Well it’s another week, and another attempt for me to inspire you to leave the comfort of air conditioning and go out into the swealtering, mosquito-laden Alabama spring air for some culture. I’m really not selling this very well am I? Well, that’s Mobile for you. Also there’s oil in all the water. Sucks.
So, I’m sorry to say as much, but there’s really not a ton going on this week that wasn’t explored last week. I could just rewrite it all, and call it a day, and I suppose nobody would be any the wiser, but that is rude and a bit lazy and… actually, throw in some gun crime and that could get me elected to local office. Anyway, if you’re looking for theater or museum activities, last week we went over all of this in rather glorious detail, so it’s worth a second glance if you missed all of that with your doubtless busy social schedule. Peruse at your leisure, will you? In the meantime, here’s the recap in brief:
-‘Crimes Of The Heart’ at the Joe Jefferson Playhouse on May 21-23.
-‘South Pacific’ at the Chickasaw Civic Theatre on May 21-23, and May 28-30.
See, there’s enough days between them you can see both. Take a friend. Take all three of your friends, you’ll have a blast and support local ac-TORs who probably could use the encouragement. And anyway, there’s not a ton else going on, right? If I’m being a bit honest, and this is between you and me, I suppose it’s just difficult to have a “high culture” column in the middle of the high culture off-season. Ironic is a good word for the predicament. Idiotic is probably the word my pragmatic grandfather would use. I miss ballet. I miss opera. But we shall not let the performance seasons dictate our culture for us, and so we trudge forward, ever stoic, a slovenly and drunken mass looking for something high brow to satisfy our no doubt discerning palate. Not to get all pre-Revolutionary France about it, but we decide the culture, we are the culture. Vive le revolu- I mean, uh, let’s see what else is managing to go on in the coming month, k?
Oh what’s this, the Mobile Symphony is doing something in June. Do you have plans yet in the entirety of that month? Thought not. Anyway, it would seem that one Billy McLaughlin will be performing with the Symphony on June 19 (that’s a Saturday, for the calendar-less who live among us, never quite knowing their days) in a hyped “one night special event.” It would seem this McLaughlin character is one of those inspirational stories as well as being quite a good acoustic guitarist, and so there’s a very cable news-worthy back-story involving a muscular disorder that effectively ended his career, only for him to trudge forward (ever the stoic, just like us) and force himself to relearn the guitar, but with his left hand. Which is, I’ll admit, pretty awesome, and worthy of gawking at for a small fee ($17-$37 to be approximate, and a student rate for those who are such rare creatures). Anyway he does complicated guitar fingery and the like, and seems nice enough (and has gah-orgeous hair), so maybe have a listen and decide for yourself: here he is in our beloved Mobile, talking and then doing that guitar bit. Amazing. While we’re discussing Billy, we should also pay note that the guest musicians at the event will be one Mithril, a Celtic band that has a Halloween-ish website (spooky) and has been ’round these parts before. So there, now you know more about the only thing going on at the Symphony in June than you probably know about any of the candidates for state election. Well done. Artur Byrne for State Treasurer.
Oh and while you’re planning ahead, on the 21st of June the Mobile Opera is doing one of their free Night Of Song thingums. I’ll come back to it when we get closer, but I know some people like to have a plan ahead of these things, so consider yourself having been made aware, nerd.
As an aside, this oil thing is dreadful, right? I know it’s not music or acting or dancing, but it’s pretty heavy in the news and can be a bit overwhelming to consider, especially when thinking about the long-term. I’m pretty split on it myself, and have been wishing there were more I could do while British Petroleum manage to pump a mere 1/70th of the gushing oil every day onto a big boat, which is itself a pollutant, using a chemical dispersment which it turns out might be decreasing all the oxygen from the water and turning the Gulf into a giant dead zone; all the while we just sit around and are told it’s being fixed, even as we steadfastly know it isn’t. I hear there’s a thing you can do where you cut your hair off and they put it in panty hose, and it can be used to keep the oil slick at bay, which sounds wonderful and amazing and very practical and ingenious, although I have short “cool” haircut so I feel a bit helpless. And while there are people in power who do have sway over these things, the damage is a bit out of our hands, and besides radically changing our oil consumption practices (I know, try not to laugh) and maybe going to war with the British (far more likely), we have to just learn to deal with our new reality, I guess. I suppose what I’m saying is, it’s a bit crap, yes, and it is infuriating because so many people work for so little in those waters to provide for their families (and our fragile local economy), waters that are (in honesty) one of the few natural respites in this state from the chaos of daily life and increasingly muddled political atmosphere. But it’s best not to let your own shadow spoil the view of what’s around you. Get out there and enjoy the alternatives our fair enclave has to offer. I know a trip to the theater isn’t exactly a day at the beach (it is, in fact, nothing like it, aside from the possibility of drinking if you’re stealth about such things), but it could be a great way to distract one’s self from that shadowy blob just off shore and be reminded of the creative spirit of our community. Me, I’ve got my money on ‘South Pacific’ this weekend, but I’m still not wholly convinced there will be shirtlessness. But keep your chin up, and your shirts off, Alabama. We’re all in this together.
