What to do in Madison this week: Sona Jobarteh, 'Chicago' and more Isthmus Picks

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UW Poetry MFA Graduates Reading, Monday, March 20, Central Library, 7 p.m.: This Wisconsin Book Festival event doubles as a reading by this year's UW-Madison students graduating with a master of fine arts degree in poetry: Megan Kim, Renée LePreau, Caleb A.P. Parker, Aurora Shimshak and Mandy Moe Pwint Tu. “Seems a shame to waste/ all that color and sound,” as Shimshak puts it in her poem “Who knows, maybe I'm already living.” “My visual cortex...makes up for what it lacks in hustle/cobbling images from video games/I've never played.” So “level up” and catch these five while they are still in town.

Monica Cliff, Nastia Craig, Todd Siler, March 21-June 2, BioPharmaceutical Technology Center Gallery, Fitchburg; reception March 21, 3:30-6:30 p.m.: Promega continues its role as promoter of the arts with its spring showcase, “ArtScience of Innovation.” Appropriately, the theme of the show is the interplay of art and science, featuring works by Todd Siler, Nastia Craig and Monica Cliff. Siler ranges from abstraction to representation; Craig creates mixed media collages and Cliff uses color and representation in her widely varied works. The opening event on March 21 includes a symposium with the artists at 3:30 p.m. and a reception from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Regular gallery hours are 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Ashley Brown, Tuesday, March 21, Mystery to Me, 6:30 p.m.: Two decades after the death of Althea Gibson — considered the most famous Black sportswoman of the mid-20th century — UW-Madison professor Ashley Brown has written a comprehensive 600-page biography of the professional tennis player and golfer. Serving Herself: The Life and Times of Althea Gibson relies on extensive archival research, oral histories and new interviews to present an eye-opening account of how she negotiated race and gender challenges during a pivotal and often volatile time in American history. Brown, the Allan H. Selig Chair in the History of Sport and Society at UW-Madison, sets a high bar with her first book. Seating is limited and registration is required, but Brown’s conversation with Moe also will be livestreamed on Crowdcast.

Sona Jobarteh, Tuesday, March 21, Garver Feed Mill, 7:30 p.m.: A composer and multi-instrumentalist, Sona Jobarteh is also a trailblazer: the first female to become a professional kora player in the centuries-old West African griot tradition. Jobarteh's rising profile as an international artist (including a recent 60 Minutes interview on YouTube) is helping bring African music to audiences around the world...now, including Madison, with this concert hosted by The Sessions at McPike Park. (The Sessions is also bringing Curley Taylor & Zydeco Trouble to Garver on March 25.) Tickets here.

re:mancipation, Through 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. Read Jeffrey Brown's story about the exhibit here.

Chicago, March 21-26, Overture Hall: Fosse-style choreography (originally choreographed by Ann Reinking) looked good in the 2002 film but this is the kind of Broadway song-and-dance fest that works best live. The story of a murder trial in Chi-town in the roaring '20s, Chicago the musical also features the classic song “All that Jazz.” Shows at 7:30 p.m., March 21-23; 8 p.m., March 24; 2 and 8 p.m., March 25; and 1 and 6:30 p.m., March 26. Tickets at overture.org.

Indigo Girls, Tuesday, March 21, Orpheum Theater, 7:30 p.m.: If you were alive in 1989 you were probably humming “Closer to Fine,” the indelible first hit from Indigo Girls. The song's cropped up in numerous TV episodes over the years on shows from The Office to South Park, but the folk duo of Emily Saliers and Amy Ray are anything but one-hit wonders. They released their 15th studio album, Look Long, in 2020, tour widely, and actively support a large number of causes including voting rights, the environment, women's health, and independent media. With Kevin Kinney. Tickets on Ticketmaster.

Frank Emspak, Wednesday, March 22, UW Memorial Union, 4:30 p.m.: Troublemaker: Saying No to Power is a new memoir by Frank Emspak, a longtime labor activist, UW School of Workers professor emeritus, and a familiar voice to listeners of Madison Labor Radio on WORT-FM. Emspak will talk about the book at this event hosted by the UW United Faculty and Academic Staff (American Federation of Teachers Local 223), of which he is a past president. Check the Today in the Union board for the room.

A World Without Soil: The Past, Present, and Precarious Future of the Earth Beneath Our Feet, Wednesday, March 22, UW Elvehjem Building-Room L140, 5:45 p.m.: The erosion of topsoil and climate change are two challenges facing our shared planet that are tied together; if one gets worse the other will as well. We have the science to slow the decline, but will it be employed in time? This event hosted by the UW Center for the Humanities shares its title with a 2021 book, A World Without Soil: The Past, Present, and Precarious Future of the Earth Beneath Our Feet The author, Wisconsin Institute for Discovery director Jo Handelsman, will discuss the topic as part of the "Focus on the Humanities" series.

An Evening with Tyler James Williams, Wednesday, March 22, UW Union South-Varsity Hall, 7 p.m.: Tyler James Williams has been acting professionally for nearly two decades; in the mid-2000s, he was the youthful lead in Chris Rock's semi-autobiographical sitcom Everybody Hates Chris. Currently starring in Abbott Elementary (for which he brought home a Golden Globe this year), Williams has also been seen in films such as Dear White People and The United States vs. Billie Holiday. Williams will present a talk followed by a moderated Q&A as a keynote speaker for this year's celebration of Black History Month at UW-Madison (rescheduled from February). Register here.

Lynnéa Godfriaux & Brad Pregeant with Tight Like That, Thursday, March 23, Louisianne's, Middleton, 6 p.m.: Vocalist Lynnéa Godfriaux and pianist Brad Pregeant, former Madisonians now based in Colorado, first met when joining a band during their years living in New Orleans. The duo has been playing music together ever since, including in the longtime regional favorite Tight Like That. Godfriaux and Pregeant are accompanied by veteran Madison area drummer Todd Steward and singer Beverly Jean Lewis, visiting from Austin, Texas. It will be Tight Like That's first in-person Madison show since 2019; their annual holiday season concert was among many annual traditions upended by COVID, and their last scheduled date in 2021 was a victim of Omicron.

The Faith Hills Have Eyes album release, Thursday, March 23, High Noon Saloon, 8 p.m.: After a couple years of ramping back up to speed with new band members and teasing their ongoing recording work on social media, The Faith Hills Have Eyes unleashed The Riffth Element on streaming services in February (including a full set of lyric videos on YouTube). The album was worth the wait, featuring a set of thoughtfully pummeling songs with punning titles. The CD incarnation will be available at this show celebrating the album's release, also featuring sets by Whisky Pig, Without Waves and Endswell. Tickets on Ticketmaster.

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