What to do in Madison this weekend: Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Digable Planets and more Isthmus Picks

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Arts

Coffee and Chocolate Tasting — for the birds! Thursday, Jan. 29, Yahara Chocolate, Stoughton, 10 a.m.; Old Firehouse Lounge, Stoughton, 5 p.m.: Many of the birds that make Wisconsin home in the summer migrate to spend the winter in tropical rainforests — habitats that are disappearing due to the timber industry, agriculture and other threats. One small thing we can all do to help preserve the rainforest is to seek out bird-friendly products certified by the Smithsonian. Learn more about (and try) some of certified safe products at two events hosted by the Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance and SOS Save Our Songbirds; the evening session also includes a talk about migration and farms in the tropics. Registration is requested for the evening event at swibirds.org.

12 Angry Jurors, through Feb. 1, Bartell Theatre: Yes, 12 Angry Jurors is basically the classic 12 Angry Men, but the jury is no longer 100% male — these 12 citizens are gender- and race-diverse. That can only ramp up the claustrophobic tension in the jury room, as one holdout in a murder trial keeps the verdict from being unanimous. Madison’s Oracular Studios brings the updated drama to the stage at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets at bartelltheatre.org.

Ironbound, Jan. 29-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? 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.

Digable Planets, Thursday, Jan. 29, UW Memorial Union-Shannon Hall, 7:30 p.m.: Digable Planets may have only released two albums during their original run from the late ‘80s to the mid-'90s. But both were highly influential, first by proving a group could score a big pop hit (“Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat)”) with jazzy, conscious hip-hop, and then by paving the way for hitmakers to follow their muse into less predictable/commercial directions. The original trio is playing a handful of shows this winter, including this concert as part of the UW-Madison’s events celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. With independent NYC hip-hop artist MIKE. It’s free, but tickets are required: artsticketing.wisc.edu.

Before the Mountains of Madness, through Feb. 1, Slowpoke Lounge, Spring Green: Two Crows' winter season launches with this two-actor horror-thriller about a fateful Antarctic adventure at the turn of the century. Before the Mountains of Madness was penned by APT veteran David Daniel, is directed by Two Crows founder Marcus Truschinski, and stars Nate Burger and Neil Brookshire. Truschinski likens the play to horror tales not unlike those by the master storyteller H.P. Lovecraft. An intentionally bare stage amps the imaginative stakes. Read Rebecca Jamieson’s preview of the Two Crows' season here and review of this production here. Performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday; tickets at twocrowstheatrecompany.org.

Big Richard, Thursday, Jan. 29, High Noon Saloon, 8 p.m.: Bluegrass music travels in two mostly parallel lanes: the jamgrass style of bands like Leftover Salmon and the new traditionalist bluegrass of players like Molly Tuttle and Billy Strings. Big Richard, a four-woman outfit out of Colorado, travels in the latter. Their new album, Pet, is a ferocious display of bluegrass technique with jagged lyrics that would put Bill Monroe in therapy. With Ladyslipper. Tickets at ticketmaster.com.

Marna Brauner + Hai Chi Jihn, Lillian Luft, Jan. 30-April 12, James Watrous Gallery; reception Feb. 1, 3-5 p.m.: Paired exhibitions at the Wisconsin Academy’s James Watrous Gallery will consider the curatorial instinct and the clashing human drives of ecological conservation and plunder. “Curio” is a collaboration by Marna Brauner and Hai Chi Jihn, who assembled a “cabinet of curiosities” consisting of found objects in conversation with small, detail-oriented pieces created by the artists. “Deliberate Acts” by Lillian Luft was inspired by the history of native mussel overharvesting in the 19th century, and “poignantly evokes mussels’ bodies and the spaces they inhabited.” A reception takes place from 3-5 p.m. on Feb. 1.

Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Friday, Jan. 30, Overture Center-Capitol Theater, 7:30 p.m.: Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 is not here to be polite. It’s bright, bristling, and always one corner ahead — music that dares the pianist to blink. Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra guest soloist Ilya Yakushev will meet it head-on. Around that main event: Mozart’s Symphony No. 27, all youthful lift, and Bizet’s Symphony in C, the French-sunshine closer that sends you out humming. A nice bit of WCO déjà vu, too: Andrew Sewell conducted Symphony in C for his inaugural WCO concert in 2000. Tickets at overture.org.

Austin Cebulske Quintet, Friday, Jan. 30, North Street Cabaret, 8 p.m.: Even back to when it was new in the 1960s, the variety and quality of the music created by Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson has fascinated other musicians far beyond the rock world. For this tribute concert, Madison-based saxophonist and educator Austin Cebulske will illuminate Wilson’s harmonically adventurous songs in a jazz context, joined by an all-star lineup: bassist John Christensen, pianist Chris Rottmayer, drummer Wayne Saltzmann II, and vocalist Kelsey Wallner. Tickets at eventbrite.com.

Orchid Escape, Jan. 31-March 8, Olbrich Gardens, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.: After the recent stretch of frigid temperatures, many may be thinking of escaping to somewhere warm. A retreat right here in town is Olbrich Gardens' Bolz Conservatory, with the annual “Orchid Escape” display opening on Jan. 31. Along with a multitude of beautiful orchids, this year’s event includes a focus on insects that are part of the plants' ecosystem. Tickets for timed entry are required, and available at olbrich.org.

Gadan, Saturday, Jan. 31, Bur Oak, 8 p.m.: If you like your Irish and Appalachian music with a little Italian seasoning, Gadan is your band. (It could be your only band cooking up that mix, for that matter.) In 2024 the group’s Italian founders added Enda Scahill, founder of We Banjo 3 and a past All-Ireland Banjo Champion, and in 2025 added American clawhammer banjoist Eric Long. Together this group is get-out good, a transatlantic string band orgy. Tickets at theburoakmadison.com.

Door Creek Park Winter Celebration, Sunday, Feb. 1, 7035 Littlemore Drive, 10 a.m.-noon: The cold weather put the kibosh on this one last weekend, but it's rescheduled for Feb. 1. The far east side has a big new park, nearly 160 acres with both developed amenities and woodsy trails. The city celebrates Door Creek Park with this ribbon cutting (happening inside) that highlights the park’s new winter features — a skating rink as well as a staffed pavilion for cross-country ski, snowshoe and ice skate rentals. For this party the equipment is free, 10:30 a.m.-noon, and free lessons for cross-country and snowhoeing will be offered by the Madison Nordic Ski Club (although, registration is required; find info here). Food trucks will be onsite too.

Stoughton Norwegian Dancers, Sunday, Feb. 1, Stoughton High School, 1:30 p.m.: The connection to Norway is strong in Stoughton, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the work of this vibrant dance troupe of young people who learn the dances of the old country and perform them in traditional costume. This “Norse Afternoon of Fun” performance is well worth the trip down 51 to appreciate one of the many immigrant communities that has made Dane County what it is. And you can tell the dancers du er fantastisk.

Winter Festival of Poetry, Sundays, through Feb. 8, Cafe Coda; Feb. 15-March 8, Delta Beer Lab, 2 p.m.: A potent potable and some poetry on a midwinter’s afternoon? Yes please. The annual Winter Festival of Poetry is switching it up this year, moving to two festive locations, Cafe Coda and Delta Beer Lab for these Sunday afternoon readings. Readings continue at Coda through Feb. 8; from Feb. 15 on, readings are at Delta. Upcoming readers include Fabu and Andrea Potos (Feb. 1), Marilyn Annucci and Andrea Musher (Feb. 8), and many others.

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