Thursday 20
SLIP INTO LAUGHTER. If you've never seen The Man Who Came to Dinner, you've never really laughed.
For the second straight week, the legendary Bette Davis stars in the weekly outdoor show at La Placita Village. Tonight, don't miss the hilarious story about a man who slips on the ice outside a friend's home and is confined to the home because of his injuries.
The movie, also starring Ann Sheridan and Monte Woolley, is a string of comic situations that arise during his stay.
The movie starts at 7:30 p.m. at 110 S. Church Ave. The weekly screenings are free but a $3 donation to help restore the historic Fox Theatre is encouraged. Several La Placita Village restaurants will be open for dinner. For more information, call 325-2202.
Friday 21
A PAIR OF BEAUTIES. A classic one-act ballet and an old-fashioned story about love lost, then found again, are the opening efforts of Ballet Continental.
The company starts its season with Les Sylphides and The Magic Flute.
Les Sylphides, choreographed by Michael Folkine to the beautiful music of Frédéric Chopin, tells in ethereal fashion the story of magical creatures who dance in the light of the moon.
In The Magic Flute, a boy whose love is promised to someone much wealthier is given a flute by a hermit (really a goddess in disguise) and uses it to make people dance. That is the flute's magic; folks who don't want to dance are compelled to. The magic wins the girl and the favor of her parents, there's a happy marriage and all that good stuff.
Tonight's performance starts at 7:30 at the Leo Rich Theatre. On Sunday, a second performance starts at 2 p.m. at the Sahuarita High School auditorium, I-19 and Sahuarita Road. Tickets cost $10 general admission, $8 seniors, $5 students and children 12 and under. For more information, call 326-7887.
SOULFUL SINGING. Eliza Gilkyson may well be the most talked-about artist from the recent Tucson Folk Festival.
Find out why tonight as Gilkyson joins Ana Egge for a Songs for the Soul concert.
Part of the Rhythm and Roots concert series, Gilkyson's introspective and atmospheric blend is sure to thrill music lovers.
The show begins at 8 p.m. at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, 602 N. Wilmot Road, at Fifth Avenue. Tickets cost $10 advance, $12 at the door. Advance tickets are available at Hear's Music, Antigone Books, Brew and Vine, City Grill and Enchanted Earthworks in Palomino Plaza. Charge by phone at 297-9133.
See "Eliza's Awakening," page 34.
STEP RIGHT UP. If you're involved with dance or theater, you already know how deep a rut can be. Here's a chance to get off the dime and rejuvenate your creative instincts.
Jon McNamara and Sara Shelton Mann will be teaching a special three-day intensive workshop for dancers, choreographers and theater artists. They will be sharing their unique approach to developing material.
Mann has created an exhilarating style of performance that captures the evolution of choreographic expression, blending daring lyrical physicality with acrobatic partnering. Mann was the founder of the now disbanded San Francisco performance group Contraband. She has been awarded many prestigious awards for choreography, including four Isadora Duncan awards and the 2000 John Simon Guggenheim fellowship in choreography.
McNamara is a dancer and choreographer from Tucson. He is the recipient of the 2001 fellowship in choreography from the Tucson/Pima Arts Council and the 2000 fellowship in choreography from the Arizona Commission on the Arts.
The workshop will focus on the relationship between process and integration using both mental and physical techniques, chi cultivation and a strong emphasis on the Feldenkrais method.
The workshop will explore embodiment, expanding the field of attention, process and performance, bridging the gap between personal awareness and the imaginary realm of improvisation and composition. The workshop starts today and runs through Sunday at Zuzi's Little Theatre, 738 N. Fifth Ave. Hours all days are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Cost is $165. For more information, call 629-0237.
WRITERS RIGHT HERE. Learn how to produce a successful nonfiction book during the first in a series of writers' workshops.
Randy Summerlin, a former newspaper journalist and book editor, will talk about contracts, agents, editing and other aspects of getting the job done right during this weekend's workshop at Pima Community College.
The event is today through Sunday at the west campus. The cost is $78, and the workshop is worth two hours of PCC credit. To register or for more information, call 206-4528.
Saturday 22
RIDE ON. If you ride a scooter and you would like to get on your butt for a great cause, look into the Too Tough to Die ride.
A ride today to Tombstone will benefit Desert Survivors programs for children and adults with disabilities.
Riders will gather at 8 a.m. at Kickstart Grill in Tucson and leave for Tombstone at 10. The gaggle stops in Sonoita for a "steak out" on the way. Trophies (don't know what for) will be awarded at a bike show at 3 p.m. at the Crystal Palace in Tombstone, after which the bikers will head back for Tucson and the party that awaits at Kickstart.
Cost is $15 per person in advance, or $20 the day of the ride. Kickstart is located at 8987 E. Tanque Verde Road in Bear Canyon Center. For more information, call 760-3013.
SHOW A LITTLE PRIDE. At first glance, Bisbee may not appear a pocket of alternative living.
Hello ...
Ever heard of the Pride Family Talent Show?
Check out Variations on a Theme, a talent variety show featuring some of Cochise County's and Tucson's finest gay/lesbian/bisexual performers.
The show will be presented tonight only, at 7 at the Bisbee Repertory Theatre, 94 Main Street, Old Bisbee. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets cost $5 at the door. Proceeds will benefit the Pride Family's outreach and awareness programs. For more information, call Rae Jones at 520-432-4250.
FUNNY BUSINESS. Little Footsteps, the story of a couple about to experience parenthood, comes to a close soon--so you'd better get tickets.
Invisible Theatre opened its 31st season with the story of Ben and Joanie, yuppies in their mid-30s who are about to be parents for the first time. The pending arrival has both of them in a near panic.
"The unprepared attempting the impossible for the sake of the ungrateful." That's how Ben sums up parenthood.
This inventive, touching comedy explores the challenges of parenting, interfaith marriage and the demands of growing up before your offspring does.
Little Footsteps runs through September 30 at 1400 N. First Ave. Tickets cost $18 to $20 and are available by calling 882-9721. For more information and showtimes, call 882-9721 or 884-0672.
For a review, see "And Baby Makes Trouble," page 28.
Sunday 23
ONE OF DUKE'S FRIENDS. How many people can boast that they had a chance to chat with jazz king Duke Ellington?
While he's not boasting, Jon Mayer, a veteran of the '50s New York jazz scene, remembers getting to know Ellington as a memorable occasion during his impressive and enduring career.
"The highlight was when we worked at Expo '67 in Montreal for a week, opening for Duke Ellington, who was very nice to me," said Mayer, who at the time was touring as Sarah Vaughn's musical director.
Jon Mayer--Ernie Watts Project: A Celebration of the 75th Anniversary of John Coltrane's Birth is your chance to hear Mayer's own blend of great jazz.
A fixture of the Los Angeles jazz clubs since 1991, Mayer, an outstanding pianist, was inspired by Horace Silver, Bud Powell, Oscar Peterson, Red Garland and Wynton Kelly. He has worked and recorded with Jackie McLean on Strange Blue and recorded with John Coltrane on Like Sonny. Mayer's biography reads like a who's who of jazz.
After various stints as a sideman with the Tony Scott Quartet, where he replaced Bill Evans, gigging in Paris with Chet Baker and even playing with Manhattan Transfer, Mayer dropped out of the music business altogether for a long period of time.
All that changed when he moved to Los Angeles and resumed playing. His 1995 recording The Usual Suspects featuring Ron Carter and Billy Higgins brought him renewed recognition in jazz circles. His collaboration with Ernie Watts began by accident.
"Watts happened to drop by one of my gigs, liked what he heard and said that we ought to play some notes," Mayer said.
A once-a-week rehearsal band developed, leading to Do It Like This featuring Mayer's trio with Ernie Watts as special guest.
The show starts at 6 tonight at La Placita Village on the corner of Broadway and Church. Tickets cost $9 for Tucson Jazz Society members, $16 for non-members. For more information, visit www.tucsonjazz.org.
Monday 24
SULTRY SOUNDS. The influences of Elvis and Billie Holiday flavor the stylish performances of Lisa Otey.
But her driving barrelhouse and hot jazz piano are one of a kind. Her eclectic blues approach has garnered the musician many awards, including 2000 Arizona Composer of the Year.
Get a listen tonight at the Gaslight Theatre, where Otey will perform with John Westfall on drums, Steve Grams on bass guitar, Hurricane Carla Brownlee on sax and Kathleen Williamson on guitar.
The show starts at 7 p.m. at Gaslight, 7010 E. Broadway Blvd. Tickets cost $10 adults, $8 for students, seniors over 60 and active military. Kids 12 and under get in for $6. For more information, call 886-9428.
Tuesday 25
GET BUTTERED UP. Don a pair of antennae and get going.
The beautiful and diverse butterfly is the focus of a unique new program at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, where visitors can celebrate the more than 250 species that can be spotted in the region at this time of the year.
Activities and events include learning about what butterflies eat; starting a butterfly garden; puppet shows, exhibits and themed foods; and educational videos.
The butterfly festival continues through September 30 at the museum at 2021 N. Kinney Road. The museum is open 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. For more information, call 883-2702 or visit www.desertmuseum.org.
Wednesday 26
ROSE GARDEN CABARET. It's dinner with a bit of magic.
Rose Garden Restaurant is bringing back an old idea: dinner and a show in an affordable supper club. For 12 weeks, the restaurant will present C.H. Mara's Illusion Show Supper Club of Magic.
"The baby boomer generation, now their adult children and grandchildren, have not had the chance to see real stage magicians perform miracles on a supper club's platform stage," said Mara, the show's producer. "That exciting meal and live performance is what we intend to recreate."
This thing may sound a bit flaky to some, but hearing what Mara has planned for his performances might change a few minds.
"When I cut a person in half in front of a live audience, use a guillotine, put light bulbs through a lady's torso or cut a person into six parts, it is live, right now," he said.
The shows will be staged at 6:15 and 7:15 p.m. every Tuesday and Wednesday through mid-December at the Rose Garden, 1800 E. Fort Lowell Road. Buffet prices, including the show, are $7.99 adults, $3.49 for kids 4-12 and $1.25 for kids under 4. For more information, call 299-0507.
