We will be in Florence for a week in mid May, 2017. We're looking for some stage shows, music, plays that aren't opera. We plan to go to the top sights and museums, but want to get some live entertainment too. So what's to in that genre?

Have you checked the events calendar on the official Florence tourism site for your dates?

http://www.firenzeturismo.it/en/

In Italian?

Yes, can you handle theater in Italian?

Music doesn't require tranlation - see www.boxofficetoscana.it/eventi/concerti

For a hodgepodge of event types: www.gogofirenze.it/giorno/20170504

I agree that theatre would be challenging if you don't understand Italian. Here is a website that has tickets for all sorts of events. I've selected concerts; you can narrow it down to your preferred music type.

http://www.ticketone.it/biglietti.ht...urbuchbar=true

There is also Teatro del Sale:

http://www.edizioniteatrodelsalecibreofirenze.it/

You have to buy a membership for 5 euros but that's easy enough to do by showing up a bit early. Dinner is a buffet where the kitchen announces new dishes every 5-10 minutes. After dinner there is a show that varies every night, if you don't speak Italian picking a night where there is some type of musical performance might be best.