Performance
Kind of Blue
Historic Playmakers Theatre
Thurs. to Mon. at 7 p.m., Sat. and Sun. at 2 p.m.
Tickets are free at the Memorial Hall Box Office
Senior Kuamel Stewart is debuting his first of what he says will be 40 plays centering around different types of jazz. “Kind of Blue” is the story of a family in 1940s New York. It explores the perceptions of masculinity and female sexual expression and was named after famed jazz artist Miles Davis’ iconic album.
Read Britton Alexander’s preview of the play here.
99 Ways to F@#K a Swan
Kenan Theatre
Fri. to Mon. at 8 p.m. and Mon. at 4 p.m.
Tickets $5
Kim Rosenstock’s tale about perceptions of beauty springs from an age old story. The play moves from ancient Greece to renaissance Italy, then from Victorian England to modern Manhattan. It explores what it means to be disgusting and damaged, like the ugly duckling who turned into a swan. In the same explorations come those of sexual perversion, which turn the central themes toward beauty, twisted love, and — inherently — therapy.
This play contains strong adult content and language and is recommended by the Professional Actor Training Program and the Department of Dramatic Art for mature audiences only.
24 Hour Play Festival
Hanes Art Center Auditorium
8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26
Free Admission
In keeping with the legendary 24 Play Festival in New York, a group of intrepid UNC actors — many from LAB! Theatre — will spend 24 hours writing, rehearsing and performing original theatrical works. You don’t have to go for the whole thing — it starts Friday night and doesn’t stop for (you guessed it) 24 hours — but you should probably head out for the grand finale performance on Saturday evening.
Yasmin Levy
Memorial Hall
Saturday, Feb. 26 at 8 p.m.
Tickets $10-$20
Yasmin Levy, called “the next world music superstar” and “one of the finest singers of the Middle East,” will bring her blend of unique cultures to Memorial Hall for a one night performance. Levy, whose songs are sung in Spanish and the ancient Ladino language of Sephardi Jews, mixes her flamenco, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and Jewish cultures in a modern style.
Nicola Benedetti
Memorial Hall
Monday, Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets $10-$55
One of the youngest and most prominent violinists in the classical music world today, Nicola Benedetti will make her Memorial Hall debut Monday night. She will play four classical pieces, accompanied by young pianist Pei-Yao Wang.
Benedetti was named BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2004 after playing Szymanowski’s violin concerto and the 2008 Classical BRIT Award for Young British Classical Performer.
Cirque Éloize’s “iD”
Memorial Hall
March 1 and 2 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets $10-$55
The French Cirque Éloize are presenting “iD,” a modern mix of circus and dance. The performance is set in a futuristic city where individuality and identity are explored through hip-hop, rock and science fiction technology. With sixteen artists performing thirteen circus disciplines mixed with an exploration of modern dances, “iD” promises to be unique.
34th Carolina Jazz Festival
Various locations
Feb. 16-26
Varies
The 10-day festival — “Embracing the Past, Present, and Future of Jazz” — features performances by students, faculty and renowned jazz musicians from around the country. Along with performances on a number of UNC stages, there will be workshops for students of all ages.
See the UNC Music Department’s website for a more specific schedule.
Read staff writer Gloria Schoeberle’s preview of the festival here.
Angels in America
Paul Green Theatre
Tues. through Sat. at 7:30 p.m., Sat. and Sun. at 2 p.m. from Jan. 29 to Mar. 6.
Tickets $10 to $45
In two parts — the first, “Millenium Approaches” then “Perestroika” — “Angels in America” explores the issues of AIDS and homosexuality in the 1980s.
Tony Kushner’s award-winning drama features two couples — one gay and one straight — and their encounters with disease, sex and sexuality in the age of Reagan.
The two parts will run in rotating repertory through the week and back-to-back beginning at 2 p.m. on Saturdays.
The show officially opened with “Millenium Approaches” this Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
Read assistant editor Katelyn Trela’s preview of the play here
Read staff writer Colin Warren-Hicks’ review of the play here.
On display in the Paul Green Theatre in conjunction with the performances of “Angels in America” is the NAMES project AIDS memorial quilt.
Read staff writer Michelle Lewis’ story on the quilt here.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Memorial Hall
Feb. 22 to Feb. 24 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets $10-$85
Judith Jamison — in her final season as artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater — directs the company’s latest visit to Chapel Hill, highlighting expert technique, passion and the poignant style of Alvin Ailey.
Catch the last show this Thursday!
Read Grace Tatter’s preview of the iconic dance performance here.
Art
The Magical Real-ism of Amy Sherald
Robert and Sallie Brown Gallery in the Sonja Hayes Stone Center
Mon. to Fri., 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Feb. 3 – April 27
Free admission
“The Magical Real-ism of Amy Sherald” continues to dazzle at the Sonya Hayes Stone Center.
Sherald’s artwork is a self-reflection of life as a Southern black woman through post-modern eyes. The work removes the idea of skin color, illustrating the race of her characters through physical characteristics instead. The images grew into fantastical portrayals, full of color and life.
Read staff writer Jess Broadbent’s story on the gallery here
Ackland Art Museum
Gallery and Exhibits (10 a.m. – 8 pm Thursday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. Sunday)
Free admission
Through March, the Ackland is featuring three exhibitions:
-“Tradition in Clay: Two Centuries of Classic North Carolina Pots” features pottery from various collections — including Ackland’s own — all native to North Carolina. More than 100 pots are on display.
-“At Work in the Wilderness: Picturing the American Landscape, 1820-1920” explores the conflicting ideas of land in the quickly urbanizing country. The paintings all examine how one might reframe natural landscapes. The collection shines a light on the human/nature relationship. An audio accompaniment to the exhibit further explores ideas about the changing American landscape of the time.
-“The Oldest Paintings in America” showcases, through photography, the ancient rock art in Utah’s Colorado Plateau. Goodloe Suttler photographed the rock paintings that date to around 5,000 B.C.
The Ackland is also featuring the film, “A Fire in My Belly,” by artist David Wojnarowicz, in its second floor Study Gallery.
Wojnarowicz’s film — which was recently removed from the Smithsonian Institute’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. — features a scene in which ants crawl on a crucifix and deals largely with Wojnarowicz’s battle with AIDS.
The installation at the Ackland includes three films – two longer original cuts by the artist and the four-minute version that was re-edited by the Smithsonian.
All three versions of “Fire in my Belly” will be screened until Feb. 13 in the Study Gallery. Catch up with the films before they disappear.
And read staff writer Katherine Proctor’s post on an discussion panel discussing the film here.
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
The Nasher at Duke continues its musical methods with the opening of “The Jazz Loft Project: W. Eugene Smith in New York City, 1957-1965,” a beautiful collection of photography and recordings from a crucial era in the jazz scene.
Read staff writer Michelle Lewis’ story about exhibition here.
Miscellaneous
Diaspora Festival of Black and Independent Film
Films and Discussions
Ongoing though March 15
Sonja Hayes Stone Center
Hitchcock Multipurpose Room
Free admission
The Sonja Hayes Stone Center continues its regular diaspora film festival with a couple of knock-out films this month.
Thursday night’s feature film “Eat, for This Is My Body” examines the relationship between black boys and white women in colonial Haiti. The visually stunning film takes viewers to director Michelange Quay’s homeland for a journey into difficult historical issues.
Most screenings in the festival feature commentary or discussion from directors or University scholars on a topic relevant to the film at hand.
See sonjahaynesstonectr.unc.edu for more information.
To get the day's news and headlines in your inbox each morning, sign up for our email newsletters.
