The Calendar - Films, Comedy and Performance Art

This Week's Events

Films, Comedy and Performance Art
From standup to improv, and everything in between, comedy is flourishing in the auditoriums and clubs of Ann Arbor. And with the U-M's new Media Union, a growing number of multimedia performances are appearing on The Calendar.

Highlights this week:

2008 Ann Arbor Book Festival.

"Jewish Film Festival": Jewish Community Center

"Young at Heart": Michigan Theater Foundation. (Stephen Walker, 2008.) May 2-15. Uplifting documentary about a senior citizen chorus that performs classic and contemporary rock songs, from James Brown to Sonic Y

Monday
May, 2008

Tuesday
May, 2008

"Young at Heart": Michigan Theater Foundation. (Stephen Walker, 2008.) May 2-15. Uplifting documentary about a senior citizen chorus that performs classic and contemporary rock songs, from James Brown to Sonic Y cp 7|cp 7|cp 7|cp

2:00 p.m.
"Jewish Film Festival": Jewish Community Center Annual festival of documentary and feature films on Jewish themes. Today: Steal a Pencil for Me (2 p.m.) is Michele Ohayon’s 2007 documentary about the 6-decade-long love affair between a Dutch Jewish couple who first met under the Nazi occupation when she was the 20-year- old daughter of a wealthy diamond merchant and he was poor and unhappily married to a mercurial spouse. All three soon find themselves living in the same concentration camp barracks, where the lovers sustain each other with secret love letters. I Have Never Forgotten You: The Life and Legacy of Simon Wiesenthal (5 p.m.) is Richard Trank’s 2007 documentary, narrated by Nicole Kidman, about the Austrian Jewish architect who became a Nazi hunter and human rights activist after surviving the Holocaust. English & German, subtitles. The screening is followed by a discussion led by U-M political science professor Lars Rensmann. Someone to Run With (8 p.m.) is Oded Davidoff’s 2006 adaptation of David Grossman’s harrowing coming-of-age tale, set on the streets of contemporary Jerusalem, about the intimacy that develops between 2 teens who have never met but whose lives become intertwined. Hebrew, subtitles. Michigan Theater. $10 (festival pass, $65). 971-0990.

9 p.m.
"Garage Band Night": WCBN-FM. Veteran WCBN DJ Frank Uhle hosts a screening of The Blast-Off Girls, Herschel Gordon Lewis's 1967 comedy about a sleazy promoter who uses hired girls to help him promote a garage band he has blackmailed into letting him manage its career. The inspiration for the popular former WCBN show. Also, rare clips of the 13th-Floor Elevators, the Seeds, and other 60s garage bands. Live at PJ's, 102 S. First. Free. 763-3500.

Wednesday
May, 2008

"Young at Heart": Michigan Theater Foundation. (Stephen Walker, 2008.) May 2-15. Uplifting documentary about a senior citizen chorus that performs classic and contemporary rock songs, from James Brown to Sonic Y cp 7|cp 7|cp 7|cp

2:00 p.m.
"Jewish Film Festival": Jewish Community Center Annual festival of documentary and feature films on Jewish themes. Today: The Powder and the Glory (2 p.m.) is Ann Carol Grossman and Arnie Reisman’s 2007 documentary about Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden, archrivals who virtually created the modern cosmetics industry. Also, A Good Uplift, Faye Lederman’s light-hearted documentary--a big hit at the 2006 Jewish Film Festival--about a visit to a Lower East Side lingerie shop owned by a Jewish grandmother who helps women of all shapes and sizes find the perfect bra. David Rubinger: Eyewitness (5 p.m.), Micha Shagrir’s 1998 documentary about the celebrated Israeli photographer, is followed by a discussion led by Rubinger. Hebrew, subtitles. Brother’s Shadow (8 p.m.) is Todd Yellin’s 2006 drama about an ex-con, the black sheep of his family, who returns from his self- imposed exile after the death of his twin brother to attempt to save the family furniture business. Followed by a discussion led by the director. Michigan Theater. $10 (festival pass, $65). 971-0990.

8 p.m.
"Comedy Jamm": Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase. May 14, 22, & 29. Performances by up to 12 aspiring area stand-up comics. Alcohol is served. old VFW Hall (below Seva restaurant), 314 E. Liberty. $5 in advance and at the door. 996-9080.

9-11:30 p.m.
"Juke Box Jungle": Conor O'Neill's Irish Pub. Every Wednesday. Conor O'Neill's staff member Brian Aherne hosts a music trivia quiz. Prizes. Conor O'Neill's, 318 S. Main. $3 team fee. 665-2968.

Thursday
May, 2008

7 p.m.
"Castle in the Sky": Waters Place Borders (Hiyao Miyazaki, 1986). Japanese anime film about 2 children's race against pirates to find a magical castle. Borders, 3140 Lohr Rd. Free. 997-8884.

7 p.m.
"Deir Yassin Remembered": Ann Arbor Middle East Film Society. Screening of this documentary about the survivors and children of survivors of a massacre, a month before the establishment of Israel, of some 100 Arab residents of a village located on high ground between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Followed by discussion. Michigan Union Anderson Room. Free; donations appreciated. 668-1358.

8 p.m.
Jarrod Harris: Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase. May 15-17. Ann Arbor debut of this fast-rising young Atlanta observational humorist, a favorite of Stephen Colbert known for his long-winded, sarcastic tirades that mix together the autobiographical and the abstract. Preceded by 2 opening acts. Alcohol is served; the Friday & Saturday early shows are nonsmoking. old VFW Hall (below Seva restaurant), 314 E. Liberty. $7 (Thurs.) & $10 (Fri. & Sat.) reserved seating in advance, $9 (Thurs.) & $12 (Fri. & Sat.) general admission at the door. 996-9080.

Friday
May, 2008

"Swing Time": Dance Gallery Foundation. (George Stevens, 1936.) Classic B&W Jerome Kern & Dorothy Fields. Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers. 7 p.m., McCray Studio, 815 Wildt. Free. 747-8885.

8 & 10:30 p.m.
Jarrod Harris: Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase. May 15-17. Ann Arbor debut of this fast-rising young Atlanta observational humorist, a favorite of Stephen Colbert known for his long-winded, sarcastic tirades that mix together the autobiographical and the abstract. Preceded by 2 opening acts. Alcohol is served; the Friday & Saturday early shows are nonsmoking. old VFW Hall (below Seva restaurant), 314 E. Liberty. $7 (Thurs.) & $10 (Fri. & Sat.) reserved seating in advance, $9 (Thurs.) & $12 (Fri. & Sat.) general admission at the door. 996-9080.

8 p.m.
2008 Ann Arbor Book Festival.:See initial listing on 14 Wednesday. Tonight: premiere screening of The Life Before Her Eyes, Vadim Perelman's film adaptation of award-winning local fiction writer Laura Kasischke's novel about an adolescent girl who survives a horrifying shooting only to become a middle-aged mom adrift and slowly keeling over in the calm but shadowy waters of a seemingly perfect life. It stars Uma Thurman and Evan Rachel Wood. The screening is followed by a panel discussion with Kasischke and others involved in making the film. Michigan Theater. $15 (students & seniors, $12; Michigan Theater members, $10) in advance at ticketweb.com and Liberty Street Borders, and at the door. 369-3366.

Saturday
May, 2008

"The Life Before Her Eyes": Michigan Theater Foundation. (Vadim Perelman, 2008.) May 17-22. Film adaptation of award-winning local fiction writer Laura Kasischke's novel about an adolescent girl who survives a horrifying shooting only to become a middle-aged mom adrift and slowly keeling over in the calm but shadowy waters of a seemingly perfect life. Uma Thurman, Evan Rachel Wood. Times TBA, Michigan Theater. $8.50 (children, students, seniors, & veterans, $6.75; MTF members, $6). 668-TIME .

7 p.m.
"Wine, Word, & Song": Neutral Zone. Wine reception with performances by the Ann Arbor teen slam poetry team and various teen musicians. A benefit for the Neutral Zone. 370 Meadow Creek Dr. (off Windycrest Dr. off Geddes). $75. Reservations required. 214-9995.

8 & 10:30 p.m.
Jarrod Harris: Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase. May 15-17. Ann Arbor debut of this fast-rising young Atlanta observational humorist, a favorite of Stephen Colbert known for his long-winded, sarcastic tirades that mix together the autobiographical and the abstract. Preceded by 2 opening acts. Alcohol is served; the Friday & Saturday early shows are nonsmoking. old VFW Hall (below Seva restaurant), 314 E. Liberty. $7 (Thurs.) & $10 (Fri. & Sat.) reserved seating in advance, $9 (Thurs.) & $12 (Fri. & Sat.) general admission at the door. 996-9080.

Sunday
May, 2008

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