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Jason Dechert and Deborah Puette star in Tennessee Williams' Eccentricities of a Nightingale' at A Noise Within (Photo: Craig Schwartz)
THEATER*
Vs. Theatre Company presents the LA premiere of Neil Labute’s The Mercy Seat at [Inside] the Ford with a pay-what-you-can preview performance tonight and tomorrow at 8 pm. In this Labute play, we meet Ben and Abby on Sept. 12, 2001. He was supposed to be working in the World Trade Center that day, but was playing hooky with Abby—his mistress and his boss. Does he start a new future or let his family know he’s alive? The Mercy Seat officially opens on Saturday and runs through April 24.
MUSIC
The Hammer Museum welcomes violinist Hahn-Bin (with pianist John Blacklow)
for the program The Five Poisons tonight at 8 pm. The musician blends classical music with pop performance art and draws on styles as varied as John Cage, Chopin, Debussy, and Ravel. Tonight’s program is divided into three chapters of compositions: Ignorance; Anger + Pride; Desire + Jealousy. Free. Tickets available one hour prior to start time. Limit one ticket per person on a first come, first served basis. Parking is available under the museum for $3 after 6 pm.
READING
NPR superstar Renee Montangne presents and signs the book This is NPR: The First Forty Years tonight at Book Soup, 7 pm. We imagine she has a lot to talk about these days.
THEATER
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Tennessee Williams’ birth, A Noise Within in Glendale presents his play The Eccentricities of a Nightingale. It’s a rewrite of his better-known work Summer and Smoke, and tells a comi-tragic tale of cultural suffocation and unrequited love. There’s a pay what you can preview performance tonight at 8 pm. The play opens officially on Saturday and runs through May 28.
ART TALK
LACE gallery holds a closing reception and panel discussion tonight for Painted Over/Under Part 3: Making Place—the architecture-inspired section of a year-long exhibition conceptualized by artist Kim Schoenstadt. Making Place showcases two-dimensional, abstracted vignettes of LA’s cityscape by architecture and design firms. Tonight’s panel discussion Conversations on Making Place will be moderated by KCRW’s Frances Anderton and will explore the exhibition’s themes and the impact of “place” on LA. On the panel are Schoenstadt, curator Erin Cullerton, John Frane, Hadrian Predock, Marc Salette and Florencia Pita. Free. 7-9 pm.
*Pencil pick of the day
Want more events? Follow me on Twitter (@christineziemba).
