October 19 - October 25, 1995

Thursday 19

A GAY OLD TIME. We don't know what to make of these guys, never having seen them strut their stuff. But we're intrigued by the Sydney Daily Mirror's description: "If Simon and Garfunkel were younger, very funny and very gay, you might have an act resembling Romanovsky and Phillips." The duo pioneered the now-popular gay and lesbian comedy movement back in 1982 in San Francisco, and have been touring nationally since 1983 to the delight of audiences throughout the U.S. and Canada. Their comic banter and folk-style music à la the Smothers Brothers crosses over the boundaries between stage and audience, between gay and straight. See for yourself at 8 p.m. at the PCC Proscenium Theater, 2202 W. Anklam Road. Tickets are $12 in advance, $14 at the door. Outlets include Antigone Books, Hear's Music and Tucson Trunk. Call 884-6458 for information.

INWARD SPIRAL. The fragrance of herbs, the crunch of pine needles underfoot and the ancient feel of handmade paper--these are the materials of our escape in A Spiral to Within, installations by Catherine Nash. The two installations are nestled within the south gallery of the UA Museum of Art, providing a unique sanctuary evoking those long-lost secret places we created as children: forts in the woods, nests in closets, tents made from blankets, chairs and tables. "I feel moved to create works that offer a solitude and silence that many adults cannot or do not seek in their lives," says Nash. "I seek to provide an opportunity for the viewer to relax, slow down and to feel safe and protected."

Stop and smell the straw from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, noon to 4 p.m. Sundays, through October 22, in the UA arts oasis on the corner of Park Avenue and Speedway. Admission is free.

Friday 20

COME TO THE DARK SIDE. Jon McNamara is a recognizable presence on the stages of such local companies as Zenith Dance Collective, Bloodhut Productions, a.k.a. Theatre and Borderlands. But the local dancer, performer and cultural anthropology student makes his solo debut with Shades and Shadow, a minimalistic, multidisciplinary dance work incorporating photo and video installations and live music. Shades' central theme is shame and its relation to disease, as influenced by the artist's experience with a friend's deterioration and death from cancer and AIDS. Bob Steigert will provide the music, employing objects both traditional and experimental, such as garbage cans, gravel and fence posts.

Shades and Shadow continues with performances at 8 p.m. Friday through Sunday through November 5 at a.k.a. Theatre, 125 E. Congress St. Tickets are $9, $7 for students. Call 321-0493 for reservations and information.

FERAL FOLLIES. Having just survived the nine lives of the "Best Of Tucson" here at The Weekly, any mention of felines really gets under our fur. But ever diligent in our drive to inform you of all things great and small in the Old Pueblo, we knew we should remind you that Cats, Andrew Lloyd Webber's acclaimed adaptation of T.S. Elliot's beloved poems, slinks into town for three nights only at UA Centennial Hall. Showtime is 8 p.m. tonight and Saturday, with weekend matinees at 2 p.m. Tickets range from $25 to $39. Call the Centennial Hall box office at 621-3341, or Dillard's charge line at (800) 638-4253, for reservations and information.

Saturday 21

TWISTED TALES. Ichabod Crane pales in comparison to the Native American and Hispanic folk tales storytellers Joe Hayes, Martín Rivera, Gerard Tsonakwa and Billie Topa Tate have planned for Twisted Tales from a Haunted Desert (and if you remember The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Crane couldn't get much paler and still have a pulse). These spine-tingling yarns and old-fashioned ghost stories will appeal to a universal audience of adults and children, with "something to be learned for all."

Catch the spirit of All Hallow's Eve with storytelling from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Ironwood Gallery at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, 2021 N. Kinney Road. Admission is free to members, $8.95 for adults and $1.50 for children up to 12. Call 578-3008 for information.

Downtown Saturdays. With the summer heat behind us, Downtown SaturDays once again spice up the weekend scene with art, architecture and barrio tours in and around the Arts District. Today's highlights include glass blowing demonstrations at Philabaum Contemporary Art Glass, 711 S. Sixth Ave., and the storybook castle at the Children's Museum. Colorado guitarist Kirk James performs Delta blues, ragtime and acoustic Texas shuffles from 7 to 10 p.m. on Pennington Street, and jazzy Caliente livens up Fourth Avenue at Winsett Park. This season downtown visitors can tour the evening streets via horse-drawn wagons. For more information on Downtown SaturDay and Saturday Night events, call 624-9977.

Sunday 22

BEGIN AGAIN. Four celebrated masters of music, theatre, dance and visual art visit Tucson to participate in Genesis: Culture, Continuity and Community, a week-long series of events exploring issues of contemporary cultural identity. Leading off is Into the Wilderness, an experimental dance theater piece choreographed by Tamar Rogoff, with music composed by writer and performer Andy Tierstein. Both artists are well-known international performers decorated with awards from the NEA.

Their collaboration draws from the folk roots of modern culture, with emphasis on the effect of cultural roots on Jewish identity and consciousness. Into the Woods begins at 10 a.m. at the Jewish Community Center, Dodge Boulevard and River Road. Also today, visual artist Ruth Weisberg's Brothers and Sisters exhibit opens with a reception from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Joseph Gross Gallery on the UA campus. Call 577-9393 for information on these and related events.

TRUE BLUES. The annual Blues Festival takes over Reid Park DeMeester Outdoor Performance Center from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., with performances by Blues in the Park with Denis Offret, George Howard and the Roadhouse Hounds, Chick Rodgers, Steve James, Floyd Dixon, the Barbea Williams Dance Company, William Clarke, Coco Montoya and the excellent homegrown Sam Taylor Band. We don't have to entice you with free admission or details of the great food, abundant energy and epic performances about to take place, do we? Just go. And if seven straight hours doesn't cure what ails ya, head over to Berky's On Fourth Avenue, 424 N. Fourth Ave., for the Post-Festival Jam Session.

Avoid parking hassles by taking the free shuttle with continuous service between 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. from Foley's at El Con; and every hour on the hour from El Pueblo Neighborhood Center on West Irvington Road. Call 791-4560 for information.

Monday 23

STATE OF THE ARTS. Join guest artists-in-residence Ruth Weisberg, Elizabeth Swados, Andy Teirstein and Tamar Rogoff in a public forum addressing the importance of community support for the arts and challenges to artists posed by the Contract with America. The panel will be moderated by Patty Weiss, with prominent Tucson artists also contributing.

Tonight's discussion continues Genesis: Culture, Continuity and Community, a week-long series of events using art to explore issues of contemporary cultural identity. Forum is free, and meets from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at The Temple Of Music And Art, 330 S. Scott Ave. Call 577-9393 for information on this and other Genesis events.

Tuesday 24

GOING IT ALONE. Invisible Theatre's Going It Alone series opens with Kitt Starr in Whatever Happened to Tina Louise?, starring local female illusionist Stuart Moulton. This musical montage, conceived by Moulton, was written, produced and directed by Susan Claasen, with musical accompaniment by Lisa Lemay and Lisa Otey. Moulton's female alter-ego, Kitt Star, "is a character of high drama whose desire to earn her place in history as a cabaret artist expresses the ethical importance of acknowledging one's individuality." Claasen's bold and comedic writing, combined with Moulton's skilled dancing, singing and acting, promise an evening of surprises.

Previews are a steal at $6, at 5:30 tonight and noon Wednesday at The Temple Of Music And Art Cabaret Theatre, 330 S. Scott Ave. A box lunch is available for $6 from B&B Café downstairs. Regular performances are at 8 p.m. October 26 through 28. Call 882-9721 for reservations and information.

Wednesday 25

BEAR ESSENTIALS. Sky Island Alliance continues the effort to promote peaceful co-existence between bears and humans by encouraging volunteers to get involved with educational projects, garbage problems and other issues leading to altercations between bears and people on Mount Lemmon. The Bear Committee meets at 7 p.m. at the Water Resources Research Center, 350 N. Campbell Ave. Call 884-0883 for information.

Add your Home Page to the Tucson Weekly
Central Arizona Speculative Fiction Society
Tucson Jazz Society
Theta Tau's Delta Gamma Chapter at Arizona State
Tucson Tee Time

October 19 - October 25, 1995

		© 1995-97 Tucson Weekly . Info Booth