Weekend Arts Roundup: "Red Herring" and more

The weekend is nearly upon us, ladies and gents! And with it comes the start of Theatre Intime's 2010-2011 season.  For the newbs, Intime is Princeton's principal student-run organization for "straight plays," meaning those without song and dance.  Founded in 1920, the group currently runs out of the Hamilton Murray Theatre, a beautiful old space that's adjacent to the University Chapel.  Intime is also conveniently attached to Murray Dodge Café, also known as the most heavenly place on campus: its freshly baked cookies, free coffee, and free tea from 10-12:30 every night have been solely responsible for getting many a Princetonian to graduation in one piece.Intime opens its season tonight with Red Herring, an atmospheric piece set in 1952.  While the play depicts an America enmeshed in McCarthyism, nuclear threat, and Eisenhower's impending presidential inauguration, the plot deftly toes the line between introspection and fast-paced humor.  The play's director, Cara Liuzzi '12, calls the play's world one that is "colorful,strange, and darkly atmospheric; a fairy tale with blunt honesty."While Liuzzi did considerable research before embarking on "Red Herring," she loved the immersion experience of working on the show.  "I loved reading a Time-Life book on the 1950s that I got out of the library: looking at the images in that book really helped me get a feel for the show."  Everything in the show was meticulously done according to period, from the costumes to the music: "the music that punctuates the many blackout lines and scene changes in the play has the potential to add a lot of atmosphere, and also a kind of ironic commentary at times," Liuzzi explained.The play's far more than just your run-of-the-mill period drama, though, as the six-person cast can attest.  "It took us weeks to pick up on all the little jokes the writer put throughout," said cast member Patrick Morton '13.  "The hardest part of doing the show for me and my castmates was not breaking down and laughing on stage at some of the particularly funny moments, especially when they come in the middle of otherwise very serious scenes!"  Hamilton Murray Theatre: Sept 30-October 2, and October 7-9.  Tickets $8 at Frist Box Office or at the door; Student Events Eligable (click here to read about the University's new Passport to the Arts policy, which gives students free admission to certain performances).Also up this weekend:

• The Lewis Center for the Arts presents Junior Independent Work from certificate students in the Department of Visual Arts from now until October 16th: 185 Nassau Street, Free and Open to the Public.
• The Garden Theatre on Nassau St. presents Toy Story 3 this weekend, sponsored by the Undergraduate Student Goverment.  11:30 Thursday-Saturday: Free, with free popcorn and soda.
• The Princeton Symphony Orchestra, a professional group affiliated with the town (not the University), presents a concert of Music professor Stephen Mackey's Beautiful Passing. Sunday, October 3 @4pm with a concert lecture at 3pm: Richardson Auditorium. Ticket information here.
• The Princeton Composer's Ensemble, with the Department of Music, presents Desire Lines, "an evening of music, words, and moving image." Tuesday, October 5 @8pm: Taplin Auditorium, Fine Hall. Free.
• New Yorker music critic Alex Ross will speak about journalism in the arts, sponsored by the Department of Music. Tuesday, October 5, at 6pm. Location TBD. Free.
• Tony-award winner Lee Hall, writer of Billy Elliot and the Pitmen Papers, in a conversation with Paul Muldoon at the Lewis Center. Tuesday, October 5 @5pm: 185 Nassau St, Matthews Acting Studio. Free.