Owner Terry Etherton discusses his gallery's latest show "Flesh Bone Spirit" and the timing of opening a show that discusses violence the day of the shootings.

"Pushing Out," by Ralph Prata, is on display a show that opens Sunday, Jan. 16, and continues through Friday, Jan. 28, at the DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun, 6300 N. Swan Road. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

FYI, tonight's performance of Wicked will go on as scheduled. For obvious reasons, parking might be a bit difficult, but the promoter is currently suggesting the Tyndall Avenue Garage and getting there really early.

If you haven't noticed (and based on the year-long hype machine that preceded this week's opening, I'm not sure how you that's possible), Wicked, the Broadway musical telling the story of what happened before the Wizard of Oz begins, is in town.

If you're looking for an review informed by a wide perspective on the world of drama, which considers the show in the context of other productions across town, you'll have to wait for Sherilyn Forrester's review next week. She's really smart.

If your significant other is into big-budget musicals, and you're trying to decide whether its worth feigning illness to get out of going to Centennial Hall between now and the 23rd, I'm your guy.

"Too long; didn't read" summary: It's largely entertaining; the performers are quite good' the second half isn't nearly as good as the first.

I am wildly out of the demographic for the touring production of Wicked: Ut had never occurred to me to see the show before; I hadn't heard any of the music before, to my knowledge; and I'm not sure I've seen The Wizard of Oz all the way through since I was a kid. Still, especially during the first act, there are a lot of entertaining moments, and while the songs often sound like they were written by the guy who wrote the Growing Pains theme, the pace of the plot moves along quickly, and there are clever little bits of humor.

The catch is that "Defying Gravity," the song that ends Act I , is so powerful, and the acting during that section is so powerful, that when intermission began, I was sort of ready to go home. The second half requires you to care more about how the story Wicked connects to the plotline of The Wizard of Oz, and I barely did at all. I just ended up feeling a little weary of the whole thing into the second hour. The second act drags a little bit of plotline over another hour and a half and that's a little tough for someone not really into the medium.

Still, a friend of mine mentioned that Tucson's production of Wicked couldn't possibly match up to the Broadway run or Los Angeles or wherever, but based on my limited knowledge, I can't imagine the performances being any better anywhere. Vicki Noon as the Wicked Witch Elphaba took a little while to start really shining, but was stellar by the end of the show, and Natalie Daradich was effectively adorable as Glinda.

Maybe the sets are a little better when a show has the ability to park on a stage for the long term, but I didn't feel cheated at all by seeing the show in town instead of in a bigger market. I just could have used an abridged version.

"Tank" from the series "Stop the Violence," 2008, by Francois Robert, whose work will be featured in Flesh, Bone, Spirit, opening this weekend at Etherton Gallery, 135 S. Sixth Ave. There is an opening reception for the show, which also features work by Joel-Peter Witkin, from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 8. The show continues through March 26.

January will be host to some fun events over at Live Theatre Workshop.

This Sunday, Jan. 9, the theater will host a special event called Bringing Literature to Life. Children of all ages are invited to bring a copy of their favorite book. The actors will select books from the audience to read aloud and perform through improvisation and audience participation.

On Jan. 16 and 23, there will be a live musical event, featuring the new kid's band One Man Train, who play rock versions of classic children's songs. The whole family is invited to come up onstage and have fun dancing to the band's catchy tunes.

Both events are $5, and seating is limited. To make a reservation, call 327-4242, or for more information, go to the Live Theatre Workshop website.

After our deadline, Molly McKasson (an occasional Weekly contributor), who has long been involved with Invisible Theatre, got in touch with Sherilyn Forrester regarding this week's article on IT's 40th anniversary year.

Since we were unable to include her thoughts in the published piece, we thought we'd include them here on The Range:

This little theater had such a big positive influence on so many of us. I had moved back home to work at ATC (then ACT), but (husband) Morgan and I wanted a family, and I didn't know how I was going to manage being a full-time professional actress anymore.

The IT was a place for passionate artists who also wanted to have family lives, and/or also needed to have other jobs. It was community of folks, all different, bonded by a belief that theater was a transforming activity for both performers and audience members. I don't know if we thought we could change the world, but I remember believing we could make a dent, at least. Anything was possible, really.

And that's exactly what happened. I began doing comedy improv with Suz (Claassen) and then fell into writing plays—-something I had done as a kid and always loved—and then singing country music with Beck (Rebecca Peters). I am grateful to the IT for friendships that have lasted and grown rich over the years. Because of the IT (and in particular, Suz), I felt encouraged to keep writing plays, I felt inspired to keep acting.

IT is now a Tucson institution of long-standing creativity, and I trust that in the next decade and beyond, it will continue to grow, and change and nurture the creative spirit in us all. I salute all those who make the IT possible, and look forward to my next gig with this powerful local generator of originality.

Appropriately enough, this painting of John Quincy Adams, along with images of the other presidents (including Barack Obama, which should clear up that "secret Muslim" nonsense) can be found at PresidentalHam.com.

ARTCRANK 2010 Poster Show Minneapolis from red23films on Vimeo.

Making its way through the art files from Nathan Saxton of Borealis Arts, ARTCRANK, a show of bicycle-inspired poster artwork that introduces local artists, is coming to Tucson in late March.

The show exhibits one bike-themed piece each from 30 local artists. Here are some basic submission instructions to think about (more info to come on show and submission specifics):

Theme & Design:
Bicycles, bike riders and bike culture
Limit: One poster design per artist

Format & Media:
The show is dedicated exclusively to poster art, i.e., a flat piece of printed artwork
Folding pieces, multi-page booklets and other types of work will not be accepted
Artists are responsible for printing their own posters
Printing options include screen printing, letterpress and archival inkjet printing

Poster Size:
19 in. x 25 in. maximum (Posters can be smaller than this, but not larger)

Poster Quantities:
1 Display Copy (Becomes property of ARTCRANK) — signed and numbered
30 Sale Copies — signed and numbered

The BEST way to keep informed as events develop is to sign up to this email list. Be sure to choose the ARTCRANK list when signing up.

Let's make Tucson the best stop on the ARTCRANK tour yet!

Those good folks at the All Together Theatre, who do amazing family and children’s theater productions at Live Theatre Workshop (5317 E. Speedway Blvd.), have a family show you don't want to miss.

A Christmas Sing-A-Long features Richard and Amanda Gremel and is directed by Michael Martinez (all fantastic LTW performers and youth-theater instructors) with two performances on Sunday, Dec. 19, at 1 and 6:30 p.m.

From All Together Theatre:

Featuring live music by Michael Martinez with caroling and fun for the whole family! Help Santa's elves find their way back to the North Pole!

Tickets: $5 to $8 with discounts available

To make your reservation, call (520) 327-4242