Your plans this weekend, determined by me

I'm continuing my practice of telling you art type of things to do around town every week. This week, I've got four things I think you should see. There will be no set number of items I think you should check out from week to week, just as many as I like in a given seven day period.

You got something you think I should check out? Shoot me an e-mail and I'll be sure to put it in the old noggin and jot up some wise ass remarks about the worthiness of your art.

Here's my list for the week:

PAINT THE TOWN

"There are few stories appropriate to late-stage capitalism." That's what it says on the Insurgent Theatre website about their production of PAINT THE TOWN that opens this weekend. Rex Winsome wrote it, and I can tell you from what I know, you'll either love it or hate it (kind of how people feel about the vocal and opinionated Rex, too, I might add). This is DIY theater for folks who like punk rock more than tits and sizzle. The story? Who cares. Late stage capitalism is so hard to diagram in a mere play.

When and where: July 11-27. Alchemist Theatre, 2569 S. Kinnickinnic. For more info about this run and their upcoming dirty van tour of the show, visit www.insurgenttheatre.org.


DAMN YANKEES

The venerable Sunset Playhouse in Elm Grove gives us the one musical in the world written about baseball. DAMN YANKEES is about how selling your soul to the devil is maybe the only way for an arm chair fan to see his beloved team trounce those ever loving Yankees. That was of course back in a time when the Yankees weren’t having the same kind of season as our still growing Brewers. This one is a songfest with tunes like “Whatever Lola Wants” and “You Gotta Have Heart”. Sorry gawkers, no steamy locker room scenes in this one, though.

When and where: July 11-August 3. Sunset Playhouse, 800 Elm Grove Road, Elm Grove. Call 262-782-4430 or visit www.sunsetplayhouse.com.

GATHERING ON THE GREEN

Every summer all the North Shore folk get out for a weekend of artiness right in there own backyard brought to them by some of the finest performance troupes in Milwaukee. This summer the two-day event at Rotary Park is themed “Got Rhythm!!”, and rhythm is what the good North Shore folk are gonna get. It all starts on Friday night with a concert from jazz great Marlena Shaw & Trio. Then the main event on Saturday night is an arts extravanganza with The Milwaukee Ballet, Florentine Opera, The Skylight and Ko-Thi Dance Company. You can sit on a blanket, sip you wine and enjoy it all while your heart beats a few clicks faster from all that bang-bang rhythm.

When and where: July 11-12. Rotary Park, 4000 W Highland Rd, Thiensville. For more information call 262-242-6187 or visit www.gatheringonthegreen.org.

SOUTH SHORE FROLICS FESTIVAL OF ARTS

Lest you think that art on the South Side means really fancy lawn burros and garden gnomes, the Bay View Arts Guild is out to prove you wrong this weekend with their South Shore Frolics Festival of Arts. You’ll have the chance to stroll through South Shore Park on Sunday gazing at the finest wares from some of the South Shore’s finest artists. Try as I might, I couldn’t find lawn burros sculptor in the lineup of artists.

When and where: July 13. South Shore Park, 2900 S. Shore Drive. For more information visit www.south-shore-frolics.com.