Tucson Weekly: City Week (February 12

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Thursday 12

CIRCULAR LOVE. Boy meets girl, girl splits for school. Newly enlightened, she returns home, only to find aforementioned love interest hooked up with another gal.
City Week What to do? Why, date his best friend, of course. At least that's the circular premise of Love Jones, starring Lorenz Tate and Nia Long, the next featured film of the ongoing African American Film Festival. The UA Office of African American Student Affairs is sponsoring the festival, in celebration of Black History Month. See "Film Clips" in the Arts section for more information.
According to student worker Veda Adams, besides starring African Americans, Love Jones boasts another refreshing quality: "There's no cursing, and there are no guns. It's not some shoot 'em up kind of movie."
Love Jones screens at 3 p.m. in the UA Martin Luther King Jr. Building, Room 100, located on campus at 1322 E. First St. Admission is free. For details, call 621-3419.
HIGH IDEALS. Northern Mexico's Sierra Madre Mountains and adjacent lowlands are a priceless hotbed of diverse species. For that reason, the region has drawn heavy attention from conservationists determined to preserve it as natural habitat--against the wishes of logging companies and other usurpers. It's also a spot Rurik List, Mexico coordinator for The Wildlands Project, knows like the back of his well-researched hand.
Tonight, List discusses the land's unique features, including North America's largest remaining prairie dog complex, and opportunities for its protection.
This free lecture is sponsored by the Sky-Island Alliance, and starts at 7:30 p.m. in the UA Water Resources Center, 350 N. Campbell Ave. For details, call 628-7609.
TOUGH CALL. Anna Christopherson is a reluctant prostitute who pays a surprise call on her unsuspecting father, a barge captain. While voyaging together, the two rescue an Irish sailor from his drifting vessel, and soon love blossoms between he and Anna--much to the chagrin of Anna's father, who's determined that she shouldn't marry a seaman. This predicament sets the past and present at sharp odds in Live Theatre Workshop's production of Anna Christie, Eugene O'Neill's award-winning play.
Preview performance is 7:30 tonight in the Live Theatre Workshop, 5317 E. Speedway. Performances continue at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow and Saturday, and 3 p.m. Sunday, through March 8. Tickets are $8.50, $7.50 seniors, with reservations required. For tickets and information, call 327-4242.

Friday 13

TIBETAN TRIUMPH. Established in 1409 in Lhasa, Tibet, the original Ganden Jangste Monastery was once the second-largest refuge of its kind in that country. Destroyed following the 1959 Chinese invasion, today Ganden Jangste remains only in the spirit of its lamas.
Now the Arizona Friends of Tibet bring the lamas to town for Joyful Wisdom, an evening of dance and music. Proceeds help support their new monastery in southern India. The performance will feature traditional Tibetan folk dances, famed multi-tonal chanting, and a series of stunning, costumed dances ranging from sacred ceremonies to the light-hearted Yak Dance, accompanied by haunting Tibetan longhorns.
Performance begins at 7:30 p.m. in the UA Social Sciences Auditorium, located on campus southeast of Old Main. Tickets are $10, $5 for students and seniors, and available at the door. For details, call 885-6527.
INDECENT PROPOSAL.
A cynical philosopher bets two young Turks that their lovers can't be faithful in their absence. Putting this wager to the test, the gents disguise themselves as foreigners and undertake the pursuit of one another's gals--with mixed results upon finding their quests successful--in Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutti, presented by the Arizona Opera.
Opening performance is 7:30 tonight in the TCC Music Hall, 260 S. Church Ave. Performances continue at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets range from $15 to $56, available at the TCC box office and Dillard's. Call 791-4266 for reservations and information.

Saturday 14

HEART BEATS. The UA School of Music and Dance celebrates this most romantic of holidays with Dances from the Heart, a lively night of amour complete with the option of dinner, dessert, and a touch of the bubbly.
The concert opens with "Pure Arches," a pas de deux ballet featuring Cesar Rubio and Deborah Kenner, with music provided by famed harpist Carrol McLaughlin and flutist Peter Sheridan. It's followed by several seductive pieces ranging from "Bernstein's Reply," choreographed by Amy Ernst and featuring 14 dancers, to Nina Janik's "The Kissing Waltz" and the sizzling, tango-flavored "Sabor a Mi." "Between the Lines" closes the show, with Michael Williams performing to the vocals of Harry Connick, Jr.
Performance is 8 p.m. in the Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Ave. Tickets for performance only are $14 and $17, $9 and $12 for students and seniors. Dinner and desert packages are extra. Tickets are available at the Temple box office and Dillard's. Call 622-2823 for details.
COURTING RIGHTS. The Coalición de Derechos Humanos celebrates love and politics with a romantic evening of sweethearts, sweet desserts and great live music. Proceeds will help this steadfast little group to stand up for those who regularly find their rights muted and their dignity squashed. And better yet, the first 20 couples through the door will receive a charming Valentine's Day bouquet.
Event runs from 8 p.m. to midnight in the El Rio Neighborhood Center, 1390 E. Speedway. Advance tickets are $5 per person, $10 for couples, available by calling 770-1373. Tickets are $10 per couple at the door.

Sunday 15

GREEN SCENE. The best of traditional and modern Irish entertainment is the bill when the Irish American Gaelic Society presents A Musical Taste of Ireland, with Paddy Noonan.
An immigrant from County Cork, Noonan has enjoyed more than three decades of popularity on these shores, and today he's an accomplished accordionist known for surrounding himself with top talent. His variety show features dancers and singers, including vocalist and recording artist Sheila Noonan, keyboard player and singer Pat Marnane, and funnyman Noel V. Ginnity, dubbed by the Dublin Sun as "one of the world's top 50 comedians."
The fun begins at 8 p.m. in the Palo Verde High School Auditorium, 1302 S. Avenida Vega. Tickets are $18, available at Dillard's, Hear's Music, the Harp and Shamrock, or by calling 748-1407.
BIG PICTURE. Imagine, if you will, a beam of light leaving the Andromeda Galaxy and traveling across the void of intergalactic space. Meanwhile, life is starting to evolve on a planet floating in a nearby galaxy. As the light speeds past, over time the primitives on the planet form cultures and civilizations--and begin to wonder about the world around them.
While it may sound like Phoenix on a good day, it's actually Light Years from Andromeda, the latest laser show extravaganza to light up the UA Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium.
Light Years shows at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, in the Planetarium Theater, located on campus at the corner of Cherry Avenue and University Boulevard. Tickets range from $4 to $6, or $7 for double features. For more information, call 621-7827.

Monday 16

REMEMBERING HELL. It's hard to believe that little more than 50 years ago the world erupted in a horrific cataclysm, forever changing our views of man and exposing the deepest reaches of our darker sides. In the smoke of World War II, a vision of hell emerged--one that eventually saw the slaughter of millions of Jews, gypsies, gays, and other minorities at the hands of the Nazis.
Now, five decades later, that legacy of hate is recalled through the names of its victims: Some 22,000 names will be read, accompanied by an informational display, from noon today until 1 p.m. tomorrow on UA main mall.
The reading opens the sixth-annual Conference on the Holocaust, sponsored by the UA Hillel Foundation. Events throughout the week include a photo exhibit, lectures, films, religious services and a concert with Debbie Friedman, considered America's most popular contemporary Jewish composer.
For information on these and other events, call 624-6561.
IN HOUSE TALENT. The UA Faculty Artist Series adds a lilt to life with an evening of vocal chamber music by tenor Grayson Hirst. Known for his powerful chords, Hirst regularly garners high praise for stunning performances. "His singing was flexible, the tone variously colored, often dark and fluid, elaborately and outwardly expressive," said the San Francisco Chronicle of a recent Hirst concert.
Show time is 8 p.m. in UA Crowder Hall, in the Music Building on the southwest corner of the pedestrian underpass at Speedway and Park Avenue. Tickets range from $5 to $10, and are available at the Fine Arts box office or by calling 621-1162.

Tuesday 17

FAUX GRIT. It may be known as "the town too tough to die," but it's also the birthplace of tall tales and far too much hype to ever truly fade away, mineshaft-sized potholes or no.
Thus the fascination, artistic or otherwise, remains. And it receives a thorough dusting when the Arizona Rose Theatre Company performs an excerpt from its production of Tombstone, the Musical: Beyond the Legend.
This lively drama offers "a delightful interpretation of true stories of the people of Tombstone circa 1881," and "reaches beyond the legend to share a different view of a town best known for a 25-second gunfight at the OK Corral."
Free performance runs from noon to 1 p.m. in UMC DuVal Auditorium, 1501 N. Campbell Ave. For information, call 626-7301.
LYRICAL LOT. Poets Tom Raworth and Charles Alexander share the spotlight as another gathering of the Poetry Group, a.k.a. POG, gets underway tonight. Raworth, who makes his home in England, is a prolific editor and author whose many books include The Relation Ship, Moving Ace and Clean and Well Lit.
Alexander, who teaches at the UA Extended University, is a 1998 recipient of a fellowship award from the Fund for Poetry. He's also executive director of Tucson's Chax Press, and has authored several books of poetry, including Hopeful Buildings and arc of light/dark matter.
The free reading begins at 7 p.m. in Etherton Gallery, 135 S. Sixth Ave. Call 620-1626 for information.

Wednesday 18

COPPER STATE CELEBRATION. Our rugged patch of earth once again receives deserved recognition with the return of Viva Arizona!, a song and dance spectacle covering some 400 years of regional history.
The production chronicles the past as seen through the eyes of Mexican, Spanish, Native American and Anglo peoples. It also features some of the Southwest's top entertainers, including members of Ballet Folklórico Arizona, and Tucson's own Mariachi Aztlán del Pueblo.
Show time is 7:30 p.m. in UA Centennial Hall, located just inside the main gate on University Boulevard east of Park Avenue. Tickets are $15, available at Dillard's and the TCC box office. For details, call 544-9543.
SPECIFIC VISIONS. The International Wildlife Museum hosts a lecture by naturalist Walt Anderson, titled Connections: A Naturalist's Way of Seeing.
Anderson's slide presentation includes images from a variety of ecosystems scattered around the planet, revealing how plants and animals interact in places ranging from the Brazilian rainforest to the Arctic tundra to the East African savanna.
A professor of environmental studies at Prescott College, Anderson is a veteran leader of countless natural history tours, and is currently writing Sky Islands of the American Southwest: A Natural History.
His free lecture is at 7 p.m. in the International Wildlife Museum, 4800 W. Gates Pass Road. For information, call 629-0100.

City Week includes events selected by Calendar Editor Tim Vanderpool. Event information is accurate as of press time. The Weekly recommends calling event organizers to check for last-minute changes in location, time, price, etc. To have material considered, please send complete information at least 11 days prior to the Thursday issue date to: Tucson Weekly, P.O. Box 2429, Tucson, Arizona 85702, or fax information to 792-2096, or email us at listings@tucsonweekly.com.

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