Wednesday 01 – This month’s edition of Stir will bring the heat to our bartending competition. Specifically, Ancho Reyes will supply us with their limited-edition Ancho Reyes Verde, a brighter, greener version of their regular chili-pepper liqueur. You can taste the cocktail masters’ concoctions whose bite can be measured in Scoville units at 6pm at Proper, 409 Magnolia Av, FW. Admission is free. Call 817-321-9700.
Thursday 02 – Dallas native Doug Wright has won great acclaim on the New York stages with such plays as Quills, Grey Gardens, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning I Am My Own Wife. UNT now puts on an early work of his, Watbanaland, in which two New York couples (one rich, the other less so) entangle each other around sex, death, and one woman’s desire to sponsor starving African children. The play runs today thru Mar 11 at UNT Radio Television and Performing Arts Bldg, 1179 Union Cir, Denton. Tickets are $7.50-10. Call 940-565-2428.
Friday 03 – The same weekend that UNT’s theater department is putting on a new show (see: Thursday blurb), UNT Opera Theatre opens A Little Night Music, Stephen Sondheim’s musical about farcical goings on in the Swedish countryside. Besides the classic “Send in the Clowns,” the show also boasts the razor-edged “You Must Meet My Wife” and the sparkling ensemble number “A Weekend in the Country.” The show runs Thu-Sun at Winspear Hall, 2100 I-35E Frontage Rd, Denton. Tickets are $15-35. Call 940-369-7802.
Saturday 04 – The Dover Quartet is fairly new on the scene, rocketing to fame after sweeping all the awards at the 2013 Banff International String Quartet Competition. They’re a big get for the Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth, and they’ll play Shostakovich’s racy Second String Quartet and Barber’s String Quartet, the second movement of which became famous as the Adagio for Strings. The concert is at 2pm at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, 3200 Darnell St, FW. Tickets are $30-35. Call 817-877-3003.
Sunday 05 – Last year’s Celebrity Chef Chili Cook-Off was such a hit, we brought it back for a second year. Jon Bonnell, Terry Chandler, and David Hollister will be among the chefs challenging last year’s winner, Juan Rodriguez. Proceeds go to Cook Children’s, so your steaming bowl will benefit someone in need. The event runs noon-5pm at Shipping & Receiving Bar, 201 S Calhoun St, FW. Tickets are $20. Call 817-321-9700.
Monday 06 – Frida Monet, Bleach, Eva, and Britney Bloomwood will inject some sweet campy life into an otherwise dull Monday night when the Dumpster Divas come to Tomcats West to perform. Arriving precisely one month after their previous show at the venue, they’ve been some busy drag queens. The show is at 8pm at 3137 Alta Mere Dr, FW. Admission is free. Call 817-570-9966.
Tuesday 07 – Originally, West Side Story was conceived as telling the story of a war between Irish and Jewish gangs before someone remembered that Abie’s Irish Rose had been a huge hit on Broadway along similar lines. Then it was to be set in Los Angeles, but book writer Arthur Laurents felt more familiar with New York’s Puerto Ricans than L.A.’s Mexicans. Casa Mañana stages the classic musical Sat thru Mar 12 at 3101 W Lancaster Av, FW. Tickets are $41-76. Call 817-332-2272.
