What to do in Madison this week: David Sedaris, Hanneke Cassel Band and more Isthmus Picks

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Hanneke Cassel Band, Monday, Oct. 20, Bur Oak, 8 p.m.: A master of the Scottish fiddle, Hanneke Cassel brings her own modern style to the form through new compositions and creative reinventions of traditional material. Her band includes two other modern instrumental masters: five-string fiddler Jenna Moynihan (who has toured with Seamus Egan and Milk Carton Kids) and guitarist Keith Murphy (founder of Nightingale and a part of the long-running Boston collective Childsplay). Together the trio’s interplay sounds telepathic at times on recordings such as the 2023 album Infinite Brightness. With MadFiddle. Tickets at theburoakmadison.com.

Wisconsin Science Festival, through Oct. 26, various locations: For its 15th anniversary celebration, the Wisconsin Science Festival is bigger than ever, with more than 700 events happening statewide over 11 days including demos, nature walks, formal and informal talks, and even comedy. There’s a lot to parse, but the event guide at wisconsinsciencefest.org offers various ways to filter the info, and also some featured events including a variety of author events in conjunction with Wisconsin Book Festival, Oct. 23-26. Also happening this week: "Finding Your Place in Science," a writing workshop led by author Michelle Wildgen (3 p.m., Oct. 20, Discovery Building; RSVP required); a talk by former Badgers band director Mike Leckrone on the history of popular music (6:30 p.m., Oct. 22, E.D. Locke Library, McFarland); and much more. 

QUEER: A Proud & Loud Art Show, through Oct. 24, Madison College-Gallery at Truax: Madison College opens its gallery doors to a wave of color and defiance with “Queer: A Proud & Loud Art Show.” More than 20 LGBTQIA+ artists present work spanning painting, photography, sculpture, and everything in between.

GLEAM, Wednesday-Saturday, through Oct. 25 Olbrich Gardens: At GLEAM, the outdoor wonderland of Olbrich Gardens receives a nighttime makeover featuring fanciful light-based art installations. The 10th anniversary event is themed on reflection. Timed entry on Wednesdays-Saturdays begins at 6:30 p.m. in October (through Oct. 25, with one final viewing on Oct. 31), and tickets are sold only in advance at olbrichgleam.org.

Understanding and Surviving Our Constitutional Crisis, Oct. 22, 25 and 28, online: This virtual League of Women Voters series is the annual Jane Kirshenheiter Zimmerman Issues Briefing program, which will dig deeper into where the country is in terms of our constitutional crisis, how we got here, and what we as citizens can do to pull democracy back from the brink. The first topic is the executive branch and its role (6:30 p.m., Oct. 22) — nothing like starting out by dealing with the elephant in the room. In subsequent days the series will cover the legislative branch (10 a.m., Oct. 25) and the judicial branch (6:30 p.m., Oct. 28)...because it takes a village to destroy a democracy. Free, but RSVP for links at lwvwisconsin.wixsite.com.

MANIA: The ABBA Tribute, Wednesday, Oct. 22, Barrymore, 7:30 p.m.: Sequins, bell-bottoms, platform shoes — they have the ‘70s look down. And they also bring the sound of one of the decade’s biggest bands. MANIA: The ABBA Tribute has logged more than 3,000 performances in 35 countries, keeping the disco dream alive for millions of fans. Expect sing-alongs to “Dancing Queen,” “Waterloo” and “Mamma Mia” (and perhaps to leave hoarse from shouting “Take a Chance on Me”). Tickets at ticketmaster.com.

The 39 Steps, Oct. 22-Nov. 30, American Players Theatre-Touchstone, Spring Green: This adaptation of both the novel by John Buchan and the film thriller by Alfred Hitchcock goes for comedy as it asks just four actors to play all the characters…sometimes multiple characters at the same time. Audiences should be in good hands for The 39 Steps, with Marcus Truschinski, Laura Rook, Nate Burger and Casey Hoekstra. In repertory, Oct. 22-Nov. 30; tickets were already limited at press time, so don’t sleep on it: americanplayers.org.

Fruit Bats, Wednesday, Oct. 22, Stoughton Opera House, 7:30 p.m.: Fruit Bats, the long-running project helmed by songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Eric D. Johnson, has explored many musical styles over the decades: crunchy lo-fi, hazy Americana, folk-rock, shiny pop, and other side roads. For his September album, Baby Man, EDJ strips down to the essentials with a set of solo recordings on guitar or keys. That approach will be replicated for his current tour, which in addition to songs from Baby Man will feature music from throughout his catalog in a new light. Tickets at stoughtonoperahouse.com.

David Sedaris, Wednesday, Oct. 22, Overture Hall, 7:30 p.m.: David Sedaris has a way of making you laugh at things you didn’t even realize were funny — your family, your flights, your own bad habits. The author of bestsellers such as Me Talk Pretty One Day and Calypso brings his wry, acerbic wit back to Madison for a reading and conversation. Sedaris live is part stand-up, part storytelling, and part social critique, with detours that can be biting, absurd, and unexpectedly tender. Stick around for the post-show Q&A and book signing — often just as entertaining as the performance itself. Tickets at overture.org.

Wisconsin Book Festival Fall Celebration, Oct. 23-26, various venues: This four-day blowout of literary doings is vast in scope. Things kick off on Thursday, Oct. 23, with multiple readings, all at the Central Library. At 5:30 p.m., Olivia Wolfgang Smith reads from her novel Mutual Interest, about queer life in New York City in the early 20th century; Amy Yee presents her Far From the Rooftop of the World, about Tibetan refugees; and Jessie Garcia is in conversation about her novel, The Business Trip, with Madison author Ann Garvin. At 7 p.m., there’s another triple threat: Katherine Stewart on her Money, Lies and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy; Rob Franklin on his debut novel, Great Black Hope; and Jane Hamilton, discussing her first novel in nine years, The Phoebe Variations. See Linda Falkenstein’s interview with Hamilton here, and read about more Wisconsin authors at the fest in Michael Popke's preview. Find the full four-day schedule at wisconsinbookfestival.org.

Pernille Ipsen, Thursday, Oct. 23, Harmony Bar, 4-7 p.m.: Pernille Ipsen, a former professor of gender and women’s studies and history at UW-Madison and now a full-time writer, will launch the English version of her memoir, My Seven Mothers: Making a Family in the Danish Women’s Movement at The Harmony (in partnership with A Room of One’s Own). Ipsen’s book tells the story of her seven mothers who met at a feminist women’s camp on the tiny Danish island of Femø and raised her in communal homes in 1970s Copenhagen. The Danish version of My Seven Mothers was published in 2020 and won the Montana Prize for Literature, one of Denmark’s top literary awards.

ScARE WE DELICIOUS? Oct. 23-Nov. 1, Madison College-Truax Studio Theater: Halloween-themed vignettes will be written and performed by Madison College students in collaboration with Are We Delicious?, the Madison troupe that abides by the stricture of creating a show from the ground up in just two weeks. Performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday. Tickets at madisoncollege.edu.

Head on a Silver Platter: In Defense of Salome, through Oct. 26, Broom Street Theater:  This modern retelling of the story of Salome features a teenager who is drawn into the orbit of a right-wing podcaster — which never bodes well. Head on a Silver Platter: In Defense of Salome is written and directed by Jan Levine Thal, longtime WORT-FM radio host and writer. Performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday; tickets at bstonline.org.

Dracula, A Feminist Revenge Fantasy. Really. through Nov. 1, Bartell Theatre: Kate Hamill’s 2020 feminist recasting of Bram Stoker’s 19th century vampire classic is here just in time for Halloween, courtesy of Madison Public Theatre. Hamill doesn’t parody Stoker’s convoluted tale of Victorian repression so much as she wrests it out of the hands of the men and gifts it to the women. Still, there’s humor and thrills amid the payback. Performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday (except 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 1) and 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets at bartelltheatre.org.

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