Advertisement

In the midst of an especially dry and blazing summer, Columbia residents cannot be blamed for pining for autumn’s return. Having something to look forward to or some milestones placed along the path to fall can only help ease the end of this cruel summer and increase anticipation for what’s to come. Fortunately, there is a full slate of arts events between now and the official end of summer, Sept. 21, to keep us relatively cool, calm and collected. The events below are not exhaustive; many more offerings will be listed in the calendars featured in Ovation and After Hours. However, these happenings should prove especially helpful in helping you finish the summer well and not wilted.

Slide Show

Calling off the dog days

‘HAMLET’

What: The question “to be or not to be” lingers, but there is no questioning the greatness and gravity of one of Shakespeare’s seminal works. You only have one more chance — this evening, in fact — to catch the Maplewood Barn Community Theatre production of the bard’s iconic union of madness, murder, revenge, romance and rotten states of being, whether they exist in Denmark or one’s own head.

When: 8 tonight

Where: Nifong Park

Cost/info: $7 for adults, $1 for children younger than 10. www.maplewoodbarn.com.

‘WE ALWAYS SWING’ JAZZ SERIES PRESENTS JAZZ UNDER THE STARS WITH MU FACULTY ALL-STARS

What: The Jazz Series concludes a summer run of intimate rooftop dates with this set by a collection of the city’s best jazz players and educators. University of Missouri Director of Jazz Studies Arthur White has compiled a band featuring the likes of Tom Andes, Allen Beeson and more. This is no supper club swing band. All of these musicians are established artists, and they will be bringing their “A” games, not more tossed-off renditions of “Take the ‘A’ Train.”

When: Aug. 16

Where: Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts, 203 S. Ninth St.

Cost/info: $20 general admission, $25 reserved. www.motheatre.org or www.wealwaysswing.org.

‘A TRIP TO THE MOON’ AND ‘THE EXTRAORDINARY VOYAGE’

What: In last year’s “Hugo,” Martin Scorsese’s meditation on movie magic, contemporary audiences were introduced to the compelling work of early 20th-century French filmmaker and artist Georges Méliès, portrayed with some dramatic license by Ben Kingsley. Ragtag Cinema will screen one of Méliès’ iconic works, “A Trip to the Moon,” followed by a 2011 documentary that “shows how the magic-loving Méliès slid into obscurity after his hit, the astonishing rediscovery of a heavily damaged color print, and then its two decade-long restoration, culminating in the 2011 Cannes premiere,” according to Ragtag’s website.

When: Aug. 21

Where: Ragtag Cinema, 10 Hitt St.

Cost/info: See www.ragtagfilm.com for ticketing details.

‘HOUSE OF CARDS’

What: In 2010, the Columbia Art League dealt local artists and viewers a great hand with its first “House of Cards” show. The exhibit summoned artists to create based on the luck of the draw. They selected cards from CAL Executive Director Diana Moxon’s deck and then created works based on the type. Some chose to re-create their suit quite literally; others reimagined the subject altogether. Present were portraits of winking jokers and heart-shaped flora, agricultural motifs featuring spades and a singular (drag) queen of diamonds. The show’s rousing success led CAL to schedule a sequel. Who knows what new tricks and trump cards CAL artists will have up their collective sleeve this year?

When: Opens Aug. 28, with a reception Sept. 6

Where: CAL, 207 S. Ninth St.

Cost/info: Admission is free. www.columbiaartleague.org.

‘MYTHOS: A ONE READ ART EXHIBIT’

What: The community-wide One Read program is truly a tall, flowering plant on Columbia’s cultural landscape, nurtured and cultivated by the staff at Daniel Boone Regional Library. This year’s selection, Téa Obreht’s “The Tiger’s Wife,” is a tale of family history, personal myth, life and death, war and healing set against volatile social conditions in an unnamed Eastern European country. During September, the library will host a number of panels, book discussions and special events. A related art exhibit will add beauty to the proceedings and further pique interest; the library has invited local artists to make work “that plays with the ideas of storytelling, personal myth-making, exaggeration, secrets and superstitions.”

When: Sept. 2-15

Where: Orr Street Studios, 106 Orr St.

Cost/info: Admission is free. To learn more — or plot out which other One Read programs are worthy of attending — visit oneread.dbrl.org.

‘TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD’

What: Harper Lee’s canonical tale of pride, prejudice, friendship and family comes to the stage in this adaptation by Christopher Sergel. Setting her story against the backdrop of Great Depression-era Alabama, Lee introduces audiences to gallant lawyer and single dad Atticus Finch; his smart and precocious children, Jem and Scout; Tom Robinson, a quiet victim of injustice; and a shadowy figure named Boo Radley. As their lives intersect, and as Tom’s life hangs in the balance, the characters and audience alike learn valuable lessons about what it means to be human and what it looks like to recognize humanity in others.

When: Sept. 8-9, 12-15

Where: Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre

Cost/info: Tickets range from $15 to $34.50. Visit www.lyceumtheatre.org.

ROOTS N BLUES N BBQ FESTIVAL

What: It seems there could be no better way to spend the last day of summer — and welcome the first day of autumn — than being outside eating tasty barbecue and listening to tastier roots music. The sixth edition of the locally grown festival promises to be a stellar one, once again pairing veteran acts — the Rev. Al Green, Marty Stuart, Wanda Jackson, John Mayall and others — with inspired younger artists including Edward Sharpe the Magnetic Zeros, Sara Watkins and Pokey LaFarge. The festival makes its first true foray into the world of jazz as superlative saxophonist Joe Lovano leads his Us Five band, a luminous lineup featuring Esperanza Spalding, Matt Wilson, Otis Brown III and James Weidman. Additionally, True/False Film Fest faithful will be heartened by the presence of Rodriguez, the singer-songwriter at the heart of this year’s film selection “Searching for Sugar Man.”

When: Sept. 21-22

Where: Downtown Columbia

Cost/info: One-day tickets are available for $55; two-day passes are $75. VIP packages also are available. Visit rootsnbluesnbbq.com.

Reach Aarik Danielsen at 573-815-1731 or e-mail ajdanielsen@columbiatribune.com.

Copyright 2012 Columbia Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.