CULTURE The Guide

Local events this April and May hit high notes, from rockin’ festivals to intimate readings

BY Anne Davis

Musical Theater

Six the Musical

MARCH 21-MAY 7

>>>My inner theater and history nerds are both infatuated with this Tony Award-winning musical about the six wives of England’s King Henry VIII. The often comical, occasionally touching play is an homage to both Henry’s wives and the music divas on which the musical is modeled. Couple that with its similarity in tone and execution to Hamilton — whose compelling music and diverse casting transformed Broadway — and you get a romp that lives up to its mantra: Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, live! Times vary, $78-138, the Venetian’s Palazzo Theatre, venetianlasvegas.com/entertainment

THEATER The Piano Lesson

APRIL 7-24

>>>Written more than 35 years ago, August Wilson’s classic work on financial hardship and the comfort material possessions can provide is still painfully relevant today, with the wealth gap growing and fears of recession looming. The Pulitzer Prize-winning story probes the Charles family’s difficult decision to sell their beloved piano to stave off poverty during the Great Depression. The sale of this treasured heirloom demands that the family confront their own ghosts, as well as those of their ancestors who owned the piano before them. A Public Fit’s production is being co-produced with the College of Southern Nevada, and has enlisted the talents of actor Ranney Lawrence (known professionally as Ranney). An accomplished Wilsonian, Ranney is intimately familiar with Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle, and brings a seasoned touch to an already emotionally stirring story.

2p and 7p, $40, CSN’s Backstage Theatre, apublicfit.org

FOOD FESTIVAL 626 Night Market

APRIL 8-9 AND 22-23

>>> Las Vegas’ food festival scene continues its post-lockdown boom with a growing slate of events, including 626 Night Market. Already an established favorite among Californians (the name comes from the San Gabriel Valley’s area code), the 626 is gracing Southern Nevada with its curated selection of food, alcohol, and merchandise vendors focused on local small businesses. For entertainment while you nosh, there’ll be live music, too. 1-10p, free, Location TBA, 626nightmarket.com/ vegas

LITERATURE Ahmed Naji: A Reading

APRIL 12

>>> BMI at times brings internationally acclaimed authors to local literature lovers, and the next of those times is April 12, when Ahmed Naji is slated to give a public reading from his body of work. Naji, the current BMI City of Asylum fellow, holds the distinction of being the first writer imprisoned for his work in modern Egyptian history, following the publication of his novel Using Life in 2016. If you can’t make it to Naji’s event, don’t worry; the institute has plenty of other events slated for this semester, including a reading with local investigative reporter and Nevada Writers Hall of Fame member Sally Denton. 7p, free, UNLV’s Lied Library, blackmountaininstitute.org

CONCERT Concert 4kids

APRIL 13

>>> Orchestral concerts can be moving and enlightening experiences for adults, but for kids … maybe not so much. Well, fret no more (get it?)! The Henderson Symphony Orchestra comes to the rescue with Music 4Kids, a program allowing littles ones to touch instruments, sit in for live (and shorter) orchestral performances, and meet the musicians. This year they’re presenting Gregory Smith’s "Orchestra Games," formatted to introduce kids to each instrument. 10:30a, free, Dollar Loan Center, hendersonsymphonynv.org

FESTIVAL Viva Las Vegas

APRIL 27-30

>>> Set your curling irons to “victory roll” — it’s time for the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend, back for its 26th installment. Count on the usual classic car shows, live music and dance, vintage fashion shows, and the general retro vibe. $40-250, The Orleans Hotel and Casino, vivalasvegas.net

ART EXHIBIT Soliloquy

MARCH 9-MAY 12

MUSIC FESTIVAL Reggae in the Desert

MAY 6

>>> The city’s biggest Reggae festival pairs hot Caribbean beats with Vegas’ warming May weather. Headliners this time around include Eek-A-Mouse, the Wailers, and Morgan Heritage. Besides music, the festival also boasts an impressive number of Carribean-inspired food, beverage, and merchan-

>>>Anthony Bondi’s “Soliloquy” breathes new life into the old art form of collage, reimagining it by incorporating analog techniques into digital pieces. One remarkable aspect of the collection is Bondi’s use of classic Vegas motifs juxtaposed with ordinary people, creating what he describes an “intersection,” where exhibit visitors can explore what Vegas means to them in all its transitory, impermanent glory. Gallery times vary, free, Core Contemporary, corecontemporary.com dise vendors. 11a-11p, $75-204, Clark County Amphitheatre, reggaeinthedesert.com

CONCERT High Japanese Culture with Yoko Fitzpatrick

MAY 13

>>> May is AAPI Heritage Month, and to mark the occasion, the West Charleston Library introduces visitors to the traditional Japanese koto, a cross between the Western harp and violin. The instrument is capable of producing music both melodic and haunting, and will be used to play some of the Yoko Koto Ensemble’s best-known songs. Led by award-winning Koto player Yoko Fitzpatrick, the Ensemble also includes her husband, Dennis, an accomplished Shakuhachi flautist. After the performance, Yoko

LECTURE Virgin Valley History

APRIL 12

>>> “Who are we?” is the question driving the Virgin Valley History Museum’s current lecture series focused on the lives of previous generations of Southern Nevada residents. The series is nearing its end, but there’s still time to catch the last two installments: “Make it Last,” detailing how food was cooked and preserved, and “Surviving Summer,” which is a pretty self-explanatory title for a lecture dedicated to how our forefathers and -mothers coped with the heat (presumably without cranking the AC to 52 degrees for five straight months). 5:30-6:30p, free, Mesquite Library, mesquitenv.gov/events invites guests to show her their kimonos or try playing their own jams on the koto. The event is designed to be an introduction to traditional Japanese music and dress for Japanophiles of all ages. 3-4p, free, West Charleston Library, (702) 507-3964, lvccld. bibliocommons.com

BALLET The Wizard of Oz

MAY 13-21

>>> Ballet, The Smith Center, and a modern fairy tale — oh my! In this stage adaptation of the classic 1939 movie (and much earlier novel by L. Frank Baum), Nevada Ballet Theatre puts a new twist (ha! I’m on a roll) on Dorothy Gale and her hapless friends. Like the film, this stage production is replete with technicolor-worthy costumes and sets, and injects levity into a potentially scary tale through the choreography, making it suitable for younger audiences. I have to warn you, though: Toto the terrier is not a real dog. Still, he does run across the stage frequently, much to the delight of the audience. I can’t speak for everyone, but this is a show I won't be clicking my heels in the middle of, wanting to go home. Times vary, $31-155, The Smith Center, thesmithcenter.com

LITERATURE Reading

and Signing: The Octopus in the Parking Garage

MAY 18

>>> Show of hands: How many of you remember the viral photo of an octopus stranded in a flooded Miami parking garage?

You’d be forgiven for forgetting (it did happen in 2016), but Bob Verchick, a climate law scholar who worked with the Obama administration, was so haunted by the image that it became the title of his latest work, The Octopus in the Parking Garage: A Call for Climate Resilience Traversing the globe to show how other cultures and countries are attempting climate resilience, the book insists we must be willing to change our own strategies as fast as the climate itself is changing. Of special interest to fans of our 2023 writer in residence, Verchick travels to the Mojave Desert (home of the expansive, and endangered, Joshua Tree forests) to see how the environment and its stewards are adapting to more extreme conditions.

If this sounds up your alley, then you’ll want to meet Verchick in person and pick up a signed copy of the book at his May 18 event. 7-8p, free, The Writer’s Block, thewritersblock.org

CULTURAL FESTIVAL Africa Day 2023

MAY 27

>>> According to the latest U.S. Census estimates, almost 12 percent of Vegas residents are African American. To celebrate that 12 percent’s outsize contributions to local culture, nonprofit African Diaspora of Las Vegas hosts the annual Africa Day Festival. This year’s festival celebrates the foundation of the Organization of African Unity, which happened on May 25, 1963, and signaled the end of the continent’s long and difficult colonial era. Drop by to experience authentic African cuisine, hear live music, participate in craft projects, and learn about the history and significance of the holiday from those who’ve defined it. 10a-6p, free, Craig Ranch Regional Park, africandiasporalv. org/events/africa-day