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Austin360 blogs > Austin Arts: Seeing Things > Archives > 2009 > May > 28
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Weekend Arts Pix
TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY
‘Love Janis’
Could there be a musical that’s a better fit for the self-proclaimed live music capital of the world? The musical version of the life of rock ’n’ roll legend Janis Joplin captured Austin’s imagination when Zach Theatre first presented it in 1996. Now, Zach revives the popular show — the most requested in the theater’s history — bringing back Andra Mitrovich who can channel Joplin like no other and also starred in the show’s national tour and Off-Broadway run. 8 p.m. Wednesdays-Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. Sundays through July 12. Kleberg Stage, Zach Theater, South Lamar Boulevard and West Riverside Drive. 476-0541, www.zachtheatre.org.
SATURDAY
‘Freakshow-A-Go-Go’
Austin Drag Collective reclaims the classic freakshow and turns it into a large scale gender performance showcase with empowerment at the fore. Gender performers from around the nation take the stage in a campy, inspirational show that also features live music, puppetry, burlesque, acrobatics, dance and vaudevillian comedy. Master of ceremonies: P.J. Chavez (aka performance artist Jill Pangallo). 8:15 p.m. pre-show, 9 p.m. stage show Saturday. Emo’s (outside stage), 603 Red River St. $12 advance, $15 at the door. www.emosaustin.com.
Benny ‘Mjumbe’ Sorrells is an Austin native who moved to San Francisco in the 1960s and was an active participant in that city’s creative Beat scene. Despite having experienced periods of homelessness since returning to Austin, Sorrells continues to paint in a variety of media producing vividly colorful images that reflect intimate scenes of family and home life, African themes, African American themes, classic still life imagery and even cubist inspired geometric imagery. Opening: 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday. Regular gallery hours: noon to 6 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays. Exhibit continues through June 11. Diverse Arts, New East Gallery, 1601 W. Fifth St., Suite 106. Free. 477-9438, www.diverserarts.org.
‘The Lining of Forgetting: Internal & External Memory in Art.’
How do we remember? And what kind of objects do we use and collect in order to help us remember? Family photos, Road Runner cartoons, the works of Shakespeare and Barack Obama’s presidential campaign are just some of the subjects explored in a sprawling exhibit of contemporary art that reveals how we remember, forget or re-write our memories. Join exhibit curator Xandra Eden and installation artists for a gallery talk. 3 p.m. Saturday. Regular museum hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday (until 8 p.m. Thursdays), 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Austin Museum of Art, 823 Congress Ave. $5-$7. 495-9224, www.amoa.org.
Kate Breakey
There are few artists whose work has such an immediate and compelling effect on many Austin viewers as Kate Breakey. The former Austinite brings her latest series of eerie hand-painted photographs of dead insects and animals. Opening reception: 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday. Regular gallery hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays. Stephen L. Clark Gallery, 1101 W. Sixth St. Free. 477-0828, www.stephenlclarkgallery.com.
Image: Louise Bourgeois, Ode à L’Oubli, 2004, fabric and color lithograph book, page 18 of 36 framed pages. Collection of the artist. Courtesy of Cheim & Read, New York. Photo: Christopher Burke.
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Dvorak comes to Georgetown
Czech composer Antonin Dvorak wrote perhaps one of the most seminal, and most popular, American symphonies ever — his Symphony No. 9, known as ‘From the New World.’ So perhaps it’s fitting that he’s celebrated this summer on the frontier that is Central Texas.
The annual Georgetown Festival of the Arts, which begins Saturday, gathers internationally recognized Austin-based musicians — pianist Anton Nel along with the Miro Quartet — and special guest artists — including the Shanghai Quartet — for a series of concerts honoring Dvorák’s singular contribution as a music maker who artfully plumbed folk music traditions for inspiration for his classical compositions.
‘This year we are honoring Antonin Dvorak, who enriched this tradition by infusing it with national styles of his native Bohemia and of 19th-century America, with particular interest in American and Native American music,’ says Georgetown Arts Festival director Ellsworth Peterson. ‘In a way, this festival celebrates the ethnic diversity of our own Central Texas heritage.’
The festival starts with a free concert in San Gabriel Park; it runs Saturday through June 7. Tickets are $20 a concert (festival pass $80), $5 students. More information is at www.gtownfestival.org.
Other highlights:
• Free Concert: ‘Dvorak in the Park: ‘From the New World,’ Symphony No. 9.’ Performed by Temple Symphony Orchestra. 8 p.m. Saturday. Gazebo, San Gabriel Park. 1101 N. College St.
• ‘Chamber music: ‘American’ Quartet in F major, Quintet for Piano and Strings, Sextet for Strings.’ Performed by Anton Nel, Miró Quartet, Shanghai Quartet. 8 p.m. June 4. Alma Thomas Theatre, Southwestern University. 1001 University Ave.
• ‘Dvorak’s Songs: Songs in Folk Tone, Moravian Duets, Gypsy Songs and more.’ Performed by Virginia Dupuy, Lynn Parr Mock, Scott Cameron, Bruce Cain. 8 p.m. June 5. First United Methodist Church, 410 E. University Ave.
• ‘Chamber Music: Romance in F minor, Songs My Mother Taught Me, Rondo in G minor and more.’ Performed by Eri Lee Lam, Vincent Lam, Hai Zheng. 3:30 p.m. June 8. First United Methodist Church, 410 E. University Ave.
• ‘Dvorak’s Piano Music.’ Performed by Anton Nel, Michael Schneider. 8 p.m. June 6. Alma Thomas Theatre, Southwestern University. 1001 E. University Ave.
• Dvorak’s ‘Stabat Mater.’ Performed by festival orchestra and chorus with soloists Mela Dailey, Virginia Dupuy, Scot Cameron, Bruce Cain. 4 p.m. June 7. Klett Center for the Performing Arts, Georgetown High School, 2211 N. Austin Ave.
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