"Got Those Apolitical Blues" - Arts Events 9/16 - 18)

Listening to Little Feat is where the header for this posting came from and has nothing to do with that group appearing in town this week (they're not, but the intense political posturing of the past week is affecting my senses.)

Wednesday Sept. 16:
The Buttonwood Tree hosts its monthly Open Theatrical Improvisation on this night at 7:30 p.m. The concentration is on improvised scene work and ensemble performance. For more information, email topher@the diversion.com.

Thursday Sept. 17:
Ah, it's Movie Day in town. Start your cinema adventures at 12 noon in the Hubbard Room of The Russell Library as the "Gutter to Penthouse Film Discussion Series" begins with the 1931 classic "Little Caesar." Starring Edward G. Robinson and Douglas Fairbanks Jr., the movie is loosley based on the life and exploits of Al Capone and is considered by many film buffs as the movie that sparked this country's ongoing interest in "gangster movies." Scott Higgins, Assistant Professor of Film Studies at Wesleyan,, will lead the discussion following the screening. Bring your lunch and the library staff will provide the beverages (legal, of course.) For more information, call 347-2528, extension 135.

At 8 p.m., the Wesleyan University Film Studies' Elia Kazan Centennial celebration continues with a screening of his 1945 "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn." The movie stars Dorothy McGuire, Joan Blondell, James Dunn, Peggy Ann Garner, and Lloyd Nolan and is the coming-of-age story of its main character, Francie Nolan (played by McGuire), in the tenements of Brooklyn, New York, in the early decades of the 20th Century. Lisa Dombrowski, Associate Professor of Film Studies at Wesleyan, will introduce the film, no doubt talking about how Kazan was able to transform a very popular book into an equally successful film. For more information about the Elia Kazan Centennial, go to www.wesleyan.edu/filmstudies/specialevents.html.
Both this showing and the Russell Library event above are free and open to the public.

Friday Sept. 18:
Vange Durst & EV 3 returns to The Buttonwood Tree for a 7:30 p.m. show on this evening. Blending rock, blues, folk and touches of "world music", this ensemble (Durst on guitar & lead vocals, Michael Kurjan on keyboards, and Deb Piccolo on drums & percussion) is melodic and rhythmical with some fine original material. For more information, go to www.myspace.com/vangedurst.

Put on your dancing shoes and head up to Wesleyan as the 2009-10 Crowell Concert Series begins with the rollicking Cajun sounds of Balfa Toujours. Led by Christine Balfa, daughter of the great fiddler Dewey Balfa, this quartet blends accordion, guitar, bass and fiddle into a danceable mix of traditional songs and new music. Voices blend in pretty as well as gritty harmonies but it's the exciting rhythms that will get your heart pumping. For ticket information, call 860-685-3355 or go to www.wesleyan.edu/cfa.

Most of us know how tough it is to dance in Crowell Hall so, after the concert, there's a dance in Fayerweather Beckham Hall (across the street from the Concert Hall.) The party begins at 10:30 and is free and open to the public.

In another related event, there will be a showing of "Dewey Balfa: Tribute Concert", the 1994 film co-produced and directed by EYE editor & contributor Ed McKeon, at 4 p.m. on Saturday (9/19) in the CFA Hall, formerly the CFA Cinema. This event is also free and open to all.

Also on Friday, Boney's Music Lounge welcomes back Sweet Daddy Cool Breeze for an 8:30 p.m. The quartet plays blues, mostly in the Chicago-style, meaning strong guitar playing anf fine blues harmonica. Call 346-6000 for more information.