THEATER & PERFORMANCE
Looking at Our Town through a Different Lens
I guess one Pulitzer Prize is never enough. Ten years after winning the Pulitzer for The Bridge of San Luis Rey (in 1928), Thorton Wilder won another one for his play Our Town. The play, inspired by his friend Gertrude Stein’s The Making of Americans, was way ahead of its time in its self-awareness. Call it postmodern, even — though, frankly, I would argue that Shakespeare used a similar technique before him (and that postmodernism doesn’t even exist, for that matter). Wilder uses a Stage Manager character — much like the Chorus in Shakespeare’s Henry V, or his oft repeated play-within-a-play structure — to weave in and out of the fiction in a new brand of Shakespearean deconstruction. Whew! That’s a mindful. Anyhow, the point is this: Craig Johnson, director of Girl Friday Productions’ current staging of the Wilder classic, has chosen to eliminate this vital character and dole out the lines to the play’s other characters. Interesting. Though certainly a gutsy move, perhaps a much-needed one in order to offer a fresh perspective. Tonight is industry night — which basically means you get to pay what you can — so go check it out for yourself. You’re sure to have an opinion, one way or another.
7:30 p.m., The Minneapolis Theater Garage, 711 West Franklin Ave., Minneapolis; 612-729-1071; $18 (students and seniors $15).
MUSIC
Shake & Bake
I always understood “shake & bake” as druggy terminology (or nasty instant foodstuff): you wake, you shake, you bake. Basically, it comes down to “smoking up” before you even take your morning pee, hitting the ganja before brushing your teeth, numbing the mind before your morning coffee. Why the reference then? Hmmm. Are they catering to the true shake and bake crowd, or is it simply meant to be cute? Dance and grill doesn’t sound nearly as interesting. How about Boogie BBQ? Groove and Grill? Beat and eat? Hmmm. Maybe not. Shake & Bake it is. Turns out there are actually many different uses of the phrase (including a dual-space direct-methods procedure for determining crystal structures from X-ray diffraction data). Who am I to judge the name of a show that has managed to remain on the air for 19 years? Can’t get enough of them on Monday mornings (KFAI, 1-3 p.m.)? Shake your booty to the world beat rhythms of DJ Nite Nurse and Tony Paul this evening at the Nomad. Enjoy the Afro-Beat, Reggae, Latin, Boogaloo, Soul, Arabesque, and Bhangra beats. Take advantage of the 2-for-1 drink specials all night long. And bring along anything you’d like to toss onto their grill, free of charge, for your consumption. If you do it right, this could be one hell of an evening. I recommend getting a game of Bocce in while you’re at it as well. Sure, none of this has anything to do with baking, but maybe the baking is best done at home. You can take some cupcakes along for the DJs.
5 -7 p.m., The Nomad, 501 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-338-6424; free.
Harry, Who?
Not many of us are going to get away with ignoring the new Harry Potter flick. Love it. Hate it. You’ll still probably see it. What the hell, you might as well go all the way. Make it a full Harry Potter experience this evening. You don’t have to don your wizard hat or your graduation gown — thought you certainly may, if you feel so inclined — but do bring along your sense of humor, and a magic wand to make it all disappear once you’ve had enough. Why is this entry in the music section? You know how it goes. Nothing ever remains in one medium anymore. I already spent all day playing with my Voldemort doll. (Yes, I had to look up the name.) No dolls for you, though. You get to rock out this evening with Harry and The Potters. Woohoo! A band that sings about loving books: “This book is so awesome. This book is so awesome.” I don’t know what to tell you. But don’t you feel even minimally compelled to find out what it’s all about? Weirdness.
6 p.m., Pershing Park, 3523 W. 48th St., Minneapolis; 630-6025 or 370-4928; free.
FILM
And of Course… The Order of the Pheonix
Once the music has warmed you up and whet your appetite a bit, it’s time to move on to the movie itself. Yes, it’s no joke; I’m actually telling you to go see Harry Potter and the Order of the Golden Phoenix. Why fight it? You’ve come this far already. And doesn’t this mean it’s over? Not yet? Oy! How old are these poor kids going to get before they’re done filming these much-loved kids’ books? And how many more body parts can little Daniel Radcliff expose before the next release?
7:10 p.m., Heights Theatre, 3951 Central Ave. N.E., Columbia Heights; 763-788-9079; $8 (children and seniors $5).
MUSIC AND A MOVIE
Sultry Nights: The Sounds of the City and the Films of Douglas Sirk
No Harry Potter for you? You’re in luck. Tonight is the first night of the Walker’s Summer Music & Movies series in Loring Park. This year’s selection features the films of director Douglas Sirk. Explore the ’50’s general air of rebellion as Sirk’s characters toss convention aside in order to express their individuality and live as they like. Tonight’s film, All That Heaven Allows, will be preceeded by a performance of Black Blondie, a hip hop, trip hop, jazzy soul girl band with a whole lot of panache and a whole lot of fun — a great way to start the season, in fact. The movie that follows is one of the original I-fell-in-love-with-the-gardener stories, featuring none other than Rock Hudson as the gardener. Somehow, suggesting that Rock Hudson’s age and class make him a less than suitable lover, seems a bit silly at this point; but it’s up to you to try to stretch the imagination a bit. Maybe the night air will help. Hopefully, the rain will hold, though, until it’s all said and done. If it does rain, the event will be canceled, unless otherwise noted.
7 p.m. (movie at dusk, around 8:45 p.m.), Loring Park; free.
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