What to do in Madison this week: Old Soul Society, 'The Butter and Egg Man' and more Isthmus Picks

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Lorie Line, Monday, Nov. 27, Overture Center-Playhouse, 7 p.m.: Minnesota-based pianist and composer Lorie Line’s Christmas tour has become a Midwest tradition over the past three decades, and this year she is back with a new show at Overture. Line will play solo piano arrangements of holiday classics and newer songs, joined by guest vocalist Jimmy Finch, a professional opera singer and also director of the choir at Grace-Trinity Community Church in Minneapolis. Tickets at overture.org.

The Butter and Egg Man, Tuesday, Nov. 28, Arts + Literature Lab, 7 p.m.: If you know George S. Kaufman’s work these days, it’s probably for the early 20th century comedies The Man Who Came to Dinner and You Can’t Take it With You, written with Moss Hart. This Falconbridge Players production is a reading of The Butter and Egg Man, his only solo play. It’s a comedy (natch) about a dreamer trying to hit it big on Broadway. Read Michael Muckian's preview here. Free, but RSVP at butterandegg.eventbrite.com.

Artful Women, through Dec. 2, University Hospital-Skylight Lounge Gallery: This annual exhibit coordinated by Wisconsin Women's Network showcases local women artists, this year featuring more than 40. And, following a few years of COVID restrictions, the hospital gallery is once again open to the public for viewing.

Against Time: Three Films by Ben Russell, Wednesday, Nov. 29, Arts + Literature Laboratory, 7 p.m.: An evening of non-narrative, experimental films from Ben Russell is on the docket. Against Time is “a tone-poem in blue and red”; Color-Blind is a synesthetic Polynesian fever dream; Trypps #7 (Badlands) encompasses an LSD trip in the Badlands National Park and then goes abstract. You might want to take a cab home from this Mills Folly Microcinema program.

Orson Welles Presents: An Evening with Nixon, Nov. 29-Dec. 2, Bartell Theatre: The setup: An aging Orson Welles plots a return to theater via a magic show starring himself, in which he will summon the spirit of (still living) disgraced former president Richard Nixon. It works. It’s a new play by Finn Gallagher and Nathaniel Klein, and the premiere production of new artist collective Oracular Studios. (Find a trailer on YouTube and more info at their Kickstarter page.) Shows at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 29-Dec. 1 and 2 p.m., Dec. 2; tickets at bartelltheatre.org.

Old Soul Society album release, Wednesday, Nov. 29, Bur Oak, 8 p.m.: Singer-guitarist Derek Ramnarace is a master of empathetic songwriting; it's displayed on Old Soul Society’s latest single, “Someday,” which channels the heartland rock of peak John Mellencamp (a comparison reinforced by the violin playing of Kenny Leiser). The single is part of the band’s new self-titled album, out Nov. 21 on streaming services, and available on LP and CD at the Madison release show. With an opening set by western Wisconsin Americana quartet High & Rising. Tickets at seetickets.us.

WisPolitics luncheon, Thursday, Nov. 30, Madison Club, 11:30 a.m.: The WisPolitics website provides an invaluable service in covering Wisconsin politics in-depth, especially now that we occupy a crucial position as a swing state. Today’s discussion centers on the endlessly fascinating and frustrating topic of legislative maps, with Rick Esenberg of WILL, Jeff Mandell of Law Forward, Debra Cronmiller of the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, and Joe Handrick, Minocqua town chair. The Madison Club kitchen sends out reliably delicious food, too. Only hope the talk doesn’t give you indigestion. Tickets here.

Philharmonic Chorus of Madison, Nov. 30, UW Memorial Union-Shannon Hall, 6:30 p.m.; Dec. 1, Bethany United Methodist Church, 7 p.m.: A longtime holiday tradition at the Memorial Union, the Tudor Dinners, made its final bow in 2022. However, the Philharmonic Chorus of Madison, long a part of the Tudor program, will present a holiday concert drawing from canonical favorites and presenting new seasonal selections. Concerts take place at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 30 in Shannon Hall (tickets at artsticketing.wisc.edu); and 7 p.m. on Dec. 1 at Bethany United Methodist Church (sold out).

Dallas Goldtooth, Thursday, Nov. 30, UW Gordon Dining Center, 7 p.m.: If you’ve seen the acclaimed FX series Reservation Dogs, you know one facet of the work of Dallas Goldtooth, a writer for the series and a recurring on-screen character as Spirit. He is also a member of Indigenous comedy troupe the 1491s, a poet and playwright, a longtime climate activist, and TikTok star. Goldtooth will give the keynote as part of the UW Indigenous Student Center Coalition’s Native November events series. Register here.

The Films of Edward Owens, Thursday, Nov. 30, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, 7 p.m.: It’s always exciting to discover a previously unfamiliar filmmaker. Edward Owens was a Black, queer filmmaker who got his start in Chicago in the early 1960s. He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and later moved to New York; Owens is known for a “painterly” approach to his experimental film work. This evening features Autre Fois J’ai Aimé Une Femme, Tomorrow’s Promise, Remembrance: A Portrait Study, and Private Imaginings and Narrative Facts, all from the late 1960s.

Winter Fantasia: Reimagined, Nov. 30-Dec. 3, Overture Center-Promenade Hall: anopy Dance reminds us that holiday dance doesn’t stop at The Nutcracker. In the varied program “Winter Fantasia: Reimagined,” Chalo Ramiye will feature South Asian dancer and choreographer Udbhav Desai in this garba dance that’s part of the nine-day Hindu festival Sharad Navratri. Once Upon a Winter’s Eve and The Norse Tree of Life are drawn from Scandinavian folklore and Winter in the City is inspired by Leonard Bernstein’s score from On the Town. Shows at 7 p.m. on Nov. 30, 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 1, 2 and 5 p.m. on Dec. 2, and 1 and 4 p.m. on Dec. 3. Tickets at overture.org.

UW Dance Department Faculty Concert, Nov. 30- Dec. 2, Lathrop Hall-H'Doubler Space: The Faculty Concert offers an excellent opportunity to see choreography from Kate Corby, Karen McShane-Hellenbrand, Liz Sexe, Jin-Wen Yu, and guest artist Taryn Vander Hoop (a UW alum who has gone on to have an impressive career in dance and yoga) performed by the current crop of gifted dance students. Performances at 8 p.m. on Nov. 30-Dec. 1 and 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 2. Tickets at artsticketing.wisc.edu or at the door one hour before the performance.

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