D espite encroaching snow banks, New Haven manages to be a two-way street this week. On Wednesday, two postponed creative mixers get second chances. Thursday, two plays enjoy opening nights, including one starring a “Dynamic Duo.” Saturday, two gallery openings pull us in a couple of directions.
Monday, February 2
Yale associate professor of psychology Laurie Santos helps us celebrate Groundhog Day today with “Mind-Reading: Animal Minds and Magic,” a free talk offering insights into the thoughts of critters like Punxsutawney Phil. Delivered in conjunction with the ongoing Harry Potter’s World: Renaissance, Science, Magic and Medicine exhibit at the Cushing/Whitney Medical Library (333 Cedar St, New Haven), Santos draws from her animal cognition research to discuss “some surprising similarities in the ways that animals think.” Noon.
Tuesday, February 3
Jordan Ciaola, lead singer of exacting alt rock band Mo Lowda and the Humble, has the croon of Marcus Mumford and the growl of Andre Williams. Parker Muntz, lead singer of soul/funk/R&B group Forest & The Evergreens, sounds like a super laid-back American version of Alex Turner. Sam Perduta, lead singer of local “garage folk” band Elison Jackson, is like Jarvis Cocker meets Dock Boggs, exaggerated voice crackings and all. So it’s an eclectic bill tonight at Cafe Nine (250 State St, New Haven; 203-789-8281), where Humble headlines, Evergreens goes second and Jackson opens. 8:30. $8.
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Wednesday, February 4
Postponed from last Wednesday, the Arts Council’s next “ArtSpot,” held inside the Shubert Theater (247 College St, New Haven) this time, happens tonight from 5:30 to 7:30. $15 at the door ($10 for Council members) gets you two glasses of wine and “delectable treats,” plus a chance to “lounge in the [Shubert’s] new VIP area, the Marcum Suite” and a “surprise serenading.”
Also rescheduled from last week is the next PechaKucha, a quarterly gathering of local speakers presenting “creative, innovative, passionate ideas” via an unrelenting “20×20” format. Using just 20 slides, shown for just 20 seconds apiece, tonight’s presenters include “local lettuce farmer” Toby Fischer, who “traces greens’ journey to your table,” and Kim Van Aelst, who “brings mad puppeteer skills to reveal what’s floating around New Haven Harbor.” Usually held at Bentara in the Ninth Square, tonight it’s at Lyric Hall (827 Whalley Ave, New Haven; 203-389-8885). Free. 7 p.m.
Thursday, February 5
Two new plays get opening nights tonight at Yale Repertory Theatre and Yale Cabaret. At the Rep (1120 Chapel St, New Haven; 203-432-1234), Familiar, offering previews since last Friday, shows us a Zimbabwean-heritage family living in America’s midwest, where a daughter’s traditional wedding plans stoke intergenerational conflict. 8 p.m., with performances through February 21. Tickets are $20-94, with discounts for Yale staff and students.
At the Cab (217 Park St, New Haven; 203-432-1566), Episode #121: Catfight, “a satirical re-imagining of the 1960s Batman television series,” deploys that show’s beloved campy trappings during a faux “live taping of the derring-dos of the Dynamic Duo!” Tonight’s show, at 8 p.m., leads the way to 8 and 11 p.m. showtimes tomorrow and Saturday. $25, or $20 for Yale employees and $14 for students.
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Friday, February 6
You’ve likely seen Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 technicolor film The Ten Commandments, which sometimes plays on TV during the holidays. You likely haven’t seen Cecil B. DeMille’s 1923 black-and-white silent film The Ten Commandments, which was meant to be screened with live organ accompaniment, and is very different in other ways. Tonight at 7 p.m., Trinity Church (corner of Temple and Chapel St, New Haven) obliges, showing the film and inviting organist Peter Krasinski of Boston to play along, with popcorn in the mix. Tickets are offered by “suggested donation”—$15 for adults, $10 for students and $5 for kids under the age of 12.
Saturday, February 7
Two opening receptions frame the city today. East Rock takes the afternoon, 2 to 5 p.m., to mark Take 4, a new exhibit at City Gallery (994 State St, New Haven; 203-782-2489) featuring works by Amy Arledge, Freddi Elton, Jane Harris and Sheila Kaczmarek. (Arledge’s “Sundogs and Satellites,” made from cold wax and oil paint, is pictured above.) Westville takes the evening, 6 to 8 p.m., to mark the opening of Sculptures at DaSilva Gallery (899 Whalley Ave, New Haven; 203-387-2539), featuring both “new and old” work by found-object artist Silas Finch.
Sunday, February 8
This weekend, the Whitney Humanities Center (53 Wall St, New Haven) hosts a Bioethics Film Festival put on by Yale’s Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics. Screening two movies Saturday and a third today, at 3 p.m. yesterday was Spanish-language flick The Sea Inside (2004), based on a true story about a “quadriplegic fisherman’s battle for legal permission to commit suicide,” as ICB director Stephen Latham describes it. At 7 p.m. was Gattaca (1997), which follows a genetically flawed man’s clandestine attempts to achieve greatness within a eugenics-dominated culture. Finally, at 3 p.m. today, it’s Sound and Fury (2000), a documentary examining some of the more abstract ethical issues surrounding cochlear implants for children. Stick around past the credits for faculty member-led discussions probing the topics at hand. Free.
Written by Dan Mims. Photo, depicting “Sundogs and Satellites” by Amy Arledge, taken by Ms. Arledge. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations and prices before attending events.
