Thirty years ago today, in 1978, Pakistani former premier Shaheed-e-Azam Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was sentenced to death. How is that for setting the tone?
THEATER & PERFORMANCE
Meet the Director and Cast of Frozen
The Park Square Theatre is dead in the middle of its production of the 2004 Tony Award-nominated play Frozen, and this evening you have an opportunity to share in an "intriguing conversation" with the artistic team, director Jim Cada and actors Linda Kelsey and Karen Landry. Frozen explores our capacity for forgiveness, remorse, and change through a touching tale about a missing 10-year-old, her mother, her murderer, and a doctor studying serial killers. Participants in tonight’s discussion will be able to purchase tickets at half price.
7 p.m., Hamline Midway Branch Library, 1558 W. Minnehaha Ave., St. Paul; 651-222-3242; call to reserve tickets.
BOOKS & AUTHORS
The Thing About Life Is That One Day You’ll Be Dead
"My dad will be dead soon; one day I’ll be dead; despite—or perhaps
because of—all the data gathered in this book, I still find these two
facts overwhelming," writes David Shields in his appropriately titled book, The Thing About Life Is That One Day You’ll Be Dead.
Using a blend of personal anecdotes, biological facts, philosophical
speculation, and cultural history, Shields explores his mortality
through his father’s own life and history.
7:30 p.m., Magers & Quinn Booksellers, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-822-4611.
MUSIC
Vinicius Cantuaria
Sure, you could go see Bon Jovi at the Xcel Center; I wouldn’t blame you, really. (He was actually the opening act of one of the first concerts I ever saw, and it was quite the memorable experience despite the red and black striped leather.) But let’s face it, if class is what you’re looking for, you’re probably better off with Vinicius Cantuaria — a bridge between classic bossa nova and the hip 21st Century variations on the Tropicalia sound. If you know even a little bit about Brazilian music, you’ll have heard of Caetano Veloso; and if you know even a little bit about Caetano, you’ll have heard "Lua e Estrella," a song written for him by Cantauria. The man is a master. He has played alongside Caetano, as well as other greats, including Gilberto Gil, Laurie Anderson, and David Byrne. Enjoy the Brazilian-in-New York guitarist-percusionist’s avante garde jazz this evening.
7 p.m. & 9:30 p.m., Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant, 1010 Nicollet Ave., Minneapolis; 612-332-1010; $20 & $15.
FILM
Mafioso DVD Release
This
acclaimed comedy classic was made in 1962, given a brief American run
in ’64, and then, for forty years, it vanished like a mob boss on the
Witness Protection Program. Nino, the lead character, is a portly
middle manager, happily passing time at a Fiat plant in Milan. He
finally returns home to a little Sicilian village for the vacation he’s
been promising his family for years — giving them the chance to
finally meet his northern Italian wife and two daughters. But before he
embarks on this trip, a local mob boss asks our poor hero to deliver a
small package to one Don Vincenzo, the reigning capo of Nino’s
hometown. Being a comedy, all hell must break loose. However, Mafioso
isn’t just slapstick, but a poignant examination of the emergence of
two Italys — the industrial north and the provincial south. Created a
good seven years before the eponymous novel on which The Godfather was based, Mafioso is an obvious influence, yet it stands on its own as a sunny comedy. —Peter Schilling
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