘s depiction of "Trichia varia” is shown here. The reception is free and open to the public. Visit www.lemoyne.org.

Musical theater

See Sally Bowles (Colleen McClure, center) and her Kit Kat Girls when the Monticello Acting & Dance Co. presents the Tony and Oscar-winning musical “Cabaret” at 8 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Tickets for the show-only are $10-$15; dinner and show are $30-$35. Dress in 1920s splendor and you’ll get seated in the VIP circle at the Monticello Opera House, 185 W. Washington St., Monticello. Call 850-997-4242 or visit monticellooperahouse.org.

Concert

Guest pianist Alexander Schimpf will take the spotlight for a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, Op. 23 when conductor Darko Butorac leads the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra in concert at 8 p.m Saturday in Ruby Diamond Concert Hall. The program, titled “Suite Sounds,” also includes Mozart’s overture for “The Marriage of Figaro” and an excerpt from Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp minor. Ticket prices range from $10 to $55. Call 644-6500 or visit www.tickets.fsu.edu.

Classic sci-fi cinema

While most sci-fi movies from the ‘50s were low-budget B-flicks, “Forbidden Planet” (1956) is a prestige project from a major studio, MGM, that matched Robby the Robot with William Shakespeare (the plot is reworking of “The Tempest”). It is also one of the most charming sci-fi adventures of its era, even if the special effects are tad on the dated side. The Tallahassee Film Society is taking another voyage to the “Forbidden Planet” with a screening at 5 p.m. Monday, Martin Luther King Day, at All Saints Cinema, in the Amtrak station off Railroad Avenue. It is free and open to the public. Bring the kids, they will love it.

Festival

The 2nd Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. "Dare to Dream" Festival happens from 11 a.m.–4 p.m. Monday on Kleman Plaza. This year’s musical guest is Grammy-nominated (and Tallahassee native) musician Ashanti Floyd, the “Mad Violinist” and his Symphony Crack Orchestra along with other local artists. The festival will also feature live music, vendors, dancing, historical exhibits and a “MLK Birthday Bash” for kids complete with bounce houses, games and face painting. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own lawn chair. It’s all free. Call 634-4920 or visit www.MLKDare2Dream.com.