Sticky weather got you down? Find an air-conditioned theater this weekend, and it's likely there's a really good production premiering there. Or slip into the Pulitzer to check out a new show featuring the work of Claes Oldenburg. Heat not a problem for you? Get thee to the Grove, stat, where — breeze or no no breeze — an action-packed bicycle race will have the wind ruffling your hair.
Here are our picks for eight things to do around town this week.
1. Catch a musical at COCA
The music of Led Zeppelin was used in a series of Cadillac commercials a few years back, which proves that rock & roll has been completely assimilated by corporate America. But in the early days of rock, it was the music of wild-eyed hillbillies and dapper young black men. David Bryan and Joe DiPietro return to those dangerous times in their rock & roll musical, Memphis. White rock fan Huey Calhoun frequents the black clubs of Memphis to feed his soul, and not just with music. He meets Felicia, a young singer, at Delray's, but Delray isn't very keen on his sister dating a white man. Fueled by his growing love for Felicia and his belief that this dangerous new music could bring together the black and white population of Memphis, Huey lands a job as a DJ and sets the city on its ear with his colorblind programming and wild personality. The Center of Creative Arts presents Memphis with a cast of high-schoolers and some select COCA alumni as its summer musical. Performances take place at 7 p.m. Friday and 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday (July 29 and 30) at Washington University's Edison Theatre (6445 Forsyth Boulevard; www.cocastl.org). Tickets are $16.
2. See the new show at the Pulitzer
Pop artist Claes Oldenburg set himself counter to the staid abstract expressionists who ruled the modern art world in the '50s with his sense of humor and his flair for the dramatic. His oversized, brightly-colored sculptures of familiar objects such as lipstick and three-way plugs were ridiculed in the early days, but are now recognized as important works by a major artist. The Pulitzer Arts Foundation's (3716 Washington Boulevard; www.pulitzerarts.org) new exhibit, The Ordinary Must Not Be Dull: Claes Oldenburg's Soft Sculptures, showcases a selection of some of the artist's most playful works. Soft Switches (1964) is a ductile pair of light switches in glistening red, gravity tugging them into bonk-eyed uselessness, but Oldenburg's Green Beans (1964) are a Jolly Green Giant-sized pile of viridian pods with plump, glistening beans peeking out of either end. The Ordinary Must Not Be Dull opens with a free reception from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, July 29. Oldenbug's sculptures remain on display through Saturday, October 15, at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation (3716 Washington Boulevard; www.pulitzerarts.org). Admission is free, and the museum is open Wednesday through Saturday.
3. Catch all the Harry Potter action in Maplewood
Did you believe you'd heard the last from notorious he-witch Harry Potter? Well, he's back, and real-life has caught up with Potter at last. He's slaving away in the Ministry of Magic with three kids at home and a minor case of wand dysfunction (presumably — he's in the right demographic for it to be an issue), and his youngest child is struggling mightily with the family legacy. If you want to know how it all turns out, you'll have to read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child — Parts One & Two. The new book is actually a rehearsal script for the first Harry Potter play, which opens in London on Saturday, July 30. (That's today.) The book is officially available on July 31, which is technically midnight Saturday. The Book House (7352 Manchester Road, Maplewood; www.bookhousestl.com) feeds your habit at the stroke of midnight with "The Party That Dare Not Speak Its Name." The party includes a costume contest, Tarot readings, chocolate frogs, Butterbeer and Dragon's Milk (why would a reptile produce milk?) and other surprises. The party starts at 5 p.m. and ends at 12:30 a.m., and admission is free. Pre-order your copy of the book through the Book House to ensure you get one.
See also: 7 Ways to Celebrate Harry Potter This Weekend
4. Weep your way through a tragic opera
Life has become very uncomfortable for Tosca, Naples' favorite singer. She believers her paramour Cavardossi is tom-catting around with another woman, when in fact he's planning a jailbreak for his old pal Angelotti. The two buds get away with it, but the horny police chief Scarpia uses Tosca's jealousy to track down the two fugitives — and when he catches them, they'll both pay for their temerity. Union Avenue Opera presents Puccini's tragic drama Tosca as its second show of the season. The setting for this new production is Rome in 1940, as the war threatens to engulf the Eternal City. Tosca is performed at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday (July 29 to August 6) at Union Avenue Christian Church (733 North Union Boulevard; www.unionavenueopera.org). Tickets are $30 to $55.
Turn the page for more fun events in St. Louis this week.
