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Thursday, May 24

Tonight will be a musically active night in Tulsa. If you're in the mood for roots rock music with a healthy dose of soul, don't miss Jessica V. Hunt in concert this afternoon at the Downtown Spring Music Festival, intersection of 7th & Main, downtown. Her show will run from 4:30-7pm. Afterward you can get out all your aggressions with Memphis-based modern rock faves Saliva at Cain's Ballroom, 423 N. Main. Opening acts include Black Stone Cherry, Wither, and Mink. Doors open at 7pm.

Friday, May 25

Some people think the pop-cultural phenomenon of American Idol is proof positive that the music industry has become, basically, a minion of Satan...leading the tasteless, clueless American masses--like so many fat, ignorant sheep--into a state of permanent artistic oblivion from which there is no return. (Hell, as it were, for those following the convoluted analogy here.) People who feel this way should stop reading this paragraph right now and skip down to the next entry because they definitely won't care about the fact that Superstar Idols Live! will hit the stage tonight at the Expo Square Pavilion, 17th between Harvard & Yale. The concert, featuring Season 2 AI champ Ruben Studdard, as well as AI finalists Ace Young, Lisa Tucker, Will Makar, Jessica Sierra, Lindsay Cardinale, and Makalah Gordon, kicks off at 8pm.

Saturday, May 26

Are you a fan of the Parker Bros. whodunit board game Clue? Does figuring out that Col. Mustard did it in the kitchen with the flaming chainsaw really take you to a super happy place? If so, you won't want to miss a performance of Clue: The Musical at the Tulsa PAC, 2nd & Cincinnati. This show isn't your typical song and dance routine, oh no. The audience plays along, and there are 216 possible endings...different with every performance. Be sure to put yer thinkin' cap on. Curtain rises at 8pm.

Sunday, May 27

Nitro burning funny cars! (For the full visceral effect of this phrase, imagine you just heard it, drenched with echo and reverb, as hollered by some burly guy during a commercial break on '80s classic rock radio...just after a stunning rendition of "Freebird.") Yeah, it's been 13 years since professional drag racing last took place in Tulsa...but now it's back. The Knoll-Gas Nitro Jam Skull Shine Sooner Nationals takes over the Tulsa Raceway Park, 2101 N. Garnett, featuring Top Fuel Dragsters, Nitro Funny Cars, Pro Mod, Pro Stock and Alcohol Funny Cars.

Monday, May 28

For an activity that's a complete about face from the previous entry, head over to the Circle Cinema, 10 S. Lewis, for a showing of Miss Potter, starring Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor. Poor 30-year-old, unmarried, misunderstood Beatrix Potter...she's still living at home and seemingly only interested in her dead-end hobby: drawing cute little animals and writing stories about them. Her parents are exasperated with her complete lack of interest in suitable suitors...until she meets Norman Warne. Together, Warne and Potter find a way to get her pictures and stories published...and the rest is history. Call 592-FILM for showtimes.

Tuesday, May 29

Head down to the Price Tower Arts Center in Bartlesville, 510 Dewey Ave., for a truly homegrown art show today. "Out of Oklahoma: Contemporary Artists from Ruscha to Andoe," explores works from such local notables as Larry Clark, John Fincher, and Daniel Lang, among many others, in various media...including paint, watercolor, photography, glass, bronze and much more. For more info, visit www.pricetower.org.

Wednesday, May 30

See the Tulsa Drillers in action today at Drillers Stadium, 15th & Yale, as they take on the Midland RockHounds during a rare noontime game. As an added bonus, you can a free haircut, shoe shine or massage from Community Care College while you're there! Now that's multitasking. Visit www.tulsadrillers.com for more details.

Thursday, May 31

As you may know, the PGA Championship will take place at Southern Hills Country Club in August. Which means now's the perfect time to refresh yourself on the historical significance of this major sporting event. Head over to the Tulsa Historical Society, 2445 S. Peoria, for their current exhibition, "A History of the Season's Final Major," to get yourself educated. Admission is free. To make tour reservations or for more information, call 712-9484.

Still Sounds Like Downtown. On Thurs., May 24, Jessica V. Hunt (think Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow with a touch of Aretha Franklin) will bring her eerily enchanting vocals to the stage (backed by a brilliant band) of the Downtown Spring Music Festival. The show will start at 4:30pm and end at 7pm at the 5th & Main intersection in downtown Tulsa. Street performers are also invited to come out and grace the sidewalks with their talent. If you're looking for more info on Jessica or the music series, call 582-3993.

Survival of the Sickest. At least that's the theory that Memphis hard-grunge rockers Saliva are pushing, so they must, themselves, be pretty sick. And now the band wants to rock Tulsa, at our beloved Cain's Ballroom, 423 N. Main. Joining them will be southern rockers Black Stone Cherry, dark rockers Wither and chick-led Mink. They'll all ascend the legendary stage of the Cain's Ballroom, 423 N. Main, on Thurs., May 24. Doors are at 7pm, and advance tickets are $22.25. You can pick 'em up at the Box Office, Starship Records, Reasor's and gettix.net.

Getting Bigger. Five songwriters, five vocalists, five creative individuals bound together by blood and harmony--that's Big Smith! The band of brothers (and cousins) from Springfield, USA is difficult to classify, but one can hear influences in their music ranging from bluegrass and gospel to blues and jazz, producing a sound as eclectic as the group's members. It seems they like Tulsa...and the feeling is mutual. You can catch their show on the 2nd stage of the Cain's Ballroom (next door, at Bob's) on Fri., May 25. Doors for the show open at 8pm, and tickets are $13 in advance or at the door.

You Idolized Them. Now here's your opportunity to see some of American Idol's finest at Superstar Idols Live! on Fri., May 25. Performers will be Ruben Studdard (Season #2 Winner), Ace Young (Season #5 Finalist), Lisa Tucker (Season #5 Finalist), Will Makar (Season #5 Finalist), Jessica Sierra (Season #4 Finalist), Lindsay Cardinale (Season #4 Finalist) and Makalah Gordon (Season #4 Finalist). Tickets range from $10-100, so there's a seat for everyone in the house. The $100 tickets include a meet-n-greet pass, autographs and after-party access. Doors to the Pavilion, Expo Square, 17th between Harvard & Yale, will open at 6:30pm for the 8pm show, and you can get tickets at the Box Office or 376-6000.

Channeling Peter Rabbit. Thirty years old and single, Beatrix Potter lived in London with her social-climbing parents, who were exasperated that she turned down many eligible young men. Her only real friends were the animals, which, since childhood, she had lovingly drawn and made up stories about. She finally succeeded in selling a book of the stories, and it became Norman Warne's first project. He quickly fell in love with both the book and Beatrix, and together they carefully arranged publication, proving to be the first of many successes in their lives. Watch her story in Miss Potter, starring Renee Zellweger. It opens Fri., May 25 at Circle Cinema. Call 592-FILM for showtimes.

Six Inches Forward, Five Inches Back. Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a rock odyssey that tells the story of young Hansel in East Berlin, a slip of a girly-boy who fell in love with an American G.I. and underwent a sex-change operation in order to marry him and flee to the West. Unfortunately, nothing worked out quite as it was supposed to...and Hedwig can't seem to find his/her other half. Hedwig's musical journey will not only let you in on all the secrets of her life, but will also rock you in your seat. Come discover this cult-classic, or see it for the 100th time as the Midnight Movie at Circle Cinema on May 25-26.

Feel the Need For Speed? Well, so do professional drag racers, and after 13 years, it's back in T-Town at the Tulsa Raceway Park, 2101 N. Garnett from May 25-27. We're talking the Knoll-Gas Nitro Jam Skull Shine Sooner Nationals, baby. Yeah. The event will feature three days of Top Fuel Dragsters, Nitro Funny Cars, Pro Mod, Pro Stock and Alcohol Funny Cars. You can buy one day or three day passes, which run from $5-75. So, there's a seat for everyone here. Get your tickets through Carson Attraction at 584-2000 or at carsonattractions.com.

Whodunit? Based on the popular board game, Clue: The Musical is an exciting, fun-filled musical that brings the world's best-known mystery suspects (Professor Plum, Colonel Mustard, and Mz. Scarlett) to life on the stage, and invites the audience to play along to solve a mystery. The suspects sing, dance, and joke their way into your life or into suspicion, as you guess which one of the 216 possible endings (different every performance), is the answer to whodunit, in what room, with what weapon. It runs May 25-27 and 31 and June 1-2 in the Doenges Theatre of the Tulsa PAC, 2nd & Cincinnati. Curtain is at 8pm, with the exception of a 2pm matinee on May 27. Get tickets for $20 at the Box Office, myticketoffice.com or 596-7111.

Heart and Soul, Onstage. With explosive original music and electrifying contemporary dance/fight scenes, the full-length production Heartdance tells the compelling story of an angry generation stuck in the cycle of drugs, child abuse, anorexia, rape, abortion and suicide. The struggle between death and life, hate and love, despair and dreams come true--it is the dance of every heart. Tickets are $10, with student and group pricing at $8, for the one-night-only show on Sat., May 26 in the Williams Theatre of the Tulsa PAC. Lazarus Productions is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping young adults find their voice and purpose through the arts. For more information on Heartdance, see the website at LazarusArts.com.

He Wasn't Born Yesterday. But Justin McKean's one-man show, Born Again Yesterday, brings hilarity to fundamentalism. This multiple character comedy chronicles a man being born again from having been born again; essentially he's in recovery from his own childhood religious upbringing! This show will open May 25-26 at the Nightingale Theater, 1416 E. 4th, at 8pm. Tickets are $7 at the door, and you can reserve a spot or get more info at 633-8666.

Search For Our Okie Identity. From May 25-Sept. 16, the Price Tower Arts Center in Bartlesville, 510 Dewey Ave., will be exhibiting "Out of Oklahoma: Contemporary Artists from Ruscha to Andoe." Starting with the Pop Art movement of the '60s and traveling through abstraction, minimalism, photorealism and even the new figurative painting. The work of 20 artists, including Larry Clark, John Fincher, and Daniel Lang, encompasses works in paint, watercolor, photography, glass, bronze and more to represent the diversity of Oklahoma and its people. For more info, visit pricetower.org.

Rockin' the Rockhounds. That's what we expect of our Tulsa Drillers May 29-31 when they face off with the RockHounds of Midland at Drillers Stadium, 15th & Yale. The Tues. and Thurs. games are at 7pm (well, 7:05pm after the National Anthem) and Wed. gives you a chance to get a little sun with your baseball with a 12pm game. Oh, and a free haircut, shoe shine or massage from Community Care College. Thurs. is, of course, a Thirsty Thursday ($1 beer, anyone?), but they'll also be giving away Drillers Christmas ornaments to the first 1,000 fans in the park. Yes, it's almost summertime but we're sure you'll make good use of your decoration come Dec. Pick up tickets at the Box Office, tulsadrillers.com or 744-5901.

Rock and Roll, Air Guitar Style! The documentary Air Guitar Nation is about the year that air guitar swept America--from New York to Los Angeles and then all the way to northern Finland. The film chronicles the birth of the US Air Guitar Championships and the personal journeys of those talented contestants who are vying to become the first World Air Guitar Champion from the United States. Air Guitar Nation captures the explosion of competitive air guitar through the eyes of former world champions, fans and media, and through the personal rivalries of those trying to attain the title of "The best Air Guitarist in the world." You have to see this to believe it. It's showing at Circle Cinema May 25-26. For showtimes, call 592-FILM.

Blurring Boundaries. The latest installation exhibit at Living Arts, "Paramnesia," is a collaboration by interdisciplinary artists Jody Boyer and Russ Nordman. It explores paramnesia, a real medical condition where the afflicted are unable to distinguish between what exists and what is imagined. Using a model train mounted with a miniature video camera, Boyer and Nordman guide their audience through a fantastic landscape, where forests, figurines and furniture all serve as metaphorical backdrops. It begs the question: what is real? The installation space outside or the world captured by the train's camera? Come decide for yourself. The exhibit will run through May 26. For more info, visit livingarts.org or call 585-1234.

Your Dream Job... was to be an astronaut when you were a kid, right? Well, now you can glimpse the magnificence of floating in space with Astronaut, the most recent film to show at Tulsa Air and Space Museum's Bertlesmeyer Planetarium. It argues that the exploration of space is the greatest endeavor humankind has ever undertaken. You will explore the amazing worlds of inner and outer space, and encounter the perils that await space travelers, as they subject a test astronaut, Chad, to everything space has to throw at him. Discover if you have what it takes to become an astronaut! The planetarium is located at 3624 N. 74th E. Ave. For showtimes, call 834-9900.

On Modernity. The National Contemporary Realism Exhibition, showing through June 16, brings together a group of local, national and international artists whose paintings stem from the European tradition of depicting everyday imagery with astonishing accuracy. Subjects range from the conventional still life to portraiture and landscape. What differentiates contemporary realists from the past are the subjects that are represented, and the way in which these subjects take life on the canvas. See the work of these artists at M.A. Doran Gallery, 3509 S. Peoria, 748-8700.

Elemental Photography. "Aether" is a collection of backlit photographs of earth, air, water and fire by Elizabeth Downing. Each of the images emphasizes the ability of the four fundamental elements to reflect changes in their environment as tiny shifts and interruptions are made obvious by movement, surface, and texture. This subject translates directly to current conservation and environmental concerns, as small changes can dramatically affect a larger whole. The show will run through May 26 and is free and open to the public.

Get Thee to the Castle. It's that time of year again at The Castle of Muskogee--time for ye olde Renaissance Festival. There will be dozens performers: musicians, jugglers, magicians, mimes, acrobats, sword fighters, comedians, belly dancers, Celtic bands, bagpipers, mud wrestlers, executioners and oh so much more...like people dressed as peasants, knaves, lords, ladies & wizards! Over 100 artisans will sell their unique, handcrafted Renaissance wares. The festival will run every weekend in May and Memorial Day, and tickets run $5-11. Visit OKCastle.com and print your own, or get them at the gate. The Castle is located at 3400 Fern Mountain Rd. in Muskogee.

For the People. The Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art, 2021 E. 71st, will display a traveling exhibition on the life and artwork of the Polish-born Jewish artist, Arthur Szyk, through June 24. The exhibition includes a selection of both the artist's manuscript illustrations and political art from the 1930s and 1940s created to call attention to Nazi atrocities across Europe, as well as to advocate for social justice and civil liberties in America. The museum is open Mon.-Fri., 10am-5pm and on Sundays from 1-5pm. For more information on the museum or exhibit, call 492-1818.

A Little Piece of Peace. Every 3rd Fri. of the month, Peace House Tulsa, 306 S. Phoenix, will bring you Infusion, an evening of music and poetry that will transport you back into the Jazz Era of Harlem. The show starts at 9pm, and the lineup includes The Mistress of Metaphor: Sharon Smith Knight, Renowned Drummer: Bob "Pacemaker" Newham, and The Ultra Cool Songstress: Miss Stacie Lynn. There will also be a special performance from Wordweaver: Deborah Hunter. $5 gets you into the show. For more info, call 599-8959.

Close Encounters of the Elephant Kind. Newly opened, the Elephant Demonstration Yard at the Tulsa Zoo, 6421 E. 36th St. N., will bring you and your family closer to the elephants than ever before. There will be daily demonstrations at 11am, and the stadium seating will bring you within a few feet of the mighty beasts and their keepers. Come check out Asian Cow elephants Sooky and Gunda as they strut their stuff and roam their newly renovated and expanded habitat. For more info, call 669-6600.

Golf, It's Tulsa's Kind of Sport. The Tulsa Historical Society and the PGA present "A History of the Season's Final Major," which celebrates the history and tradition of the PGA Championship. The collection tracks the Championship from the beginnings of match play to the modern era of stroke play, from Champions like Gene Sarazen and Walter Hagen to today's icons such as Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. Visitors to the exhibit can see the progression of golf and its technology by viewing mementos from PGA Champions through clothing, equipment, scorecards and other memorabilia. The PGA exhibit will be on display at the Tulsa Historical Society, 2445 S. Peoria, through Aug. 1. Admission is free. To make tour reservations or for more information, call 712-9484.

He is Manuel. He dressed Johnny Cash in black. He created jumpsuits for Elvis. The bands Aerosmith, Lynard Skynard, ZZ Top and the Beatles have all worn his artistry. Presidents and movie stars have proudly donned his couture. He is a designer and an artist. He is Manuel. His current exhibit, "Star Spangled Thank You Tour" is a celebration of his career as a performance costume designer and will also showcase 50 one-of-a-kind jackets that pay tribute to the uniqueness of each of the 50 states. The show will run through July 29 at Gilcrease Museum, 1400 Gilcrease Museum Rd. For more information, call 596-2700 or visit gilcrease.org.

Boomers and Sooners. During the first few years of the twentieth century, a series of events took place that lead Congress to grant single statehood for the Oklahoma and Indian Territories together. The exhibit, "Divided Territory, the Quest for Sequoyah," details the process that led two territories, each desiring to be admitted to the Union as their own separate state, to join together to form the State of Oklahoma. Come see this and other exhibits at the Tulsa Historical Society, 2445 S. Peoria, through July 28. For more info, call 712-9484 or visit tulsahistory.org.

Circa 480 B.C. Witness, for the first time, the Battle of Thermopylae on the massive screens of IMAX for a feel of what it was like to be a Spartan defending your ground against the ferocious Persians. Based on Frank Miller's graphic novel and from the same director of Dawn of the Dead, 300 promises to be a violent, yet powerful, film about defending honor and your homeland, to the bitter end. Showing at Cinemark IMAX, 10802 E. 71st. Call 307-2629 for showtimes.

Celebrate Oklahoma's Rich History! In 1945, Thomas Gilcrease commissioned Vinson Lackey to research, record, and then create works of art representing the early institutions of Indian Territory.

This historic group of Oklahoma's pre-statehood buildings included forts, old Indian capitols, agencies, schools, churches, homes, and industrial structures. Each painting was to be a faithful reproduction of the original structure. The project took Lackey four years to complete.

He traveled to the sites and made sketches of the terrain, took copious notes, and tracked down any available information that might be useful to the project.

Do your civic duty and help the mayor and her cohorts find direction for the museum by letting 'em know you heard about the show in your ever-lovin' UTW. Gilcrease Museum, 1400 Gilcrease Museum Rd., through Sept. 30. For more information, call 596-2700.

America 24/7. In the 1930s & '40s, Oklahoma artists were part of the "American Scene" movement, a reaction in part to abstraction and other modernist movements. These artists documented the America they knew best, whether it was the hills of Oklahoma, the ranch land of West Texas or the shores of New England.

They worked with a single purpose: to capture the myths and truths of an America that was rapidly changing. An exhibit of these works, "The Oklahoma Scene," at Philbrook Museum, runs through Aug. 5. For more information, call 749-7941.

The Longing for Liquid. Oasis in Space is a stunning film voyage that transports the audience through the solar system, galaxy & universe in search of liquid water--a key ingredient for our life on earth.

With a proven, audience-tested story, visually immersive imagery and an original musical score, the film is enjoyable for all ages. You can see Oasis in Space at the Berlesmeyer Planetarium at the Tulsa Air & Space Museum, 3624 N. 74th E. Ave. For showtimes, call 834-9900.