Class Is Out

Whoever said cooning was dead has obviously not seen a Tyler Perry production.
His Madea plays take comedy to new levels of ignorance. They are politically
incorrect, funny and popular on the bootleg video circuit. And they’ve made
their creator, Tyler Perry, extremely rich. The New Orleans native was homeless
just six years ago; then he turned some personal letters into his first hit
musical, I Know I’ve Been Changed. Since then, Perry’s hit the big time
with his Madea series. In it, he plays gun-wielding matriarch Mabel “Madea”
Simmons, as well as some other characters. The quick changes are executed smoothly
and aren’t hard to follow, although the Southern patois sometimes is. On the
Tyler Perry Web site, Madea herself discusses the latest installment in the
series, Madea’s Family Reunion, and invites the audience to get tickets
early because “er’rabody is comin’…and don’t forget the college greens. I
will bring the Jello and the bullets.” See what pans out when she shows up to
her 50th high school reunion toting guns and aspic. Madea’s Class Reunion:
8 p.m. Tuesday, October 14, through Friday, October 17; 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday,
October 18; 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, October 19. Verizon Wireless Theater,
520 Texas. For information, call 713-230-1600 or visit www.tylerperry.com.
$26.50. — Felicia Johnson-LeBlanc

MON 10/13
Punky Folkster Ani DiFranco is part mainstream, part up-yours

Ani DiFranco’s music is showing up on Internet chill music mixes. Is that
a good thing? Her inclusion in these compilations, which make for soothing Sunday-morning
background music, is a sign of the acceptance the artist’s once-underground
approach to folk music has found. DiFranco’s latest studio album, Evolve,
has not met with the same critical acclaim as 1995’s breakthrough, Not a
Pretty Girl, or even 2002’s live album, So Much Shouting, So Much Laughter.
But the fact is, she still has plenty of venom on the tip of her tongue. In
the album’s rambling final rant, “Serpentine,” DiFranco unleashes her politically
charged fury in full force, informing us that “Uncle Sam is rigging cockfights
in the Promised Land.” Ani DiFranco performs at 8 p.m. Monday, October 13. Verizon
Wireless Theater, 520 Texas. For information, call 713-225-8551. $26.50 to $29.50.
— Greg Barr

SAT 10/11 Cored Out With its chunky guitar riffs and political, pop-philosophy lyrics, Die Young
is probably best described as hardcore, no matter how you think of the word.
The band tells us that “Only the blind see in black and white,” and “Our relentless
pursuit of truth absolute has kept us on our knees.” But in true punk fashion,
the meaning of these words is secondary to the roar of the instruments. This
weekend, Die Young will play at the Fallcore Fest with a slew of other searing
screamers, including Will to Live and Pride Kills. 8 p.m. Saturday, October
11. Fitzgerald’s, 2706 White Oak Drive. For more information, call 713-862-3838
or visit www.fitzlive.com. $8. —
Keith Plocek

Paging Dr. Watson More than a century ago, William
Gillette was given free rein to revamp the script of the play Sherlock Holmes.
The character’s creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, told him, “You may marry him,
murder him or do anything you like to him.” Now see where the Alley Theatre
has taken the old chap. Friday, October 10, through Sunday, November 2. For
information and showtimes, call 713-228-8421 or visit www.alleytheatre.org.
$35 to $50. — Lisa Simon