Happy St. Patrick's Day! Madison celebrates the green season this weekend with: a parade on the Square; live music and libations at the High Noon, Claddagh, and the Harmony; and an Irish-themed '80s vs. '90s dance party at the Majestic. The calendar also includes: the Kids Expo; the Light and Color spring art show; a new edition of Line Breaks and productions of Don Giovanni, As Bees In Honey Drown, and Cats; a Duck Soup Cinema screening; a Mad Rollin' Dolls bout; performances by the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and Trans-Siberian Orchestra; the Spring Dubtacular; and, more live music from BBU, Dastardly, Full House Quintet, Toots & the Maytals, and Sons of Daughters.
Friday 3.16
NOTEWORTHY: My Lai massacre, 1968.
Promega Gallery, through June 1
Promega BioPharmaceutical Technology Center presents its spring art show, which features the work of Wisconsin artists: sculptor Steve Feren, abstract painter Derrick Loring Buisch, and Gregory Zeszotarski, who works in oil, pastels, acrylic and mixed media.
Overture Center's Rotunda Studio, 7 pm, and through March 20
The UW's Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives stages its annual confab of spoken-word and hip-hop performance, with presentations of music, theater, poetry and dance.
UW Music Hall, 7:30 pm. Also Sunday (3 pm) & Tuesday (7:30 pm), March 18 & 20
University Opera presents Mozart's chill-inducing tale of a depraved nobleman. Completists take note: Most major roles are sung by one cast on Friday and Tuesday, by another cast on Sunday.
Bartell Theatre, 8 pm. Also Saturday, March 17, 8 pm
With Mercury Players Theatre, Out!Cast Theatre presents Douglas Carter Beane's 1997 comedy about a con artist and the young author she targets.
Sett at UW Union South, 8 pm
This Windy City hip-hop crew lace rhyme-filled party soundtracks with sharp-edged political messages. Tonight they perform, with DJ Diox, at the runway show that concludes UW Fashion Week.
Overture Hall, 8 pm. Also Saturday (2 & 8 pm) & Sunday (1 & 6:30 pm), March 17 & 18 A touring company offers Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, one of the most popular of all time. A feline tribe gathers in a junkyard to dance, sing and choose one lucky cat to ascend to the Heavenside Layer. You get extravagant costumes, catchy pop songs like "Memory" and verse by T.S. Eliot.
Overture Center's Capitol Theater, 8 pm
In a program called "Celtic Celebration," the phenomenal UW pianist Christopher Taylor joins Andrew Sewell's merry band in performing the Piano Concerto No. 4 in E-flat Major of 19th-century Irish composer John Field. Music of Mendelssohn, Mozart and Granville Bantock also is on the docket.
Majestic Theatre, 9 pm
Colorado's Roster McCabe showcases its improvisational reggae-rock, which is equal parts funky and spacey, and the hometown jammers of Natty Nation highlight their danceable blend of club-ready dub and roots reggae. With T.U.G.G. and DJ Trichrome.
Saturday 3.17
NOTEWORTHY: Former Milwaukee resident Golda Meir sworn in as Israeli prime minister, 1969.
Alliant Energy Center's Exhibition Hall, 10 am-4 pm. Also Sunday, March 17, 10 am-4 pm
The expo features hundreds of exhibitors representing services for children. While parents browse the booths, kids can keep busy with performances and activities.
High Noon Saloon, 12:30 pm
Fueled by 12 years of pub-playing experience, this local outfit toasts the Emerald Isle with traditional Celtic songs, tuneful rebel yells and ditties about drinking.
Claddagh Irish Pub, 1 pm
This local band shares its name with the brightest star in the Orion constellation, which seems fitting given the considerable talent of the performers. Watch them shine as they perform Celtic music laced with Cape Breton fiddling and hints of bluegrass. With the Pints (5 pm) and Lube (9:30 pm).
Capitol Square, 1:30 pm
It's about time we saw a little green around here. The annual parade features grand marshal Pat Gallagher, program director at 105.5 Triple M. The fun starts with a run/walk at 10 am.
Overture Center's Capitol Theater, 2 & 7 pm
Overture's family-friendly series brings back the vaudeville era with a brisk variety show and a silent film, Harold's Lloyd's The Kid Brother, accompanied live on the Grand Barton organ.
Harmony Bar, 6 pm Two lively marching bands -- the Firefighters Local 311 Pipes & Drums and the Forward! Marching Band -- get the crowd clapping at the Harmony Bar's annual party. With the Currach and Learning Curve Band.
Alliant Energy Center's Exhibition Hall, 6 pm
Fishnets and sly nicknames are the watchword as another roller derby bout unfolds. The Vaudeville Vixens take on the Quad Squad, and the Reservoir Dolls skate against the Windy City Rollers' Double Crossers.
Project Lodge, 7:30 pm
This Chicago-based band spins its love of Roy Orbison, the Carter Family and the Muppets into sonic treats dipped in the sweet melodies of cowboy troubadours and the salty licks of indie-rock guitars. With Icarus Himself and the Lonesome Savages.
Mother Fool's Coffeehouse, 8 pm
As befits a Joan Wildman project, this creative local ensemble is hard to classify, improvising in jazz and classical styles. When's the last time you heard a lineup of synth, two bassoons, viola and bass?
High Noon Saloon, 8 pm
Chicago's Go Long Mule warms up the stage with a multi-instrumental mélange of blues, folk and colorful scraps of Americana, while Madison's Kissers make the crowd reel -- literally and metaphorically -- with an energetic fusion of Irish melodies and rock 'n' roll.
Barrymore Theatre, 8 pm
The Jamaican-born purveyors of ska, reggae and rocksteady instigate an evening of groovy moves and relaxed moods on Atwood Avenue. With the Constellations.
Alliant Energy Center's Coliseum, 8 pm
Named one of the top touring acts of the past decade by Billboard, this symphonic prog-metal ensemble wows the crowd with big sounds, mesmerizing lasers and pyrotechnics that would astound Beavis and Butt-head.
'80s vs. '90s: St. Patrick's Day Edition
Majestic Theatre, 9 pm
For St. Patty's Day, DJs Nick Nice and Fusion brandish retro tunes with Irish connections, including hits by U2 and House of Pain.
Sunday 3.18
NOTEWORTHY: The Clash release "White Riot," 1977; British filmmaker Anthony Minghella dies, 2008.
Cardinal Bar, 7 pm
The free-jazz trio with Wisconsin roots and members in New York and Boston unveils a new album, Beyond Animals; much of it was written in Wisconsin. Representative song title: "Fistconsin."
