All Over Albany

The week ahead

Here are a few things to keep in mind, look forward to, or keep busy with this week, from the weather (hrmph), to the Book of Mormon, to Christopher Durang, to Jane Austen, to local docs, to dirt, to to St. Patrick's Day (observed), to music...

Weather

Here's the paraphrased forecast for this week:

Monday: Cloudy, maybe some snow and rain. Low 40s.

Tuesday: Sunny, maybe some snow in the morning. Mid 40s.

Wednesday: There's a winter storm watch starting Wednesday morning, continuing into Thursday morning. Snow in the morning, then rain, then probably snow again in the evening. Around 9 inches of snow possible. Upper 30s.

Thursday: Cloudy, maybe some snow. Mid 20s.

Friday: Sunny and 33.

Weekend: Some sun and 40s.

Hrmph.

Film

Boy, boy, crazy boy
Monday: The classic film series at The Palace is screening West Side Story. The 1961 film won 10 Academy Awards. And the amount of talent behind the original Broadway show and subsequent film adaptation was absurd: Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Robert Wise -- not to mention the actors in the film such as Natalie Wood and Rita Moreno. (Apparently Steven Spielberg is thinking about a remake.) Monday 7 pm - $5 / $3 kids

YouthFX
Thursday: The YouthFX program in Albany will be debuting its latest crop of films at The Spectrum. Blurbage:

Among the wide range of topics the teen filmmakers explored this past year are topics of food justice, video gaming, youth violence and identity. The screening will also feature encore of two award winning Youth FX documentary films: Tyler, about Tyler Rhodes who was killed in Hoffman Park in April 2011 and Inside The Ring, which is an exciting profile of the City of Albany youth boxing program on Quail St. Both films have screened and won awards at film festivals across the country.

YouthFX is part of the Grand Streets Arts -- it helps teens learn video production and storytelling skills. Thursday 6:30 pm, The Spectrum - $10 adults / $7 students

The Book of Mormon

Tuesday: The touring production of The Book of Mormon starts a six-day run at Proctors. Tickets for the shows sold out pretty much right away. But there's a pre-show lottery for a small group of remaining tickets -- the Proctors website includes details on how to take part in the ticket lottery.

Christopher Durang

Monday: Playwright Christopher Durang -- his play Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike won the Tony for best play last year -- will be at UAlbany Monday as part of the NYS Writers Institute visiting writers series. Monday 8 pm, uptown campus, performing arts center - free

Arts and sciences

Albany During Prohibition
Monday: The William Kennedy "pub lecture" at Midtown Tap and Tea Room about Albany during Prohibition, sponsored by Historic Albany Foundation (as mentioned), is sold out. But there's a waiting list if you'd like to try to go. (Details at link.)

Dinaw Mengestu
Thursday: Author Dinaw Mengestu will be at UAlbany as part of the NYS Writers Institute visiting writer series. Mengestu was a 2012 winner of a MacArthur fellowship (AKA "the genius grant"). He'll be reading from, and talking about, his new novel, All Our Names (NYT review). Thursday 8 pm, downtown campus, Page Hall - free

Poets
Thursday: Poets Sean Thomas Dougherty and January Gill O'Neil will be at Saint Rose as part of the Frequency North series.

Jane Austen
Thursday: Historian David Shapard will be at the Albany Institute for a talk about the historical details of Jane Austen's novels. Shapard has written a string of annotated versions of Austen's works. "Mr. Shapard will share fascinating facts about the clothing, architecture, landscapes, homes, and gardens in Austen's novels and answer your most pressing questions." Thursday 6 pm - free (and museum entry is free on Thursday evenings)

Classes

Sausage
Monday: Chef Sarah Fish (recently on AOA) will be at the Arts Center of the Capital Region leading a class on how to make three types of sausage at home. Monday 6 pm - $71

Health insurance for artists
Wednesday: The Arts Center of the Capital Region has a free seminar lined up for "a detailed explanation of the new Affordable Care Act insurance plans available right now in New York State." The national director of health Services at The Actors Fund will be there to answer questions about the topic. Wednesday 7 pm - free

Dirt
Friday: Capital District Community Gardens is linking up with Honest Weight for a class about garden soil. "On the agenda: info on organic fertilizers for feeding garden plants, materials for effective mulching, and different tilling and weeding techniques to support healthy soil and plant growth." Friday 6p, HWFC - free (registration required)

St. Patrick's Day treats
Friday: Deanna Fox will be at Different Drummer's Kitchen leading a hands-on class about St. Patrick's Day baking -- Irish soda bread, brown bread, Guinness cake, Blarney Stone cookies, shamrock marshmallows, scones. Friday 6 pm - $65

Chicken dinner
Friday: Gio Culinary Studio has a hands-on "culinary boot camp" class lined up. It'll cover knife skills, how to break down a chicken, how to make chicken stock, how to roast a chicken, and how to make gravy. (We'd add: If you can get a handle on how to do those things, you're well on your way to making some tasty, substantial dinners.) Friday 6:15 pm - $65

Cooking with beer
Friday: Healthy Living Market has a hands-on class about cooking with beer -- cheddar ale soup, beer-steamed mussels, porter short ribs, chocolate beer cheesecake. Friday 5:30 pm - $35

Cider

Thursday: Alejandro del Peral from Nine Pin Cider Works in Albany (previously on AOA) will be at The Confectionery in Troy for a special cider/food pairing menu and talk. Del Peral will be talking about the cider making process. Thursday 7 pm

St. Patrick's Day (observed)

St. Patrick's Day is not this Monday, but next. So this coming weekend will be St. Patrick's Day (observed) for many people. Example: The annual Albany St. Patrick's Day parade is Saturday.

Music

Tuesday: The Steel Wheels show at Caffe Lena is sold out.

Thursday: The Schoemer Formation at The Low Beat
Karen Schomer + Wreckless Eric + Amy Rigby. 8 pm - $7

Friday: Andrew Tyson at The Massry Center
Rising young concert pianist. 7:30 pm - $20 / $10 students

Saturday: The Straits at The Palace
Former members of Dire Straits, playing the music of Dire Straits. 7 pm - $27.50 and up

Saturday: Harriet Tubman & Cassandra Wilson at The Egg
That would be the band Harriet Tubman."Black Sun bridges the worlds of jazz, pop, and rock, as it melds the cultures of Ms. Wilson's native Mississippi and Tubman's native New York while connecting them back to Africa." 8 pm - $34.50

Saturday: Body/Head at MASS MoCA
Body/Head = Kim Gordon + Bill Nace. 8 pm - $20 ahead / $25 day of

Saturday: Chelsea Cavanaugh at Putnam Den
Country singer/songwriter. With: Bobby McGrath, Decadence. 9:30 pm - $8

Sunday: Danú at Troy Music Hall
"[O]ne of the very best traditional Irish ensembles." 4 pm - $22 and up

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These are a just a few things for this week, not a comprehensive list. Know of something people should be looking forward to this week? Please share!

Saint Rose, Honest Weight, the Arts Center, and Troy Music Hall advertise on AOA.