Weekly Agenda: It's not the heat, it's the humidity
The Zoo Story is a lot darker than it sounds.
Summer isn’t officially showing up for another couple of weeks, but her buddies heat and humidity don’t like to wait, which means that everyone is going to start getting a little cranky, including The A.V. Club. It’s not so much the effect on our hair or the icky feeling it leaves on our skin, but rather its ability to completely drown out all other topics of conversation that makes our blood boil. But we’re not alone in our frustration, with the weather or with conversation, as exemplified by The Zoo Story, The Bricks Theatre’s upcoming production opening this Monday at the Old Lussier Teen Center. The one-act play by Edward Albee may not have much to do with heat or humidity, but the intensity it generates from an unsolicited conversation between two men goes a long way toward explaining our annoyance with meandering dialogue.
If watching such highly strung psychological fiction is bound to just amp up personal peeves about hot weather and boring exchanges, maybe it’s best to just stay inside the Project Lodge on Saturday, where it should be relatively cool and the only exchange necessary is between ears and the honey-sweet harmonies of husband-and-wife chamber-folk duo You And Yourn. The delicate sounds of guitar and organic atmospherics should be enough to settle any nerves jangled by a sweaty afternoon.
Of course, there is something to be said for just sweating it out. After all, perspiration is the body’s natural (and stinky and yucky) means of cooling down. And it’s entirely possible that the James Brown Dance Party (hosted by San Francisco DJ Motion Potion) at the Majestic Theatre on Saturday will be the single sweatiest event in Madison that night. Sure, the Godfather of Soul’s constant orders to “get up” and “stay on the scene,” coupled with his incessant teasing about taking us to the bridge, could be enough to drive some people crazy. But as long as everyone does what the man says and keeps it funky on the dance floor, there shouldn’t be any problems.
