IBJ Daily Arts & Entertainment

THURSDAY, 7/19/07

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"Happy Birthday, Wanda June" at Easley Winery Would you like red or white with this reading of Kurt Vonnegut's only play? >>>  The O'Jays at American Legion Mall Hop on the Love Train for this free concert. >>>  Zappa Plays Zappa at the Murat Theatre Egyptian Room Songs sung by son. >>>  Hoosier Salon at the Indiana State Museum Look. Opine. Argue. It's the 83rd annual round up of Indiana art. >>>  "Gimme Shelter" at Mass Ave Video Summer movies don't just mean Hollywood blockbusters. >>>  This week's contest: Get the VIP treatment at American Cabaret Theatre's "Heartbreak Hotel." >>>

Welcome to IBJ Daily Arts & Entertainment, featuring priority picks for July 19-25. The reaction so far has been tremendous. Keep the e-mails coming, feel free to forward this to a friend (and encourage them to sign up), and click over to visit my most recent IBJ A&E review column. Ready for the weekend? So am I. "Happy Birthday, Wanda June," July 23 at Easley Winery One aspect of Kurt Vonnegut that hasn't gotten much mention during Indianapolis' Year of Vonnegut is Vonnegut the Playwright. Artist Greg Shelton's Vonnegut drawing will be part of the event's silent auction. And there's a good reason for that. He only wrote one play: "Happy Birthday, Wanda June." "Wanda June" had a 96-performance run on Broadway in 1970-71, starring Marsha Mason and Kevin "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" McCarthy. The show earned Vonnegut a Drama Desk Award for Most Promising Playwright, which apparently doesn't take into account whether the writer has any intention of writing for the theater again. The play, which concerns a Hemingway-esque adventurer returning home after a multi-year absence, was later turned into a film starring Rod Steiger and Susannah York. Like most movie versions of Vonnegut's work, it's not so great. But now you can hear the original. Whether you are a hardcore Vonnegut fan or someone who just enjoys a glass of wine with your stage comedies, you can expect a satisfying evening when Easley Winery hosts a reading of the play by the new Heartland Actors Repertory Theatre, a professional company that will be setting up shop soon at a theater you didn't know existed at Fort Benjamin Harrison. For more details, click here. The O'Jays, July 22 at American Legion Mall The O'Jays Five things you might not have known about the O'Jays, who are coming to town for a free concert as part of Indiana Black Expo's Summer Celebration: 1. The group's name is a tribute to Cleveland DJ Eddie O'Jay. Makes one wonder if, someday, there will be an Indianapolis country band named The Wanks or a pop band called The Smileys. 2. That's their song, "For the Love of Money," providing the theme for TV's "The Apprentice." 3. The group started as a quintet, stepped down to a quartet, then became a trio—all before its string of 1970s hits, including "Back Stabbers" and "Love Train." 4. When band member William Powell died in 1977, the O'Jays added Sammy Strain, formerly of Little Anthony and the Imperials. Strain later left the group, which still features original members Eddie Levert and Walter Williams. 5. "Use Ta Be My Girl" is a great, great song. Okay, maybe you already knew that. For more details on Black Expo's Summer Celebration and the O'Jays concert (which also features Atlantic Star and Peabo Bryson), click here. ALSO Zappa Plays Zappa, July 22 at the Murat Theatre Frank Zappa is easily among the most respected/least-heard musicians in modern music history. His music is also so distinctive that he's one of the least covered. For full preview, click here. Hoosier Salon, July 23-Sept. 9 at the Indiana State Museum This annual showcase of Indiana artists has a storied history. For full preview, click here. "Gimme Shelter," July 19 at Mass Ave Video One of the highlights of this year's Indianapolis International Film Festival was the presence of legendary documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles. For full preview, click here. THIS WEEK'S CONTEST: E-mail us the name of two Elvis movies with places in the titles and you could win a four-pack of tickets to "Heartbreak Hotel: The Songs of Elvis Presley" at the American Cabaret Theatre. To enter, click here.

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