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By Day
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"Dave's Farewell Fling": The Ark.
"Writing in Public: A Celebration of Karl Pohrt": U-M English Department/Shaman Drum Bookshop.
"Doubt: A Parable": Performance Network Professional Season.
 Thursday
March, 2008
10-11:30 a.m.
"Contemporary Trends in the Media, Art, and Literature":
U-M Osher Lifelong Learning Institute Distinguished Lecture Series. March 6, 13, 20, & 27 and April 3 & 10. A series of 6 lectures by U-M and visiting scholars. Today: WSU world performance studies professor Aku Kadogo discusses "The Black Theater: Its Place in the World and the 21st Century." Also in the series: U-M art history professor emerita Diane Kirkpatrick discusses "Contemporary Trends in the Visual Arts" (March 13), U-M musical theater professor Brent Wagner discusses "Musical Theater Now: Is It Golden?" (March 20), U-M Journalism Fellows director Charles Eisendrath discusses "The Best of Times, the Worst of Times" (March 27), U-M English professor Larry Goldstein discusses "High Noon at the Postmodern Corral" (April 3), and U-M screen arts and cultures professor emeritus Frank Beaver discusses "What Is the Future of Theatrical Film?" (April 10).
Best Western Executive Conference Center, 2900 Jackson Rd. $45 (members, $30) for the 6-lecture series. Memberships are $15 a year. Preregistration required. 998-9351.
 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Thursday Lunch Bunch:
Jewish Community Center. Every Thursday. A weekly program of activities primarily for seniors. The program begins at 10 a.m. with "Fitness Fun" ($4), a 60-minute exercise program led by Maria Farquhar. At 11 a.m., a Current Events discussion group hosted by Heather Dombey. At 1 p.m., a cultural or educational program. Today: Jewish Historical Society of Washtenaw County cochairs Carol Finerman and Elise Weisbach discuss "Preserving Jewish History." Also this month: Ann Arbor District Library outreach coordinator Ira Lax discusses "The Homeland during WW II" (March 13), a Yiddish Open House (see 20 Thursday listing), and local herbalist Linda Feldt discusses "Cooking with Dark Green Vegetables" (March 27). The day concludes at 2:15 p.m. with a meeting of the Senior Literary Group , a book discussion group led by U-M Dearborn English professor emeritus Sidney Warschausky. Also, at noon, a homemade dairy lunch ($3 with reservation, $4 without reservation and for nonseniors).
JCC, 2935 Birch Hollow Dr. (off Stone School Rd. south of Packard). Free. 971-0990.
10:30 a.m. & 1 p.m.
"Peter Rabbit":
Wild Swan Theater. March 6-8 . This award-winning local children's theater presents its adaptation of the story of Beatrix Potter's beloved bunny. Ignoring his mom's advice, Peter loses his little blue coat and plunges into a series of misadventures. As with all Wild Swan productions, the performance is interpreted in American Sign Language. Audio description and backstage "touch" tours are available by prearrangement for blind audience members. Suitable for kids in grades pre-K to 2. Cast: Hilary Cohen, Sandy Ryder, Michele Trame-Lanzi, and Rebecca Brunner.
Washtenaw Community College Morris Lawrence Bldg. Towsley Auditorium, 4800 E. Huron River Dr. Tickets $12 (children, $8; lap passes for kids age 2 & under, $3) in advance and at the door. 995-0530.
11 a.m.-12:50 p.m.
"Kids Skate":
Ann Arbor Parks Department. Every Thursday. All preschoolers and their caregivers invited to skate to kids music and play with toys on the ice.
Veterans Ice Arena, 2150 Jackson Rd. $5 (youths age 17 & under and seniors age 60 & over, $4). Skate rentals available ($3). 761-7240.
Noon.
Noon Lecture Series:
U-M Center for Japanese Studies Noon Lecture Series. March 6, 13, 20, & 27. Talks by U-M and visiting scholars. Today: Tufts University German, Russian, and Asian languages professor Susan Napier discusses "The Virtual City: Akihabara, Anime, and Otakudom." Also this month: University of Illinois East Asian languages and cultures professor David Goodman on "Reenacting a Failed Revolution: The February 26 Incident in Theater and Film since 1960" (March 13), University of California international relations professor Ellis Krauss on "U.S.-Japan Relations in Transition: Security and Political Economy" (March 20), and University of Massachusetts modern languages professor Sari Kawana on "Book Adventures: The Business and Culture of Publishing in Modern Japan" (March 27).
1636 SSWB, 1080 South University. Free. 764-6307.
Noon-3 p.m.
ACBL Bridge:
Ann Arbor Senior Center. Every Thursday. All seniors age 50 & older invited to play ACBL-sanctioned duplicate bridge. No partner required.
Cobblestone Farm barn, 2781 Packard. $5. 769-5911.
12:10 p.m.
Gifts of Art:
U-M Hospitals. March 6, 13, 19, 20, & 27. Performances by area and guest artists. Today: Classical solo piano by Xiofeng Wu. Also this month: jazz by Greg McKinney & Friends (March 13), free jazz by the Petting Zoo (March 19), classical music by the School of Music Performance Outreach Program (March 20), and music for harp and oboe by Laurel Federbush and Sue Owen-Bissiri (March 27).
U-M Hospital main lobby, 1500 E. Medical Center Dr. (off Fuller). Free. 936-ARTS.
"In Bruges":
Michigan Theater Foundation. (Martin McDonagh, 2008). February 29-March 6. Comedy about 2 Irish hitmen who hide out in Belgium after a contract killing goes bad, where one wants to hunker down and the other to sightsee.
Times TBA, Michigan Theater $8.50 (children, students, seniors, & veterans, $6.75; MTF members, $6). 668-TIME.
"City of Men":
Michigan Theater Foundation. (Fernando Meirelles, 2008). February 29-March 6. The movie version of the TV series City of God, inspired by Meirelles's epic 2002 drama set in Brazilian slums, City of God.
Times TBA, Michigan Theater $8.50 (children, students, seniors, & veterans, $6.75; MTF members, $6). 668-TIME.
5 p.m.
Chip Kidd:
U-M School of Art and Design Penny Stamps Lecture Series. This Knopf Publishing Group art director, who has created more than 2,000 book covers, discusses his startling, almost confrontational cover designs. Kidd has been called "the closest thing to a rock star" in graphic design by USA Today.
Michigan Theater. Free. 764-0397.
6:30 p.m.
"Squabbles":
Chelsea Area Players. March 6-8. Vicky Wurster directs local actors in a dinner theater production of Marshall Karp's comedy about the crusty, impossible father of a married ad exec. When his wife's mother becomes homeless, she moves in too, only to find she can't stand the old crab. The cast includes Brent Lofgren, Tomi Dres, June Weiland, Ric Foytik, William Cole, David Avery, and Clara Smith.
Chelsea High School Auditorium, 740 N. Freer, Chelsea. Tickets $30 (includes dinner) in advance and at the door. 274-2498.
6:30 p.m.
"Mine Safety Part 1":
Huron Hills Lapidary & Mineral Society. First of two monthly sessions by Mount Clemens Gem and Lapidary Society member Joel Viceroy that enables participants to complete the safety training course required for field trips to quarries.
West Side United Methodist Church, 900 S. Seventh St. Free. 434-8517.
7-10 p.m.
Milonga:
Club de Tango. Every Thursday. Tango dancers of all levels and styles invited to this tango dance party. No partner needed. Bring flat, smooth-soled shoes to change into for dancing. Also, a beginners lesson downstairs (7-7:30 p.m., free to dancers).
Pittsfield Grange, 3337 Ann Arbor-Saline Rd. (1'da2 mile south of I-94). $5. 936-8181.
7 p.m.
"The Odd Couple":
Friends of the Michigan League. March 6-8. Local theater veteran Nancy Heusel directs dessert (March 6) and dinner (March 7-9) theater productions of Neil Simon's vintage comedy about 2 men - one a fussy neatnik, the other a free-spirited slob - who find themselves living together after their wives throw them out. Within 2 weeks, the tension between fastidiousness and slovenliness builds to a perilous peak. Stars Jim Nissen and Mark Heusel, with Lesli Weston, Ariel Adamson, Steve Jones, Jeff Pickell, Joe Medrano, and Chris Bickley. Part of the proceeds goes to U-M scholarships.
Michigan League Hussey Room. Dessert & show tickets $30 (students, $15) and dinner & show tickets $60 in advance only. 763-4648.
7-8:30 p.m.
"Remember the Ladies":
Ann Arbor District Library. An evening of original poems and stories by 3 of Michigan's best storytellers, AADL director Josie Parker, AADL youth librarian (and former National Storyteller of the Year) Laura Pershin Raynor, and Auburn Hills Public Library director Karrie Waarala.
AADL Pittsfield Branch, 2359 Oak Valley Dr. between Scio Church Rd. and Ann Arbor-Saline Rd. Free. 327-4200.
7-8:30 p.m.
"The Eighth Promise: An American Son's Tribute to His Toisanese Mother":
2008 Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads (Ann Arbor District Library). March 6 & 18 (different locations). All invited to join a discussion of the prominent California attorney William Poy Lee's widely acclaimed memoir blending his mother's memories of her war-torn childhood in China of the 1930s and 1940s and his own memories of growing up in the housing projects of San Francisco Chinatown and amid the North Beach counterculture in the 1960s and 1970s. The book has been chosen for the annual Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads communitywide reading program. Other Ann Arbor Reads programs this month include a lecture on modern China on March 6, an introduction to mah-jongg on March 20, a screening of the final part of the PBS documentary Becoming American: The Chinese Experience on March 26, and a talk by Foreign Babes in Beijing author Rachel DeWoskin on March 27 (see listings).
Village Green clubhouse, 459 Village Green Blvd. (off Dixboro north of Geddes). Free. 327-4560.
7-8:30 p.m.
"Modern China: In Its Olympic Year":
Ann Arbor District Library. Talk by U-M political science professor Mary Gallagher. In conjunction with 2008 Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads (see listing below).
AADL multipurpose room, 343 S. Fifth Ave. at William. Free. 327-4560.
7 p.m.
"The Dangers of Wikipedia":
EMU College of Arts & Sciences Lecture Series. Talk by the prominent Internet critic Andrew Keen, author of The Cult of the Amateur.
EMU Student Center Ballroom A, 900 Oakwood (off Washtenaw) EMU campus, Ypsilanti. Free. 487-3179.
7 p.m.
"In Search of American Jewish Heritage":
U-M Center for Judaic Studies 18th Annual Belin Lecture. Lecture by University of Pennsylvania Jewish American history professor Beth Wenger.
Palmer Commons Forum Hall, 100 Washtenaw. Free. 763-9047.
7-8:30 p.m.
Meditation and Chanting:
Siddha Yoga Meditation Center of Ann Arbor. Every Thursday. All invited for chanting and meditation
Siddha Yoga, Arbor Atrium, 315 W. Huron. Free. 747-7116.
7 p.m.-midnight.
Ann Arbor Go Club.:Every Sunday & Thursday. Players of all skill levels invited to play what's regarded as the world's most difficult board game. No partner necessary. Boards and stones provided.
Espresso Royale, 322 S. State. Free. 417-5547.
7 p.m.
"Chilsu and Mansu":
U-M Center for Korean Studies. (Kwang-Su Park, 1988). Influential Korean film director Park's directorial debut is a wrenching portrait of frustrated class struggle. When a billboard painter joins forces with a man held back in life by his political prisoner father, their inability to achieve anything more than grinding poverty leads to an unexpected outcome. Korean, subtitles.
Lorch Hall Auditorium, 611 Tappan). Free. 764-1825.
7 p.m.
ACBL Bridge:
Ann Arbor City Club. Every Thursday. All invited to play ACBL-sanctioned duplicate bridge. No partner required.
Ann Arbor City Club, 1830 Washtenaw. $5. 761-6691.
7 p.m.
Reiki:
Center for Intuitive Health. Local reiki master Ray Golden discusses this healing technique and gives minitreatments.
location TBA. Free. 663-9724.
7 p.m.
Lisa Mininni:
Nicola's Books. This Excellerate Associates owner discusses her new self-improvement guide Me, Myself, and Why? The Secrets to Navigating Change. Signing .
Nicola's, Westgate shopping center. Free. 662-0600.
7-9:10 p.m.
"Spiritual Inquiry":
Interfaith Center for Spiritual Growth. Every Thursday. All invited to join a group discussion. The program begins with a short presentation and concludes with a video lecture by the pioneering consciousness and spirituality researcher David R. Hawkins, followed by discussion.
Interfaith Center for Spiritual Growth, 704 Airport Blvd. Donation. 327-0270.
7-8 p.m.
"Varied and Versatile Vinaigrettes":
Zingerman's Delicatessen. Zingerman's staff discuss and offer taste samples of some of the 70,000 vinaigrettes they could make with the 70 olive oils, 500 vinegars, and 50 mustards it carries.
Zingerman's Next Door (upstairs kids room), 422 Detroit St. $20 in advance, $25 at the door. Space limited; reservations required. 663-3354.
7:30 p.m.
"Dave's Farewell Fling":
The Ark. . March 6 & 7-9 (2 different lineups). A series of in-the-round concerts featuring several longtime Ark favorites in honor of the retirement of the Ark's founding director Dave Siglin, who is on hand for all 4 shows as well as an open house at the Ark on March 6, 1-3 p.m. The March 6 lineup features 4 contemporary singer-songwriters, Cheryl Wheeler, Chris Smither, John Gorka, and Susan Werner. The March 7-9 shows feature an all-star lineup of English and American folksingers, including Arlo Guthrie, Anne Hills, Barry O'Neill, David Jones, Michael Cooney, John Roberts & Tony Barrand, and (on March 9 only) David Bromberg.
The Ark, 316 S. Main. Tickets $35 in advance at Herb David Guitar Studio, the Michigan Union Ticket Office, & all other Ticketmaster outlets; and at the door. To charge by phone, call 763-TKTS.
7:30 p.m.
"Writing in Public: A Celebration of Karl Pohrt":
U-M English Department/Shaman Drum Bookshop. March 6 & 7. A 2-day conference honoring the founder and owner of Shaman Drum Bookshop for his service to local writers, readers, and booklovers. The conference kicks off tonight with readings by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gary Snyder (see review . ) and National Book Award-winning fiction writer Andrea Barrett. Though he first came to attention as one of the Beats, Snyder is in fact one of the principal heirs of the Pound-Williams modernist tradition in American poetry, with its emphasis on rhetorical spareness and dynamic image sequences. With his interests in Buddhism, ecology, the connections between physical and intellectual labor, and the spiritual vitality of solitude and private friendships, Snyder is also a kind of latter-day Thoreau in his imaginative preoccupations. Barrett, the author of such works as the short fiction collections Ship Fever and Servants of the Map and the recent novel The Air We Breathe, is regarded as largely responsible for revitalizing the thriving and increasingly popular genre of novelized history. Her cool, precise tales of curious scientists and explorers combine the attentiveness to detail of a John McPhee with a seductive narrative energy powered by forces of nature like the plague and the awe-inspiring might of the Himalayas or by aspirations of intellectual and earthly wanderers. The program begins with introductory remarks by U-M history professor Geoff Eley, U-M English professor Linda Gregerson, and U-M undergrad creative writing coordinator (and former Shaman Drum manager) Keith Taylor.
Rackham Auditorium. Free. 662-7407.
7:30 p.m.
"Life of the Mind - Alden B. Dow: An Architect's View on Educating the Individual":
Greenhills School Life of the Mind Lecture Series. Talk by Alden B. Dow Home and Studio (Midland) archives director Daria Potts. Q&A.
Greenhills School Campbell Center for the Performing Arts, 850 Greenhills Dr. (off Earhart). Free. 205-4091.
7:30-9:30 p.m.
Tartan & Thistle Scottish Country Dancers.:Every Thursday. Instruction for intermediate-level dancers in a wide range of traditional and contemporary Scottish dances, followed by social dancing. Soft-soled shoes recommended. Refreshments.
the barn at Gretchen's House V, 2625 Traver (off Nixon). $4. 769-4324, 426-0241.
8 p.m.
John Caponera:
Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase. March 6-8. First Comedy Showcase appearance in more than a decade by this popular veteran Chicago comic, a frequent guest on TV sitcoms, dramas, and late-night shows who costarred in the mid-90s NBC sitcom The Good Life. His shows feature an eccentrically paced mix of topical observations, one-liners, stories, and celebrity mimicry - including a famous Harry Caray impression - and his material is often bolstered by an array of striking facial expressions. Preceded by 2 opening acts. Alcohol is served; all 8 p.m. Friday shows are nonsmoking shows.
old VFW Hall (below Seva restaurant), 314 E. Liberty. $9 (Thurs.) & $12 (Fri. & Sat.) reserved seating in advance, $11 (Thurs.) & $14 (Fri. & Sat.) general admission at the door. 996-9080.
8 p.m.
"Doubt: A Parable":
Performance Network Professional Season. Every Thursday-Sunday, February 21-April 6. John Seibert directs John Patrick Shanley's Pulitzer- and Tony-winning drama about a mother superior who must decide whether to trust her instincts when she suspects the school priest of having sexual relations with a student or to believe his protestation of innocence. Stars Jan Radcliff, Jon Bennett, Molly Thomas, Tammie Harris.
Performance Network, 120 E. Huron. Preview tickets: whatever you can afford to pay (Feb. 21), $20 (Feb. 22, 24, & 28), and $28 (Feb. 23). Feb. 29 opening night tickets: $42 includes reception. After Feb. 29: $30 (Thurs. & Sat. matinee), $35 (Fri. & Sun.), and $42 (Sat. eve.). $3 discounts available for seniors age 60 & over, $10 discounts available (except Sat. eve.) for students. Tickets available in advance at performancenetwork.org & by phone, and at the door. Half-price student rush tickets & $10 tickets for age 16 & under available 1 hour before showtime. For reservations, call 663-0681; to charge by phone, call 663-0696.
8 p.m.
"Vino Veritas":
Purple Rose Theatre Company. Every Wednesday-Sunday through March 8. (See review . ) Guy Sanville directs the world premiere of Livonia playwright David MacGregor's edgy comedy about 2 couples spending Halloween with a bottle of ceremonial South American wine made from the skins of tree frogs. The cast includes Phil Powers, Suzi Regan, Quetta Carpenter, and Tommy Gomez.
Purple Rose Theatre, 137 Park St., Chelsea. Tickets $25 (Wed. & Thurs.), $30 (Sat. & Sun. matinees), & $35 (Fri. & Sat. eves.) in advance and at the door. 433-7673.
8 p.m.
"Moon over Buffalo":
Ann Arbor Civic Theatre. March 6-9. Jon Elliott directs local actors in Ken Ludwig's madcap farce about a washed-up B-movie acting couple touring the 1950s theatrical circuit. They get an unexpected last stab at stardom when they learn that a major director plans to attend one of their performances, but everything that could go wrong does. Cast: Thom Johnson, Wendy Wright, Rob Roy, Joy Rafferty, Brian Hilligoss, Susie Berneis, Maria Vermeulen, and Mark Batell.
Walgreen Drama Center Arthur Miller Theatre, 1226 Murfin, North Campus. Tickets $20 (students & seniors, $17; Thursday, $13) in advance and at the door. 971-2228.
8 p.m.
"Talking with . . .":
P.T.D. Productions. March 6-9 & 13-15. Alice Fell directs the pseudonymous Jane Martin's 1982 Drama Critics Circle Award-winning play, a series of comic monologues in which 10 women of various backgrounds talk about their lives. They include a baton-twirling spiritualist, an auditioning actress, a disillusioned rodeo rider, a deluded housewife, and others. Cast: Val Merceica, Marie Jones, Jan Carpman, Mary Hopper, Lois Kuznets-Dowling, Tia Thomas, Jessica Eroh, Janet Rich Platte, Amy Griffith, Sara Kruger, and Marla Gousseff.
Riverside Arts Center, 76 N. Huron, Ypsilanti. Tickets $16 (students & seniors, $11) in advance and at the door. 483-7345.
8-9 p.m.
Puppetry Improv:
Dreamland Theater. Every Thursday. The Dreamland puppet troupe uses marionettes, rod puppets, and other forms of puppetry in an improv performance inspired by current events, audience suggestions, and "whatever strikes our fancy."
Dreamland Theater, 26 N. Washington St. Ypsilanti. Pay what you can. 657-2337.
8 p.m.
Faculty Showcase Concert:
U-M School of Music. Performers are pianists Christopher Harding and Dmitri Vorobiev, trombonist David Jackson, bassist Diana Gannett, violinist Stephen Shipps, and saxophonist Donald Sinta. Program TBA.
U-M Music School Recital Hall, 1100 Baits (off Broadway), North Campus. Free. 764-0583.
8 p.m.
Wolter Wierbos:
Kerrytown Concert House. First local solo performance by this Dutch jazz trombonist who's played here several times with various avant jazz groups. Considered one of the world's leading trombone players, Wierbos is known for an impish, ebullient style that provoked one critic to call him a "humorous importer of every style into his template-free, fat-backed sound and a tireless spy in the house of brass."
KCH, 415 N. Fourth Ave. Tickets $10, $15, & $25 (students, $5). Reservations suggested. 769-2999.
9 p.m.
Renaissance Dances:
Bedlam. March 6, 13, & 20 (different locations). Beginning to experienced dancers invited to try English country dances, 15th- and 16th-century Italian dances, bransles, pavanes, almans, and more. Instruction provided. Wear comfy clothes and shoes.
Michigan League Henderson Room. Free. 971-1809.
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