Holiday celebrations continue through the long Thanksgiving weekend with the APT production of The Gift of the Magi, the Black Friday Party, performances by the Oakwood Chamber Players and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, a Community Carol Christmas Sing with the MSO, burlesque with Foxy Veronica's Peach Pies, and the Downtown Holiday Open House. The calendar also includes Kids in the Rotunda with The Gomers and a production of www.oz, and live music from Golpe Tierra, ZeroBeat, Harmonious Wail, Audrey Auld, Charlie Brooks & the Way It Is with Clyde Stubblefield, and Reptile Palace Orchestra.
Friday 11.25
NOTEWORTHY: Gdansk shipyard worker & Solidarity founder Lech Walesa elected president of Poland, 1990.
Oakwood Village West, 2:30 & 7 pm
The local ensemble performs its annual Christmas concert -- called, this year, "Christmas Shuffle." Why? Because audience members get to design the program by choosing from categories like carols, pops and wassail. Christmas means surprises.
Cardinal Bar, 5 pm
Enjoy a South American cocktail like a mojito or a pisco sour and imagine you're somewhere far, far warmer than Wisconsin in November, as this local ensemble shares a vibrant set of Afro-Peruvian jazz tunes.
American Players Theatre, Spring Green, 7:30 pm. Also Saturday (3 & 7 pm), Sunday (1 & 5 pm), Tuesday (1 pm), Wednesday (7 pm) & Thursday (7 pm), Nov. 26, 27, 29, 30 & Dec. 1
The summer theater troupe's cold-weather production returns, but don't fear icy blasts. This musical version of O. Henry's classic story is being staged in the cozy, indoor Touchstone Theatre. This year, the show about a financially strapped couple features seven new, original songs.
High Noon Saloon, 9:30 pm
To welcome former Madisonians to town for the Thanksgiving holiday, local reggae masters Natty Nation are teaming up with two fellow groups: Tropical Riddims Sound System, who host WORT's reggae-themed radio show on Saturdays, and T.U.G.G., a band from western Wisconsin that infuses island sounds with the electric energy of ska.
Frequency, 10 pm
This duo of electronic music enthusiasts dabble in jungle, disco, funk and experimental noise, adding live instruments when they hit the stage. With Insurgent and Skaro.
Saturday 11.26
NOTEWORTHY: U.S. denies visa request by PLO chairman Yasser Arafat, 1988.
Overture Center's Rotunda Stage, 9:30 & 11 am, 1 pm
You may know Madison house band the Gomers for their sly, musically resourceful nightclub appearances, but they're also savvy kids' entertainers. Take your children to this Kids in the Rotunda event, and they'll love you forever.
Downtown businesses, 10 am-6 pm
This is the central business district's answer to Black Friday madness, featuring gift bags, activities for kids, trolley rides, carolers and more. Most of the stores offer something special, whether it's refreshments, bargains or charitable opportunities. Stop by Overture Center and have your picture taken, and then look for it at www.oz
Overture Center's Playhouse, 3 & 7 pm
In PlayTime Productions' update, for kids, of L. Frank Baum's beloved tale, Dorothy arrives in the land of Oz after she is sucked into a computer. Sounds a little like Tron, but without Jeff Bridges in that marvelous suit.
Community Christmas Carol Sing
Overture Hall at Overture Center, 7 pm
Join Madison Symphony Orchestra organist Samuel Hutchison and a concert hall full of your closest friends to get your yuletide yodels into tip-top form.
Brink Lounge, 7 pm
The Brink's newly expanded dance floor will teem with rug cutters as Harmonious Wail unfurls original gypsy swing tunes and romantic numbers inspired by Parisian jazz greats Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli.
Mother Fool's Coffeehouse, 8 pm
A native of Tasmania and the winner of the 2006 MerleFest Song Contest, Auld has toured with Fred Eaglesmith and made her way into heavy rotation on the iPod of Aussie country songstress Kasey Chambers.
Gates of Heaven Synagogue, 8 pm. Also Sunday, Nov. 27, 3 pm
The acclaimed local group presents another program of Baroque music performed on period instruments. On the docket tonight: music of Bach, Telemann, Monteclair and more.
Marriott-West, Middleton, 8 pm. Also Sunday, Nov. 27, 1 pm
AJ Gil, an American Idol finalist from way back in season one, joins the WCO for its annual holiday pops concert, along with the Middleton High School Concert Choir. The program includes seasonal music by Hely Hutchinson and Bryan George Kelly.
Charlie Brooks & the Way It Is with Clyde Stubblefield
High Noon Saloon, 9 pm
A consummate R&B and blues singer, Brooks has shared the stage with Percy Sledge, Ray Charles and the Supremes. When he joins forces with James Brown's funkiest drummer, Clyde Stubblefield, the show goes from awesome to magical. With Bradley Fish.
Inferno, 9 pm
The Peach Pies serve cabaret tunes and holiday ditties in outfits that range from naughty to nice, all with a generous dollop of saucy, sassy humor. With DJs Weztek and Alistair Loveless.
Harmony Bar, 9:45 pm
Magician Victor Gorodinsky join the Reptile Palace Orchestra for a spellbinding evening of klezmer melodies, lounge tunes and mind-boggling illusions. With Optometri.
Sunday 11.27
NOTEWORTHY: San Francisco Mayor George Moscone & Supv. Harvey Milk assassinated, 1978.
