An unusual drawing series. A one-time dance performance. A jaw session with a humor writer. An intrigue-filled play. A roaming occasion with gallery stops. An inspired karaoke night. An unprecedented gallery exhibit.
Our arts beat as one this week in New Haven.
Monday, March 2
Krikko Obbott is known for his large-scale cityscape drawings—most famously of New York, but also of his home, the Elm City. Starting tonight from 6 to 8 p.m., Obbott shares the wealth through “Uniting Vision: A Communal Mosaic of New Haven,” a four-part series of free weekly workshops at Mitchell Branch Library (37 Harrison St, New Haven; 203-946-8117). “Vision” invites attendees ages 10 and up to “make a portrait of your neighborhood;” just be sure to call the library in advance to register.
Tuesday, March 3
Tonight at 7, Yale’s Off Broadway Theater (41 Broadway) hosts dancer/choreographer Arkadi Zaides (pictured above) for a free public performance of his new work, Archive. Taking inspiration from street videos recorded by Palestinians living in Israel, Archive’s choreography echoes the “gestures and voices” caught on those cameras, originally distributed as part of a project to “document human rights violations and expose the reality of life under the occupation.” Later this week, from Thursday to Saturday, a sister endeavor, video installation Capture Practice, is on view at the OBT, projecting selected source material onto one wall and film of Zaides interpreting that source material onto the other.
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Wednesday, March 4
SCSU’s Lyman Center for the Performing Arts is on a funny sort of roll. Following an appearance by noted TV comic Craig Ferguson last weekend, tonight the center hosts prolific print comic Dave Barry, who’s won a Pulitzer and routinely puts out bestselling books. The 7 p.m., WSHU-sponsored event—where tickets cost $25 if you want a copy of Barry’s new book, Live Right and Find Happiness (Although Beer is Much Faster), or $10 if you’re a companion to someone else who wants the book, or $5 (and no book) if you’re a college student—includes a “live presentation” from the author, followed by a Q&A and book signing.
Thursday, March 5
Before Doubt was an acclaimed movie starring Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman, it was a decorated play—a Drama Desk-, Tony- and Pulitzer-winner—by John Patrick Shanley. Starting tonight, it’s getting a staging by the New Haven Theater Company, which, under the direction of stalwart member George Kulp, turns its home at the back of the English Building Markets (839 Chapel St, New Haven) into a Catholic parish. There, a “progressive and engaging” priest is suspected of taking his intimate mentorship approach too far with an underage parishioner. Showtimes are 8 p.m. tonight through Saturday, following the same schedule next week. $20, or $12 for students.
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Friday, March 6
After a winter break, On9 is back this evening with its first ninth square-celebrating walkabout of 2015. The theme, “What’s On9?,” is meant for making introductions: to Fletcher Cameron (91 Orange St), a new furniture showroom moving here from Guilford; to 101 Threads (118 Court St), a new art gallery where Luck & Levity Brew Shop used to be; and a new coffee shop, Happy Life Coffee (760 Chapel St), affiliated with The Grove. What’s On9?, officially lasting from 6 to 8 p.m., is also meant for making reintroductions: to Neville Wisdom’s studio/boutique (63 Orange St), where wine tends to flow like water; to Cafe Nine (250 State St), where a 5-to-8 p.m. opening reception for It’s a Black & White World features monochrome photos by John Lawler; and to Artspace (50 Orange St), where Jourdan Miller, winner of America’s Next Top Model, will appear as part of a fashion show for designer Aqulia Yannic, with “complimentary wine and cheese” promised. Most stops in the neighborhood are free; the fashion show, however, costs $50 if you want to sit along the catwalk, or $35 if you’re game to stand.
Saturday, March 7
In conjunction with Artspace’s Vertical Reach—a new exhibit examining the ongoing crisis in Ukraine “to explore how acts of protest and assembly operate when framed as artistic practice”—Cafe Nine is hosting “Another Protest: Karaoke with a Message,” which “looks to the karaoke songbook as potential for political enunciation through song.” A past iteration of the occasion, held in NYC, had people singing self-explanatory choices, like Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs,” next to songs without any obvious moral or political content, like Van Halen’s “Jump.” Free. 250 State St, New Haven. (203) 789-8281.
Sunday, March 8
With its own facility now closed for renovations, the Yale Center for British Art is teaming up with the Yale University Art Gallery to present The Critique of Reason: Romantic Art, 1760-1860, the galleries’ “first major collaborative exhibition.” Opened on Friday inside the YUAG, it displays “a broad range of work” from the institutions’ vast collections—“paintings, sculptures, medals, watercolors, drawings, prints and photographs” intended to show that Romantic artists weren’t necessarily so far removed from the physical and cultural landscapes they inhabited. Visiting hours today run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free admission.
Written by Dan Mims. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations and prices before attending events.
