Mark this down: Southern Rep will be the theater company to watch this season, thanks to the emergence of its new artistic director, Ryan Rilette. For years, Rosary and Dick O'Neil oversaw countless quality productions at Southern Rep, but in Rilette the company welcomes the opportunity for a breath of fresh air that begins with the season's debut this weekend in Rebecca Gilman's Spinning Into Butter. Anyone who saw Rilette's local directing debut upon returning to his hometown after years in New York understands the buzz. With Sweet Bird of Youth at last spring's Tennessee Williams Festival, despite key casting challenges, Rilette cobbled together an impressive ensemble performance. More impressive was the mounting of the play, featuring some of the year's best lighting and set design. Now we get to see Rilette's talents as an artist director, and once again his instincts seem dead on. For starters, he recruited Tulane assistant theater professor Lisa Jo Epstein to direct. Epstein rarely ventures out into community theater, but when she does, it's for something special. Her passion for socially relevant material led her to collaborate with Tulane compatriot Crystal Kile on the wildly popular production of The Vagina Monologues back in 2000. "I was waiting for someone like Ryan," says Epstein. "I think he and I share a common commitment to a certain kind of theater and an understanding of a certain approach to creating theater. We both care deeply about stage 'pictures' and how they reveal a character's state of being." Gilman's Spinning Into Butter is one hot button of a play that deals with racism and political correctness on college campuses. The new dean of students at a fictional liberal-arts college finds herself caught between students and the administration when an African-American student complains of racially charged notes tacked onto her door. Gilman's work was hailed as "a dangerous, searching, brilliant play" by the London Times, while Gilman herself was called "an important new theatrical voice" by Time magazine. Lara Grice, Gavin Mahlie, Shelley Poncy, Randy Cheramie, Jerry Lee Leighton, Michael Salinas and Kalon Thibodeaux highlight a stellar cast. "It's a play that nobody will be able to walk out of seeing and not talk about it," says Epstein. "I think that while it's set on a college campus, it's a metaphor for many institutions. Our lives are run by institutions, so while it may be set in the ivory tower, it's not exclusively about that. This play doesn't answer questions, but it raises them, and in doing so, the theatrical event becomes a dialogue with the audience." Future Southern Rep productions include David Sedaris' The Santaland Diaries and In Walks Ed. Stay tuned. Tickets for Spinning Into Butter are $20 with discounts available for students, seniors and theater professionals, and are available by calling 522-6545 or online at www.southernrep.com. -- David Lee Simmons

Sparta 6 p.m. Tuesday, September 17 Shim Sham Club, 615 Toulouse St., 299-0666 If it's better to burn out than to fade away, then At the Drive-In played it just right. No one but the band's members can understand just why they called it quits in early 2001, right when the pop world embraced them as the saving grace of the latter-day punk rock revival. Their answer: They just weren't into it anymore. Rather than splintering into several fallout bands, At the Drive-In split cleanly in two, with afro-wearing media darlings Cedric Bixler and Omar Rodriguez forming Mars Volta, and founding guitarist Jim Ward forming Sparta with the other two remaining members. With a new bass player on board, Sparta released a four-song EP titled Austere early this year, and followed it up with the full-length album Wiretap Scars. With Ward's curdling vocals at the helm, Sparta material shows a concerted effort to move beyond At the Drive-In, avoiding typical mainstream emo styling for a spikier edge with electronic sidetracks. Cave In opens. Admission $10. -- Cristina Diettinger

Victoria Williams, Mark Olson and the Creekdippers 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18 The Parish at House of Blues, 229 Decatur St., 529-BLUE Shreveport's own Victoria Williams sings some old songs Wednesday at The Parish at House of Blues. Shreveport native Victoria Williams' latest CD, Sings Some Ol¹ Songs, finds the singer-songwriter momentarily dropping the "songwriter" appellation to interpret a collection of pop standards and lesser-knowns, ranging from "Moon River" and "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans" to the Eden Ahbez-penned "Mongoose," an album highlight. (The legendarily iconoclastic Ahbez might have been a Williams soulmate; he also penned the Nat King Cole hit "Nature Boy," previously covered by Williams.) Williams' lovely renderings of these ol' songs are as inimitable as her own compositions, but she is expected to also dip into her own work tonight, when she appears with her husband and former Jayhawk Mark Olson and the rest of the Creekdippers. Past Creekdippers shows have proved to be rollicking jamborees, and tonight should be no exception, with Olson introducing songs from his own equally fine recent album, December¹s Child, which reunited him with Jayhawk Gary Louris. Tickets $13. -- Michael Tisserand

Marcus Colasurdo 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19 Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center, 1724 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd., 525-2767 The author of such works as Angel City Taxi and more recently Bending Zen Wavelengths, Marcus Colasurdo has developed a reputation as an activist writer who's firmly entrenched on the street level. The Baltimore Chronicle columnist is also the executive director of Gimme Shelter Productions theater troupe, whose benefit performances help fund soup kitchens, homeless shelters and after-school programs. This is the kind of varied artist who suits the very varied Zeitgeist, which kicks off its season with this and other noteworthy performances (see Special Events listings in this issue) that span the spectrum of cultural programming. Tickets for Colasurdo's performance of poetry and other spoken-word offerings are $4 and are available at the box office. -- Simmons

Los Angeles Guitar Quartet 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20 UNO Performing Arts Center, 280-7000 The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet strums some strings Friday at UNO Performing Arts Center. Talk about easy pickins. The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (LAGQ) is one of those odd birds whose mellifluous and virtuoso performances has some critics scratching their heads for the proper genre label. "The world's hottest classical ensemble or its tightest pop band?" The Los Angeles Times ponders. You be the judge, when LAGQ returns to New Orleans with a glorious new CD, LAGQ Latin, which further pushes the boundaries of their repertoire. Always looking for a fresh spin, LAGQ can either spice up concert masterworks or put a sophisticated sheen on contemporary and world-music pieces. Either way, we win. Tickets are $15 general public, $10 students. -- Simmons

The Merchant of Venice 8 p.m. Friday-Sunday, Sept. 20-22; 8 p.m. Sept. 26-29 Popp Memorial Bandstand, City Park, 595-8899 Dog & Pony Theatre Company's ninth annual Shakespeare in the Park series should be yet another lark for director John Grimsley, who serves up Martin Covert as Shylock in this production of The Merchant of Venice along with Dog & Pony regulars Scott Jefferson, Diana Shortes, Ann Casey and Michael Arata. (The ever-shifty Grimsley will move the production to Covington and Slidell and maybe even Hammond in October; bird-dog future Theater Listings for more info.) Grimsley is indeed an audacious director who thrives on tackling the two great poets of theater, Shakespeare and Tennessee Williams (he's signed on for The Rose Tattoo for next year's festival). Here's hoping Merchant will have a little more polish than last week's opening of Bones at the CAC. Tickets for The Merchant of Venice are $10. -- Simmons

No Niggers, No Jews, No Dogs 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Sept. 20-21; 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22; through Oct. 13 Anthony Bean Community Theater, 1333 S. Carrollton Ave., 862-PLAY It was one of the starkest, most cutting signs of the times, displayed throughout the 20th century South -- the basest caveat of segregation. And it is upon this simple sign that playwright John Henry Redwood built last year's drama, No Niggers, No Jews, No Dogs, chronicling the complexities of prejudice within an African-American family in North Carolina in 1949 and a Jewish scholar visiting town. Anthony Bean directs the Southern premiere of this work; Oliver Thomas and Gwendolyne Foxworth co-star as the husband-and-wife team of Rawl and Mattie Cheeks, while Michael Jefferson plays the scholar Yaveni. Gail Glapion portrays their lamentable aunt Cora. Tickets are $15 general public and $13 students and seniors. -- Simmons

Alan Soble 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20 Tulane University Newcomb Hall, Room 115 Earlier this summer, Gambit Weekly featured a profile of University of New Orleans philosophy professor Alan Soble, on the occasion of his latest book, Pornography, Sex and Feminism. (Since then, he's also edited an anthology titled The Philosophy of Sex: Contemporary Readings.) Several students who'd taken Soble's UNO course "Sex and Love" wrote in -- as did Soble himself -- to protest that the article did not give the professor his proper due. Now here's your chance to decide for yourself, when Soble makes an appearance at the weekly "Philosophy at Tulane" program to give a talk titled "'Something Stupid' About Eros." Topics covered might include the intimacy of fist f--king, the sexual naivete of anti-porn feminists, and the pleasures of the Onyx strip club -- or they might not. Free and open to the public. -- Tisserand

Sevendust 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21 House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., 529-BLUE Atlanta-based Sevendust distinguished itself from the late-90s nu-metal dregs with a buzzed-about performance at Woodstock '99, and a glittering sophomore album titled Home. On the heels of that release, the band played a rash of relentless shows through a grueling tour schedule, leaving its physical condition akin to a football team's. From that backdrop sprang Animosity, the band's third and latest album. Though not as critically revered as Home for its less-inspired songwriting, the album does retain Sevendust's dark-and-light contrast, an essential element that many metal bands forego in favor of blood-curdling noise. Not the world's heaviest band, Sevendust plays material that is melody-based and soul-inflected (a la Faith No More), with dread-locked vocalist Lajon Witherspoon soaring in minor-key musings over bottom-heavy riffs. The band's live show is a sought-after force on the genre circuit, offering fans emotional outpouring and roller-coaster catharsis. Tickets $21. -- Diettinger

Everette Maddox Documentary Premiere 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22 Maple Leaf, 8316 Oak St., 866-9359 The title says it all, as the new radio documentary, He Was a Mess: The Short Life of New Orleans Poet Everette Maddox, hits all the highlights and lowlights of the late New Orleans poet's life. Before he died in 1989, Maddox made the Maple Leaf his second home, and his spirit lives on at the Leaf in the bar's weekly Sunday poetry readings in honor of Maddox. It's fitting that the Maddox radio documentary, produced by acclaimed radio documentarian (and Gambit Weekly contributor) David Kunian, gets its first public airing at the Leaf. The afternoon will also feature readings of Maddox's work, a perfect chance to grab your beverage of choice and toast the beautiful portrait of Maddox that hangs on the wall opposite the bar. If you can't make the Maple Leaf premiere, the documentary airs at 7 p.m. later that night on WTUL-FM (91.5); and at 10:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 22, and 11:15 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25, on WWOZ-FM (90.7). No cover. -- Scott Jordan

David Doucet 9 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22 King Pin, 1307 Lyons St, 891-2373 When BeauSoleil isn't out on the road, guitarist David Doucet keeps up his chops and steps out on his own, much to New Orleans' benefit. Doucet's versatile repertoire incorporates not only Cajun music, but folk and country as well, all played with his compelling flat-picking and finger-picking. Though he often plays solo, lately he has been joined by BeauSoleil's bass player, Al Tharp, on fiddle and banjo. The two achieve a beautifully intimate sound, a perfect match for the intimate setting of the King Pin. For the uninitiated, the Rounder Records CDs Quand J¹ai Parti and 1957: Solo Cajun Guitar are both treasures worth adding to your collection -- and good primers for Doucet's live shows. No cover. -- Manny Lander

The Tin Hat Trio Snug Harbor, 626 Frenchmen St., 949-0696 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22 They've recorded with Willie Nelson, Phish's John Fishman and Billy Martin of Martin, Medeski and Wood, but San Francisco's Tin Hat Trio doesn't sound like any of these notables. Indeed, their music is a puzzle to describe: Astor Piazzola meets Bela Fleck perhaps, or Thelonious Monk as filtered through Tom Waits. Fiddle, accordion and guitar predominate, but THT throws piano, harmonium, dobro, banjo and a few others into the mix, creating a fascinating mix of quirky Americana and Old World dolor. Unlike some other "quirky" acts, this trio has superior composers, often with a jazz-like sensibility. And they pay attention to dynamics, interesting forms, and fresh textures, a focus that compels you to give their CDs repeated listenings. There are many groups out there trying to balance multiple influences, but the THT does this better than practically anyone you've ever heard. Cover $15. -- Tom McDermott

Questioning the Pink: Paintings by Kathy Sizeler Through September d.o.c.s. gallery, 709 Camp St., 524-3936 Pink is for girls, blue is for boys. That's how it is because that's how it's always been. Most of us take it for granted, but painter Kathy Sizeler isn't so sure. Her new paintings feature female and male figures reduced to pink and blue outlines that are often intersected with pale stripes, as if seen through venetian blinds. Sizeler says "The figures are derived from the bodies of female and male body builders because of the way they blur the contrast between the genders and represent the complicated nature of gender. The stripes "create the illusion of movement." Having no beginning or end, "the lines flow into each other like the continuum of gender," which she says should be examined for "what it is in our society, how it functions and why we see the way we do." -- D. Eric Bookhardt