5 Things

This week’s theme: genius artists. Whether they come from the past, Europe, the Travel Channel, or Richmond, you have a chance to experience their glory. Yes, you. Hop to it.

April 18, 2013; 6:32 AM • by Susan Howson

This week’s theme: genius artists. Whether they come from the past, Europe, the Travel Channel, or Richmond, you have a chance to experience their glory. Yes, you. Hop to it.

1. Pop Art and Beyond: Tom Wesselmann

You’ve heard of Andy Warhol. You’ve heard of Roy Lichtenstein. You’ve heard of…some other pop artists (hey, I hold pens, not paintbrushes). But it’s time you familiarized yourself with the vivid, arresting works of Tom Wesselmann. Though I am an art idiot, 20th century paintings are fascinating to me, and I shall scoot magoot¹ over to the VMFA to discover the very influential pop art of this oft-overlooked master. And don’t put it off, these VMFA exhibit end dates tend to creep up on one, and one may never get a chance to see this stuff again.

Please be advised, there are some boobs involved, so if your child has a strange fear of them or you don’t feel like dealing with lots of adolescent giggles, you might want to leave the children at home. If you’re cool with bringing the tots, they do get a reduced or even free rate.

• Daily through Jul. 28 • see site for museum hours
• Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 200 N. Boulevard
• $15 for adults, $17 for seniors, $10 for youth (7-17) or students with ID

2. Earth Day Festival

Isn’t it just a LITTLE weird that we have so many strange holidays on this planet? Yet only ONE to celebrate the planet itself? While Hoodie Hoo Day sounds pretty rad, I’ll be sticking with Earth Day, thank you. Enrichmond’s Earth Day Festival continues its tradition of teaching all of us how to be better environmental stewards and also showing our children that yes, we definitely do care about the ecosystem and have not at all been squandering it, leaving your generation with the dregs. Stop by the 17th Street Farmer’s Market and shop, learn, play, and hoodie hoo (I mean, why not?) to your heart’s content.

• Sat. Apr. 20 • 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
• 17th Street Farmer’s Market, 17th Street and Main Street
• Free!

3. Majestic Gems: Tchaikowsky’s 5th Symphony and a Bunch of Berlioz

My mother is a fine lady, but she has been going on and on about Tchaikowsky’s 5th for years. “With so much Beethoven to listen to, why bother with old Peter Ilyich?” I always thought. But with the advent of Spotify, I’ve been sending out some feelers. And one of those feelers touched on this symphony. Oh, mom. I guess you’re not so crazy after all. (Oh, and Berlioz is a stunning Romantic with a healthy respect for Beethoven, so he’s OK by me.)

• Sat. Apr. 20 • 8:00 PM
• Carpenter Theatre at CenterStage, 600 E. Grace Street
• A dizzying list of possible prices. See site.

4. The Acting Company’s Of Mice and Men

Lennie, George, and the gang are back with a new production of Steinbeck’s haunting tale of All Those Themes You Learned in High School. JK, everyone, Steinbeck is shockingly talented at many things, namely depicting the wildly unglamorous life of migrant workers during a turbulent part of our nation’s history. The Acting Company tours the nation while honing the skills of many future celebs. With seven months of this play under their collective belt, you could say they’re well-honed.

• Tues. Apr. 23 • 7:30 PM
• Modlin Center for the Arts, University of Richmond, 28 Westhampton Way
• $36 for adults, see site for other prices

5. An Evening with Anthony Bourdain

These days, even the most acerbic critics of cooking shows and their dippy hosts are still singing the praises of Anthony Bourdain. Irreverent, bold, and at times brilliantly dry, Bourdain lopes across the globe to meet food people (that is, people who are into food, not people who are made of food) and tell us about the way the world eats. This Tuesday night at the Landmark, he’ll be spilling his guts about his own life and times, the high point of which, surely, is a Q&A session with residents from Richmond, Virginia. Just kidding, the high point of his life and times was surely his guest stint as “Toodee’s Doctor” on the “Doctor” episode of Yo Gabba Gabba. And you can bet I’ll be asking about that.

• Tues. Apr. 23 • 7:30 PM
• Landmark Theater, 6 N. Laurel Street
• Starting at $38

Future Things

• Innsbrook After Hours has announced its 2013 schedule, which includes Pat McGee, Sheryl Crow, and Peter Frampton
• Virginia Opera presents The Marriage of Figaro – Fri. April 26 and Sun. April 28

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April 18, 2013 6:32 AM 0