Staffpick
<THEATER>
Friday, Jan. 26
The Late Seating
Sometimes an evening of cavorting leads you from one bar to another. Apply the same idea to theater. Just seen a production at Actors Theatre and craving more drama? Or having late-night pangs of hunger for a theatrical experience? Well, ATL is dishing out its first serving of a series called “The Late Seating.” (It’s planning another for April 27.) For this first event, local artists have created works based on the concept of “Documents,” facts and true-life stories. The evening includes a digital video projection by Valerie S. Fuchs; the multi-media performance “Meet a Stranger: Interesting People Doing Interesting Things” by Laura Parker; Conor McCormack and George Parker; and photography by Rachel Seed; “Dark Observatory” by Jeffrey Scott Holland; scenes from Looking for Lilith Theatre Company’s production of “What My Hands Have Touched: U.S. Women in World War II”; “Rannygazzoo” by Le Petomane Theatre; and music by Harry Lewman. —Elizabeth Kramer
Actors Theatre, Bingham Theatre
316 W. Main St.
584-1205
$10 adv./$12 door; 10:30 p.m.
<PARTY!>
Friday, Jan. 26
F.A.T. Friday Trolley Hop
It’s never too early to celebrate Mardi Gras. In that spirit, this Friday’s regular Frankfort Avenue Trolley Hop will be called the F.A.T. Friday Trolley Hop and will be celebrated Mardi Gras-style with a ball to follow at the Mellwood Arts Center. The free events, sponsored by local businesses and volunteers and presented by the Frankfort Avenue Business Association, are designed to welcome Louisville’s newly expanded community of Louisiana natives, many of whom were uprooted following Hurricane Katrina. The Trolley Hop features free transportation to participating restaurants, shops and galleries along the Frankfort Avenue Corridor, along with a variety of Mardi Gras-themed festivities, entertainment and specials from 6-10:30 p.m. The ball starts at 9 p.m. and will feature New Orleans-style food, live music from the JazzCrafters and other entertainment, along with a chance to win a free trip to New Orleans. Bring on the hurricanes. —Kevin Gibson
Mellwood Arts Center
1860 Mellwood Ave.
721-9148
Free
Trolley Hop: 6-10:30 p.m., Ball: 9 p.m.-midnight
<theater>
Jan. 26-27, Feb. 2-3
Elevator Plays
It’s no secret: I crave experimental theater. And I’m chomping at the bit and frothing at the mouth to see Specific Gravity Ensemble’s debut offering, dubbed “Elevator Plays.” This newly formed environmental theater group is dedicated to providing audiences with unconventional theatrical experiences in unusual settings. They received 88 plays from all over North America in response to a call for submissions, and selected 24 that were “the most appropriate for Louisville at this time together,” according to artistic director Rand Harmon. What’s so brazen about that, you ask? These plays, each under two minutes, will be performed in four elevators in the fabulous Starks Building to a very small audience.
Harmon was struck by how the plays work together to expose the breadth of the iconic, quotidian ritual of people riding on elevators. No topic is off limits, including sex, politics, religion and big business. Elevator capacity is eight humans, including the actors. With no sound or lighting design to enhance their skills, these actors will be on their own as they provide the most intimate theater experience you’ll probably ever have. —Sherry Deatrick
Starks Building
455 S. Fourth St.
384-2743
www.specificgravityensemble.com
$10; 8 p.m.
<MUSIC>
Jan. 26-27
Another Tragedy
Another Tragedy hopes to make its appearance in Louisville as uplifting as possible. The Cincinnati-area quartet — self-described as a heavy-progressive modern rock band — is touring the Midwest in support of its new album, The Beauty of Suffering, before it heads overseas in March for a stint in the United Kingdom.
“Our time is a little bit more in demand than it was six months ago,” says guitarist and singer Lee Dixon.
The group has been aching to get out on the stage after slaving away at Suffering. Live shows, according to Johnathan Chapman, fellow guitarist and singer, “are a different monster. You’ve got so much control when it comes to recording. You step out on stage, and that control is gone.”
Another Tragedy plays with Digby Friday at Uncle P’s and Saturday at Petrus with Weaker Still and The Source. —Mat Herron
Uncle Pleasant’s
2126 S. Preston St.
634-4147
$TBD; 10 p.m.
Petrus
116 E. Main St.
583-3772
$TBD; 10 p.m.
<COMPETITION>
Saturday, Jan. 27
‘Fox in the Morning’ Idol
So Simon Cowell called you a monkey on national television, so a drunken Paula Abdul laughed in your face, so a portly Randy Jackson told you to give up the dream — it’s time for redemption, my friends, not by pistol-whipping these three clowns, but by pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and entering another contest — the annual Kentuckiana Idol, put on by WDRB-TV’s “Fox in the Morning” crew. Auditions begin this Saturday morning at Spalding University, and to guarantee your spot in line, you can pre-register at Sam Swope Suzuki (4120 Bardstown Road) throughout the day on Thursday, Jan. 25. All contestants must be 16 or older, and if you’re under 18, you need your parents’ autograph. The winner this year will receive 2007 Suzuki Reno and a $1,000 scholarship to Spalding University. Not too shabby. —Sara Havens
Spalding University Auditorium
Fourth and York streets
562-5746
Free; 9 a.m.
16+
<MUSIC>
Saturday, Jan. 27
Melissa McClelland
The minute the playful piano of “Passenger 24” kicks in, Toronto’s Melissa McClelland shows she stands on her own as a soulful songstress with no small appreciation for vaudeville.
It doesn’t hurt that Sarah MacLachlan backs her up on “Go Down Matthew,” either. “I do whatever I please,” she croons on the Latin-tinged “Iroquois St. Factory,” and you begin to realize that McClelland might not only be whimsical, but also commanding. She plays Saturday at Uncle Pleasant’s with Brigid Kaelin and Squeezebot. —Mat Herron
Uncle Pleasant’s
2126 S. Preston St.
634-4147
$8; 9 p.m.
21+
<HISTORY>
Jan. 28-31
Feting the Flood
It’s been seven hours and 25,550 days/Since you took your flood away … In these parts, nothing compares to The Great Flood of 1937, which submerged 70 percent of the city and forced 175,000 residents to evacuate.
This Sunday, Rick Bell, Portland resident and author of “The Great Flood of 1937,” and Mayor Abramson will convene a program at The Gardens, which figured prominently as an evacuation site during the flood, back when it was an armory. There will surely be speeches, and even possibly some firsthand accounts of some significant local history.
And next Wednesday afternoon, Bell will reminisce about the events of that year and read from his book. He’ll provide an overview of the flood’s impact on the area and show some quite shocking and previously rarely or never seen images of the devastation. —Sara Havens
Jan. 28: The Gardens
525 W. Muhammad Ali Blvd.
Free; 2-4 p.m.
*
Jan. 31: Filson Historical Society
1310 S. Third St.
635-5083
Free; noon
<ART>
Through Feb. 10
‘Heal Thyself’ by Kate Sedgwick
Kate Sedgwick’s photographs take us into the Twilight Zone, a nightmare world where all the characters look alike and no one understands what’s said. Sedgwick photographed herself as patient and various medical professionals in a fictional mental hospital, scenes that show the drama of care and the constant discussion it entails. In her artist statement, Sedgwick says she “strongly feels that the ‘patient’ is often viewed by professionals as a problem represented by a diagnosis. Those same professionals often seem to neglect seeing the ways in which personality and symptoms of disease are not mutually exclusive.”
She knows of what she speaks, as she deals with her own bipolar issues. This is a very personal, powerful examination. So powerful, perhaps, that her technical skill may be overlooked. The gum dichromate photographic technique is complex, the result of digital negatives printed on watercolor paper, then painted. This strengthens the otherworldly quality of her storyline. —Jo Anne Triplett
Pyro Gallery
624 W. Main St.
587-0106
www.pyrogallery.com
<ART>
Through March 1
‘Urban Landscapes’ by David Shiner
David Shiner’s oil paintings of architecture are vivid in color and detail. Especially color — if all buildings were really these hues, we would be living in Disney World.
But the rich colors do not distract from the details of the architecture itself — rose windows, arches and rooflines that are sharply rendered, yet compositionally flat, as if actually cutouts of buildings. This abstraction is further enhanced by the play of light and shadow that undulates across the surfaces. This is an urban landscape that is worthy of a visit.
F.A.T. Friday is Jan. 26, and B. Deemer Gallery is hosting a reception for the artist from 6-8 p.m. And speaking of F.A.T. Friday, Thrown Together is having a party during the Trolley Hop to celebrate its second anniversary. Go to 1806 Frankfort Ave. for food, drink and performances. There better be cake! —Jo Anne Triplett
B. Deemer Gallery
2650 Frankfort Ave.
896-6687
www.bdeemer.com
Free; 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. (Mon.-Fri.), 10 a.m.-3 p.m. (Sat.)