Oct. 1-5
U of L’s ‘The Story’
Reality is in the eye of the beholder, lying is the new honesty and “truth” is starting to feel like a quaint and outdated concept, like chivalry or good credit. The University of Louisville’s African-American Theatre Program tries to get to the bottom of “The Story” anyway, opening their season this week with a play directed by Nefertiti Burton. When a white man is murdered in a black neighborhood, an ambitious young newspaper reporter clashes with her editor over their investigation and coverage as various layers of reality and truth are explored and exposed.
Inspired by events at The Washington Post in the early ’80s, this murder and editorial mystery by Tracey Scott Wilson should have you checking your own assumptions about race, class, stereotypes and ethics. It’s a fast-paced feast of shady sources, personal ambition and coverage-conspiracy theories, perfect for media watchdogs in a post-Stephen Glass world. —Erin Keane
U of L’s Thrust Theatre
2314 S. Floyd St.
852-6814
HYPERLINK "http://louisville.edu/a-s/ta/"http://louisville.edu/a-s/ta/
$12; 8 p.m. (Sunday matinee at 3 p.m.)
Thursday, Oct. 2
Author Curtis Sittenfeld
Curtis Sittenfeld writes best-selling hardbacks about real women who must deal with real heartbreak and choices. They are generally women with some level of privilege (her triumphant debut a few years back was titled “Prep”). For newly published third novel “American Wife,” the author has reverse-engineered the life of Laura Bush. There’s a little more drama in the early going than in the First Lady’s personal history, but otherwise the plot is a good parallel. Sittenfeld continues to show strengths with well-woven humor and thoroughly engaging dialogue, even as she addresses the odd-couple aspects of her subject’s marriage. Carmichael’s on Frankfort hosts a reading and signing with Cincinnati native Sittenfeld. —T.E. Lyons
Carmichael’s
2720 Frankfort Ave.
896-6950
Free; 7 p.m.
Oct. 2-3
The Wau Wau Sisters
Naughty girls need love too. It hasn’t even been a year since the Wau Wau Sisters dazzled a sold-out Louisville audience, and now they’re back for two performances this time. As part of the LEO Presents A Little Off Center series, New Yorkers Tanya Gagné and Adrienne Truscott offer up their raunchy vaudeville comedy show Thursday and Friday nights at the Kentucky Center. Thursday’s show is titled “12 Steps to Redemption” and Friday’s is “All You Can Eat!” Mixing acrobatic stunts, beer chugging, dirty songs and stripping, the Wau Wau Sisters will keep you entertained, trust me. There’s an after-party planned Friday night at 21c Museum Hotel with music from the Blue Umbrellas. Chicks rule. —Sara Havens
Bomhard Theater, Kentucky Center
501 W. Main St.
584-7777
$27.50 ; 8 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 4
‘Considering Democracy’
If you have ever wondered what other countries across the globe think about American democracy, a documentary coming to Louisville should have your attention. Filmmaker Keya Lea Horiuchi has taken a multi-national tour and will be at Ray’s Monkey House Saturday to participate in the screening of “Considering Democracy: 8 Things to Ask Your Representative” and to answer questions and discuss the different views presented. The film looks at America through the eyes of the rest of the world, offering a fresh (and sometimes unexpected) take on the politics and society of our country. Having traveled across 10 nations to cover topics such as healthcare, media, vacation time, campaign finance and foreign aid, Horiuchi created a film that presents a new view on political discussion and will surely recharge your dialogue. —Amy Berg
Ray’s Monkey House
1578 Bardstown Road
459-4373
HYPERLINK "http://www.consideringdemocracy.com" www.consideringdemocracy.com
Free; 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 4
Found Footage Fest
The Found Footage Festival is a sort of medicine show for the digital age. Nick Prueher and Joe Puckett tour with video oddities collected from public access TV, bootlegged videos and yard-sale camcorders. The films are frequently hilarious, but sometimes disturbing, too; witness a film on how to seduce women through hypnosis. Prueher and Puckett introduce, explain and mock the movies for the audience.
The Found Footage Film Festival is being screened at the BBC Tap Room Saturday at 8 and 10 p.m. The event is sponsored by the Louisville Film Society. — CONTACT _Con-419CB26F8 c s l Alan Abbott
BBC Tap Room
636 E. Main St.
www.foundfootagefest.com
$10; 8 & 10 p.m.
SATURDAY, OCT. 4
Bardstown Explosion
Three teenage friends are out to prove that Bardstown, Ky., isn’t hog-tied to stars-and-bars rock. “Down here, it’s a lot of Skynyrd bands playing Skynyrd bars,” says Matthew Fogle. Fogle, Ryan Raikes and Andrew Scott Newton, in cooperation with Triangle Talent, have launched Bardstown Explosion, a 10-date cache of shows that begins Oct. 4 at O’Shea’s Irish Pub and runs through November, with stops at Gerstle’s (Nov. 7) and Kingpin Lanes in Jeffersontown (Nov. 8).
The sets are 50-50 covers and originals, some of which appear on Fogle’s forthcoming album Shadow. He’s aiming for a yuletide release, and Raikes, a graduate of Belmont in Nashville, will engineer at his own 62 Studios. For Fogle and Newton’s songs, visit myspace.com/matthewfoglemusic. As for Raikes, Fogle says, “Ryan’s a renegade. He doesn’t believe in MySpace.” —Mat Herron
O’Shea’s Irish Pub
956 Baxter Ave.
589-7373
$TBA; 9 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 6
LGBT speaker Keith Boykin
“Obama’s new stump speech is the sharpest of the campaign so far. He doesn’t sound like a Harvard law professor talking about constitutional principles. He sounds like a man who is hungry to win and ready to fight for his cause,” writes editor Keith Boykin on The Daily Voice, a website dedicated to African-American news and opinion. Boykin, who also hosts BET’s “My Two Cents” and is a frequent political commentator on CNN, will give two free talks Monday as part of U of L’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Week.
Boykin has written several books on the issue, including “One More River to Cross: Black and Gay in America” and “Respecting the Soul: Daily Reflections for Black Lesbians and Gays.” The first lecture, held in the Brandeis School of Law, is on “Current LGBT Legal Issues,” while the second, held at the Ekstrom Library, is titled “Race, Gender and Sexuality in the 2008 Presidential Race.” —Sara Havens
•U of L’s Brandeis School of Law
Free; 3:45 p.m.
•U of L’s Chao Auditorium in Ekstrom Library
Free; 7 p.m.
852-0696
MONDAY, OCT. 6
Swing state
Indiana is a swing state, and in the spirit of double entendre, that means for the presidential election and for the jazz concert at Speakeasy. Local jazz vet Dick Sisto is throwing the “Indiana, Obama, Democratic Jazz Rally” at the Speakeasy.
“Indiana is a ‘battleground’ state in the November election,” Sisto wrote in an e-mail. “If you are an Indiana voter, you can find out how you can help with your time, and if you are not, you can help by donating the $10 ticket fee to the campaign and enjoy the great jazz lineup.”
Here it is: Jamey Aebersold Quartet with Steve Crews, Tyrone Wheeler and Jonathon Higgins; John La Barbera with the Speakeasy Big Band; Harry Pickens Trio with Jason Tiemann and Chris Fitzgerald; and the Louisville Jazz Quartet (Sisto, Tim Whalen, Wheeler and Mike Hyman); The Jacob Duncan Trio; The Pickens and Sisto Duo.
Proceeds will go to the Indiana Obama Campaign for Change. —Mat Herron
The Speakeasy
225 State St., New Albany
(812) 981-0891
myspace.com/speakeasyjazz
$10; 7 p.m.
Through Oct. 24
David Schuster’s inspirations
David Schuster was selected our city’s best visual artist in the 2008 LEO Weekly Readers’ Choice Awards. Here’s your chance to see why.
He specializes in narrative cityscapes, landscapes and portraits. This current exhibition of paintings and drawings features his most recent works.
While his inspirations are vast, Schuster always returns to create images of life in Louisville, his hometown. Both the urban and rural areas of the city fuel him. A good example is his series of horses and riders from a few years back. This was something he hadn’t tackled before, and he managed to give the time-honored theme a new perspective.
Schuster also seems to be a pretty good blackjack player, racking up the “chips” at the Readers’ Choice party last week. Sometimes an artist needs another skill to fall back on. —Jo Anne Triplett
Gallery at The Brown Hotel
335 W. Broadway
583-1234
www.brownhotel.com
