Dancing on the Art Work!

Frustrated by the looming spectre of war with Iran, performance artist Robert Farid Karimi seeks out divine intervention in the form of sainted pop star Freddie Mercury. Part documentary theater, part rock concert, Farid Mercury tells the story of Iranian/Guatemalan robertito who must face the demons of the Iranian Hostage Crisis, Patriot Act, and Iran-Iraq War, all the while balancing the Chicano Punk Rock Scene, his search for a wrestling champion, and the death of his Iranian grandmother.

FARID MERCURY is supported in part by the City of Santa Monica and the Santa Monica Arts Commission so don't miss this chance to see your art dollars at work!
 

le Bourgeois Gentilhomme
8:00 pm on Fridays and Saturdays
Sundays at 5:30pm
Through December 21
City Garage
1340 1/2 Fourth St (in the alley)
310/319-9939

Wealthy and foolish Monsieur Jourdain is in love with the Countess Dorimène and aches to be what he is not—a member of the aristocracy. Determined to overcome his low birth with an “education” in high style, he unwittingly surrounds himself with charlatans and swindlers who gleefully take his money and prey on his innocence. Ingenious servants, pedantic masters, devious nobles, and earnest young lovers all propel this delightful satire of nouveau riche social climbers. And, in the end, is the “nobility” to which Jourdain so ardently aspires all that admirable?

Usually museums won’t even let you get close enough to touch the art but this weekend, SMMoA is allowing choreographer Melinda Ring and dancers Sari Nordman and Kimberly Hamlin to take over Martin Kersels’ sculpture/stage Rickety with Huh?, a dance about one moody individual portrayed by three people.  This should be fun!
 

Bye Bye Birdie
Youth Education/Entertainment Series
2:00 pm
Saturdays and Sundays
Through December 13
Morgan Wixson Theatre
2627 Pico Boulevard
Buy your tickets on line
310/ 828.7519

Experience the exuberance of 1950s teenagers, as the youth of Sweet Apple, Ohio swoon over their idol Conrad Birdie, with all the singing and dancing that made this musical a Broadway favorite. Don't miss this full-length musical, appropriate for ages 6 to 106, or anyone who enjoys 2 1/2 hours of family entertainment, with just the right amount of screaming: Conrad Birdie, we love you! The incredible youth cast features 41 students from Santa Monica High School, John Adams and Lincoln Middle School, as well as Grant, Roosevelt, Franklin, SMASH and St. Monica's Elementary Schools. See tomorrow's stars today - or maybe see the kid who lives down the street singing and dancing his heart out!
 

Crimes of the Heart
8:00 pm Fridays and Saturdays
2:00 pm Sundays
Through November 23
Santa Monica College Theatre
1900 Pico Boulevard
310/434.4319

Beth Henley's Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning play Crimes of the Heart is a black comedy about three sisters forced to face past resentments while coping with the latest incident to have disrupted their lives. It also just happens to set in Hazlehurst, Mississippi, the birthplace of y'all's little ole Palette writer: me! Call me afterward and I'll tell you which sister was the flower girl in my parent's wedding, which character is an exact copy of my Aunt Agnes and which of the Henley boys used to beat me up behind the Parsonage after Sunday school!
 

Santa Monica College Symphony
4:00 pm
Sunday, November 16
Broad Stage
Santa Monica Boulevard and 11th Street
310/434.3000

Dr. James Smith takes his last bow as conductor of the Santa Monica College Symphony this weekend on the Broad Stage. Dr. Smith has been teaching at SMC since 1969 and assembled a program of some of his favorite repertoire over the years. On the program will be Prokoviev's Peter and the Wolf, narrated by Bean, as well as pieces by Berlioz, Hindemith and Elgar. Dolphin Dance, by SMC music professor Dr. David Goodman, will also be featured, as will Three Dance Episodes from Leonard Bernstein's On the Town.  Dr. Smith was gracious enough to serve on our latest Community Access and Participation Grant panel where his expertise in music was much appreciated.  We wish him the best of luck in his retirement!

While you're at Bergamot, be sure to stop by the First Independent Gallery (FIG) and check out the new sculpture by Chris Madans. These delicate works in the tradition of found-object assemblage explore themes of love and loss, family, and personal memories.