november 12
Phoenix College's theater-arts department continues its season with The Imaginary Invalid (Le Malade imaginaire), the last comic masterpiece of the great French dramatist Moliere, freely adapted by its director, Larry Soller. It's the story of Argan, who is sure that he's gravely ill, and who is encouraged in this belief by a variety of parasitical doctors, lawyers and pharmacists--as well as his wife. Moliere was actually ill when he wrote this play in 1673, but it wasn't imaginary; he died on stage the same year, while acting in it. Performances are at 8 p.m. Thursday, November 12; noon and 8 p.m. Friday, November 13; 8 p.m. Saturday, November 14; 2 p.m. Sunday, November 15; and 8 p.m. Wednesday, November 18--this performance is an entry in the American College Theatre Festival. John Paul Theatre on the PC campus, 1202 West Thomas. Admission is $8, $6 for seniors, $4 for students. 285-7300.
Regarded by many as the greatest of all American plays, Eugene O'Neill's torturous autobiographical domestic tragedy A Long Day's Journey Into Night continues the season for the state's official professional theatrical entity, Arizona Theatre Company, in Center Stage at Herberger Theater Center, 222 East Monroe. The story concerns the Tyrones, a well-to-do theatrical family with a predilection for one type of substance abuse or another. The run begins with performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, November 12; and the same time Friday, November 13 (a "pay-what-you-can" performance); and Saturday, November 14; 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, November 15; and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, November 18. Tickets range from $20 to $33, with discounts available for senior adults, students, military personnel and those in groups of 10 or more; they're available at Herberger and Dillard's box offices. The run continues through Saturday, November 28. 252-TIXS (8497), 503-5555.
friday
november 13
Employing instrumentation ranging from dulcimer to tin whistle to sitar to dumbek to spoons, and drawing "largely from the Celtic tradition with influences from Medieval, raga, jazz and rock," the Bay Area ensemble Four Shillings Short plays in the Valley, in support of its sixth recording, appetizingly titled The Boggy Spew. The group performs from 9 p.m. to midnight Friday, November 13, at Bandersnatch Brewpub, 125 East Fifth Street in Tempe. There's no cover. 966-4438.
Touring behind their latest CD, White Trash Heroes, North Carolina's Archers of Loaf perform on Friday, November 13, at Boston's, 910 North McClintock in Tempe. See the story on page 105. Showtime is 8 p.m.; Swell, and Trunk Federation are slated to share the bill. Tickets, available at such area record stores as Stinkweeds and Eastside, and through Dillards--and at the door--are $10. 921-7343; 503-5555.
saturday
november 14
Flute virtuoso Herbie Mann and his Quartet top the marquee at the fourth annual Cool Desert Jazz Festival, which also includes performances by Khani Cole, Joe McBride, Turning Point and Desert City Six. The fun starts at 11 a.m. Saturday, November 14, at Estrella Mountain Ranch in Goodyear. Admission is $10; kids get in free with an accompanying grown-up. 935-6384.
Not as well-known as she ought to be--she's still touring in a VW van with her cat, Tosca, serving as her road manager--Seattle's Jill Cohn gives a free show at 8 p.m. Saturday, November 14, at Borders Books & Music at 7320 West Bell in Glendale. 487-9110.
sunday
november 15
Walkers on both two and four legs will participate in the 1998 Walk for Homeless Animals from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, November 15, at Paradise Valley Community College, 32nd Street and Union Hills. 2K and 5K courses are available; both pass through the no-kill shelter of the Animal Benefit Club of Arizona, the beneficiary of the event. Pledges must be raised to participate. 867-2169.
More charitable perambulating: World Hunger Ecumenical Arizona Task Force (WHEAT; Do you ever wonder how long it takes them to think that stuff up?) sponsors the annual Crop Walk, a portion of the proceeds from which benefit Westside Food Bank, starting at 2 p.m. Sunday, November 15, at Margaret T. Hance Deck Park, Central and Culver, and at Shepherd of the Desert Lutheran Church, 11025 North 111th Street in Sun City; registration precedes at 1:30 p.m. Pledges packets can be had by calling 242-3663.
Or, if you're just not into walking, consider the third annual Ride for the Children, an incremental 10-, 25- or 50-mile bicycle ride starting at 8 a.m. Sunday, November 15, at Desert Horizon Park, 56th Street and Paradise Lane; sign-up precedes at 7 a.m. Proceeds benefit the Thomas J. Pappas School for Homeless Children. 585-3039.
Or, if running is your thing, there's always the New Times 10K, which both starts and finishes at Bank One Ball Park this year. Events begin at 7:15 a.m. Sunday, November 15. Registration is $20 through Saturday, November 14; $25 the day of the race. Registration forms are available at New Times, Norwest Bank branches and Albertsons, with instant registration at Runner's Den Walking Room (277-4333), The Strapped Jock (547-6995), Crossroads Cycling and Fitness (561-1007) or Ski Pro (962-6910).
monday
november 16
Those who share Gomez Addams' unbridled amorous enthusiasm for the language of France might want to avoid the vicinity of French Chatters, but those who can control their passions might want to check out the conversation group, which meets at 6 p.m. Monday, November 16, and the first and third Monday of every subsequent month (excluding December) at Borders Books & Music at 1361 South Alma School in Mesa. Admission is free. 833-2244.
tuesday
november 17
"It may be that few Americans know Cuba as well as Tom Miller does," according to the editor of The Reader's Companion to Cuba. Miller's tome, Trading With the Enemy: A Yankee Travels Through Castro's Cuba, is "required reading for anyone who proposes to visit--or even talk about--Cuba today." The ASU Art Museum proposes to talk about Cuba, and they're bringing in the expert. Miller, who lives in Tucson, visits Cuba several times a year exploring the lesser-known parts of the island. As part of the ASU Art Museum speaker series accompanying "Contemporary Art From Cuba: Irony and Survival on the Utopian Island," Miller will speak at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, November 17, in lecture hall AED 60 of the College of Architecture and Environmental Design (north) building on the topic "A Street-Level Look at Cuba." Copies of Trading With the Enemy will be available afterward for Miller to sign. Admission is free. 965-2787.
Final Exit author Derek Humphry and Arizona right-to-die advocate Mary Clement speak about the history and future of their movement, and sign the book they co-authored, Freedom to Die: People, Politics and the Right-to-Die Movement, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, November 17, at Borders Books & Music at Biltmore Fashion Park, 24th Street and Camelback, Suite 200. Admission is free, 957-6660.
wednesday
november 18
The second annual Arizona Hunter-Jumper Association Year-End Horse Show kicks off from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday November 18, at WestWorld of Scottsdale, 16601 North Pima. Riders from around the West compete for a total of $50,000 in prize dough, including a $10,000 Grand Prix. The competition continues daily through Sunday, November 22; it's free to spectate every day but the last (admission to the Sunday competition is $5 for adults, $3 for those 17 and younger). 527-2401; 483-8800.
