Evenings Out

The lily

Chung-Fu Chang explores Taiwanese mythology in ?The Lily,? a world premiere presented by Verb Ballets as part of its upcoming show Alternative Moves.

Also on the bill will be another world premi?re, this one by out choreographer Troy McCarty. His piece is entitled ?Otra Luna,? and is set during the Peron era in Argentina. It features same-sex couples, as well as dancer Jarrod Sickles performing in women?s clothing.

?Otra Luna? also centers around tango, and illustrates the passion that it evokes, the energy it infuses into all of its practitioners.

Alternative Moves? third piece is an examination of the Shakers, and how these religious pioneers and their perseverance are reflected in today?s world. ?Dance of the Chosen? is a 1931 piece by Doris Humphrey.

Tickets range from $10 for students to $28 for advanced, preferred seating. There is also a dinner and dance special offered, with $78 procuring both a preferred seating ticket and dinner at the Flying Fig restaurant in Ohio City. Tickets are available by calling 216-3973757, or online at www.verbballets.org.

Alternative Moves will be produced on Friday, February 17 at the Breen Center for the Performing Arts, across Lorain Ave. from the St. Ignatius campus at 2008 West 30th Street, Cleveland. The show begins at 8 pm, while the pre-show benefit dinner is at 5:30 pm. Order in advance, especially for the dinner-show package.

--Anthony Glassman

Photo: Kent State University Department of Dance

Evenings Out

A satirical trip through history

The Cleveland School of the Arts theater department is presenting a weekend of The Colored Museum by George C. Wolfe, above, an incredibly moving and satirical play examining race and all its interconnected facets, including sexual orientation.

A plane full of people take a trip through the past, examining different ?exhibits? that trace the history of people of African descent in America. Included among these vignettes are ?The Gospel According to Miss Roj,? dealing with a finger-snapping queen who knows what time it is, ?The Last Mama-on-the-Couch Play,? a searing take on pieces like A Raisin in the Sun, and ?The Hairpiece,? in which a black woman?s wig dishes about her wearer.

Wolfe wrote the play in 1985, then went on to more widespread acclaim in 1993 for directing the inaugural Broadway production of Angels in America. Despite the fame that play brought him, however, The Colored Museum is a purer example of Wolfe?s genius, completely unadulterated.

The production is presented by the Friends of the Cleveland School of the Arts, along with the Cleveland Municipal School District All-City Arts Program, and is directed by Schott Miller, director of the school?s theater arts program, and actor-director-playwright Nina Domingue.

Performances are at 7 pm on Friday, February 10; at 4 and 8 pm on Saturday, February 11, and at 5 pm on Sunday, February 12. Tickets are $12, $7 for students. Performances are in the auditorium at the school (the former Harry Davis Junior High), 10700 Churchill Ave., off East 105th one block south of Superior, Cleveland; and parking is available behind the building off Orville Ave.

--Anthony Glassman