thursday 1|9

Two On Five
CHAMBER MUSIC IN COLTON HALL Katie Clare Mazzeo has played her harpsichord in concerts and recital halls across the U.S. and Europe, has given performances on the harpsichord and pianoforte with the ensemble Zeitgeist 1800, and once toured Iceland with the Boston Symphony. Penny Hanna, a singer and performer on the treble, tenor and bass viols, plays all around the Bay area with numerous groups, including the Mattisse Freimark Band, Esther's Klezmer Band, and the Antiquarian Funks. Tonight these two musicians perform music from the Renaissance and Baroque eras in the intimate candlelit setting of Colton Hall. Some highlights include popular songs from Shakespeare's day, and French Baroque music for the harpsichord and viola da gamba by Marin Marais. It's a rare chance to hear music in what was once Monterey's capital building, and the hall is well suited to the delicate tones that will emerge tonight.
8pm. Colton Hall, Pacific Street between Madison and Jefferson, Monterey. $5 suggested donation; reservations required. For tickets call 646-5640.

With Love From Broadway

LAYNE LITTLEPAGE Singer Layne Littlepage has developed a following of folks who enjoy her particular brand of one-woman musical shows, which feature the singer dressed to the nines and delivering a medley of Broadway hits and other similar tunes. She's best known locally for her 1997 show "An Evening with Beatrice Lillie," which was recently performed at San Francisco's New Conservatory Theater and the High Spirits Room in New York, where Backstage called it "an evening to savor." Trained as an actress and classical singer (she sang with the New York Grand Opera and the New American Opera Theatre), Littlepage has assembled a brand-new collection of songs for a four-week run at the Carl Cherry Center, beginning tonight. Titled "Love, Layne Littlepage," the one-woman musical evening features songs about love from Broadway composers such as Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Leonard Bernstein, Rodgers and Hammerstein and Stephen Sondheim. She says she'll even throw in a little Puccini and Verdi, so watch out.
7pm tonight, 8pm Friday and Saturday, 5pm Sunday. Carl Cherry Center for the Arts, Guadalupe and Fourth, Carmel. $18/$15 students and seniors. For tickets call 625-7559 or go to www.centerstageticketing.com.

friday 1|10

Art Hunt

ART HOUSE EXHIBIT OPENING Enjoy the plein air oil paintings of this month's featured artist Christine Crozier and take a crack at identifying the local sites she portrays in her works. Those savvy enough to recognize our county treasures will be entered in a drawing for a free Art House painting class. Crozier, internationally known for her impressionistic style, describes her love of the intimacy of painting. "You can fall in love with the curve of an ear, the ephemeral colors of leaves, the light on the curl of a wave. I'm more concerned with how a thing feels visually, at a given moment, than how it might actually look."
7-9pm reception. Art House, 226 17th St., Pacific Grove. Free. 373-8888.

Art Of All Sizes

PG ART CENTER OPENING RECEPTION Held, as usual, at exactly the same time as the Art House opening is the reception for this month's exhibit at the Pacific Grove Art Center, so you might as well let your cultural cup runneth over and mosey on down to Lighthouse Ave. for the quadruple show opening there. In the Main Gallery, "The Artists' Equity: Coast to Coast Show" features artworks by equity members in Washington D.C. and the Central Coast-painting, photography, etchings, and collage. Next door is "Tiny Treasures: "Love and Romance," a miniatures show that raises money for the center-a $3 raffle ticket gives you the chance to win a tiny work of art. Over in the next room are Charlsie Kelly's fantasy-laden watercolors, "The Unhindered Mind," described by the artist as "the art of seeing more than the ordinary, of never being bored and of always being amused." Finally, check out "as well as," an exhibit of sculptures by Renne Emiko Brock-Richmond designed to build bridges across people's differences. The PGAC openings are always crowded, so get there early if you want the eats.
7-9pm. Pacific Grove Art Center. 568 Lighthouse Ave., Pacific Grove. Free, except wine. 375-2208.

Musicals Get Meshed

BROADWAY MUSICAL REVIEW If you're a fan of musical theater and movies, this is the show for you. Local actors Richard Boynton, Phyllis Davis, Jennifer Lister and Keith Wolhart have picked some of their favorite songs from musicals and-regardless of their original context-mixed them together into a new story about finding and keeping love. Each of the four-member cast selected some songs near and dear to their hearts, taught the other cast members, and arranged them in such a way that they are given new meaning. If you're familiar with musicals, this is a chance to see them given new life on a small stage with some of our community's most prolific actors.
7:30pm Fri. and Sat., 2pm Sun. Magic Circle Center, 8 El Caminito, Carmel Valley. $20. 659-1108.

Benefit Dance

AIDS FUNDRAISER Street Outreach Services of Salinas is a non-profit that works with people vulnerable to AIDS/HIV, other sexually transmitted diseases, substance abuse and homelessness. Among other efforts, its staff and volunteers run a needle exchange program. To continue their efforts to prevent the spread of disease, Street Outreach Services will be holding a fundraising dance and silent auction tonight at Franco's Norma Jean, the Castroville museum-cum-bar famous (notorious?) for its annual Marilyn Monroe Lookalike contest. If you've never been to Franco's, this is a good chance. No-host bar and hors d'oeuvres begin at 6pm, and a DJ will be spinning music for your dancing tootsies. Lots of door prizes.
6pm. Franco's Norma Jean Night Club, 10639 Merritt St., Castroville. $10 (must be 21). For more information call Street Outreach Services at 784-6969.

saturday 1|11

Zen-sational

SHUNRYU SUZUKI ROSHI Though he died in 1971, the influence of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi is still felt, especially in this area. Roshi was the founder of the San Francisco Zen Center, which grew into three locations, one of which is the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center in Carmel Valley, the first Buddhist monastery in the country. His teachings have touched the lives of Zen practitioners the world over, and his books are still read and cherished, including the recently published Not Necessarily So. This is the first of three Saturday courses led by students from the Monterey Zen Center.
10am. Carl Cherry Center for the Arts, Fourth and Guadalupe, Carmel. Donation. 624-7491.

Swing Your Partners

AROMAS CONTRA DANCE SERIES It's similar to square dancing. It was all the rage in 1800. It's got nothing to do with country line dancing, and it receives no funding from Oliver North. It's the wonderful world of contra dance, an American folk dance in which dancers form two parallel lines. By the end of the night, you will have danced with everyone in the hall. Tonight, the series will feature nationally known musical artist Paul Kotapish, Kevin Carr and Laurie Rivin. New England style contra dances will be taught and called by Warren Blier. No experience-or partner-is needed.
Optional beginner's orientation at 7:15pm; 7:30-10pm dance. Aromas Community Grange Hall, corner of Rose and Bardue Streets, Aromas. $8. 726-7253.

sunday 1|12

Stomp and Swing

HOT JAZZ SOCIETY The Firehouse Stompers are certainly a spirited group. Composed of seven members playing various instruments, they play jazz, blues, swing and anything you can tap your feet to. Get ready to cut a rug as they play in the style of Louis Armstrong, Bob Crosby and Turk Murphy, as well as many others. Also featured are Carl's Roadhouse Swingers, bringing more danceable beats to rock your feets. If you know how to swing dance, grab a partner and come on down.
1pm. Monterey Moose Lodge, 555 Del Rey Gardens Dr., Del Rey Oaks. $7. 372-6803.

People Who Paint Their Houses Purple, Pink and Chartreuse
JEFFREY BECOM AND SALLY ABERG The husband-wife team of Jeffrey Becom (artist and photographer) and Sally Aberg (writer) have traveled the globe for 24 years, documenting painted architecture traditions-a fast disappearing art form- in Mesoamerica and the Mediterranean basin. Their book Maya Color won first prize for "best travel book" of the year from the Society of American Travel Writers. This afternoon the color-obsessed duo will show Becom's slides from Maya Gold and the further-afield Mediterranean Gold, and will talk about their fascination with painted architecture, and discuss how various cultures they've investigated use color in their religious and socio-political life. Becom's brilliantly colored photographic work in Mesoamerica in particular has become more focused on religious symbolism, which the couple will discuss. Becom will also show some of his watercolor and oil paintings, and slides of his painted house projects (he did the two wild houses on 13th and 14th streets in P.G.). Aberg, a former journalist for the Sacramento Bee, co-authors Becom's books, works as an artist's consultant, and is writing a novel and collection of short stories.

2pm. Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, Forest and Central, Pacific Grove. Free. Sponsored by Friends of the Pacific Grove Library, 626-6941.