By PAM HARBAUGH

Put some tunes in your life with some great music happening all around this weekend. Music abounds, on stage, in nightclubs and even in a park. Read on. And be sure to click onto the sponsors’ ads to show your appreciation of their support of BREVARD CULTURE.

Area Theater:

NEXT TO NORMAL opens tonight and runs through June 4 at Titusville Playhouse. This is a contemporary musical revolving around a woman with bipolar disorder and the effects on her family. Yes, it sounds like a most curious subject matter, but this is one of the best musicals created. It grabs you and doesn’t let go, just like theater is supposed to do. Tickets are $20 to $28. TPI is at 301 Julia St., Titusville. Call 321-268-1125, visit TitusvillePlayhouse.com or click on their ad.

From Titusville Playhouse’s NEXT TO NORMAL. Photo by Niko Stamos.

HANDS ON A HARDBODY runs through May 21 at the Henegar Center. Now it’s not quite what you think it might be: The musical is about 10 contestants keeping their hand on a truck, each of then hoping to win that truck. Director Hank Rion and choreographer Kim Cole both say the “powerhouse cast” rise to the challenge and deliver the grit underlying this unusual Broadway musical. Read a story about the show by clicking here. Read the review by clicking here. Adult language. Tickets are $16 to $26. The Henegar is at 625 E. New Haven Ave., Melbourne. Call 321 723 8698, visit Henegar.org or click on their ad.

From the Henegar’s production of HANDS ON A HARDBODY. Photo by Dana Niemeier.

MARY POPPINS the Musical runs through May 21 at Cocoa Village Playhouse. Although this has been CVP’s fastest turnaround for producing a play — five weeks, considerably short for the more than 70 on stage — word is it’s a musical wonder with all of CVP’s usual beautiful trappings. It stars Ashley Willsey as Mary Poppins and Kyle McDonald as Bert. Read the Brevard Culture story by clicking here. Read a review by clicking here. Tickets cost $16 to $24. Cocoa Village Playhouse is at 300 Brevard Ave., Cocoa. Call 321-636-5050, visit CocoaVillagePlayhouse.com or click on their ad.

From Cocoa Village Playhouse’s production of MARY POPPINS. Photo by Jonathan Goforth.

CONFUSION ABOUNDS, a Playwrights Workshop production, runs this weekend at Surfside Playhouse. The two original one-acts being presented are “Shakespeare’s Ghost” by Bonnie Galloway and “Bi-Bi” by Robert Matson. The shows perform 8 p.m. tonight and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Surfside Playhouse is at 301 Ramp Road (5th Street South), Cocoa Beach. Tickets are $10. Call 321-720-1227, email playwrights@wildesidestories.com or click onto Surfside’s ad.

Professional Theater:

MATILDA runs through May 14 at Dr. Phillips Center in Orlando. This is the first national tour of the award winning Broadway blockbuster musical based on a novel by Roald Dahl and about a precocious, imaginative girl finding individuality in a world of adults who call children “maggots.” Read the review by clicking here. Tickets start at $33.75. Dr. Phillips Center is at 445 S. Magnolia Avenue, Orlando. Call 844.513.2014, or visit DrPhillipsCenter.org.

From MATILDA. Photo by Joan Marcus.

Music:

PINK FLOYD: DARK SIDE OF THE MOON will be performed by Classic Albums Live 8 p.m Saturday at the King Center. Read the story by clicking here. Ticket start at $29.75. The King Center is at 3865 N. Wickham Rd., Melbourne. Call 321-242-2219, visit KingCenter.com or click on their ad.

KRISTEN WARREN, the terrific talent who wowed audiences as Billie Holiday in the Henegar Center’s production of “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill,” performs this evening (Friday) at Heidi’s Jazz Lounge in Cocoa Beach. She will be accompanied by the terrific Ron Teixeira Trio. The music runs 8:30 to midnight Friday. $10. Heidi’s Jazz Club is at 7 N Orlando Ave, Cocoa Beach, FL. Call 321-783-4559, visit HeidisJazzClub.com or click on their ad.

Kristin Warren. Photo by Kadeem Cobham

JAZZ AT THE AVENUE presented by the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra takes place noon to 3 p.m. in The Avenue Viera’s Central Park. The free concert is sponsored by The Avenue Viera, Pizza Gallery & Grill, The Melting Pot and World of Beer. For more information, click here.

ORLANDO CABARET FESTIVAL opens Saturday and runs through May 21 at Mad Cow Theatre. The headliner is Davis Gaines, an Orlando native who sang the lead role in “Phantom of the Opera” in California and on Broadway. He also starred in Orlando Shakes’ “Spamalot” a couple years ago. If you want to know more about the Cabaret Festival, click here. Mad Cow Theatre is at 54 West Church St. (second floor), downtown Orlando. Call 407.297.8788 or click the link above.

Exhibits:

A FAMILY AFFAIR art exhibit with works by Marlis and James Newman, runs through the month at the Fifth Avenue Art Gallery. Marlis is a beloved member of Brevard’s art community. A longtime member of the Fifth Avenue Art Gallery, she has created some of the most beautiful works around. The exhibit pairs her with her son, James, who studied with Eliot McMurrough and worked as a graphic artist at the University of Florida. The Fifth Avenue Art Gallery is at 1470 Highland Avenue, Melbourne. Regular hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays. Call 321-259-8261, visit FifthAvenueArtGallery.com or just click on their ad.

“Sunset with Sailboat” by James Newman

FROM NEW ENGLAND TO FLORIDA, a solo art show with watercolors and acrylic paintings by Susan Carden-Flicker, is on view throughout May at the Eau Gallie Public Library, 1521 Pineapple Avenue, Melbourne, FL. As the press release states, Susan’s love for art has been accelerated in part by a hearing disorder: “Hearing impaired since birth, Susan is visually more attuned to her surroundings and she paints her impressions of what she sees and feels into her landscapes and seascapes.” She is a member of the Strawbridge Art League and the Connecticut River Artisans Gallery in Essex, Connecticut.

LAZY RIVER AFTERNOON, an acrylic by Susan Carden-Flicker

PAN AMERICAN MODERNISM runs through July 29 at the Foosaner Art Museum. Organized by the University of Miami’s wonderful Lowe Museum, the exhibition comprises work by artists from 13 countries in North, South and Central American plus those living in the Caribbean between 1919 and 1979. Look for a story about this later in BREVARD CULTURE. The Foosaner Art Museum is at 1463 Highland Ave. in the Eau Gallie Arts District of Melbourne. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Free admission. Call 321-674-8916, visit FoosanerArtMuseum.org or click on their ad.

A detail from the untitled 1945 oil-on-wood painting by the Cuban-born artist José Mijares. Collection of Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami.

Plan Ahead:

THE GLASS MENAGERIE opens May 19 at Melbourne Civic Theatre. Visit MyMCT.org or click on their ad.

FLORA & FIBER opens May 20 and runs through Aug. 26 at the Ruth Funk Center for the Arts. For more information, click here or click on their ad.