Our Critics' Picks

Art

OFF THE WALL PRESENTS SEAMLESS MOMENTUM Beginning in February, TAG will take over Dangenart’s space for six months, and curator/owner Daniel Lai is going out with a bang, bringing Off The Wall back to his space in The Arcade. A local art collective featuring Jenny Baggs, Quinn Dukes, Janet Heilbronn, Mahlea Jones, Jaime Raybin and Iwonka Waskowski, Off the Wall’s last appearance at Dangenart was one of the gallery’s best shows. This time around, they present Seamless Momentum—a group-show featuring a small collection of work by each artist. If you missed the opening—which featured a collective performance—get by, see the show and wish Daniel the best before he takes a much-deserved break to concentrate on his own work. Through Jan. 26 at Dangenart Gallery —JOE NOLAN

Music

THE LONELY HEARTS W/ TYLER & KYLE Tyler Cain and Kyle Whalum’s broad palette of influences ranges from R&B to Brit Invasion to twangy country rock. Who can argue with tracks “Life Is a Rhythm” or “Healthy and Happy,” which demonstrate the duo’s penchant for big-picture lyricism, bright bounding melodies, sweet harmonies and swaggering charm. Tyler & Kyle are celebrating the release of their self-titled debut. Joining them are The Lonely Hearts, who did some recording of their own last year. The so-called “Rebel Waltz” sessions feature more straightforward rock verve than 2006’s moody Paper Tapes. 9 p.m. at The Rutledge —CHRIS PARKER

Music

NASHVILLE JAZZ WORKSHOP/WMOT 89.5 JOINT FUNDRAISER These two organizations—the first providing a wide variety of music classes and top-notch live performances, the second offering 24-hour jazz on the radio—amount to oases in Nashville’s jazz desert. To assure that local jazz lovers don’t die of thirst, they’re teaming up for a fundraiser featuring music by the NJW All-Stars, a superb collective of musicians/educators who collectively have played and/or recorded with many of the world’s top jazz, rock and country artists—George Tidwell (trumpet), Denis Solee (sax), Roy Agee (trombone), Chris Brown (drums), Jeff Hall (vocals) and NJW co-founders Lori Mechem (piano) and Roger Spencer (bass). Tickets are $50, and include wine and hors d’oeuvres. For reservations, call 242-5299 8 p.m. at Nashville Jazz Workshop’s Jazz Cave —JACK SILVERMAN

Barnstorming the Big Apple

THE DOYLE AND DEBBIE SHOW ON CONAN Amid the writer’s strike, Late Night with Conan O’Brien has booked local faves Bruce Arntson, Jenny Littleton and Matthew Carlton to perform a number from Arntson’s hilarious and oh-so-popular long-running Nashville stage musical hit The Doyle and Debbie Show. That’s one way to get quality comic writing on the tube without paying for it. Arntson & Co. will appear as Conan’s musical act—fully appropriate—and the TV gig is prelude to the D&D trio’s appearance the next night at the midtown Manhattan B. B. King’s. This is a big feather in the cap for Music City theater, and it’s about time New York got hip to what’s been funny to us for going on two years. 11:30 p.m. on WSMV-Channel 4 —MARTIN BRADY

Music

SCHUMANN IN LOVE Classical enthusiasts, it’s your lucky day: Internationally known pianist Garrick Ohlsson will join conductor Arild Remmereit and the Nashville Symphony to perform Robert Schumann’s seldom-played Concerto for Piano in A Minor. After stints focusing on other forms of composition such as symphony, chamber and choral, the German-born Schumann returned to his true love, piano, for the appropriately titled Schumann in Love, a magnificent composition—and the only full-length piece he ever wrote for the aforementioned instrument. With shivering melodies and beautiful balance, Schumann’s piece delivers this stunning romantic tale of himself, a talented composer, and his piano teacher’s equally talented pianist daughter. Also on the program will be John Adams’ Lollapalooza and Dvorak’s Symphony No. 7 in D Minor. 8 p.m. at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center —MURRAY SHARP

Commie Comedy

DON’T DRINK THE WATER ACT 1’s first show of 2008 is this early Woody Allen comedy, which opened on Broadway in 1966 for an 18-month run, then later became a 1969 Howard Morris-directed film starring Jackie Gleason. Apparently always dissatisfied with the movie version, Allen re-filmed the script for TV in 1994 with himself in the starring role. The plot centers around American tourists trapped inside a communist country, and while this production attempts a faithful re-creation of the ’60s atmosphere, it should be interesting to see if the jokes hold up—especially since there’s no longer an Iron Curtain for the high jinks to revolve around. Melissa Williams directs, and Tony Correro, John Michnya and Angela Gimlin co-star. Jan. 11-26 at Darkhorse Theater —MARTIN BRADY

Classic Sketches

THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW In the spirit of something new and unusual, this production by Dickson’s Amadeus Community Theatre deserves some attention, as the troupe revives comic material presented during the 11 years of television’s Carol Burnett Show. Burnett’s show was a rarity—a long-running TV variety program—that endured mostly on the strength of her personal popularity and versatile talents. Its regular comedy sketches, enacted with the assistance of hambone funnymen like Harvey Korman and Tim Conway, have gained a legendary status of their own. (In short, they were so bad they were good.) Whether the scripts stand on their own—without the original cast members’ penchant for improvisation—is another matter, but it should be interesting to find out. Among the scenes are the well-remembered “Gone with the Breeze,” in which Burnett played Southern spitfire Scarlett O’Fever, and a spoof on Bonnie and Clyde. Abigail Davis is the director. Show royalties are being donated to the Navajo Indian Children’s Scholarship Trust. Jan. 11-27 at Amadeus Community Theatre —MARTIN BRADY