theater
AMAZING PLACE, THIS NEW ORLEANS. True Brew Theatre, 200 Julia St., 945-6789. Roberts Batson's solo performance brings to life the history and characters that helped shape the story of New Orleans, based on his Scandal Tours. Tickets $20. Performances 5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
BIG RIVER: THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN. Columbia Theatre, 314 E. Thomas St., Hammond, (985) 543-4371. Tony Award-winning country musical based on Mark Twain's novel about the unlikely friendship between an adventurous young boy and a runaway slave. Stars Jason Shipman and Trevor Nicholas. Tickets $27-$33. Performance 7:30 p.m. Friday.
COOKIN' WITH GUS. Carlone's Dinner Theatre, 100 N. Labarre Road, Metairie, 838-9906. Heartwarming comedy by the Sandi Roads Theatrical Production Company. Jerry Lee Leighton directs Bob Edes, Dane Rhodes and others. Tickets $39 and $26.50. Performances 8:15 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, through April 12.
CRESCENT CITY. Le Chat Noir, 715 St. Charles Ave., 581-5812. Fred Kasten's show, to be broadcast on WWNO, includes interviews, music and radio theater. No cover; reservations required. Performance 8 p.m. Monday
DAD FOUGHT HITLER, THE BOTTLE AND ME. Le Chat Noir, 715 St. Charles Ave., 581-5812. Mick Berry's one-man show based on the WWII journals of his father explores their father-son relationship. Tickets $17 plus tax. Performances 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
DEFENDING THE CAVEMAN. Saenger Theatre, 143 N. Rampart St., 524-2490. Rob Becker's raucous comedy pokes fun at gender miscommunications. Tickets $29-$52. Performances 8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
EARL LONG IN PURGATORY. True Brew Theatre, 200 Julia St., 945-6789. One-man show that looks at Earl Long's unique personality as told by author Jason Berry and musician Spencer Bohren. Perry Martin directs John McConnell. Call for ticket prices. Performances 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday.
HARVEY. Columbia Players, Inc., 1320 N. Morrison Blvd., Times Square Shopping Center, Hammond, (985) 542-6745. Comedy about an eccentric man and his imaginary friend Harvey, a 6-1/2-foot-tall rabbit. Directed by Daryl Ray. Tickets $10 adults, $8 children and seniors. Performances 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, through April 20.
HELL'S BELLES. Cowpokes Theatre Space, 2240 St. Claude Ave., 606-9903. Running With Scissors' latest production finds an unsuspecting wounded Union soldier in the midst of a group of naughty Southern schoolgirls. Stars Brian Peterson, Flynn De Marco and others. Tickets $12-$15. Performances 8 p.m. Friday through Sunday, through April 28.
SHAKESPEARE ON TRIAL. Le Chat Noir, 715 St. Charles Ave., 581-5812. Characters from Macbeth, put on trial for their crimes of passion, are questioned by Loyola law professors and students in a mock court. Stars Dane Rhodes, mikko, Kara Hadigan and others. Tickets $12 general, $8 law students with ID. Performance 8 p.m. Wednesday.
SKETCHES FOR THE WITCHING HOUR. Le Chat Noir, 715 St. Charles Ave., 581-5812. R.J. Tsarov directs Greg Di Leo, Steve Zissis and others in three eerie one-acts. Tickets $10. Performance Friday 11 p.m.
SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER. Trailhead Amphitheatre, Mandeville, 595-8899. John Grimsley directs Maggie Eldred and Diana Shortes in Tennessee Williams' classic about a woman who witnesses a gruesome death and is forced to recount the experience. Free admission. Performance 8 p.m. Saturday. (Reviewed in this issue.)
art
Venues preceded by an asterisk are celebrating opening receptions this week. Call each space for information.
A GALLERY FOR FINE PHOTOGRAPHY 322 Royal St., 568-1313 -- Photos by Henri Cartier-Bresson, through July 14.
*ACADEMY GALLERY New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts, 5256 Magazine St., 899-8111 -- Ceramics by Jo Ann Greenberg, paintings by Kate Samworth, through May 11.
*ARIODANTE 535 Julia St., 524-3233 -- Eggstraordinary Journey, painted eggs by Paul Wirhun, through April.
*ARTHUR ROGER GALLERY 432 Julia St., 522-1999 -- Glass work by Dale Chihuly, through May 25.
*BARRISTER'S GALLERY 1724 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd., 525-2767 -- Lenin: Busted, group show, through May 27; assemblage work by John Greco and Matjames, through April.
BERGERON STUDIO & GALLERY 516 Natchez St., 522-7503 -- Lost Plantations: late 1880s-1960s stereoviews and lithographs; black-and-white photography by C.F. Weber and Frances Benjamin Johnson, through April.
BRUNNER GALLERY 215 N. Columbia St., Covington, (985) 893-0444 -- Now That the Ladder's Gone: The Kantturn Bridge Works, through April 6.
BRYANT GALLERIES 316 Royal St., 525-5584 -- Paintings by Alan Flattman, through April 20.
CAMERON JONES 2127 Magazine St., 524-3119 -- Group show by 12 local artists including George Ufford, Marcel Flisiuk, Ruth Marie Wright and Chris Clark, through April.
CARABAUX GALLERIES 3646 Magazine St., 894-1588 -- Paintings by Kathy Sizeler, through April 27.
*CAROL ROBINSON GALLERY 840 Napoleon Ave., 895-6130 -- Landscapes by Robert Malone, through April.
*COLE PRATT GALLERY 3800 Magazine St., 891-6789 -- Landscapes by Danna Ruth Harvey; Cut Flowers, monotypes by Barbara Brainard, through April.
*CONTEMPORARY ARTS CENTER 900 Camp St., 523-1216 -- Digital Louisiana, group show featuring recent computer-processed prints, photographs, and interactive art by Louisiana artists, through June 9.
*CRESCENT GALLERY 531 Wilkinson Row, 525-5255 -- Paintings by Martha Guthrie and Roy Pfister, through April 25.
*D.O.C.S. 709 Camp St., 524-3936 -- New sculpture by Badette Wattigny, through April.
EVANS GALLERY 3815 Magazine St., 897-2688 -- Paintings of marsh scenes by Carolyn Pelligrin, through April.
*FRENCHY GALLERY 319 Royal St., 561-5885 -- New abstract paintings by Frenchy, through April. 25.
*GALLERY CARROLL 4817 Prytania St., 861-8838 -- New work by August Martens, George and JoAnn Saucier, Carroll Becker, MacDonald Eaton and Eva McDaniel, through April.
GALLERY INFERNO 3336 Magazine St., 891-1006 -- Recent paintings by Jeremy Willis, through May 2.
*GALERIE SIMONNE STERN 518 Julia St., 529-1118 -- Paintings and drawings by Randy Asprodites, through April.
*HANSON GALLERY 229 Royal St., 524-8211 -- New work by MacKenzie Thorp, through April.
*HERIARD-CIMINO GALLERY 440 Julia St., 525-7300 -- New paintings by Columbian artist Luis Roldan, through April.
*JONATHAN FERRARA GALLERY 841 Carondelet St., 522-5471 -- Seventh annual No Dead Artists, juried exhibition of New Orleans art today, through April 23.
KURT E. SCHON 510 St. Louis St., 524-5462; 523 Royal St., 523-5902 -- Collection of paintings of children by artists from the Royal Academy, through April.
*LEMIEUX GALLERIES 332 Julia St., 522-5988 -- Embossed monoprints by Brandon Graving, through April 30.
*MARGUERITE OESTREICHER FINE ARTS 720 Julia St., 581-9253 -- Digging for Pearls, recent drawings and sculpture by Jennifer Odem, through April 27.
*MARIO VILLA GALLERY 3908 Magazine St., 895-8731 -- Legacy of Printmaker J.L. Steg, through April 30.
*NEIGHBORHOOD GALLERY 1410 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd., 524-8800 --Dedicated to the Second Line, paintings by Sheila Alson, through May 6.
*N.O. SCHOOL OF GLASSWORKS & PRINTMAKING STUDIO 727 Magazine St., 529-7277 -- Triangle Book Arts Exhibition, featuring book art from Chicago Book Arts, New York Book Arts, and New Orleans Book Arts; glass musical instruments by Josh Cohen, through April 30.
*SOREN CHRISTENSEN 400 Julia St., 569-9501 -- Necessary Sculptures, paintings by Mark Bradley-Shoup, through April.
*STELLA JONES GALLERY Bank One Center, 201 St. Charles Ave., 568-9050 -- Prints from the Printmaking Workshop, through April 21.
*STEVE MARTIN STUDIO/GALLERY 624 Julia St., 566-1390 -- Acrylic paintings by John Kaine, through April.
*SYLVIA SCHMIDT GALLERY 400A Julia St., 522-2000 -- Figures and Still Lifes, paintings by Robert Hausey, through April 30.
*VINCENT MANN GALLERY 713 Bienville St., 523-2342 -- Paintings and lithographs by Francoise Gilot, paintings of the French countryside by Luc Didier, through May.
WAITING ROOM GALLERY 904 Pauline St., 949-1805 -- Recent paintings by Daniel Finnigan, through April 6.
*WYNDY MOREHEAD FINE ARTS 3926 Magazine St., 269-8333 -- Paintings by Eric Abrecht, through April.
museums
NEW ORLEANS MUSEUM OF ART 1 Collins Diboll Circle, City Park, 488-2631 -- Barry Ivker: An Illustrated Passover Haggadah, through April 7; Southern Graphics Council Printmakers Emeritus, 1978-2002, through June 23; O Say Can You See: Great American Photographs from NOMA; The Sport of Life and Death: the Mesoamerican Ballgame, through April 28.
*OGDEN MUSEUM OF SOUTHERN ART 603 Julia St., 539-9600 -- Art in the South: Recent Acquisitions and Projects, through April.
OLD U.S. MINT 400 Esplanade Ave., 568-6990 -- Sight of Music, exhibit spotlighting diverse visual works on the theme of music, through April, 2002.
books
Saturday 6
E.J. OURSO. Garden District Book Shop, 2727 Prytania St. 895-2266. Author signs Dreaming the Impossible Dream. Free admission. 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
JOEL GOLDMAN. Borders Books, 3131 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, 835-1363. Author signs legal thriller Motion to Kill. Free admission. 2 p.m.
