What to do in Madison this week: UW Homecoming, Medea Benjamin and more Isthmus Picks

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UW Homecoming, Oct. 17-22, UW-Madison campus: As per usual, the UW-Madison Homecoming Committee and Wisconsin Alumni Association have planned a lot of events leading up to the kickoff of the Badgers football team's game against Purdue (2:30 p.m., Oct. 22) — trivia, a blood drive, a community mural project, the annual Badger Games, and more. Friday brings the homecoming parade (6 p.m.), traveling from the corner of Wisconsin and Langdon, to Gilman, and ending at State and Lake; it's followed by a block party (Alumni Park and the Terrace) and the Multicultural Homecoming Yard Show (Shannon Hall). Find details and more events at wiscohoco.com.

Enigma: The Prints of David Lynch, through Oct. 28, Tandem Press: This is an intriguing exhibition both for die-hard David Lynch fans and anyone who has not yet experienced The Lady in the Radiator. Lynch began his career by making eerie and surreal black and white works like The Grandmother and the classic Eraserhead before going mainstream (relatively speaking) with movies like Blue Velvet and Mullholland Drive. His prints reflect some of the somber symbolism from his early films. Gallery hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday.

James Baldwin’s Creative Process: Theorizing the 1941 Manuscript of “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” Tuesday, Oct. 18, UW Elvehjem Building-Room L160, 4 p.m.: More than three decades after his death, the work of writer James Baldwin holds a prominent place in American letters, and one that grows in stature with ongoing study (as well as being refreshed in the visual medium with the Academy Award-winning adaptation of If Beale Street Could Talk). Baldwin's debut novel, Go Tell it on the Mountain, had an extended gestation period before its publication in 1953; how the novel got there will be discussed by Jacqueline Goldsby, Thomas E. Donnelly Professor of African American Studies at Yale University. The talk (rescheduled from spring semester) is part of the Humanities Without Boundaries series hosted by the UW Center for the Humanities.

We Are Here: A Journey through Activism with and for LGBTQ+ Communities at UW-Madison, Tuesday, Oct. 18, Wisconsin Historical Society, 6 p.m.: This event hosted by the Gender and Sexuality Campus Center and the Public History Project features a panel discussion by past and current student leaders about the last three decades of activism at UW-Madison, to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the GSCC's founding. Along with food and refreshments, the evening also includes the opening of a traveling historical exhibit, “We Will Always Be Here: Wisconsin's LGBTQ+ Historymakers.”

Pretty Woman: The Musical, Oct. 18-23, Overture Hall: Missing out on this show would be a big mistake. Big. Huge. Based on the 1990 rom-com, Pretty Woman: The Musical is on tour, featuring Broadway star Adam Pascal as businessman Edward Lewis and Jessie Davidson (who just joined the tour this month) as Hollywood escort Vivian Ward. The creative team is led by two-time Tony Award-winning director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell, best known for his work on Hairspray, Kinky Boots and Legally Blonde. Catch the show Tuesday-Thursday at 7:30 p.m; Friday at 8 p.m; Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m; or Sunday at 1 and 6:30 p.m. Tickets at overture.org.

Medea Benjamin, Wednesday, Oct. 19, Edgewood College-Predolin Humanities Center-McGreal Room, 7 p.m.: Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February has sparked near-global condemnation, and global worry that it may escalate into an existential threat to Earth. How did we get here? Co-founder of CODEPINK and author Medea Benjamin will discuss the new book War in Ukraine: Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict (co-written with Nicholas J.S. Davies) in this free talk hosted by Physicians for Social Responsibility Wisconsin and No F-35 Fighter Jets in Madison.

Overture Center Fall Exhibits, through Nov. 28, Galleries I, II and III; through Dec. 4; Playhouse Gallery: On three levels, the hallways adjacent to the Capitol Theater within the Overture Center feature a variety of local art. This fall many takes on the natural world and reinterpretations of “landscape” fill the galleries. In Gallery I abstract paintings from Mark Pflughoeft are paired with nature-inspired ceramics from Kelly Jean Ohl. In Gallery II, Douglas Yu’s charcoal drawings, Michael Knapstein’s photography, and Christian Strait’s macro photography present the world from the micro-level to outer space. And in Gallery III, Leo Salazar and Michael Wartgow take abstract painting and mixed media in two different directions. In the Playhouse Gallery, find an exhibit of works by PhotoMidwest members as part of its Biennial celebration.

Alison Townsend, Thursday, Oct. 20, Mystery to Me, 6 p.m.: Wisconsin writer Alison Townsend will be discussing her book, The Green Hour: A Natural History of Home, with Madison poet Marilyn Annucci live and in-person at this Mystery to Me bookstore event. Townsend, who has published several volumes of poetry, turns to the essay here to parse five rural and wilderness landscapes, and how we as humans connect to the land. Free, but advance tickets are recommended (or register for the Crowdcast stream here).

Kanopy Redux: No Limits, Oct. 20-23, Overture Center-Promenade Hall: This program from Kanopy Dance Company includes some blasts from the past, including works by co-artistic directors Robert Cleary (“Bound and Determined” and “Primavera”) and Lisa Thurrell (“Cassandra's Cry”). Also on the program: “Views of the Fleeting World,” newly commissioned by Kanopy from former Martha Graham Dance Company principal dancer Pascal Rioult, who worked with Kanopy during a March residency to choreograph the piece. Performances take place at 7 p.m., Oct. 20; 7:30 p.m., Oct. 21; 5 and 8 p.m., Oct. 22; and 1 and 4 p.m., Oct. 23.

Lauren Groff, Thursday, Oct. 20, Central Library, 7 p.m.: Lauren Groff’s new novel, Matrix, features a young outcast from the court of Elinor of Aquitaine, currents of violence, sensuality, and religious ecstasy. Her voice on the page is downright spooky, teasing at our deepest fears in a disturbingly matter-of-fact way. She’s also very good on women facing up to abandonment and needing to get creative about it. Groff’s bleakly gorgeous writing is always a pleasure. This Wisconsin Book Festival event is presented in partnership with the UW Program in Creative Writing.

Alejandro Escovedo, Thursday, Oct. 20, Stoughton Opera House, 7:30 p.m.: If you have witnessed an Alejandro Escovedo concert in the past, you likely already have your tickets for this show, part of some limited weekend runs he's been undertaking this fall. If you haven't heard Escovedo yet, it would be hard to find a better spot to start catching up on his deep catalog of songs than the intimate Stoughton Opera House.

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