readings

DANIEL LEVITAS. The Du Bois Institute and the Harvard Coop co-sponsor a discussion and book signing by Pulitzer Prize nominee Levitas, who will discuss the extent of the terrorist threat posed by white supremacist groups in the United States as described in his most recent book, The Terrorist Next Door: The Militia Movement and the Radical Right, which provides a history of white supremacist groups from their post-Civil War roots to the present. Tuesday, April 22 at 7 p.m. Free. Harvard Coop, 1400 Mass Ave. (BDG)

WOLE SOYINKA. Soyinka, who won a Nobel Prize in 1986 and had a price placed on his head by Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha in the late 1990s, reads from his most recent work and discusses the amazing life he has led. The lecture, sponsored by the Department of African-American Studies, focuses on Samarkand and Other Markets I Have Known, a book of poems written while the author was fleeing for his life. His latest effort meditates on his public and private lives, including a work in memory of Francois Mitterand and others dedicated to writers Josef Brodsky and Chinua Achebe. Monday, April 21 at 4 p.m. Free. Lower Level Auditorium at the Center for European Studies, 27 Kirkland St. (BDG)

POETRY@MIT. As part of the poetry@MIT series, the MIT Coop holds a reading in celebration of their own Joshua Weitz’ first book of poetry, Between the Stones. Weitz is currently a doctoral candidate in physics at MIT. Two other acclaimed local poets, Erica Funkhouser and William Corbett, will join Joshua Weitz in reading. Wednesday, April 23 at 5:30 p.m. Free. MIT Coop Book Department, First Floor. Kendall Square. (617) 499-2089. (ESH)

speakers

VANESSA BEECROFT. As the latest in the “Harvard Advocate Presents” series of lectures, the very fashionable Vanessa Beecroft discusses her work. Famous for her installations consisting of women of various body types in simple outfits or no clothing at all, Beecroft will touch upon the many issues that arise as one becomes a mega-star of contemporary art. She will also examine her artistic concerns, which include architectural space, fashion and gender perception. Sponsored by the Harvard Advocate and the Department of Visual and Environmental Studies. Wednesday, April 23 at 5 p.m. Free. Carpenter Center Lecture Hall, 24 Quincy St. (BDG)

LEE MINGWEI. The Office for the Arts Marshall Cogan Visiting Artist this year, Lee Mingwei will give a slide lecture before the launch of “The Harvard Seers Project,” set to take place in the transept of Memorial Hall over Arts First weekend. He will also discuss his other work, which seeks to link Western conceptual art with Eastern philosophy as he has dealt with issues as diverse as human interactions and male pregnancy. The Taiwanese representative at this summer’s Venice Biennale and the subject of an upcoming Museum of Modern Art artist’s project, Mingwei will be making his first public appearance at Harvard. Wednesday, April 23 at 7:30 p.m. Free. Room G-08, Larsen Hall, Harvard University Graduate School of Education, 14 Appian Way, Cambridge. (BDG)

theater

STOPOVER. Emily J. Carmichael ’04 is the writer and director of this new play about young women in Paris in love, set to be performed for the first time this weekened in the Loeb Experimental Theater. With just twenty-four hours in which to explore the fabled city, the four protagonists taste absinthe, play paintball, see the sights (both the art in the Louvre and those who have come to watch it), get robbed and undergo emotional upheavals. Through Saturday, April 19 at 8 p.m. Free tickets available at the Loeb Box Office. Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle St. (ABM)

YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN. The Mather House Drama Society presents Clark Gesner’s short musical based on the characters from Charles Schultz’s timeless comic strip “Peanuts.” Loudmouth Lucy , her blanket-loving brother Linus, Beethoven guru Schroeder, the perpetually wishy-washy Charlie Brown, his precoscious sister Sally and of course Snoopy, a somewhat delusionary dog, traipse through a series of skits and interspersed musical numbers that address love, food, music, bad grades and everything else that life brings along. Thursday, April 17 through Saturday, April 19 at 8 p.m. and at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 19. Tickets $5, $4 for students and seniors, available through the Harvard Box Office, (617) 496-2222. Mather House Dining Hall, 45 Flagg St. (JJH)

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM. “Something for everyone, a comedy tonight!” Cabot House Musical Theatre presents Stephen Sondheim’s irreverant farce, widely regarded as one of the funniest musicals of all time. Inspired by Plautus’s The Menaechmi, which was presented by the Harvard Classical Club last month, “Forum” goes back to the very start of drama to utterly disparage it. The plot is simple: a slave seeking freedom helps his young master get the girl of his dreams. Then a courtesan house, a bloodthirsty tyrant, Rome’s version of Mr. Magoo and a slew of other characters get thrown into the mix, resulting in a laugh-fest with hints of vaudeville that would probably make Ovid roll in his grave. But modern day audiences have adored it. Friday, April 18 through Saturday, April 26. Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets $5 are available through the Harvard Box Office (617) 496-2222. Cabot House Junior Common Room, 100 Walker St. (JJH)

GET SOME. “Something bold, something new, something spicy, something few,” boasts this year’s freshman musical. A searing social commentary on what it means to be a freshman at Harvard, Get Some follows three freshman boys in a desperate search of love one night, all of whom soon find themselves entwined in a dare with consequences that ensue to hilarity. The production is written, produced, directed, designed, coreographed and performed entirely by the class of 2006. Thursday, April 24 through Saturday April 26. Tickets $10, $5 students, seniors, pre-frosh, available through the Harvard Box Office, (617) 496-2222. Agassiz Theatre, 10 Garden St. (JJH)

music

RESPOND II CD RELEASE SHOW. Deb Talan, Jennifer Kimball, Merrie Amsterburg and Bourbon Princess with Monique Ortiz get together to perform at Club Passim on Thursday for the release of Respond II, a CD compilation benefiting families and victims of domestic violence. The CD is a follow up to the highly acclaimed Respond, and includes contributions from Deb Talan and Bourbon Princess. Thursday, April 24 at 8 p.m. Tickets $15 regular, $13 for members, available at Club Passim, 47 Palmer St. (617) 492-5300. (GPH)

THE POSTAL SERVICE, CEX AND CERTAINLY SIR. Featuring Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie, The Postal Service plays their unique fusion of electronica and rock downstairs at the Middle East on Sunday. Also performing are acclaimed experimental electronic artist and rapper Cex, as well as Boston’s own Certainly Sir. Sunday, April 20 at 8 p.m. Advance tickets $9 available at the Middle East Box Office or from Ticketmaster, (617) 931-2000. $10 at the door, 18+. Middle East Club (downstairs), 472 Mass Ave., (617) 864-3278. (GPH)