BOOKS & AUTHORS
Raking Through Books
Join us this evening for our happy hour book club, Raking through Books. This month, enjoy the company of a group of local mystery writers: Carl Brookins, Pat Dennis, Michael Allan Mallory, David Housewright, Judith Yates Borger, Scott Pearson, and Joel Arnold. All of these writers contributed to the recent Resort to Murder anthology. Resort to Murder continues in the same tradition as Nodin Press’s Silence of the Loons, with some of the state’s best writers delivering creepy, spine-tingling tales all of which are set at Minnesota vacation resorts. Stories far more haunting than the cry of a loon, and crimes more lethal than a lump of lutefisk.
5:30 to 7 p.m., Kieran’s Irish Pub, 330 2nd Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-339-4499; free.
Outsiders Within
In all the hype about Brangelina’s many adoptive children, in all the accusations launched at Madonna for not going through the proper adoption channels, in all the righteous indignation directed to and from stars regarding trans-country adoptions, the one thing we never really hear about is the effects on the children. As the tabloids continue their long overdone jokes about Maddox’s kick-ass ways, when have they stopped to consider how this young boy will feel growing up in the upper crust of white America, under the scrutiny of the public eye? This is the subject of Outsiders Within: Writings on Trans-Racial Adoption — not Maddox, of course, but the emotional, cultural, and economic effects of trans-racial adoption. Tonight you can learn more about the matter, and the book, from co-editor Sun Yung Shin.
7:30 p.m., Magers and Quinn Booksellers, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-822-4611; free.
Glocalism
Along a similar — though broader, yet more local — note, Here: A Global Citizen’s Journey reflects on Minnesota’s connection to the rest of the world, painting a portrait rife with foreign flavors and marked by global economic, social, and environmental trends. Nothing happens independently of the world within which it happens; not even here in Minnesota; not even in Rochester, Minnesota, home of author Douglas McGill. Former New York Times reporter and current editor of The McGill Report blog, McGill has written about human rights, genocide, immigration, and assimilation to American society. Meet him this afternoon, and have him sign your copy of his book following the discussion.
2 p.m., University of Minnesota Bookstore, Coffman Memorial Union, 300 Washington Ave. S.E., Minneapolis; 612-626-0559; free.
COMEDY
He’ll Fire You, then Make You Laugh
Although, Al Madrigal claims to have known at an early age that comedy was his calling, it took him quite some time to follow his dream and break into the business. I guess ten years at the family’s human resources business made him realize that a little spice of life might be worth the risk. So he left behind the hiring and the firing, and set out to sell himself, one joke at a time. Finally, in 2004, Madrigal got himself noticed at the Aspen Comedy Festival, winning the jury award for best stand-up performer. Something tells me he’s good for a laugh.
8 p.m., Acme Comedy Company, 708 N. First St., Minneapolis; 612-338-6393; $15.
THEATER & PERFORMANCE
Whistle Down the Wind
Andrew Lloyd Webber fans are in for a real treat tonight, with the opening of Whistle Down the Wind, a musical about three Louisiana orphans who find a mysterious stranger hiding in their barn. Based on the novel of the same name by Mary Hayley Bell, and set to the music of Jim Steinman, the narrative sets the three children against the townspeople, as they vow to protect the felon from the outside world. Why? Well, they think he’s Jesus, of course.
8 p.m., Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, 345 Washington St., St. Paul; 651-224-4222; $20-$55.
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