November 16 - November 22, 1995

City Week

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Thursday 16

SPRING REIGN. When her 5-year-old daughter was abducted from her home in England and left to die, June fled to Namibia, where she had lived a decade previously with her husband, an officer of the British consulate. A Namib Spring opens on the eve of Namibia's independence in 1990, swirling together issues of nationalism and apartheid, of individual struggles and social change, in a dialogue between June (Cynthia Meier) and her former servant Edison (Darwin), a Hererro tribe member. June, on the edge of sanity from the loss of her daughter, floats surrealistically between past and present, between rural England and the harsh South African desert. (See Jana Rivera's article in the Review section.)

Patrick Baliani's A Namib Spring continues with performances at 8 p.m. through November 18 at the PCC Black Box Theater, 2202 W. Anklam Road. Tickets are $8, $7 for students. Call 326-7354 for reservations and information.

SPIFFY SPEWS. The long-awaited, stunning third issue of the Capt. Spiffy Comic features nine local artists, including Max Cannon, Nate Dryden and emerging talent Kermit Hu, whose work Spiffy creator John Forier says "just keeps getting better and better." He predicts Hu is destined for greatness in the mainstream market. The book is a compilation of submissions responding to the criteria "entries must be spiffy." While it's no small task to fill the good Capt.'s over-sized shoes, the artists have responded with 35 pages of unfathomable interpretations of our hero. "We like comics that are individual," says Forier. "We don't cater to the mainstream."

All the artists will be on hand to sign comics, "bad superhero food" will be served and "bad superhero videos" shown, along with the unveiling of commemorative murals celebrating Capt. Spiffy's third year on the planet. What more could you possibly ask for, free of charge, from 5 to 8 p.m. on a weeknight? Buff up the Spiffmobile and speed over to Capt. Spiffy's Trend-O-Rama, 944 E. University Blvd. Call 624-4643 for information.

Friday 17

FREAKS. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. at the Southwest Center for Music, 2175 N. Sixth Ave., for the second Festival of Youth. Freaks II delivers seven hours of ear-splitting Alternative Rock, creative tattooing, body piercing, freakish fashion and "free stuff." DJs Unknown, Aler and H-Bomb will be joined by Jesus Chrysler Supercar (from Phoenix), Casey Tripped, Beergut, Los Federales, Ever Ready (from San Diego), FUCT, M.A.C., Front Side Grind and Brenda's Never Been, to keep you rockin' on that oh-so-cool expansive wooden dance floor--which is the premiere place to boogie, even in combat boots. This is an exhibitionist's dream date, with contests for Best Male/Female Tattoo, Best Body-Piercing and the coveted title of Best Overall Freak. Tickets are $7 in advance from Toxic Ranch and all Zia Records outlets. They'll cost more on the day of the show. Call 623-2008 or 884-1220 for information.

DAWG MUSIC MASTER. There are two things to which David Grisman has pledged his lifelong allegiance: the dog and the mandolin. His accomplished playing and canine devotion (see any of his two dozen solo album covers for proof) led the late Jerry Garcia to coin the phrase "Dawg Music" for Grisman's original variations on everything from bluegrass to Latin jazz. His latest release, Dawganova, as in bossa nova, is vintage Grisman: spicy, polished and beyond categorization. This is a rare opportunity to see a living legend perform in the intimate setting of the Berger Center, where there isn't a bad seat in the house.

Experience "An Evening with The David Grisman Quintet" at 8 p.m. at the Berger Performing Arts Center, 1200 W. Speedway. Tickets range from $15 to $19 in advance, $3 more day of the show and at the door. Outlets include Hear's Music, Loco Records, Mars-Hall Music Center, Zips Records (Speedway) and KXCI. Call 623-1000 for tickets and information.

pix HOLIDAY FARE. Get a leg up on the busiest shopping day of the year by perusing the Tucson Museum of Art's 14th annual holiday craft market today through Sunday in the museum's Plaza of the Pioneers, 140 N. Main Ave. More than 80 booths sport fine quality jewelry, furniture, clothing, leather, glass, ceramics, wood and metal works, guaranteeing something unique for even the most hard-to-shop-for on your list. In addition to live music and refreshments in the plaza, visit the museum free of charge. Balance the impending holiday bustle with a tranquil stroll through Rebecca Davis' and Roger Asay's organic sculptural installations in Touching Earth, Contemporary Southwest Images X--The Stonewall Foundation Series. The craft market is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today through Sunday; with regular museum hours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. Call 624-2333 for information.

Saturday 18

CAT NOIR. In conjunction with the Points of Entry series at the Center for Creative Photography (of which the second exhibition, Nation of Strangers, opens this week), The Screening Room, 127 E. Congress St., continues a film series celebrating the contributions of émigré filmmakers with Edgar G. Ulmer's The Black Cat, a masterpiece of horror which marks the first pairing of Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. It's described as "inspired more by Aleister Crowley than Edgar Allen Poe," with Ulmer creating a "filmed catalogue of sadism, necrophilia, Satanism and murder combined with classical music, art deco sets and clever camera work." Screenings are at 2 and 4 p.m. today, and 3 and 6:15 p.m. Sunday, November 19. Admission is $4, $3 for matinees. Call 622-2262 for information.

Sunday 19

RIGHT TO REMAIN SENTIENT. Back when couch potato products were big on the market (sometime in the 1980s), there was a T-shirt that read "Art may imitate life, but life imitates television." Revisiting Network, Paddy Chayevsky's 1976 Academy Award-winning film about an unscrupulous fourth-rate network that will air anything to raise its ratings, including an insane, profanity-shouting "mad prophet of the airwaves," we have to wonder. The Arizona Bar Foundation Center for Law-Related Education (ACLRE) is sponsoring the free screening as part of a panel discussion on "the impact on democracy when increasing numbers of citizens use television for news about government, at the same time that networks are taken over by corporations that mix news and entertainment values in order to increase ratings and revenue." We love it--a free movie and a slap at the establishment media (what's good for the networks is good for the dailies).

Exercise your right to a free movie from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Gallagher Theater on the UA mall. Call 340-7360 for information.

EL NACIMIENTO. The spectacular El Nacimiento Mexican Nativity exhibit opens with festivities from 2 to 4 p.m. at La Casa Cordova, in the TMA Historic Block bordered by Franklin Street and Main Avenue. Mary Luisa Tena created El Nacimiento in 1978, adding new figures and stories annually to include more than 200 handmade terra cotta figurines in a multitude of delightful vignettes depicting rural Mexican life and customs. Her labor of love has become one of the Old Pueblo's favorite holiday traditions, housed in one of the city's oldest residences. Admission is free, open during regular museum hours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. El Nacimiento continues through March 1996. Call 624-2333 for information.

HOLIDAY SPIRIT WEAVERS. Julia Ann McCoy is brimming with enthusiasm for the artisan extravaganza sweeping the Ventana Village Shopping Center at Sunrise Drive and Kolb Road, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today. The Holiday Spirit Arts and Crafts Festival joins more than 100 local and visiting artists in a one-day event to benefit Casa de los Niños. See what Santa's Southwest workshop has turned out this season, with furniture, metal sculpture, watercolor, textiles, wearable art and oh-so-much more. "The show runs the gamut," says McCoy "with items from $2 to $2,000." Under the umbrella of Spirit Weavers, the McCoy spousal-artist team has organized a series of "Spirit Shows" to benefit local charities through the arts. At the center of the activity, Casa de los Niños will be accepting donations of children's books and puzzles, as well as raffling off fine art paintings. Bring gifts for Casa and pick up some new ones of your own--a portion of all sales will be donated to Casa. Call 529-2072 for information.

Monday 20

DIG THE PIG POET. Some may not think it the most exalted title, but along with his numerous awards (including the 1995 Western States Book Award for poetry for My Town), author David Lee has been so dubbed for his seven volumes of poetry chronicling life in a small farming town. The chairman of the Department of Language and Literature at Southern Utah University, NEA fellow and recipient of other awards too numerous to mention will read and discuss his work at 2 p.m. in the outdoor courtyard of the UA Poetry Center, 1216 N. Cherry Ave. Reading is free, and will be followed by an informal reception. Call 621-5566 for information.

Tuesday 21

FLAMENCO FIREWORKS. The clap of castanets, the fiery rhythm of Spanish guitar, stamping gypsy feet, the flamboyant movements of lithe dancers, and the passionate wail of voices echoing of love and loss on the desert plains of Andalusia. All elements of Flamenco artistry feed off each other to create a truly electric performance; and tonight's collaboration of more than 40 dancers, singers, and musicians from the companies of Maria Beintez Teatro Flamenco and Lydia Torrea Spanish Dance Company promise an unsurpassed exhibition of this dying art. Southwest Dance presents one performance only of Flamenco Fireworks at 8 p.m. at the TCC Music Hall, 260 S. Church Ave. Tickets range from $18 to $28. Call 791-4836 for reservations and information.

Wednesday 22

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS. Invisible Theatre's latest production once again proves real life is stranger than fiction. Me and Jezebel, written by Elizabeth Fuller, tells the true tale of the summer of 1985, when screen legend Bette Davis arrived at Fuller's Connecticut home for a one-night visit that lasted a full month. Davis is played by Jetti Ames, with Donna Davis portraying Elizabeth Fuller in this hilarious comedy directed by IT Associate Producer Deborah Dickey. Performances continue at 8 p.m. through December 2, with select 2 o'clock Sunday matinees. Tickets are $12 and $14. Call 882-9721 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. for reservations and information. Tickets are also available at the door. Invisible Theater is located at 1400 N. First Ave. at Drachman Street.


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November 16 - November 22, 1995


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