Welcome to the weekend, Phoenicians. Here's how to spend it.
Whitney Cummings @ Tempe Improv Don't let her size fool you; Whitney Cummings is a comedy machine.
The actress, writer, comedian, and executive television producer has made a name for herself as a former cast member of Punk'd, a frequent contributor to Chelsea Lately, a co-creator of CBS' 2 Broke Girls, and the creator and star of NBC's recently canceled Whitney.
See also: The Five Hottest FILFs AMC Theatres Coming to Centerpoint on Mill in Downtown Tempe
Named "one of the most powerful women in lowbrow comedy" by Vulture, Cummings' stand-up gives an edgy unapologetic look into the ass-backward world of dating and beyond. From men and relationships to self-grooming and the inner-workings of the female mind, Cummings' takes on daily encounters are as honest as they are hilarious.
Cummings takes her one-woman show to Tempe Improv, 930 East University Drive. Showtimes are 7:30 and 10 p.m. Friday, June 14, and 7 and 10 p.m. Saturday, June 15. Tickets are $28. Visit www.tempeimprov.com. -- Katie Johnson
See also: Whitney Cummings on Why Her Show Whitney Got Canceled and Returning to Stand-Up
Cheaters @ Phoenix Center for the Arts New relationships are full of all sorts of hurdles. There's the first time you spend the night together, meeting your significant other's friends, and, if there's long-term potential, meeting the parents. It's pretty nerve-wracking.
And if you think the parentals in Meet the Fockers were bad, Cheaters makes you realize it can be so much worse. The play escalates the Meet the Parents concept as young lovers Allen and Michelle discover that their parents are secretly sleeping around - with one another. Allen's mom and Michelle's dad are a good match, and so are Michelle's mom and Allen's dad. Oblivious, Allen and Michelle are in the middle of the chaos, and hilarity ensues.
Fall in love with Cheaters on Friday, June 14, at 7:30 p.m. at Phoenix Center of the Arts, 1202 North Third Street. Performances continue through Sunday, June 16. All-ages tickets are $26. Call 602-254-3100 or visit www.phoenixcenterforthearts.org. -- Melissa Fossum
See also: Carefree Theatre Company's Charming Cheaters at Phoenix Center for the Arts
The Wizard @ Phoenix Art Museum Before Google Glass, there was the Power Glove. The wearable Nintendo controller is practically a supporting character in The Wizard, the 1989 film screening Saturday, June 15, in conjunction with the Phoenix Art Museum's exhibit "The Art of the Video Games."
Corey (played by Fred Savage) jets from his broken home to break out his just-institutionalized little brother and Nintendo Entertainment System genius, Jimmy. On the run, they encounter Haley (a 13-year-old Jenny Lewis; yes, the singer-songwriter) who hips them to a video game contest in L.A. with a $50,000 prize. The flick is enjoyable as an ironic cult classic even though it progresses as predictably as you'd expect a feature-length Nintendo commercial to play out.
See The Wizard at the 1625 North Central Avenue, at 2 p.m. The screening is free with general admission ($15 for adults) to the museum. Call 602-257-1222 or see www.phxart.org. -- Jose Gonzalez
See also: Phoenix Art Museum to Feature Artcade Show Games in July
7 Minutes in Heaven @ Space 55 Chances are, if you survived middle school, you probably were forced to play seven minutes in heaven, a game that trapped two hormonal adolescents in a closet for seven minutes of pure nervous tension, excitement, comedy, and drama. If only we could bottle the energy of these improvised closet encounters and take it to the stage...
Cue, Space 55. The 2013 Big Brain Award winner for Performance Art invites you to partake in some theatrical chaos as it celebrates its seventh anniversary of 7 Minutes in Heaven. This summer series show gives an eclectic batch of performers seven minutes each to express their creativity on stage, be it through song and dance, sketch comedy and cartwheels, or pie-throwing and pantomime. Hate it or love it, each show of the unexpected is broken down into a brief seven minutes. The "anything-goes variety show" returns to the stage at 9 p.m. Saturday, June 15, at Space 55, 636 East Pierce Street. Tickets are $10. Visit www.space55.org. -- Katie Johnson
"Heliopolis" @ Night Gallery Daniel Levick is a big-picture kind of guy. With his latest work, on view at Arizona State University's Night Gallery, the artist used satellite imagery from online mapping sites and employed collage to transform the images into his imagined desert city "Heliopolis."
"The map-like qualities of these images are intentionally altered in an effort to bring them to a place on the very shores of reality; a place where symbols and markings emerging from the landscape hover on the edge of intentionality and readability," Levick writes. "In co-opting this type of content, I hope to ask the viewer to consider this new form of visual power and the nature of the society from which it emerges."
See the world from a new point of view when the exhibition is on view from 6 to 9 p.m. Sunday, June16, and through Sunday, September 1. Admission is free. For more information, visit www.art.asu.edu/gallery/night. -- Becky Bartkowski
See New Times Calendar for things to do every day of the week.
