This week, New Haven offers a fantastic mix of old and new. Revisit a classic with Bell, Book and Candle at the Long Wharf Theatre (pictured above) or catch the debut run of Brothers Grimm and the Showgirl at the Off Broadway Theater. Go with old school punk at Cafe Nine or dance to cutting-edge electronica at Toad’s Place. Or engage the timeless pleasures of being outdoors by learning to sing with the birds at Barnard Nature Center.
Monday, March 12
The Outer Space is getting into the live comedy racket. The club’s inaugural stand-up event is tonight at 7:30 p.m. at 295 Treadwell St., Hamden, for a mere $5. Comics include John Romanoff, Vinnie Pagano, Craig Taylor, Jerry Morgan and Chris Cerami. That’s just one buck per jokester. www.theouterspace.net/
Tuesday, March 13
Learn the colors, calls and flutters of Birds on the West River this afternoon, 3:30 p.m. at the Barnard Nature Center. West River Memorial Park, 200 Derby Ave., New Haven; 203-691-3539, tmccool@newhavenct.net.
Wednesday, March 14
Tonight is opening night for the Long Wharf Theatre presentation of John Van Druten’s magical comedy Bell, Book and Candle. This play has been seen many ways: as a metaphor for the Communist witch-hunts of the 1950s, as an allegory of closeted homosexuals in Greenwich Village, and as the inspiration for the hit 1960s TV show Bewitched.
Darko Tresnjak first directed Bell a few years ago in San Diego, and this new production will move to Hartford Stage after the Long Wharf run ends April 1. Tickets are $52-$72, with various student, senior and group discounts available. 222 Sargent Dr., New Haven. (203) 787-4282, www.longwharf.org
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Thursday, March 15
Iconic indie rock guitarist Victor Villareal, who made his name with his high school band Cap’n Jazz and has gone on to play with such illustrious acts as Owls and Joan of Arc, brings his new solo project to The Space (295 Treadwell St., Hamden; 203-288-6400, www.thespace.tk; $10). Also on the bill: Ferocious F***ing Teeth, So Is The Tongue, Amanda Dellevigne and Sinforiano Diaz.
Friday, March 16
What makes The Brothers Grimm seem a little less grim? How about The Brothers Grimm and a Showgirl? That’s the latest ingenious concept from Pantochino Productions, the local children’s theater that brought you Teen Santa and the award-winning stage adaptation of Cinderella Skeleton. The Brothers Grimm and a Showgirl riffs on such classic fairy tales as Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Rapunzel. That showgirl should fit right in. Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 & 5:30 p.m. and Sunday at noon and 2:30 p.m. at the Off Broadway Theater, 41 Broadway (actually accessible from York St., down the alley behind Toad’s Place). All tickets are $15. www.pantochino.com
Saturday, March 17
While the parade was last Sunday, today is the actual St. Patrick’s Day. We’ll be covering the more Irish-themed celebrations in Daily Nutmeg later this week.
Some of the clubs which went all “Erin Go Bragh” have already gotten back to relative normalcy. Café Nine has a classic punk line-up of Handsome Dick Manitoba and his former Dictators and Wild Kingdom bandmates Ross the Boss and Thunderbolt Patterson, plus Daniel Ray of Shrapnel and Dean Rispler of Murphy’s Law. $15. 9 p.m. 250 State St., New Haven. (203) 789-8281, cafenine.com. Toad’s Place (300 York St., New Haven; 203-624-TOAD, www.toadsplace.com), meanwhile, has a dance party—Bright Night: A Neon Glow Party, hosted by DJ HighLife at 9 p.m. for $12.
Sunday, March 18
The Ripple Effect has been one of the defining events of the current phase of Project Storefronts. The tag-team artist/performer gallery event, which has spread throughout the non-profit arts organization’s current location (the former Goldie Libro’s music store, near the corner of Chapel and State streets) holds a wrap-up party today from 6-8 p.m. There’s a “clearance sale” of some of the remaining artwork, with a portion of the proceeds going to help the homeless. Or just go so you can still feel the inter-artist vibe before it fades. 756 Chapel St., New Haven; 203-946-2895, www.projectstorefrontwsnewhaven.com
Written by Christopher Arnott.
