What to do in Madison this weekend: Godly the Ruler, 'February' and more Isthmus Picks

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Musa al-Gharbi, Thursday, Feb. 27, Elvehjem Building-Room L150, 5 p.m.: The Humanities without Boundaries series these days seems to be ever-more-ironically named, as the humanities are encountering nothing but boundaries. This Wisconsin Center for the Humanities event, presented in conjunction with the Havens Wright Center for Social Justice, features Musa al-Gharbi speaking on topics covered in his first book, We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite. al-Gharbi, a sociologist and assistant professor at Stony Brook University, rejects the concept of “woke” and suggests the supposedly woke use “the language of social justice to gain more power and status — without helping the marginalized and disadvantaged.” More info at humanities.wisc.edu.

SOULful Joy through Feb. 28, Madison College Gallery: The exhibition “SOULful Joy” features work by 14 artists celebrating Black culture and history as part of Black History Month. The exhibition also is an annual event honoring the memory of Dzigbodi Akyea, an academic advisor at Madison College for nearly two decades; it’s hosted by the Sisters of Unity and Leadership (SOUL) Affinity Group and Division of College Culture and Climate. The exhibit continues through Feb. 28.

In Her Voice, Thursday, Feb. 27, Arts + Literature Laboratory, 7 p.m.: LunART's woman-centric chamber music series is back with a program featuring Grammy Award-winning soprano and Wisconsin native Sarah Brailey. The focus is on living women composers who are so key to 21st century music. The violinists Kangwon Lee Kim and Dawn Dongeun Wohn, violist Marie Pauls, and cellist Lindsey Crabb join Brailey for "The Light Blurred by the Stars" by Eliza Brown, "Nocturne pour Caline" by Danae Xanthe Vlassee, "By and By" from Caroline Shaw, and more. Brailey has sung everything from Handel to John Zorn. Tickets at lunartfestival.org.

A Number, through March 2, American Players Theatre, Spring Green: Two Crows is the small but mighty theater company that works the winter season in Spring Green, to excellent effect. Its second production of this season is the psychological thriller A Number by Caryl Churchill, starring APT Core Company members Marcus Truschinski and David Daniel. Two Crows is branching out into a new venue, APT’s Touchstone Theatre, which should prove an intimate setting for the heady sci-fi-inflected plot revolving around human cloning and father/son dynamics. Shows are at 7:30 p.m.Thursdays and Fridays, at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays, and at 2 p.m. Sundays. Find more info and tickets at twocrowstheatrecompany.org.

Company, through March 2, Overture-Playhouse: With music by Stephen Sondheim and a book by George Furth, Company has found a new audience with each succeeding generation of theatergoers, including Broadway revivals in the 1990s, 2000s and 2020s. Four Seasons Theatre presents a Madison revival of this musical musing on relationships which features among its cast members three sets of real life couples. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Fridays and 2 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays; tickets at overture.org.

I AM a Man: The Re-humanization of Black Men, through Feb. 28, Goodman South Madison Library: A visit to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial at the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis inspired Madison artist Sharon Bjyrd to curate “I AM a Man: The Re-humanization of Black Men.” As she writes in the exhibition description, “In this exhibit, I hope to reclaim the humanity denied to Black men, not only in moments of historic protest but in everyday life — whether through the devastating impact of systemic racism in policing, prisons, or the policies that enforced single motherhood.” More info at madisonbubbler.org.

Greco-Roman Myths and Mischief: Four Epic Escapades, through March 1, Bartell Theatre: Our understanding of what makes a juicy drama stems from the Greeks and Romans, who created the western artistic tradition out of stories passed down orally. The modus operandi was to write a cycle of tragic plays, capped off with a comedy/farce. Here, Madison playwright Nick Schweitzer plays with the form with Four Epic Escapades, which are: “Touched by the Gods, or Venus in Chains;” “A Song of Troy;” “Helen of Troy, Pretext for War;” and “Orestes in the Underworld.” There is nothing like a little catharsis with some hearty guffaws for dessert. Shows are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Friday, and 2 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, plus 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 22 Tickets at bartelltheatre.org.

You Belong Here: Place, People, and Purpose in Latinx Photography, through March 7, Chazen Museum of Art; reception Feb. 28, 5-7:30 p.m.: The Chazen highlights the work of Latinx photographers from the U.S. in this traveling exhibit curated by Pilar Tompkins Rivas of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles. The work ranges from documentary photography to collaged imagery to address politics, the family, identity, community, belonging, fashion and other aspects of culture. In a country that has repeatedly sent the message that the Latinx community does not belong here, this exhibit turns that on its head. See Linda Falkenstein’s article on the exhibit. A reception takes place from 5-7:30 p.m. on Feb. 28, starting with a talk by artists Star Montana and Darcy Padilla; find registration for the reception at eventbrite.com.

Midwest Print Showcase, through March 4, Common Wealth Gallery; reception Feb. 28, 6:30-8:30 p.m.: The Midwest Print Showcase will feature a selection of works by 17 artists, many with a connection to UW-Madison (including lecturer and Isthmus cover illustrator Mitchell Volk and master’s degree candidate Nika McKagen). Screenprinting, etching, woodcuts and other methods will be highlighted. A reception on Feb. 28 features refreshments, door prizes and the announcement of award winners at 7:15 p.m. Regular gallery hours are 5-8:30 p.m., Feb. 26-March 4; more info at midwestprint.carrd.co.

Godly the Ruler, Friday, Feb. 28, UW Memorial Union-Rathskeller, 7 p.m.: A few years ago, Godly the Ruler (aka Godwill Oke) was a psychology major and multidisciplinary artist at UW-Madison. Their expansive vision of music — mixing indie rock, EDM, rap, metal and more — has been steadily gaining a following ever since, including a set at Lollapalooza in their home base of Chicago. With Jordan Waters.

The Peking Acrobats, Friday, Feb. 28, Overture Hall, 7 p.m.: Now that television doesn’t have variety shows any more, buying a ticket to a live performance is the only way you’re going to get to see groups like The Peking Acrobats, part tradition, part circus. Marvel at hoop jumping, table spinning, and more feats of balance. Traditional live Chinese music adds to the show. Tickets at overture.org.

Freedy Johnston, Friday, Feb. 28, Bur Oak, 8 p.m.: Madison is always a homecoming celebration for the 1994 Rolling Stone songwriter of the year. That’s back when his song “Bad Reputation” (produced by Butch Vig) swarmed the radio airwaves. Since those days he’s continued to crank out hook-filled pop and collaborated with artists including T-Bone Burnett, Susan Cowsill and Jon Dee Graham. His newest album, Back on the Road to You, was released last fall and includes a guest appearance by Aimee Mann. Tickets at theburoakmadison.com.

Murder for Two, through March 2, The CORE, Middleton: Murder for Two is a musical mystery in which two actors play 13 characters at breakneck speed — and accompany themselves on the piano. Zany doesn’t even begin to cover this latest offering from Capital City Theatre. It’s all old-fashioned whodunnit fun, and not meant to be taken seriously. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday and at 2 pm Sunday, plus 2 p.m. on March 1. Tickets at capitalcitytheatre.org.

ALL winter exhibits, through March 1, Arts + Literature Laboratory: A new round of artists are inhabiting the ALL gallery for the end of winter and it is an embarrassment of riches. Jennifer Bastian, artist in residence at Thurber Park for the city of Madison, is exhibiting “Grief Wave,” a mixed media examination of her grief following the death of her second mother. Hannah O’Hare Bennett, one of Madison’s foremost papermaking artists, presents “In the Vernacular: People, Places and Things,” a show of low-relief multimedia tapestries. Terri Messinides, a mixed media artist based in Madison, presents “In the Pejorative,” an eye-opening embroidery project about the English language and its war on women. “Pleasure is Power: The Pleasure Art of Sami Schalk and Sam Waldron” celebrates art and activism. Finally, Karen Laudon’s “Rupture” is being held over from fall.

Dropkick Murphys, Saturday, March 1, The Sylvee, 7 p.m.: St. Patrick’s Day is still a few weeks away, but Boston’s rowdy Celtic punks are celebrating in Madison early this year. With a history dating back to the mid-’90s, Dropkick Murphys — named after an alcohol-detox facility, in case you’re wondering — have become legendary among both punk and more mainstream rock fans by incorporating traditional Irish folk instruments into songs about drinking, working and solidarity. In fact, the band even released a song (the rousing “Take ’Em Down”) and sold a limited edition T-shirt to support Wisconsin workers during Madison’s Act 10 protests in 2011. Two more rowdy bands that fit the Dropkick Murphys vibe will open: Philadelphia’s The Menzingers and Wyoming’s Teenage Bottlerocket. Tickets at ticketmaster.com.

Winter Festival of Poetry, Sundays, through March 9, Cafe Coda, 2 p.m.: Eight afternoons of poetry, each featuring six or seven Wisconsin poets, and all before we even hit National Poetry Month (April, of course). March 2 features Patricia Alea, Jenelle Clausen, Mark Kraushaar, Adam Gregory Pergament, Sujash Purna, Becky Schigiel and Annie Sokovich. Find the remaining schedule of readers at cafecoda.club.

Madison Savoyards, March 2 and 8, Monona Library, 2:30 p.m.: If you can’t make it (or haven’t been) to the Savoyards' annual summer Gilbert and Sullivan staging, this sampler afternoon might be just the (free) ticket. The program features songs from The Zoo (a one-act by Sullivan and B.C. Stephenson) and other songs from Sullivan. The plot’s an odd and somewhat macabre twist on a Romeo and Juliet scenario, set in, yes, a zoo.

February, Sunday, March 2, UW Cinematheque, 4 p.m.: Director Nathan Deming, a Wisconsin native, picked up a Golden Badger Award at the 2024 Wisconsin Film Festival for February, the second in a series planned to include a film for each month of the year. February tells the story of a Mexican immigrant living and working in Tomah, who begins to find his place in the community via ice fishing. This winter Deming is back in Wisconsin on a tour featuring a screening of the film along with a Q&A session; the Cinematheque stop is free, but you can RSVP at februaryfilm.com.

Chloe Kimes, Sunday, March 2, Bur Oak, 8 p.m.: Chloe Kimes’ irresistible country ditty “Coors Light” put this Michigan native on the country music map in her new home of Nashville. It also put her on NPR’s Ten Nashville Artists on the Rise list in 2022. She’s a solid guitar picker with a Minnie Pearl voice who’s not afraid to wander into alt territory aided by a hippie-grass mandolin and bass player. Tickets at theburoakmadison.com.

Find the individual Picks collected here, and as part of the full calendar of events.