The resale shop eyedia, design it again at 1631 Mellwood Ave. now has a gallery featuring original art.
Weekender: Nov. 21-22
Posted: November 20, 2009 – 10:00 am
•Bill T. Jones & Arnie Zang Dance Co.
Saturday, Nov. 21
Whitney Hall, Kentucky Center
501 W. Main St.
562-0100
$20-$38; 8 p.m.
All right, try this on for size: an interpretation of Lincoln. Sounds a little stiff and boring, eh? All right, let’s modify this in an important way: interpretations of Lincoln through dance. And this isn’t just a ton of dancing Lincolns (although I hope there are some); this is a fully developed speculation on what America would be like had Lincoln completed Reconstruction. Bill T. Jones (Tony award-winning director) aims to explore a much more complicated idea of Lincoln than we normally get, to try and come to a conclusion on what contributions the man really left, and what he could have done had he lived longer. This work, commissioned by the Ravina Festival, premiered at the American Dance Festival just before arriving in Louisville this week. —Pawl Schwartz
‘Little Mary Sunshine’ @ Kentucky Center
Posted: November 20, 2009 – 9:30 am
Nov. 20-22, 27-29
Kentucky Center
584-7777
myspace.com/ayutc
$16; 8 p.m. (2:30 p.m. Nov. 22 & 29)
Book, Music, Lyrics by Rick Besoyan, it’s one of the most successful off-Broadway productions.
‘Hansel and Gretel’ @ Brown Theatre
Posted: November 20, 2009 – 9:30 am
Nov. 20 & 22
Brown Theatre
315 W. Broadway
584-7777
kyopera.org
$35-$85; 8 p.m. (Fri.), 2 p.m. (Sun.)
The Hansel and Gretel story began in a Grimm Brothers fairytale called “Babes in the Woods.” But the Grimm story is pretty grim, with a mother sending her children off into the woods to lose them. A much happier version — good mom, bad witch — is the tale as we know it today through the opera “Hansel and Gretel,” written in 1893 by Englebert Humperdinck, and presented this weekend by the Kentucky Opera. It’s a beautiful opera, and many of the melodies will be familiar to audiences. Humperdinck was a part of the German musical world of Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss, helping create a lush, romantic, symphonic sound. “Hansel and Gretel” is laced with multi-tiered chords and sweet harmonies — like a gingerbread house, if you will. Victoria Livengood appears as the wicked witch, with Leah Wool as Hansel and Anya Matanovic as Gretel. —Bill Doolittle
Artist Jay Ryan @ Carmichael’s
Posted: November 20, 2009 – 9:30 am
Friday, Nov. 20
Carmichael’s Bookstore
2720 Frankfort Ave.
896-6950
Free; 7 p.m.
You’ve seen them — underground band posters with cute animals, hand-drawn type and complex, muted colors advertising My Morning Jacket, Built to Spill, The Melvins and others. The artist, Jay Ryan of Chicago, has a new book out called “Animals and Objects In and Out of Water,” and he’s coming to town Friday to do a book signing at Carmichael’s. The book is a collection of 120 of Ryan’s personal favorites from the last three years with a foreword written by Andrew Bird. If you’re a connoisseur of design, poster art, screenprinting or illustration and you’re not familiar with his work, now’s your chance. Graphic artist Paul Hornschemeier of “Forlorn Funnies” will join Ryan at the signing. —Britany Baker
Gallopalooza Live Auction @ Seelbach Hotel
Posted: November 20, 2009 – 9:30 am
Friday, Nov. 20
Seelbach Hilton Hotel
500 S. Fourth St.
www.gallopalooza.com
$50-$100; 7:30 p.m.
Gallopalooza, Inc., the civic pride project that is currently displaying more than 130 life-size horses designed by professional and amateur artists throughout the Louisville area, plans to auction approximately 100 of the horse statues to the highest bidders in Live and Online Auctions next month to raise money for community beautification projects done in partnership with Brightside. The 32 remaining horses were bought by their initial sponsors, who had the first right of refusal to purchase the artful equines outright.
R. Kelly @ Louisville Palace
Posted: November 20, 2009 – 9:30 am
Friday, Nov. 20
Louisville Palace
625 S. Fourth St.
583-4555
$57-$97; 8 p.m.
I don’t find nothin’ wrong with a little bump ’n’ grind either, as long as your partner is of legal age and it’s consensual. I also believe I can fly, have been trapped in a closet and remind myself of a Jeep. So when I heard R. Kelly was coming to town, I was first in line to see the world’s greatest contemporary R&B singer and songwriter. I mean, this is the man who penned Michael Jackson’s “You Are Not Alone” and had his hands all over Aaliyah’s debut album in 1995. Sure, R has faced some hardships throughout his career — a few sex scandals with minors here and there — but he’s back and ready to rock the mic right. R comes to town Friday on his Ladies Make Some Noise Tour (I gotta get a T-shirt for this one!). Come let him croon the pants off ya. —Sara Havens
Festival of Trees & Lights @ Slugger Field
Posted: November 20, 2009 – 9:30 am
Nov. 20-22
Slugger Field
$5 ($3 for children); 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
HelpKosairChildrensHospital.com
This year’s 20th anniversary Festival of Trees & Lights will herald the start of the holiday season while benefiting the Kosair Children’s Hospital neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Presented by Republic Bank, the event will be held at Louisville Slugger Field Nov. 20 to 22, and will feature activities for all ages as well as an opportunity to get a jump-start on holiday shopping. A special ticketed event, Dickens Family Night, presented by Northwestern Mutual – TheKentucky/Southern Indiana Group, will be held the evening of Nov. 20.
‘It’s All Greek …’ @ Walden Theatre
Posted: November 19, 2009 – 12:50 pm
Through Nov. 21
Walden Theatre
1123 Payne St.
589-0084
www.waldentheatre.org
$15 ($10 students); 7:30 p.m. (w/ 2 p.m. matinee on Sat.)
In the spirit of the Greek tradition of The Festival of Dionysus, you can celebrate by singing or dancing, or seeing Walden Theatre’s “It’s All Greek …” With this production, Walden continues to provide an opportunity for young people to grow and develop through the comprehensive study of theater. And what better opportunity is there than to start where theater began — with the Greeks. Greek theater introduced the world to Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, who brought us such plays as “Agamemnon,” “Antigone” and “Oedipus,” among others.
Adapted and directed by Julane Havens, “It’s All Greek …” celebrates some of the Greeks’ most fabulous females. Taking a closer look at these women, it’s amazing to realize how these influential female characters have been recreated over and over in history. We have the opportunity to take a glimpse of where it all began. —Laura Morton
Fleur de Lez Happy Hour @ Swan Dive
Posted: November 19, 2009 – 9:58 am
Thursday, Nov. 19
Swan Dive
921 Swan St.
www.fleurdelez.com
Free; 6:30-9 p.m.
Some say this place is a little hard to find, others have even said it is in the Bermuda Triangle of the Original Highlands and the edge of Germantown. Just find your way there, either using Kentucky Street and taking a left on Swan, or from Barret Ave to Breckinridge St, take a left on to Swan. It’s the monthly happy hour for Louisville lesbians and their supporters.
‘Greater Tuna’ @ Actors Theatre
Posted: November 19, 2009 – 9:48 am
Nov. 19-Dec. 13
Actors Theatre of Louisville
584-1205
actorstheatre.org
$33-$41; various times
Actors Theatre proudly presents the limited-run engagement of GREATER TUNA by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard and directed by Marc Masterson.
Regina Spektor @ Palace Theatre
Posted: November 19, 2009 – 9:44 am
Thursday, Nov. 19
The Palace Theatre
625 S. Fourth St.
583-4555
www.reginaspektor.com
$35; 8 p.m.
When you hear the story of Regina Spektor, you can’t help but root for her. Born in Russia, shipped over to the Bronx as a tween, and all the while her parents made sure she could get to a piano, even when they couldn’t afford one. She started recording as a teen, displaying great melodic sense alongside a one-bemused-step-removed point of view. Nabakov is surely a forebear in artistic spirit, even as subsequent recordings have edged slightly closer to conformity with the adult contemporary crowd. What will we get from Regina Spektor at the Palace? A still-rich vein of quirkiness — devoid of the defensive posturing so endemic among singer-songwriters whose talents skew toward the precious. She’ll sing about dolphins, dropped wallets or computers made out of pasta — and occasionally about more traditional song subjects like fidelity. Her voice might head off into trills and hiccup sounds, but you’ll never be taken too far away from her musical roots, which are supple, strong and splendid. —T.E. Lyons
Moosebutter @ IU Southeast
Posted: November 19, 2009 – 9:42 am
Nov. 19-21
Ogle Center, IU Southeast
4201 Grant Line Road, New Albany
(812) 941-2526
moosebutter.com
$18.50; 10 a.m. & noon (Nov. 19-20), 7:30 p.m. (Nov. 21)
Lovers of George Lucas have likely seen the YouTube clip “Star Wars (John Williams is the Man),” the a cappella parody tune — which garnered more than 6 million clicks — that puts lyrics to the classic space trilogy’s orchestral theme. Now fans can get a live look at the choral cutups behind the video, Moosebutter, as they perform at IU Southeast’s Ogle Center.
“Every show we do is fun for the audience,” says Mister Tim, the group’s founder and musical director. “We are naturally goofy human beings. We just see humor in everything. There’s a lot of really funny stuff in the world.”
All four members of Moosebutter are serious musicians in other groups. “Some of the songs we do are very difficult, technically, but they’re about weird things,” he says. And it’s not all farcing the force. Their set includes parodies of other films, cultural references and original numbers. —David A. Mann
John Rathbone @ Comedy Caravan
Posted: November 18, 2009 – 10:58 am
Nov. 18-22
Comedy Caravan
1250 Bardstown Road
459-0022
www.comedycaravan.com
John has worked with the top names in the comedy business. Tim Allen, Paul Reiser, Ray Romano… Jerry Seinfeld called him an “excellent comedian.” David Letterman came to see his show. Drew Carey said “John Rathbone always makes me laugh!” He has a witty humor, an urbane style, fantastic expressions, and an easy rapport with his audiences. His sense of humor appeals to a remarkable range of tastes. Renard Hirsch opens.
Transgender Week of Empowerment
Posted: November 18, 2009 – 10:52 am
Nov. 18-20
Various locations
www.siennatg.org
Friday is the Transgender Day of Remembrance, an exercise meant to both memorialize those who have been killed as a result of anti-transgender prejudice and to continue raising awareness about a portion of the LGBT community that is often shadowed in our culture. It began 11 years ago as a response to the brutal murder of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in Allston, Mass., in 1998.
Events in Louisville started Monday at U of L and will continue through Friday, which will include a morning mediation (8 a.m.) at the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary’s Women’s Center, and an evening vigil (8 p.m.) at LPTS’s Caldwell Chapel. As well, an art exhibit called “Trans Gender Lives, Trans Gender Images” will launch Saturday at Clare Hirn Studio (552 E. Market St.) and run through Nov. 29. Check the website for details. —Stephen George
‘As You Like It’ @ Thrust Theatre
Posted: November 18, 2009 – 10:50 am
Nov. 18-22
Thrust Theatre
2314 S. Floyd St.
852-6814
louisville.edu/a-s/ta
$12 ($8 students); 8 p.m. (w/ 3 p.m. matinee on Sun.)
U of L’s Department of Theatre continues its season with Shakespeare’s “As You Like It.” The play features a young woman, Rosalind, who hides out in a forest after fleeing her home for fear of persecution. There, disguised as a man, she teaches her true love how to woo. Full of colorful, pastoral characters, this is one of Shakespeare’s most beloved comedies, and one that feels contemporary. Director Rinda Frye has decided to drop the play smack in the 1960s and ’70s, suggesting the Bard’s characters were “hippies centuries ahead of their time,” she says. “Their escape from tyranny and injustice takes them on a journey into a ‘green’ world where the characters find spiritual healing and love.” —Laura Morton