Let it Blart

“Good trouble,” the mall cop vs. the apocalypse, and more Isthmus Picks for Nov. 26-Dec. 3

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John Lewis: Good Trouble, Friday, Nov. 27, 7 pm: If you missed it as part of the recent Milwaukee Film Festival, there's another chance to catch Dawn Porter's new documentary about John Lewis, a pillar of the civil rights movement and the U.S. House of Representatives for more than six decades. (Sadly, we lost Lewis to cancer on July 17.) This screening hosted by the First Unitarian Society of Madison takes place on Zoom, and will be followed by a discussion on how to support get-out-the-vote efforts in Lewis' home state of Georgia. Register here.

The #@&%!ng Crafty Fair, Nov. 27-29: If ever there was a year for immortalizing curse words by making them a part of your craft items, we reckon 2020 would be it. The Crafty Fair is featuring a special weekend of craft sales highlighting the off-color and the irreverent. As featured crafter Those Effing Stitches puts it, her work showcases "snarky and inappropriate embroidery that summarizes my thoughts and feelings about 2020." Sales run from 10 am on 11/27 to 10 pm, 11/29, on Facebook. Other featured crafters are Peach Beast, Stitch M, Char Brickner and RosyMade Designs.

Paul Blart 3: Blart of Darkness, Friday, Nov. 27, 8 pm: Although critics pooh-poohed the two movies starring Kevin James as a bumbling shopping mall security officer, the filmgoing public loved them. Now there’s a third installment, created by Alan Talaga (writer of "Off the Square" for Isthmus, and creator of The Dan Potacke Show) for Broom Street Theater. "I have never seen either of the Paul Blart movies and had to pick up the character through cultural osmosis," says Talaga in Michael Muckian's preview. Sounds like somebody better call security! Or, just watch the livestream play reading at Broom Street Theater's YouTube channel; donations will be split by the actors and Broom Street, which is currently raising funds for a new roof.

Shop Indie Local + Giving Tuesday, Friday, Nov. 27-Tuesday, Dec. 1: The economic cataclysm of COVID-19 for many individuals and local businesses has been a constant part of our lives since March. If you have some money to spend, it's more important than ever to keep many of those dollars as local as possible. Dane Buy Local helps keep the focus on community merchants all year long, and the post-Thanksgiving holiday shopping kickoff brings some extra Shop Indie Local initiatives this year. Along with the traditional Small Business Saturday (Nov. 28) and Local Cyber Monday (Nov. 30), Plaid Friday (Nov. 27) encourages all to wear plaid in support of local shops, and Artsy Sunday (Nov. 29) is a reminder to remember hand-crafted items and artists of all kinds. Find DBL's online marketplace here, as well as a special holiday-themed page here; the Downtown BID also has a handy list here. And be sure to save some dough to spend on Giving Tuesday, a global campaign to encourage donations (financial, volunteering or otherwise) to nonprofits. Pick a few of your favorites and make a contribution. A Google search for "Giving Tuesday Madison Wisconsin" will bring up some options of participating organizations; we are compiling a list of those we have heard about here.

Disgunt, Saturday, Nov. 28, 8 pm: A genre of music that has been in short supply during our current time of livestreaming is metal. New streaming site thespaceship.tv is here to help, with a set by Madison sludge warriors Disgunt (currently in the midst of releasing a new album one track at a time on Bandcamp). You can find past Spaceship concerts on Vimeo.

Daddy Long Legs, through Nov. 28: Jean Webster's 1912 novel Daddy-Long-Legs has been adapted for television, film and the stage numerous times in the last century. Capital City Theatre's production is a recent transformation into a two-person musical (starring Kailey Boyle and Kevin McAllister), with a book by John Caird and music by Paul Gordon. It tells the story of an orphan whose life is changed by the arrival of a mysterious benefactor and a new relationship. You have just a few more days to view this prerecorded virtual production with a ticket purchase.

Queer Shorts: 48 Hour Edition, through Nov. 29: We can't come together in a theater yet, but that hasn't stopped StageQ from creating a virtual edition of its annual short plays festival — and upping the ante by having the playwrights and actors put it all together in 48 hours. As the troupe's press release puts it: "No one knows what stories will emerge from this blitz but they are sure to be fresh, timely, and queer!" Catch it before it's gone (after Nov. 29); find tickets here.

Fair Trade Holiday Festival, through Nov. 30: The days of November are fading fast. There's less than a week for you to partake in the online version of the Fair Trade Holiday Festival, a Madison tradition. Those looking for socially responsible gifts should visit the website, which features global fair-trade works from weavers, knitters, metal-workers, wood-carvers and more. It may lack the joie de vivre of the IRL fest, but there is something to be said for socially responsible shopping from the comfort of your own couch.

Moments of the Human Condition, Tuesday, Dec. 1, 7 pm: The PhotoMidwest Biennial Exhibit continues in an online version at photomidwest.org through Dec. 31. The next event associated with the exhibit is Tuesday, as Peter Turnley gives a livestream talk on his work, via YouTube.

Transmissions: Day With(out) Art, Wednesday, Dec. 2, 5 pm: In this Zoom webcast from Chazen Museum of Art and Visual AIDS, six short films by artists from around the world examine the impact of HIV and AIDS beyond the United States. The videos from Jorge Bordello (Mexico), Gevi Dimitrakopoulou (Greece), Las Indetectables (Chile), Lucía Egaña Rojas (Chile/Spain), Charan Singh (India/UK), and George Stanley Nsamba (Uganda) cover a range of subjects, including stigma, public health campaigns, homophobia and sexism. (Please note: Due to sexual content, the videos may not be suitable for all audiences.) After the screening, stay online for a conversation between multidisciplinary artist Kang Seung Lee and UW professor Jill H. Casid, "Living with More Than One Virus: Art as a Praxis of Radical Care."

UW Visiting Artist Colloquium, Wednesday, Dec. 2, 5 pm: The UW-Madison art department runs this speaker series all semester long. This week's featured speakers are not visiting artists but soon-to-be graduates of the department's own three-year master of fine arts program, presenting their interdisciplinary work: Jeff Chelf (woodworking), Eva Gabriella Flynn (painting and drawing), Maeve Leslie (printmaking), and Mae Wilson (comics, painting and drawing). Maybe not as fun as an open studio, but right now the next best thing. It's live online at Blackboard: bit.ly/uw-art-talk.

This Wonderful Life + APT's Holidames, Streaming Dec. 2-29: American Players Theatre is offering up some holiday fare for theater-starved audiences to enjoy in front of the yule log. This Wonderful Life is an adaptation of the classic Frank Capra film written by Steve Murray. This is a solo version starring the marvelous Nate Burger playing every character in the colorful community of Bedford Falls. APT's Holidames: Tangled in Tinsel is a world premiere celebration of the holidays that includes veteran women from the company: Sarah Day, Tracy Michelle Arnold and Colleen Madden. These are the first ticketed online events APT has created since the pandemic scrapped their summer and fall season, so you can also feel good by supporting our local thespians through difficult times. Tickets ($24 per show, or $45 for both) go on sale online on Dec. 1. You will receive a code and link that will be available for 24 hours.

From Quill to Hammer - From Harpsichord to Piano, Friday, Dec. 4, 7 pm (RSVP by Dec. 2): Another seasonal tradition making its way to the virtual world is the winter candlelight concert hosted by the University League. Madison Bach Musicians director Trevor Stephenson will present a concert of works by Bach, Beethoven, Handel, Haydn and Mozart, along with a talk focusing on 18th century keyboard instruments. Sign up by Dec. 2 to receive a link to join the event on Zoom; it's free, though donations are welcome for the League's scholarship program.

InstaQuest Holiday Edition, through noon, Dec. 18: The Madison Central Business Improvement District invites the community to learn more about the downtown area by participating in a photo-taking challenge, hosted on Instagram. Competitors (in teams of up to four) respond to a series of challenges describing locations for both in-person (respecting social distancing, natch) and virtual visits. The challenges began on Nov. 15, so catch up by reviewing the rules and registering here.

Better Sleep, Better Health, Thursday, Dec. 3, 1:30 pm: The Wisconsin Alumni Association continues offering free enrichment programs open to all. And it's hard to think of a better time for a talk on optimizing and making better sleep time as we navigate through the stress of COVID. This webinar will be given by an expert: Dr. Steven Barczi, a faculty member of the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health and director of the Sleep Telemedicine Program at the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital. Sign up here for a link to the talk.

Free Bikes 4 Kids Raffle, tickets sold through Dec. 31: The Madison nonprofit refurbishing and giving bikes to families in need hosts its annual raffle fundraiser, this year with a Schwinn Monroe 250 e-bike, donated by Pacific Cycles. Tickets are $20 each, and on sale here through the end of 2020. The drawing will be Jan. 3.

Jane Smiley, Thursday, Dec. 3, 7 pm: The Wisconsin Book Festival keeps on going strong with more excellent programming. Tonight's Crowdcast talk is from a marquee name: Jane Smiley, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the classic A Thousand Acres. She will discuss her new book, Perestroika in Paris. It's an unusual narrative about the adventures of a racehorse, a dog and a young Parisian boy.

We hope it's handy for you to find the Picks in a single weekly post. The individual Picks can still be found in the usual places online: collected here, and sprinkled throughout all the events.