5 Best Things to Do in Metro Phoenix This Week

New Times picks the best things to do in metro Phoenix from Monday, September 26, through Thursday, September 29. For more, see our curated calendar of events. 

Debate Watch
Think there’s still a place for civility in politics? Join fellow optimists at a free Debate Watch happening from 5:45 to 8 p.m. on Monday, September 26. It’s a classy alternative to staying home and screaming at your own TV screen or digital device.

Presented by Arizona Humanities, the Debate Watch is your chance to witness moderator Lester Holt throw questions to Clinton and Trump at Hofstra University in New York, while surrounding yourself with people who plan on keeping their cool that night. Want to test their resolve? Wear your best Bernie gear, or ask about their basket of deplorables.

The Debate Watch takes place at two locations: ASU Memorial Union, 301 East Orange Street in Tempe, and Mesa Public Library, 64 East First Street. Visit www.azhumanities.org. Lynn Trimble

"Her Little Machines"
Though its shelves are lined with escapes ready for the taking, Burton Barr Central Library’s gallery offers yet another opportunity to travel to a place where your imagination can run wild. Kenosha Drucker’s exhibition, “Her Little Machines,” collects three of the artist’s miniseries and gives a look at a conjured world that’s all Drucker’s own. Whether her works portray a parallel universe, a dreamscape, or a look into our distant past or future is entirely up to you, the viewer, to decide. Have a look at the free show, on view at 1221 North Central Avenue, through Friday, October 14. Hours on Tuesday, September 27, are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. For details, see www.phoenixpubliclibrary.org or call 602-262-4636. Becky Bartkowski

Private Collections Tour
Much is known about the famed Frank Lloyd Wright, whose homes and designs have long been on display across the country. For those curious about the character behind these contemporary structures, there’s a new opportunity to see the art that inspired the architect during the Private Collections Tour at Taliesin West, 12345 North Taliesin Drive in Scottsdale.

The 45-minute guided experience on Wednesday, September 28, takes participants behind the scenes of Wright’s winter homestead and into the (literal) vault. The rotating gallery exhibition is heavy on Japanese prints, woodblocks, and textiles presented in a museum-like environment alongside Wright-designed china and other collections, created for the since-demolished Imperial Hotel in Tokyo.

Tickets are $38 each. Advance registration is required. Call 480-627-5340 or visit www.franklloydwright.org/taliesin-west/index.html to purchase tickets. Janessa Hilliard


John
Stray Cat Theatre has a cozy relationship with the works of au courant playwright Annie Baker, whose John is presented by the company in its first production outside NYC, the same way Baker’s The Flick premièred here a couple of years back. When author, director, and audience all agree that a good play can be three hours long (which it can), wonderful things happen — and that lengthiness is the phase Baker’s been going through.

In John, a New York couple visits a nearly deserted Gettysburg bed-and-breakfast, whose proprietress and her buddy serve as both backdrop and catalyst for the latest chapter in a flawed romance. The production continues through Saturday, October 1, at Tempe Center for the Arts, 700 West Rio Salado Parkway. Tickets for the performance at 7 p.m. Thursday, September 29, are $25 to $30 ($15 to $20 for students). Call 480-350-2822 or visit straycattheatre.org. Julie Peterson

"Scope of Practice"
If you’re looking for something educational on a hopefully somewhat crisp Thursday evening, think about catching the “Scope of Practice: ASU Photo Faculty” exhibition on September 29, won’t you?
Students and faculty are celebrating the first exhibit at the recently renovated Northlight Gallery location at Grant Street Studios, 605 East Grant Street. “Scope of Practice” showcases the ASU faculty’s impressive cracks at using assorted processes of photography, ranging “from daguerreotype to digital to explore experience.” Subjects include day-to-day life, Yosemite National Park, and El Camino del Diablo.
Gallery hours are from noon to 5 p.m. on Thursday, September 29. The exhibition runs until Saturday, October 8. Admission is free, and the gallery is open to the public. For more details, call 480-965-6517 or visit asuevents.asu.edu. Lauren Cusimano