SPECIAL EVENTS
Happy Rosh Hashanah!
Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown today, so Happy Jewish New Year. Jewish or not, this might be a good time to take stock of the year’s mistakes and reflect upon the changes you need to make in your life. This isn’t about false resolutions, folks. Think about realistic things you can do to better your life, and then just follow through (simple as that). If you are Jewish, you might want to consider an evening service at the U of MN’s Hillel Jewish center, followed by dinner. If you’re lucky, you’ll get some honey-dipped apples or bread. I believe it’s also common practice to cast your sins into a river on the first day of Rosh Hashanah. Just make sure you don’t have anything too valuable in your pockets before you start emptying them.
6 p.m., Hillel: The Jewish Student Center, 1521 University Ave. S.E., Minneapolis; 612-379-4026; $20, students free. Make reservations by phone or by email.
BOOKS & AUTHORS
Invisible Forces and Spirits
Shamanism revolves around a central belief that our world is largely affected by an invisible spirit world with which we can communicate. These spirits, which are both good and bad, play an important role in our lives, and can be instrumental in healing, as well as in hurting. Few people you’ll meet understand this better than Christina Pratt, director of the Last Mask Center for Shamanic Healing, and author of An Encyclopedia of Shamanism. Whether you actually meet her this afternoon is up to you — and your boss, probably. Pratt will be discussing her book at 2 p.m., followed by a book signing, so do what you can to get there. Whether you prescribe to the belief or not, it’ll be valuable knowledge. An Encyclopedia of Shamanism describes the major practices and beliefs of shamanism, as well as historical and cultural perspectives of the shaman and the shaman’s world.
2 p.m., U of MN Bookstore, Coffman Memorial Union, 300 Washington Ave. S.E., Minneapolis; 612-626-0559; free.
FILM
God Is a Spider
Time for the next film in the Oak Street Cinema’s Bergman Tribute series. Through A Glass Darkly is the first film in Bergman’s trilogy of faith — followed by Winter Light and The Silence. See, even back in 1961, Bergman already knew that all good things come in threes. I told you the man was a genius. The film earned him his second Academy Award, only a year after his first (for The Virgin Spring). And all of this achieved with only four characters, in a sort of chamber play, sprinkled with emotional and mental instability, family issues, hallucinations, and a most famous interaction with a spider-like god. Beautiful! Watch the trailer.
7:30 p.m., Oak Street Cinema, 309 Oak St. S.E., Minneapolis; $8 (seniors $6, members/students $5).
THEATER & PERFORMANCE
A Preview of the Mad Woman in the Attic
Jane Eyre already started at the Guthrie, but the official opening is Friday night. Expect a write-up next week, as soon as I’ve seen the production. I’m so looking forward to this interpretation of Brontë’s gothic romance classic. “Dread remorse when you are tempted to err, Miss Eyre; remorse is the poison of life.”
7:30 p.m., Guthrie Theater, 818 S. 2nd St., Minneapolis; 612-377-2224; $24-$44.
Measure for Measure
Also opening this evening is Nightpath Theatre’s production of Measure for Measure. Although this Shakespeare play was originally classified as a comedy, it’s actually considered one of his “problem plays” because it’s difficult to classify. And in beautiful Shakespeare fashion, the main plot revolves around a brother’s indiscretions. That’s right — fornication, my friends. Fornication. What strikes me about tonight’s performance, however, is the one-sentence description: “Shakespeare’s Problem Play, envisioned as a Gunsmoke Radio show.” Woo-hoo! Imagine that. A Gunsmoke radio show, eh? “Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall.” BAM. BAM. Sure, why not? It sounds like Wyatt Earp to me — or any old Dodge City character. Besides, there’s generally a lot of “reckoning” in both Shakespeare and westerns.
8 p.m., Czech-Slovak Center, above the Glockenspiel restaurant, 383 Michigan Ave., St. Paul; 651-646-1764; $10.
MUSIC
Trading in One Sexy Chanteuse for Another
Bebel Gilberto was scheduled to play at Trocaderos this evening, but she no longer appears on their calendar, so I’m assuming it has been canceled. (What’s up with all the Trocadero shows that never come to fruition?) Fortunately, there’s another sexy singer ready to deliver. She’s hot. She’s hip. She’s gloriously talented. Katie Gearty serves up some lovely jazz, blues, and pop classics with a true jazz sensibility. That’s right — jazz is alive and well in Brooklyn Park, only it sports a nose ring there.
8 p.m., Rossi’s Blue Star, 80 South 9th St., Minneapolis; 612-312-2828.
Hardcore punk-rockers might enjoy Modern Life Is War at the Triple Rock Social Club this evening. The $10 show starts at 5 p.m., and apparently, Free Bacon Night begins at 9 p.m. Scary!
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