Brevity, they say, is the soul of wit. We here at the Alibi plan to put that old cliché through a blazing trial by fire during our upcoming Ridiculously Short Fiction Contest.

Macbett at the Tricklock Performance Space

American soldiers torture Iraqi prisoners in the same prison Saddam Hussein tortured thousands of his own people. During the same press conference in which he acknowledges these war crimes, President Bush has the nerve to boast of getting rid of Baathist torture chambers. Meanwhile, Osama bin Laden's cronies still sit in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia plotting their next attacks on the United States, and we still haven't found those damned weapons of mass destruction.

From Left to Right: Tony Sparks, Wendy Leverenz Barker, Mimi Burns (kneeling), Laurie Finnegan and Michael Finnegan in Das Barbecü .

Albuquerque Little Theatre

A spoof of Wagner's Ring Cycle, Das Barbecü is a zippy musical revolving around a shotgun double wedding in Texas. With book and lyrics by Jim Luigs and music by Scott Warrender, the story incorporates feuding families, synchronized swimming, some sweet Texas two-stepping and a magic ring of power. Das Barbecü is directed by Albuquerque Little Theatre's loony tunes Executive Director Larry Parker. My guess is it'll be a divine joy to behold. Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. Sundays at 2 p.m. $18 general, $15 seniors, $13 students. Runs through May 23. 242-4750.

Detail from What Joy Do I Bring You? by Naomi Shersty

The Walls Gallery

Last month, Naomi Shersty was one of six artists to take part in a video exhibit at the Walls Gallery. This month, she takes over the entire gallery for a one-woman show called What Joy Do I Bring You? composed of photography, video and craftwork. According to Shersty, her installation "is intended to facilitate a dialogue surrounding the various power struggles found in intimate relationships." What Joy Do I Bring You? opens on Friday, May 7, with a reception from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. It runs through May 30. 489-2644.

Ann Coulter at Popejoy Hall

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending a lecture presented by Ann Coulter, the hyper-conservative columnist who's authored such bestsellers as Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right and her most recent, Treason: Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism. Coulter's main talent is that she knows how to rile up her choir, sprinkling her lecture with enough comedic insults at liberals' expense to keep her adoring right-wing legions both cheerful and enraged. She gave her hysterical speech at UNM's Popejoy Hall on Tuesday, April 27, as part of the university's 21st Century Speakers Series.

Sigmund's great granddaughter, Esther Freud, has created an elegantly crafted novel set in a coastal English village that cleverly weaves together two complementary narrative strands. Advance readers have said Freud's fourth novel is a beautiful piece of work.