THEATER & PERFORMANCE
That’s the Way, Uh-huh, Uh-huh, I Like It
I’m a sucker for any odd Shakespeare adaptation. Granted, the whole Taming of the Shrew/Pygmalion hybrid is getting a bit old, but we all love a good princess fairy tale. In the spirit of Clueless and 10 Things I Hate about You, Matther A. Everett’s new play, Love’s Prick uses Shakespeare as the basis for a high school/college tale of love and infatuation. A high school girl masquerades as a boy, fielding romantic interests both gay and straight; two college wrestlers and the student editor of the campus literary magazine struggle with a complicated love triangle and a mysterious online poet; a transgender minister finds the possibility of companionship with a local police officer. Love’s Prick pokes fun at love, gender confusion, and other themes of Shakespeare’s romantic comedy As You Like It. Tonight’s semi-staged workshop production, directed by Todd Hughes, features Delta Giordano, Grant Henderson, William Leaf, Mark Mattison, Dan O’Niell, Michael Ooms, Nathan Surprenant, Renee Werbowski, and Laura Wiebers. The performance will be followed by an audience feedback session.
7:30 p.m., Center for Independent Artists, Black Box Theater; $5 (CIA members and Fringe buttons $2.50).
In Love, Truth Is the First Causality
What could be better than a comedic Shakespeare adaptation? A Greek classic. Start out the evening with a look back into Oliver Nicholson’s past Rake wine columns. This should get you in the mood for the father of Greek tragedy. Enjoy Nimbus’s new adaptation of the first part of Aeschylus’s classic Oresteia Trilogy. Agamemnon chronicles the triumphant return home of King Agamemnon after the fall of Troy. A precursor to Shakespeare, this Greek tragedy offers many of the same plot devises and character types — from the manipulative femme fatale, to the deceit, subterfuge, and murderous conclusion. This daring new work, directed by Nimbus co-Artistic Director Liz Neerland, explores our inevitable tendency toward violence.
8 p.m., Minneapolis Theater Garage, 711 West Franklin Ave., Minneapolis; 651-229-3122; special pay-what-you-can performance.
MUSIC by Eeva-Liisa Waaraniemi
Beyond Politics
Mick LaBriola’s past CD projects have been comprised of a thoughtful jumble of musical traditions. Yet, while the eclectic medley of genres in his noontime concert in Northrop Plaza is old hat to him, to the rest of us it’s something completely novel: “urban folk with reggae, bulgarian, and Arabic.” Having worked with diverse music communities for years, LaBriola takes a philosophical approach the role of music in our lives. In an interview on Radio MnArtists, LaBriola says of his culturally diverse music: “When you like a song, you like a song. It’s what it is. It’s not about inferior races or superior races. You put that aside so you can experience the art. That’s one of the profound things I’ve found in working with cultural music or music in general. I hope we can see the bigger picture. Art goes beyond politics and stigmatizing one another, it’s about humanity and sharing humanity with each other.” If you do treat yourself to his rhapsody on your lunch break, see if you can’t absorb a little of his music’s transcending power. Take your sunny aura back to the cubicle, and discard your Monday-morning snarls with your lunch refuse.
12 – 1 p.m., Northrop Plaza, 84 Church St. S.E., Minneapolis,; 612-624-2345; free.
Sultry Whisper, Throaty Roar
It seems that every year, as soon as summer peers its head through those crisp winter skies, Tina Schlieske is back on the roster. A Minnesota native, Shlieske has been making music since she was a teenager. Deeply influenced by Aretha Franklin tapes and her Russian-opera-diva-grandmother’s legacy, Schlieske has the kind of voice you won’t easily tire of; her tone shifts effortlessly from soft and soulful, to sultry whisper, to throaty roar. In fact, back in the ’80s she was often hailed as the local Janice Joplin. Today, Schlieske still shows traces of this blues-belting legend. While her repertoire is multi-dimensional — divided among rock, soul, and blues — her intros still leave you expecting familiar hits from the ’60s. Joining her tonight is Mississippi rocker Garrison Starr, with a smoother, sweeter tone, reminiscent of the Indigo Girls.
9 p.m., Cabooze, 917 Cedar Ave., Minneapolis; 612-338-6425; $12.
Listen to Tina Schlieske.
Listen to Garrison Starr.
ON THE NET
Things You May Have Missed
Shim-Sham Shufflers at the Bike-In at the Bell Museum
Oatmeal Grimgravy’s first appearance – Gay Pride 2007
Belly-dancing at the Sprint 2007 Guild Show
Brandi Carlile performing a late-morning lullaby
Minneapolis 48-Hour Film Fest Films
For the Love of Pookie
The Fading
Der Hund
Jacques
Paternoster
weston
For the Love of Buddy
And did you see the Barbarella rehearsal?
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