What to do in Madison this week: Blake Thomas, 'Wisconsin in Black & White' and more Isthmus Picks

by

Infertilities, A Curation, Monday, Nov. 6, A Room of One’s Own, 6 p.m.: Infertilities, A Curation is a gorgeous and deeply personal new book that seeks to give voice to the one in six people worldwide who experience infertility. Women, men, nonbinary and transgender individuals, heterosexual couples, single parents by choice, and lesbian and queer-identified couples contributed their intimate perspectives via personal narrative, poetry and visual art. Co-editor Maria Novotny (a UW-Milwaukee assistant professor of English) and contributor Erika Meitner (a UW-Madison English professor) will read from the book and share their own experiences.

Baby Tyler Band + SPLLIT, Monday, Nov. 6, VFW Post 7591, 7:30 p.m.: What your Monday definitely needs is this homegrown showcase at the venerable VFW on Cottage Grove Road, where you can presumably get a decent brandy old fashioned and enjoy a lot of power punk pop. The bill features a trio of crunchy-catchy locals: Baby Tyler (in full band mode), The Mail Manipulators and According to What. Visiting from Louisiana is SPLLIT, which started as a home recording duo project making hooky and odd rock which since has morphed into a full band. It’s a little switch-up from the euchre games.

Proof, through Nov. 19, American Players Theatre, Spring Green: Brenda DeVita directs Proof, a brainy, Pulitzer Prize-winning drama about a smart daughter, her mathematician father who depends on and uses her, and one of his former students, who may end up doing the same. Read Anya van Wagtendonk's review here, and find the schedule and tickets at americanplayers.org — but don't wait too long, as tickets are already sold out or limited for all performances.

Great Lake Swimmers, Monday, Nov. 6, Bur Oak, 8 p.m.: Great Lake Swimmers band leader Tony Dekker's trip to the Lake Superior shoreline inspired the new album, Uncertain Country. The songs have a sparseness that matches the cold, raw elements of the big lake — and the people who have always lived in the area. The Canadian band features Head and the Heart-like harmonies. Openers Waldemar are practitioners of the flannel mysticism sound of their hometown Eau Claire. Tickets at seetickets.us.

On Various Subjects: 250 Years of Phillis Wheatley, through Dec. 22, UW Memorial Library-Room 976: Two special elements combine in this event: The Special Collections gallery space and the colonial American poet Phillis Wheatley. Special Collections is devoting its fall exhibit to Wheatley, the first African American writer to publish a book of poetry, and one of only three colonial American women, period, to publish a book. Wheatley was taken from West Africa when she was about 7 years old and enslaved; her last name Wheatley was the name of the family in Boston that kept her as a domestic servant yet taught her to read and encouraged her writing. She wrote her poetry in the formal, classical tradition, often in rhyming couplets. The exhibit includes a copy of the 1773 first edition of Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral as well as other ephemera and artifacts concerning Wheatley in popular culture and the complex legacy of her story. The exhibit runs through Dec. 22; the gallery is open from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, but note an ID is required to access Memorial Library.

Wisconsin in Black & White, Tuesday, Nov. 7, Barrymore, 7 p.m.: PBS Wisconsin and the Nehemiah Center for Urban Leadership Development partnered to create the series Wisconsin in Black & White, which examines the state’s history and ongoing problems with racial disparities, and efforts to improve the situation. At this special event, the first two episodes (focusing on education and the criminal justice system) will be screened, followed by a discussion led by Nehemiah founder the Rev. Dr. Alexander Gee. Panelists include UW-Madison professors Christy Clark-Pujara and Stephen Kantrowitz, artist and Black Women Heal founder Lilada Gee, and state Supreme Court Justice Jill Karofsky.

Black Arts Matter Festival, Nov. 8-12, UW Memorial Union + MYArts: As produced by founder and artistic director Shasparay Irvin, the Black Arts Matter Festival reflects the many layers of the Black arts movement and includes music, visual art, stand-up comedy, a vendor market, and a poetry slam with top performers from across the United States. The schedule includes a reception for “Apologetically BLK,” an exhibit by Mawhyah Milton, 5:30-8 pm, Nov. 8, Memorial Union; an All-Star Poetry Slam, 7:30 p.m., Nov. 10, Shannon Hall; and a headlining concert by Tank & the Bangas, 7:30 p.m., Nov. 11; Shannon Hall. Activities move to the Madison Youth Arts building on Nov. 12 for an art market (11 a.m.-6 p.m.) and youth talent competition (2 p.m.). Find more info at blackartsmatterfestival.org. (Note: Mawhyah Milton will no longer attend the reception on Nov. 8, and Jerrod Carmichael's performance on Nov. 9 is canceled.)

Thunder in the Dells, Wednesday, Nov. 8, Central Library, 7 p.m.: The early 1990s documentary Thunder in the Dells focuses on the history of the Ho-Chunk people and their connection to the Wisconsin Dells area. A screening of the film will be followed by a discussion featuring Lance Tallmadge (co-producer of the film), Janice Rice (Ho-Chunk historian), and Lisa Henrickson (great-granddaughter of 19th century Dells area photographer H.H. Bennett). The screening and discussion is part of Madison Public Library’s series “Teejop and Beyond: Celebrating Native Nations,” with programs continuing through mid-December; find the full schedule at madisonpubliclibrary.org.

Clyde’s, through Nov. 19, Overture Center-Playhouse: Clyde’s was the most produced play in the U.S. in 2022, according to American Theatre magazine, and Forward Theater jumps in with its Wisconsin premiere. The comedy by Lynn Nottage centers on a group of formerly incarcerated individuals working at a diner, and their quest to create the perfect sandwich. Shows at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, plus 2 p.m. on Nov. 11 and Nov. 18. Tickets at overture.org.

The Wooten Brothers, Wednesday, Nov. 8, Majestic, 8 p.m.: It would be hard to find a more talented, and funky, band of brothers than the Wootens. Bassist Victor and drummer Roy are perhaps the best known, as founding members of Bela Fleck & the Flecktones. Keyboarist Joseph is a longtime member of the Steve Miller Band as well as Victor’s eponymous band. And guitarist Regi’s unique playing style may be the quartet’s secret weapon. The Wooten Brothers are on tour ahead of their first album release as a group since the mid-1980s. Tickets at ticketmaster.com.

Blake Thomas, Wednesday, Nov. 8, Bur Oak, 8 p.m.: Madison expat Blake Thomas has become the Garrison Keillor of Duluth, Minnesota. Whether staging plays, producing video content, or turning heads with his live radio theater podcast Take It With You, Thomas has come a long way from his weekly Honky Tonk Tuesday series at Mickey's. He’s a clever folk-rock songwriter beneath it all with a syrup-thick baritone voice, and his band for this show includes longtime Madison collaborators Mary Gaines, Josh Harty, Chris Wagoner and Chris Sasman. With Madison guitar slinger Louka Patenaude, accompanied by bassist John Christensen. Tickets at seetickets.us.

LWVWI Issues Briefing, Nov. 9, 11 and 14, Zoom: Each fall the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin hosts a seminar on topics important to the body politic. With 2024 promising yet another most important election of our lifetimes, the 2023 topic, “Preparing for Elections in 2024,” is right on time. The Issues Briefing remains virtual, with programs on redistricting (6:30 p.m., Nov. 9), the GOP’s proposed state constitutional amendments (10 a.m., Nov. 11), and current barriers to voting and issues being handled by election administrators such as threats to workers (6:30 p.m., Nov. 14). Sign up for Zoom links to all or individual programs at lwvwisconsin.wixsite.com.

Twelfth Night, Nov. 9-19, UW Vilas Hall-Mitchell Theatre: It's not quite the Twelfth Night of Shakespeare, though the characters — and the mistaken identities — are the same. This University Theatre production is a musical with a jazz/funk score by Shaina Taub. Shows Nov. 9-19 at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday, plus 7:30 p.m., Nov. 10. Tickets at artsticketing.wisc.edu.

The Secretaries, through Nov. 18, Bartell Theatre: The theme of  “a claustrophobic situation where things are not quite as they seem” continues this fall with this StageQ workplace horror/spoof set in a secretarial pool at a lumber mill. In The Secretaries, the satire has welcome feminist over- and undertones. Shows at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday (except 2 p.m. on Nov. 18) and 2 p.m. on Nov. 12. Tickets at bartelltheatre.org.

Paul Blart 3: Blart of Darkness, through Nov. 19, Broom Street Theater: In a not-too-distant future, one woman tries to bring society back together after the collapse by creating a traditional gathering place: the mall. But who will protect this fledgling enterprise? From the mind of Madison comedian and writer Alan Talaga comes Paul Blart 3: Blart of Darkness, finally making it to the Broom Street Theater stage for a full production after a few years' delay courtesy of COVID. Shows are at 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 3-18, plus 2 p.m. on Nov. 12 and 19. Advance tickets at eventbrite.com.

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