This week in A+E: Dec. 23 to Dec. 29

Thursday

Monty Franklin

7 p.m. at McCurdy’s Comedy, 1923 Ringling Blvd.

$25

Visit McCurdysComedy.com.

Franklin, Aussie standup comic and co-star of the upcoming film "The Great Emu War," takes over McCurdy's in the final week of 2021. Franklin, who has been part of TV shows like "New Girl" and "Real Rob," has headlined the Melbourne International Comedy Festival multiple times.

'A Christmas Carol'

7:30 p.m. at Studio 1130, 3501 S. Tamiami Trail

$36.50

Visit ThePlayers.org.

Bring in the holidays with Ebenezer Scrooge. Jim Floyd plays more than 20 characters, including the famous curmudgeon Scrooge in this one-man adaptation of Charles Dickens' famous holiday tale. The play, adapted by Greg Oliver Bodine, represents the final performance of the year for The Players Centre for Performing Arts.

Hair

1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at 5555 N. Tamiami Trail

$31.50 to $93.00

Visit AsoloRep.org.

The Asolo Repertory's production of the rock musical is entering its home stretch. "Hair," directed and choreographed by Josh Rhodes, debuted on Nov. 30 and will run through New Year's Day. The iconic rock musical with a Grammy Award-winning score is just as timely today as it felt decades ago.

Sunday

'Joyful! Joyful!'

7:30 p.m. at 1012 N. Orange Ave.

$20 students and active military; $50 adults

Visit WestcoastBlackTheatre.org.

Nate Jacobs and Donald Frison have collaborated on this holiday special full of song and dance. Jacobs, the founder and creative director of the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, wanted "Joyful! Joyful!" to be an expression of his jubilation of being alive.

Frison choreographed the show, which features music from several different eras and dance styles. Jacobs and Frison say that the show is like their Christmas card to the community, and "Joyful! Joyful!" will run through Dec. 30 before the troupe hits reset in 2022.

Let It Snow

1 p.m. and 6 p.m. at Sailor Circus Arena, 2075 Bahia Vista St.

$15-$30

Visit: CircusArts.org

They've been training for weeks, and for 10 shows, the performers at the nation's longest running youth circus are ready to blow your mind.

The students, who range in age from 8 to 18, will put on a full show complete with tumbling, trapeze, trampoline artists, contortionists and much, much more.

Let It Snow will first run in two shows on Sunday evening, but then it will be performed at 1 and 6 p.m. for each of the following four days.

The Circus Arts Conservatory founders Dolly Jacobs and Pedro Reis have spent their life performing, and now they're teaching the circus arts to a whole new generation of performers in Sarasota.

Monday

Rhodnie Désir: Conversations

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at The Ringling Museum of Art, 5401 Bay Shore Road

Free on Monday;

All other days: Adults: $25; Seniors: $23; Children: $5; Members and children under 5: Free.

Visit: Ringling.org.

Desir, a dancer and choreographer, has chased the roots of African and Afro-descendant cultures and rhythms in places as far apart as Martinique, Haiti, Brazil, Canada and the United States. Her inaugural exhibition, Conversations, is created in conjunction with other artists and is meant to take the viewer on a journey with Desir in which she places the people and countries she's visited in a dialogue with each other.

Desir's exhibit began on Dec. 11 and will run through April 3.

Danner Washburn — Effigy: Hemric

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Sarasota Art Museum, 1001 S. Tamiami Trail

Members: Free; Non-members: $15

Visit: SarasotaArtMuseum.org.

Washburn interrogates the history of tobacco farming in the Yadkin Valley of North Carolina. The artist explores the life and culture of the farmers in North Carolina who endured financial hardship, causing some to abandon the trade and others to sustain their practice through the support of government subsidies. The exhibit will run through May 8.

Wednesday

Al Fuller's Famous Blues Jam

7:30 at the Blue Rooster, 1525 Fourth St.

$5

Visit: BlueRoosterSRQ.com.

Al Fuller has been playing his blues jam for more than two decades, and he'll be supported by drummer Rich MacDonald and bassist Barry Sykes at the Blue Rooster. Fuller first moved to Sarasota more than a decade ago, and he's taught a generation of local students to play guitar, bass, mandolin, banjo and harmonica.

Jazz at Two: Scholarship Concert

2-4 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church, 3975 Fruitville Road

Members: $10; Non-members: $20

Visit JazzClubSarasota.org.

The Jazz Club of Sarasota presents a group of 2021 scholarship winners backed by a local trio. Jazz at Two is normally held on Fridays, but this performance was moved so it doesn't conflict with New Year's Eve.

DON'T MISS

The Rocket Man Show

It might be a long, long time before you get to see this show again. Rus Anderson brings his popular Elton John tribute show to Venice and briefly steals the famed rock star's signature tunes and fashion. Prepare for an out-of-body experience as Anderson pulls off the feat of playing one of rock's most inimitable performers.

IF YOU GO

When: 7:30 p.m., Dec. 29-31

Where: Venice Theatre, 140 Tampa Ave., Venice

Tickets: $58-$68

Info: VeniceTheatre.org