If the idea of food, ivory tinkling and screaming, sweaty men in tights sounds like a good night out, then your dreams can come true at the Rotten to the Core Gala. The evening fund-raiser — hosted by local arts groups Mildred’s Umbrella Theatre and Bobbindoctrin Puppet Theatre — aims to raise funds so they can tour Rot, an original play by John Harvey. The narrative involves a man dying of the plague, a wife who longs for Arizona, strange guys in underwear, a woman with huge pyromania problems and a fetal pig. We’re sure it all makes sense somehow—or at least more than the Twin Peaks movie did. The evening includes a buffet dinner, drinks, piano sing-along with Keith Reynolds, improvisational free jazz music from The Defenestration Unit and live matches with the absurdist Doomsday wrestlers. Although “absurdist wrestler” might be a bit redundant.

Sat., Oct. 6, 7 p.m.-midnight, 2007

Bob Ruggiero has been writing about music, books, visual arts and entertainment for the Houston Press since 1997, with an emphasis on Classic Rock. He used to have an incredible and luxurious mullet in...