Spring in Madison serves up one more glorious weekend with the Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships, the Breakin' the Law breakdancing festival, the Wisconsin Bat Festival, and the Curtain-Down Party for the Wisconsin Union Theatre, along with a wealth of live theater and music around the city. The calendar also includes: the opening of the Seen/Unseen exhibit at MMoCA, and solo shows by Kristy Deetz and Linda Wervey Vitamvas at Overture; a reading by M. Molly Backes; Are We Delicious? ensemble theater, and productions of Guilt: A Love Story and Listen To Your Mother; the season closer by the MSO and its Community Hymn Sing, and performances by Eliza's Toyes, the Festival Choir of Madison, and Madison Youth Choirs; and, more live music from The Black Dahlia Murder with Exhumed, Wookiefoot, BadBadNotGood, Pimps of Joytime, Plants & Animals, and Panoramic & True.
Friday 5.11
NOTEWORTHY: Chess-playing computer Deep Blue defeats Garry Kasparov, 1997.
Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, through June 16
Drawn from the museum's permanent collection, these modern/contemporary works of painting, sculpture, printmaking and photography offer varying interpretations of the nature of reality. Featured are pieces by Sol LeWitt, Marsden Hartley and numerous others.
Kristy Deetz, Linda Wervey Vitamvas
Overture Center's James Watrous Gallery, through June 24
The gallery hosts two solo shows by Wisconsin artists. Deetz's paintings of unfolded draperies are "on the crease," she says, between abstraction and representation. Displayed on steel carts, former surgical nurse Vitamvas' china sculptures evoke medical equipment. Meet the artists at tonight's reception, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships
UW McClimon complex, 11 am. Also Saturday (8:30 am) & Sunday (10 am), May 12 & 13
In the early days of sports, long before free agency, ancient Greeks ran, jumped and threw stuff. See the Midwest's finest athletes do the same at this event, an awesome preview of the 2012 summer Olympics.
The highlight of this international breakdancing festival is the dance competition at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery on Friday (3 pm, 5-9 pm) and Saturday (4-10 pm), May 11 and 12. Also check out an associated performance of "THE GREATEST! Homage to Muhammad Ali" by the Peggy Choy Dance Company (Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, Saturday, May 12, 7:30 pm).
Firefly Coffeehouse, Oregon, 6 pm
The Oregon-bred, Chicago-based author shares from The Princesses of Iowa, her new young-adult book. Publishers Weekly says it's a "well-executed first novel."
Overture Hall, 7:30 pm. Also Saturday (8 pm) & Sunday (2:30 pm), May 12 & 13
The MSO's final concert of the season shines a light on George Gershwin. With pianist Martina Filjak, soprano Laquita Mitchell and baritone Eric Greene, the ensemble performs "Cuban Overture," "An American in Paris," "Rhapsody in Blue" and excerpts from Porgy and Bess.
Barrymore Theatre, 8 pm
Actor and comedian John Fugelsang presents his poignant one-man show about the romance between his parents, who were a monk and a nun. Things don't normally work that way.
The Black Dahlia Murder, Exhumed
High Noon Saloon, 9 pm
Death metal isn't everyone's cup of tea, but you've got to give Exhumed credit for making it entertaining. The band's tongue-in-cheek take on the genre brims with enough darkness and gore to shroud their sunny home state of California. Headlining act the Black Dahlia Murder explores the melodic side of growls and speed guitar with crowd-pleasing gusto. With Fuck the Facts.
Majestic Theatre, 9 pm
Inspired by bands like Sublime, Cake and Parliament, this group layers funky backbeats with reggae, dub and the occasional sitar. With Ifdakar and T.U.G.G.
Rathskeller at UW Memorial Union, 9:30 pm
This Toronto-based trio puts a super-modern spin on experimental jazz by covering songs by hip-hop icons (Nas) and rock gods (Joy Division). BadBadNotGood's original material explores a smattering of electronic influences, including the dubstep trend of the past few years.
Are We Delicious? Ensemble Theatre
Bartell Theatre, 10:30 pm. Also Saturday, May 12, 10:30 pm
A group of writers and entertainers have spent the past week -- just one week; that's the conceit -- putting this show together. We can't say what it will be like, but local entertainment notables like Catherine Capellaro (Temp Slave) and Matt Sloan (Chad Vader) are involved, so it looks to be funny and good.
Saturday 5.12
NOTEWORTHY: Berlin blockade lifted, 1949.
Warner Park Community Recreation Center, 9 am-5 pm
The Wisconsin Bat Conservation Fund stages this festival of all things bat-related. Check out bats from around the world, build a bat house, and meet bat-preoccupied children's author Brian Lies (Bats at the Beach, Bats at the Library, Bats at the Ballgame).
Overture Hall, 11 am
At this Madison Symphony Orchestra-sponsored event, MSO organist Samuel Hutchison leads you -- yes, you -- in the vocalizing.
Wisconsin Union Theater, 2-6 pm
The lovely old performance space in the UW Memorial Union is closing till 2014 for renovations, so here's your chance to bid it farewell. There are tours and other activities, including Madison band the Gomers' signature live karaoke phenomenon, Gomeroke.
Gates of Heaven, 7:30 pm
The vocal group spawned from the Madison Early Music Festival presents Three Sch's, an evening of music by 17th-century German composers Heinrich Schutz, Johann Schein and Samuel Scheidt.
First Baptist Church, 7:30 pm
The choral group winds up its season with a concert called "I Am Flying," which features music by Norwegian composers Ola Gjeilo and Trond Kverno, Russian composers Sergei Tanayev and Anton Arensky, and more.
Majestic Theatre, 8:30 pm
With members from New Orleans and Brooklyn, this group blends classic funk grooves with soul jams and a heavy smattering of Afro-Caribbean sounds. The result? A sweaty, joyous dance party. With the Mustache, Juno What?! and DJ Phil Money.
Frequency, 9:30 pm
This Montreal-based trio recorded their newest album, The End of That, in the Paris suburbs, but its saucy sound owes more to Keith Richards than Serge Gainsbourg. With Canasta and Little Legend.
Dragonfly Lounge, 10 pm
Though this Windy City ensemble flaunts a string section filled with performers from the Chicago Metropolitan Orchestra and the Slaughtertown String Band, don't expect Mozart ditties or hoedown fare. This rock is raw and riveting. With Dakotas.
Sunday 5.13
NOTEWORTHY: 300,000 students gather on Beijing's Tiananmen Square, 1989.
Middleton-Cross Plains Area Performing Arts Center, 2 & 7 pm
The young singers apply their heavenly voices to "Revolution!," a program that includes Revolutionary War music, as well as songs from the civil rights and anti-Apartheid movements.
Barrymore Theatre, 3 pm
Take Mom to this presentation of readings on motherhood by local writers, among them Ann Imig, Fabu Phyllis Carter and Lily Bragge. With music by Whitney Mann.
Editor's note: This article has been updated to reflect the correct date of Peggy Choy Dance Company's "THE GREATEST! Homage to Muhammad Ali."
