ART | Not just T-shirts
On Friday night, 52.5 Records hosts the opening reception of the art show Screen Printing 101. Twenty local and national artists will showcase their cutting-edge works, with much of it available for purchase. Each artist will show two to five pieces, so there will be a wide variety on display. Styles range from abstract to traditional, from drawings to photographs, and from black-and-white to full color. Chuck Keppler and John Pundt are two local artists participating in the show. Keppler taught himself the art of screen printing from a library book and started producing gig posters for local bands in 2004. As his talent grew, he branched out to other forms of media. Pundt has been known to render art from unique materials and is called the printshop guru by his friends. Other featured artists include Print Mafia, Leia Bell, Strawberryluna, Angryblue, and many others. The Explorers Club will perform beach party music, and light refreshments will be served. —Madelyne Adams Nov. 30-Dec. 30, 7-9 p.m. Free. 52.5 Records, 561 King St. (843) 722-3525, www.corporaterocksucks.com.
HOLIDAYS | Building up to the most wonderful time of the year
The stores have been decked out for the holidays since Halloween, but most sane people have held back from truly getting their Christmakwanzakah spirit on until after Turkey Day. This weekend sees the start of December and plenty of city-sponsored holiday events to get you in the mood. On Saturday and Sunday, go to Marion Square for a special holiday edition of the Farmers Market featuring wreaths, greenery, baked goods, and gifts. Stick around until 4:30 p.m. for the official lighting ceremony of the 60-foot Christmas tree — Mayor Joe Riley and Santa Claus will be in attendance. As the sun goes down, head toward the Harbor to watch the 28th annual Parade of Boats, hosted in part by the U.S. Power Squadron. The festive line of brightly decorated vessels will proceed from the Cooper River in Mt. Pleasant at 5 p.m., through the Charleston Harbor, and into the Ashley River, culminating in a brilliant fireworks display over the harbor around 6:45 p.m. Join the crowds lined up along the waterfront to watch the display, or for a more upscale viewing party, City Gallery at Waterfront Park hosts an event featuring jazz, heavy hors d’oeuvres, and a fine art auction, all with a great view of the harbor. Admission is $75 and proceeds benefit the 2008 Piccolo Spoleto Festival. If $75 is too steep for you, the Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina in Mt. Pleasant hosts a viewing party and oyster roast, featuring music and food for $10, $5 for students. On Sunday from 2-5 p.m. the city’s Christmas Parade floats through downtown, beginning at Marion Square. The parade of bands, floats, marchers, and performers will proceed down King Street to Broad Street to Lockwood Boulevard. Check our events calendar for a full listing of holiday happenings. —Erica Jackson Dec. 1-2.
THEATRE | Do you have Tex appeal?
If George W. and his wife, Mrs. W, like Tuna Christmas, then you’re sure to like it, too. This is the holiday version of a trilogy of plays about the “third-smallest town” in Texas, Tuna (the other two off-Broadway productions are Greater Tuna and Red, White, and Tuna.) Here we find Vera Carp, winner of the Christmas Yard Display Contest for 14 consecutive years, whose record is being threatened by a mysterious phantom secretly vandalizing a plethora of candy canes, Christmas elves, and illuminated reindeer all over the great town of Tuna. The play at once is a homage to and satire of small-town life, gently poking fun at the eccentricities and quirks of bad fashion and odd behavior while paying homage to small-town America’s honest values and strong traditions. Like, for instance, the great Southern tradition of punning: The Tuna Trilogy is one that has great “Tex” appeal, according to the official website, www.greatertuna.com. It doesn’t get much cornier, or charming, than that. —John Stoehr Nov. 30-Dec. 1, 6-8, 13-15, 8 p.m.,Dec. 2, 16, 3 p.m. $25/adults, $22/seniors, $15/students. Footlight Players Theatre, 20 Queen St. (843) 722-4487, www.footlightplayers.net.
THEATRE | Be their guest
Great songs, great costumes, and a great story — admit it, you like them — that’s what gives Beauty and the Beast its long life. It began as an animated movie by Disney back in 1991 and has since found renewed energy as an award-winning Broadway musical. Beauty and the Beast is one of many, many movies to cross over the screen-to-stage transom. The story is pretty simple: When Belle’s daffy inventor dad is taken prisoner by the big beastie, she trades places with him in exchange for her father’s freedom. What she doesn’t know is that the horrible hairy guy is really a handsome prince put under a spell for being such an awful jerk to an old witch a long time ago. Part of the spell was transforming his entire castle. Now his staff has been turned into candles, clocks, and feather dusters — all of whom encourage their monstrous master to woo the young beauty despite his deep-seated belief that he’ll never find love. Again, it’s a great story, because it never goes out of fashion. Who among us can honestly say we’ve never pined for love or felt we didn’t deserve it? Kudos to Charleston Stage for staging back-to-back productions. While B&B is running at the Sottile, the troupe will also stage David Sedaris’ The Santaland Diaries at the American Theater (opens Dec. 6). Thank goodness for an alternative to the nonstop Yuletide fare (which started before Halloween, right?). —John Stoehr Dec. 1, 6-9, 15, 20-22, 8 p.m. Nov. 30, 7 p.m. Dec. 16, 3 p.m. $36.50/adults, $34.50/seniors, $26.50/students, (843) 577-7183. Sottile Theatre, 44 George St.
MUSIC | It’s new, meaning it’s not old
Charleston is one of the few cities I know of that has an ensemble of musicians dedicated to the creation and performance of new music. And when I say “new,” I don’t mean Arnold Schoenberg or Anton Webern. Those cats wrote atonal music a long, long time ago. And they’re both dead. Dissonance does not anymore new music make. It’s no newer than W.C. Handy’s “St. Louis Blues” (which was published back in the ’10s, by the way). No, this music was written by living people trying to carry on a living tradition. That is, classical music. It’s never before sounded as diverse and vibrant as it does in the first decade of the 21st century. It’s just been buried beneath thousands of performances and thousands of recordings of Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms. Thankfully, there’s an antidote. And thankfully that antidote thrives right here in our own backyard. The Collective, made of at various points by some of the busiest musicians in the local music scene, this time around is Robert Lewis (saxophones, head of CofC Jazz Department), Michael Hanf (percussion/vibes), David Linaburg (guitar), Nathan Koci (horn, piano), and Ron Wiltrout (percussion/marimba). This new music on the menu includes two by Charleston composers: Every Word Tell by Nathan Koci scored for the entire group and Volume 1 by Michael Hanf for horn and vibraphone. There’s more: works created in the past three years by American composers Anna Clyne, Jacob Cooper, Mark So, Christopher Cerrone, and Scott Wollschleger. Linaburg will also perform Steve Reich’s Electric Counterpoint. —John Stoehr SUNDAY Dec. 2, 8 p.m. $10, $5/students, (843) 953-5680. Circular Congregational Church, 150 Meeting St. (843) 577-6400, www.circularchurch.org.
SPORTS | Let the smackdown begin!
The event all of you wrestling fans have been waiting for is here: WWE RAW is coming to Charleston on Monday. You can expect to see all of your favorite RAW superstars including Triple H, Randy Orton, and Mr. Kennedy. Hunter Hearst-Helmsley, or Triple H for short, made his debut in the WWE in 1995 and quickly rose to superstar status after winning the Grand Slam Championship. Randy Orton is a third generation wrestling superstar whose first claim to fame came when he defeated Rob Van Dam for the Intercontinental Championship. Since then, he has gone on to win the SummerSlam World Heavyweight Championship and World Tag Team Championship. Mr. Kennedy competed last year in a Triple Threat Match Friday Night Smackdown to win the U.S. Championship and the “Mr. Money in the Back” title in this year’s Wrestlemania. The WWE promises these are just a few of the wrestling superstars who will shine at the Coliseum. Tickets are available at the box office or through Ticketmaster. —Madelyne Adams MONDAY Dec. 3, 8 p.m. $21-$51. North Charleston Coliseum, 5001 Coliseum Dr., North Charleston. (843) 529-5050. www.coliseumpac.com.
Coming up next week…
Shopping with Friends, Handel’s Messiah, The Santaland Diaries, CBT’s Nutcracker, Unsilent Night, Canadian Brass, and Carolina Open Car Classic and Hot Rod Run
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