Best Bets: Things to do in the Columbus area this weekend – The Columbus Dispatch
Summer hasn’t even gotten underway yet but, with the recent lifting of health orders by Gov. Mike DeWine, events are starting to heat up.
Entertainment:It’s time to have some fun! Here are things to do in Ohio this summer
From concerts — Big Gigantic, Skillet — to movies, including “In the Heights” and theater events, such as “Last Gas,” there are many things to do this weekend.
Free things to do with kids:Columbus Museum of Art kicks off free-admission campaign for local youth, caregivers
Music:Westland Mall Drive-In concert series to end Friday night with Big Gigantic
Outdoor concerts:Picnic With the Pops series to kick off Saturday night at Columbus Commons with Queen tribute
‘In the Heights’ in theaters
Starting Thursday, the film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony Award-winning musical “In the Heights” — the “Hamilton” creator’s contemporary drama that unfolds in the New York neighborhood of Washington Heights — will be released after a year-long delay because of the pandemic. The Warner Bros. Pictures release, starring Anthony Ramos, Corey Hawkins and Leslie Grace, will play at the Gateway Film Center, Drexel Theatre and other area theaters as well as on HBO Max. For showtimes, tickets and safety protocols, visit theater websites.
‘Last Gas’ by Curtain Players
Curtain Players will present “Last Gas,” John Cariani’s comic drama about a Northern Maine dad who gets a chance to rekindle a romance but must choose between old and new, at 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday and June 18-19 and 25-26, and 2 p.m. June 20 and 27 at 5691 Harlem Road, Galena. Tickets cost $17, or $15 for students and senior citizens. Call 614-360-1000 or visit curtainplayers.org.
Old-radio-style comedy finale
It’s All Been Done Presents, producer of a monthly 80-minute geeky comedy program in the style of old-time radio serials, will stream the “It’s All Been Done Radio Hour” at 5 p.m. Saturday in its final streaming show before returning to live theater. Among other episodes, this edition includes a new adventure of “The Topnotch Tangler” and the season finale of the sci-fi romp “Universe Journey.” Tickets cost $7, or become a donor at Patreon.com/IABD. Call 614-916-6043 or visit www.iabdpresents.com.
Still standing and dancing
Twenty-eight dancers from the New Vision Dance Company will strut their stuff in outdoor performances at 1 and 4 p.m. Sunday at the Scioto Park Amphitheater, 7377 Riverside Drive, Dublin. The program “I’m Still Standing” aims to demonstrate the pandemic-era resiliency of the dance company founded by Artistic Director Melissa Gould. Guest artists will include dancers from Movement Afoot, a tap-dancing troupe. Admission is free, but attendees are required to make reservations by visiting newvisiondanceco.org.
Outdoor chamber music concerts
The New Albany Symphony Orchestra will kick off a summer-long series of outdoor chamber-music concerts at 8 p.m. Sunday in the Marx Library Garden behind the New Albany branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library, 200 Market St., New Albany. Organizers suggest taking lawn chairs or blankets for the hourlong performance, featuring music by J.S. Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Scott Joplin. An ice-cream social will take place an hour before showtime, and wine will be for sale by the glass. Tickets, $15, can be purchased by visiting newalbanysymphony.com.
Big Gigantic to perform
Jazz electronica duo Big Gigantic will perform Friday at the only show scheduled so far this year at the Westland Drive-In, 4411 W. Broad St. Saxophonist Dominic Lalli and drummer Jeremy Salken will showcase their seventh album, “Free Your Mind,” which was originally intended to be the basis of a huge concert tour last year. Gates open at 6 p.m. Tickets cost $99 for a car with up to four people. For more information, visit westlanddrivein.com or biggigantic.net.
More:Westland Mall Drive-In concert series to end Friday night with Big Gigantic
Gay Men’s Chorus to perform ABBA tunes
Join the Columbus Gay Men’s Chorus to sing along to “Take a Chance on Me,” “Super Trouper,” “Dancing Queen,” and the many, many other hits of ABBA at the Big Gay Sing: ABBA Sing Along at 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday at Huntington Park in the Arena District. Tickets cost $20 to $30. For more information, call 614-228-2462 or visit www.columbusgaymenschorus.com.
Skillet cooking up some music
Christian rock band Skillet, based in Memphis, is hitting the drive-in concert circuit in a big way this year. The band will appear at the South Drive-In, 3050 S. High St., on June 16, with doors opening at 5:30 p.m. and music starting at dusk. Skillet will be joined by Christian folk-rocker Jordan Feliz and American Idol veteran Colton Dixon. Tickets start at $88 a car, for up to six people. For more information, visit driveintheatertour.com.