An all-you-can-sit-through buffet is on the menu for theater lovers this week with three plays opening around town. Let’s go through this in alphabetical order so it’s easier to remember. First, Crimes of the Heart, the Pulitzer Prize-winning story of three down-on-their-luck sisters who reunite as adults, plays at The Vortex (2004 1/2 Central SE). Crimes opens Friday, Sept. 3, and runs through Sunday, Sept. 26. Tickets for the Friday and Saturday (8 p.m.) and Sunday (6 p.m.) shows cost $15—except for Sunday, Sept. 5, which is pay-what-you-wish. Get ’em at vortexabq.org. Next, the search for an elusive whale takes the stage with Mother Road Theatre Company’s Moby Dick at The Filling Station (1024 Fourth Street SW). Thursday and Friday shows start at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 6 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Moby Dick runs from Friday, Sept. 3, to Sunday, Sept. 26. Tickets are $16 and are over at motherroad.org. Finally, an imaginary conversation between Picasso and Einstein is the setting for Auxiliary Dog’s Picasso at the Lapin Agile. This one also runs from Sept. 3 to Sept. 26, with 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday shows and 2 p.m. Sunday performances. Picasso will set you back $14 and you’ll have to call 254-7716 for tickets.
Culture Shock: Literary Lunch Break Literary Lunch Break
The New Mexico Coalition for Literacy estimates that 46 percent of adults in New Mexico can’t read or write above the sixth grade level. C’mon, people, that’s atrocious! Get over to a free event at the Outpost Performance Center (210 Yale SE) and do whatever you can to make that percentage plummet. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 8, you can pack a lunch and bring it over to “A Celebration of Literacy,” an event in conjunction with the 45 th anniversary of UNESCO’s Literacy Day, which seeks to raise awareness of issues of illiteracy all over the world. Some notable New Mexicans including Sen. Dede Feldman, Mayor Richard Berry and his wife Maria Berry, as well as literacy advocate Marten Griego—will read short passages of their favorite writing. Of course, if you’re reading this right now you’re probably aboard the support-the-cause boat. There are lots of people who can’t read this at all. If you know one of them, bring him or her too, because this is an entry into a world where reading isn’t a struggle.
