Must be something about income taxes. Or perhaps anticipated Spring weather. So many groups have scheduled so many events this weekend, that the usual “Five” just won’t do. So excuse my stretching rules a bit.
But before we start, please come visit me and other esteemed artists and arts writers at UWM’s Peck School of the Arts Kenilworth Square East Open House. Lots to see and do in every genre…. 11 am to 2 pm.
#5: Latin American Film Festival at UW-Milwaukee’s Union Theatre.
Why? Because this isn’t your typical multiplex offering. A full week of movies from our neighbors to the south, including an evening devoted to Haiti (including Maya Deren’s pioneering 1951 documentary on the country’s Vodou religion), the acclaimed Uraguayan film Gigante (Giant), and Walt y El Grupo, a fascinating documentary about Walt Disney’s travels in South America during World War II.
#4: Monsters, Mayhem and Mac ‘n’ Cheese at Danceworks.
Why? Because you’ve been on a Maurice Sendak kick ever since the Spike Jonze movie came out, and so are Rebecca and Justin and all their friends. And because this “family concert” by the terrific Danceworks company includes a pre-show workshop that shows your kids how to make frog masks and dance like monsters. After all, as long as they’re acting like “monsters,” they may as well Dance! Photo by Peter DiAntoni.
#3: The Sweetest Swing in Baseball at Milwaukee Chamber Theater.
Why? Because you can’t resist a play that mixes baseball, art and schizophrenia. And because the great local actress Mary MacDonald Kerr has done many things in her storied career, but this is the first time she’ll play baseball great Darryl Strawberry. And because Rebecca Gilman’s play is a sweet and funny meditation on art, life and how to hit a high breaking curve.
#2: Music, music, music.
Why? Because it might be your last chance to see a live concert for a while (at least taking place indoors, where you don’t have to deal with competing noise from airplanes and neighboring cell phone conversations). And because this weekend, you can choose everything from Bartok to Bugs Bunny. Here are your options:
Early Music Now at Wisconsin Lutheran College: The Early Music cutups Red Priest offer “Pirates of the Baroque." Arrgh!
Milwaukee Choral Artists at St. Matthew’s Church, Wauwatosa: Sharon Hansen’s fine vocal ensemble pays tribute to “Fire” in music.
Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra at Calvary Presbyterian Church: Bill Helmers plays Copland’s Clarinet Concerto and Richard Hynson conducts Bartok. 
UW-Milwaukee’s Unruly Music Festival at Vogel Hall: Avant-garde shenanigans from forward-thinking and innovative composers and techno-geeks. 
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra at the Riverside: Our local guys and gals offer live accompaniment to some of Warner Brothers’ great classical music satires. “Kill the wabbit!”
#1: Gallery Night
Why? Because the forecast is good, the paintings are dry, and the cheap wine is uncorked. More important, galleries are ready with some interesting showcases. You’ve been reading some great suggestions at Art City this week, here are mine:
Theaster Gates at Milwaukee Art Museum: Perhaps overshadowed by Raphael’s little sketch, this exhibit may be the most interesting and conceptually rich show Milwaukee has seen all year. Working off the legacy of the antebellum potter Dave Drake, Gates creates an installation that looks at the place of craft in culture, and relations between people across racial and historical boundaries.
Motiona
ry Comics at Moct: Bad Soviet Habits assembles comic artists to create a life-size, improvisatory mural .
Sonia Thomsen at Dean Jensen: The photographer unveils a new direction, developed during her residency at a Florida artist colony. 
“In the Balance” at Walker’s Point Center for the Arts: A group show (Amanda Gerken, Josie Osborne and Heather Wiedeman) inaugurates the WPCA’s brand new building.
Warrington Colescott at Peltz Gallery: Cissie Peltz has a brand new ceiling and lighting in her gallery’s front room (after a little water incident last year), and is ready to host one of her favorite Wisconsin artists, the satirical printmaker Colescott.
