Playing Dead

$20, artists, seniors, and students $15. Single Carrot Theatre, Baltimore.

Part of Towson University's Russian Season, this play by the Presnyakov Brothers is about a thirty-something college dropout with a fierce willingness to avoid real work, and instead makes a living "playing dead" in murder reconstructions for the police. Feb. 19-March 14.

Maryland Home and Garden Show

mdhomeandgarden.com, $12, seniors $10, children $3, under 6 free. Maryland State Fairgrounds, Timonium.

Celebrate the end (?) of the snowpocalypse and the arrival of spring with orchids and bonsais, naturally, as well as green tips, crafts, and homeowner seminars. Joey Green, well-versed in the ways of shaving with peanut butter and removing stains with Cheez Whiz, covers creative indoor solutions. Outside, Jeff "Mole Hunter" Holper handles turf wars with pests. Don't expect any Caddyshack-style explosions, but turn out to welcome in the warm weather with plant sales (pictured), 19 landscaped garden displays, and wine tasting from Maryland vineyards. (Phoebe Bright)

The Color Purple

$42-$62. Lyric Opera House, Baltimore.

Blinded in her right eye at age 8, living through threats of violence by the Mississippi Ku Klux Klan because of her interracial marriage, and estranged from her daughter, Alice Walker's life hasn't been a bed of roses. Neither is Celie's. The protagonist of Walker's The Color Purple suffers the greatest abuse at the hands of those who should protect her. Walker went on to win a host of awards for her writing, including a Pulitzer Prize. Although Celie's accomplishments aren't as far-reaching as her creator's, her budding attempts to redefine cruel relationships help make this story a classic. The celebrated Broadway musical version opens at the Lyric tonight. (Phoebe Bright)

Moveable Feets Dance Party for Moveable Feast

mfeast.org, $10. Metro Gallery, Baltimore.

With music by the Motorettes (pictured), the Degenerettes, and DJ John Eaton along with a dance contest judged by local celebrities (including City Paper's Bret McCabe); all proceeds will help Moveable Feast to prepare and deliver meals and groceries to those living with HIV/AIDS and other life-challenging conditions. (Chaus Davids)

Cirque de la Symphonie

$30-$75. Music Center at Strathmore, Bethesda.

Jugglers, aerialists, contortionists, trapeze artists, and even musicians grace the stage of the Meyerhoff when Marin Alsop guides the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra through the works of Francis Poulenc, Erik Satie, Aaron Copland, and Béla Bartók. The daring circus performers of Cirque de la Symphonie (pictured) will be moving both above and below the stage as they pull off physical feats choreographed to the music. The choice of Bartók's The Miraculous Mandarin reflects the rebellious nature of the evening--the piece was banned after its premiere in Germany in 1926. The concert series sold out all four shows last year, so buying tickets in advance is recommended. (Glennis Markison)

3001: A Baltimore Odyssey

www.brownpapertickets.com, $10. Roosevelt Recreation Center, Baltimore.

Fluid Movement presents its annual roller skating ballet featuring the story of two Baltimore City sanitation employees exploring a futuristic underwater city.

Open Hearts Ball

www.openheartsball.org, www.missiontix.com, $15, $12 advance. 2640 Space, Baltimore.

Dance your heart out with local nine-piece funk and soul band the Bellevederes, followed by the always eclectic DJ Jason Willett. Wine and beer will be flowing, and you can buy a raffle ticket for a chance to win an acupuncture session, a guided rock-climbing trip, and more. Proceeds from this second-annual event will benefit Heart's Place Shelter, located just downstairs in the basement of St. John's United Methodist Church. The emergency winter shelter, one of the few in the city that accepts families, has had financial difficulties and faces early closure this year. (Andrea Appleton)

Playing Dead

$20, artists, seniors, and students $15. Single Carrot Theatre, Baltimore.

Part of Towson University's Russian Season, this play by the Presnyakov Brothers is about a thirty-something college dropout with a fierce willingness to avoid real work, and instead makes a living "playing dead" in murder reconstructions for the police. Feb. 19-March 14.

Maryland Home and Garden Show

mdhomeandgarden.com, $12, seniors $10, children $3, under 6 free. Maryland State Fairgrounds, Timonium.

Celebrate the end (?) of the snowpocalypse and the arrival of spring with orchids and bonsais, naturally, as well as green tips, crafts, and homeowner seminars. Joey Green, well-versed in the ways of shaving with peanut butter and removing stains with Cheez Whiz, covers creative indoor solutions. Outside, Jeff "Mole Hunter" Holper handles turf wars with pests. Don't expect any Caddyshack-style explosions, but turn out to welcome in the warm weather with plant sales (pictured), 19 landscaped garden displays, and wine tasting from Maryland vineyards. (Phoebe Bright)

Cirque de la Symphonie

$30-$75. Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, Baltimore.

Jugglers, aerialists, contortionists, trapeze artists, and even musicians grace the stage of the Meyerhoff when Marin Alsop guides the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra through the works of Francis Poulenc, Erik Satie, Aaron Copland, and Béla Bartók. The daring circus performers of Cirque de la Symphonie (pictured) will be moving both above and below the stage as they pull off physical feats choreographed to the music. The choice of Bartók's The Miraculous Mandarin reflects the rebellious nature of the evening--the piece was banned after its premiere in Germany in 1926. The concert series sold out all four shows last year, so buying tickets in advance is recommended. (Glennis Markison)

3001: A Baltimore Odyssey

www.brownpapertickets.com, $10. Roosevelt Recreation Center, Baltimore.

Fluid Movement presents its annual roller skating ballet featuring the story of two Baltimore City sanitation employees exploring a futuristic underwater city.

Dam Funk, Cullen Stalin, DJ Fleg, Exclaime

The Ottobar, Baltimore.

St. Patrick’s Day Parade

www.irishparade.net, free. Washington Monument, Baltimore.

Not talking about the Shamrock 5K here, you aberrations of human nature who want to honor the patron saint of Ireland by arriving at Charles and Franklin streets at 1:15 p.m. and running. We're talking 'bout the 50-plus-years-old parade that winds through downtown from Mount Vernon down Charles Street before heading east along Pratt to Market Place. We're talking about the wave after wave of marching bands and bugle corps and string bands and color guards and pipe bands and dancers and who knows what else filling out the parade. We're talking about that thing you do outside before repairing to a proper Irish pub to see just how much John Powers you can put into your gullet. Sláinte. (Bret McCabe)

Matt Gilman: Blind Trials Bike Rider Video Premiere/Fundraiser

$5. The Windup Space, Baltimore.

Trials riding, a fringe sport of cycling, is a bizarre mash of urban mountain biking, road cycling, and BMX riding that involves superhumanly agile athletes balancing and hopping up and down high-altitude surfaces--walls, fence rails, fountains, and other oddball bits of urban architecture--like their tires are made of superglue. The community in Baltimore is thin, but meet Matt Gilman, who does it . . . blind. The rider lost his sight several years ago to diabetes, but didn't stop biking. In the years since, he's taught himself to trials ride through feel and touch, and it doesn't get much cooler than that. Tonight, he premieres a new video short between music from bands Rosco Stanford, Black Birds, and Station. (Michael Byrne)

UNCORKED! Gala

$125, members $100. American Visionary Art Museum, Baltimore.

Baltimore's catering scene gathers for an evening of hedonism and, more aptly, gluttony at the American Visionary Art Museum. A feast for the senses, the benefit features cocktails, a three-course dinner prepared by highlighted chefs and caterers, and an after-party with live music by the VIPs. Members show off their creative know-how in a glitzy table design competition judged by NACE's elite, including none other than Duff Goldman of Ace of Cakes fame. In its sixth year, the UNCORKED! fundraiser splits the proceeds between Meals on Wheels and the National Association of Catering Executives (NACE), while promoting the local event industry. (Hsia-Ting Chang)

Baltimore Speaker Series: David Brooks

stevenson.edu, $265-$395. Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, Baltimore.

Stevenson University's Baltimore Speaker Series is really taking advantage of America's love affair with all things political by bringing in a few defunct politicians, a former first lady, an aging actress, and a PBS regular to the Meyerhoff to talk about themselves for a few hours. First up is former president of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf, fresh off the War on Terror. Joining him in the 2009-2010 series will be Laura Bush (Nov. 17), former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich (Jan. 12), hunger-strike dropout Mia Farrow (Feb. 16), and News Hour with Jim Lehrer personality David Brooks (March 16), along with a few other talk-circuit staples. (Becky Hunter)

Megadeth, Testament, Exodus

Rams Head Live, Baltimore.

OK, it's another band reunited for some extra bucks way past its prime, but why should you even care? It's Megadeth, the band that made '80s' ears bleed, that beat Metallica at being Metallica: godlike riffs, speed, drugs, godlike fame, tragedy, and an actually good '00s comeback record. Anyway, for a hot 10 or so years, thrash-metal was mainstream, and here's why. Tonight, Megadeth performs its much-revered "opus" Rust in Peace. Pay your respects. Also: Testament. (Michael Byrne)

The Only Good Corporation is an Undead Corporation

$5-$10 sliding scale. The Black Cherry Puppet Theater, Baltimore.

Black Cherry's description of this show is short on specifics and heavy on maybes. There may be nudity in Rebecca Nagle's piece. The coffee shop that Annex and Bedlam's work is set in may be a Federal Hill coffee shop. We do know that the title performance by RPM Puppet Conspiracy will look at whether the human rights attributed to corporations means they can get the flu or chicken pox or a zombie virus. Don't most of them already have that last one? (Anna Ditkoff)