Ben Wilson & Erin Ruiz at VAC

I sketched these a while back already, when I went to see Three Tall Women, but they might still be at the Visual Arts Collective. The first is by Erin Ruiz, from her series "Slings & Arrows (or goodbye enemy!)" Sorry about the ghosting from the picture behind it when I scanned this one.

I have to think she and Ben Wilson collaborated a bit on the naming of their exhibits. The following is a partial sketch from one of the pieces in his series, "Hello Friend."

A Christmas Story

The day before I went to see A Christmas Story at Boise Little Theater, I mentioned my plans to a couple of my friends at our favorite pub. They told me they'd never seen the movie. Dumbfounded, I turned to the people on my left and said, "Would you believe these two have never seen A Christmas Story?" They replied that they hadn't, either. I was thunderstruck. After all, this is the movie that TNT plays as a 24-hour marathon every year at Christmas. There are pilgrimages to the house where the movie was filmed. I personally consider it as much of a Christmas tradition as baking gingersnaps or unwrapping all of the presents on Christmas Eve.

Boise Little Theater's production does a great job of playing upon that tradition. The script for the live-action version contains some new material that expands on the movie version nicely. There are more opportunities for Ralphie's imagination to enact scenarios where he beats the bad guys with his official Red Ryder carbine-action 200-shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock, and this thing which tells time. And there's a sweet love story added between Ralphie, played admirably by Klive Hume, and one of his classmates, Esther Jane Alberry, played with great charm by Leah March.

All of the kids in the show do a remarkable job: Jaxson Thornton as Schwartz; Sean Hermansen as the unfortunate Flick, who gets his tongue stuck to a flagpole; Katherine McDonagh as the brilliant and tough Helen Weathers, Eilish McDonagh as Roxane, Conner Schow as the bully Scut Farkas; Grover Dill as Scut's toady; and Drye Gyllenskog as Ralphie's annoying, oddball, difficult-to-live-with little brother Randy.

The adults in the show do a great job of playing out both Ralphie's day-to-day life and his vivid imagination. Erin Van Engelen gets an A++++++ as Ralphie's teacher Miss Shields, who winds through his imagination as a Southern belle swept away by the power of his essay, and rapidly transforms to a witch who's in on a plot with his mother to deny him a BB gun. Mike Cronen plays the Old Man, and he does a wonderful job of switching abruptly to his normal behavior of swearing at the Bumpus hounds and the furnace and begging his wife to go shopping for Christmas turkeys to -- in Ralphie's imagination -- cowering beneath a table in fear of Black Bart and cheering with joy when Ralphie the Kid drops in to save the day. Likewise, Helene Myers, who plays Ralphie's mother, goes through her day convincing Randy to eat like a good little piggy and trying her best to keep the gaudy leg lamp out of the front window, until she's called upon by Ralphie's imagination to play an evil winged monkey or a damsel in distress.

The only thing I found disappointing in the show was how difficult it was sometimes to hear Mike Mullens, who played the adult Ralph, over some of the scene changes. Mullens had some entertaining monologues, but they sometimes got a bit drowned out by major set pieces being dragged around at the same time.

The show runs its last two days tonight and tomorrow night. Don't be like my friends from the pub. Seeing A Christmas Story is a tradition worth participating in -- and seeing it live is like finding that extra package behind the couch on Christmas morning.

Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol

You might expect that seeing "A Christmas Carol" told from the perspective of Ebenezer Scrooge's deceased partner Jacob Marley would be the most nontraditional aspect of this play.

You'd be wrong.

The show is strangely structured and strangely told. The actors break the fourth wall, looking at and talking to the audience. They wander around a mostly empty stage and describe the imagined scenery around them. They even narrate their own actions, then switch abruptly to dialogue with the other characters.

The show is sort of experimental and avant-garde, and that isn't for everyone. But if you decide to sit this one out, you'll be missing out on some excellent performances. Despite the minimal set and effects, the actors succeed in creating an intense atmosphere, making the nightmarish hellscape Marley is forced to wander and the larger-than-life spirits he encounters come to life with their words.

Curtis Ransom is excellent as Marley, bringing forth the man's sour disposition, fears, and madness, and transforming his character nicely as his character redeems himself and as he played the part of Scrooge's sometimes jovial, sometimes frightening visiting spirits. Bradley Campbell is equally bitter as Scrooge, but like Curtis Ransom, he does fine work depicting his character's transformation and has some fantastic reactions to the spirits. Courtney Ransom was impish as the Bogle, Marley's guide in the afterlife, and Lee Vander Boegh did a nice job as the endlessly amused recordkeeper.

The cast does a great job of getting past the strange aspects of the play and telling the story -- and it's a great version of the story. It's fascinating to watch Marley face his own demons and redeem himself.

Overall, the actors and director Jennifer Dunn keep the show grounded, giving it an emotional punch and keeping it entertaining. They made the story relatable and intriguing -- a difficult feat for a script that could have made for a very pretentious evening of theater. Instead, it's a wonderful show for the Christmas season, and that's all due to them. My Santa hat is off to them.

Roundup

December

• Dec. 3: Music Theatre of Idaho presents Annie, the musical about a Depression-era orphan who, with the help of the rich Oliver Warbucks and President Franklin D. Roosevelt, searches for her parents and foils a plot to claim her for reward money. The show runs at 7:30 Dec. 3-5 and 10-12 and 1:30 Dec. 5 and 12 at the Nampa Civic Center.
  
• Dec. 4: Knock 'Em Dead Dinner Theater presents A Season of Hope, the theater's annual selection of Christmas skits, readings and music. The show runs Dec. 4-5, 10-12 and 17-19 at 7:00 Thursdays and 8:00 Fridays and Saturdays at the theater on Ninth Street between Front and Myrtle. Dinner is served at 7:00 Fridays and Saturdays.
• Dec. 4-5: The Encore! Players present The Best Christmas Pageant Ever at 10:30 a.m. Dec. 4 and 7:00 Dec. 5 at the Morrison Center at Boise State University.
  
• Now through Dec. 5: The Boise State University Theatre Majors Association presents subUrbia, a dark comedy about aimless 20-somethings who meet a high school classmate who is now a famous musician at a gas station. The show runs at 7:30 Dec. 2-5 at the Danny Peterson Theatre in the Morrison Center on the BSU campus.
  
• Dec. 5-6: Opera Idaho presents Amahl and the Night Visitors, the story of a crippled boy who is healed during a visit with the Magi on their way to see Jesus. The show runs at 7:30 Dec. 5 and 2:30 Dec. 5 and 6 at the Egyptian Theater on Capitol and Main in Boise.
  
• Dec. 5: The Boise Art Museum opens Lasting Legacy, an exhibit of works from the museum's permanent collection.
• Dec. 6 and 13: Boise Contemporary Theater presents A Christmas Carol as part of its Family Reading Series at 2:00 at the Fulton Street Theater on Fulton and Ninth.
  
• Dec. 9: Alley Repertory Theater presents SEX a.k.a. Wieners and Boobs, about the new sheriff of a corrupt town run by a crime boss who operates brothels. The show runs Dec. 9-12 and 16-19 at 8:00 at the Visual Arts Collective on Osage behind the Woman of Steel Gallery on Chinden in Garden City.
• Dec. 11-13: Ballet Idaho and the Boise Philharmonic presents their annual production of The Nutcracker at 8:00 Dec. 11-12 and 2:00 Dec. 12-13 at the Morrison Center at Boise State University.
• Dec. 16: Company of Fools presents A Year with Frog and Toad, a musical based on the popular childrens' books by Arnold Lobel in which Frog and Toad learn life lessons and the value of friendship. The show runs at 7:00 Dec. 16-19, 22-23, 26, 29-30, and Jan. 2, at 3:00 Dec. 20, 24, 27, 31 and Jan. 3, and at 11:00 a.m. Dec. 26 and Jan. 2 at the Liberty Theater on Main Street in Hailey. The show also runs for two days in Twin Falls at 7:00 Jan. 8-9 and 11 a.m. Jan. 9 at the College of Southern Idaho Fine Arts Theatre.
  
• Dec. 18 and 20: Boise Master Chorale performs Handel's Messiah at 8:00 Dec. 18 at Valley Shepherd Church of the Nazarene on 150 Maestra St. off Meridian Road in Meridian and at 2:00 Dec. 20 at First United Methodist Church Cathedral of the Rockies at 717 N. 11th St. in Boise.
• Now through Dec. 19: Boise Contemporary Theater presents Animals out of Paper, a show about an origami artist, a calculus teacher and a talented student who are brought together by their love of origami. The show runs at 8:00 Dec. 2-5, 9-12 and 16-19 and 2:00 Dec. 5, 12 and 19 at the Fulton Street Theater at Ninth and Fulton in Boise.
• Now through Dec. 19: Boise Little Theater presents A Christmas Story, a comedy about a boy who wants a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. The show runs at 8:00 Dec. 4-5, 11-12 and 18, at 7:30 Dec. 3 and 10, and at 2:00 Dec. 6, 12 and 19 at the theater on Fort Street near Broadway.
• Now through Dec. 12: Stage Coach Theatre presents Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol, the story of Ebenezer Scrooge as told by his former partner Jacob Marley, who must redeem Scrooge in order to redeem himself. The show runs Dec. 3-6 and 10-12 at 7:30 Thursdays, 8:00 Fridays and Saturdays and 2:00 Sundays at the theater in the Hillcrest Shopping Center at Orchard and Overland.
• Now through Dec. 27: Prairie Dog Productions presents The Xmas Files! or Miracle at Area 51! at 7:15 Dec. 4-5, 11-12, 18-19 and 25-26 and 2:00 Dec. 13, 20 and 27 at 3820 Cassia in Boise.
• Now through Jan. 9: Starlight Mountain Theatre presents Irving Berlin's White Christmas, a musical about two friends in show business who find love while putting on a show at an inn in Vermont. The show runs Dec. 4-5, 11-12, 18-19 and 26, and Jan. 1-2 and 8-9 at 7:30 at 1851 Century Way in Boise.
  
• Now through Jan. 17: Boise Art Museum presents A Survey of Gee's Bend Quilts, a collection of abstract quilts created by women in the African-American community of Gee's Bend, Alabama.
  
• Now through March 14: Boise Art Museum presents Patchwork, a collection of quilts from the early 1800s through the mid-20th century.
• Now through April 18: Boise Art Museum presents Idea as Art: Contemporary Works on Paper, a selection of abstract drawings by such artists as Sol Lewitt and Mel Bochner.

Three Tall Women

Pulitzer Prize-winning script, excellent dramatic tension, fine performances, yadda yadda yadda ... What you need to know about this show is that, despite the fact that it's a drama, it's hilarious.

In less skilled hands, with less polished timing and delivery, the play could have been a lot of rambling monologues about riding horses. But Mikenzie Ames, Patti O'Hara and especially Nancy Suiter bring humor to almost every aspect of the play.

Just watching Suiter's maudlin sobbing was enough to make the audience hysterical, let alone when she tells naughty stories and uses racial slurs. I really think her repetitive monologues about riding could have been dull delivered by most actresses, but she makes even them entertaining.

O'Hara shows a nice range, portraying the consummate, patient caretaker -- even laughing off Suiter's accusations that she's been stealing from her, and excusing the old woman's myriad faults -- all through the first act, then suddenly turning to fury and outrage when her son comes back in her life.

It would be hard to keep up with these two, but Ames did a great job, telling her sex stories with relish and approaching the two other women with a sort of superior, righteous indignation that occasionally relaxes into warmth before she remembers why she can't stand them.

The Alley Repertory show closes this weekend at the Visual Arts Collective behind the Woman of Steel Gallery on Chinden. It starts at 8:00 Friday and Saturday (not at 7:00 as I mistakenly posted earlier in my roundup).

Roundup

November

• Now through Nov. 7: Boise Contemporary Theater presents The Pavilion, a show about a man and his high school sweetheart who split up years ago and are meeting again at their 20th reunion. The show runs Nov. 4-7 at 8:00 Wednesday through Saturday and 2:00 Saturdays at the theater on Fulton Street.
• Now through Nov. 8: Company of Fools presents The Syringa Tree, a one-woman show about the love between two families, one black and one white, who share a house and whose children grow up together under apartheid in 1960s South Africa. The show runs Nov. 4-5 at 7:00, Nov. 6-7 at 8:00, and Nov. 8 at 3:00 at The Liberty Theatre on Main Street in Hailey.
• Now through Nov. 8: Boise Art Museum exhibits sculpture by Ann Weber called Corrugated. The pieces are made from cardboard, are woven into giant gourd-like spires, and are up to 16 feet tall.
• Now through Nov. 14: Starlight Mountain Theatre presents Little Shop of Horrors, a musical about a carnivorous plant named Audrey II, at 7:30 Nov. 7 and 13-14 and at midnight Nov. 6 at The Star Theatre at 1851 Century Way.
• Now through Nov. 14: Knock 'Em Dead Dinner Theatre presents the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic The Sound of Music about a would-be nun who becomes governess to seven children around the time of the Nazi invasion of Austria. The show runs Nov. 5-7 and 12-14 at 7:00 Thursdays and 8:00 Fridays and Saturdays at the theater on Ninth Street between Front and Myrtle. Dinner is served at 7:00 Fridays and Saturdays.
• Nov. 15: As part of its Family Reading Series, Boise Contemporary Theater presents Robin Hood at 2 p.m. at the Fulton Street Theater at Ninth and Fulton in Boise.
  
• Nov. 15: The Boise Baroque Orchestra presents a concert of selections by Corelli, Vivaldi, Handel and Rameau at 2:00 at the First United Methodist Church/Cathedral of the Rockies on 11th Street in Boise.
  
• Now through Nov. 15: Boise Art Museum presents Kid Stuff, an exhibit of art geared toward children by artists Deborah Barrett, Alexander Calder, Michael Corney, Benjamin Jones, Marianne Kolb, Marilyn Lanfear, David Gillhooley, Marilyn Lysohir, Renda Palmer and others.
• Nov. 20-21: The Boise Philharmonic presents a concert of Tchaikovsky music at 8:00 Nov. 20 in the Swayne Auditorium at Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, and at 8:00 Nov. 21 at the Morrison Center at Boise State University. The Philharmonic will also present a shortened version of the concert at 11:00 a.m. at the Morrison Center Nov. 21.
  
• Now through Nov. 21: Alley Repertory Theater presents Edward Albee's Three Tall Women, about a young lawyer, a middle-aged caregiver and a rich, bitter elderly matron who are uniquely intertwined. The show runs Nov. 13-14 and 19-21 at 8:00 at the Visual Arts Collective behind the Woman of Steel Gallery on Chinden in Garden City.
• Now through Nov. 21: The College of Idaho Theatre Department presents Season's Greetings, a story about a tense household on Christmas Eve and a newcomer who arrives with a bag of surprises. The show runs Nov. 12-14 and 19-21 at 7:30 and Nov. 22 at 2:00 at the Langroise Studio Theatre at C of I in Caldwell.
  
• Nov. 22: The Boise Philharmonic Youth Orchestra performs works by composers including Mozart and Dvorak at 7:00 at Borah High School on Cassia and Curtis Road.
• Now through Nov. 22: Boise State University's Theatre Arts Department presents Shakespeare's As You Like It, a comedy about the daughter of a duke who flees to the Forest of Arden and dresses up as a boy when her uncle usurps the duchy and exiles her father. The show runs at 7:30 Nov. 13-15 and 18-22 at the Danny Peterson Theatre in the Morrison Center.
  
• Nov. 24: Boise Contemporary Theater presents Animals out of Paper, a show about an origami artist, a calculus teacher and a talented student who are brought together by their love of origami. The show runs at 8:00 Nov. 24-25, 27-28 and Dec. 2-5, 9-12 and 16-19 and 2:00 Dec. 5, 12 and 19 at the Fulton Street Theater at Ninth and Fulton in Boise.
• Nov. 27: Boise Little Theater presents A Christmas Story, a comedy about a boy who wants a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. The show runs at 8:00 Nov. 27-28 and Dec. 4-5, 11-12 and 18, at 7:30 Dec. 3 and 10, and at 2:00 Dec. 6, 12 and 19 at the theater on Fort Street near Broadway.
• Nov. 27: Stage Coach Theatre presents Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol, the story of Ebenezer Scrooge as told by his former partner Jacob Marley, who must redeem Scrooge in order to redeem himself. The show runs Nov. 27-28 and Dec. 3-6 and 10-12 at 7:30 Thursdays, 8:00 Fridays and Saturdays and 2:00 Sundays at the theater in the Hillcrest Shopping Center at Orchard and Overland.
• Nov. 27: Prairie Dog Productions presents The Xmas Files! or Miracle at Area 51! at 7:15 Nov. 27-28 and Dec. 4-5, 11-12, 18-19 and 25-26 and 2:00 Dec. 13, 20 and 27 at 3820 Cassia in Boise.
• Nov. 27: Starlight Mountain Theatre presents Irving Berlin's White Christmas, a musical about two friends in show business who find love while putting on a show at an inn in Vermont. The show runs Nov. 27-28, Dec. 4-5, 11-12, 18-19 and 26, and Jan. 1-2 and 8-9 at 7:30 at 1851 Century Way in Boise.
  
• Now through Jan. 17: Boise Art Museum presents A Survey of Gee's Bend Quilts, a collection of abstract quilts created by women in the African-American community of Gee's Bend, Alabama.
  
• Now through March 14: Boise Art Museum presents Patchwork, a collection of quilts from the early 1800s through the mid-20th century.
• Now through April 18: Boise Art Museum presents Idea as Art: Contemporary Works on Paper, a selection of abstract drawings by such artists as Sol Lewitt and Mel Bochner.
  

Art of Murder

Stage Coach Theatre's Art of Murder is a tight, tense, intriguing little thriller.

Because it's such a brisk-paced show, the actors presented a dramatic reading of Edgar Allen Poe's Tell-Tale Heart before the first act began. The actors did a really nice recitation, holding the audience's attention with what was essentially four long monologues.

The show itself has a lot of twists and turns. I was already familiar with the script, so I missed out on some of the suspense for that reason. But in particular, the scenes where that take place in pitch black, with screams and shots and unidentifiable noises, still gave me chills.

Anthony Polidori plays Jack Brooks, a famous hotshot artist who has lost his touch. His dealer can't seem to sell his newest work, Study in Red 4, and Jack is busy making horrible collages of shoes. Jennifer Bertino-Polidori plays Annie Brooks, his wife and an artist in her own right. The play starts off tense when Jack displays his domineering side, trying to force himself on the couple's maid and insisting on seeing Annie's latest work, then criticizing it and telling her to destroy it. Watching Jack's callousness and Annie's seemingly broken spirit in this moment creates a brutish, nasty little scene that sets the tone for the rest of the play.

The other two actors -- the maid, Kate, played by Amanda Jacob, and Jack's art dealer Vincent Cummings, played by Frederic Webb, do a good job. Webb is a little over-the-top at times, but does well depicting growing anxiety as the evening progresses and pulls off his final scene with a nice amount of wounded pride. The Jacob pulls off her part well, including the Irish accent.

The show is in its last weekend. If you're looking to take in a little live theater, Art of Murder is a picture-perfect thriller for the Halloween season.

Roundup

October

• Oct. 21: Company of Fools presents The Syringa Tree, a one-woman show about the love between two families, one black and one white, who share a house and whose children grow up together under apartheid in 1960s South Africa. The show runs Oct. 21-22, 28-29, and Nov. 4-5 at 7:00, Oct. 23-24, 30-31 and Nov. 6-7 at 8:00, and Oct. 25, and Nov. 1 and 8 at The Liberty Theatre on Main Street in Hailey.
• Oct. 23 and 24: The Boise Philharmonic and guest pianist Kevin Cole present a concert of several selections by George Gershwin and Leroy Anderson at 8:00 Oct. 23 at the Swayne Auditorium at Northwest Nazarene University and at 8:00 Oct. 24 at the Morrison Center at Boise State University.
• Oct. 23: Starlight Mountain Theatre presents Little Shop of Horrors, a musical about a carnivorous plant named Audrey II, at 7:30 Oct. 23-24 and 30-31 and Nov. 7 and 13-14 and at midnight Oct. 30 and Nov. 6 at The Star Theatre at 1851 Century Way.
• Now through Oct. 24: Stage Coach Theatre presents Art of Murder, a thriller about an eccentric painter, his accomplished wife, and his plans to do away his art dealer. The show runs Oct. 17-18 and 22-24 at 7:30 Thursday, 8:15 Friday and Saturday, and 2:00 Sunday at the theater at Orchard and Overland in the Hillcrest Shopping Center.
• Oct. 30 and Nov. 1: Opera Idaho presents Gounod's Faust, the tale of a man who makes a deal with the devil, at 7:30 Oct. 30 and 2:30 Nov. 1 at the South Junior High auditorium.
• Oct. 31: Humorist David Sedaris will give a reading of his works at 7:30 at the Morrison Center at Boise State University.
  
• Now through Oct. 31: Boise Little Theater presents The Mousetrap, an Agatha Christie tale of a group of strangers staying at a remote, snowed-in cabin, when a murder takes place and the guests have to determine who the murderer is. The show runs Oct. 17, 22-24 and 29-31 at 7:30 Thursdays and 8:00 Fridays and Saturdays, and at 2:00 Oct. 25 and 31 at the theater on Fort Street just off Broadway Ave.
• Now through Oct. 31: Music Theatre of Idaho presents the musical Disney's Beauty and the Beast at 7:30 Oct. 23-24 and 29-31 and 1:30 Oct. 24 and 31 at the Nampa Civic Center.
  
• Now through Oct. 31: Prairie Dog Productions presents Tales from the DorkSide 17-18, 23-25 and 30-31 at 7:15 Fridays and Saturdays and 2:00 Sundays at 3820 Cassia St.
  
• Now through Nov. 8: Boise Art Museum exhibits sculpture by Ann Weber called Corrugated. The pieces are made from cardboard, are woven into giant gourd-like spires, and are up to 16 feet tall.
• Now through Nov. 7: Boise Contemporary Theater presents The Pavilion, a show about a man and his high school sweetheart who split up years ago and are meeting again at their 20th reunion. The show runs Oct. 21-24, 28-31 and Nov. 4-7 at 8:00 Wednesday through Saturday and 2:00 Saturdays at the theater on Fulton Street.
• Now through Nov. 14: Knock 'Em Dead Dinner Theatre presents the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic The Sound of Music about a would-be nun who becomes governess to seven children around the time of the Nazi invasion of Austria. The show runs Oct. 22-24, 29-31 and Nov. 5-7 and 12-14 at 7:00 Thursdays and 8:00 Fridays and Saturdays at the theater on Ninth Street between Front and Myrtle. Dinner is served at 7:00 Fridays and Saturdays.
  
• Now through Nov. 15: Boise Art Museum presents Kid Stuff, an exhibit of art geared toward children by artists Deborah Barrett, Alexander Calder, Michael Corney, Benjamin Jones, Marianne Kolb, Marilyn Lanfear, David Gillhooley, Marilyn Lysohir, Renda Palmer and others.
• Now through March 14: Boise Art Museum presents Patchwork, a collection of quilts from the early 1800s through the mid-20th century.

Open Studios Weekend

Boise Open Studios weekend starts today! If you're unfamiliar with the event, that's when Boise-area artists open up their studios and homes to the public so you can see their art and their work spaces. The event runs from 6 to 9 tonight and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Check Boise Open Studios Collective Organization's website for a link to a .pdf of maps and schedules.

I had a lot of fun last year, but I don't think I'll be able to go this year. I work Saturday and Sunday, and I'm going to be too busy with schoolwork tonight. But I went to the preview night at the Boise Art Museum last night and made a few sketches:


This is "Flying Dream Spirit" by Susan Moore. Yes, it's a flying monkey, but it looks a lot less evil than the ones from Wizard of Oz somehow. The linocut gives a nice textural quality to the thick lines.


This is "Little girl your cat mask is missing (the house will undo you)" by Kelly Packer. I loved the clean lines and spot color.

Several of the artists from my post last year are back, including Zella Bardsley and Tarmo Watia.

You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown

Tonight is the last night to see You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown at Boise Little Theater. It's a really cute show and I'd recommend you see it.

Among the principals, John Myers did a fantastic job capturing the sort of self-conscious, neurotic mannerisms that make Charlie Brown Charlie Brown. Autumn Kersey was excellent as the forceful Lucy Van Pelt. And James Ulmen knocked it out of the park with his tap number in "Supper Time."

Paul Kersey, Jessica Staggs and Ben Ulmen did a nice job as Schroeder, Sally and Linus, and Cheryl Blauer, Erin Chancer Smith, Karissa Murrell Adams and Scott Beals rounded out the chorus.

I loved recognizing many of the individual strips I'd read as a kid, and recognizing even more of the constant tropes: the Red Baron, Lucy's Psychiatric Help booth, and Charlie Brown's eternal crush on the never seen little red-haired girl.

Duck Hunter Shoots Angel

"Duck Hunter Shoots Angel." As a headline, it's kind of up there with "Bat Boy Sighted in NYC Subway" and "Air Traffic Controllers Guide UFOs."

It's also a hilarious production at Stage Coach Theatre about Sandy, a jaded tabloid reporter for the Weekly World and Globe, which is best known for its stories about a half-man, half-alligator seeking revenge. The Weekly World and Globe sends him on assignment to Alabama to track down two duck hunters who supposedly shot an angel. It's a trip home for Sandy, who left the state, and the love of his life, behind to pursue a journalistic career up north.

The show is beautifully cast. Ben Hammill is likable as Sandy, and Courtney Ransom (the woman he loved) and Marissa Jerome (Kansas, a girl who works a a convenience store) do a wonderful job bringing out his warmer side and transforming his character. Bradley Campbell is delightfully manic and cynical as Sandy's editor, who becomes outraged when other news sources start encroaching on his territory. Larry "French" Brown plays a black photographer for the Weekly World and Globe, and it's his comic timing and reactions to the other characters that make some of the racial humor in the show work so well. Brian Zuber, who portrays Duane Early, is perfect as a hysterical, scheming counterpoint to his character's brother, Duwell. And Curtis Ransom flat out steals the show as Duwell Early, a dim-witted duck hunter afraid for his soul who believes that the Weekly World and Globe is God's truth and also believes the angel he and his brother shot has a mission for him. As an audience member, you want him to be on stage the whole time.

The only weak spot I remember noticing in the show was when a few key lines were rushed and hard to make out near the end in Jerome's crying scene. (Enunciating and crying convincingly at the same time is a tough line to walk.)

The show also had some really nice technical and costume effects, particularly the final moment of the show.

The show's in its last weekend. Definitely go see it.

First Thursday

A quick reminder, since I'm thinking about it, that today is First Thursday. Pick up a copy of the Boise Weekly to see what's going on at all the local galleries.

Roundup

September

• Sept. 11: Alley Repertory Theater presents Collective Soul, a launch party and preview night for their next season, at 8:00 at the Visual Arts Collective behind the Woman of Steel Gallery on Chinden. It includes excerpts from some of their upcoming productions, including Edward Albee's Three Tall Women, the musical Landlocked by local musicians Heather Bauer and Thomas Paul, and Skit/Skit, a short piece by cartoonist E.J. Pettinger.
• Sept. 11: Soprano Rochelle Bard and baritone Ken Mattice will give a recital of songs, arias and duets from operas and showtunes at 7:30 at the Egyptian Theatre on Capitol and Main.
  
• Sept. 11-13: The Boise Art Museum presents Art in the Park at Julia Davis Park from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. About 270 artists will have booths at the event.
• Sept. 11: Music Theatre of Idaho opens the Neil Simon's Sweet Charity, a musical about a girl who flits in and out of relationships. The show includes numbers such as "Big Spender." The show runs Sept. 11-12 and 17-19 at 7:30 and Sept. 12 at 1:30 at the Nampa Civic Center.
  
• Sept. 11: Encore Theatre Co., Etc., opens Gepetto & Son, a musical version of Pinocchio. The show runs Sept. 11-12 and 18-19 at 7:30 at the Holly Street Performance Hall, formerly the old science lecture hall, at Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa
  
• Now through Sept. 12: Stage Coach Theatre presents Duck Hunter Shoots Angel, a comedy by Mitch Albom about a tabloid reporter tracking down the story of two Alabama duck hunters who believe they shot an angel. The show runs Sept. 3-6 and 10-12 at 7:30 Thursdays, 8:15 Fridays and Saturdays and 2:00 Sunday at the theater in the Hillcrest Shopping Center breezeway at Orchard and Overland.
• Now through Sept. 12: Starlight Mountain Theatre presents the musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. The show runs Sept. 4-5 and 11-12 at 7:30 at Starlight Amphitheater in Garden Valley.
• Sept. 17: The Langroise Trio and tenor Corey McKnight perform music by Idaho composer Jim Cockey at 7:30 at the College of Idaho in Caldwell. Other C of I faculty will also perform.
• Now through Sept. 19: Boise Little Theater presents You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, a musical based on Charles Schultz's comic strip, Peanuts. The show runs at 8:00 Sept. 11-12 and 18-19, 7:30 Sept. 10 and 17, and 2:00 Sept. 13 and 19.
• Now through Sept. 20: Boise Art Museum hosts an exhibit called Devorah Sperber: Threads of Perception. Sperber arranges spools of colored thread in such a way that, when viewed through an optical device, recreates a famous work of art.
• Sept. 25-26: The Boise Philharmonic and Boise Master Chorale perform a symphonic tone poem by Gustav Holst called The Planets at 8:00 at the Northwest Nazarene University Swayne Auditorium in Nampa on Friday and at 8:15 at the Boise State University Morrison Center Saturday.
• Sept. 25: Prairie Dog Productions presents Tales from the DorkSide Sept. 25-26 and Oct. 2-3, 9-11, 16-18, 23-25 and 30-31 at 7:15 Fridays and Saturdays and 2:00 Sundays at 3820 Cassia St.
  
• Sept. 29: Ballet Idaho presents an interactive introduction to ballet for children and adults in its Family Series version of Swan Lake, Idaho and Yes Virginia, Another Piano Ballet at 4:00 and 7:00. Kids get to learn the story behind the ballet, meet the characters, get a sneak peek behind the scenes of the ballet and learn a few easy dance moves.
• Sept. 29: Frank Deford, the author of The Entitled, a novel about celebrity, sex and baseball, will give a reading at 7:30 at the Egyptian Theatre at Capitol and Main. Deford is a six-time Sports Illustrated U.S. Sportswriter of the Year, a Hall-of-Famer for the National Association of Sportscasters and Sportswriters, and a frequent contributor for NPR's Morning Edition and Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.
  
• Now through Oct. 3: The Idaho Shakespeare Festival presents A Tuna Christmas, a two-man comedy with 20 characters from small-town Tuna, Texas who are trying to salvage the Christmas pageant and win the yard decorating contest despite a mysterious saboteur. The show runs Sept. 9-13, 16-20, 23-27 and 30 and Oct. 1-3 at 7:30 Wednesday through Saturday and 7:00 Sunday at the theater on Warm Springs.
  
• Now through Oct. 11: Tying It Together, an exhibition of drawings by Garden Valley artist James Castle, is on exhibit at the Boise Art Museum along with a short documentary about Castle, who was born deaf, never learned to read and write, and prefers to make his drawings on discarded scraps of paper and cardboard.
• Now through Nov. 8: Boise Art Museum exhibits sculpture by Ann Weber called Corrugated. The pieces are made from cardboard, are woven into giant gourd-like spires, and are up to 16 feet tall.
• Now through Nov. 15: Boise Art Museum presents Kid Stuff, an exhibit of art geared toward children by artists Deborah Barrett, Alexander Calder, Michael Corney, Benjamin Jones, Marianne Kolb, Marilyn Lanfear, David Gillhooley, Marilyn Lysohir, Renda Palmer and others.
• Now through March 14: Boise Art Museum presents Patchwork, a collection of quilts from the early 1800s through the mid-20th century.
  

Curb Cup

I just wanted to highlight something that's going on this weekend, but didn't make it into the calendar. Curb Cup is an afternoon of performances by 130 groups from 2-4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 30 along 8th Street in downtown Boise. The performers will range from bands and dancers to improv comedians and magicians to hula hoopers and jump ropers to muralists and dramatic troupes.

The Awesome '80s Prom

If you decide to go check out the Daisy's Madhouse production of Awesome '80s Prom, I recommend you dance.

Don't go to Awesome '80s Prom for the script. Half the time, there isn't one -- it's got a very loose storyline and is mostly improvised.

Don't go for the deep characterization. This is about high school in the '80s, and as groundbreaking as Breakfast Club was, most of the characters in Awesome '80s Prom stick to the other film-making conventions of the period -- they divide up pretty neatly into brains, athletes, basket cases, princesses and criminals.

Don't go for the plot. Sure, there's a few little plot devices, like the happy ending for the nerds (I'm not giving anything away there. You all would have seen it coming a million miles away). But there's not much more than that.

But do go to dance. Go to talk to the actors and see how they ad lib. Go to vote for prom king and queen and influence the show's outcome.

It's much more fun if you dance. In a way, I got to relive high school for a night. But I got to be someone else. In high school, I didn't dance with the bad boys. I didn't sneak a drink from anyone's flask at prom. I didn't get invited to Dungeons and Dragons night. The cheerleaders certainly never screamed with delight when they saw me coming. That all happened at Awesome '80s Prom, and it happened because I danced.

The cast -- Leta Neustaedter, Jared Hallock, Eric Cole, Andrea Haskett, Katie Preston, Erin Van Engelen, Terry Heying, Tony Dragatoyu, Dan Aalbers, Valerie Baugh, Erin Westfall, Lee Vander Boegh and Brandon Bilbao -- do a creditable job of improvising and ad libbing. It's an impressive skill to see an actor do well, so even if there isn't much to the plot or the character development, it is fun to see the cast all reacting as their characters would to anything you say to them.

Awesome '80s Prom runs for one more night at 8:00 Aug. 29 at the El Korah Shrine on Idaho Street across from the Record Exchange. Costumes are optional.

Roundup

August

• Now through Aug. 14: Starlight Mountain Theatre presents The Boyfriend, a musical romantic comedy about an heiress who poses as a secretary and falls in love with a delivery boy who happens to be the missing son of the wealthy Lord Brockhurst. The show runs at 8:00 Aug. 8, 11 and 14 at Starlight Amphitheater in Garden Valley.
  
• Now through Aug. 15: Starlight Mountain Theatre presents Annie Get Your Gun, Irving Berlin's musical about Annie Oakley and her romance with the trick shooter in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. The show runs at 8:00 Aug. 12 and 15 at Starlight Amphitheater in Garden Valley.
• Aug. 17: Starlight Mountain Theatre opens the musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. The show runs Aug. 17, 19 and 21 at 8:00, Aug. 7 at 6:30 and Aug. 28-29 and Sept. 4-5 and 11-12 at 7:30 at Starlight Amphitheater in Garden Valley.
• Aug. 21 and 29: Daisy's Madhouse has apparently decided to do the loosely scripted, partly improv show Awesome '80s Prom on these dates, but has not yet announced times or locations and as yet has no information about it on their MySpace page. Keep checking their page for details.
  
• Now through Aug. 22: Starlight Mountain Theatre presents Footloose: The Musical, based on the hit movie from 1984. The show runs Aug. 7, 10, 13, 18, 20 and 22 at 8:00 at Starlight Amphitheater in Garden Valley.
• Aug. 28: Stage Coach Theatre opens Duck Hunter Shoots Angel, a comedy by Mitch Albom about a tabloid reporter tracking down the story of two Alabama duck hunters who believe they shot an angel. The show runs Aug. 28-29 and Sept. 3-6 and 10-12 at 7:30 Thursdays, 8:15 Fridays and Saturdays and 2:00 Sunday at the theater in the Hillcrest Shopping Center breezeway at Orchard and Overland.
  
• Now through Aug. 28: The Idaho Shakespeare Festival presents The Mystery of Edwin Drood, an interactive musical mystery in which the audience gets to decide who killed the title character. The show runs Aug. 8-9, 13-14, 18-19, 22-23 and 27-28 at 7:00 Sundays and 8:00 Tuesday-Saturday at the theater on Warm Springs in Boise.
• Now through Aug. 28: Glenns Ferry Theatre presents Let Him Sleep 'til it's Time for His Funeral on Aug. 7, 14, 21 and 28 at 7:45 (dinner starts at 6:30) at 128 E. Idaho Ave. in Glenns Ferry.
• Now through Aug. 29: Glenns Ferry Theatre presents Blazing Guns at Roaring Gulch on Aug. 8, 15, 22 and 29 at 7:45 (dinner starts at 6:30) at 128 E. Idaho Ave. in Glenns Ferry.
• Now through Sept. 20: Boise Art Museum opens an exhibit called Devorah Sperber: Threads of Perception. Sperber arranges spools of colored thread in such a way that, when viewed through an optical device, recreates a famous work of art.
• Now through Aug. 30: The Idaho Shakespeare Festival presents Twelfth Night, Shakespeare's comedy about Sebastian and Viola, twins who are separated in a storm at sea, and the misplaced affections and mistaken intentions that ensue. The show runs Aug. 7, 11-12, 15-16, 20-21, 25-26, and 29-30 at 7:00 Sundays and 8:00 Tuesday-Saturday at the theater on Warm Springs in Boise.
• Now through Oct. 11: Tying It Together, an exhibition of drawings by Garden Valley artist James Castle, opens at the Boise Art Museum along with a short documentary about Castle, who was born deaf, never learned to read and write, and prefers to make his drawings on discarded scraps of paper and cardboard.
• Now through Nov. 8: Boise Art Museum opens an exhibition of sculpture by Ann Weber called Corrugated. The pieces are made from cardboard, are woven into giant gourd-like spires, and are up to 16 feet tall.
• Now through Nov. 15: Boise Art Museum presents Kid Stuff, an exhibit of art geared toward children by artists Deborah Barrett, Alexander Calder, Michael Corney, Benjamin Jones, Marianne Kolb, Marilyn Lanfear, David Gillhooley, Marilyn Lysohir, Renda Palmer and others.

Ben Wilson at Visual Arts Collective

I love Ben Wilson's art. His comic style is fantastic. His stuff appears on Boise Weekly covers a lot, and I've seen it a few times at the Basement Gallery, but this is the first time I've taken a stab at sketching one. This one was up at the Visual Arts Collective, and the boy in the costume reminded me vaguely of Max from Where the Wild Things Are. Granted, it's more of a pink fox costume, and the boy in the costume appears to be aiding some smaller creatures in green squirrel costumes while being menaced by a puppet, instead of terrorizing monsters far larger than himself. Wilson's inking style is a lot more spare than Maurice Sendak's, and it's one of the things that makes his art so recognizable. (I wish that came out better in my drawing; I think my original black and white pencil drawing captured it fairly well, but when I added the color it overwhelmed those lines.) And Wilson seems to favor elongated faces out of proportion with the rest of the body he's drawing, again unlike Sendak. But this picture nonetheless reminded me of that book for some reason, which is why a) I sketched it, and b) I feel totally justified in linking to the trailer for the Where the Wild Things Are movie coming out this October. Not sure how you stretch a story that short into a feature length film, but I guess we'll know then.

The Absence of a Cello

The description in the program notes that Absence of a Cello is a "refreshingly literate comedy" that starts out targeting "individuality versus conformity" but evolves into "an ingeniously conceived comical discussion of honesty and truth."

Don't be scared.

I know, it sounds highbrow. Intellectual. Maybe a little too smart for a fun night out (I sometimes think this is the same reason I don't get too many dates). But you're missing out if you miss this hilarious and well-acted show.

Yes, the main character, Andrew Pilgrim (Kevin Labrum) is a brilliant scientist applying for a job at a major corporation. Yes, his wife Celia Pilgrim, played by Jennifer Bertino Polidori, is a brilliant scholar of medieval literature. But they both do an excellent job of keeping their characters relatable; it may help that the plot of the play involves these two geniuses trying to pass themselves off as average Joes. Moreover, the other characters keep the show down to earth -- most notably Andrew's sister, Marian Jellicoe (Karen Holcomb), the wild child of the family, and jovial, rhyming company man Otis Clifton (Kevin Tuck), who comes to check out the family and see if they fit the corporate mold. The Pilgrims' kleptomaniac neighbor, Emma Littlewood (Kathleen Bailey), keeps everyone on their toes. And Ben Ulmen draws real sympathy as Littlewood's son Perry, who is hopelessly in love with the Pilgrims' daughter Joanna (Amanda Jacob).

The show is impeccably cast, and it's amazing to watch the interactions between the actors. Labrum and Bertino Polidori establish some excellent marital tension, while the witty flirtation between Holcomb and Tuck is absolutely delightful. The show's pacing is tight, and the comic delivery of its many one-liners is beautiful. And while the laughs come mainly from the dialogue, director Anthony Polidori and the cast paid plenty of attention to the potential for physical humor; Ulmen, Labrum, Tuck and Holcomb all have some nice moments where simple gestures and expressions garnered a lot of laughs because their movements betrayed what they were really thinking.

Absence of a Cello is smart, funny, clever and moving. It would be deceptive to leave out "smart," "clever," and "moving." But it would be a shame to miss out on how funny it is because you fear you're not up for something smart or clever. Take it from me -- the show is also very accessible. And it's definitely worth seeing.

John Killmaster at the Basement Gallery

I'm not sure landscapes are really my thing, so I'm not sure my sketch does this justice. But they are definitely John Killmaster's thing. He's got a great use of color and texture for fleshing out masses of rock, stubbly underbrush and soft pink clouds. This is Aspen Gulch -- City of Rocks. It's one of several of Killmaster's landscapes on display at the Basement Gallery right now.

Also on display at the Basement Gallery are some pictures by Tarmo Watia. I sketched one of his pictures during BOSCO's Open Studios Weekend. The one I sketched then is not among those that were at the Basement Gallery, but like I said then, there are literally thousands of paintings in his house.

Roundup

July

• July 6: Alley Repertory Theater presents Head by local playwright Oliver Russell Stoddard at 7:30 at the Visual Arts Collective behind the Woman of Steel Gallery on Chinden. The show is part of Alley Rep's Plays from the Alley series, in which local playwrights are offered the opportunity to produce their work and get feedback from the audience.
  
• July 10: Stage Coach Theatre opens Absence of a Cello, a comedy about the hilarious lengths a scientist goes to to land a job at a large corporation. The show runs July 10-11, 16-19 and 23-25 at 7:30 Thursdays, 8:15 Friday-Saturday and 2:00 Sunday in the Hillcrest Shopping Center.
  
• July 10: The Idaho Shakespeare Festival opens The Mystery of Edwin Drood, an interactive musical mystery in which the audience gets to decide who killed the title character. The show runs July 10-12, 16-17, 21-22, and 25-26 and Aug. 4-5, 8-9, 13-14, 18-19, 22-23 and 27-28 at 7:00 Sundays and 8:00 Tuesday-Saturday at the theater on Warm Springs in Boise.
• July 13: Alley Repertory Theater presents Catherine by local playwright June Daniels at 7:30 at the Visual Arts Collective behind the Woman of Steel Gallery on Chinden. The show is part of Alley Rep's Plays from the Alley series, in which local playwrights are offered the opportunity to produce their work and get feedback from the audience.
• July 16: Author Mitch Wieland will read from his latest novel, God's Dogs, at 7:30 at the Log Cabin Literary Center next to the Boise Public Library.
  
• July 18: Salsa Celtica, a Scottish group that performs salsa music with bagpipes, fiddles, brass and congas, performs at 7:00 at Hop Porter Park in Hailey.
• July 20: Alley Repertory Theater presents Inflection Point: A Timeless Love Story by local playwright Greg Hampikian at 7:30 at the Visual Arts Collective behind the Woman of Steel Gallery on Chinden. The show is part of Alley Rep's Plays from the Alley series, in which local playwrights are offered the opportunity to produce their work and get feedback from the audience.
• July 23: Boise Little Theater opens Annie, Junior -- an all-children production of the musical Annie, based on the comic strip Little Orphan Annie. The show runs at 7:30 July 23-25 and 30-31 and 2:00 July 26 and Aug. 1 at the theater on Fort Street.
  
• Now through July 24: The Idaho Shakespeare Festival presents The Comedy of Errors, Shakespeare's tale of twin brothers who are reunited after 30 years, and the hijinks that ensue due to the mistaken identities. The show runs at 8:00 July 14-15, 18, and 23-24, and 7:00 July 19 at the theater on Warm Springs in Boise.
• July 27: Alley Repertory Theater presents Cocktails at the Fisher's by local playwright Kelly Broich at 7:30 at the Visual Arts Collective behind the Woman of Steel Gallery on Chinden. The show is part of Alley Rep's Plays from the Alley series, in which local playwrights are offered the opportunity to produce their work and get feedback from the audience.
• July 30: Music Theatre of Idaho presents Les Miserables, the musical about petty thief Jean Valjean, who becomes an honest man and the mayor of a town, is pursued relentlessly by Inspector Valjean, participates in an uprising and saves the life of a young man in love with Valjean's daughter. The show runs July 30, 31 and Aug. 1 at 7:30 and Aug. 1 at 1:30.
• July 31: The Idaho Shakespeare Festival opens Twelfth Night, Shakespeare's comedy about Sebastian and Viola, twins who are separated in a storm at sea, and the misplaced affections and mistaken intentions that ensue. The show runs July 31, Aug. 1-2, 6-7, 11-12, 15-16, 20-21, 25-26, and 29-30 at the theater on Warm Springs in Boise.
  
• Now through Aug. 1: Company of Fools presents 110 in the Shade, a musical about a drought-stricken community in the Western U.S. during the 1930s where residents learn to find their own truth and beauty by overcoming fears and misperceptions about one another. The show runs July 9, 14, 23 and 29 at 7:00, July 26 at 2:00 and July 10 and 17 and Aug. 1 at 8:00 at The Liberty Theatre on Main Street in Hailey.
  
• Now through Aug. 2: Company of Fools presents Welcome Home Jenny Sutter, the story of a wounded Marine Sergeant, just returned from Iraq, who finds herself lost in the California desert but gets the homecoming she needs from a community there. The show runs July 11 and 25 at 8:00, July 16, 19, 22, 28, 31 and Aug. 2 at 7:00, and July 12 at 2:00 atthe Liberty Theatre on Main Street in Hailey.
  
• Now through Aug. 2: Company of Fools presents Steel Magnolias, the story of the lives of six women whose lives intersect in a beauty salon in rural Louisiana. The show runs July 7, 8, 12, 15, 26 and 30 at 7:00, July 19 and Aug. 2 at 2:00, and July 18 and 24 at 8:00 at The Liberty Theatre on Main Street in Hailey.
  
• Now through Aug. 14: Starlight Mountain Theatre presents The Boyfriend, a musical romantic comedy about an heiress who poses as a secretary and falls in love with a delivery boy who happens to be the missing son of the wealthy Lord Brockhurst. The show runs at 8:00 July 6, 9, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27 and 30, and Aug. 5, 8, 11 and 14 at Starlight Amphitheater in Garden Valley.
  
• Now through Aug. 15: Starlight Mountain Theatre presents Annie Get Your Gun, Irving Berlin's musical about Annie Oakley and her romance with the trick shooter in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. The show runs at 8:00 July 7, 10, 13, 16, 22, 25, 28 and 31, and Aug. 3, 6, 12 and 15 at Starlight Amphitheater in Garden Valley.
• Now through Aug. 22: Starlight Mountain Theatre presents Footloose: The Musical, based on the hit movie from 1984. The show runs July 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 23 and 29 and Aug. 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 18, 20 and 22 at 8:00 at Starlight Amphitheater in Garden Valley.
• Now through Aug. 28: Glenns Ferry Theatre presents Let Him Sleep 'til it's Time for His Funeral July 10, 17, 24 and 31 and Aug. 7, 14, 21 and 28 at 7:45 (dinner starts at 6:30) at 128 E. Idaho Ave. in Glenns Ferry.
• Now through Aug. 29: Glenns Ferry Theatre presents Blazing Guns at Roaring Gulch July 11, 18, and 25 and Aug. 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29 at 7:45 (dinner starts at 6:30) at 128 E. Idaho Ave. in Glenns Ferry.
• Now through Sept. 20: Boise Art Museum opens an exhibit called Devorah Sperber: Threads of Perception. Sperber arranges spools of colored thread in such a way that, when viewed through an optical device, recreates a famous work of art.
• Now through Oct. 11: Tying It Together, an exhibition of drawings by Garden Valley artist James Castle, opens at the Boise Art Museum along with a short documentary about Castle, who was born deaf, never learned to read and write, and prefers to make his drawings on discarded scraps of paper and cardboard.
• Now through Nov. 8: Boise Art Museum opens an exhibition of sculpture by Ann Weber called Corrugated. The pieces are made from cardboard, are woven into giant gourd-like spires, and are up to 16 feet tall.
• Now through Nov. 15: Boise Art Museum presents Kid Stuff, an exhibit of art geared toward children by artists Deborah Barrett, Alexander Calder, Michael Corney, Benjamin Jones, Marianne Kolb, Marilyn Lanfear, David Gillhooley, Marilyn Lysohir, Renda Palmer and others.

Annie, Jr.

I apologize for the sporadic posting of late. One reason for that is that I'm taking a five-week summer class at BSU. Another is that I'm broke (although that shouldn't stop me from going to a few free galleries, and I will try to get back to doing that).

But the third reason is that I'm stage managing Annie, Jr., the annual Boise Parks and Rec/Boise Little Theater children's musical. We open July 23. It's been an incredibly demanding schedule -- rehearsals six days a week, and set construction on the seventh (hence the sporadic posting). At this point in the rehearsal process, some stuff still needs a little work, but overall, I'm impressed with the dedication these kids have put into the show -- especially our orphans (including Annie). They've probably put in more rehearsal hours than anyone else. We have given them some very challenging dance numbers, but they haven't flinched, and they never threw in the towel. They just kept working them till they got them, and their routines are looking great. Our director, Allison Remley, has told the kids she wants to do more than just a cute kids' show -- she wants to knock the audience's socks off. It'll take a little more work to get the whole show to that point, but we've got time yet and I think we can do it. I'm optimistic that this will be a show I can be really proud of.

Art and Roses

I totally forgot about this until my mom mentioned she was going to it, but today is Art and Roses in Julia Davis Park in Boise. It goes from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and 75 local artists will be there. I don't think I'll make it today, but thought I'd mention it in case you have the chance to go enjoy it.

Roundup

June

• June 4: Encore Theatre Co., Etc., opens Shakespeare's romantic tragedy Romeo and Juliet. The show runs at 7:30 June 4-6 and 11-13 at the Nampa Civic Center and 6:30 June 20 at the Ashley Inn on Main Street in Cascade.
• June 5: The Idaho Shakespeare Festival presents The Comedy of Errors, Shakespeare's tale of twin brothers who are reunited after 30 years, and the hijinks that ensue due to the mistaken identities. The show runs at 8:00 June 5-6, 16-17, 20, 25-26, 30, July 1, 4, 14-15, 18, and 23-24, and 7:00 June 7 and 21 and July 5 and 19 at the theater on Warm Springs.
  
• Now through June 6: Boise Little Theater opens Bleacher Bums, a play about die-hard Cubs fans rooting for their team at Wrigley Field. The show runs June 4-6 at 8:00 and June 3 at 7:30.
• June 6: Boise Art Museum opens Kid Stuff, an exhibit of art geared toward children by artists Deborah Barrett, Alexander Calder, Michael Corney, Benjamin Jones, Marianne Kolb, Marilyn Lanfear, David Gillhooley, Marilyn Lysohir, Renda Palmer and others.
• June 12: Music Theatre of Idaho presents their fundraising gala, Some Enchanted Evening, a tribute to Rodgers and Hammerstein, at 6:00 at the Nampa Civic Center.
• June 12 and 14: Opera Idaho presents Opera Under the Stars, a selection of songs from operas and Disney movies, at 7:00 June 12 and 5:00 June 14 at the Idaho Botanical Garden on Old Penitentiary Road in Boise.
  
• June 12: The Idaho Shakespeare Festival presents The Seagull, a drama by Anton Chekhov about a young ingenue, an fading actress, a famous author and a symbolist playwright. The play runs at 8:00 June 12-13, 18-19, 23-24 and 27 and July 2-3, and 7:00 June 14 and 28 at the theater on Warm Springs.
  
• Now through June 13: Knock 'Em Dead Dinner Theatre opens Oscar Wilde's comedy The Importance of Being Earnest, about two men who become engaged to women while claiming to be the same man, named Ernest. The show runs June 4-6 and 11-13 at the theater on 9th Street between Front and Myrtle. Show times are 7:00 on Thursdays and 8:00 Fridays and Saturdays; dinner is served at 7:00 Fridays and Saturdays.
• Now through June 13: Stage Coach Theatre opens Leading Ladies, a farce about two down-on-their-luck Shakespearian actors who attempt to pass themselves off as a dying woman's nieces in order to inherit her fortune. The show runs June 4-7 and 11-13 at 7:30 Thursdays, 8:15 Fridays and Saturdays, and 2:00 Sunday.
• June 13: Starlight Mountain Theatre presents The Boyfriend, a musical romantic comedy about an heiress who poses as a secretary and falls in love with a delivery boy who happens to be the missing son of the wealthy Lord Brockhurst. The show runs at 8:00 June 13, 18, 22 and 27, July 1, 6, 9, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27 and 30, and Aug. 5, 8, 11 and 14 at Starlight Amphitheater in Garden Valley.
  
• June 19: Music Theatre of Idaho presents The King and I, a musical about a king of Siam who hires an English woman to tutor his children and help reform his image in the West. The show runs at 7:30 June 19-20 and 25-27 and 1:30 June 20 at the Nampa Civic Center.
• June 20: Starlight Mountain Theatre presents Annie Get Your Gun, Irving Berlin's musical about Annie Oakley and her romance with the trick shooter in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. The show runs at 8:00 June 20, 26 and 29, July 2, 7, 10, 13, 16, 22, 25, 28 and 31, and Aug. 3, 6, 12 and 15 at Starlight Amphitheater in Garden Valley.
• June 20: Boise Art Museum opens an exhibit called Devorah Sperber: Threads of Perception. Sperber arranges spools of colored thread in such a way that, when viewed through an optical device, recreates a famous work of art.
• Now through June 21: Prairie Dog Productions presents My School Musical!, a spoof of High School Musical. The show runs at 7:15 June 5-6, 12-13 and 19-20 and 2:00 June 7, 14 and 21.
• Now through July 4: Starlight Mountain Theatre presents the Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, the story of Joseph's coat of many colors. The show runs at 8:00 June 5-6, 12, 15, 19, 25 and 30, and July 4 at Starlight Mountain Amphitheater in Garden Valley.
• Now through Oct. 11: Tying It Together, an exhibition of drawings by Garden Valley artist James Castle, opens at the Boise Art Museum along with a short documentary about Castle, who was born deaf, never learned to read and write, and prefers to make his drawings on discarded scraps of paper and cardboard.
• Now through Nov. 8: Boise Art Museum opens an exhibition of sculpture by Ann Weber called Corrugated. The pieces are made from cardboard, are woven into giant gourd-like spires, and are up to 16 feet tall.

Leading Ladies

Not one, but two guys in drag. Need I say more?

Probably not, but I will anyway. Leading Ladies is a scream. I didn't take many notes because I was too busy laughing. But it's got everything a great farce should -- lots of slapstick, great one-liners, quick changes, mistaken intentions, perfect timing and a superb cast.

The play revolves around two penniless Shakespearean actors, Leo Clark and Jack Gable, who decide to impersonate the nieces of a wealthy old woman in order to claim the inheritance. Kevin Kimsey and Jeff Thomson are perfect counterpoints to each other: Kevin Kimsey as the brash, scheming Leo, and Thomson as his reluctant accomplice, Jack.

Becky Kimsey plays vivacious Meg, and Sarah Hull stars as dim-witted and busty Audrey -- the women Leo and Jack fall for and attempt to woo, despite the fact that they must frequently appear in female form. Becky Kimsey created some wonderful chemistry between her character and Leo Clark/Maxine. Hull delivered her one-liners and her Brando impersonation with gusto. Both women had marvelous reactions during the scene where Leo and Jack unintentionally reveal themselves to be men, and their reactions help make it one of the funniest scenes in the play.

Sean McBride was every inch the sanctimonious, stick-in-the-mud Southern preacher. I loved Bonnie Peacher as Florence Snyder, the ailing yet spunky aunt whose search for her nieces (and heirs) sets the plot in motion. Although Patrick Schow stumbled on a few lines the night I saw the show, he and theater newcomer Owen Havey had some wonderful moments of physical comedy, and their attempts to woo Stephanie (Thomson) had the audience in stitches.

The play runs May 29-31 and June 4-7 and 11-13 at Stage Coach Theatre. Check it out if you're ready for a good laugh.

Artist blogs

I've been meaning to call attention to Luma Jasim, one of the bloggers for The Grip, Boise Weekly's new blog by and about refugees from around the world who have settled in Boise. Jasim is a graphic artist originally from Baghdad. She says she will be illustrating her blog posts. Her first post, The Mesopotamian Treasure Valley, includes a striking piece called Lonely Soul.

I'm curious whether there are other visual artists in the Treasure Valley who post art on their blogs. I know there's David R. Day's BoiSee photo blog. And there's photographer Thomas Lea's blog Boise Style. But I really wish I knew of more. If you know of a local artist who puts art on their blog, drop the link in the comments section. Thanks!

Update: We've also got Blue Planet Photography, by Mike Shipman.
Update 2: Just remembered my friend Zach Hagadone's moderately clever cartoon art.

Alex Vega

This awesome monkey-brain-robot thing was created by Alex Vega, who calls it Zinj. I scanned it in in black and white before I remembered he'd painted it with a color gradient, so I think I'll post both versions:


Alex was at the Modern Hotel for Modern Art at the Modern Hotel. When he saw me sketching, he said, "I take it as a great compliment that you're doing that."

Brian McGuffey

Last week for First Thursday I took my sketchbook down to the Modern Hotel, which was hosting visual and performance artists in a number of its rooms and even having people paint murals on the exterior walls. Brian McGuffey had a room there with a number of pieces like this one (I think another was of a bighorn sheep wearing a dress and skipping rope) and also several very nice shadow box-type things with cattails and the like. Brian was so excited by the fact that I was sketching his pink giraffe that he gave me his address and asked me to send him the original once I was done scanning it in for the blog. (He said he has a place where he keeps a lot of kids' drawings that inspire him and that he'd put it with those.) He promised to send me something back. I am excited to see what it is! I will be sure to tell you all.

I'll post more sketches from my visit to the Modern next week.

Roundup

May

• May 1-3: Ballet Idaho presents Spring Collage of Classics. The event includes three performances: Sweet Dreams, featuring the music of Patsy Cline and the guitar concertos of Antonio Vivaldi; the Rite of Spring, an original ballet by Ballet Idaho resident Alex Ossadnik; and a new ballet by Peter Anastos that accompanies Ravel's Piano Concert in G Major. Performances are 8:00 May 1 and 2 and 2:00 May 2 and 3 at the BSU Special Events Center.
• May 1-2: The BSU Theatre Arts Department presents Les Femmes En Noir, a student dance concert, at 7:30 May 1 and 2 and 2:00 May 2 at the Danny Peterson Theatre in the Morrison Center at BSU.
  
• May 2: Tying It Together, an exhibition of drawings by Garden Valley artist James Castle, opens at the Boise Art Museum along with a short documentary about Castle, who was born deaf, never learned to read and write, and prefers to make his drawings on discarded scraps of paper and cardboard.
• Now through May 3: The College of Idaho Theatre Department presents A History of Freaks, a play about a tight-rope circus performer struggling to keep her father’s traveling circus alive. The show runs at 7:30 May 1-2 and 2:00 May 3, at Langroise Theatre at the College of Idaho in Caldwell.
• Now through May 3: The Boise Art Museum hosts a site-specific architectural structure called After, by Lead Pencil Studio architects and artists Annie Han and Daniel Mihalyo.
• May 4-5: Boise Contemporary Theater presents a reading of Kid Simple: A Radio Play in the Flesh, about a young girl who invents a machine that can hear inaudible sounds. When the machine is stolen by a mercenary, she and the last boy virgin in 11th grade embark on a quest to find it and save noise as we know it. The show, which features a foley artist, is 7:00 at the Fulton Street Theater in Boise.
  
• May 6-9: Boise Music Week presents Brigadoon, a musical about a mysterious town in Scotland that appears once every 100 years. The show runs at 7:30 May 6-9 and 2:00 May 9 at the Morrison Center on the BSU campus.
• May 6-9: BSU's Theater Majors Association presents A Night of One-Acts, including a new play by BSU student Evan Sesek called "The Eighth Day" and David Mamet's "Sexual Perversity in Chicago." The show runs at 7:30 at the Danny Peterson Theater in the Morrison Center at BSU.
• May 8: Greg Keeler performs songs and reads from his new memoir, Trash Fish, at 7:00 at the Log Cabin Literary Center next to the Boise Public Library.
• May 8: A one-person show called, "Me, Miss Krause and Joan," about an actress attempting to portray the trial of Joan of Arc while at the same time dealing with her own rape, will be performed at 7:30 at the Boise First Congregational Church at Woodlawn and 23rd Street.
  
• Now through May 9: Prairie Dog Productions presents its spoof Space Trek: The Wrath of Juan. The show runs at 7:15 May 1-2 and 8-9 and at 2:00 May 3 at Prairie Dog Playhouse at 3820 Cassia in Boise.
• May 9: The Hot 8 Brass Band performs at 7:30 at the Sun Valley Opera House.
• May 14: Playwright Edward Albee reads some of his work at 7:30 at the Egyptian Theatre at Capitol and Main in Boise.
  
• May 15: The Boise Philharmonic presents Star-Spangled Sousa! at 8:15 at the Morrison Center.
  
• May 15: Knock 'Em Dead Dinner Theatre opens Oscar Wilde's comedy The Importance of Being Earnest, about two men who become engaged to women while claiming to be the same man, named Ernest. The show runs May 15-16, 21-23, 28-30 and June 4-6 and 11-13 at the theater on 9th Street between Front and Myrtle. Show times are 7:00 on Thursdays and 8:00 Fridays and Saturdays; dinner is served at 7:00 Fridays and Saturdays.
• May 17: The Boise Philharmonic Youth Orchestra presents its season finale at 7:30 at Centennial High School.
• May 19: The BYU Chamber Orchestra performs Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, Delius' The Lark Ascending; Prokofiev's Classical Symphony; and Hayden's Symphony #94, "Surprise," at 7:30 at Jewett Auditorium at the College of Idaho.
  
• May 22: Stage Coach Theatre opens Leading Ladies, a farce about two down-on-their-luck Shakespearian actors who attempt to pass themselves off as a dying woman's nieces in order to inherit her fortune. The show runs May 22-23, 28-31 and June 4-7 and 11-13 at 7:30 Thursdays, 8:15 Fridays and Saturdays, and 2:00 Sunday.
  
• May 22: Boise Little Theater opens Bleacher Bums, a play about die-hard Cubs fans rooting for their team at Wrigley Field. The show runs May 22-23 and 28-30 and June 4-6 at 8:00, May 31 at 2:00 and June 3 at 7:30.
• May 23: Boise Art Museum opens an exhibition of sculpture by Ann Weber called Corrugated. The pieces are made from cardboard, are woven into giant gourd-like spires, and are up to 16 feet tall.
• Now through May 24: The Boise Art Museum offers an exhibit of early works by photographer Ansel Adams.
• May 29-30: Dance company The Trey McIntyre Project performs at 8:00 May 29-30 and 2:00 May 30 at the BSU Special Events Center.
• May 29: Prairie Dog Productions presents My School Musical!, a spoof of High School Musical. The show runs at 7:15 May 29-30 and June 5-6, 12-13 and 19-20 and 2:00 June 7, 14 and 21.
• May 29: Starlight Mountain Theatre presents the Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, the story of Joseph's coat of many colors. The show runs at 8:00 May 29-30, June 5-6, 12, 15, 19, 25 and 30, and July 4 at Starlight Mountain Amphitheater in Garden Valley.
• Now through May 31: Boise Art Museum hosts Bloated Floaters, Snouted Sappers and the Defense of Empire, a series of drawings of bloated, blimp-like figures by Idaho artist Garth Claassen.

Dragging from a Cigarette

I honestly don't know if this is still in the Basement Gallery or not; I sketched it a couple of First Thursdays ago and I've just been slow about putting it up. But it's still a cool picture, so I wanted to get it up. It's called Dragging from a Cigarette, by David Colcord and Tomas Montano (together they go by rail v. y tomas). There's two things that you can't tell from my picture, though. One is that in the upper right corner, there is an old-fashioned brassy door handle affixed to the canvas. The other is that there's a poem written in the orange field in the right-hand side. (My handwriting is really crappy, so I didn't attempt that on the drawing.) It goes as follows:

DRAGGING FROM A CIGARETTE
and nodding her head
in self-reassurance
she tries to convince me
of the omnipresence
of angels
how they are always there
but can't be seen.
She doesn't look
like a smoker
and not quite
like the angels
I've imagined,
but I've inhaled her whiskey smoke
on hundred times
and have been
saved
by her image
in restless sleep
many more times
than I deserve.

Our Town

I should probably start out this review by pointing out that I am no fan of the script for Our Town. I just had this conversation last night with a friend of mine who went to Our Town. Neither of us really understand how the play got its "classic" status. A couple of years ago, I reread the play -- which I think I'd picked up a free copy of when an English professor of mine was retiring and cleaning off his shelves -- and when I was through, I donated it to the library. Anyone who's seen my bookshelves and knows what a bibliophile I am knows I don't like to part with books I enjoyed reading. The script's third act is actually quite good, but in terms of payoff, it's way too little, way too late. You have to wade through a lot of latitude and longitude readings and geological samples and descriptions of gardens and family discussions about allowances and tedious gossip about the choir director to get there. Grover's Corners is, as the characters themselves say, a rather dull place. And the entire play is about Grover's Corners. That makes the script rather dull.

That said, BLT's production of it has some very nice moments, particularly at the end of the second act and the start of the third. Geneva Stevahn did a terrific job as Emily Webb. She had a lovely nervous energy around her crush, George Gibbs (Josh Cormier), in the first act, and was excellent in the second act as a panicked bride suddenly struck with the magnitude of what she's getting into. Amber Ellis (Mrs. Webb) and Stevahn had some great exchanges and did a wonderful job establishing their mother-daughter repoire. Cormier was a little weak in many of his scenes earlier in the play, but did a fine job in the funeral scene.

Andy Neil was quite good as Dr. Gibbs, especially in the funeral scene. Debra Southworth had a bright enthusiasm and charm as Mrs. Gibbs that made her scenes delightful to watch. Cary White was excellent as the drunk and jaded choir director Simon Stimson. Bruce Bellamy developed a very funny character as a doddering old professor attempting to give a history of Grover's Corners via its geology. The children in the play -- Chandler Prohl, Hayden Fowers, Leah March -- executed their parts with aplomb. (Hey kids! If you happen to come across this review, "aplomb" is a good thing.)

However, I was a little disappointed in the Stage Manager, Jeff Chapman. He had a very sing-songy cadence to the delivery of his lines -- a rhythm he fell into that he never deviated from. The cadence made it difficult to really pay attention to what he was actually saying. Also, the rhythm he used involved a tendency for his voice to trail off at the end of each sentence, making it difficult to hear the final words. Audibility was not a huge problem for me; I could usually still make out the words, and even if I couldn't I could get it from the context -- but it's something to think about for people in the audience with hearing aids (of which there always seem to be a few). I heard feedback from at least one person in the audience changing their hearing aid levels during the middle of the show, so I know volume was a problem for some people. Mostly, for me, it was just another annoying part of the cadence -- distracting from what he was saying -- and as the Stage Manager, the narrator, he had the biggest line load and the responsibility of explaining everything in the show. It was vital to be able to both hear and pay attention to him. I saw Chapman in Plaza Suite and he was absolutely fantastic, so it's a shame he wasn't as strong in this show.

The Movie Game

I won't be doing a formal review of The Movie Game at Stage Coach Theatre, since I'm running sound and movie clips for it. But I want to encourage everyone to come see it -- it's very funny, very cute and the cast is doing an awesome job. It runs at 7:30 Thursday and 8:15 Friday and Saturday in Hillcrest Shopping Center.

(Updated with times of final three shows.)

Once On This Island

Once On This Island at Knock 'Em Dead Dinner Theater is a little bit of a mixed bag of a production, but it has some wonderful song and dance numbers and tells a beautiful story. The show enters its final weekend this week.

The story is sort of like a fairy tale set on an island in the French Antilles, an island divided between the upper-class descendants of settlers on the one side and the indigenous peoples and their capricious gods on the other. It follows the tale of a young orphan girl, Ti Moune (played at different ages by Eve Angelyne Seguin Du Haime and Rachel Dickerson), who falls in love with a young male aristocrat, Daniel (Daniel Greif), and nurses him back to health after he gets in a terrible car accident on her side of the island. The gods -- Asaka, Mother of the Earth (Starla Bender); Agwe, God of Water (Scot Fetters); Erzulie, Goddess of Love (Megan Tucker); and Papa Ge, Demon of Death (Ben Clegg) -- make a wager among themselves. Erzulie bets that Ti Moune's love for Daniel will survive the long trek across land and water and even defeat death. Ti Moune makes a long journey to find Daniel again, but finds social class boundaries are sometimes harder to cross than geographic ones.

It's an untraditional narrative style for a musical. Much of the time, it's more like the cast is telling you a story than acting it out for you. And when they are acting, it's often with an equally unusual style. This is most noticeable with the characters of the gods; the four actors use a lot of caricature and broad gestures to convey who they are. But overall, it works, and the actors did a fine job telling the story.

Dickerson is the lead, and she has a pretty singing voice for some of her numbers, but in others she's awfully quiet. It seems like the part she's singing on a few of her solos is a little bit out of her range. Greif seemed to run into the same problem on some of his solos. The problem areas tended to be on romantic ballads that were a little slower to begin with, and without powerful voices behind them, the songs came off as a bit dull. Fortunately, the show had many more raucous, lively numbers. My favorite was easily "Mama Will Provide," sung by Bender, who has a powerful, energetic and gorgeous voice. I also loved the dance number during "The Ball" -- it was fast-paced, high energy and well-choreographed.

Tim Schmidt did a great job on the set. The palm trees and bright leaf cutout panels helped evoke the right mood for the show.

Knock 'Em Dead typically has some of the best-costumed shows in Boise, and most of the costumes for this show were excellent -- bright, vivid island prints and flowing fabrics for the indigenous peoples and the gods; starched white trousers setting apart the aristocrats. And then there's Papa Ge, whose wearing these same island prints, plus a black leather vest and a black cowboy hat. For reals. He looks a little like he came to the island by way of a cowboy-themed gay bar. His makeup was good, though -- it made him look deathly.

I've been a little harder on the show in my review than it deserves. It's actually a really good show. It's definitely not your run-of-the-mill musical, it's got some great numbers, and it tells a great story.

Roundup

April

• April 5: Boise Master Chorale presents "And None Shall be Afraid": A Plea for Peace in Five Movements, and Mass of the Children at 2:00 at First United Methodist Church/Cathedral of the Rockies on 717 11th St. in Boise.
• April 9-12: Idaho Dance Theatre presents Full Throttle at 8:00 April 9-11 and 2:00 April 12 at the BSU Special Events Center in Boise.
• April 10: Stage Coach Theatre opens The Movie Game, a romantic comedy about Jack, a movie-loving slacker whose therapist suggests he become the leading man in his own movie. Things spiral out of control when an over-the-top director casts his family in the film and Jack falls in love an engaged woman. The show runs April 10-11, 16-19 and 23-25 at 7:00 Thursdays, 8:15 Fridays and Saturdays, and 2:00 Sunday.
  
• April 10: Boise Little Theater opens Thornton Wilder's Our Town. The play runs at 8:00 April 10-11, 16-18 and 23-25, 2:00 April 19 and 7:30 April 22 at the theater on Fort Street in Boise.
• April 10: Music Theatre of Idaho opens its production of the musical version of the Mark Twain story The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. The show runs April 10-11 and 16-18 at 7:30 and April 11 at 1:30 at the Nampa Civic Center.
  
• April 11-12: Boise Baroque Orchestra and Boise Master Chorale present Bach's "The Passion According to St. John" at 7:30 at Jewett Auditorium at College of Idaho in Caldwell on April 11 and at 2:00 at First United Methodist Church/Cathedral of the Rockies on 717 11th St. in Boise on April 12.
• April 13: Boise Contemporary Theater presents a reading of By the Waters of Babylon, a romance about an encounter between a widow with a painful past and a Cuban novelist who has immigrated to Texas and become a gardener.
• April 16: BSU's Theatre Arts Department opens The School for Wives by Moliere. The show runs 7:30 p.m. April 16-18 and 22-25 and 2:00 April 20 and 26 at the Danny Peterson Theatre in the Morrison Center.
  
• April 17-18: The Boise Philharmonic performs Iberia! Music from Spain and the Basque Country at 8:00 Friday in the Swayne Auditorium at NNU in Nampa and at 8:15 Saturday at the Morrison Center at BSU in Boise.
• April 17: Prairie Dog Productions opens its spoof Space Trek: The Wrath of Juan. The show runs at 7:15 April 17-18, 24-25, May 1-2 and May 8-9 and at 2:00 April 19 and 26 and May 3 at Prairie Dog Playhouse at 3820 Cassia in Boise.
• Now through April 18: Starlight Mountain Theatre presents Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music. The show runs at 7:30 at April 4, 10-11, and 17-18 at The Star theater at 1851 Century Way in Boise.
• Now through April 18: Knock 'Em Dead Dinner Theatre presents Once on This Island, a musical featuring calypso music about a young peasant girl who is sent on a journey by the gods to test the strength of her love even in the face of death. The show runs March 20-21, 26-28, and April 2-4, 9-11 and 16-18 at 7:00 Thursdays and 8:00 Fridays and Saturdays, with dinner served at 7:00 Fridays and Saturdays. The theater is located on 9th Street between Myrtle and Front.
• Now through April 18: Starlight Mountain Theatre opens the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music. The show runs March 13-14, 20-21 and April 3-4, 10-11 and 17-18 at 7:30 at the Star theater at 1851 Century Way in Boise.
• April 23: The College of Idaho Theatre Department presents A History of Freaks. The show runs at 7:30 April 23-25 and April 29-May 2, and 2:00 May 3, at Langroise Theatre at the College of Idaho in Caldwell.
  
• Now through April 26: Boise Art Museum hosts Higher Ground, a juried art exhibit of works by Boise and Meridian high school students.
• April 26: The Boise Philharmonic presents its Encore! chamber concert at 3:00 at the Basque Center at Sixth and Grove in Boise.
• April 28: Alexander McCall Smith reads some of his works at 7:30 at the Egyptian Theater at Capitol and Main in Boise.
• April 30: Vestal McIntyre, the author of You Are Not the One, reads some of his works at 7:00 at the Log Cabin Literary Center next to the library on Capitol Boulevard.
  
• Now through May 3: The Boise Art Museum hosts a site-specific architectural structure called After, by Lead Pencil Studio architects and artists Annie Han and Daniel Mihalyo.
• Now through May 24: The Boise Art Museum offers an exhibit of early works by photographer Ansel Adams.
• Now through May 31: Boise Art Museum hosts Bloated Floaters, Snouted Sappers and the Defense of Empire, a series of drawings of bloated, blimp-like figures by Idaho artist Garth Claassen.