Weekend Hotlist
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Olympic, world and national champions skate into Mellon Arena Saturday afternoon for the Smucker's Stars on Ice tour. Featured will be, first row from left, Marie France Dubreuil, Yuka Sato, Sasha Cohen, Jennifer Robinson and Michael Weiss; second row: Patrice Lauzon, Ilia Kulik, Todd Eldredge, Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao; and third row: John Zimmerman. Special guest will be world champion and Olympic bronze medalist Jeffrey Buttle.
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Exploring the Benedum
A world-famous Latin explorer will touch down at the Benedum this weekend. She's known and loved by millions. Her name is Dora. Dora the Explorer.
"Dora is to kids what the Rolling Stones are to parents and she's one of the biggest stars in the world," Stacey Burns, of Broadway Across America said in a statement.
Still funny to hear "what the Rolling Stones are to parents," although in terms of Dora's little fans, she might be talking about the grandparents. The parents going to this probably liked Nirvana and Tupac.
Anyway, "Dora the Explorer Live! Search for the City of Lost Toys" finds the adorable Nick Jr. star and her friends -- Backpack, Boots, Diego, Map, Swiper the Fox, Tico and Benny -- on a musical journey that will require help from the crowd.
Times are 7 p.m. Friday; and 11 a.m., 2 and 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $15 -$39. Call 412-456-6666.
Sweater weather
Regardless of the weather, this would be a good day to grab a sweater -- in honor of the late Mister Rogers.
He would have been 80 on March 20, which is the celebration of "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" Day.
As part of the commemoration, The National Aviary, the Mattress Factory and Photo Antiquities will offer free admission. The Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium will offer free admission for children 12 years and under on Mar. 21. The Westmoreland Museum of Art will have family activities noon to 4 p.m. March 21. Neighbors can also visit Mr. McFeely and members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra at the Pittsburgh Children's Museum March 20 and join community sweater drives sponsored by The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (at its Downtown and Hill District locations) and the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership (in the first floor lobby at 925 Liberty Ave.). Donors can drop off gently used sweaters for charity.
Also, the movie "My Tale of Two Cities," about the real-life "Mister Rogers Neighborhood," will have several benefit screening at the Waterworks Cinema.
For more details, go to fci.org/neighbor.
Conducting the fraternite
The Pittsburgh Philharmonic's concerts this weekend have a French flavor, with works by Gershwin (well, his "An American in Paris") and Ravel. Music director Roger Tabler will invite the stalwart John Cannon to solo in Ravel's Piano Concerto in G. To add ambience, students from French clubs at Chartiers Valley High School and North Hills Junior High School will read commentary in French.
That's all tres bien, but the fantastique part of the concert is a raffle to conduct the community orchestra in its holiday concert. The winner gets a baton, a little coaching by Tabler and the chance to ascend that podium in front of the audience and musicians for a piece. It's a great experience that, frankly, more orchestras should use for fundraising efforts.
Concerts are 7 p.m. Friday at Chartiers Valley High School, Collier, and Saturday at North Hills Junior High School, Ross. $5-$15 (children under 13 free); 412-394-3353 or visit proartstickets.org.
-- Andrew Druckenbrod
Ice jam
There won't be any pucks shot or big hits on the ice at the Mellon Arena Saturday.
The Penguins hand the surface over to the 23rd season of the Smucker's Stars on Ice tour, here with an all-new production called "On the Edge."
The biggest stars this year are Olympic silver medalist Sasha Cohen and bronze medalist Jeffrey Buttle. They will be joined by six-time U.S. Champion Todd Eldredge, two-time World Bronze Medalist and three-time U.S. Champion Michael Weiss, 1998 Olympic Gold Medalist Ilia Kulik (Russia), as well as Yuka Sato, John Zimmerman, Jennifer Robinson, Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao and Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon.
It begins at 3 p.m. Tickets are $23.75 to $114.25. A portion of proceeds benefit Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Call 412-323-1919 or go to ticketmaster.com.
Dangling cephalopods
"A seductive sensory machine" is the way Italian glass artist Maria Grazia Rosin describes her installation, "Gelatine Lux"("gelatinous light"), which opens Saturday at Carnegie Museum of Art. Twenty illuminated glass chandeliers inspired by animals such as octopuses and jellyfish, sound and video combine to suggest an underwater or cosmic experience, reflecting the artist's interest in science that ranges from marine biology to the physics of black holes.
The video "Black Water Hole," which was made in collaboration with Andrew Quinn, was suggested by the black holes of space but its actual presence owes more to water swirling through Venice's storm drains.
Curator Sarah Nichols will talk at 1:30 p.m. about Rosin's work, including collaborations with glass maestros and the artist's interest in science and math (free with museum admission). For information, 412-622-3131 or cmoa.org.
Celebrating achievement
Silver Eye Center for Photography pays tribute to almost seven decades of work by Pittsburgh artist Aaronel deRoy Gruber with an exhibition of more than 50 prints that opens with a reception from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday at 1015 East Carson St., South Side ($5, members free).
The subjects included in "The Analytical Eye" range from panoramic landscapes to industrial sites, located near and abroad (through June 27). While her current medium is photography, Gruber has also worked as a sculptor and a painter, and her broader career is the subject of a new film by Kenneth Love, "Aaronel deRoy Gruber -- A Life in Art," that will be screened March 26 at Carnegie Museum of Art in conjunction with the Silver Eye show. For information, 412-431-1810 or silvereye.org.
-- Mary Thomas
Brown sound
Iowa roots musician Greg Brown brings his mournful baritone and gritty lyrics to Carnegie Lecture Hall Saturday as part of the Calliope: The Folk Music Society series.
Brown's songs have been covered by such artists as Willie Nelson, Carlos Santana, Gillian Welch and Ani DiFranco.
Sing Out! said of Brown's latest record, "The Evening Call," "You'll hear every detail of Brown's voice growling its way through the complex and sometimes brilliant lyrics. However, Brown makes Leonard Cohen sound like Mr. Sunshine."
He'll be joined on stage by guitarist Bo Ramsey, a session player for Brown as well as Lucinda Williams.
It begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $35 advance; $40 at the door; $20 student rush. Call 412-394-3353 or go to proartstickets.org.
• The Pittsburgh Symphony Chamber Orchestra performs a program including Milhaud's "Concertino de Printemps," with violinist Christopher Wu soloing, Mendelssohn's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," Beethoven's Adagio for Oboe and Strings, with oboist James Gorton, and Beethoven's Symphony No. 2. 7:30 p.m. Today at Carnegie Music Hall, Oakland; 8 p.m. Saturday at Upper St. Clair High School Theater. Tickets are $15-$30; call 412-392-4900.
• Violinist Linda Fischer of the Pittsburgh Symphony teams with pianist Rosilee Walker for two recitals with a program of Bloch, Beethoven, Gershwin and Kreisler. The first takes place at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the JCC in Squirrel Hill. $8-$15. The next is 2 p.m. March 21 at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Highland Park. It is free, but reservations are recommended; 412-682-0439.
• Steven Kellogg, award-winning author and illustrator best known for his humorous adventures of Pinkerton, the Great Dane, will appear at the Carnegie Library Lecture Hall in Oakland Saturday at 10:30 a.m. as part of the Black, White & Read All Over series. Kellogg has published more than 100 books, including the latest, "The Pied Piper's Magic." After the talk, there will be a book signing and refreshments. Admission is $10; $8 kids. Call 412-622-8866; pittsburghlectures.org.
• The latest gathering of the Pittsburgh Pundits commences Saturday at 10:30 p.m. at the Cabaret Theater, Penn Avenue, Downtown, with comedian/talk host John McIntire, sidekick comic Gab Bonesso and, on the panel, Democratic City Councilman Bill Peduto, former Republican mayoral candidate Mark DeSantis, and PG cartoonist Rob Rogers. Among the topics: Is anyone smart enough to design solutions for the Great Recession? If Rush Limbaugh isn't leading the GOP, who is? Can Barack Obama walk on water? Admission is $5.
• The newly formed Eclectic Laboratory Chamber Orchestra lives up to its name with a concert including music by bands Sonic Youth and Sigur Ros and by composers Webern and Machaut, at 8:30 p.m. Sunday at the Brew House in the South Side. Tickets are $5- $10 at the door; 412-608-6120.
Among the attractions at the Giant Eagle Kidapalooza at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center on Saturday: Thomas and Friends on stage, UPMC for Kids Sports Zone, an RU Smarter Than your Kids game show, the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre's Cinderella's Castle. There will also be a petting zoo, indoor rides, Toddler Town soft-play area, Creative Corner and Cartoon Camp, where kids can meet Spider-Man, Curious George and the Easter Bunny. It runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets are $9; $6 kids 3-11, 2 and under free.
Correction/Clarification: (Published Mar. 20, 2009) For "Won't You Be My Neighbor" Day, the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium will offer free admission for children 12 years and under Mar. 21, 2009. The Westmoreland Museum of Art also will have its activities Mar. 21, 2009. The date was incorrect in this Mar. 19, 2009 installment of the Hotlist.
First Published March 19, 2009 12:00 am
