photography courtesy museum of science & history
Science of Beer
Museum of Science & History, 3050 Central
Friday, January 13, 6 – 9 p.m.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Morbi gravida! I suppose right about now you were about to ask yourself if the writer here really messed up and left in filler text, but you’d be wrong. It’s all a part of my plan to learn a new language and this is just me re-reciting some of my recent learnings of the Lorem ipsum language. Problem is, though, Lorem ipsum isn’t actually a coherent language at all, so I guess you could say I’ve already mastered it. Maybe I’ve got this whole learning language thing down to a science. Not everyone can say the same, I know. But there are other things to be good at — like the science of beer. (What a segue, I know. Feel free to pat me on the back.)
And if you’re looking for the experts, just head on over to MoSH’s annual Science of Beer event, where beer tasting and education are combined. At the event, attendees can sample some of the finest breweries and restaurants in the region, talk with local brewers, attend mini-lectures, and participate in beer-themed activities. Each guest will receive a commemorative 16 oz. glass. Tickets ($50) can be purchased online.
If Pekin Is a Duck, Why Am I in Chicago?
TheatreWorks, 2085 Monroe
Opens Friday, January 13, 8 p.m.
Iyay avehay otay elltay ouyay omethingsay: I hate Pig Latin. It’s just too derivative for my Lorem ipsum tastes — I’m just too cultured at this point and need something to feed my word-loving soul. Theater, I suppose, might do the trick — it might even one-up Lorem ipsum, especially considering that the play I’m talking about is all about upping the game.
In If Pekin Is a Duck, Why Am I in Chicago?, a 1920s Chicago gangster kidnaps a lyricist and composer to have them write music better than what was popular at the time — all in an effort to revive the Pekin Theatre, credited to be the first black-owned theater in the country. The composer, it seems, is willing, but the lyricist is caught up in woes of unrequited love.
Written by Ann E. Eskridge, winner of NewWorks@TheWorks Playwriting Competition, the play will run through January 29th, with performances on Thursdays-Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. For tickets ($30), you can call the box office at (901) 726-4656 or visit here. You can also purchase tickets to livestream performances here. A special pay-what-you-can performance is Thursday, January 19th.
[Please note: “This production contains adult language. Audiences should be advised that this production features the art form of minstrelsy and Black actors in Blackface in historical context and in commentary of social injustices during the period.”]
Photography by Andrea Morales
The Long Goodbye: A Rock Opera
Evergreen Theatre, 1705 Poplar
Friday-Sunday, January 13 – 15
Ever heard of Simlish? It’s the language that Sims in The Sims games speak. I’m nowhere near an expert, seeing that I haven’t played Sims in maybe 10 years. Despite my lack of play, though, I do have a theory about the game that when players create their characters, they’re really just reflecting parts of their own selves, not to get all Freud on you or anything. But it’s just a hunch.
What isn’t a hunch of mine is that Emily Rooker, instead of Sims, has turned to recreating parts of herself in rock opera form — The Long Goodbye. Within the show, helmed by 30 independent local artists, she reflects on her past through three selves: the Present Self, the Young Self, and the Wicked Self. Created through sound, movement, and visual elements, the experimental opera explores grief, loss, and change.
Performances of the show run Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. with a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. Tickets ($30-$40) can be purchased here. Find out more about the production here.
photography by Diane Sagnier
Stacey Kent
Germantown Performing Arts Center, 1801 Exeter
Saturday, January 14, 8-10 p.m.
My experience in foreign languages might be limited to Lorem ipsum in this year of 2023, so I’m sure you’re tired of listening to my gibberish and would rather listen to someone who dabbles in French and Portuguese — actual languages. So who better than Stacey Kent, who writes lyrics in English, French, and Portuguese? Kent, who will be stopping by GPAC this weekend, is a Grammy-nominated jazz singer with an impressively distinctive and personal catalog of 11 studio albums. Tickets ($30-$50) for her performance can be purchased online.
A Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday
National Civil Rights Museum, 450 Mulberry
Monday, January 16, 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.
For Martin Luther King Day, the National Civil Rights Museum is offering free admission to the museum, plus a full day of onsite activities including performances by several local artists like vocalist Karen Brown, Gerald Richardson, the Stax Music Academy Satellite Band, and more.
King Day also marks the opening of the museum’s latest exhibition “Tarred Healing,” which features Carnell Watson’s photography centered around sharing stories of Black people.
With service in mind, the museum is encouraging guests to bring canned goods and nonperishables to donate to the Mid-South Food Bank. There will also be a blood drive with Vitalant on campus. Anyone donating blood will receive additional free admission for up to four people on any day in 2023.
