Calendar ready? Good. Here's what to pencil in this week.
"Women Who Rock" @ Musical Instrument Museum Does Taylor Swift rock? That's the consensus, as several items from the pop star, from clothing to handwritten lyrics, are part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "Women Who Rock: Vision, Passion, Power" exhibit at the Musical Instrument Museum. More to the "rock" point are the White Stripes' Meg White's bass drum, a skimpy Tina Turner costume, a Stevie Nicks ensemble, and Chrissie Hynde's red leather jacket.
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Yet, despite the "rock" aspect of the title, the exhibit's intention is showcasing a century of women musicians -- from country to blues, punk to pop -- who made inroads into what is still a male-dominated world. Broken up somewhat chronologically, the exhibit starts with jazz and blues icons like Billie Holiday and Sister Rosetta Tharpe, girl groups, 1960s counter culture, '70s rockers, punk and post-punk, pop, and finally, the'90s to present day. The café will feature special fare, but if that doesn't suffice, Lady Gaga's infamous meat dress will be hanging nearby.
See which women rock at MIM, 4725 East Mayo Boulevard. Tickets are $10, or $7 with full museum admission. Visit www.mim.org or call 480-478-6000. -- Glenn BurnSilver
"Crafting a Continuum: Rethinking Contemporary Craft" @ ASU Art Museum You think you've got crafting down pat just because you bought Martha Stewart's glitter in all 24 colors? Wrong-o, pal. For proof that crafts take more than DIY spirit and ish you bought at Hobby Lobby, head to ASU Art Museum's exhibition "Crafting a Continuum: Rethinking Contemporary Craft."
It's the first exhibition to present ASU Art Museum and the Ceramics Research Center's shared collections of craft works, including around 100 pieces in wood, fiber, and ceramics. Pieces in the show include a bicycle woven from vines by Jarbas Lopes, Huang Binyan's porcelain rabbit, and Tom Eckert's Tank Chair, crafted from solid maple. Let's see you try that at home. (Just kidding -- don't.)
See the exhibition at ASU Art Museum, 51 East 10th Street, through Saturday, December 7. Admission is free. Visit www.asuartmuseum.asu.edu or call 480-965-2787. -- Becky Bartkowski
Evita @ Gammage Auditorium The best we can say about Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber is that when he writes about real people (rather than, say, cats, rollerskating choo-choo trains, or creepy fictional guys who live under opera houses), he creates quite moving musical theater scores. And despite accusations that Evita contains historical inaccuracies about its title character -- popular, activist wife of former Argentine president Juan Perón -- it also contains as much mid-century Argentine history as most of us will ever assimilate. Even if you've never seen the show, surely you've heard at least a few bars of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina," which has been covered by everyone from Karen Carpenter (!) to Sinéad O'Connor.
Through Sunday, December 8, wallow in the current Evita tour, based on 2012's Broadway revival, at Tempe's Gammage Auditorium, 1200 South Forest Avenue. Wednesday, December 4's curtain is 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 to $74 at www.ticketmaster.com or 480-965-3434. -- Julie Peterson
Art Out Loud: Poetry in the Galleries @ Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art While it's true that we enjoy art that speaks for itself, we really get a kick out of art that speaks through other people. For one night only, the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Arts invites one artistic medium to inspire another as it lends some of its current exhibitions to creative translators.
A selection of talented performers, including poets Sally Ball, Allyson Boggess, Cynthia Schwartzberg Edlow, Logan Phillips, Mark Haunschild, and Pinna Joseph, deliver words inspired by the exhibitions "Narrow Road to the Interior: Contemporary Japanese Artists" and Julianne Swartz's "How Deep Is Your" for SMoCA's Art Out Loud: Poetry in the Musuem Galleries.
Art turns up the volume at 7 p.m. Thursday, December 5, at 7374 East Second Street. Admission is free but interested guests should RSVP by contacting [email protected]. For more information, visit www.smoca.org or call 480-874-4666. -- Katie Johnson
Ballet Arizona Presents The Nutcracker @ Symphony Hall When it comes to holiday traditions, traveling with Clara to the Land of Sweets is one of our favorites. We know The Nutcracker is supposed to be a treat for the kids, but as soon as we hear those first few notes of the Russian Trepak scene, we know it's officially Christmastime.
Ballet Arizona Creative Director Ib Anderson once again stages the classic holiday show set to Tchaikovsky's well-loved musical score, which will be performed live by the Phoenix Symphony. Whether your favorite part is the dancing sugarplums, life-sized toys, shimmering snowflakes, or Mother Ginger and all her little children, The Nutcracker is bound to bring back sweet holiday memories.
Ballet Arizona's The Nutcracker opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday, December 6, at Symphony Hall, 75 North Second Street. Performances run through Tuesday, December 24. Tickets range from $25 to $135. For more information, visit www.balletaz.org or call 602-381-1096. -- Lauren Saria
