Performance
Deep Dish Theater Company
“Mi Vida Loca” (Ongoing, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday)
Deep Dish Theater, Chapel Hill Mall
201 S Estes Dr, Chapel Hill
$12 students, $19 general public
The innovative Deep Dish Theater Company began their 2010-2011 season with a dramedy, featuring a family of misfits, a beach house and a whole lot of detox and divorce. Deep Dish is known for their unusual and creative use of space — they’re based in a mall — and this latest show should prove to be just as exciting. Playwright Erik Overmyer will be honored in a reception Sept. 18.
Read Colin Warren-Hicks’ review of “Mi Vida Loca” here.
PlayMakers’ Repertory Company
“Happy Days” (Runs Wednesday through Sunday, Sept. 12, 7:30 p.m. with a 2 p.m. matinee Sunday)
Kenan Theatre
Department for Dramatic Art Buildling
$10 students, $25-$35 general public
PlayMakers Rep. starts off its season with a big ole pile of sand and a couple of UNC DDA regulars. Professors Julie Fishell and Ray Dooley take on Samuel Beckett’s darkly comic absurdist masterpiece, with directorial oversight from San Franciso-based Rob Melrose — company artistic director Joseph Haj liked Melrose’s version of the play so much at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis that he brought it to Chapel Hill. PRC’s mainstage shows start in a few weeks with a new production of Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” but you can still get your local dramatic fill with this absurd little gem.
Read Ali Rockett’s preview of “Happy Days” here.
Read Colin Warren-Hicks’ review of “Happy Days” here.
UNC Department of Communication Studies
“Nothing Pink” (previews Sept. 9-12, runs Sept. 16-19. At 8 p.m.Thursday-Saturday with a 3 p.m. matinee on Sunday)
Studio Six, Swain Hall
$5 students, $10 general public
Beloved UNC Communication Studies professor Paul Ferguson premieres his new one-act play of unrequited love, Gospel music and southern Baptists. The play — with a cast and crew of current and former students — is based on Mark Hardy’s angsty novel of a gay teen in Virginia struggling to rationalize his romantic feelings with his conservative religious upbringing. Ferguson has put out some interesting stuff in the past, so newest effort should be worth a look.
Music on the Hill
“September Prelude 2010: Brooklyn Rider” (8 p.m. Sept. 10)
Memorial Hall
$10 students, $15 general public
This Brooklyn-based string quartet is a frequent visitor to UNC. After performing at Memorial Hall in 2009, the quartet returned as the house band for Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble in August and are back once again to kick off the Music on the Hill series. The four string-players will be performing the music of Debussy (yes, that guy they talk about in “Twilight”), Jacobsen and various others. They keep coming back, so there’s got to be something to love.
Art
Ackland Art Museum
Gallery and Exhibits (10 a.m. – 8 pm Thursday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. Sunday)
Free admission
The Ackland Art Museum opens a stellar new exhibit of glass and ceramic work this Sunday. Complete with bold Art Nouveau and Art Deco pieces, among more than 100 others, the exhibit should hold any Ackland enthusiast over until the arrival of Andy Warhol in October. Plus, there’s a opening celebration on Sunday from two to four p.m., which you should probably go to.
Nasher Museum of Art
Gallery and Exhibits (Ongoing, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. – 9 p.m .Thursday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday)
$5 general admission, $3 non-Duke students with I.D., free on Thursdays
We know: the Nasher Museum of Art is in enemy territory. But they have an amazing collection, and The Record, their new exhibit on vinyl art (see last week’s Diversions for more), officially opens Sept. 2. The (free!) Robertson Bus will take you practically to the museum’s front door. Head over this weekend before venturing into the land of a different kind of blue becomes an issue.
2nd Friday Artwalk
Galleries and Live Music (6 – 9 p.m. Friday)
Free admission
On the second Friday of each month, local art enthusiasts roam the streets, visiting the hip, hot arts stuff of Chapel Hill and Carrboro. With a buncha participating spots within campus walking distance (FRANK, Toots and Magoo, the Union), the Artwalk is an easy (and very free) something to do after classes are over. Plus, if long walks down Franklin into Carrboro are your thing, the good times keep rolling. See displays at Studio Supply, the ArtsCenter, Beehive Salon, Open Eye Cafe, Roulette Vintage, even DeWitt Law, PLLC — so many good art stuffs! Explore the creative lands of Chapel Hill and Carrboro this Friday.
Random
CUAB
Spin Art
Sept. 9, 2 to 4 p.m.
The Pit
FREE
Canvas is all about some free spontaneous displays of creativity. Thank goodness CUAB is on the same page. Do you remember SpinArt? We certainly do — and we hope to see you out in the Pit on Thursday afternoon for free art, Rita’s Italian Ice, and general mirth.
“The Social Network”
Advanced Film Showing (Sept. 13, 8 p.m.)
Union Auditorium
Free with OneCard and admission bracelet (admission bracelets distribution starts at 6 p.m.)
We know that we originally weren’t all that excited about the Facebook Movie — until we heard that Aaron Sorkin wrote the script, read that Justin Timberlake was in the cast and took the time to see the fantastic trailer (complete with an absolutely stunning cover of Radiohead’s “Creep” by a Belgian children’s choir). And then we found out that UNC was getting an advanced showing of the film, complete with a post-showing discussion with Sorkin and stars Jesse Eisenberg and Armie Hammer, and we pretty much started crying. We’ll have our bracelets on — will you get one too and accept our friend request?
To get the day's news and headlines in your inbox each morning, sign up for our email newsletters.
