Charlotte Rep, in a co-production with Syracuse Stage, brings David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly to the Queen City, 14 years after the exotically erotic reversal of Puccini's tragic opera took Broadway's Tony Award. J LaRue tackles the challenging role of Song Liling, the Chinese opera diva who turns out to be a Maoist undercover agent. Allen Fitzpatrick is the hapless French diplomat, Rene Gallimard, who somehow manages to delude himself for 20 years about his paramour's gender and politics. And it's based on a true story! The show runs October 24-November 10 ($26-$31.50) at Booth Playhouse. Call 704-372-1000 for tickets or surf to www.charlotterep.org. (Tannenbaum)
Lips are sealed coffin-tight about Off-Tryon Theatre Company's Halloween production of Dracula, which runs through November 2. We've pried loose an admission that Sheila Snow Proctor, CL's reigning Actress of the Year/Sexiest Woman in Charlotte, will play the spider-eating madperson, Renfield. Count on Jimmy Chrismon, Stan Peal and Beth Pierce as the other noteworthies onstage while Anthony Proctor's set design features splashes of Edward Gorey. An unprecedented NoDa-Sferatu Dinner Party at Boudreaux's at 5:30pm precedes this Saturday's performance -- with a post-performance party slated for the same night. All performances begin at 8pm with a special Pay What You Can show on October 30. Otherwise, $15 covers adults, $12 students and seniors. Call 704-375-2826 for tickets or e-mail offtryon@ yahoo.com. (Tannenbaum)
Thursday, OCTOBER 31
Get your ghosts and ghoulies ready for some fun tonight as Halloween is finally here. But there's plenty more to do besides filling up on candy! Check out the Halloween Haps Box in the Happenings section of this issue. (McKinney)
Friday, NOVEMBER 1
LIVE ART 2, a cancer fundraiser that will feature the auction of artwork by local artists, will be held at Tonic, 1427 East Fourth Street. The festivities, which start at 9pm, will include readings from the Poetry Alive Poets Society by cancer survivors. DJ James Fedele and an as-yet-to-be-announced jazz band will serenade guests. The event is organized by For The Pleasure of Your Company, a local nonprofit community arts group working with hospitals to provide workshops and performance projects involving patients. Though no door charge has been set, a $10 donation is suggested. For more information, call 704-347-2582. (Servatius)
The Latin American Film & Video Festival 2002 will be held over the course of November at various area colleges. The festival kicks off tonight with an airing of the 1989 documentary La Ofrenda: The Days of the Dead at 8pm in the Cone Center's McKnight Auditorium at UNC-Charlotte. The series continues Wednesday, November 6, with a showing of the Oscar-nominated Mexican hit Amores Perros at 8pm at Davidson College. The remaining films (all at 7pm) will be shown November 11 (the Oscar-winning Black Orpheus at Johnson C. Smith University), November 13 (I, the Worst of All at Wingate University), November 18 (Me, You, Them at UNCC) and November 25 (Maquila: A Tale of Two Mexicos, also at UNCC). Admission is free; call 704-687-4635 for details. (Brunson)
Saturday, NOVEMBER 2
NPR celeb Christopher O'Riley returns to town for a two-night guest shot with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, his first Uptown appearance since the 2001 Brightstar Music Festival. The host of Public Radio's "From the Top" teen showcase will be playing Chopin's Piano Concerto #2. Guest conductor Carl St. Clair brings his own contribution for his CSO debut, a suite that he has distilled from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet ballet score. Contemporary American composer Frank Tichelli's Postcard rounds out the intriguing program. Single tickets cost $16.25-$63.25 and are available at charlotte symphony.org, or call 704-972-2000. (Tannenbaum)
The Human Rights Campaign will hold a party called Finally OUT: A Retirement Party for Jesse Helms tonight at 8pm at Velocity, 935 S. Summit Avenue. The event will feature DJ Edward Jones and guest speakers, including Elizabeth Birch, Executive Director of the HRC. Tickets are $35, which includes a membership to the Human Rights Campaign. For more information or tickets, call 704-375-7533. (Davis)
Monday, NOVEMBER 4
As a tie-in to their exhibit Feelin' Groovy: Rock "n' Roll Graphics, 1966-70, the Main Library will present the Groovy Film Series, with three defining late-60s features (directed by three of the era's top directors), shown over the course of the next three Mondays. Tonight's feature is Blake Edwards' often hilarious 1968 comedy The Party, with Peter Sellers as a bumbling actor who single-handedly destroys the swanky title event. The series continues November 11 with Richard Lester's 1968 Petulia, about an odd romance between a surgeon (George C. Scott) and a younger woman (Julie Christie), and will conclude November 18 with Arthur Penn's 1969 Alice's Restaurant, with Arlo Guthrie in an interesting cinematic version of his hit song. Start time is 7pm; admission is free. Call 704-336-6217 for details. (Brunson)
Tuesday, NOVEMBER 5
Reel Tuesdays @ Tonic, a monthly event that showcases short films by independent filmmakers, continues tonight at, naturally, Tonic. Doors open at 7pm and the program starts at 7:30pm. Admission is $8. See the Flicks section for more information, or call 704-492-2519. (Brunson)
Nearly 60 years into their career, the Blind Boys of Alabama are still inspiring crowds with their soul-drenched gospel music and getting heaps of media attention as of recently, too. Heck, just last week they were featured on 60 Minutes II. The Grammy Award winners, led these days by Clarence Fountain, are certain to get you up on your feet. . .and you might even find yourself belting out an "Amen!" or two. The show begins at 8pm at the Neighborhood Theatre with opener Ramsey Middlewood. Tickets cost $20. For more details, call the theater at 704-358-9298. (Farris)
Wednesday, NOVEMBER 6
The Yohimbe Brothers, made up of former Living Colour member Vernon Reid and the ever-more popular DJ Logic, will perform at the Visulite Theatre tonight at 9pm. Tickets are $15. The "Brothers" are promoting their current album, Front End Lifter, which promises greatness not only with the "brothers'" contributions, but also with the addition of Prince Paul (of De La Soul fame), Slick Rick, and all original members of Living Colour. As the record warning says, "This music may cause extreme sexual excitability. An eclectic mix of everything that is one part Vernon, one part Logic, two parts Yohimbe, and three parts the future. Do not try to dance under the influence unless you are influenced. Do not complain that the record is hard to explain unless you can explain it to yourself." This show is a must-see. For more information, call 704-358-9200. (McKinney)