Tucson Weekly: City Week (March 25

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Thursday 25

ISLAND VIBRANCY. The "hot! hot! hot!" dance vibrations of ¡Cubanismo! ignite the Rialto Theatre stage tonight, for one fiery show only.
City Week Two years ago, trumpeter and band leader Jesús Alemañy took the Latin music scene by storm with this 15-piece Cuban orchestra. Their self-titled, 1997 debut offers a sound both familiar and unique. Without a trace of nostalgia, ¡Cubanismo! nonetheless reveals what the rest of us were missing when homegrown Cuban music was isolated on its little island. The result is an unadulterated Cuban sound, delivered by a top-flight modern ensemble passionate about their musical heritage.
Show time is 8 p.m. in the Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St. Advance tickets are $16, available at Antigone Books, Enchanted Earthworks, Guitars Etc., Hear's Music, Zips Music, or by calling 529-0356. Tickets are $18 at the door.
BEWITCHED. The thin line between good and evil--via the tremendous talent of Arthur Miller--goes on the docket with Tucson Parks and Recreation's production of The Crucible.
This adaptation of the dark Salem witch trials is brought to life by TPR's fine teen cast, who plumb the depths of human corruption and overactive imaginations with verve and style.
The free performance runs tonight through Sunday, March 28, in the Randolph Recreation Center Auditorium, 200 S. Alvernon Way. Curtain is at 7 p.m. For details, call 791-4663.
PRIME TIME. Tucson's Pan Left Productions video collective presents a night of cutting-edge work from across the nation.
Emphasizing youth issues, the lineup includes Oda Ya: Life With AIDS, a feature-length documentary celebrating life in a country stricken with the deadly scourge. The Seven of Us offers an intimate teen video of the trials of Asian kids, while Dissin' Dare is a controversial look at the D.A.R.E. program. BICAS: Sixth Street and the Tracks spends a day at Tucson's popular bicycle cooperative and trade school.
Show time is 7:30 p.m. in the UA Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Building, at Mountain Avenue and Speedway. A $5 donation is requested. Call 792-9171 for information.

Friday 26

VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS. His vocal range is rich and full, and his topics are big as the whole outdoors. Earth First! activist and troubadour Robert Hoyt rolls into town to spread the message through virtuoso guitar and homegrown lyrics. Hoyt is known for lacing his songs with more than a touch of biting, witty and often humorous lyricism--and a hard look at the state of environmental affairs.
Tonight's performance is at 7:30 p.m. in Press 101, at 101 W. Fifth St. Admission is $5. For details, call 740-0810.
NAVE REDUX. California funny guy and Dr. Demento radio show regular Howie Nave returns to Tucson with his biting brand of stand-up and song parody.
He arrives with an admittedly tainted résumé, including a questionable stint on a cruise ship. "I didn't last long on Carnival," he says. "They fired me for telling Kathie Lee (Gifford) jokes."
That makes him tops in our book. Coupled with his musical classics, including "I Want a Part-Time Girl for Christmas," and "Post Academia Blues," he seems like a sure thing...in spite of one burning question: "I'd like to know," he asks, "how people who can't type, like me, have cybersex."
This and other of life's mysteries take center stage when Nave opens for Bobby Collins at 8 and 10 tonight at Laff's Comedy Caffé, 2900 E. Broadway. Performances continue at 5, 8 and 10:30 p.m. tomorrow. Tickets are $5 for the matinee, and $12.50 for evening shows. Nave completes his run with two early shows on Sunday, at 5 and 7 p.m. Admission is only $5. For reservations, call 323-8669.
WAYFARING WORDS. The 17th annual Tucson Poetry Festival, under the theme Poetry and The Sacred, brings some heavy-hitters to town this weekend, including Robert Bly, Charles Bernstein, Jane Hirshfield, Ramson Lomatewama, Pat Mora and Patricia Smith. (See related article in this week's Books section for more information.)
This top roster of talent explores the cultural and creative significance of religion through readings, workshops and lectures. Among the thematic tangents is the creative tension between religious conviction and eternal suspicion, a conflict that proves inevitable "when the artist will find himself on the cross in society."
Ponder the profound with tonight's opening reading, featuring David Shapiro and Charles Bernstein at 8 p.m. Featured poet readings continue at 8 p.m. tomorrow and 2 p.m. Sunday in the Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Ave. Advance tickets are $7 per day, $15 for a weekend pass, and are available at Bentley's House of Coffee and Tea, The Bookstop and Antigone's Books. Tickets at the door are $9 per day, $20 for a weekend pass. Call 620-2045 for details.

Saturday 27

GLOBAL VOICE. According to the Times of India, she "brought the house down with a pure and lilting voice." Australia's Circular Head Chronicle called her "a stunning vocalist." Now Kerry Anne Kutz brings her globally acclaimed chords to Tucson for one performance tonight.
She's expected to dish up a lovely blend of jazz, gospel and international folk songs, and perhaps even an aria or two from a Faustina and Bach program she recently gave in Montreal.
Show time is 8 p.m. in the Unitarian Universalist Church, 4831 E. 22nd St. Advance tickets are $8, $5 for students and $20 for families, available at the church. Admission is an additional $2 at the door. For information, call 326-8259.
LENS FEST. Today's focus on the negative promises to be positively delightful, as the Arizona Photographic Collectors emerge from the darkroom to unveil their 28th annual Camera Show. The gathering will feature thousands of cameras and lenses, as well as tripods, literature and a plethora of darkroom equipment. There will also be free camera checks, work by high-school contest winners, and classic camera displays.
The show runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Sabbar Shrine Temple, 450 S. Tucson Blvd. Admission is $4. Call 529-5072 for information.
BUZZARD BLIZZARD. The aviary carpet rolls out today for Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park's "Welcome Back Buzzards Day," a homecoming celebration for the arboretum's migrating flock of some 60 turkey vultures, who've been wintering in Central and South America.
This beautiful, decades-long tradition begins just after dawn, when the birds fly to nearby Magma Ridge to bask in the sun and wait for the ground to warm. As thermal air currents rise, they launch themselves from the rocks, catch the billowing air flows, and perform an aerial ballet in their search for carrion.
The Welcome Back Buzzards party runs from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum near Superior, 90 minutes north of Tucson via Highway 79. Admission is $5, $2 for children ages 5 to 12, and free for children under age 5. Call (520) 689-2811 for details.

Sunday 28

WILD WALK. Witness nature's rich web with a guided tour by the Southwest Center for Biodiversity. A team of experts lead these two- to three-hour strolls along Cienega Creek, extolling the importance of riparian habitats and the growing threats they face. Be sure to bring a hat and water.
Today's "biodiversity walk" starts at 9 a.m. Call 623-5252, ext. 302, for reservations and directions.
FIERCE FEMININITY. The Desert Voices Community Chorus pays tribute to women in music with Sisters. This celebration of "our true cultural warriors" includes a premiere performance of the Young Women's Composer Contest winner, and a visit by the outstanding Denver Women's Chorus.
Show times are 8 tonight and 3 p.m. tomorrow in the PCC Proscenium Theatre, 2202 W. Anklam Road. Call 791-9662 for ticket and event information.

Monday 29

BORDER BRIGAND. Was he a bloodthirsty bandit or revolutionary hero? Decades after his death, the answer still depends on who you ask. The University of Chicago's Friedrich Katz digs up a few answers of his own today with a lecture entitled The Legend and Reality of Pancho Villa.
Katz is the author of several books, including Riot, Rebellion and Revolution; The Secret War in Mexico: Europe, the United States, and the Mexican Revolution and The Life and Times of Pancho Villa.
He'll speak from 3 to 4:45 p.m. in the UA Harvill Building, Room 150, at Second Street and Olive Road. Call 626-7242 for information.
STEPPING LIGHTLY. The relationship between a young woman and her grandmother is dissected with gentle finesse in Walking With Grace. Written by Tucson's Jana Segal, the screenplay is presented as part of Damesrocket Theater Company's play-reading series.
Segal has taught screenwriting, playwriting and acting. Her works have appeared across the country, and she recently directed a short comic video, The Bath-a-holic. Walking With Grace was workshopped at the Frederick Douglas Creative Arts Center in New York City.
Tonight's reading is at 7:30 p.m. in the Damesrocket Theater, 125 E. Congress St. Admission is $3, and includes a reception. For details, call 623-7852.
INTOXICATING COMBO. Saxophonist Kelland Thomas joins pianist Tomoko Uchino for Under the Influence. This evening of chamber works also reveals "influences" ranging from jazz and popular to folk music.
The performance is 7:30 p.m. in the UA Crowder Hall, on the south end of the pedestrian underpass at Speedway and Park Avenue. Tickets are $10, $8 for UA employees and $5 for students and seniors, available at the Fine Arts box office. Call 621-1162 for reservations and information.

Tuesday 30

EASTER SEAL OF APPROVAL. More than 100 actors and a full orchestra pay homage to the Big Guy with the 21st annual Simon Peter Passion Play of Tucson. A professional ensemble details the life of Jesus Christ in this visually stunning spectacle matched by a masterful musical score.
Show time is 7 p.m. in the TCC Music Hall, 260 S. Church Ave. Performances continue at 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 4. Admission is free. Call 327-5560 for information.

Wednesday 31

LOVES' LABOR. His smooth crooning has drawn comparisons to Frank Sinatra, and he's been called "Tucson's own big-band singer for the '90s." Now Bobby Myhre spreads his magic around with a month-long gig at The Keys, on Tucson's northwest side.
Myhre's repertoire ranges from classic pop to jazz standards, drawing from a songbook that includes Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, the Gershwins, Johnny Mercer, Jerome Kern and Sammy Cahn. He's been a longtime fave on the local club circuit, and has opened for the swing kings Royal Crown Revue.
"The music that I love to sing is the best popular music that America has ever produced," Myhre says. "For me, carrying the torch is a labor of love!"
Bobby Myhre plays from 9 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Wednesdays through April 28 at The Keys, 5900 N. Oracle Road. Cover is $3. Call 888-8084 for information.
TOP DOGS. Top students strut their literary stuff when the UA Poetry Center presents its annual Contest Awards Reading. Co-sponsored by the Academy of American Poets and the UA Student Activities Board, this year's roster includes first-place winner Wendy Coulter, along with Charles Speck, Mông-Lan Pham, Alma Garcia and Meredith Walters.
The free readings begin at 8 p.m. in the UA Modern Languages Auditorium, north of the main mall. Call 321-7760 for details.

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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