Theater: Lorenzaccio
L'Avant-Scene, the French Theater Workshop directed by Florent Masse, continues its wildly eclectic season this weekend with "Lorenzaccio," a classic of 19th-century French theater based in Renaissance Florence. Expect plot twists, sword fights and damsels in distress, as well as a lot of angry priests. (If you didn't know already, 16th-century Florentines weren't a particularly happy bunch.) The production takes place in the beautiful Chancellor Green Rotunda, so even if you don't understand French, the ornate, mock-Renaissance backdrop should help transport you 500 years into the past. And if you've ever wondered what the French equivalent of "Hamlet" is, then this weekend is your chance to find out.
Chancellor Green Rotunda
April 10 and April 11, 8 p.m.
Music: Forbes Spring Concert
Forbes College makes the most of its patio this weekend for its Spring Concert, advertised rather craftily as: "Four bands plus there will be FREE FOOD AND DRINKS." Hmm. Well, the bands are apparently for fans of Daughty, Staind and Nickelback, among others, so no wonder the emphasis is on the vittles. But do you really need an excuse to chill out on the patio anyway? As long as the schizophrenic weather makes up its damn mind, the concert should be a lark. Not that this'll mean much to anyone, but the lineup features the power-pop band The Compadres at 7:30 p.m., Christian rockers Justpassingthru at 8:20 p.m., funksters Los Huevos at 9:10 p.m., and Jersey-based pop/rockers Fifteen Fleeting at 10 p.m.
Forbes Terrace
April 10, 7 p.m.
Theater: Angels in America
Tony Kushner's sweeping, Pulitzer Prize-winning opus is on show again this weekend at the Matthews Acting Studio, split across a number of performances to deal with its extraordinary length: Part One on Thursday night, Part Two on Friday night, and then the entire show on Saturday split into afternoon and evening performances. Whew. Expect: nudity, sex and rude words. Don't expect: Al Pacino or Meryl Streep. But remember, "Angels in America" was a play long before it was a record-breaking TV movie, so this is a chance to see Kushner's work as it was originally intended.
Matthews Acting Studio
April 9 and April 10, 8 p.m.
April 11, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Film: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
I would pretend I'm excited for this week's UFO film, but it's very difficult - I don't think I've heard a single nice thing said about director David Fincher's extended love letter to Brad Pitt's face. Even Pitt fans admitted to being stupendously bored, waiting not only for little Pitty to actually look like himself but also for some vague semblance of a plot to kick in. Apparently watching someone aging backwards just isn't all that much fun. As Street's review of the film concisely put it: "Benjamin sits around and listens to people, walks around and waits for people, and basically does absolutely nothing." So if you're up for a whopping two-and-a-half hours of nothing, then this looks like the movie for you. .
Frist Performance Theatre
April 9 through April 11, 11:15 p.m.
Dance: Adventures
The Black Arts Company, Princeton's premier hip-hop dance group, is back with its new show "Adventures," which promises to build and expand upon the group's usual palette of hit rap songs and crunk anthems. Reggae is apparently on the bill, as well as lyrical and even tribal styles, so the show should be as thrillingly novel for the performers as for the audience. A little insider info from a BAC dancer was more than enough to get me buying my tickets - apparently the routines include everything from an Ancient Egyptian spin on Britney Spears' "If U Seek Amy" - that pun'll never get old - to inverse booty shaking, which, you guessed it, means shaking your rump while standing on your hands.
Frist Performance Theatre
April 9 through April 11, 8 p.m.
Music: Four Tet, Machinedrum
Electronica wizard Kieran Hebden, aka Four Tet, is the main attraction at Terrace this weekend. A veteran musician who first rose to prominence as a member of a band called Fridge (!), Hebden is renowned for his avant-garde song structures and extraordinary breadth of influences, ranging from folk and jazz to hip-hop and techno. Oh, and on his 2003 album "Rounds" he used a rubber duck as an instrument. Which is pretty cool. In short, it's perhaps the club's most impressive catch of the year so far, and the show should be mesmerizing. Four Tet's supported tonight by the fizzing, effervescent electro of the Brooklyn-based band Machinedrum. .
Terrace Club
April 9, 11:45 p.m.
OUTSIDE THE ORANGE BUBBLE
•NEW YORK•
Art: Cast in Bronze: French Sculpture from Renaissance to Revolution
You may not know it, but Italy wasn't the only place renowned for its Renaissance and post-Renaissance sculpture. Beginning in the 16th century, a vibrant tradition of bronze sculpture developed in France, synthesizing the influences of Italian renaissance sculptors with a new, distinctly French style. Though French bronzes are commonly found in many royal chateaux, including Versailles, they have received little attention from scholars or from the museum-going public at large. The Met's going to change all that: "Cast in Bronze" is the first exhibition to address the subject of pre-revolutionary French sculpture in many decades and should be well worth a visit for any fans of Renaissance art or the sculpted form.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Through May 24
Music: Robin Thicke and Jennifer Hudson
The Dreamgirl meets the Justin Timberlake wannabe. Perfect.
Madison Square Garden, New York
April 10, 8 p.m.
Music: Crookers
Crookers, the latest hot thing in the world of electro remixes, will be taking to the stage tomorrow night at New York's wonderfully dilapidated Webster Hall. With remixes for everyone from U2 to Kid Cudi under their belts, the Italian duo has risen with remarkable speed to the top of the electro pile. Whether they can sustain their stay at the top is another matter - and with names like DJ Phra and DJ Bot, who knows what could happen. Either way, the show tomorrow night should be a lot of fun, with acclaimed electronic acts from Ladytron to the Faint playing support.
Webster Hall, New York
April 10, 10 p.m.
•PHILADELPHIA•
Art: Cezanne and Beyond
The Philadelphia Museum of Art draws together 40 paintings and 20 watercolors by the highly influential post-Impressionist painter Paul Cezanne and places them alongside works by his followers, from Piet Mondrian and Pablo Picasso to Jasper Johns and Jeff Wall. In such a context it should be easy to see the extraordinary role Cezanne played in the transition from 19th-century to 20th-century art, starting to toy with cubism several decades before the term was even coined. If you're tired at looking at the handful of Cezannes in the Princeton University Art Museum, then this looks like the perfect place to expand your horizons. It's also helpfully billed as a "posthumous retrospective," for those who didn't already know.
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia
Through May 31
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Princeton Zoning Board of Adjustment approves renovations to Tower and Charter Clubs
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On March 27, the Municipality of Princeton’s Zoning Board of Adjustment approved construction developments for Tower Club and Charter Club. Renovations for both clubs are aimed towards improving accessibility.
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This fall, go beyond the 'Bubble'
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