Monday 5.7
Madison Young Playwrights Festival
Overture Center Playhouse, 7 pm
In the Madison Repertory Theatre's free event, professional actors and directors present staged readings of plays by East High School students. The kids have been working on their craft all year under the supervision of Rep staff.
Tuesday 5.8
Sundance Cinemas 608, 5:30 pm
Sundance Cinemas 608 opens at Hilldale Mall on May 11, but first come three grand-opening benefit events. The May 6 and 7 events are sold out, but at press time you could still get tickets to the benefit for OutReach, featuring entertainment and the movie La Vie en Rose.
Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, 7 pm
Puentes is a program that helps bridge the cultural divide between Wisconsin farmers and the Mexicans who work for them. Founders Shaun Judge Duvall and Carl Duley discuss the results with dairy farmer John Rosenow in an event hosted by the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters.
Shiny Toy Guns and The Rapture
Club 770 in UW Union South, 7:30 pm
L.A.'s radio-friendly Shiny Toy Guns take the electro-rock dance crowd to "Le Disko" and beyond. Not to be outdone in the booty-moving department, disco-funk aficionados the Rapture will wring a couple dozen gallons of sweat out on the floor as well. If you're not dancing, you're either dead or way too high.
Madison Music Project Charter Club Tour
King Club, 9 pm
Madison's Rob Dz, underground Chicago rappers Earatik Statik, and politically aware Ghana-born MC Blitz the Ambassador fill up a varied hip-hop bill. It's part of a new series that highlights local music and local clubs, based on Isthmus' online directory at MadisonMusicProject.com.
Annex, 9:30 pm
The Rockstar: Supernova alum didn't make the cut with Jason Newsted et al., but his conventional good looks assure successful club tours of the heartland for years to come. The Dane Varese Band opens.
Wednesday 5.9
UW Pyle Center, 4 pm
The author of Darwinism and Its Discontents passionately argues Darwin's side in a discussion of the creationism-evolution debate.
Brink Lounge, 7:30 pm
Witty folk/jazz singer Claudia Schmidt joins forces with fellow Midwestern singer-songwriters Kitty Donohoe and Jan Krist in this promising new trio.
Alliant Energy Center Coliseum, 7:30 pm
By-the-numbers hard-rockers Hinder scored platinum-level sales with the suitably moody "Get Stoned." Undoubtedly, many in the youthful crowd will have done just that long before Papa Roach pummels and squeals in the opening slot.
High Noon Saloon, 8 pm
Mullins had a hit in the '90s with "Lullaby," but the smart, deceptively amiable folk and roots material on last year's Ninth Ward Pickin' Parlor proved that the Atlanta-based singer-songwriter has no intention of coasting on past achievements. Cory Chisel opens.
Thursday 5.10
B-10 UW Ingraham Hall, 6 pm
The acclaimed author of Reservation Blues reads from his first novel in 10 years, Flight. It's the story of an orphaned Indian boy who travels through time searching for his identity.
Borders West, 7:30 pm
The geographer, now retired from the UW, discusses his book Coming Home to China. It's his account of returning to the town he left as a child 64 years earlier.
Bobby Lee Rodgers & the CodeTalkers
High Noon Saloon, 9 pm
Rodgers has a full complement of roots guitar styles down pat, and he uses 'em to ramrod the CodeTalkers through a thoroughly accessible dance party. Bumpus opens.
