What to do in Madison this week: Mallards 25th Birthday Party, 'Garden to the Max' and more Isthmus Picks

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Mallards 25th Birthday Party, Monday, May 19, Warner Park Duck Pond, 4-7 p.m.: Has it really been 25 years? After a checkered past of baseball at Warner (e.g. the Madison Muskies — “Go fish!”), the Northwoods League team the Madison Mallards took to the diamond (dubbed The Duck Pond) a quarter-century ago and began a winning combo of sport and spectacle. The birthday party will feature free hot dogs and soda, and will also celebrate the release of Tom Alesia’s history of the club, Baseball Like it Oughta Be. See Michael Popke’s interview with Alesia here.

Hmong Diaspora in Tapestry, through June 1, Overture-Playhouse Gallery: Wisconsin has been home to members of the Hmong diaspora since the 1970s, following an exodus from Laos and South Vietnam. This exhibition features a collection of embroidered and woven story cloths about Hmong history created by artists from Ban Vinai, Thailand. It’s part of The Hmong Institute’s commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Hmong diaspora, which includes a banquet on May 31 at the Monona Terrace (buy tickets by May 15).

Pint of Science, May 19-21, Delta Beer Lab and Gamma Ray, 7 p.m.: How to make a two-hour discussion on important scientific issues more appealing to an audience who frankly probably just spent 9-5 at their own jobs? Have the discussion at a bar? Pint of Science — an international organization — has lined up a three-day slate of programs in Madison at Delta Beer Lab and Gamma Ray Bar. Plus, there’s trivia! Sessions include Tech for Life: Microfluidics & Hydroponics, Training the Mind (with Richard Davidson) and Opioids, Pee & Science—No Filter, Just Facts (Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, at Delta) and When Science Goes Sideways, The Story of Everything and From Rivers to Space: Exploring Nature’s Mysteries (Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at Gamma Ray) with speakers from UW-Madison. Where else can you learn the history of the universe in under 20 minutes and drink an IPA? See a full schedule and find tickets here.

Book Club Cafe, Monday, May 19, Central Library, 7 p.m.: The Friends of Madison Public Library hosts this annual fundraiser which gathers members of local book clubs and other reading enthusiasts for an author talk, pastries and beverages, and plenty of ideas for future reading. This year’s guest author for Book Club Cafe is Madison’s own Christina Clancy, whose most recent novel, The Snowbirds, emerged in February. Registration required at madisonpubliclibrary.org.

Matt Andersen, Monday, May 19, The Bur Oak, 8 p.m.: Madison is the penultimate stop on Juno Award-nominee Matt Andersen’s tour in support of his new album, The Hammer & The Rose. For this record, the Canadian singer-songwriter/guitarist left behind the horns and backing singers that made 2023’s rollicking The Big Bottle of Joy such a, well, joy. Instead, the new stripped-down songs reveal more of Andersen’s soulful side, blending rock, blues and gospel and delivered with a warm and laid-back vibe. He even covers J.J. Cale’s timeless “Magnolia.” Fellow Canadian singer-songwriter Julian Taylor opens. Tickets at theburoakmadison.com.

Garden to the Max, Tuesday, May 20, Olbrich Gardens, 6 p.m.: Do you stick a geranium in a pot and call it a day? Hello! There’s a whole other world out there and it’s called “maximalist gardening.” Garden author Teresa Woodard and Waukesha gardener Dale Sievert will talk about bringing your plant obsessions to the garden and taking whatever interests you have (for Sievert, it happens to be moss) scenically to the max. RSVP here, but walk-ins welcome.

Cris Jacobs, Tuesday, May 20, Bur Oak, 8 p.m.: Rootsy rocker Cris Jacobs aimed squarely for the roots end of the musical spectrum on his 2024 album, One of These Days, with stellar results. The album marries his soulful vocal style to string band music by the Infamous Stringdusters and guests such as Billy Strings and Sam Bush. Jacobs is on the road behind a new EP, Castaway, which shows a mellower side of his musical persona. Tickets at theburoakmadison.com.

Middleton Community Orchestra, Wednesday, May 21, UW Hamel Music Center, 7:30 p.m.: The Middleton Community Orchestra delivers an evening of monumental music, featuring conductor Christopher Ramaekers and pianist Thomas Kasdorf. The concert opens with Weber’s Overture for the opera Oberon, followed by Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3, where well-respected talent Kasdorf will bring this piece to life with his virtuosic touch. After intermission, the orchestra takes on Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, Resurrection — a sweeping work that explores both darkness and light, culminating in a stirring finale. It’s a night of bold contrasts and transcendent music.

Amir H. Fallah, Thursday, May 22, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, 5 p.m.: Iranian-born, Los Angeles-based multi-disciplinary artist Amir H. Fallah creates ornate environments that play with the viewer’s expectations of art, replacing or obscuring what is “usual” in a given scene. He is particularly adept at using patterns and ornamentation. A 5 p.m. reception is followed by a talk at 6 p.m. (MMoCA's annual Stephen Fleischman Lectureship); advance registration at mmoca.org is strongly encouraged.

Our Home States, through June 7, Broom Street Theater: For the third year of its ongoing project compiling short plays from each of the states in the U.S., Broom Street Theater turns to the Pacific region. Plays will focus on Alaska (the colorfully titled MEDIA or Men Eating Donuts In Alaska, by John Mabey), California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington. Returning to direct this edition is season 2 director Melissa Minkoff. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, May 16-June 7; advance tickets (including for a May 23 livestream) can be found at eventbrite.com.

A House Not Meant to Stand, through May 24, Bartell Theatre: This lesser-known Tennessee Williams play is still very, very Tennessee Williamsy. This was the last play he wrote before his death in 1983. It’s been referred to as a Gothic comedy; Williams himself called it a "Southern Gothic spook sonata,” and it is full of mental illness, family disintegration, and sexual shenanigans. Madison Public Theatre takes it all on with aplomb in this production of A House Not Meant To Stand, directed by Julia Houck. Read Janet Clear’s review here. Shows are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday (except 2 p.m. on May 24) and 2 p.m. Sunday; tickets at bartelltheatre.org.

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