THURSDAY, november 03
It’s been a while since Charlotte has seen a genuine new play festival with Equity-level participants. Steve Umberger and The Light Factory’s Thinking in Pictures is just that — a three-day festival featuring three new scripts and 30 top-notch actors. One of the scripts, Gospel Hill by Jeff Stacy, is the first screenplay Umberger has presented in Charlotte. No less interesting are Dairy Queen Days by Bob Inman, adapted for the stage by the local newsman-turned-novelist, and Anita Bryant Died for Your Sins, a promising play Umberger first shepherded to the stage in Florida. Dairy Queen Days leads off the festival at Duke Power Theatre at 8pm, followed by Anita Bryant at the same time Friday. Saturday starts off with Gospel Hill at 2pm, followed by reprises of Dairy Queen at 5pm and Anita Bryant at 8pm. Gospel Hill concludes the Festival at 2pm Sunday. Tickets for individual performances are $15, with 3-reading subscriptions available for $40 at the door. (Tannenbaum)
There’s a new theater company in town, Pi Productions, whose first piece figures to stir up interest. Sin: A Cardinal Deposed is playwright Michael Murphy’s exploration of the sex-abuse scandal that rocked the Catholic Church in the Boston diocese. He created the piece entirely from the depositions of Cardinal Bernard Law. Hundreds of priests and victims were involved in this unholy conspiracy that was allowed to metastasize over a period of decades. George Gray, Polly Adkins and Joe Copley are among the notables in the cast under the direction of Pam Galle. It’s at Actor’s Theatre through November 19 with Thursday performances at 7:30pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, and a Sunday matinee November 6 at 2:30pm. The playwright drops in for a 6:30pm reception on opening night and stays after the performance to participate in a panel discussion. Admission is $15, with $12 tickets available for students/seniors/groups. Call 704-367-1345. (Tannenbaum)
FRIDAY, november 04
Mary Mary quite contrary, how does your Markus Groh? With Brahms’s Piano Concerto #1 at Belk Theater for two consecutive 8pm performances with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra. Subscribers get to settle into the Brahms idiom with the composer’s Tragic Overture. After intermission, the orchestra moves from Johannes to Franz Schubert’s infrequently performed Symphony #6. Christoph Perick wields the baton with his usual Teutonic grace. Tickets are $15-$69 for evening performances; $10 general admission tickets available for the 10am rehearsal on Friday. Call 704-972-2000. (Tannenbaum)
In an age when many of his compatriots have either severely limited their touring schedules, stopped touring altogether, or moved on to the big mic in the Great Beyond, Del McCoury and his band reign supreme. McCoury has paid his dues in all the right places (with Bill Monroe), shown a willingness to try new things (an ill-fated record and tour with Steve Earle) and, most importantly, continued to pen album after album of rock-solid, creek-clear bluegrass. Not quite two years ago, McCoury got to add another feather to his cap with one of the greatest honors a traditional musician can receive: membership into the Grand Ole Opry. Dread Clampitt opens this Neighborhood Theatre show. Tickets are $30; show starts at 8pm. Details at 704-358-9298. (Davis)
It’s the time of year when the frigid winds from the North finally put an end to summer in the South. Well, you can still keep toasty and transport to a tropical South Pacific paradise, at least for an evening, with tonight’s performance from the Drums of Polynesia. This is a group of musicians and dancers specializing in the colorful cultures of Hawaii, Polynesia and the rest of the South Seas. At Tillman Auditorium on the big island of Winthrop. Show’s at 8pm; tickets are $5-$7. Details at 803-323-2108 or www.winthrop.edu. (Shukla)
Get a jump on holiday gift buying or pick out something unique for yourself this weekend at the 11th annual Charlotte Craft Show. The show features more than 200 artists whose handcrafted works include jewelry, wearable art, ceramics, glass, furniture, baskets, quilts and sculpture. On Friday, Hendersonville ceramist Jason Bohnert will perform an “extreme craft” clay-throwing demonstration so you can learn how recreate that scene from Ghost. The show is at the uptown Convention Center, 501 South College Street. Hours are 10am-8pm Friday, 10am-6pm Saturday and 10am-4pm Sunday. Admission is $10; two-day pass $18. Children 12 and under get in free. Details at 800-836-3470 or www.craftcouncil.org/charlotte. (Vespa)
SATURDAY, november 05
Bummed you didn’t get tickets to that inaugural event in the Bobcats’ new den? Thankfully, the Charlotte Bobcats are giving you 41 more chances to visit the lovely arena. Local talent will be showcased this year as the team utilizes phase one of its North Carolina plan. UNC standouts Derek May and Raymond Felton join last year’s rookie of the year Emeka Okafor and the rest of the gang. Opening day is today with the Bobcats taking on the Boston Celtics at 7:30pm. Tickets are $10-$85. Call 1-800-495-2295. (Neumark)
SUNDAY, november 06
NPR’s master of angst and melancholy takes to the concert stage, making his Charlotte debut in the eponymous An Evening with Ira Glass. You’ll hear intimate revelations on how this inspired droner puts together his This American Life radio show. If you’ve ever spent quality time in your driveway with the motor turned off, listening to the final minutes of an American Life segment, you’ll want to be among the Glass groupies at Belk Theater at 7pm. For all his audible eccentricities, he’s one fine, sensitive journalist. Tickets are $19.50-$29.50. Details at 704-372-1000. (Tannenbaum)
Hockey in the South? Hey, it’s your best bet if you’re looking to spot the Canadians in town. There was nothing minor about the Charlotte Checkers’ valiant run in the 2005 playoffs when the team reached the semifinals. This year’s Checkers club looks to take home the Kelly Cup while harvesting some NHL talent along the way. But did I really need to say anything more than ZAMBONI!? The Checkers play at Bobcats Arena today at 5pm, taking on rivals Greenville Grrrowl. Tickets are $10-$25. Call 704-342-4423. (Neumark)
MONDAY, november 07
Philippe Entremont, perhaps the ne plus ultra of pianistic suavity, leads the Munich Symphony Orchestra into Belk Theater for the next entrée on Carolina Concert Association’s 2005-06 subscription series. Maestro Entremont stands at the podium for Carl Maria von Weber’s “Oberon Overture” and Beethoven’s Symphony #7. Between these morsels, Entremont ensconces himself at the keyboard and leads the Munich ensemble in Mozart’s Piano Concerto #20. Bread-and-butter repertoire, perhaps, but delivered with haute cuisine panache. Tickets for the 8pm performance are $25-$70. Call 704-372-1000. (Tannenbaum)
This article appears in Nov 2-8, 2005.
