Ah, marriage. The joining of two parts into a stronger whole, and other metaphors. Since summer is the traditional wedding season, let us look to pieces that seek to marry disparate elements in the creation of holistic works of art. Or, if you’re more carnally inclined, a couple of artsy parts do it and have an art baby. Old 70, Girls, 70 is a musical that first hit the boards of Broadway in 1971 and was updated 20 years later. It’s the tale of a group of elderly citizens who turn to fencing stolen furs in a last-ditch attempt to save their retirement home from being sold to nefarious developers. Landmark Musicals takes on this unusual marriage (see?) of geriatric larceny and jazz hands through July 12 at N4 th Theater (4904 Fourth Street NW), Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15, $12 students and seniors (presumably to allow the latter to put that extra savings toward bail money). Call 798-9036 for reservations. New Verbobala is a video/performance group based both in Cuernavaca, Mexico, and Tucson, Ariz. Its work is bilingual and site-specific, mixing music, dance, video and poetry. Verbobala’s three members bring their artistic brew to the National Hispanic Cultural Center (1701 Fourth Street SW) on Thursday, July 2, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 and can be had by calling 724-4771 or going to ticketmaster.com. Borrowed Novels centered on marriage, or more specifically, a single gal trying to get married, reach back a couple of hundred years. And though a lot has changed since Jane Austen’s characters had to marry just to survive, our fascination with this scenario has not. Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, sometimes local author of The Dirty Girls Social Club , reads from her latest take on the wacky world of modern dating, The Husband Habit , at Bookworks (4022 Rio Grande NW) on Tuesday, July 7, at 7 p.m. For more info, go to bkwrks.com, and read next week’s Alibi for a review of The Husband Habit . Blue There’s nothing sad about the new shows at Mariposa Gallery (3500 Central SE), but there’s plenty of literal blue to be found in Sam Esmoer’s surrealist Southwest paintings and Marcia Sednek’s dress sculptures. Stop by the opening on Friday, July 3, from 5 to 8 p.m. as part of First Friday Artscrawl. The shows run through July 31. See mariposa-gallery.com for more.This week at alibi.com: Gallery Box looks at Dreamscape Gallery
Culture Shock
3 min read
