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 Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday Thursday 13
Led by Geronimo, the Chiracahua Apaches first fought the Spanish, and then Anglo settlers arriving en masse in the 1860s. Their valiant struggle ended in 1886, when Geronimo negotiated a settlement and his band was exiled to Florida. "He knew he was leading the last organized Indian resistance," Faust says, "and that the odds were stacked against him. The Mexicans had a policy of taking no prisoners, so he got the best deal he could. Essentially, the Chiracahua Apaches were a people caught on a border between two empires, and the results were tragic." Faust will cover military and historical aspects of the struggle in a free lecture from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. in the Wilmot Library, 530 N. Wilmot Road. Call 792-2096 for details.
Friday 14
This brilliant, dark drama centers on four mostly hideous characters huddled in a post-apocalyptic basement, where they hash out the vacuous details of isolation and a future of fleeting meaning. Directed by Richard Hatter, Red House's fine interpretation is anchored by Hal Melfi, who turns in a riveting performance as the play's rancorous patriarch, Hamm. Show times are 8 p.m. today and 2:30 and 8 p.m. tomorrow in the Temple of Music and Art Cabaret Theatre, 330 S. Scott Ave. Tickets are $10 at the door, or $6 in advance by calling 321-1066. EPIC WARBLER. Violetta is hardly the type to let lingering illness disrupt her lusty courtesan life. Nor does her persistent hacking dim the amorous zeal of Alfredo, her suitor. But even unshackled hankerings can't halt the Grim Reaper when he comes knocking in Arizona Opera's production of Verdi's La Traviata. The pair eventually find themselves ensconced in co-habitational bliss outside Paris. But when Alfredo heads to the city to lasso some cash, his father Germont arrives to throw a wrench in the romantic works, proclaiming a pending scandal. Being named Germont probably doesn't help, as he unleashes his long-held rage on poor Violetta. Convinced the old man is right, she leaves Alfredo, returning to the life of lace and royal secrets. But all is finally forgiven, as she dies in Alfredo's embrace in this timeless tale of love and sacrifice. Show times are 7:30 p.m. today and tomorrow, and 2 p.m. Sunday in the TCC Music Hall, 260 S. Church Ave. Tickets range from $14 to $53, and are available at Dillard's, the TCC and UA Centennial Hall box offices, or by calling 791-4836. GYRO HEROES. It's considered the womb of western civilization, not to mention home to some great chow. Both are on the table, so to speak, as Robert Hahn presents a lecture titled Legacies of Ancient Greece. Hahn is director of the Ancient World Experience programs, and aside from dishing up fascinating overseas tidbits, it's also his job to entice you into journeying there. The theme for the program's 15th season is the contribution of ancient Mediterranean cultures to our modern heritage from a variety of perspectives. The journey takes in visits to numerous historical sites from Greece and Turkey to Egypt, and luxurious yachting junkets on the Mediterranean Sea and the River Nile. But even if you only set sail in a comfy chair, this discussion is richly detailed in its own right. Free lecture is at 3 p.m. in the Himmel Park Library, 1035 N. Treat Ave. Call 318-3972 for information.
Saturday 15
The Tucson Pima Arts Council and the Arizona Commission on the Arts are also behind this performance, which will feature arrangements by Chicago composer Eric Lane Barnes, who penned the ensemble's December premiere of Miracle. Go West taps into the American frontier, with cowboy and contemporary country tunes from "Home on the Range" to "Tumbling Tumbleweeds," rendered with a jazzy tint. Featured guests will include local tejano belters Rare Breed, along with line and cumbia dancers.
HACE CALOR. Chicanos Por La Causa heats up the local scene with their 10th-annual Viva Tucson! Tex-Mex Jam, billed as "Arizona's Premier Tejano Music Festival." And that seems just about right, as "El Gato Negro" Ruben Ramos fills Kennedy Park, along with Grammy Award-winner Little Joe y La Familia, and hometown favorite Adalberto. This traditional spring event packs the dance turf to overflowing, and provides a healthy dose of Hispanic culture pre-dating all the Anglo dudes who now presume to be in charge. Free event begins at 10 a.m. today and tomorrow at Kennedy Park, 3700 S. La Cholla Place at Ajo Way. For details, call 882-0018.
Sunday 16
Tucson should likewise call itself darned lucky, as the UA School of Music and Dance bring the stellar ensemble to town as part of its American College Dance Festival. Show time is 7:30 p.m. in UA Centennial Hall, University Boulevard east of Park Avenue. Tickets range from $7 to $10, with performances by dancers from 40 universities continuing through Tuesday. For reservations and performance schedules, call 621-3341. TOUGH NUT. In The Mortal Nuts, Pete Hautman has penned another funny thriller featuring 73-year-old Axel Speeter and his taco stand, set against the heartland backdrop of the Minnesota State Fair. Hautman--who divides his time between Tucson and Minneapolis--continues in the tradition of Mr. Was, which landed him an award nomination by the Mystery Writers of America. Today, he signs copies of The Immortal Nuts from 2 to 4 p.m. at Clues Unlimited, 123 S. Broadway Village Drive. Call 326-8533 for details. PINPOINTS. The Tucson Orienteering Society once again helps you find your place in this sprawling world, when it lights your path with compass and map. Whether you get lost on the way to Circle K, or just wander the hillsides in search of some mythical Porta Potty, these folks are destined to clear the course--or at least show you where it is. Class runs from 9 a.m. to noon in Lincoln Park, located at the corner of Escalante and Pantano roads. Cost is $5 for individuals, $7 for teams. For information, call 628-8985.
Monday 17
FRESH SPUDS. Irish tradition rolls on when Arizona's top Celtic band and former TAMMIE-winner New Potatoes celebrates St. Paddy's Day and marks new tuber turf with an evening performance. Now with five members and more than 15 years under their Gaelic belts, the Potatoes play a thick roster of jigs, reels, and songs on a smorgasbord of instruments ranging from the fiddle and tin whistle to the mandolin, tenor banjo and bodhran. Show runs from 6 to 9 p.m. at Gentle Ben's, 865 E. University Boulevard. Admission is $2. Call 327-4809 for information. ENIGMATIC LEGENDS. Have you ever caught yourself wondering just who the Wetherills were, whether they had goodness in their hearts, or instead were just a downright dysfunctional bunch of carpet-baggers? Neither have we. But luckily for the tomes of history, Marrietta Davenport has. In fact, the U.S. Forest Service archaeologist is distant kin to the 19th-century Mancos, Colorado, ranchers who first revealed the ancient Mesa Verde ruins to public view. They were also an adventurous clan who conducted the first digs in Grand Gulch and Tsegi Canyon, and still found time to work as botanists, artists, teachers and anthropologists. All of which might lead you to believe they were rather learned, charitable folk. But in their day, family members were also vilified as opportunistic pot-hunters bent on stuffing their egos and wallets through their discoveries. Davenport separates myth from reality with her free lecture titled The Wetherills: Rogues or Heroes, at 7:30 p.m. in the UMC DuVal Auditorium, 1501 N. Campbell Ave. For details, call 327-7235.
Tuesday 18
SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS. While 1997 ain't gonna go down in history as a stellar year for wildflowers, it's nonetheless a fine season for the Tucson Botanical Gardens, and the amiable caretakers there are rushing to fill the seasonal void by serving up "spring flowers from A to Z." And they aren't kidding: Now on display is an entire alphabet of lovely species, from the brightly petaled desert marigold and tiny fairy duster to the luminescent Mexican gold poppy. "Wildflowers aren't that good this year," says Gardens Publications Coordinator Brooke Gebow. "That's why we just wanted to help." There are plenty of dandy little attractions, she says, including the penstemons, better known as the beardtongue. "They're really spectacular right now, and the backyard bird garden is also drawing a lot of hummingbirds. And a good two-thirds of our plants are native species." The Tucson Botanical Gardens are at 2150 N. Alvernon Way. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily, and admission is $4 for adults, $3 for seniors, and free for kids under age 12. Call 326-9686 for information. LITTLE VISIONS. Creativity certainly isn't limited to big folks. In fact, kids often tend to have a less fettered, more honest view of the world around them. That fact isn't lost on the Tucson Museum of Art, which is now hosting Celebrations of Form and Color, a children's art exhibition. Held in honor of National Youth Art Month, the show features 200 pieces of outstanding renderings from tikes to teens, all on display at the TMA Art Education Center and various downtown phantom galleries. The works themselves were submitted by teachers all over town, and include two- and three-dimensional pieces. Exhibit runs through March 28 at the TMA Education Center, 140 N. Main Ave. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. Call 624-2333 for Phantom Gallery locations and other information.
Wednesday 19
Patrons order from the regular menu, with lunchtime entertainment provided by harpist Patricia Harris. Performances by the R. Carlos Nakai Quartet, the Martha Reed Group and Lisa Lemay highlight the dinner set. And the harried waitstaff will come from the ranks of local government, sports, media and theatre celebrities, providing some ironic justice for Tucson's much-abused professional table jockeys. Beth Carey, Crisis Center executive director, says the whole shebang will be a great time for a good cause. "We're really excited about it," she says. "And we're really honored that all these groups have donated their time. It's just great." Event runs from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Ovens Restaurant, 4280 N. Campbell Ave. Regular menu items and prices apply. For reservations, call 577-9001. WRY WITS. Those jocular Friends of the UA Library host an evening of grub, drink and dramatic readings of fine literature with a memorial bent, in their Catch Her in the Rhyme event. Both faculty and students get into the action, which includes For Love of Ruth, an exhibition of English and American literature from the Ruth Goodhue Chasteney Memorial Gift. Goodhue long ago shattered the glass ceiling as the first female publisher at Time Inc., where she headed Architectural Forum. She died recently, and her widower, Robert Chasteney, presented the UA Library with an endowment of many English and American first editions in memorium. "Ruth Goodhue was a remarkable woman, and this endowment is a good example of how rare books can enhance education for university students," says Robert Hershoff, library coordinator for gifts. "Many of those books will be on display, and we'll have dramatic readings by students of several of the authors represented." Event runs from 5:30 to 8 p.m. in the UA Main Library lobby. Cost is $15 per person. For reservations and other information, call 621-6444. City Week includes events selected by Calendar Editor Mari Wadsworth. 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.
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LAST STAND. The Apaches once dominated this territory,
and could be credited with creation of the Old Pueblo itself,
says David Faust, curator of the Fort Lowell Museum. "If
it weren't for them, we'd probably all be living in the Tubac
area," he says. "But they forced the settlement north,
and were also responsible for establishment of Fort Lowell."
TIGHTLY WOUND. Samuel Beckett was not a writer prone to
soft-pedaling reality. Best known for Waiting for Godot,
the Irishman was a stubbornly controversial figure in his time,
and remains so today. Likewise, the Red House Theater Project
hardly seems reluctant to trek along the same defiant path with
its production of Beckett's Endgame.
ARID CHORDS. Jones Intercable presents the 50-member choral
ensemble Desert Voices in Go West.
Show times are 8 tonight, and 3 p.m. tomorrow in the PCC Proscenium
Theatre, 2202 W. Anklam Road. Tickets range from $10 to $15, and
are available at Antigone Books, Tucson Trunk, Girlfriends Coffeehouse
and Bookstore and the 
COLLEGE CHOREOGRAPHY. Backstage magazine calls the
Buglisi/Foreman Dance troupe's Runes of the Heart rich
with "lingering, mystic eroticism...compelling choreography
and superb dancers," while 
FOOD FOR THOUGHT. Ovens Restaurant serves up chow with
a social conscience as the first annual Dine Out for Safety event,
benefiting the Tucson Rape Crisis Prevention Center, gets underway.