What to do in Madison this week: George Saunders, 'A Valentine's Affair' and more Isthmus Picks

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Arts

Several Questions with Nate Chappell, Monday, Feb. 9, Gamma Ray, 6:30 p.m.: Comedian Nate Chappell has been hosting the Several Questions podcast weekly for several years now, and the podcast has also morphed into the occasional live event in local clubs. The latest edition, “Oops, All Autistics,” features a panel of four autistic individuals — Riley Kowalksi, Shivam Patel, John Roth and Laura Sweeney — fielding questions from Chappell. The evening starts with music by Ty Ensrude. Tickets benefit the Autism Society of South Central Wisconsin, and can be found at gammaray.bar.

Faisal Abdu’Allah, through Feb. 20, BioPharmaceutical Technology Center Gallery, Fitchburg: UW-Madison professor Faisal Abdu’Allah creates art in a variety of media — printmaking, photography, barbering — but no matter the form it is always thought-provoking. His collection for the Promega Art Showcase, “Family Ties,” explores the connections of ancestry and chosen groups; as described by the gallery, “the artist explores the passage of time, unpacked masculinity, mythology and racial perception.” Regular gallery hours are 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday. Find more info at promega-artshow.com.

George Saunders, Tuesday, Feb. 10, Orpheum, 7 p.m.: What a coup for the Wisconsin Book Festival to be hosting George Saunders on his tour for his new novel, Vigil. His first novel, Lincoln in the Bardo, broke pretty much all the molds and won the prestigious Man Booker prize. Vigil claims similarly offbeat territory, as a figure (we won’t say angel) comes back to Earth to escort a dying man to the afterworld. Like so much of Saunders' work, it tackles the big questions in most unexpected ways. Free copies of the book will also be handed out at this free event; expect a line and a packed house. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Kimberly Akimbo, Feb. 10-15, Overture Hall: Some musicals dare you to feel something. Kimberly Akimbo ambushes you — then hands you a punchline so you don’t get too comfortable. The musical adaptation of David Lindsay Abaire’s play about a teenager suffering from a disease causing advanced aging swept the 2023 Tonys with five wins, including Best Musical, and you can hear why: it’s brisk, sharp, and oddly life-affirming, with humor that doesn’t sand down the sharp edges. Performances at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 10-13, 2 and 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 14, and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Feb. 15; tickets at overture.org.

Andy Ewen, Feb. 11-March 21, Giant Jones Brewing; reception Feb. 20, 5-9 p.m.: In the 1980s and '90s Andy Ewen created illustrations for The New York Times Book Review, The Progressive and Isthmus; more recently his professional life has been at the UW-Madison medical school. But many in Madison will know Ewen as frontman/songwriter for the band Honor Among Thieves. In an artist statement, Ewen describes the work in “Recent Drawings” as “semi-automatic…I just start by drawing a line or a shape, and then let my imagination free associate in a manner akin to lucid dreaming.” The tasting room at Giant Jones is open Wednesday-Saturday; find hours at giantjones.com. A reception takes place from 5-9 p.m. on Feb. 20.

Ironbound, through Feb. 15, Overture Center-Playhouse: Forward Theater Company presents the Wisconsin premiere of a play centered on a timely topic: the experience of an immigrant in America. Ironbound, by Martyna Majok, tells the story of a couple decades in the life of a woman from Eastern Europe who lands on the East Coast in the late 20th and early 21st century looking for a better life, and love, in a new country. How will her life plans change over the years while fighting for a secure existence? Read Rebecca Jamieson's review here. Performances at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, plus 2 p.m. on Feb. 7 and 14. Tickets at overture.org.

A Road at Night, Thursday, Feb. 12, Point Cinema, 5:30 p.m.: A Road at Night is a documentary about former Wisconsin Badgers basketball player and coach Howard Moore and his family. Before the film screened at the 2025 Wisconsin Film Festival, director John Roach told Isthmus editor Judith Davidoff that it’s a film not about basketball, but a cautionary story about drunk driving; Moore’s wife, Jennifer, and daughter, Jaidyn, were killed, and Moore and his son, Jerrell, seriously injured in crash caused by a drunk driver. The film’s first run in a theater begins with a benefit event on Feb. 12, featuring a panel discussion and reception along with a screening; all proceeds from screenings (continuing through Feb. 18) will support Howard Moore’s ongoing medical care.

Social Cinema, Thursdays, Feb. 12-March 19, UW Union South-Marquee, 6:30 p.m.: Each winter, the Havens Wright Center for Social Justice (with other campus partners) coordinates the Social Cinema film series. This year features documentaries on timely topics: book bans (The Librarians, Feb. 19); the housing crisis (Fault Lines, March 5); families facing state bans on transgender care for their children (Just Kids, March 12); and the right’s attempt to create a narrative of white victimization (White With Fear, March 19). The series kicks off farther afield on Feb. 12 with Mr. Nobody Against Putin, the story of a Russian school worker who quietly documented the rise of militarization in schools following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Find more info and the full schedule at havenswrightcenter.wisc.edu.

A Love Letter, through Feb. 15, Art House 360, Verona: Theatre LILA collaborates with the contemporary and hip-hop-inflected Madison dance company Barrio Dance for an experimental dance-theater production. It’s about love — but, like love itself, it takes unexpected turns and leads the audience into new places. Theatre LILA’s Jessica Lanius calls A Love Letter “immersive” and says that the new venue ART House 360, 401 W. Main Street in Verona, enhances that connection. Shows are at 7 p.m. Thursday-Friday, 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday; tickets at theatrelila.com.

Joyce DiDonato + Time for Three, Thursday, Feb. 12, UW Memorial Union-Shannon Hall, 7:30 p.m.: Emily Dickinson was no church mouse — her poetry frequently encompasses big feelings, as does Emily: No Prisoner Be. The setup alone is a jolt: superstar mezzo Joyce DiDonato joins the genre-hopping trio Time for Three for a made-to-measure piece by composer Kevin Puts (who wrote the music for the 2022 opera The Hours). Video projections and Dickinson’s poems drive the whole thing like a theatrical pulse. Think less “song cycle” and more interior drama — 24 poems, big emotion, and an evening that treats Dickinson as the complicated artist she was. Tickets at artsticketing.wisc.edu.

C’est La Vie, through Feb. 21, Bartell Theatre: Though this production is new, the concept is familiar: a lifetime includes a lot of scenes you don’t realize mattered until later. C’est La Vie, presented by Madison Public Theatre, features a collection of short works, written by Gretchen Suárez-Peña, that examine “the little things that make us all human,” as described by the playwright. Performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday (except 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 21) and 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets at bartelltheatre.org.

A Valentine’s Affair, Feb. 12-14, Bartell Theatre: Love can be messy. Madison Shakespeare Company’s flirtatious annual compilation, “A Valentine’s Affair,” leans into the mess with works drawn from canonical writers such as William Congreve, Thomas Heywood, Edmond Rostand and, of course, Shakespeare. The best part is often the curveball: “Sonnets From a Hat,” where the audience helps pick a random sonnet to be performed. It’s a fast-moving, slightly feral mash-up of love in all its forms. Performances at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 12-13 and 5 p.m. Feb. 14; tickets at bartelltheatre.org.

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

Editor's note: This post has been updated with a new ending date for screenings of A Road at Night.