June 08 – Wednesday
The stereotypical bongo drums and faint sounds of snapping fingers hit the Queen City for the 14th annual Southern Fried Southeastern Regional Poetry Slam. For the uninitiated, a poetry slam is a form of competitive performance poetry, putting a dual emphasis on writing and performance. Though the focus is on the Southeast, 150 poets and at least 30 teams from across the country are expected to consolidate at this year’s 3-day event, held at Spirit Square, Discovery Place and the Fox & Hound restaurant. While the primary purpose of the event is to expose the youth to some of today’s top poets and writers, cash prizes will be offered for a more concrete benefit. The poetry slam runs from June 9-11, with registration starting today at 5pm. For further details, visit www.sf2005charlotte.com. (William Fonvielle)
June 09 – Thursday
Durham’s prestigious Full Frame Documentary Film Festival is over, which means it’s time for The Light Factory to host The Best of the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. For the fourth consecutive year, the Charlotte venue will present a couple of the winning features from the nation’s foremost nonfiction film fest. This year, the selections are The Education of Shelby Knox, about a Southern Baptist teenager in Texas who tries to find a satisfying middle ground between her strict religious views and her open-mindedness regarding sex education, and The Self-Made Man, a timely tale about a senior citizen who contemplates taking his own life. The Education of Shelby Knox will be screened at 7pm tonight; it will be accompanied by The Goody Goody, an 11-minute piece by Wilmington filmmaker Terry Linehan. The Self-Made Man will be shown at 7pm tomorrow night; also on the bill is the animated short film Backseat Bingo. Screenings will be held in Knight Gallery at Spirit Square; admission to each evening’s events is $7 at the door. For further info, call 704-333-9755. (Brunson)
If you thought Off-Tryon Theatre Company might have been muting its kink quotient while easing into the SouthEnd Performing Arts Center, Torch Song Trilogy will provide welcome reassurance. Harvey Fierstein’s gay-themed suite of one-acts won’t seem nearly as audacious now as it did in 1982, when Fierstein’s comedy torched Broadway and won the Tony Award for Best Play. But the romantic and family dilemmas facing Arnold, the flamboyant Jewish female impersonator, are not at all passé. With Hank West as Arnold in yet another outré exploit, under Glenn T. Griffin’s direction, Torch Song may be hitting exactly the right note to reconnect with OTTC’s old NoDa audience. The show runs Thursdays through Saturdays from now until June 25 at 201 Rampart Street, with all performances beginning at 8pm. Tickets are $15, or $12 for students and seniors. There’s a pay-what-you-can show on June 15. Call 704-332-5300. (Tannenbaum)
The patron saint of vulgar, domineering stage mothers returns as Gypsy kicks off CP Summer Theatre’s 32nd season at Pease Auditorium. Vaudeville and burlesque are vividly remembered — presumably with a hefty quaver in Kathryn Stamas’ voice as she portrays Mama Rose, implacably prodding her darling Louise (Emily Van Dyke) to stardom. Billy Ensley directs and Linda Booth choreographs, with Annie-Laurie Wheat hopefully skimping on the fabric and body stockings for her costume designs. Tickets are modestly priced at $16 as Gypsy comes up roses and daffodils through June 18. Performances are at 8pm, except for the Sunday matinee on June 12 at 2:30pm. Call 704-330-6534. (Tannenbaum)
June 10 – Friday
The summer session of the Charlotte Film Society’s Second Week series begins today at the Manor Theatre. This month’s lineup consists of Franco Zeffirelli’s Callas Forever, starring Fanny Ardant and Jeremy Irons in a fictionalized account of the opera star’s final days; Moolaade, Senegalese director Ousmane Sembene’s drama about a headstrong woman railing against her village’s practice of performing “purifying” circumcisions on little girls; and Japan’s Nobody Knows, which earned young Yuya Yagira the Cannes Best Actor prize for his performance as a 12-year-old who must take care of his younger siblings after their mother abandons them. For a review of Moolaade, see this issue’s Film section; for information on prices and times, call 704-414-2355 or go online to http://charlottefilmsociety.com. (Brunson)
Internationally renowned dancer and choreographer Lena Blou makes a rare American appearance at the Afro American Cultural Center at 7:30 this evening. Dr. Blou, a native of the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, created TECHNI’KA, a combination of ballet and African dance inspired by a traditional African Guadeloupean dance. Local Caribbean steel drum ensemble Tropical Flavor opens tonight’s performance. Caribbean Dinner and Show packages are $40. General admission for the show alone is $20. Discounts are available for AACC and Alliance Française members. For info and reservations, call 704-374-1565. (Vespa)
A three-day exhibit and sale of The Artwork of John Lennon, encompassing the years 1968-1980, is being presented at the Park Hotel’s Park Pavillion today through Sunday. The exhibit includes historically significant works from Lennon’s original “Bag One” suite, although those particular pieces will not be for sale. The exhibit takes place today from 5 to 9pm, Saturday from 11am-7pm and Sunday from 11am-6pm. For more information, call 888-ART-1969 or 704-364-8220. (Grooms)
June 12 – Sunday
We don’t send our loyal readers out to the wilds of Greensboro every day. But how often does anybody get to see Wagner’s hallowed Ring Cycle defiled with narcoleptic dwarves, studded with synchronized swimming maidens and slathered in barbecue sauce? Das Barbecü is the first musical ever served up at award-winning Triad Stage in downtown Greensboro, previewing through June 15, opening on June 16, and running through July 10 at 232 South Elm Street. Tearing through Wagner’s divinities like a Texas tornado, Das Barbecü is a down-home take on Der Ring that revels in swinging music and rowdy humor. Preview tickets are enticingly priced at $10, rising to $12-$38 after the show opens in Triad’s funky 300-seat space. Performances begin at 7:30pm on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday evenings. Friday and Saturday evenings at 8pm and Sunday matinees at 2pm. Call 336-272-0160. (Tannenbaum)
R&B supergroup New Edition return with a summer tour in hopes of showcasing the band’s groundbreaking new jack swing to younger, more rap-attuned audiences. Their fan base may be approaching middle age, but these smooth crooners are keeping the “old school” torch lit. The quintet, minus Bobby Brown, released the sleek One Love last fall. Brian McKnight and Gerald Levert will open at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre. Tickets are $23.50-$48.50. For further details, call 704-522-6500. (Shukla)
June 13 – Monday
All Aboard!!: The 2005 Summer Film Series begins at 7pm tonight in the Main Library’s Francis Auditorium. This summer’s theme is that — you guessed it — all movies prominently feature a train in their plots; to that end, the series pulls out of the station this evening with a screening of Buster Keaton’s 1927 Civil War comedy The General. The movie will be preceded by another silent classic: 1903’s The Great Train Robbery, a 12-minute short that advanced the art of filmmaking by leaps and bounds. Admission is free; for details, call 704-336-6217. (Brunson)
This article appears in Jun 8-14, 2005.
