october 1
He used to open for Michael Bolton, but don't hold that against George Lopez. The comic, veteran of many appearances on Carson's and Arsenio's stages, performs at 8 p.m. Thursday, October 1; 8 and 10 p.m. Friday, October 2; 8 and 10 p.m. Saturday, October 3; and 8 p.m. Sunday, October 4, at the Tempe Improv Comedy Theater, 930 East University (at Cornerstone mall). 921-9877.
friday
october 2
ASU's Lyric Opera Theatre kicks off its season with Sandy Wilson's 1953 comedy The Boy Friend, but not in the usual venue--owing to restorations, the show will be performed in the University Dance Laboratory at Nelson Fine Arts Center, 10th Street and Mill in Tempe. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Friday, October 2; 3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, October 3; 3 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, October 4; and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, October 7. Tickets are $12, $8 for seniors and students. The run continues through Saturday, October 10. 965-6447.
"Lagrima/Teardrop," an installation and show of "works inspired by the Mexican folk-art form known as 'Pano'" by Denver-based artist Carlos Fresquez, opens with a reception from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, October 2, at MARS Artspace. Also scheduled is "Pachuco in Pink," a show of new works by Fresquez. Both exhibits continue through Friday, October 30. 126 South Central, in the Luhrs building. 253-3541.
The warrior-woman of the jazz harp, Deborah Henson-Conant, sits in with Doc Severinsen and the Phoenix Symphony for a pops concert, at 8 p.m. Friday, October 2; and the same time Saturday, October 3. Tickets range from $16 to $40. Symphony Hall, 225 East Adams. 262-7272 (Phoenix Civic Plaza), 503-5555 (Dillard's).
saturday
october 3
Time once again for "Walktoberfest," a.k.a. America's Walk for Diabetes. The annual plod starts at 8 a.m. Saturday, October 3, at the Usery Mountain Recreation Area, 3939 North Usery Pass Road in Mesa; and at 8 a.m. Sunday, October 4, at Arizona Center, Third Street and Van Buren; registration precedes at 6:45 a.m. Proceeds benefit the American Diabetes Association. 1-800-254-9255.
One of the oddest instruments in the classical-music repertory, glass harmonica--or "armonica"--a network of glasses filled with varying amounts of water and played by stroking the rim with a dampened finger--was the invention of none other than Ben Franklin. Armonica wasn't just a novelty, however--it enjoyed enough of a vogue for Mozart to have composed several works for it. Prescott musician Lynn Drye plays the Mozart quintet for the instrument, along with other works, at a concert presented by the Prescott Fine Arts Association. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. Saturday, October 3, at PFAA Theater, Marina and Willis. Tickets are $6 for adults, $3 for those under 17. 1-520-445-3286.
sunday
october 4
Four jazz pianists, each a current or former Valley resident, take the stage together for "The Gig--A Jazz Reunion," a concert presented by the local recording and publishing outfit Akira Music. Featured are local fave Armand Boatman, Sedona Jazz on the Rocks fixture Keith Greko, Kansas City Women's Jazz Festival veteran Nadine Jansen, and Pete Jolley, who played the theme for Archie Bunker's Place and dubbed Clint Eastwood in Honkytonk Man. Showtime is 3 p.m. Sunday, October 4, at Kerr Cultural Center, 6110 North Scottsdale Road in Scottsdale. Tickets are $15.50 for general admission, $17.50 for reserved seating. 965-5377 (Kerr), 503-5555 (Dillard's).
Actor Ken Love, fresh from a tough weekend as Shylock in Southwest Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice (see feature), plays the lead in Reaching, a study of the effects of alcoholism on an African-American family. Actor's Workout, Inc., presents the show as another in its "Project Risk" series of "holding book" performances, rehearsed no more than three times. Performances are scheduled for 3:30 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, October 4; and 7 p.m. Monday, October 5, at the Church of the White Spire, 1407 North Second Street. Admission is free; donations are welcomed. 631-9251.
monday
october 5
For the benefit of Prospect House, a new 84-bed shelter for victims of domestic violence, the annual Faith House Agencies Golf Classic begins with registration at 11 a.m. Monday, October 5; the shotgun start is at 1 p.m., following a lunch buffet. Awards, raffles, a silent auction and hors d'oeuvres and a no-host bar wrap up the day at 5 p.m. The fee to enter is $100. Camelback Golf Club, 7847 North Mockingbird Lane in Scottsdale. 941-1150.
tuesday
october 6
Described as a "poodle-skirt-wearin', redheaded-ponytail-tyin', '62 Thunderbird-drivin', hepcat-jive-spoutin' daughter of a rodeo queen," singer-guitarist Kim Lenz, backed up by her Jaguars (drummer Dutch the Cattlebaron, guitarist Mike Lester and bassist Jake Erwin), plays rockabilly--old-school. The Dallas, Texas, group is scheduled at 9 p.m. Tuesday, October 6, at the Rhythm Room, 1019 East Indian School. The cover is $5. 265-4842.
As good a painter as you may be, is it possible that, say, Rembrandt or Leonardo could offer you a pointer or two? Art instructor and Parsons School of Design grad Joshua Fallik gives a talk on how these and others of the old-master school used techniques like light flow, shading and spatial effects to incorporate narrative elements into their work, and how these same techniques may be used by modern painters. The lecture, sponsored by the Scottsdale Artists League, is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, October 6, at the headquarters building of the Rural/Metro Fire Department, 8401 East Indian School in Scottsdale. Admission is free, and all are welcome. 812-1076.
Or, if your taste in art runs more to the contemporary, there's photographer Duane Michaels, whose 1996 narrative photo-with-text exhibition "Salute, Walt Whitman" continues through Sunday, November 29, at ASU's Nelson Fine Arts Center, with lectures about his work at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, October 6, in the north wing of the architecture building (AED 60 in the basement), located at the intersection of University and Myrtle. After the talk, Michaels will be available to sign books at Nelson Center. Refreshments will be served. 965-2787.
wednesday
october 7
The "CosmoCeltic" sounds--presumably hybrid of Irish folk with New Age--of Gabriel of Sedona and the Bright & Morning Star Band ring through Patriots Square from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, October 7, as part of City of Phoenix's "Sights 'n' Sounds" entertainment series. The ensemble is to combine brass and bagpipes and 20 voices with jazz instrumentation. Admission is free. Central and Washington. 204-1206.
The opening show of the 1998-99 season for Phoenix College's theater-arts department, The Alchemist, isn't Ben Jonson's great satire. Subtitled A Fable About Following Your Dreams, the play was adapted by its director, Eliana Argamin, from a novel by Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho. Argamin describes it as "The Little Prince meets The English Patient." There's an opening preview at 8 p.m. Wednesday, October 7, at John Paul Theatre on the PC campus, 1202 West Thomas. Admission to this show is a can of nonperishable food for donation to the Joshua Tree Feeding Program for HIV/AIDS sufferers. The run proper starts on Thursday, October 8; regular admission is $8, $6 for seniors, $4 for students. 285-7300.
