Entertainment :: Theatre
New England Hit List :: Nov. 9 by Sam Baltrusis
EDGE ContributorThursday Nov 8, 2007
Don’t have plans this weekend? Now you do. We’re out and about with GLBT warrior Ani DiFranco, enjoying "One Day More" with the North Shore cast of "Les Misérable" and 8 other "musts" this week. Want to know what’s hot? Here’s the hit list:
ANI DIFRANCO
After releasing 15 full-length studio albums in 16 years, hippie-punk muse and LGBT heroine Ani DiFranco has earned the right to rest on her laurels. Her current tour is supporting not a new album but a 36-track double-disc retrospective, "Canon (Righteous Babe)," as well as "Verses (Seven Stories)," a stunning hardcover collection of poetry and paintings. Up until a couple of years ago DiFranco was one of the hardest touring acts in the business, but hit a snag in 2005 when she was diagnosed with tendonitis in her wrists and hands. She returned to the road with a much lighter schedule, but even that came to a screeching halt when she gave birth to her daughter earlier this year. Buddy Wakefield opens the show. 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9. Orpheum Theatre, 1 Hamilton Place. $36-39. 617-482-0650 or www.righteousbabe.com.
LES MISÉRABLE
Based on Victor Hugo’s epic novel, "Les Misérables" tells the story of Jean Valjean, an escaped convict who is pursued relentlessly--over decades through the tumult of revolutionary France--by Javert, a policeman. The eight-time Tony Award-winning musical has thrilled audiences around the world and is now presented in a most unique production. The score features such songs as "I Dreamed a Dream," "One Day More" and "On My Own." This beloved musical will be presented in a production created solely for NSMT’s signature theater-in-the-round. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8 is "Out at the North Shore," an evening for the GLBT community with a post-show reception. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8 until Sunday, Nov. 18. $40-$75. 978-232-7200 or www.nsmt.org.
THE BLACK ANGELS
It’s been helluva year for the Austin, Texas psych-rock six-piece. Currently on tour with Queens of the Stone Age, The Black Angels have hit the road in support of their debut, "Passover," since its release in 2006. During the summer, the band scorched the festival circuit, becoming one of the most anticipated bands to see at Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Sasquatch and, most recently, the Download Festival. In between the high-profile dates, they shared the stage with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club in Europe. As soon as the Black Angels returned to the states, they capped off their summer with two nights in San Francisco in support of The Smashing Pumpkins. 9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8. Middle East Club, 472 Massachusetts Ave. Cambridge. $12. 617-864-EAST or www.middleeastclub.com.
AIDAN QUINN
This year’s Boston Irish Film Festival presents its "Excellence Award" to Aidan Quinn, and he’ll be in town 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9 when the Brattle Theatre (40 Brattle St., 617-876-6837 or www.brattlefilm.org) screens his 2003 film "Song for a Raggy Boy," after which he’ll take to the stage to accept his prize and answer questions. The festival then moves across the square to the Harvard Film Archive for three days of screenings that’ll include David Gleeson’s "The Front Line," Margo Harkin’s "Bloody Sunday: A Derry Diary" and "The Hunger Strike," John Boorman’s "The Tiger’s Tail" and two works that celebrate the great Irish-language author Máirtín Ó Cadhain, Robert Quinn’s "Cré na Cille" ("Cemetery Clay") and the documentary "Rí an Fhocai"l ("King of the Word"), both in Irish with English subtitles. 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9 until Sunday, Nov. 11. Harvard Film Archive, 24 Quincy St. Cambridge. www.hcl.harvard.edu/hfa.
DONNIE DARKO
Check out the continuation of this quirky stage version of the cult-classic flick. Late one evening during the presidential election of 1988, a giant bunny rabbit named Frank lures the brilliant but troubled teen Donnie Darko out of his suburban home to give him a message: the world will end in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes and 12 seconds. When Donnie returns home a wrecked jet engine lies smoldering in what remains of his bedroom. Thus begins Donnie’s race against time to find the reasons behind the mysterious occurrences surrounding him and his loved ones. Adaptor and director Marcus Stern happened to see the film at a time he was looking for a theatre script to work on with the A.R.T. Institute’s second-year acting students, and was immediately drawn into the story. He contacted the film’s creator Richard Kelly, who generously allowed him to create a stage version of the film he had written and directed. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8 until Sunday, Nov. 18. American Repertory Theatre’s Club at Zero Arrow Theatre, intersection of Arrow Street and Mass. Avenue in Cambridge. $52.50. 617-547-8300 or www.amrep.org.
5 FUNNY FEMALES TOUR
Created by stand-up comedian Susan Alexander, "5 Funny Females" presents a variety of the funniest up and coming female stand-up comedians delivering their unique points of views. In 2006, "5 Funny Females" toured to packed audiences in to 10 cities ranging from San Francisco to New York. Now, they’re heading to Boston. "During last year’s (run), I wanted to bring the show to more cities and with the legendary comedy scene in Boston it was a natural fit for the next stop on the tour," says Susan Alexander, host and creator. Lineup includes Alexander, Maggie MacDonald, Erin Judge, Maria Ciampa and Michelle Buteau. 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10. Midway Café, 3496 Washington St. Jamaica Plain. $15. 617-524-9038 or www.fivefunnyfemales.com.
FILMS FROM IRAN
This year’s 14-program festival at the Museum of Fine Arts opens with "Persian Carpet," an omnibus film by 15 renowned directors. The Iranian filmmakers conjure up a magic carpet made of movies to explore the meaning of the iconic textile. Episodes include: "Nomadic Carpet" by Behrouz Afkhami; "The 3-D Carpet" by Rakhshan Bani-Etemad; "Eloquent Carpet" by Bahram Bayzai; "Untying the Knot" by Jafar Panahi; "Land Carpet" by Kamal Tabrizi; "Fire & Woof" by Seifollah Dad; "The Command of Aqa Seyyed Reza" by Mojtaba Raie; "Magic Carpet" by Noureddin Zarrinkelk; "Carpet, Horse, Torkaman" by Khosro Sinaie; "Carpet and Life" by Bahman Farmanara; "Is There a Place to Approach" by Abbas Kiarostami; "A Handmade Gift Presented to a Friend" by Majid Majidi; "The Carpet and the Angel" by Dariush Mehrjui; "Memory, Memory..." by Reza Mir-Karimi; and "Copy Cannot Beat the Genuine" by Mohammad Reza Honarmand." Description adapted from the 18th Annual Festival of Films from Iran, Chicago. The films are in Persian with English subtitles. Remis Auditorium, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9. $10-$12. 617-267-9300 or www.mfa.org.
SLAMBOSTON
Combining the wild excitement of poetry slams with live theater, SLAMBoston is a high-voltage 10-minute play festival developed and made popular by Another Country Productions. Eight plays compete for a cash prize in a night of raucous audience participation and celebration of diversity in American theatre. Plays to be performed include "Death and Motor Vehicles" by Isaac Rathbone, "Cloud 7" by Lisa Burdick, "Just Sex" by Linda Suzuki, "Sante Fe" by Robert Caisley, "The Girl Who Loved the Moon" by Ann Marie Oliva, "Pumpkin Patch" by Patrick Gabridge, "Sister Snell" by Mark Troy and "Bathroom Games" by K.L. Kerry. 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13. Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont St. $17. 617-933-8600 or www.bostontheatrescene.com.
MARILYN: FOREVER BLONDE
Last call for this one-women tour de force starring Sunny Thompson. Shortly before her untimely death, Marilyn Monroe posed for what would be her final photo session. "Marilyn: Forever Blonde" is a recreation of what might have been Marilyn’s last chance to tell her own story in her own words. Conceived by award winning producer and writer Greg Thompson, the script has been painstakingly researched from hundreds of quotes from Marilyn herself. The result is two hours in Marilyn’s presence. Final performance 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8. Stoneham Theatre, 395 Main St, Stoneham, MA. 781-279-2200 or www.stonehamtheatre.org.
CAZWELL ON LOGO
New York City hottie Cazwell will host LOGO’s "NewNowNext" on Sunday, November 11 at midnight. Catch this quick-witted, queer and colorful East Village rapper as he presents his eye-popping new video, "Watch My Mouth." about which he says, "I wanted ’Sesame Street’ on acid and that’s pretty much what I got." The performer also talks about his album, "Get Into It."
Sam Baltrusis has worked for WHDH-TV, CW56, MTV, VH1, Seventeen, Newsweek and as a regional stringer for The New York Times. He’s currently a full-time freelance editor/writer based in Boston. Check out his blog at loadedgunboston.blogspot.com.
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