Weekend Pick: Theater! Political and Not

There is one blessing due to the caucuses being held earlier than planned. It means we have a week of moderate rest before state legislators descend on Des Moines. As an added bonus, the weather is supposed to warm up over the weekend, unlike the December pattern.

Civic responsibility compels me to tell you to go participate in the caucuses on Thursday (Republican locations; Democratic locations; Polk County Democratic locations). My personal preference is to tell you to take along a television set or a radio so you can catch the Orange Bowl.

If you need a laugh on Friday, Caucus! The Musical is still being performed at the State Historical Building (600 East Locust). Tickets cost $29, plus taxes and fees, with some discounts possibly available. Show times are 8:00 p.m. on Friday and on Saturday, plus 3:00 p.m. on Saturday and on Sunday. The web site for the musical notes that there is now an adaptation for the New Hampshire primary that will run from January 4th through the 20th in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

For a play that ends with everybody getting along, Prince Brat and The Whipping Boy opens at the Des Moines Playhouse (831 42nd Street) on Friday. Sid Fleischman adapted his own Newbery Award-winning book, The Whipping Boy for the stage. Performances are on Fridays at 7:00 p.m., Saturdays at 1:00 p.m., and Sundays at 1:00 p.m. and at 4:00 p.m. through January 20th. Tickets are $15.

Hudson & Hudson will be featured as part of the Salisbury House (4025 Tonawanda Drive) chamber music series on Friday, January 4th at 8:00 p.m. Tom Hudson plays the cello accompanied by his mother, Sue, on piano. Tickets are $25 or $10 for students.

Blues at the Botanical Center start on Sunday, January 6th from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.. The cost is $4. Rob Lumbard kicks off this eight-week series. According to a local weekly print publication, there will be a jam session that immediately follows the official performance.

The Central Iowa Blues Society will present a fundraiser at Blues on Grand (1501 Grand Avenue) on Saturday, January 5th, at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $7 and will help cover costs for Iowa’s representatives to attend the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee at the end of the month. Alternating seats will be Matt Woods & the Thunderbolts and Alan Smith & Willie McKnight.

Comedienne Christine O’Leary filled Ritual Cafe and brought the house down earlier in the week. She will be at Club Impulse (508 Clifton Street) on Friday at 11:00 p.m. She’s in Des Moines with several other people working for ImGay.tv.

Get out and enjoy the weather this weekend. There is music, comedy, and theatre aplenty to keep you delighted. Just remember that voting for president doesn’t ease your civic responsibility. Pick up trash that was buried under snow. Keep an eye on the melting ice to make sure the water is draining where it should. Say “hello” to your neighbor.

M.R. Field is editor of Leading Voices: Iowa. She encourages organizations and performers to send news about their upcoming events to events@AroundDesMoines.com.