What to do in Madison this week: Cécile McLorin Salvant, ‘A Valentine's Affair’ and more Isthmus Picks

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re:mancipation, Feb. 6-June 25, Chazen Museum of Art: “re:mancipation” is a multi-year collaboration by New York artist Sanford Biggers, the MASK Consortium (representing museums and other institutions) and the Chazen, responding to the Thomas Ball sculpture “Emancipation Group” — on display at the Chazen. (In recent years, a version of the work was removed from public display in Boston). This multidisciplinary exhibition resulting from the project features new work by Biggers and others, video and music responding to Ball's work, historical timelines, documentary material about the project, and more.

Winter Carnival, Feb. 6-12, UW Memorial Union: The Lady Liberty head and torch rising from frozen Lake Mendota? She’ll be there, on Feb. 10-11. That iconic image and other traditional activities return as part of the annual Wisconsin Union Winter Carnival, Feb. 6-12. But 2023 also includes more than a dozen new things to do, from Canadian maple taffy making (1 p.m., Feb. 9) to a Snow Ball dance with the Hoofer Sailing Club (7:30 p.m., Feb. 10), to an ice boat exhibit (Feb. 10-11). (Note: The previously announced Ojibwe ponies event is postponed, but the Winter Carnival has been extended by a day to add Sledding on the Terrace, noon-4 p.m. on Feb. 12.) All events are free, but some require a ticket or reservations. Find the details and schedule updates due to any Wisconsin winter weather surprises at union.wisc.edu/wintercarnival.

Winter Words, Feb. 6 and 20, March 27, American Players Theatre-Touchstone, Spring Green, 7 p.m.: During this APT play-reading series new works get to unfurl their wings; eventually they may end up as full-fledged APT productions. This year's lineup: a version of Chekov's Uncle Vanya by Nate Burger (Feb. 6); an adaptation of Aeschylus' Agamemnon and Clytemnestra by David Daniel (Feb. 20); and The Barber and the Unknown Prince by Gavin Lawrence (March 27). The series is back in-person for the first time since early 2020, and as expected the series sold out quickly; watch for any last-minute ticket availability at americanplayers.org.

Overture Galleries exhibits, through March 5, Overture Center: Consistently some of the most stimulating Madison art shows are found in Galleries I, II and III of the Overture Center, through March 5. The winter exhibits feature 32 local and regional artists. Gallery I pairs an artist known as The Artist with painter Christopher Sweet for a show called “Healing Journeys: Heritage and Resistance.” Gallery II pairs artist book-maker Barbara Justice and photographer Chris Chanson for “Fictive Artifacts and Intimate Kinship” and Gallery III pairs photographer Jim Barnard and watercolorist Chele Ramos for a show focused on portraiture called “See Me: Expressions of Identity.” The Playhouse Gallery features Madison Contemporary Fiber Artists in “Roots, Our Foundation,” through Feb. 26.

Cécile McLorin Salvant, Tuesday, Feb. 7, UW Memorial Union-Shannon Hall, 7:30 p.m.: A three-time Grammy Award winner, Cécile McLorin Salvant was also nominated for 2022's Ghost Song at the 2023 awards (Samara Joy, performing as part of the Wisconsin Union Theater Jazz Series on Feb. 16, took home the Best Jazz Vocal Album trophy on Feb. 5). The album is an excellent introduction to Salvant's dizzying eclecticism; reimagined songs by iconic artists such as Kate Bush and Sting mix with original compositions synthesizing Salvant's influences into something simultaneously new and comfortably familiar (such as the Blossom Dearie-esque "Obligation").

Hand Made in America: Contemporary Custom Footwear, Feb. 8-May 14, UW Nancy Nicholas Hall-Mecklenburg Textile Gallery; reception Feb. 9, 4-7 p.m.: We are so used to mass-produced shoes we have mostly forgotten that they can be made for a specific someone's foot — and be works of art. These shoes and boots come from 11 makers of custom footwear from across the United States who are part of a renaissance of handmade footwear. Curator, shoemaker and artist Amara Hark-Weber will speak along with others at 4 p.m. on Feb. 9, followed by an opening reception. Current gallery hours: 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Wednesday and Friday; 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Thursday; and noon-4 pm Saturday-Sunday.

Airness, through Feb. 12, Overture Center-Playhouse: Is air guitar the most truly American of the art forms? This comedy by Chelsea Marcantel centers on Nina, who enters an air guitar competition only to find levels of meaning she didn't suspect were there, like the importance of setting yourself free. Forward Theater Company's production of Airness is the Wisconsin premiere. For those about to rock, we salute you. Performances at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, plus 2 p.m., Feb. 11. Read Gwendolyn Rice's review here.

Terri Laxton Brooks, Thursday, Feb. 9, Mystery To Me, 6-7:30 p.m.: Reedsburg native and Madison resident Terri Laxton Brooks will discuss her no-holds-barred book, On Loneliness: How to Feel Less Alone In an Isolating World, with Doug Moe. Published late last year, the book explores Brooks' own struggles with feeling alone despite having a successful career, and it is the “culmination of four years of soul-searching conversations with America’s leading psychologists and psychiatrists about loneliness — how to cope with it, why it is a normal and necessary stage of healthy growth, and how to stop resisting it,” according to the author’s website. Seating is limited, but Brooks’ conversation with Moe also will be livestreamed on Crowdcast; find registration at mysterytomebooks.com.

PechaKucha, Thursday, Feb. 9, Monona Terrace, 6 p.m.: PechaKucha is a storytelling format like a TEDX talk with PowerPoint slides. Sort of. Each presenter shows 20 images for 20 seconds apiece...that's right, presenters have 400 seconds to tell their tale before the orchestra starts playing them off. Tonight's topic is about working in the biohealth field. It's free, but you will need a ticket.

A Valentine's Affair: Love Scenes from Shakespeare and Beyond, Feb. 9-11, Brink Lounge, 7:30 p.m.: Madison Shakespeare Company presents its fifth installment of Valentine's Day-appropriate scenes from the works of Shakespeare, plus contemporaries Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Middleton. All eight scenes are new to the series, but returning is one wild card each evening: “Sonnets from a Hat” puts the cast to the test of performing a sonnet randomly selected from audience suggestions. Annie Jay returns as director of this year's production. Find ticket info at madisonshakespeare.org (and note, the time is 7:30 p.m., not 7 p.m. as published in the Feb. 2 print edition).

Natural Satellite, Thursday, Feb. 9, North Street Cabaret, 7 p.m.: The sound of this husband-wife duo from Menasha, Wisconsin, is built on unique finger plucking of the cello played by Karli Reisdorf. She also happens to sing like an angel. Jason Reisdorf’s tenor sax blends as if another singing voice is there. The subjects trend serious, Karli’s experiences with depression among them. The vulnerability that comes with the music is the bargain Natural Satellite makes with its audience.

The Abortionist: A Woman Against the Law, through Feb. 11, Broom Street Theater: Anyone missing the days when Joel Gersmann was artistic director of Broom Street Theater, or anyone who missed those exuberant years altogether, take note. The company is bringing back one of Gersmann's trenchant plays, The Abortionist: A Woman Against The Law, in a new adaptation directed by Scott Feiner. Sadly, the 1995 play is even more timely now than when it was written given the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision overturning a constitutional right to an abortion. The play is about a real woman, Ruth Barnett, who ran an illegal abortion clinic in Portland, Oregon. Performances will be held at 1119 Williamson St. at 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Jan. 20-Feb. 11. Walk-up tickets are available; advance tickets here.

UW Dance Faculty Concert, Feb. 9-11 and 16-18, UW Lathrop Hall-H'Doubler Performance Space: This year, a highlight of the faculty concert will be “Manifesting Destiny,” from visiting artist Charles O. Anderson. The dance, an excerpt from a larger work in progress, imagines equity, particularly women's equity. Also look for Chris Walker's new work developed in response to “Sifting & Reckoning,” the UW-Madison's Chazen exhibit on its own histories of discrimination and exclusion. Performances at 8 p.m. Thursdays-Fridays and 2:30 p.m. Saturdays; a livestream option is also available Feb. 11. Ticket info here.

Editor's note: This post has been updated to correct the time for the Madison Shakespeare Company production, and with new information on the Grammys and Winter Carnival.