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By Day
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Ann Arbor Film Festival.
"Doubt: A Parable": Performance Network Professional Season.
U-M Baseball vs. Iowa.
 Friday
March, 2008
 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Robot Competition:
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Great Lakes Regional. March 28 & 29. (See review . ) Teams from 63 area high schools bring their homemade robots, ranging from gangly Rube Goldberg contraptions to sleek predatory machines, to battle each other in contests culminating with the exciting finals on Saturday afternoon. March 27 practice rounds (10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.) are also open to the public.
(Mar. 28) & 9 a.m.-3 p.m. (Mar. 29), EMU Convocation Center, 799 N. Hewitt (north off Washtenaw), Ypsilanti. Free. (800) 871-8326.
9 a.m.
"Friday Chelsea Winter Ride":
Ann Arbor Bicycle Touring Society. Every Friday. Slow/moderate-paced ride, 34-45 or 55-65 miles, to either Dexter, Grass Lake, Munith, Stockbridge, or the Waterloo Recreation Area.
meet at Aberdeen Bike & Fitness, 1175 S. Main, Chelsea. Free. (517) 285-6830.
10 a.m.-noon.
Writing Groups:
U-M Turner Geriatrics Center. Every Friday. All seniors invited to read and discuss the poetry, essays, reminiscences, and fiction they have written.
Turner Senior Resource Center, 2401 Plymouth Rd. Free. 998-9353.
11 a.m.
"Storytime with Mr. James":
Arborland Borders. Every Friday. Borders staffer "Mr. James" reads stories and leads a craft project for toddlers. Also, raffle. Today: Melanie Watt's Chester and Eric Rohmann's Kitten Tale.
Borders, 3527 Washtenaw. Free. 449-9394.
11 a.m.
"Around the Alphabet":
Barnes & Noble. Storytelling program featuring Connie Major's new alphabet book.
Barnes & Noble, 3235 Washtenaw. Free. Preregistration required. 973-1618.
Noon.
Noon Lecture Series:
U-M Center for Southeast Asian Studies. March 7, 21, & 28. Talks by visiting scholars. Today: poet and novelist R. Zamora Linmark on "How I Went to the Philippines to Research for a Novel and Ended Up Swimming in My Sardine Can of Worms."
1636 SSWB, 1080 South University. Free. 764-4568.
"Brecht on Brecht":
EMU Theatre Department. March 28-30 and April 3-5. EMU drama professor Pirooz Aghssa directs EMU drama students in the great Hungarian writer and director George Tabori's durably popular 1962 theatrical revue of extracts from Bertolt Brecht's poems, songs, and dramas. 7 p.m., Quirk Theatre ,
Ford St. (off Lowell from Huron River Dr.), EMU campus, Ypsilanti. Tickets $15 (students, $12; kids age 12 & under, $6) in advance and at the door. Group discounts available. 487-1221.
Michigan Theater Foundation.:Films TBA.
Times TBA, Michigan Theater $8.50 (children, students, seniors, & veterans, $6.75; MTF members, $6). 668-TIME.
p.m.
"The Conquest" and "Chamber Music":
U-M Residential College Players. March 28-30. Kaleigh Cornelison directs fellow RC students in 2 early one-acts by Arthur Lee Kopit. The Conquest of Everest is a farce about 2 tourists who without either planning or equipment successfully climb Mount Everest, where they meet a Chinese soldier who is also climbing the mountain but with much more preparation. Chamber Music is an absurdist drama, set in an insane asylum, about 8 women, each of whom believes she is a famous woman from history, who get together to devise a plan to resist an attack they believe is coming from the men in the asylum. 8
RC Auditorium, East Quad, 701 East University. $5 (students, $3). 647-4354.
Ann Arbor Film Festival.:The oldest and one of the most prestigious film festivals in North America. See 25 Tuesday Events listing. Today: a free panel discussion (1 p.m.), short films by festival judge Bill Brown (3 p.m.), a screening of the short film program "Conspiracy Countdown," (5:30 p.m.), a screening of the documentary " Nerakhoon (The Betrayal), " about a Laotian family's move to New York City, (7 p.m.), experimental multiple-projector film performances by Sandra Gibson and Luis Recoder (8 p.m.), short films by festival judge Bill Plympton (9:30 p.m.), and "Competition Screening." (10 p.m.)
Festival tickets: $85 for the entire festival in advance at the Michigan Theater; $8 (members, $6; Mar. 30 awards shows, $5) per evening show at the door. 995-5356.
Today: poetry by
Mark Webster Reading Series:
U-M English Department. March 7 & 28. Readings by U-M creative writing instructors and grad students. Today: poetry by D'Anne Witkowski and prose by Ben Stroud.
Michigan League Henderson Room. Free. 615-3710.
" The Sky Tonight"/"Origins of Life":
U-M Exhibit Museum Planetarium. March 24-28 and every Saturday & Sunday beginning March 29. The Sky Tonight (11:30 a.m. Saturdays and 1:30 & 3:30 p.m. both weekend days and March 24-28) is an audiovisual exploration of the current night sky. Origins of Life (12:30 p.m. Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. both weekend days and March 24-28) is an audiovisual show about the prebiotic chemistry of the Universe after the Big Bang, the formation of the stars and solar systems, the first life on Earth, the great extinctions, and the search for extraterrestrial life. Followed by a brief star talk. 1:30, 2:30, & 3:30 p.m., U-M Exhibit Museum, 1109 Geddes at North University. $4.75. 764-0478.
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Lenten Recital Series:
American Guild of Organists. Every Friday through March 14. Noontime concerts by professional and student organists on the church's mighty Wilhelm organ. Today: EMU students. Noon, First Congregational Church, 608 E. William. Free. 662-4466
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3 p.m.
U-M Baseball vs. Iowa.:March 28 & 30 (single games) and March 29 (doubleheader). Big Ten opener.
Ray Fisher Stadium. $5 (youths age 12 & under, $3; U-M students, free). 764-0247.
4:30-8 p.m.
30th Annual Lenten Fish Fry:
Old St. Patrick's Church. Every Friday through March 14. Fried Alaskan pollack, choice of potato, salad bar, and beverage. Desserts available for a nominal additional charge. Beer & wine available for donation. Be prepared to stand in line, but the food is worth the wait.
Old St. Pat's parish hall, 5671 Whitmore Lake Rd. at Northfield Church (3 miles north of Ann Arbor). $7.50 (seniors, $7; children ages 5-11, $6.50; children age 4 & under, free). 662-8141.
5-6:30 p.m.
Afternoon Lecture Series:
U-M Center for South Asian Studies. March 7, 14, & 28. Talks by U-M and visiting scholars. Today: U-M history professor Barbara Metcalf on "Reflections on Islam in South Asia in Practice: Is There a Story to Tell?" (March 28).
1636 SSWB, 1080 South University. Free. 764-0352.
6:15-10 p.m.
Parents' Night Out:
Ann Arbor YMCA. Kids ages 2-10 can enjoy dinner, games and sports, and (age 5 & older only) a dip in the pool.
YMCA, 400 W. Washington. $30 (members, $20). Preregistration required. 661-8012.
7-9 p.m.
Dances of Universal Peace (Sufi Dancing).:All invited to join in song, chant, and circle dances in joyous affirmation of the unity of the world's spiritual traditions.
Friends Meetinghouse, 1420 Hill. $5 requested donation. 996-1332.
7 p.m.
Kevin Brockmeier:
Shaman Drum Bookshop. This award-winning novelist and short story writer from Arkansas, author of The Brief History of the Dead, reads from The View from the Seventh Layer, his new collection of lyrical, richly imaginative stories whose subjects range from a young asocial woman imagining an escape from her scarred life with an apparition she calls the Entity to a dull and turgid pastor who's touched by a dubious spirit that turns his sermons into crowd-pleasers to an homage to the classic genre of choose-your-own-adventure novels for young readers. "Brockmeier is one of my very favorite writers. What amazes me most about him isn't his daunting technical chops or his Millhauser-sized imagination, but that in his finest moments he combines these strengths with a deeper sense of the joys and sorrows of life," says fiction writer Stewart O'Nan. "These stories are wise and touching, not merely full of delightful surprises but full of heart." Signing.
Shaman Drum, 315 S. State. Free. 662-7407.
7-8:30 p.m.
"Culture and Music of Kazakhstan":
Ann Arbor District Library. Lecture by cultural anthropologist Helen Faller, along with a performance by Roksonaki, a cutting-edge Kazakh ensemble that integrates traditional Kazakh instrumentation with contemporary rock and jazz compositions.
AADL multipurpose room, 343 S. Fifth Ave. at William. Free. 327-4560.
7 p.m.
"Melody on Ice 2008":
Ann Arbor Figure Skating Club. March 28 & 29. This annual show features more than 200 talented area skaters from tots to seniors. Also, ice dancers, the Figure Skating Club's Hockettes precision skating team, and national showcase medalists.
Ann Arbor Ice Cube, 2121 Oak Valley Dr. Tickets (cost TBA) available in advance and at the door. 213-6768.
7:30 p.m.
"Go for the Gold!":
Thurston Community Players. March 27-29. Phil Zaret directs 200 Thurston Elementary School parents and friends in the school's 34th annual original play. When the site of the 2008 Olympics is moved to Ann Arbor, participating teams representing Greek gods, Antarcticans, environmentalists, Martians, and corporate America compete in chariot races, wrestling, and the discus throw - until a very important chicken causes havoc and threatens to ruin the whole shebang. The cast includes several well-known veterans of the show, including Laura Hannaford, Mary Garton, Steve Geiringer, and Patricia Manley.
Clague Middle School auditorium, 2616 Nixon. Tickets $8 (students, $5) at the door only. 913-0657.
7:30 p.m.
"Hearts and Hands: Creating Community in Troubled Times":
Prison Creative Arts Project. Talk by former gang member Luis Rodriguez, author of Always Running: La Vida Loca . In conjunction with a prisoner art exhibit at the Duderstadt Center.
Michigan League Vandenberg Room. Free. 647-7673.
8 p.m.
Creative Arts Orchestra:
Canterbury House. This noted U-M music student ensemble "raised the roof" at a recent Edgefest and has performed at New York's Knitting Factory and at the Ford Detroit International Jazz Festival (formerly the Montreux Jazz Festival). The program includes improvisations featuring an eclectic mix of jazz, rock, ethnic, and contemporary concert music.
Canterbury House, 721 E. Huron. $10 (students & seniors, $5). 764-3162.
8 & 10:30 p.m.
Patrice O'Neal:
Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase. March 27-29. Ann Arbor debut of this up-and-coming African American comic from Boston, a former regular on the Comedy Central show Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn known for his sharply satiric observational humor and acerbic, often confrontational interactions with his audience. 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. $13 (Thurs.) & $16 (Fri. & Sat.) reserved seating in advance, $15 (Thurs.) & $18 (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.
"You Never Can Tell":
U-M Theatre Department. March 27-30 & April 3-6. Indiana Repertory Theatre associate artistic director Priscilla Lindsay directs U-M drama students in one of George Bernard Shaw's lesser-known plays, a satiric comedy of errors about a woman and her 3 grown children who have just returned to a seaside town in England after an 18-year stay in Madeira.
U-M Walgreen Drama Center Arthur Miller Theatre, 1226 Murfin, North Campus. Tickets $18 & $24 (students, $9) at the Michigan League Box Office in advance and at the door. To charge by phone, call 764-2538.
8 p.m.
"Much Ado about Nothing":
Blackbird Theatre. March 26-30. (See review . ) Barton Bund directs local young actors in an all-teen production of Shakespeare's sharp-tongued comedy, in a version set at a spring break beach party. The cast includes Julia Whiting, Sasha Lazare, Jake Norton, Emily Slomovits, Andy and Billy Kakokcy, and Adam and Conor Woodcock.
Blackbird Theatre, 1600 Pauline (at Kay Pkwy. east of Stadium). Tickets $10, $15, & $20 in advance and at the door. 332-3848.
8 p.m.
"Growing Pretty":
Purple Rose Theatre Company. Every Wednesday-Sunday, March 27-May 31. Michelle Mountain directs the world premiere of Carey Crim's coming-of-age tale about a girl who dreams of becoming a supermodel. When her mom steals the love of her life, the girl has to navigate, alone, the difficult path of becoming an artist. The cast features Stacie Hadgikosti, Brian Ogden, Grant Krause, Rhiannon Ragland, Matt Gwynn, and Hugh Maguire. 8 p.m., Purple Rose Theatre, 137 Park St., Chelsea.
Mar. 27-Apr. 4 previews: $20 (Wed. & Thurs.) and $25 (Fri.-Sun.). Apr. 5 opening night: $35. After Apr. 5: $25 (Wed. & Thurs.), $30 (Sat. & Sun. matinees), & $35 (Fri. & Sat. eves.). Tickets available in advance and at the door. 433-7673.
8 p.m.
4th Friday Advanced Contra Dance:
Ann Arbor Council for Traditional Music and Dance. Dave Sebolt calls contras for experienced dancers to live music TBA. Wear cool, casual clothes and comfy, flat-soled shoes.
Pittsfield Grange, 3337 Ann Arbor-Saline Rd. (1'da2 mile south of I-94). $8. 747-8860.
8 p.m.
"Picasso at the Lapin Agile":
U-M Rude Mechanicals. March 28-30. U-M theater student Lara Vanderheiden directs a cast of U-M students in Steve Martin's inventive, sharp-witted play about an imaginary meeting, set in a Parisian cafe at the turn of the last century, between Picasso and Einstein. The action is an exhilarating mix of dramatic speeches, surreal episodes, sexual sparring, music hall bits, and comedy both high and low.
Lydia Mendelssohn Theater. Tickets $5 (students, $3) in advance and at the door. 763-1107.
8 p.m.
Urban Bush Women and Compagnie Jant-Bi:
University Musical Society. Jawole Willa Jo Zollar directs 7 members of the Brooklyn-based all-female dance company Urban Bush Women and Germaine Acogny directs 7 members of the Senegalese-based all-male dance company Compagnie Jant-Bi in the recently premiered The scales of memory, a dreamy yet earthy work exploring the importance of place and community that blends Acogny's nature-inspired choreography with Zollar's contemporary style. The prerecorded score combines readings of Rumi's poetry, Senegalese drumming, and sounds suggesting a tropical forest, a slave ship, and the ocean. The New York Times praises Urban Bush Women's "searing sense of truthfulness" and Jant-Bi's "mind-blowing intensity."
Power Center. Tickets $18-$40 in advance at the Michigan League and (if available) at the door. To charge by phone, call 764-2538 or (800) 221-1229.
8 p.m.
Blackie & the Rodeo Kings:
The Ark. An eclectic mix of headlong rock 'n' roll, haunting ballads, and surf instrumentals by this Juno Award-winning Ontario-based trio of singer-guitarists Stephen Fearing, Colin Linden, and Tom Wilson. They got together in 1996 after discovering a common enthusiasm for Canadian songwriter Willie P. Bennett, and their repertoire also includes material by the likes of Bruce Cockburn, Jules Shear, Fred Eaglesmith, and Janice Powers.
The Ark, 316 S. Main. Tickets $15 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.
8 p.m.
Mary McCaslin:
Green Wood Coffee House Series (First United Methodist Church). This concert has been cancelled.
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8 p.m.
U-M Gamelan:
U-M School of Music. This popular town-and-gown group specializes in the traditional percussive music of central Java and Bali. An assembly of 50 bronze gongs, flutes, metallophones, drums, strings, and a xylophone, the gamelan produces a lush, intricate concatenation of nonharmonic melodies built on cycles marked by the largest gong and subdivided by the other instruments, producing a sweet, dreamy clangor. The U-M snagged its gamelan, whose name is Kyai Telaga Madu, "The Venerable Lake of Honey," for $2,000 when the Indonesian booth at the 1964 World's Fair went broke.
Hill Auditorium. Free. 764-0583.
8 p.m.
"Celebrating Bolcom":
U-M School of Music. Performances by an assortment of U-M music faculty, students, and alumni celebrating the career of the retiring Pulitzer Prize-winning music professor William Bolcom.
U-M Music School, 1100 Baits (off Broadway), North Campus. Free. 764-0594
8:45-11:45 p.m.
Friday Night Swing:
Ann Arbor Swing Dance Association. Every Friday. Swing dancing to prerecorded music. No partner needed. Bring casual or nicer shoes that stay on your feet when you're active. Preceded by intermediate (7:15 p.m.) and beginner (8 p.m.) lessons.
Dakota Building, 1785 W. Stadium. $5 (includes lessons). 945-8428.
9 & 11 p.m.
Sheila Jordan:
The Firefly Club. Widely acclaimed jazz singer who began her career in the early 50s singing versions of Charlie Parker's solos with a Detroit vocal trio, in a manner akin to that of the later Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross. Her distinctive vocal style, which has always taken its cues from instrumentalists, features frequent and unexpected changes of pitch and other unusual features. Her repertoire ranges from standards to material reflecting her tenacious bebop roots, and she has even recorded an album of jazz arrangements of Robert Creeley poems. "Sheila Jordan is one of the jazz world's best-kept secrets," says Blue Note. She is accompanied by the Tad Weed Trio.
Firefly Club, 637 S. Main. $25 & $30 in advance and at the door. 665-9090.
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