Your best bets for getting out and about this week are here, Phoenix.
Jenni Pulos' life plan didn't pan out. She didn't end up being the second coming of Gilda Radner on Saturday Night Live. UCLA was not interested in her performing as their mascot. And her rap duo? Yeah, they didn't hit the big time.
See also: Bravo's Jenni Pulos Talks Jeff Lewis, How to Fail in Showbiz, and Her New Book
But the actress, who grew up in Scottsdale, loves they way things turned out. She's executive assistant to designer and house-flipper Jeff Lewis on Bravo's Flipping Out and Interior Therapy. She's happily married with an almost-1-year-old. And how she got there is the basis of new book, Grin and Bear It, which she happily calls a "how not to" guide to getting through rough patches. Her philosophy? "Embrace rejection," she says. "Embrace failure." That's where you'll really learn and get closer to whatever it is you're trying to accomplish, she says.
Pulos will sign her memoir at Changing Hands Bookstore, 6428 South McClintock Drive in Tempe, at 7 p.m. on Monday, May 19. Two tickets come with purchase of the hardcover, which is $24.99. Visit www.changinghands.com or call 480-730-0205. See www.jennipulos.com. -- Becky Bartkowski
With the way our technology is advancing, it's looking more and more likely that robots will be running the show in a few decades. We're not sure how or when it will happen, but the idea hardly seems far-fetched when we already have robots to clean our house (like in The Jetsons) and fight wars for us (like in Terminator).
If you want to get a head start on ingratiating yourself to your eventual robot overlords, then you might want to check out "Art of the Robot" at the I.D.E.A. museum, 150 West Pepper Place in Mesa. The exhibit features works from 15 different artists, including Aaron Voigt of Mesa and Doug Brannan of Buckeye.
Hours Tuesday, May 20, are 9 a.m. to closes at 4 p.m. Admission is $7. The exhibit is on view through Sunday, May 25. For more information, call 480-644-4332 or visit www.ideamuseum.org. -- Ed Kummerer
As Danny DeVito in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia will vouch, trolls operating toll bridges are usually bad news. While typical trolls are quite greedy, they're also easy to fool. Just look at the classic story of "Three Billy Goats Gruff." A family of goats esnts to cross a river in search of food, but a hungry troll stands in their way. The goats cross in order of size, but the largest goat is more than the troll can handle, so the family makes it out scot-free. This month, The Great Arizona Puppet Theatre tells this classic tale with colorful puppets.
Enjoy family fun at The Three Billy Goats Gruff, which opens at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, May 21, at the Great Arizona Puppet Theatre, 302 West Latham Street. Tickets are $7 for children and $9 for adults. Call 602-262-2050 or visit www.azpuppets.org. -- Melissa Fossum
Working on building muscle while building up a tolerance to alcohol? Phoenix-based fitness network Flipn' Fit can help with that. The local Seed Spot startup has partnered with fitness studios throughout the metro Phoenix area to deliver a diverse set of classes in its free fitness series, Work Out. Wine Down. Open to the general public, these classes offer an array of poolside classes including boxing, barre, and yoga, followed by an endorphin-fueled happy hour and giveaways.
Work Out. Wine Down. happens every Thursday throughout the month of May at The Saguaro Hotel Pool, 4000 North Drinkwater Boulevard, Scottsdale. Workout classes run from 6 to 7 p.m. Giveaways and drink specials run from 7 to 8 p.m. Classes are free and yoga mats are provided to those who need them. For a detailed look at upcoming classes and to register, visit www.getflipnfit.com/winedown or call 480-720-8138.
Things we didn't know about Mel Brooks' 1974 film Young Frankenstein: • Brooks and Gene Wilder came up with the idea during a coffee break on the set of Blazing Saddles. • Most of the lab equipment props are from the 1931 original. • Aerosmith generated the lyrics for "Walk This Way" after viewing the film.
Now that it's a hit musical à la The Producers (except even better, because people had already heard of this movie), add to your trivia trove the fact that Brooks wrote all the songs (except Irving Berlin's "Puttin' on the Ritz") and that Arizona Broadway Theatre's 19-member cast brings the hilarious extravaganza to 7701 West Paradise Lane in Peoria through Sunday, June 22. Dinner (which is optional) is served at 5:30 p.m. opening night, Friday, May 23, with showtime at 7:30. Chef Alex Arce and staff generally develop starters, entrées, desserts, and cocktails that pay homage to the show, and we're a bit intrigued and intimidated simultaneously in this case. Fire bad! Show-only tickets start at $37, while dinner-and-a-show admission is $62 and up. Reserve your spot at 623-776-8400 or www.azbroadway.org. -- Julie Peterson
