July 6 - July 12, 1995

Thursday

SIZZLING SUMMER SOUNDS. Jeffrey Haskell and Jack Neubeck are a creative force infrequently joined on Tucson stages. They teamed up in 1990 for a memorable musical cabaret evening at the Doubletree Inn and again with Susan Claasen in Invisible Theatre's 1991 salute to Irving Berlin, Once and Forever. Haskell coordinates the jazz studies program at the University of Arizona, and has performed as a jazz pianist with greats like Ray Brown and Clark Terry. His three Los Angeles Emmys are no small achievement, either. Neubeck has been entertaining audiences for 25 years, with a career that took him from low budget horror films and more than 3,000 Broadway performances, including the original casts of Evita and La Cage Aux Folles, to his current seat as musical director for IT's A...My Name is Still Alice.

They celebrate Invisible Theatre's 25th anniversary tonight with "an evening of musical magic" featuring pop, jazz and Broadway show tunes, with vocalist Betty Craig performing a tribute to George Gershwin. Guest artists for the remaining shows include vocalists Jean Oliver and Dawn Veree and world-class jazz trombonist Tom Ervin. Even Carol Channing is rumored to appear, or to appear to appear, if there's any truth to the clothes making the "man."

Tickets for the 8 p.m. show are $15, available at the IT box office, 882-9721. Performances continue at 8 p.m. through July 8, with a 2 o'clock Saturday matinee, at the Doubletree Inn, 445 S. Alvernon Way. Take advantage of the 25 percent IT anniversary dinner discount at the Javelina Cantina or the Cactus Rose. Call 882-9721 for information.

Friday

NEW 'DO. Those wacky folks at Stray Theatre are ready to unleash their latest: Wigged Out, a "world premier original country western musical," opening at 8 p.m. at the Tucson Center for the Performing Arts, 408 S. Sixth Ave. Believing that their Golden Fleece Salon is going under, a band of desperate beauticians scheme to get an endorsement from a country western star who's returned home to be inaugurated into the local Hall of Fame. During the three-day ordeal to catch her attention, "an unlikely friendship is struck, a marriage falls apart, a mother and son reunite and love is found." Tickets are $14, with discounts available for seniors, students and children under 12, available at the Arizona Theatre Company box office, 622-2823. Production continues through July 30.

Saturday

COLORFUL PALETTE. Discover your inner genius with well-known painter Bruce McGrew, in this intensive one-day watercolor workshop from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Mt. Lemmon. McGrew, a professor of art at the UA, has conducted workshops throughout the U.S., Mexico and Scotland. His works are in the UA Museum of Art's permanent collection, the local Davis Dominguez Gallery and galleries in Santa Fe and New York. Today's workshop will explore the use of color as light and space and "investigate content formed by the equation of sense, place, medium and painter." Individual exploration and personal vision will be stressed. Cost of the workshop is $59. Call the UA Extended University at 621-8632 for registration and information.

OUTLAWS IN. One San Francisco Film Festival reviewer called it a "truly astonishing and exhilarating film, both deeply thought-provoking and laugh-out-loud funny." With a motto like "Copyright infringement is your best entertainment value," it sounds like a cynic's paradise. What the landmark documentary Sonic Outlaws is, in objective terms, is a combination of interviews, music and stock footage chronicling the infamous Negativland v. U2 lawsuit, copyright infringement, "fair use" and the long history of sound and image sampling--from the Cubist and Dadaist perspectives of the early 1900s to pop art and satellite downlinks. If not for the brilliantly processed collage of monster movies, TV evangelists, Pixelvision, Daffy Duck and jackalope postcards, go see it for the clip of Casey Kasem cursing like a truck driver.

Sonic Outlaws screens at 8 o'clock tonight and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, July 9, at The Screening Room, 127 E. Congress St. Admission is $4. Filmmaker Craig Baldwin and Negativland band member Mark Hosler are scheduled to appear at both screenings. Call 622-2262 for information.

BISBEE BUZZ. As much as we like Tucson, a little absence-makes-the-heart-grow-fonder attitude adjustment might make this weekend really cool--by at least a few degrees. The annual Subway Street Summer Party happens tonight in the cool, mile-high city to the south, with a variety of art openings, food and entertainment. Opening tonight with a reception from 6 to 10 p.m. is a unique show at Jane Hamilton Fine Art Gallery, 31 Subway St. Summer Screens is an eight-artist juried exhibition focusing on the nostalgic, romantic and mysterious themes that surround folding screens. Featured works include a natural-fiber piece using Katazome, an ancient Japanese art form, by fiber artist Anna Keene, a cut-out screen of the rodeo genre by Phoenix painter Paul Verberg, watercolors on silk by Leah Niemoth, and a photographic montage by Bisbee artist and poet Marguerite. The street party will be crawling with live music, with solo guitar by Burt Webster, the zany musical group The Green Tomatoez, a cappella singers La Luna Tunes and dancers from the Afro-Haitian Dance Group. Call (520) 432-3660 for information.

Sunday

SWEET RELEASE. Stefan George and Songtower need no introduction to Tucson audiences. Wherever world-traveled singer/songwriter George plays, a wall-to-wall crowd of loyal, boogie-footed blues fans follow. The TAMMIE-award winners for Best Acoustic/Folk Ensemble two years running aren't through celebrating yet. They unveil their latest CD, Cactus and Concrete, in a show from 7 to 11 p.m. in the air-conditioned comfort of the Southwest Center for Music, 2175 N. Sixth Ave. Whether you're a long-time listener or a curious newcomer, Songtower is sure to enchant, revealing a poetic side of this desert town you may never before have had the pleasure of seeing. Tickets are $5, available at the door. Call 884-1220 for information on advance tickets.

BEER AND BELLY-LAUGHS. Joey Medina's career path is the ultimate punch line. The mild-mannered young comedian tells with a straight face how he went from the professional boxing ring into a Tucson Police Department uniform and eventually found his bliss on an amateur night stage at Laffs Comedy Caffe. While he readily admits his new career isn't nearly as painful, "there've been times (on stage) I wished I could throw in the towel," he chuckles. Medina has proved himself a heavy hitter on the up-and-coming list on the competitive stand-up circuit, receiving warm welcomes in L.A., Texas, Colorado, New Mexico and "oh yeah, some clubs back East." He's joined tonight by L.A. comedians Gilbert Esquivel and Rudy Moreno, both regulars at Hollywood's Improv and Laugh Factory and winners of the prestigious Latino Comedy Search. The three reconvene in Tucson after a sold-out show six months ago at ASU. "I'm really excited about working with them," says Medina, who sees "a future Paul Rodriguez in all of us."

Catch the first annual Latino All-Star Comedy Tour, hosted by KQHT's Manic Hispanic, at 8 p.m. at the Wildcat House, 1801 N. Stone Ave., before fame and fortune--or some other wild career--intervene. Tickets for tonight's show are $5 in advance, $8 at the door, and will benefit the bone marrow transplant search fund for 14-year-old Christalina Brito. Call 623-6429 for ticket outlets and information.

Monday

BOYS IN THE WOOD. The Bianco Theatre Company presents a mid-summer musical theatre production for the whole family with this adaptation of the classical tale of Robin Hood. See the Gaslight Theatre transformed into Sherwood Forest, home of Prince John, the evil Sheriff, Maid Marion, King Richard and "several surprise additions" from two casts including more than 50 actors ages four through 16. Showtime is 7:30 p.m., with performances continuing July 15, 17 and 18. Tickets are $7 general admission, $5 for children, available at the door or by calling 290-9108. The Gaslight Theatre is at 7010 E. Broadway, in Trail Dust Town.

Tuesday

PAPER RAP. One of the beneficial by- products of the reuse-recycle movement is a changing aesthetic toward paper. Those crisp, clean white sheets have largely given way to the beauty and texture of "imperfect" recycled papers. Similarly, the art of papermaking seems to have received renewed attention from artists and audiences alike. Local artist Barbara Kennedy is one such artist whose love of handmade papers sent her work into unique new directions with collage and pastel (See Margaret Regan's article in the Review section for details on the show). Barbara Kennedy: Color and Paper continues through July 17 at Tohono Chul Park Gallery, 7366 N. Paseo del Norte. Gallery hours are 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Requested donation is $2. Call 575-8468 for information.

Wednesday

FLASH POINT. Su Teatro presents Burn This, by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Landford Wilson, under the skillful direction of award-winning playwright Ken Tesoriere. You'll just have to find out for yourself why Pale carries a gun and where the lives of a dancer, two cadavers, an ardent suitor and a guy named Larry who "just wants to sleep until the happy ending" intersect. Performances continue at 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday through July 23 at the Historic Y Theatre, 738 N. Fifth Ave. Tickets are $9, $8 for seniors, available at Antigone Books, 600 N. Fourth Ave., and the Book Stop, 2504 N. Campbell Ave. Call 740-1402 for information.

Photo 1: "Enchanted Forest," by Donald Smiley, highlights Summer Screens, continuing through July 31 at Jane Hamilton Fine Art Gallery on Subway Street in Bisbee.
Photo 2: High rise: Stefan George and Songtower celebrate the release of Cactus and Concrete from 7 to 11 p.m. Sunday, July 9, at the Southwest Center for Music, 2175 N. Sixth Ave.
Photo 3: "Dragon's Teeth," by Charlotte Bender, is one small wonder in the third annual Small Works Invitational continuing through July 22 at Davis Dominguez Gallery, 6812 N. Oracle Road.
Photo 4: "Self-portrait with a Monkey," 1983, by Frida Kahlo, spotlights Latin American Women Artists, 1915-1995, opening July 8 at the Phoenix Art Museum, 1625 N. Central Ave. in Phoenix.

July 6 - July 12, 1995

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