Dinner with Ivo and Isbelis Diaz, Jan. 23, Seven Acre Dairy Company, Paoli, 4 p.m.: You might expect to see Venezuelan-American chefs Ivo and Isbelis Diaz in New York City. But Paoli, Wisconsin? Well, it is true. The mother-son chef pair, who own and operate the Brooklyn restaurant Casa Ora, will be at Seven Acre Dairy Company for two dinners to benefit Dane County’s Centro. Casa Ora is known for its Venezuelan cuisine plus craft cocktails. Thursday’s dinner (reservations from 4-9 p.m.) is a three-course set menu of some of Isbelis’ favorite Venezuelan dishes including camarones en coco and pabellón a caballo. And you can enjoy it all along the beautiful Sugar River. A portion of the proceeds from each dinner benefits Centro. Tickets at sevenacredairyco.com.
The Brutalist, Thursday, Jan. 23, UW Cinematheque, 7 p.m.: If you watched the recent Golden Globe awards, you may have been curious about a winning film called The Brutalist, which managed to rack up seven awards including best motion picture-drama. The fictionalized story of an Hungarian architect (Adrien Brody) building a masterpiece in Pennsylvania after World War II has been hard to find on screens. The Brutalist was shot on film (in his acceptance speech, winning director Brady Corbet even thanked Kodak!) using VistaVision. The three hour and 35 minute run time includes a 10-minute intermission. The Madison premiere is courtesy of UW Cinematheque, which kicks off its 2025 schedule with this screening.
Harry Clarke, through Jan. 26, Slowpoke Lounge, Spring Green: Two Crows Theatre Company offers Spring Green’s vibrant artistic community more opportunity to experiment during APT’s off months. Its latest, Harry Clarke, is a one-man show starring APT core company member Nate Burger and directed by core member and Two Crows co-founder Marcus Truschinski. Harry, a Midwesterner, moves to New York where he ends up presenting himself as an Englishman. Read Andy Moore’s story about Two Crows’ 2025 season here. Shows are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday; tickets at twocrowstheatrecompany.org.
Two Friends, Thursday, Jan. 23, The Sylvee, 8 p.m.: Despite their anodyne band name, best friends Matt Halper and Eli Sones are making some of the scene’s most exciting dance pop. The producer/DJ duo will kick off the first phase of “Heatwave: The Tour” two days before arriving in Madison and is expected to play their original music as well as favorites from the award-winning “Big Bootie Mix” series streaming on SoundCloud and YouTube. Known for exhilarating, high-energy shows, Two Friends also went viral with their remixes of The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside” and Blink 182’s “I Miss You.” If you want to dance and sweat and make new friends, there’s probably no better place for you to be on a Thursday night in January. With MC4D, Beachcrimes, and Madison’s own Wangzoom. Tickets at ticketmaster.com.
Bird and Blossom, Jan. 24-April 6, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art: Twenty Japanese kachō-e (flower-and-bird woodblock prints) from MMoCA’s permanent collection are on display in “Bird and Blossom.” The depictions of birds in the natural world — from the Edo and Meiji era ukiyo-e and twentieth-century shin hanga movements — prompt contemplation of those relationships. Artistically, multiblock woodblock printing has its own unique aura. The art in the exhibition were collected by Madison residents Rudolph and Louise Langer and were a gift to the Museum that began the permanent collection in 1968.
Folk Ball Festival, Jan. 24-26, UW Memorial Union: The Madison Folk Dance Club and the Wisconsin Folk Arts Association team up to present the annual Folk Ball Festival, which marks its 35th anniversary this year. The main events are stylistically diverse dances at 7:30 p.m. Friday, featuring DB Polka Express, Orkestar Sloboda and Yid Vicious; and 7 p.m. Saturday, with Orkestar Bez Ime, Cherven Traktor, Black Bear Combo and Izvor Orchestra. Workshops take place from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, followed by dinner in Tripp Commons (with RSVP). Hear more about the weekend as Brian Hirsh interviews Michael Kuharski on the Jan. 21 edition of Green Morning Radio in the WORT-FM archive. Find a full schedule and registration info at madfolkdance.org.
ALL winter exhibits, through March 1, Arts + Literature Laboratory; reception Jan. 24, 6-8 p.m.: A new round of artists are inhabiting the ALL gallery for the end of winter and it is an embarrassment of riches. Jennifer Bastian, artist in residence at Thurber Park for the city of Madison, is exhibiting “Grief Wave,” a mixed media examination of her grief following the death of her second mother. Hannah O’Hare Bennett, one of Madison’s foremost papermaking artists, presents “In the Vernacular: People, Places and Things,” a show of low-relief multimedia tapestries. Terri Messinides, a mixed media artist based in Madison, presents “In the Pejorative,” an eye-opening embroidery project about the English language and its war on women. “Pleasure is Power: The Pleasure Art of Sami Schalk and Sam Waldron” celebrates art and activism. An artist reception is from 6-8 p.m. on Jan. 24. Finally, Karen Laudon’s “Rupture” is being held over from fall.
Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Friday, Jan. 24, Overture Center-Capitol Theater, 7:30 p.m.: If you’re in need of a bit of a pick-me-up at the end of this week, a symphonic classic could be just the ticket. The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra presents Édouard Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole, with guest violinist Giora Schmidt more than able to provide the fretboard fireworks. (It’s a change from the original season schedule; Los Angeles native Anne Akiko Meyers had to cancel her trip to Madison due to the wildfires in California.) Also on the program are Alessandro Scarlatti’s Sinfonie di concerto grosso No. 2 in D and the rarely performed Symphony in A major by Camille Saint-Saëns, for an eras tour going back to the Baroque. A pre-concert talk will take place at 6:30 p.m. in Promenade Hall on the second floor. Tickets at overture.org.
Dr. Ride’s American Beach House, Jan. 24-Feb. 8, Bartell Theatre: The New York Times called Dr. Ride’s American Beach House, a play by Liza Birkenmeier, “witty” and “weird” back in 2019. The setting is a hot rooftop in St. Louis in 1983, as Dr. Sally Ride is preparing to take her historic space flight as the first American woman in space. The women meeting on the rooftop, on the other hand, ostensibly for a mostly defunct book club, are stalled in careers and forging new paths in relationships. Performances of StageQ’s production are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday (except 2 p.m. on Feb. 8) and 2 pm on Feb. 2. Tickets at bartelltheatre.org.
Spectaculous, Friday, Jan. 24, Gamma Ray, 8 p.m.: Mr. Chair is one of Madison’s most unpredictable musical ensembles; they delight in blurring the artificial boundaries of genre and have proven serial collaborators (such as their work with Leslie Damaso and company on the Sirena project). Debuting this month at Gamma Ray is a new ensemble, Spectaculous, which pairs the trio with interdisciplinary artist and UW First Wave graduate Dequadray. The lead single, “Tempo,” is a shimmering blend of classical elements and hip-hop beats with singing and raps by Dequadray; it’s out now on streaming services (and find an animated video on YouTube). Tickets at etix.com.
Dream at the Top of Your Lungs,. Jan. 24-Feb. 15, Broom Street Theater: Scott Feiner returns to the director’s chair at BST with this play he wrote himself. Dream at the Top of Your Lungs is “an aspirational view for growing up masculine in 2025,” centering on a relationship class for seventh grade boys. Tickets are pay-what-you-can at the door; all shows at 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, except for a 2 p.m. matinee on Feb. 15; a livestream will be available Feb. 8 (tickets at eventbrite.com).
Wisconsin Grown-Up Book Fair 2025, Jan. 25-26, The Sylvee: Readers of a certain age no doubt look back with nostalgia on the Scholastic book fairs of their elementary school years. Which is probably why the annual two-day Wisconsin Grown-Up Book Fair — now in its fourth year — has become a huge success. Local participating bookstores include A Room of One’s Own, Mystery To Me, Leopold’s, Lake City Books, The Book Deal and Madison Paperbacks. Plus, vendors will be selling everything from baked goods to vintage clothing. Last year Isthmus contributor Mel Hammond wrote about the experience. A portion of Saturday’s ticket sales will benefit the Madison Public Library Foundation, while a portion of Sunday’s ticket sales will go to the Madison Reading Project. Five sessions run for two-and-a-half hours each (starting at 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. and noon Sunday), which means you’ll have plenty of time to snag some books and enjoy a specialty cocktail. Tickets at thesylvee.com.
Rubblebucket, Saturday, Jan. 25, Majestic, 8 p.m.: A festival favorite at gatherings such as Bonnaroo and Glastonbury, Rubblebucket’s genre-bending funk has its roots in the jazz training of leaders Kalmia Traver and Alex Toth, who studied together at the University of Vermont. Their bouncy new LP, The Year of the Banana, is serious and groovy at the same time delivering themes focused on the evolution of relationships. Opening is Massachusetts based singer-songwriter Hannah Mohan. Tickets at ticketmaster.com.
Seaside Zoo, Saturdays, through Jan. 25, Bur Oak, 8 p.m.: Grateful Dead music is timeless but the sunshine and daydreams it conjures are perfect for the gray days ahead as the year grinds to a start. Deadheads and Dead-curious will be well cared for with the “Dead of Winter” residency during January at the Bur Oak. The music is well taken care of, too, as Madison’s Seaside Zoo plays it pretty or rowdy as the song demands, with colorful space jams that know when to come home; themes include recreations of shows from the year 1972 and an Alpine Valley date, and a night of 1960s and acoustic numbers…but you’ll have to be there to know which night features which. Tickets at theburoakmadison.com.
Winter Festival of Poetry, Sundays, through Feb. 9, Arts & Literature Laboratory; Feb. 16-March 9, Cafe Coda, 2 p.m.: Eight afternoons of poetry, each featuring six or seven Wisconsin poets, and all before we even hit National Poetry Month (April, of course). Jan. 26 features Kimberly A. Blanchette, Sharon Rook Daly, Dominic Holt, Kristian Petrov Iliev, Amanda Reavey and Rusty Russell. In upcoming sessions look for Isthmus contributors Guy Thorvaldsen (Feb. 2), Charles Edward Payne (Feb. 9) and Margaret Benbow (March 9), along with many other familiar names including Rusty Russell, Katrin Talbot, Marilyn Annucci and Adam Gregory Pergament. Note: series continues at ALL through Feb. 9 and moves to Cafe Coda Feb. 16-March 9.
Find the individual Picks collected here, and as part of the full calendar of events.
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