V-Day
Zalma Lofton Gallery lends a loving hand
Valentine's Day is coming, and there's nothing you or anyone can do to stop it. It's right behind you, actually, breathing heavily and placing its ice-cold tentacles on your shoulders as if to say "Don't fuck this up"
And you won't, so long as you heed our advice and, instead of hitting up CVS in a panic to buy your person whatever Russell Stover nonsense is by the register, go local at Zalma Lofton Gallery. For the third year runnin', proprietor Alberto Zalma invites a trio of local artists to show alongside his own trademark style (radical skeletons), particularly in the milieu of love. This year, you'll find Lauren Aguilar, Victor Macias and Christopher Merlyn tabling with original pieces, small ephemera and one-of-a-kind items.
"It really all started with Lauren," Zalma tells SFR. "She always makes really cool things for Valentine's Day, so we decided to do pop-upsthe idea is to have stuff cooler than your average gift."
This includes jewelry, paintings, photos, prints, candles, mugs and more, all from artists hand-selected by Zalma. Really, anything the artists care to show up with is bound to be better than that Sir Huggington stuffed bear you've hidden in your closet like you're a champion, and with some items starting at a mere $5, it's a no-brainer.
"They always surprise me," Zalma says of the artists, "and affordability, accessibility are important. It's super affordable."
Zalma says it's also a chance for those who haven't spent much time in galleries to do so,plus you'll find food and drink and DJ Ride banging out the ones and twos as a soundtrack. Zalma says these events have morphed into killer after-parties in the past, and it sounds like that might happen this time, too.
(Alex De Vore)
Valentine's Pop-Up Show:
5-9 pm Friday, Feb. 7. Free.
Zalma Lofton Gallery
407 S Guadalupe St.,
670-5179
Living History
A lecture about the history of theater in America from someone who helped write the history of theater in America? Sign us up. Robert Benedetti, founder and co-artistic director of New Mexico Actors Lab, has a long line of accomplishments behind him, not the least of which includes time as chairman of acting at Yale Drama School. He delves into his own career for a Renesan lecture about the history of regional theater. "My lecture will be a purely personal remembrance of the '50s and '60s when we truly believed that resident companies would cure the ills of the American theater," Benedetti tells SFR, "which most of us felt was caught in the naturalistic rut of the '30s and '40s." Learn more about what a subscription model and brick-and-mortar versus touring meant for smaller companies, right from the horse's mouth.
(Charlotte Jusinski)
A Brief History of the Regional Theater Movement in America:
1 pm Thursday, Feb. 6. $15.
St. John's United Methodist Church,
1200 Old Pecos Trail,
982-9274
Sunrise, Sunset
You know how there are those classic musicals that everyone knows? Even your friends who act like they're too good for musical theater know 'em, and you could sing or hum the songs at the drop of a hat? In this case we're talkingFiddler on the Roof, one of the finest pieces of theater known to humankind, and a nonstop hit parade of great songs. "Tradition?" "If I Were a Rich Man?" "Wedding Dance?" They're all in there and they're all amazing. Anyway, the talented youths of the New Mexico School for the Arts tackle the show about a Jewish family in Russia trying to get by under terrible conditions, and all we can say is good luck withthe bottle dance, kidswe know you can do it. (ADV)
Fiddler on the Roof:
7 pm Thursday, Feb. 6-Saturday, Feb. 8;
2 pm Sunday, Feb. 9. $5-$10.
James A Little Theater,
1060 Cerrillos Road,
476-6429.
Murder Machine
We honestly can't tell you how many times people have told us they assumed Murder by Death is a metal band, but the fact is, they're just the kind of thing Santa Fe would probably rally around. We're talking a darker take on folky tunes and alt.country, a juke-joint sort of thing via Tom Waits now and then, but rocky and rolly and sweet. It's the sort of music that keeps a band going strong for decades and, as fate would have it, the Indiana-based band is celebrating two of thosedecades, that iswith a national tour celebrating the accomplishment. They're coming to Meow Wolf, obviously, and we imagine it'll sell out quick, so hurry and believe us, localsyou're gonna love this. (ADV)
Murder by Death:
7 pm Tuesday Feb. 11. $23.
Meow Wolf,
1352 Rufina Circle,
395-6369.