"Fresh Start" can do wonders to shake off the cold January doldrums. And let’s face it, we’ve all got them, especially on mornings when the temperatures are in digits lower than your daily coffee cup quota. This week, we look to a pair of legendary singer-songwriters, a hearty cinematic experience, promising local comics and an iconoclastic beauty salon for inspiration. Sometimes, a good laugh, great live show or visual extravaganza can be enough to warm you up, thaw you out and brighten the way.
Laugh it up, Fuzzball
Mirroring the hugely successful “open-mic” nights in major markets, Pickwick & Frolic’s Prime Time Comedy Showcase does what it promises during the last Friday of every month. Want to see the future of Cleveland’s comedic scene? Hit East 4th Street Friday, January 28 and check out budding stand-ups from across the region. Performance slots for this PG-13 shindig book way in advance. With a recession-busting $2-and-2 drink entry fee, crowds can be meaty as well. Pop culture auditor Chris McVetta – alumni of Cleveland’s short-lived Second City creative writing program and former member of The Public Squares – is among the flock this month. If he didn’t deliver at least one Star Wars joke, we’d be surprised.
Hairy and Hectic
Karamu House’s production of Zina Camblin’s comedy and her hair went with her promises to be one of the early favorites of the 2011 Cleveland theater programming. In this modern-life riff, beauty parlor owner Jasmine finds that the drama of her clientele and employees regularly threaten to upset her quiet, settled life. Politically active co-worker Angie, actress Debbie, OCD-addled Keisha and the racially-altered Chrystal all fold in their iconoclastic lives into the shop’s day-to-day, with the resulting chatty rambling creating big laughs. It’s a thought-provoking examination of the female black experience, but the laughs most certainly transcend. Check out the production at Karamu starting Friday, January 28.
Standing Room Only
Come January, it’s film festival season. Standing Rock Cultural Arts in Kent kicks things off with the Standing Rock International Short Film and Video Festival on Saturday, January 29 at 8 pm. This one’s open to original cinematic works from filmmakers and videographers all across the globe. Standing Rock’s organizers Gary Lockwood and Jeff Ingram are never at a loss for material, sifting through a glut of High-8s, VHS, DVDs, MPEGs and more every year to compile and curate this annual event. With experimental films taking center stage, you never know what you’re in for. Take in Standing Rock’s visual crop at the Kent Stage.
Dynamic Duo
You know the rule here at "Fresh Start": If a musical pairing appears to be a rare treat, we’re on it. Such is the case with the upcoming John Hiatt/Lyle Lovett gig at the Akron Civic Theatre this Saturday, January 29 at 8 pm. With nearly 70 years of professional singing and songwriting between them, this intimate acoustic show features both artists “performing side-by-side, alternating songs from their respective careers.” All we can say is “wow” and “go,” in that order.
