The Essentials | City Weekly's Entertainment Picks Jan. 15-21 

Plan-B Theatre Company, Ririe-Woodbury, SB Dance and Salt Lake Acting Company are all slated to contribute short pieces. Performances will range from dramatic readings of gay-marriage-related letters to the editor, to a dramatization of a lesbian couple trying to reconcile their relationship with a conservative family.

All proceeds benefit Equality Utah’s Common Ground Initiative, a series of six bills being introduced in the 2009 General Session of the Utah State Legislature which are primarily concerned with extending health care, employment and other basic legal rights to same-sex couples. Equality Utah’s Executive Director Mike Thompson (pictured) is set to emcee the event and help inspire more people to pay attention to 2009’s legislative session.

Celebrating Common Ground: The Arts Community Supports Equality @ The Rose Wagner Center, 138 W. 300 South, 355-ARTS, Saturday, Jan. 17 @ 8 p.m., suggested donation of $10. EqualityUtah.org

BOOKS
nBy Scott Renshaw
n[THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED] Because the trend toward tough-love, no-nonsense self-help has included the likes of Dr. Phil “Raging Pantload” McGraw, it’s easy to be skeptical. But it’s hard to avoid pricking up your ears when RABBI SHMULEY BOTEACH tells you that marital sex can be the most mind-blowing road to enlightenment possible.

The one-time host of The Learning Channel’s Shalom in the Home and author of several books about marital and family life, Rabbi Boteach has made it his goal to change contemporary mind-sets about how couples think about each other, and about their children. His new book The Kosher Sutra offers more than just an eye-catching title. True, it’s about a path towards recapturing a sexual spark in marriages that may have gotten stale and predictable. But it’s also about changing a cultural model with even deeper ramifications: our tendency to seek fulfillment “horizontally” (by reaching outward for variety through consumerism, extra-marital affairs and the like) rather than “vertically” (by seeking deeper knowledge of those already closest to us). Our sense of spiritual emptiness can be cured simply by delving deeply into intense commitment. And if the move away from such a mentality also happens to lead to toe-curling orgasms … well, so much the better.

Join Rabbi Boteach as he speaks at the Jewish Community Center and introduces what he calls “the eight sacred secrets for reigniting desire and restoring passion.” You may never look at your husband or wife in the same way again.

CANCELLED: Rabbi Shmuley Boteach @ Jewish Community Center, 2 N. Medical Dr., 328-2586, Monday, Jan. 19, 7 p.m. SamWellers.com

MUSIC
nBy Jacob Stringer
nThere is something about classical music that seems to put some people off. Ask for reasons and you might get a combination of, “It’s too complicated,” “I don’t understand it” or even, “It’s just plain boring.” Antonio Vivaldi’s 1723 masterpiece THE FOUR SEASONS (Le quattro stagioni) is one classical composition that tackles just such listener roadblocks.

Hands down, one of the most popular pieces of Baroque music ever composed, Vivaldi’s work is easy to follow, each section mimicking the turning of the seasons while adhering to a strict three-movement “sonata allegro” format—two fast sandwiching one slower (e.g. Allegro, Largo, Allegro, or Allegro, Adagio, Presto). What makes it so friendly to amateur listeners is the whimsical incorporation of simulated natural sounds. Opening with “Spring” (La primavera), flutes and woodwinds imitate bird calls and babbling brooks. “Summer” (L’estate) culminates in a raucous thunderstorm, complete with torrential rains and blustery winds. Peasant dances marking a communal celebration of a bountiful harvest weave through “Autumn” (L’autunno). And the final movement, “Winter” (L’inverno), is filled with staccato notes to ape snow, even endeavoring to depict someone treading carefully across the slippery ice.

Although one of Louis XV’s favorite pieces, “The Four Seasons” remained largely neglected until 1950 when an American radio performance rekindled mass enthusiasm for the work’s simplicity and approachability. Assistant conductor David Cho will lead Concertmaster Ralph Matson and the Utah Symphony through a fun-filled evening, which also includes Handel’s Concerto grosso.

Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” @ Abravanel Hall, 123 W. South Temple, 355-ARTS, Thursday, Jan. 15, 8 p.m. UtahSymphony.org

here&now Other New Happenings This Week

THE BOYS IN THE BAND Wasatch Theatre Company produces Mart Crowley’s groundbreaking play about gay friends who live in New York City. Rose Wagner Studio Theatre, 138 W. 300 South, 355-2787, Jan. 15–31. ArtTix.org

X-DANCE FILM FESTIVAL Five days of 35 films showcasing surfing, skiing, snowboarding, biking, skateboarding and other sports action. Off Broadway Theater, 272 S. Main, Jan. 16-20, X-Dance.com

CULT OF THE BOOK Utah artists—including Betsy Stout and Teresa Flowers—explore books as both art object and inspiration. Sam Weller’s Bookstore, 254 S. Main, 328-2586, Jan. 16–March 6, reception Jan. 16, 6-9 p.m. SamWellers.com

HADLEY RAMPTON New oils and watercolors capturing the artist’s 2008 visit to the Andalucia region of Spain. Phillips Gallery, 444 E. 200 South, 364-8284, Jan. 16–Feb. 13, reception Jan. 16, 6-9 p.m. Phillips-Gallery.com

VIDEO WORKS BY TYRONE DAVIES In conjunction with a video installation, a one-night only projected collection of short films and videos. Nobrow Coffee and Tea, 315 E. 300 South, Saturday, Jan. 17, 7:30 p.m. Loaf-I.com

REGINA Marc Blitzstein’s adaptation of Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes receives its local premiere. Utah Opera, Capitol Theatre, 50 W. 200 South, 355-2787, Jan. 17–25. UtahOpera.org

A FRIEND IN NEED: THE BILL SACKTER STORY Documentary about the friendship between screenwriter Barry Morrow (Rain Man) and mentally disabled Bill Sackter. Main Library, 210 E. 400 South, 524-8200, Saturday, Jan. 17, 10 a.m. SLCPL.org

ALONG THE BLACK Poems by Wendy Blankenship and photos by Becky Blankenship celebrating the work of wildland firefighters. Ken Sanders Rare Books, 268 S. 200 East, 521-3819, Saturday, Jan. 17, 7 p.m. KenSandersBooks.com

TROMADANCE The 10th annual celebration of the glories of exploitation cinema, free to the public. Main Library, 210 E. 400 South, Jan. 21, 6-9 p.m.; Jan. 22, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.; reception @ Night Flight Comics, Library Square, Jan. 21, 8:30 p.m. Tromadance.com