Calendar for the week

thursday
may 15
Seven Guitars: Arizona Theatre Company concludes its 30th-anniversary season with the state premiere of August Wilson's literary memorial to a fictional, star-crossed bluesman named Floyd "Schoolboy" Barton; San Francisco's Benny Sato Ambush directed. This week's performances are at 2 and 8 p.m. Thursday, May 15; 8 p.m. Friday, May 16; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, May 17; 1 and 7 p.m. Sunday, May 18; and 8 p.m. Wednesday, May 21, in Center Stage at Herberger Theater Center, 222 East Monroe. Wednesday's show is interpreted in American Sign Language. The run continues through Sunday, May 25. Tickets range from $19 to $32, available at Herberger and Dillard's; call 252-8497 or 503-5555.

Love! Valour! Compassion!: Terrence McNally (Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, The Lisbon Traviata) penned this work about the "lives and loves of gay men in the '90s." The Actors Group presents performances at 8 p.m. Thursday, May 15; 8 p.m. Friday, May 16; 8 p.m. Saturday, May 17; and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 18, at Phoenix Theatre's Little Theatre, located at the intersection of Alvarado and Coronado streets. The production continues through Saturday, May 24. Tickets are $16, $14 for students and seniors, available at Dillard's. For details call 252-8497 or 503-5555. (A touring production of playwright McNally's Kiss of the Spider Woman: The Musical opens Saturday; see below.)

Little Murders: In Mixed Company presents the vintage satire of urban family values and random violence by Jules Feiffer. Final performances are on Thursday, May 15; Friday, May 16; and Saturday, May 17. All start at 8 p.m. in the Studio Theater at Herberger Theater Center, 222 East Monroe. Tickets are $16.25, $13.25 for students and seniors. Call 252-8497.

friday
may 16
Tommy Davidson: The In Living Color alum and movie star--at least if you accept the notion that the execrable Booty Call was a movie--will undoubtedly nail his favorite targets, Michael Jackson and Sammy Davis Jr., to the comic wall on Friday, May 16, at the Celebrity Theatre, 440 North 32nd Street. D.L. Hughley, Shang Frobes, and Damon Williams share the stage. Showtime is 8 p.m. Tickets are $27.50 in advance, $28.50 the day of the show, available at the scene and Dillard's; call 267-1600 or 503-5555.

Arizona Rattlers: The arena-football squad takes on the Anaheim Piranhas at 7 p.m. Friday, May 16, at the "Snake Pit": America West Arena, First Street and Jefferson. The Rattlers' next home game is at the same time Saturday, May 24, against the San Jose SaberCats. Tickets range from $9 to $37, available at the arena and Dillard's. For details call 514-8383, 379-7800 or 503-5555.

Queen Ida and Her Zydeco Band: Ida Guillory, a school-bus driver turned Grammy winner, brings her accordion and her San Francisco-based crew (formerly known as the Bon Temps Zydeco Band) back to the Valley on Friday, May 16, for the band's traditional spring concert 'neath the stars at Scottsdale Center for the Arts Amphitheater, 75th Street and Main. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $18 in advance, $22 the day of the show, available at the center and Ticketmaster; call 994-2787 or 784-4444. (A cooking demo by the Queen is scheduled Thursday, May 15, in the center's Cinema; call for details.)

"Rodeo at the Rodeo": The inaugural event, centered on the toasty asphalt of the west-side parking lot at Rockin Rodeo, 7850 South Priest in Tempe, features bull-riding, games and rides, the Tempe Arm-Wrestling Championship and lots of music, including a concert by Steve Wariner (see Saturday in the Music listing). The hot fun in the sun starts at 5 p.m. Friday, May 16; 2 p.m. Saturday, May 17; and noon Sunday, May 18. For tickets and other information, call 496-0799 or 496-0889.

Little Murders: See Thursday.
Love! Valour! Compassion!: See Thursday.
Seven Guitars: See Thursday.

saturday
may 17
Kiss of the Spider Woman: The Musical: Argentinean superstar Sandra Guida enacts the title role--a fantasy figure created by a gay prisoner rotting in a South American cell--in the first national tour of this Tony-winning work. Kander and Ebb penned the score; Terrence McNally wrote the book, based on Manuel Puig's novel. Performances are scheduled at 8 p.m. Saturday, May 17; 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday, May 18; 8 p.m. Monday, May 19; 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 20; and 8 p.m. Wednesday, May 21, at Scottsdale Center for the Arts, 7380 East Second Street. Tickets are $32 and $35, available at the center and Ticketmaster; call 994-2787 or 784-4444.

Ricky Van Shelton: The soulful, Virginia-born country crooner with the golden--and platinum--baritone, misleading name (Van is his middle name, Shelton his last) and frequent-guest-star status on Baywatch returns for an all-ages show at the Celebrity Theatre, 440 North 32nd Street. It starts at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 17. Tickets are $15 and $25, available at the scene and Dillard's; call 267-1600 or 503-5555.

"Our Future in the Desert: Architectural Explorations": The Arizona VisionWeavers organization, which seeks to "harmonize commercial and private development with the Sonoran Desert environment by encouraging innovative architectural visions," sponsors this exhibition of conceptual works about desert habitation and conservation by architects from around the state. The exhibit opens with a public symposium--featuring a panel discussion and a keynote address by John Meunier, dean of the architecture school at Arizona State University--from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 17, at Scottsdale Center for the Arts, 7380 East Second Street; a gratis reception follows from 4 to 6. Symposium tickets are $25, and include lunch. The exhibit continues through Sunday, August 31, in the center's Mezzanine and Lower galleries. Viewing is free; hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays (to 8 p.m. Thursdays), noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. For details call 994-2787 or 949-5860.