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Thursday 14

BEAN'S SCENE. At the ripe old age of 29, Eleanor (nicknamed Bean) is finally escaping Boston, her beer-chugging paramour, and a terribly boring job, all for a chance at self-discovery as she travels across America. Moving from city to city, she relies on friends to help her get on down the road in Sleeping With Random Beasts, by Tucsonan and first-time novelist Karin Goodwin. See this week's Books section for details.

City Week Goodwin signs and discusses her book from 7 to 8 p.m. in Barnes & Noble Bookstore, 5130 E. Broadway. For details, call 745-9822.

SWINGERS. The Tucson Swing and Dance Club is a non-profit bunch dedicated to one thing: teaching you how to fancy-dance in style. And these days, that means tapping such innovative steps as the booming "West Coast Swing," taught by the Tucson Swingers each and every Thursday.

Lessons for beginners run from 7 to 7:45 p.m., with intermediates following from 7:45 to 8:30 p.m. General dancing is from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. in the Tucson Women's Club, 6245 E. Bellevue St. Admission is $3, $2 for members. Call 573-3732 for details.

SMALL ABSTRACTIONS. Today he's hunkered down in little Bisbee. But Peter Young is still considered one of the best abstract painters to emerge from New York's art scene of the '60s and '70s, when he did solo exhibitions with Leo Castelli in the Big Apple and Rolf Ricke in Cologne. Now this notable painter comes to Tucson for Three Small Paintings, his first solo exhibition in more than a decade.

Exhibit runs through June 13 at Elizabeth Cherry Contemporary Art, 437 E. Grant Road. Gallery hours are noon to 4 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. For information, call 903-0577.

Friday 15

NO PIPSQUEAK. He was the first-born son of Emperor Charlemagne, ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. But Pippin's noble fate was hardly cast in stone. And his theatrical quest for self-discovery became the toast of Broadway when it opened as a musical romp in 1972, earning a Tony Award for Ben Vereen.

Now the young man's struggle for autonomy comes to Tucson in the Theater League production of Bob Fosse's Pippin, starring Todd Hunter, Eric Kunze and Seinfeld's Estelle Harris.

Show time is 8 p.m. in the TCC Music Hall, 260 S. Church Ave. Performances continue at 2 and 8 p.m. tomorrow, and 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday. Tickets range from $26.50 to $35.50, and are available at the TCC box office (791-4266) and all Dillard's outlets.

NATIVE REFLECTIONS. Her Navajo name is Nah Glee eh Bah, or "One Who Goes Into Battle With Force"; and few dispute the power of clay sculptress Elizabeth Abeyta's work, now on display in Bahti Indian Arts.

Her pieces reflect her cross-cultural influences, strong spirituality, and a rich sense of humor. They include clay figures inspired by the Navajo Yeibichai dancers, and the mudhead clowns of their Pueblo neighbors. In particular, Coyote, the trickster and buffoon of so many tribal traditions, makes regular appearances, his expressions changing with the various predicaments in which Abeyta places him.

The exhibit, which includes stone sculpture by Red Lake Chippewa artist Gordon Van Wert, and paintings by Navajo painter Jack Tobaahe Gene, continues through May 31. Sneak a peek at tonight's preview from 6 to 9 p.m. in Bahti Indian Arts, 4300 N. Campbell Ave., in St. Philip's Plaza. There will also be a reception from 5 to 8 p.m. tomorrow, with brief presentations by the artists at 6 p.m. Regular gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call 577-0290.

Saturday 16

A THOUSAND WORDS. Rafael Alberti was born in 1902 near Cadiz, Spain. He started off as a painter, but poor health forced him into the supposedly less strenuous medium of poetry.

It was a providential move: Alberti went on to win his country's Premio Nacional de Literatura for his first collection of poems, Marinero en Tierra (Sailor on Land), published in 1925. And he became a member of the "Generation of '27," an influential band of poets who brought a literary renaissance to Madrid in the 1920s and '30s. Following the war, he was awarded the prestigious Premio Cervantes. Today, at 95, Alberti remains the only living member of his literary generation. And he continues to write.

Carolyn L. Tipton teaches world literature and literary translation at San Francisco State University. She's also author of To Painting: Poems by Rafael Alberti, a poetry collection translated from Spanish with introductions and commentary. Tonight she'll read from and sign copies of To Painting as part of the Make a Date With a Poet series.

Event begins at 7 p.m. in The Book Mark, 5001 E. Speedway. Admission is free. For details, call 881-5180.

LOBO ALOFT. The Tucson Symphony Orchestra and the Southern Arizona Dance Theater team up to present Sergei Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf. This family outing features beautiful scenery, colorful costumes, a bevy of dancers, and the orchestra's powerful accompaniment. Music will also include Mozart's Marriage of Figarro Overture, Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee, and Rossini's Finale to the William Tell Overture.

Performances are 10 and 11:30 a.m. in the Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Ave. Performances continue at 2 and 3:30 p.m. Sunday, May 17. Tickets are $10, $5 for children, and are available at the TSO box office, or by calling 882-8585.

SPRING STEPS. Seasonal dance action continues with Ballet Arts Foundation's Spring Dance Concert. The well-rounded roster includes La Boutique Fantastique (The Magic Toyshop), featuring the music of Ottorino Respighi and choreography by Mary Beth Cabana. La Boutique details the ornery ways of life-sized mechanical dolls who tend toward mischief-making. Other selections include Swan Lake's "White Swan Pas de Deux"; the fiery Spanish-style Paquita; and Mark Schneider's contemporary ballet, Waltzes.

Performances are 2 and 7 p.m. in the PCC Proscenium Theatre, 2202 W. Anklam Road. Performances continue at 2 p.m. tomorrow. Tickets are $10, available at the door or by calling 623-3373.

Sunday 17

HOODLUMS. He headed the merry band from Nottingham Forest, and was perhaps the world's first socialist, with his nettlesome habit of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. Either way, the good-hearted bandit and his buddies are back in Brandon and Terry Howell's new musical Robin Hood, presented by the Arizona Rose Theatre Company.

Performance is 2 p.m. in the Berger Performing Arts Center, 1200 W. Speedway. Performances continue at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 22 and 23, and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 24. Tickets are $16, available at Ticketmaster outlets, Robinsons-May, The Wherehouse, or by calling 321-1000.

AIDS MEMORIAL. Today the Old Pueblo joins 400 cities around the planet to observe the 15th-annual International AIDS Candlelight Memorial and Mobilization. The world's largest grassroots AIDS gathering, it recalls lives lost to AIDS, demonstrates support for those living with the disease, and furthers efforts to find a cure.

Tucsonans will gather in remembrance and support at 7:30 p.m. in Armory Park, 221 S. Sixth Ave. Speakers will include a person living with HIV, someone who's lost a loved one to the disease, and AIDS prevention educators and caregivers. Desert Chorus will perform, and lead a candlelight procession downtown, followed by an interfaith service. Participants are encouraged to bring candles, and cups to shield the flame. For more information, call 743-4878.

PECK O' PICKERS. Those melody-minded folks of the Desert Bluegrass Association fire up the strings today for another monthly jam session. These stringed extravaganzas have been known to fill the house, and all pickers and erstwhile grinners are invited to pluck, sing, or just hunker down for a good listen starting at 4 p.m. in the Texas T-Bone Restaurant, 8981 E. Tanque Verde Road, in the Bear Canyon Shopping Center. Call 743-7086 for details.

Monday 18

OPAQUE PLANET. Stacey Richter and Anna Keefer's Invisible World, a punk-rock musical about a Priscilla Presley imitator, hits the big screen in Upstairs Film's new MultiMedia Monday series, at downtown's Hotel Congress. Also on the bill is Open 24 Hrs., a short by Kathleen Haley and David Gil. Rounding out the on-stage fanfare are musical performances by Twine and the Amor Belhôm Duo.

Media saturation begins at 8 p.m. in the Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St. Admission is $3. For details, call 622-1751.

BRIT FLIT. It's described as "elegant and flirtatious," kind of a James Bond of the floorboards. It's English Country Dancing, and we hear it's taking isolated pockets of southern Arizona by storm.

Now's your chance to get in on the latest British wave, with English-style foot-stomping underway from 7:30 to 10 p.m. in the Pima Friends Meeting House, 931 N. Fifth Ave. Admission is by donation. Call 740-1970 for information.

Tuesday 19

BIG FIDDLE. He may be ranked among Nashville's greatest country fiddlers, but you may not know that Mark O'Connor has a profoundly classical side. The Grammy Award-winner shows his other colors in tonight's solo recital on violin, guitar and mandolin.

Of course, O'Connor's talent in classical music should come as no surprise. His album Appalachia Waltz, recorded with Yo Yo Ma and Edgar Meyer, stayed at No. 1 on the Billboard Classical charts for 16 weeks; and his score for the PBS series Liberty! The American Revolution, was called a "beautifully crafted and lovingly played tribute to the birth of America," by the Dallas Morning News.

Of one recent concert, the Seattle Times wrote that "O'Connor's performance was a moving occasion filled with energy, joy and laughter...no matter what he plays, you know you're listening to genius."

Performance is 7:30 p.m. in UA Centennial Hall, located inside the main gate east of Park Avenue. Tickets range from $15 to $24, half-price for students and children under age 18. UA faculty and staff receive a 15 percent discount. Tickets are available at the Centennial Hall box office, the TCC box office, Dillard's, or by calling 621-3341.

Wednesday 20

ANCIENT RX. Think there's a plethora of weird medicine on the market these days, everything from Viagra to melatonin? Take a step back in history, and you'll realize that there's truly nothing new under the sun--or between the mortar and pestle. TMA docent Margarita Kay does just that, in a lecture aptly titled Folk Medicine from Spain.

Free lecture is at noon in the Tucson Museum of Art, 140 N. Main Ave. For details, call 624-2333.

WEEKEND REFUGE. Cerceau is the story of Rooster, a young man who unexpectedly inherits a country house from his great aunt. Soon he's invited his neighbor, a longtime friend, his first love, his boss and a stranger to join him for a rather unusual weekend at the vacant house. Things perk up when the deceased aunt's paramour also drops by. Playful games, songs, and plenty of free-spirited fun mark this thoughtful play by Viktor Slavkin, now presented by the Tucson Art Theatre.

Show time is 8 p.m. in the Temple of Music and Art Cabaret Theatre, 330 S. Scott Ave. Performances continue at 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday through May 30, with a Sunday matinee at 2:30 p.m. on May 24. Tickets are $10, $9 for students and seniors, and are available by calling 327-7950. TW


City Week includes events selected by Calendar Editor Tim Vanderpool. Event information is accurate as of press time. The Weekly recommends calling event organizers to check for last-minute changes in location, time, price, etc. To have material considered, please send complete information at least 11 days prior to the Thursday issue date to: Tucson Weekly, P.O. Box 2429, Tucson, Arizona 85702, or fax information to 792-2096, or email us at listings@tucsonweekly.com.


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