We know, the beginning of the work week sucks. But if you take a quick look at the calendar, you'll see we're off to a pretty good week of art events, sports games, dance parties, and more. Here are our must-see events from now to the weekend...
Monday, January 14: Barrett-Jackson @ WestWorld of Scottsdale We love our cars in Phoenix. With the spread of the land we occupy, how could we not? Miles upon miles are covered with various modes of transportation that represent our personalities, lifestyles, and a way to get from point A to B. History and innovation have spawned thousands of enthusiasts, collectors, and connoisseurs of four-wheeled acceleration, and there's a place that brings them together in an annual gathering of awe.
See also: - Jane Austen's Emma from Arizona Theatre Company Is Both Loyal and Funny - Manifestos: Jackalope Ranch's Poster Show of Life Lessons and Rules by Phoenix Creatives - Becky Bartkowski Reviews "Fashion of the 1920s" at Phoenix Art Museum in This Week's Issue of New Times
The Barrett-Jackson car auction will start right up and run smooth at Westworld of Scottsdale, 16601 North Pima Road, Sunday, January 13, through Sunday, January 20. Since 1971, the auction has drawn in fans from all over the world to witness offerings of master craftsmanship that revisit the past in spectacular fashion. From the elegance of a 1939 Bentley to the raw muscle of a Mach 1 Mustang, these beauties will leave you tempted to take out a second mortgage. On second thought, it might prove smarter to partake in test drives, games, live entertainment, and food from El Hefe. Price: Daily tickets range from $8 to $55. Weeklong passes are $100 to $130 -- Craig Smith
Tuesday, January 15: "Trajectory" @ ASU Art Museum Tempe has welcomed traveling Portuguese artist Miguel Palma to the ASU Art Museum, 699 South Mill Avenue, to show his work exploring the Southwest's unique desert landscape. As a part of the Desert Initiative: Desert One regional collaboration, the exhibition, "Trajectory," investigates Manifest Destiny and the military history of the American Southwest.
The artist developed a "Desert Initiative Remote Shuttle," which he used to gather images of the arid desert landscape. Along with the images it collected, the shuttle will be on display as a part of the show. The work serves as a visual representation of exploration with ties to the local history, investigating how the past will affect the futures of both terrestrial and extraterrestrial exploration. -- Lauren Saria
Tuesday, January 15: "Catherine the Great and The Theater of Power" @ Changing Hands Bookstore Too often discussions of history revolve around the prettiest, richest, and Frenchest. Case in point: Marie Antoinette gets a helluva lot more airtime than Catherine the Great. Never mind that Antoinette totally sucked at queening, and German-born Russian Empress Catherine had drama (and successes) aplenty.
Mark Cruse and Hilde Hoogenboom will give ol' Cath her due during their talk "Catherine the Great and The Theater of Power." The lecture will focus on how the ruler put up a strong front for her people, in spite of tumultuous events including, but not limited to, her hubby's assassination by her baby daddy's brother. Where's her Sofia Coppola adaptation? Price: Free; RSVP encouraged as seating is limited. -- Becky Bartkowski
Thursday, January 17: Arizona Theatre Company: Jane Austen's Emma @ Herberger Theater Center Mere months before the BBC's Colin Firth-adorned Pride and Prejudice and Ang Lee's charming Sense and Sensibility launched an as-yet-unabated Jane Austen craze on our shores, there was 1995's Clueless, which was, we learned, Austen's Emma retold in contemporary Beverly Hills.
Emma's fabulosity is now a stage musical that gilds the Regency stuffiness and historical panache with the spirit and humor of writer-composer Paul Gordon (Daddy Long Legs). Arizona Theatre Company's Phoenix run of Jane Austen's Emma continues through January 20, and fans of hilarious, overconfident matchmaking mistakes played out through witty banter, gossip, fancy-dress balls, and picnics will flock to Herberger Theater Center in droves. Some of them may even be accompanied by men. (Kidding!) Price: $27.50-$78.50-- Julie Peterson
Friday, January 18: "Modern Spirit: Fashion of the 1920s" @ Phoenix Art Museum Although Baz Luhrmann's highly anticipated film adaptation of The Great Gatsby, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Carrie Mulligan, was pushed back from its originally scheduled winter 2012 release to summer 2013, there are plenty of other places to spot Jazz Age influence during the cooler seasons. You'll see the roaring '20s in HBO's returning Prohibition drama Boardwalk Empire and in styles hanging around from spring's Art Deco runway explosion. Phoenix Art Museum fashion curator Dennita Sewell's latest exhibition, "Modern Spirit: Fashion of the 1920s," also reflects the Daisy Buchanan trend.
The show chronicles the style evolution spurred by women gaining rights and finding sexual liberation. Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel and Madeleine Vionnet's rising hemlines, dropped waists, and sport-inspired styles embraced the social changes women experienced and gave them the proper attire, simple yet luxurious, to complement it. Price: Adults pay $15, seniors $12, students $10, kids between six and 17 pay $6, and those under six get in free. After 3 p.m. on Wednesdays and 6 p.m. on First Fridays, admission is free to all -- Becky Bartkowski
Check out more things to do today (and everyday) in our Calendar section ...
