the scene
Hashiguchi Goyo, Woman Combing Her Hair, March 1920, woodblock print on paper, 17 9/16” x 12 7/8”, The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Gift from the Erna and Charles Bertram Hoffberger Collection, 2011 (95.880)
this month’s happenings Compiled by Anissa Elmerraji
ARTS/CULTURE comedy
On May 19, the Second City—the comedy school that boasts such celebrity alumni as Stephen Colbert, Bill Murray, and Steve Carell—headlines at the Columbia Festival of the Arts’ Gala Celebration 2012. Honoring the twenty-fifth anniversary of the festival’s founding, the gala features an open bar and seated dinner, where entrees like lobster ravioli and grilled filet of beef tenderloin await. (10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia; 410-715-3044; www. columbiafestival.com)
dance
May 22–23, experience New York City’s Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the dance company formed more than two decades ago to celebrate the African American cultural experience and the tradition of American modern dance. Performing at the Lyric Opera House, the show includes five dances including Home, a piece set to gospel house music inspired by victims of HIV. (140 W. Mt Royal Ave.; 410-900-1150; www. lyricoperahouse.com) Winner of one of the 2011 Baker Artist Awards, Japanese dancer and choreographer Naoko Maeshiba comes to the Theatre Project to present her first solo piece, KAWA to KAWA, May 24–27. Drawing on her research at the Cultural Exchange Station in Tabor, Czech Republic, the dance explores the relationship between body and space. (45 W. Preston St.; 410539-3091; www.theatreproject.org)
literature
Is Goodnight Moon collecting dust on your bookshelf? Consider donating your gently used children’s picture books, board books, novels, and comics to Baltimore Reads’ seventeenth annual Books for Kids Day. Your donation on May 5 brings Baltimore’s nonprofit literacy advocate one book closer to reaching its goal of bestowing 75,000 books on children with nothing to read. (Falls Rd.
Twelve of Hashiguchi Goyo’s thirteen existing ukiyo-e prints are on display in Hashiguchi Goyo’s Beautiful Women at the Walters Art Museum. Starting May 19, see first editions of Goyo’s traditional Japanese woodblock prints, eight of which are striking depictions of beautiful women. (600 N. Charles St.; 410-547-9000; www.thewalters.org)
at Cold Spring Ln.; 410-752-3595; www. booksforkidsday.org) Wayne Schaumburg, local history buff and resident tour guide of Green Mount Cemetery, reveals some surprising statistics about Charm City during Baltimore: A City of Firsts at the Baltimore Museum of Industry. On May 6, hear how Baltimore gave birth to the refrigerator, gas lighting, and other historical firsts. (1415 Key Hwy.; 410-727-4808; www. thebmi.org) On May 24, this year’s annual Ric Pfeffer Lecture—which honors the legacy of Johns Hopkins professor and social activist Ric Pfeffer—welcomes back social theorist David Harvey with a lecture entitled “Seizing the Time for Anti-Capitalist Struggle.” A Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at City University of New York, Harvey is the author of more than a dozen books, including The Enigma
of Capital and the Crisis of Capitalism and the forthcoming Rebel Cities: From the Right to the City to the Urban Revolution. (2640 St. Paul St.; 410-230-0450; www. redemmas.org)
music
Pontiak brings the psychedelic-rock sound of their latest album, Echo Ono, to the Golden West on May 1. Made up of brothers Lain, Van, and Jennings Carney, the group recorded their ninth album in their farm studio near the Blue Ridge Mountains. (1105 W. 36 St.; 410-8898891; www.goldenwestcafe.com)
On May 5, the Concert Artists of Baltimore team up with Peabody musicians to present The Sacred and the Profane at the Lyric Opera House. Under the direction of Maestro Polochick, the night features Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms and Orff’s Carmina Burana. (140
W. Mt. Royal Ave.; 410-625-3525; www. cabalto.org) At The Beat Goes On! The Music of the Baby Boomers, conductor Jack Everly leads the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in popular songs from the 1960s. At the Meyerhoff May 17–20, enjoy classics from the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Supremes, as well as popular movie and TV themes from the era. (1212 Cathedral St.; 410-783-8000; www.bsomusic.org) Baltimore Concert Opera closes its season with Giacomo Puccini’s Il Trittico on May 18 and 20. The set of three one-act operas includes Il Tabarro, Suor Angelica, and Giannic Schicchi, based on Dante’s epic poem, Divine Comedy. (11 W. Mount Vernon Pl.; 443-445-0226; www. baltimoreconcertopera.com)
theater
Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Ruined premieres at the Fells Point Corner Theatre on May 4. An exploration of the plight of women in the war-ravaged Democratic Republic of Congo, the play follows Mama Nadi, a plucky madam who has to cope with the turbulent times. (251 S. Anne St.; 410-276-7837; www.fpct.org) Canadian contortionists Cirque du Soleil pay tribute to the King of Pop at the Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour, May 5–6 at the 1st Mariner Arena. Scored with infectious hits like “Thriller” and “Billie Jean,” the show reveals a fantastical world full of music, dance, and magic. (201 W. Baltimore St.; 410-3472020; www.baltimoreareana.com) On May 16, Everyman Theatre presents their final performance of the season, George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart’s You Can’t Take It With You. The Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy follows the eccentric Sycamore family. Madness ensues when Sycamore daughter Alice has her straight-edge boyfriend and his parents over for dinner. (1727 N. Charles St.; 410752-2208; www.everymantheatre.org) Poet, playwright, and radio celebrity Al Leston returns to the Theatre Project for a live telecast of his syndicated radio show, State of The Re:Union, which explores what makes American cities tick. On May 17–20, Leston shares stories about Baltimore and his other travels
Urbanite #95 may 2012 69