Calendar of Events

An off-Broadway hit comedy-drama by Jack Heifner. The story follows three young girls as they journey from high school in the 1960s to college days and beyond in this sharply sad and funny play. Tickets: 423-586-9260.

Performed at Rose Center, 442 West Second North St., Morristown, TN, 37814. www.rosecenter.org

This unique concert, geared toward audience members of all ages, will feature organ music inspired by beasts along with music that is beastly to play! A highlight of the program will be A Child’s Book of Beasts for organ and narrator. With Dr. Edie Johnson

Church Street United Methodist Church, 900 Henley St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-524-3048, www.churchstreetumc.org

The 1999 documentary "Pablo Picasso: A Primitive Soul" will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Friday, February 19, at the Eclectic Vibe Centre, located at 560 Monroe Street in Madisonville. Originally an "A & E Biography" presentation, the 100-minute film has been described by Amazon.com customers as "rich," "fascinating," "excellent," and a "must-see." A drawing will also be held for a copy of "The Art Book," the popular art history reference book from Phaidon. Discussion will follow and refreshments will be served. The program will be presented by Greg Altum and center director Sara Martin. Guests may bring their own seating although metal chairs will be provided.

Friday, February 19, 7:30PM, at the Eclectic Vibe Centre, 560 Monroe Street, Madisonville. To contact the center, call (423) 545-9289.

Athens Community Theatre presents Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma! February 18 - 28, 2016 in the Sue E. Trotter Theater at The Arts Center in Athens, TN.

Rodgers & Hammerstein's first collaboration remains, in many ways, their most innovative having set the standards and established the rules of musical theatre still being followed today. Set in a Western Indian Territory just after the turn of the century, the high–spirited rivalry between the local farmers and cowboys provides the colorful background against which Curly, a handsome cowboy, and Laurey, a winsome farm girl, play out their love story. Although the road to true love never runs smooth, with these two headstrong romantics holding the reins, love's journey is as bumpy as a surrey ride down a country road. That they will succeed in making a new life together we have no doubt, and that this new life will begin in a brand–new state provides the ultimate climax to the triumphant Oklahoma!

Oklahoma! is directed by recent Steel Magnolias star and ACT veteran director, Melonie Carideo, with music direction by AACA Executive Director Emeritus, Ellen Kimball, and choreography by Pippin choreographer, Angie Hudson .The score is played by a live orchestra led by Ellen Kimball.

Performances are February 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, and 27 at 7:00pm and February 21 and 28 at 2:00pm. Tickets for all performances are $15 for adults, $8 for students. Tickets are available online at athensartscouncil.org, by phone at 423-745-8781, or in person at The Arts Center, 320 N. White St., Athens, Tennessee. For more information, contact The Arts Center at 423-745-8781.
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West High School presents the musical Bye Bye Birdie, February 18th, 19th and 20th at 7 p.m. in the West High School Auditorium.

Still relevant with its emphasis on celebrity crushes and teenage romances, Bye Bye Birdie follows the career of rock star Conrad Birdie, who has just been drafted into the army. Conrad and his fans are devastated, but so is songwriter Albert Peterson, whose song Conrad was just about to record. A publicity stunt where Birdie, loosely based on Elvis Presley, performs Albert’s song and a lucky fan gets a last kiss seems like the answer. But the teenaged winner, Kim McAfee, has a jealous boyfriend and a meddling father. Come see how it all wraps up in this delightful musical comedy directed by West High Theatre Director Lisa Nelson.

The public is invited to attend the performances at West High School Auditorium, 3300 Sutherland Ave. in Knoxville. Tickets may be purchased in advance online at www.cmajor.net $7 students, $9 adults; or at the door: $9 students, $11 adults. For additional information, contact Lisa Nelson at lisa.nelson@knoxschools.org.

Part of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s 2015-2016 Moxley Carmichael Masterworks Series, which marks the KSO’s 80th season.

In February, the Orchestra will be led by conductor Eckart Preu and joined by pianist Alon Goldstein for Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20. Other pieces include Richard Strauss’ Don Juan, Jennifer Higdon’s Blue Cathedral, and selections from Sergei Prokofiev’s Romeo & Juliet.

Alon Goldstein returns to Knoxville after having performed with the KSO in 2011. He has won several piano competitions, among them the Arianne Katcz Piano Competition in Tel Aviv, the Nena Wideman Competition in the US and the Francois Shapira competition in Israel. He is also the recipient of the 2004 Salon di Virtuosi Career Grant and the America Israel Cultural Foundation Scholarships. Mr. Goldstein graduated from the Peabody Conservatory where he studied with Leon Fleisher and served as his assistant.

Eckart Preu is currently music director of the Spokane Symphony (WA) and the Stamford Symphony (CT). East German born, he earned a Master’s Degree in Conducting from the Hochschule für Musik in Weimar and studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris in France. Previous positions include Associate Conductor of the Richmond Symphony (2001-2004), Resident Conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra (1997-2004) and of the American Russian Young Artists Orchestra (1999-2004). In Europe, Mr. Preu served as Music Director of the Orchestre International de Paris (1993-1995).

Thursday and Friday evenings at 7:30 PM at the Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Tickets and information: 865-291-3310, www.knoxvillesymphony.com

Kay is an accomplished painter in oils and works in a variety of subject matter. 27 paintings are on exhibit along with high quality giclee prints.

Envision Art Gallery, 4050 Sutherland Avenue (Corner of Sutherland Ave. and Carr St.), Knoxville, TN 37919. Hours: Wed-Thu 11-5, Fri 11-7. Information: 865-438-4154, www.kaylistart.com, www.envisionartgallery.com

Music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown. An emotionally powerful and intimate musical about two New Yorkers in their twenties who fall in and out of love over the course of five years. The show's unconventional structure consists of Cathy, the woman, telling her story backwards while Jamie, the man, tells his story chronologically; the two characters only meet once, at their wedding in the middle of the show.

"I can't think of any better way to celebrate the arrival of spring than by spending 90 exhilarating minutes with The Last Five Years, Jason Robert Brown's giddily sorrowful eulogy for a brief marriage."
—Bloomberg News

"It's instantly clear […] that this poignant, richly dramatic and piercingly honest two-character show is destined to be a hit."
—The Chicago Sun-Times

"Jaw-dropping! A gem of a show from Jason Robert Brown."
—New York Magazine

Theatre Knoxville Downtown, 319 North Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information & tickets: 865-544-1999, www.theatreknoxville.com

William Shakespeare’s “Titus Andronicus” will play on the CBT mainstage February 10-28 with 7:30 pm and 2:00 pm performances. A Pay What You Wish Preview performance will be held Wednesday, February 10, a talk back with the actors will take place Sunday, February 21 following the matinee, and the Open Captioned performance is Sunday, February 28 at 2:00 pm. The production is for mature audiences only.

Believed to be Shakespeare’s first tragedy and most graphically violent, “Titus Andronicus” was created as a crowd-pleasing shocker, full of murder, intrigue, betrayal, and revenge. Returning victorious from war, Titus has lost many sons in battle. And he has no idea that his worst nightmare is yet to take place. His prisoner of war, Tamora, Queen of the Goths, is bent on getting revenge for the loss of her son at Titus’ hands. The two become tangled in a cruel cycle of revenge in which they lose more than either one could ever imagine. Although the tragedy is consistently popular, it is rarely performed.

“The central idea in the play is that when justice and rule of law is subverted by man’s pursuit of revenge, man is capable of unspeakable violence. Even the most principled and civilized man (like Titus) can become barbaric,” said Director John Sipes.

Clarence Brown Theatre / Carousel Theatre, 1714 Andy Holt Ave on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. For information: 865-974-5161, www.clarencebrowntheatre.com. For tickets: 865-974-5161, 865-656-4444, www.knoxvilletickets.com

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts is exhibiting an interactive installation Working Memory, by Chalet Comellas in the Geoffrey A. Wolpert Gallery. A closing reception will be held Friday, March 11th from 6-8pm. Admission is free and the community is encouraged to attend with their friends and family.

Working Memory is an interactive installation composed of a quilt-like structure made of fabric, ephemera, paintings and sound. The exhibit creates narratives from memories by reinventing materials such as clothing, textiles and found objects. The viewer can shift and change the work to construct new narratives.

Chalet Comellas is an interdisciplinary artist who works in painting, sculpture, fiber art, video and new-media installation. Chalet is an Assistant Art Professor at Florida State University where she received her Master of Fine Arts in 2012. She has performed and exhibited her work in museums, art fairs and galleries including In Light Richmond, hosted by 1708 Gallery in Richmond, VA (2014), Grace Exhibition Space in Brooklyn, New York (2013) and Fountain Art Fair in Miami (2012). Chalet has participated in several public art projects in Florida including an outdoor video installation commissioned by the Tampa Museum of Art during Art Basel Miami (2006). For more information, visit her website at www.chaletcomellas.com.

Gallery hours are Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm and Saturday 10am - 4pm. Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Information: 865-436-5860, www.arrowmont.org

Edward S. Albers, Jr. has a unique way of capturing travel memories. Rather than the traditional camera, he travels with paints, a sketchbook, and a folding stool and often skips shopping for a scenic spot and an hour of sketching. Visitors to the Museum of East Tennessee History can vicariously travel the world with Bud Albers through a selection of his most interesting and beautiful paintings, such as Dublin Doorway, Saint Basil’s Cathedral, Russia, and Hong Kong Harbor from Victoria. Local pieces include a painting of Bud’s grandfather Andrew J. Albers, seated in his carriage and holding his small son, Edward S. Albers, Sr., who became Bud’s father. In the background is the family’s beautiful home that stood on the corner of Market and Locust, until torn down to make way for the present Medical Arts Building. The painting reproduces the scene from an old photograph. The exhibition, Bud Albers Recollections: Works from Life and Travels, is on view in the Bilo Nelson Auditorium of the East Tennessee History Center.

Albers is a retired businessman, philanthropist, and artist, whose family is deeply rooted in Knoxville and East Tennessee. He has a strong interest in history, and his vision was instrumental in the creation of the Museum of East Tennessee History.

East Tennessee Historical Society, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Museum hours: M-F 9-4, Sa 10-4, Su 1-5. Information: 865-215-8824, www.easttnhistory.org

Artist: Jeffrey Morton
Reception: Monday, February 8 (3:00pm – 5:00pm)

Exhibition Statement:
If place, according to art critic Lucy Lippard, is the latitudinal and longitudinal map of a persons life, then my art has literally helped me find a home. As a transplant from the Northeast Untied Stages to Southeastern Tennessee, now fifteen years ago, my art has taught me about the significance of being grounded in a place, a specific location. Unique to the American South is the Kudzu plant that thrives in a climate different from its home. In Japan, Kudzu is a decorative plant with a pretty purple flower; however, in its new location, Kudzu is used to fight erosion. At first I thought that this foreign plant doesn’t belong here, and neither do I. But after crawling through the topography of Signal Mountain, TN and navigating the invasive vine, making drawings and paintings from it, I have learned to love the strange plant and the landscape of my adopted home. Simply put, my art argues that geography matters, and even an undesired geography, can shape and mold human life. – Jeffrey Morton

The exhibit is free. Hardin Valley Campus of Pellissippi State: 10915 Hardin Valley Road, Knoxville, TN 37932. Bagwell Center Gallery hours: M-F 10-6:30. Information: 865-694-6405, www.pstcc.edu/arts