Creative Loafing Charlotte

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The Original Artwork of Scott Whiteside

While waiting to get my hair trimmed and styled at Orange Olive salon in NoDa recently, I found myself distracted by Scott Whiteside’s artwork. Spread across the walls, the paintings made me forget the question at hand — go short or stay long? The paintings, some larger on canvas and others smaller on wood, were of cats ... colorful, funky cats. In an abstract, cartoonish style, these felines have highlights and streaks throughout their fur. And they’re compelling, despite the new questions they might arouse: What would my cat look like with a dye job? Free admission

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Take Your Dog to Work Social

Friday, June 21st is Take Your Dog to Work Day…what better way to celebrate than a Doggy Disco® Social after work to benefit Charlotte rescue dogs! $5 of every entry fee will benefit Charlotte-Mecklenburg Animal Care & Controls shelter programs. Admission Price – $10 per dog (accompanying humans are free) * $5 of the admission, plus 15% of all sales goes to Animal Care & Control shelter programs! $10 per dog

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The One Day in June Fundraiser Launch Party & Transmedia Storytelling Experience

One Day in June is an independently financed feature film about one father’s journey to find and reconnect with the children he abandoned. The film is being written and directed by Charlotte filmmaker Narcel Reedus. The event will feature video trailers from the movie, a Kickstarter video, and a live performance by actors. Free

Rem Koolhaas: A Kind of Architect

Screening as part of the Bechtler's Architecture + Film series. Cash bar and light bites at 6 p.m.; Presentation and screening at 7 p.m. $5-$10

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Girls' Night Out: Alcohol Inks on Yupo Paper

The third Friday of each month is Girls’ Night Out at Charlotte Fine Art Gallery. In June, create abstract designs with alcohol-based inks on slick Yupo paper. Model the image on something you see--or find your subject within your creation! This is a fun and exciting GNO that everyone enjoys. Time: June 21, 2013, 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 ish Girls' Night Out is a time to relax and enjoy doing art with the "girls" ... no experience needed. Refreshments served. (Must be 21.) All supplies included. Pre-registration required. $35

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Sum Art Show

Celebrate the first day of summer with art, design, music & beer. Sum Art is a summer themed artistic experience, organized by a group of local artists/designers. Free Admission

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Hollywood Squares: British Invasion

Charlotte's One Voice Chorus performs hits by The Beatles,Queen and Adele, following the tradition of the old trivia gameshow. A wonderfully wacky show where the audiences become contestants and local businesses become celebrities. Hosted by Roxy C. Moorecox. Cashbar reception and raffle add to the fun. $25 in advance, $30 at the door

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Shooter Jennings, Tater Family Traveling Circus

SHOOTER JENNINGS Shooter Jennings has dabbled in experimental metal, cut his teeth on Southern rock and written songs inlaid with jazz, blues, even R&B, and it all mostly works, but when he dives into the alleys of outlaw country, the son of Waylon and Jessi shines. During the past decade, Shooter Jennings has honed his sound and cleared a naturally genuine path that’s all his own. His new album, The Other Life, opens with the oddball track “Flying Saucer Song,” which arguably could be a Pink Floyd b-side, and then rips into honky-tonk ethos and relishes in it. The record, though uneven, further evolves and expands his rep. Gospel flourishes check in and piano-inflected ballads rear their heads, while Jennings sings about gunslingers and lonesome cowboys, and disses fake, prepackaged “pretty boy” country singers.

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The Verdict

Paul Newman delivers one of the finest performances of his lengthy career in this absorbing drama directed by Sidney Lumet (Dog Day Afternoon, 12 Angry Men). Working from David Mamet’s lean script (adapted from Barry Reed’s novel), Newman stars as a boozy lawyer struggling down the comeback trail via a medical malpractice suit. No one gives him a shot at winning, especially against a polished opposing attorney (James Mason), which means he also has crippling self-doubt as one of the challenges placed before him. This was nominated for five major Oscars: Best Picture, Actor, Supporting Actor (Mason), Director and Adapted Screenplay. And yes, the long-standing trivial tidbit is accurate: That is indeed a 20-something, pre-Moonlighting Bruce Willis as an extra in the final courtroom scene. This will be shown as part of the Main Library series Order in the Court: Seven Classic Courtroom Movies. Free admission

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Dave Chappelle

It’s no big surprise that tickets to see one of the most popular comedians of our time at Belk Theater went like hot cakes — and led to a second and third show add (if not sold out already, they will be soon). Dave Chappelle remains a spearhead in the stand-up world despite his abrupt departure from Chappelle’s Show in the middle of the third season. Since then, he’s taken a rather low profile, leaving a void in the comedy scene — only filled with the occasional pop-up gigs, like this mini-tour stop in the Q.C. Rumors are circulating on the Internet about a stand-up super tour between Chappelle and Chris Rock in the future. So is this his big comeback before he hits the road with a partner in crime? We really can’t say, judging by Chappelle’s unpredictable behavior and what seems to be a fancy for reclusivity. But we do think this is one of those shows that shouldn’t be missed. $52

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Frankenstein

Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus, Mary Shelley’s classic sci-fi gothic, is usually unrecognizable when adapted to another medium. So calm your excitement if you’re expecting Shakespeare Carolina’s upcoming Frankenstein to be true to the original 1818 novel. On the other hand, the new adaptation by Conrad Bishop and Elizabeth Fuller doesn’t try to deliver anything like the old-timey Hollywood scarefest. Science has marched far closer to achieving synthetic creature creation — and conquering death — since Boris Karloff was hunted down with pitchforks. Chris O’Neill, S. Wilson Lee, and Katie Bearden star in a millennial version distilled for three players, with fresh imagery by Jon Pritchard and original music by the Clamor Sound Collective. $10-$15; Pay what you can on June 16 at 3 p.m.

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Least Likely Friends

In a perfect world, all friendships would last forever, but as we all know the world is full of blemishes. In Donna Scott Productions’ Least Likely Friends, we’re reminded of this. Writer/producer Tonya Bludsworth (pen master behind Carrie Ann’s Kiss), has crafted a relatable show about four college roommates who are reunited during their beloved friend’s funeral. Without the deceased, the friend that linked the otherwise intolerable ladies, there’s about to be drama after a longtime secret is exposed. $25-$27

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The Divine Sister

Move over Sister Act! When it comes to habits and Hail Mary’s, you’ve got competition from playwright Charles Busch’s The Divine Sister — stirring up hallelujahs at Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte, May 31-June 22. Actor Ashby Blakely stars as the leading lady, Mother Superior, in this heavenly production directed by Matt Cosper. Superior, who was a sassy reporter before she confined herself to the convent, faces the dreadful task of building a new school while dealing with the other sisters, each of whom has their own secrets lurking behind the cloister walls. There’s a young postulant who is experiencing “visions,” a sensitive schoolboy in need of mentoring, an unusual nun visiting from Germany, suppressed sexual urges among most of the nuns, and a former suitor intent on luring Superior away from her vows. No-nonsense nuns? We think not! $17 during previews on May 31 and June 1; $26-31; Pay what you can on June 12

3 Piece Bucket

4th Annual Uptown Charlotte Jazz Fest f. BWB, Vincent Ingala, Paul Taylor, Marion Meadows, Sax in the City, Gregg Karukas

$74.40-$196