Calendar of Events
Friday, November 6, 2009
"Whitmore Lake Coffee Break": Ann Arbor Bicycle Touring Society.
Every Fri. Slow-paced 20-mile ride to Gloria's Restaurant in Whitmore Lake.
meet at Olson Park, Dhu Varren at Pontiac Tr. Free. 663-4498.
22nd Annual Jewish Book Festival: Jewish Community Center.
Nov. 3-6, 8-13, & 15. Display and sale (at retail prices) of more than 2,000 new books by Jewish authors, ranging from cookbooks, expensive gift books, children's books, and reference books to books by local authors and new titles hot off the presses. (Publishers plan their releases for November, which is Jewish Book Month.) The fair also includes a number of talks and performances by various Jewish authors. Today: New York writer Michael Rosen discusses What Else but Home: Seven Boys and an American Journey from the Projects to the Penthouse (noon), his acclaimed memoir about his unofficial adoption of several black and Hispanic kids from an impoverished New York neighborhood who befriended his 7-year-old son in a pickup baseball game.
Jewish Community Center, 2935 Birch Hollow Dr. (off Stone School Rd. south of Packard). Lunch available at the daily noon programs for $12 ($10 in advance). Free. 971-0990.
"Piecing Earth Together": Church Women United World Community Day.
Women of all faiths invited to this annual ecumenical celebration. Coffee and refreshments.
Friends Meetinghouse, 1420 Hill St. Free. 665-8773.
"Hawk, I'm Your Brother": Wild Swan Theater.
Nov. 5-7. This award-winning local children's theater presents its adaptation of Byrd Baylor's children's book about a Native American boy who longs to fly like a hawk. With live music by local singer-songwriter Joe Reilly. 10 a.m. & 12:30 p.m.,
10 a.m. & 12:30 p.m., WCC Morris Lawrence Bldg. Towsley Auditorium, 4800 E. Huron River Dr. Tickets $12 (seniors age 60 & over and kids, $8; lap passes for kids age 2 & under, $3) in advance and at the door. 995-0530.
Storytime: Waters Place Borders.
Every Wed.-Fri. Borders staff read from books for infants, babies, and toddlers.
Borders, 3140 Lohr Rd. Free. 997-8884.
Storytime: Arborland Borders.
Every Wed. & Fri. A Borders staffer reads stories and leads a craft project for toddlers. Raffle.
Borders, 3527 Washtenaw. Free. 677-6948.
1st Friday Brown Bag Concert Series: Ann Arbor School for the Performing Arts.
AASPA wind, string, and piano faculty perform works in a variety of genres. Bring a bag lunch.
Ann Arbor School for the Performing Arts, 637 S. Main. Free. 213-2000.
Noon Lecture Series: U-M Center for Southeast Asian Studies.
Nov. 6 & 13. Talks by visiting scholars. Today's topic: "Peranakan Musical Cultures in Singapore."
1636 SSWB, 1080 South University. Free. 764-0352.
Movie Matinee: Ann Arbor Senior Center.
Every Fri. Screening of a film TBA. Lunch available ($2.50), 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Ann Arbor Senior Center, 1320 Baldwin. Free. 769-5911.
ESL Conversation Group: Ann Arbor District Library.
Every Mon. & Fri. All levels of English speakers invited for conversation.
AADL Malletts Creek Branch, 3090 E. Eisenhower between Stone School & Packard. Free. 327-4200.
Bridge: U-M Turner Senior Resource Center.
Every Mon. & Fri. All seniors invited to play bridge. Refreshments.
Turner, 2401 Plymouth Rd. Free. 998-9353.
U-M Detroit Observatory.
Nov. 6 & 15. Half-hour docent-guided tours of photographs and artifacts in this restored 19th-century observatory museum. Also, a chance to pull the rope and rotate the telescope dome.
U-M Detroit Observatory, 1398 E. Ann at Observatory. $5 suggested donation (U-M students, free). 763-2230.
"Television, Participatory Culture, and Politics: The Case of Indian Idol ": U-M Center for South Asian Studies.
Talk by U-M communications professor Aswin Punathambekar. For complete schedule of the center's weekly lecture series, see ii.umich.edu/csas.
4 p.m., 1636 SSWB, 1080 South University. Free. 764-0448.
"Michigan Beer Tastings": Cranbrook Whole Foods Market.
Nov. 6 & 20. With representatives from Dark Horse Brewery (Nov. 6) and Arbor Brewing Company (Nov. 20).
Whole Foods wine bar, 990 W. Eisenhower Pkwy., Cranbrook Village shopping center. $3 pints, $1 tastes. 997-7500.
Magic: The Gathering Tournament: Get Your Game On.
Every Sun.-Fri., except Nov. 26. All invited to compete in tournaments of this popular collectible card game using standard constructed (Sun. & Thurs.), vintage (Mon.), Elder Dragon Highlander (Tues.), Legacy (Wed.), and booster draft (Fri.) decks. Prizes. Bring your own cards Sun.-Thurs.
Get Your Game On, 709 Packard. $5 (Tues., free; Fri., $15 includes cards). 786-3746.
AXIS Coffeehouse: Ann Arbor District Library.
Nov, 6 & 13. All youth in grades 6-12 invited to perform their own poetry or monologue or a favorite by another writer, or just to sip a hot drink and listen.
AADL Malletts Creek Branch, 3090 E. Eisenhower (between Stone School & Packard). Free. 327-4200.
"The Wizard of Oz": Young People's Theater.
Nov. 5-8. Lynn Lammers directs young local actors in Frank Gabrielson's musical adaptation of L. Frank Baum's classic tale about Dorothy's journey to the Emerald City and back.
Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre, 911 North University. Tickets $15 (students age 18 & under and seniors age 65 and over, $10) in advance at the Michigan Union Ticket Office, Ticketmaster.com, and at the door. 763-TKTS.
Ignite Ann Arbor.
About 16 local speakers give 5-minute slide-illustrated talks on a topic of their choice. Topics from the last session in June included everything from high-flying balloons to hacking the library.
U-M Business School Blau Auditorium, 701 Tappan. Free. Reservations recommended at igniteannarbor.com. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. organizer@igniteannarbor.com
Dances of Universal Peace (Sufi Dancing).
All invited to join in song, chant, and circle dances in joyous affirmation of the unity of the world's spiritual traditions.
Friends Meetinghouse, 1420 Hill. $5 requested donation. 332-7964.
U-M Parents Weekend Celebration: Main Street Area Association.
Sidewalk entertainment TBA.
downtown area bounded by Main, Liberty, Washington, and Fourth Ave. Free. 669-7112.
Mark Webster Reading Series: U-M English Department.
Nov. 6 & 20. Readings by U-M creative writing instructors and grad students. Today: fiction by Yalitza Ferreras and poetry by Beth Divis.
U-M Museum of Art Helmut Stern Auditorium, 525 S. State. Free. 615-3710.
Jonathan Lethem: Downtown Borders.
This acclaimed novelist reads from Chronic City, his new novel, set in Manhattan's Upper East Side, about a former child star whose fianc'e9e is trapped on the International Space Station. Signing.
Borders, 612 E. Liberty. Free. 668-7652.
"Weather Channels": Ann Arbor District Library.
Local puppeteer Carrie Morris presents her multimedia production that uses shadow puppets and video projections to present the love story between an Antarctic Yeti and a Florida weather forecaster. For kids in grades K-3.
AADL multipurpose room (lower level), 343 S. Fifth Ave. Free. 327-8301.
Keith Terry & the SLAMMIN All-Body Band: University Musical Society.
Percussionist Terry and his instrumentless band present a family-friendly concert of body music. Terry "claps his hands, rubs his palms, finger-pops, stamps his feet, brushes his soles, slaps his butt and belly, pops his cheek, whomps his chest, skips and slides, sings and babbles and coughs, building his music out of a surprisingly varied register of sounds and clever rhythmic variations," says a Village Voice review.
Hill Auditorium. Tickets $10 (kids, $5) in advance at the Michigan League Box Office and ums.org, and (if available) at the door. To charge by phone, call 764-2538 or (800) 221-1229.
"Dead Man's Cell Phone": U-M Basement Arts.
Nov. 6 & 7. Roman Micevic directs students in Sarah Ruhl's comedy about an unremarkable woman who answers the phone of a man who's just died and relishes the emotional power she wields by talking to his friends and relatives. "It`s the deep-seated need for attention in all of us that Ruhl exploits," says Washington Post critic Peter Marks, "the notion that by knowing what to say, we can make someone listen to us."
Walgreen Drama Center Studio One, 1226 Murfin, North Campus. Free. basement.studentorgs.umich.edu
U-M Men's Basketball vs. WSU.
Crisler Arena. $15 & $22. 764-0247.
Ron White: Tater Touring.
Best known as a member of Jeff Foxworthy's "Blue Collar Comedy Tour," this veteran Texas stand-up comic is known for a point of view that's politically incorrect in both the red and the blue states and for a cigar-chomping, scotch-drinking, flamboyantly disreputable onstage persona that masks a razor-sharp wit and unflappably sweet temper. He has released 2 top-selling CDs, Drunk in Public and the recent Ron "Tater Salad" White: I Had the Right to Remain Silent . . . But I Didn't Have the Ability.
Michigan Theater. Tickets $45.75 at the Michigan Union Ticket Office, & all other Ticketmaster outlets, and at the door. To charge by phone, call 763-TKTS.
"The Little Prince": Ann Arbor Civic Theatre Junior Theatre.
Nov. 5-8. Claudia Wier directs young local actors in E.J. West's adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupery's delightful tale of a jaded aviator stranded in the Sahara whose outlook on life is changed by a prince who visits our world from his own tiny planet. Appropriate for kids age 4 & over.
WCC Liberal Arts Bldg. College Theatre, 4800 E. Huron River Dr. $5 in advance and at the door. 971-2228.
"Working": Community High School Ensemble Theater.
Nov. 6-8. Phil Walker directs Community High students in Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso's 1978 Broadway musical, adapted from Studs Terkel's book, a chronicle of day in the life of 26 typical American workers.
Community High School Craft Theater, 401 N. Division. 9 Parking available in the lot behind the school, N. Fifth Ave. at Detroit St.) Tickets $10 (students & seniors, $7) at the door only. 994-2021.
Tea Tastings: TeaHaus.
Nov. 6-8. Chicago tea sommelier Sam Ritchey leads tea tastings. Today: "A Closer Look at the World's 'New' Tea Regions."
TeaHaus, 204 N. Fourth Ave. $20. Reservations required. 622-0460.
U-M Ice Hockey vs. Miami (Ohio).
Nov. 6 & 7.
7:30 p.m., Yost Ice Arena, 1016 S. State at McKinley. $19-$25. 764-0247.
Paul VornHagen Trio: Kerrytown Concert House.
This jazz trio, led by award-winning local saxophonist-flutist-vocalist VornHagen, plays originals as well as works by Duke Ellington, Thelonius Monk, Cole Porter, Rodgers and Hart, Gershwin, and others. With pianist Tad Weed and bassist Kurt Krahnke.
KCH, 415 N. Fourth Ave. Tickets $15 (students, $10). Reservations recommended. 769-2999.
Looking Glass: Green Wood Coffee House Series (First United Methodist Church).
Revamped lineup of this veteran pop band led by singer-guitarist Elliot Lurie and singer-keyboardist Jeff Lehman that first gained attention with the 1972 chart-topping pop-rock hit "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)." Their live shows include their own radio hits and album cuts, along with pop, rock, soul, and R&B covers.
FUMC Green Wood Church, 1001 Green Rd. at Glazier Way. $15 (kids 10 & under, 2 for the price of 1) in advance and at the door. 662-4536, 665-8558.
"G-Fest": U-M Gentlemen.
Performances by this all-male student a cappella group, the student percussion and dance ensemble Groove, the student theater group MUSKET, the co-ed a cappella ensemble Dicks and Janes, magician Alan Smola, the theatrical swordplay group Ring of Steel, the student dance ensemble Funktion, and Leim Irish Dance. Also, screening of the winning short film from the U-M Screen Arts & Cultures Lightworks film festival.
Rackham Auditorium. Tickets $10 (students, $5) in advance at the Michigan Union Ticket Office and at the door. 763-TKTS.
"Who`s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?": U-M Residential College Players.
November 6-8. RC students present Edward Albee's classic drama about the cruelty spouses are capable of inflicting on each other. A college history professor and his wife invite a younger faculty couple to their house for cocktails. As the evening unfolds, the middle-aged hosts begin to dig at one another, first subtly, then with increasing malevolence, prodding their guests to join them in a vicious game of emotional and intellectual bullying that reaches a shattering conclusion.
RC Keene Theater, East Quad, 701 East University. $3. 763-0176.
"Escanaba": Purple Rose Theatre Company.
Every Wed.-Sun. (except Nov. 26) Sept. 17-Dec. 19. See review. Guy Sanville directs the world premiere of Jeff Daniels' comedy, the third in his deer-hunting Yooper trilogy that includes the hugely successful Escanaba in da Moonlight and Escanaba in Love. This installment reveals the origins of some of the Soady family's time-honored deer camp traditions. Stars Julian Gant, Wayne David Parker, and Tom Whalen.
Purple Rose, 137 Park St., Chelsea. $25 (Sun. eves., Wed. & Thurs.), $33 (Sat. & Sun. matinees), & $38 (Fri. & Sat. eves.) in advance and at the door. 433-7673.
Megan Mooney: Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase.
Nov. 5-7. Stand-up comic known for her relaxed, personable style and her smart, edgy, often sarcastic observational humor on a variety of unhackneyed topics. Named "Funniest Person in Austin" in 1998, she now lives in New York City. Preceded by 2 opening acts. Alcohol is served; all Fri. & Sat. early shows are nonsmoking.
314 E. Liberty (below Seva restaurant). $9 (Thurs.) & $12 (Fri. & Sat.) reserved seating in advance, $11 (Thurs.) & $14 (Fri. & Sat.) general admission at the door. 996-9080.
Advanced Study Group: Rudolf Steiner Study Circle of Ann Arbor.
Nov. 6 & 20. All invited to join an ongoing discussion of Rudolf Steiner's Sleep and Dreams. Familiarity with Steiner's basic ideas required.
3247 N. Wagner (Nov. 6) & 1923 Geddes (Nov. 20). Free. 944-4903.
Angell Hall Observatory Open House: U-M Student Astronomical Society.
Nov. 6 & 20. All invited to peer through the telescopes in the observatory and on the Angell Hall roof and to view shows in the planetarium. Also, short astronomy presentations by club members.
5th floor rooftop observatory, Angell Hall (from the large State St. entrance, take one of the elevators on the left). Free. 764-3440.
Kaufmann-Gratkowski-de Joode: Canterbury House.
Improvised music by the European trio of pianist Achim Kaufmann, saxophonist-clarinetist Frank Gratkowski, and bassist Wilbert de Joode. "From hot, Dolphy-esque cascades to piano-roll pointillism, to unresolved twelve-tone tales, it's improvised chamber music of the highest order" says Signal to Noise critic Clifford Allen.
Canterbury House, 721 E. Huron. $10 (students, $5). 761-3162.
"The Charlatan": Comic Opera Guild.
Nov. 6 & 8. Dana Sadava directs area singers in a concert production of Charles Klein and John Phillip Sousa's operetta that incorporates rollicking Gilbert-and-Sullivan-style dialogue.
Vitosha Guest Haus, 1917 Washtenaw. Tickets $15 (seniors, $12; Thurs., $10) in advance at Ticketmaster.com and at the door. 763-TKTS.
"Swing Dance Party": Ann Arbor Swing Dance Association.
Every Fri. Lindy hop, East Coast swing, Charleston, blues, and Balboa dancing to prerecorded music. No partner needed. Bring hard-sole shoes. Preceded at 8 p.m. by beginning lessons.
Dakota Bldg., 1785 W. Stadium. $5 (includes lessons; students, $3). 417-9857.
