THEATRE

Cars, girls and war

Take an entertaining, honest, musical ride with Randy Rutherford’s My Brother Sings Like Roy Orbison. The award-winning play is an account of Rutherford’s early manhood against the backdrop of Vietnam, and blends his coming-of-age with the country’s coming apart in a tale of lost innocence. My Brother Sings Like Roy Orbison is at the old Fire Hall tonight and Saturday. Shows start at 7:30 p.m.

MUSIC

Vocal vibes

Jazz up the week with standards like “I Can’t Get Started With You …” and “Is you is, or is you ain’t my baby” at Jazz Yukon’s special presentation of BC jazz vocalist, recording and touring artist Karin Plato and Friends. As a classically trained vocalist, Plato discovered the joy of expression through the language of jazz. The show’s on Wednesday, September 14 at 7:30 p.m. at the Old Fire Hall. It’s $10 at the door.

For more information go to http://www.karinplato.com/

Flora and fauna

Montreal alt-rockers Plants and Animals are bringing their analog warmth to the territory on Thursday, September 15. According to Pitchfork Media, “Montreal’s music scene is like a clown car: just when you think it couldn’t possibly have room to contain any more talent, some more emerge … now it can add ambitious, sun-baked trio Plants and Animals to the ranks of its growing community of celebrated musicians.” The show starts at 8 p.m. at the Yukon Arts Centre.

VISUAL ART

Video and fur

Four new shows just opened at the Yukon Arts Centre galleries. Douglas Drake’s Now on Home Video stresses image overload through loops of short video clips sampled from scavenged VHS tapes.

Kelly Richardson’s Twilight Avenger video installation is equal parts sci-fi myth and forest fable, while Kerri Reid’s The End of the World is an installation that raises notions of visible consumption and of recycling.

In the community gallery, Belinda Harrow’s The Trade examines North American history in the 16th century, through fashion, religion, science and economics, which together reshaped the environment and dramatically changed the life of animals in North America.

Collage and colour

Amber Church’s show She is at Bake Cafe until October 2. The show is comprised of a series of brightly coloured, mixed media pieces celebrating the joy and strength of women. The pieces are mixtures of acrylic, collage and found elements, and pen and ink with extensive layering. One piece featuring a poet even incorporates magnetic poetry pieces that can be moved around in the finished product; others pull in old playing cards, maps, and even a copy of a handbill from the Moulin Rouge hiding in the backgrounds for the audience to discover.

FILM

Movie mania

Cinema buffs rejoice. The Yukon Film Society and Yukon Arts Centre have teamed up to screen new release films and cinema classics on the big screen at least one Sunday a month from September through May. During afternoon matinees, film classics and family-friendly films will be on offer, while in the evening, there’s will be a new feature documentary followed by either ‘arthouse’ features from around the world, cinema classics or, possibly, a second feature documentary.

This Sunday, September 11, the program starts at 2 p.m. with Singin’ in the Rain, a musical comedy starring Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds. It’s set in Hollywood during the transition from the silent era to the ‘talkies’ era. Although it was not a big hit when first released, Singin’ in the Rain is now frequently described as one of the best musicals ever made, topping the American Film Institute’s ‘100 Years of Musicals’ list.

This will be followed by Louder Than a Bomb, at 6 p.m., a documentary about a 2009 Chicago high school slam poetry contest. It follows a handful of the 600 teenagers who participate in this annual event, as they begin working towards the competition, crafting their poems and their performances. This film pushes you to reassess what words can do, and more critically what young people can do. It has won many “Audience Favourite” awards at recent film festivals.

The night will end with Terrance Malick’s Tree of Life, starring Sean Penn and Brad Pitt. Hailed by critics the world over as the cinema event of the year, Malick’s existential epic has polarized critics and audiences with its fragmented, non-linear narrative style. Thought to be autobiographical, Tree of Life is a family drama that chronicles the origins and meaning of life by way of a middle-aged man’s childhood memories of his family living in 1950s Texas, interspersed with imagery of the origins of the universe and the inception of life on Earth.

From the director of the iconic films: Days of Heaven, Badlands, and Thin Red Line. Winner of 2011 Palme D’or at Cannes.

There will be an encore screening of Tree of Life on Wednesday, September 14 at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $10 for Yukon Film Society members and Yukon Arts Centre Art Lover’s pass holders, $11 for non-members and $5 for youth under 16.

POLITICS

Arctic analysis

The Maddison Chair in Northern Justice presents Michael Byers, who’s coming to Whitehorse to talk about who owns the Arctic.

Byers is a professor of political science and Canada research chair in global politics and international law at the University of British Columbia and a project leader with ArcticNet, a federally-funded consortium of Arctic scientists from 29 Canadian universities and eight federal departments.

The discussion is on Wednesday, September 14 at 7:30 p.m. It’s at MacBride Museum and it’s free.

SPORTS

Hook up the hounds

The hot hounds summer race series continues this Sunday, September 11 at Cynthia Corriveau’s place in Golden Horn subdivision. This Yukon Brewing Race Day event will follow the usual race format with a two-mile two-dog race, a one-mile one-dog race, a one-mile pet dog race, and a one-mile canicross. Things kick off at 6 p.m.

Following the races there will be a short awards ceremony and bonfire, so bring food and drinks. There will be a barbecue and fire available for cooking needs.

To get there, turn left a few metres after the Klondike Highway turn off at the balloons and follow the signs to the parking lot.

Roller brawl

The Fairbanks Rollergirls are cruising to Whitehorse for a bruisin’. They’ll be taking on the Yukon Roller Girls in their first hometown bout. Tickets are going fast, and will be available at the door on a first-come, first-serve basis. Saturday’s Klondike Klash, which will take place at the Takhini Broomball Arena, will include a beer garden, food stands and Yukon Roller Girl merchandise for sale. Doors open at 6 p.m. There will also be an after party at Coasters Bar and Grill on Jarvis Street.

FUNDRAISING

Famine funds

The federal government will match every dollar donated to African famine relief until September 16.

A bank account has been set up at Whitehorse’s Bank of Montreal and donating is as simple as going up to the teller, telling them you’d like to donate to the “Africa Fund” and giving them your address if you wish to get a tax receipt.

If you would like your event listed in Get Out!, send details to friis@yukon-news.com.