THURSDAY
Preview performance: &undefined;Flesh and the Desert&undefined;
The Playwrights Center
&undefined;30” E. Franklin Ave., Minneapolis
’ p.m.
Pay What-You-Can
If the poster for this production is any indication of how exciting it will be, theater-goers are in for a wild ride. The black-and-white illustration on the Workhaus Collective&undefined;s website includes a giant showgirl, a nuclear explosion and a tiny figure pointing a gun at shapes that might be cacti or balloons — it&undefined;s hard to tell exactly what&undefined;s going on. So it&undefined;s fitting that the play is a non-linear deal that weaves together the stories of three Las Vegas couples.
FRIDAY
6th Annual TC Hip Hop Awards
First Ave.
70” First Ave. N.
’ p.m.
”’+
$”0-”&undefined;
Awards will be given out in &undefined;7 categories at this non-profit event. Online voters chose the &undefined;Song of the Year,&undefined; &undefined;Best Documentarian&undefined; and &undefined;Best Knowledge Spitta.&undefined; Two mayors will be named — one of St. Paul and one of Minneapolis.
The idea is that the true victor will be the scene itself: after a night of performances from a slew of local performers, the awards will have garnered attention for new artists and raked in money to invest in being a resource for local artists.
SATURDAY
Eddie Ifft
Rick Bronson&undefined;s House of Comedy
Mall of America: 40’ E. Broadway, , Bloomington
’ p.m. and ”0:30 p.m.
$”9
In less than five minutes, Eddie Ifft can manage to berate both middle America and strippers — according to this bro, both lack dignity. What&undefined;s wrong with strippers? To quote &undefined; Ifft, &undefined;Those aren&undefined;t real women.&undefined;
To his credit, he does have a uniquely comfortable stage presence. Ifft has the conversational tone down to such a science that he really does feel like one of the guys. Also, he&undefined;s hosted Shark Week.
CULTURE TO CONSUME
Listen to this: &undefined;Schoolboys in Disgrace&undefined; by the Kinks
If you&undefined;re feeling personally affronted by the start of the new semester and all its stressful trappings, just remember that someday you&undefined;ll look back on these days as the greatest ones in your life. &undefined;Schoolboys in Disgrace&undefined; might help you out: Ray Davies&undefined; nostalgic tune &undefined;Schooldays&undefined; kicks it off without ever mentioning the stress of paying for textbooks. And your faith in higher learning may be rejuvenated when the Kinks riff on the importance of everyone having the opportunity to learn in &undefined;Education.&undefined;
Watch this: &undefined;The Ides of March&undefined;
Before Ryan Gosling was the hot star of a thousand &undefined;Hey girl,&undefined; Internet memes, he was starring in this movie alongside other hot actors like Paul Giamatti and Philip Seymour Hoffman. &undefined;The Ides of March&undefined; came out on DVD this week.
Gosling plays a hot campaign press secretary dealing with snooze-worthy stuff like politics and morals.
Read this: &undefined;Then Again&undefined; by Diane Keaton
There&undefined;s a small club of aging Hollywood types whose talent and intelligence act as potent youth elixir, smoothing out the deepest of wrinkles. Diane Keaton, now 66, is no doubt a card-carrying member of that club. You can read about her journey to becoming one of the classiest ladies on earth in &undefined;Then Again.&undefined;
According to Sheila Weller&undefined;s New York Times Sunday Book Review, Keaton is &undefined;bitingly wry, ironic and tough about herself&undefined; as she reflects on everything from her five-year bulimia struggle to the time she taught lover Al Pacino how to drive.
Eat this: Succotash
Sufferin&undefined; succotash! During the Great Depression, Americans made succotash because the ingredients are inexpensive and easy to find. Today, you can put your own spin on the filling, nutrient-rich dish. The essential components are beans and corn and, yes, that sounds gross,but think about the crunch, flavor and color you&undefined;ll gain by adding diced sweet peppers, red onions, tomatoes, zucchini or edamame. &undefined;
