5 Cool Things to Do in Metro Phoenix This Week

"Super Heroes" 

Move over Avengers — the real “Super Heroes” are here. The newest Heard Museum art exhibition offers a Native American view point on what makes a super hero. These views, mostly drawings and works on paper, include animals, humans and magical beings who fight “evil” in everyday life, as well as people who’ve heroically overcome great odds to succeed.

Take a look between 9:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Monday, June 1, at 2301 North Central Avenue. General admission is $18, seniors pay $13.50 , and students and children 6 to 12 pay $7.50. Admission is free for American Indians and children 5 and under. Call 602-252-8848 or visit www.heard.org. Glenn BurnSilver

Eddie Izzard

His literal run of 43 different marathons in 51 days in 2009 aside, Eddie Izzard is a marathon man of stage and screen whether he’s musing in stand-up gigs or stealing scenes in outings like Ocean’s 13 and NBC’s Hannibal. The British comic’s masterful stream-of-consciousness style rambles across a variety of topics like human history, mythology, religion, and his own transvestism, and can pull them all together in a single riotous punchline. Comedic icon John Cleese has called the Izzard “The Lost Python.” You’re not better than Cleese, so you should be totally impressed.

Eddie Izzard performs at the Orpheum Theatre, 203 West Adams Street, on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 2 and 3, starting at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $47 to $69. Visit www.orpheumtheatrephx.com for more info. Jose Gonzalez


"One-of-a-Kind"

In a world of Dubsmash videos, #nomakeup selfies, and misattributed inspirational quotes pinned and re-pinned to infinity, originality isn’t so easily encountered. But the photographic works by artists including David Emitt Adams and Betty Hahn found in Phoenix Art Museum’s “One-of-a-Kind” are not so easily duplicated. By virtue of process, these Polaroids, daguerreotypes, and drawn-on photos are succinctly  singular. Take them all in at 1625 North Central Avenue, through Monday, October 19. Hours on Thursday, May 21, are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $15 for adults. Visit www.phxart.org or call 602-257-1880. Becky Bartkowski

Paolo Bacigalupi

Imagine a future where water shortages in the Southwest have finally led to bloodshed. That’s the basic conceit of Paolo Bacigalupi’s newest thriller The Water Knife, which he will discuss this week at Changing Hands Bookstore Phoenix, 300 West Camelback Road. The story follows Angel Velasquez, a detective, assassin, and spy, who cuts water for the Southern Nevada Water Authority, as he uncovers the sinister underpinnings of the drought.

Hear Bacigalupi talk about his newest book on Thursday, June 4. Your ticket (which admits two) comes free with the purchase of The Water Knife ($25.95) from Changing Hands. Seating begins at 6:30 p.m., and the reading starts at 7. For more information, call 602-274-0067 or visit changinghands.com. Katrina Montgomery

Summer Opening Celebration

Technically summer starts on the 21st, but those of us who’ve survived at least one sweltering season know it hits the Valley of the Sun far earlier. Luckily this also applies to the gamut of summer fun: summer savings, summer concerts, and summer events — like the new exhibitions at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art.

Catch the end of some, middle weeks of others, and the debut of a few at the annual Summer Opening Celebration. The evening of art is held in time for new exhibits “MetaModern,” an exploration of mid-century and modern design objects, and “Jennifer Marman and Daniel Borins: The Collaborationists,” a groundbreaking installation of sculpture and sound art unique to SMoCA.

Enjoy the air conditioning and celebrate the new season(s) starting at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 5, at 7374 East Second Street. Admission is free and open to the public. The museum closes at 9 p.m. Visit www.smoca.org or call 480-874-4666. Janessa Hilliard

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