Weekly Arts Round-Up: Nov. 8 to Nov. 11
After a brief hiatus, the Nassau Literary Review is proud to announce the return of the Weekly Arts Round-Up, our simple attempt to keep our readers connected to the greater artistic community at Princeton. It’s not a comprehensive list by any means, but it’s a good reference guide if you ever have an evening free and don’t know what to do with it. Keep an eye out — between theater, dance, musical performance, and more, there’s a cornucopia of art events coming your way in the next few weeks.
This weekend in the arts at Princeton:
Butler Open Mic Night
Friday (Nov. 9) at 9:00 PM
Wu Café, Butler
Free admission
A longstanding Butler College tradition that has unfortunately garnered only a little bit of attention from other parts of campus, Open Mic Nights provide an opportunity for students to get up in front of a friendly (and largely intoxicated) audience and read poetry, make music, do stand-up, and perform anything else really which might come to mind. There will be free food for everyone and free T-shirts for performers.
Theater Intime’s Wait Until Dark
Thursday (Nov. 8) to Saturday (Nov. 10) at 8:00 PM; also Nov. 15–17
Hamilton Murray Theater, Murray-Dodge
$10 general, $8 for students
Theater Intime’s production of Wait Until Dark, a thriller by Frederick Knott (best-known as the author of Dial M for Murder) promises to provide an interesting change of pace from the sort of play that Intime usually puts on. Described by promotional material as “hair-raising,” the play deals with various thugs’ attempts to get their hands on a doll filled with heroin which has somehow made its way into the home of a Greenwich Village couple in the early 1960s. “The twist: Susy Hendrix [lady of the house] is blind.” Directed by Michael Pinsky and starring Sarah Cuneo and Mark Watter. Keep an eye out for our review by John Michael Colón!
Der Bourgeois Bigwig
Friday (Nov. 9) to Saturday (Nov. 10) at 8:00 PM; also Nov. 15–17
Berlind Theater
$15 general, $10 for students
An adaptation of Le Bourgeois by Molière by James Magruder, the Berlind Theater’s new show deals with the attempts of one Mr. Jourdain, the middle-aged bourgeois of the title, to become an aristocrat. His antics are social climbing of a different sort to which we’re accustomed here at Princeton, less about studying finance and more about learning how to fence and trying to marry his daughter off to a supposed Turkish prince. In any case he falls for the tricks of a con-man and hilarity ensues. The play is set to the music of Richard Strauss, who wrote incidental music for Moliére’s play in 1912, and it will be performed by the Princeton University Orchestra conducted by Michael Pratt. Directed by Tim Vasen and starring Gary Fox.
eXpressions’s Uprising
Thursday (Nov. 8) to Saturday (Nov. 10) at 8:00 PM
Film and Performance Center, Frist
$10 general, $7 for students
There’s little in the way of description for eXpressions’s new show, but if the title is anything to go by we can expect something rebellious, kinetic, and visually stunning. eXpressions performances have been known to mix dance styles “from hip hop to pointe.” Uprising will feature guest performances by the Nassoons (on Thursday), Shere Khan (on Friday), and the TigerTones (on Saturday).
Latino Heritage Month Variety Show
Friday (Nov. 9) at 7:00 PM
McCormick 101, Princeton Art Museum
Free admission
With all these theater events going on at the same time, you may feel the need for something a little different — variety, after all, is the spice of life. This event might pique your interest. According to its website, the Latino Heritage Month Variety Show is “an event that aims to showcase the ways in which Latin American and Latino cultures have influenced performing arts within the Princeton community” — and what a variety of artists they’ve collected! There will be performances by Ballet Folklórico de Princeton, the Ballroom Dance Club, the poet Jenesis Fonseca-Ledezma, a flamenco duo named Valerie & Elektra, Wildcats, Footnotes, the singer Jaime Benadib, and the band Mas Flow! (self-described as a mix of salsa, merengue, and bachata, with perhaps the most awesome macaroon of a name ever). Best of all, it’s free of charge.
Princeton University Players’ Nine
Thursday (Nov. 8) to Saturday (Nov. 10) at 8:00 PM
Matthews Theater, 185 Nassau Street
$10 general, $8 for students
Based on the Fellini film 8 ½, Nine focuses on the story of Italian filmmaker Guido Contini and his mid-life crisis, involving colorful musical numbers, affairs with various women, and flashbacks to a particular moment in his youth. Directed by Eamon Foley. Look out for our review by Charles Ouyang!
BAC Drama and Ellipses Slam Poetry Group Present: Human Nature
Thursday (Nov. 8) to Friday (Nov. 9) at 8:00 PM and Saturday (Nov. 10) at 1:00, 4:00 PM
Black Box Theater, Wilson
$7
The Black Arts Company’s annual show of one-acts, monologues, and skits has got a new twist this year with the addition of the spoken word group Ellipses as partners. Student-written performances will touch upon such topics as familial structures, cultural identity struggles, music, feminism, religion, and philosophy.