Wednesday • 23
Steve Lippia: Celebrates Sinatra
MUSIC
Frank Sinatra is dead. There’s no getting around it. But for those who consider Ol’ Blue Eyes to be the last of the great entertainers, there’s still a chance to experience the swaggering star’s magic. Tribute artist Steve Lippia not only apes Sinatra with vexing adeptness, his voice sounds exactly like the cocky crooner. Don’t roll your eyes just yet; the show is a lot less schmaltzy than you’d expect (check out steve-lippia.com for video clips). Join Lippia and his orchestra at 7 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, and 10 p.m. Friday-Saturday, at Casino Windsor, 377 Riverside Dr. E., Windsor; 519-258-7878. Runs until Dec. 3.
Wednesday • 23
Sweet Bird of Youth
THEATER
Nobody homes in on social mores and sexual tension quite like playwright Tennessee Williams. This season, Wayne State University’s Hilberry Theatre presents one of Williams’ finest takes on bittersweet love and betrayal, Sweet Bird of Youth. The story follows Hollywood gigolo Chance Wayne as he returns to the hometown he left many years before. Once back, Wayne rekindles a love affair with the naive Heavenly, whose politically powerful yet vengeful father will stop at nothing to keep his daughter away from Wayne. Wednesday-Sunday until Jan. 28. 4743 Cass Ave., Detroit; 313-577-2972. Call for times.
Thursday • 24
Thanksgiving Day Parade
HOLIDAY
Take an aspirin to quell the hangover, scarf down a cuppa joe, and join the more than one million people who are expected to line Woodward Avenue for the Thanksgiving Day Parade. The treasured D-town tradition is a sensory overload of music, floats, marching bands and balloons (not to mention Santa); but what’s best about the annual event is that it’s enduring evidence that folks still love the Motor City. Show your community pride on Thanksgiving morning. Parade begins at Woodward and Kirby, and ends at Grand Circus Park.
Thursday • 24
Thanksgiving volunteer opportunities with Meals on Wheels
COMMUNITY/HOLIDAY
It takes very little to do a world of good this week. The folks at Bridging Communities, a Detroit-based outreach program, will team up with Meals on Wheels for the Thanksgiving holiday. Volunteers are asked to drop off hot Thanksgiving dinners to elderly people who would otherwise have no one to share the holiday with. All you need is a car, some compassion and the ability to listen. Each delivery route consists of five to 12 stops at elders’ homes and should take about three hours to complete. 6900 McGraw, Detroit; 313-361-6377.
Friday • 25
Oma’s 81st Birthday Party
DANCE
How often do you hear the words “polka” and “burlesque” used together? The folks at Causing a Scene Productions — Detroit’s genre-bending performance art troupe — have pulled together a night of German-themed mischief designed to shock the lederhosen right off you. In honor of the 81st birthday of Vera Hofmann Leadbitter, the grandmother of CASP, the group’s post-Thanksgiving performance at Diesel will be a tribute to the land of Brecht and bratwurst, done in typical (i.e. mind-warping) Causing a Scene fashion. Look for gothic folk dancing, “industrial polka” by DJ Malevolence (in addition to music by Nina Hagen, Klaus Nomi and the Dresden Dolls) and, according to the group’s Web site, two ponies, a ballerina and a drag queen. Guests will also enjoy complimentary Champagne and a dessert buffet provided by Henry J’s of Grosse Pointe Farms. 11:30 p.m. at Diesel Nightclub, 11425 Joseph Campau, Hamtramck. 18 & up. $5.
Sunday • 27
Detroit Blood City
FILM
“We will smoke your bones!” threaten the zombies of Detroit Blood City, an independent horror flick by local filmmaker Mike Hartman. The movie is a sequel to Hartman’s earlier filmic hat-tip to the brain-eating community, Beaver Lake Zombies. In it, crime boss Mr. Delicious and his sidekick Cass Coridore spill toxic waste on their drug stash before a big drug deal. More concerned with making a profit than with what might happen to those who smoke their poisonous pot, the villains distribute the ganja anyway. Everything goes awry when Detroit’s stoners get a bad case of the munchies and turn into flesh-eating zombies. The creatures return to Mr. Delicious’ lair craving more of the contaminated chronic, and their appetite for flesh grows. In the end, pushers and police must unite to kill the hopped-up undead. To make the film easier to choke down, the I-Rock is hosting a brew-and-view on Nov. 27. Screenings are at 3, 5, 7 and 9 p.m. 16350 Harper, Detroit; 313-881-ROCK.
Ongoing
Small Works in All Media Exhibition
SHOPPING/ART
More than 20 artists will participate in this year’s Small Works in All Media Exhibition. The exhibit will feature a wide array of fine art collectibles — everything thing from wearable art, jewelry, books and more will be for sale. Looking for some unique gift ideas? This is the place. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. (and by appointment) Tuesdays and Thursdays, at the National Conference of Artists Gallery, 18100 Meyers Rd., Suite 395, Detroit; 313-342-1786.
Ongoing
Holiday Lasers
HOLIDAY
The energy-depleting holiday bustle is in full effect these days, so why not refresh yourself with the super-trippy holiday laser show at Cranbrook? For a paltry three bucks (kids get in for $1), you can enjoy glittering laser and Digistar images that are choreographed to favorite wintry tunes and holiday music. It’s totally psychedelic way to soak in the spirit of the season. Cranbrook Institute of Science, 38221 Woodward, Bloomfield Hills; 248-645-3200.
Ongoing
Helen Bevan
ART
Helen Bevan is an interesting case study. The environmental science lab technician turned artist opened Tangent Gallery in Detroit’s New Center in 2001. Having no prior fine arts training, Bevan returned to school and earned a master of fine arts degree at Wayne State. She’s now a part-time art instructor at Wayne and the Birmingham-Bloomfield Art Center. Her recent subjects include landscapes, anatomical details, humans, apes and road kill (you read right). The works will be displayed in the exhibit Assimilation/Adaptation, an exploration of the environment, both physical and emotional. Seems Bevan’s career change graced her with an ability to approach her subjects with a scientific eye without giving them a cold, institutional treatment. Until Dec. 19 at Madonna University Art Gallery, I-96 and Levan, Livonia; 734-432-5710.