This Week in the Arts

Closing this week

"Awake and Sing": The Village Playhouse presents Clifford Odets' Depression-era tale of a working-class Jewish family coping with financial hardship. 730 Coleman Blvd., Mount Pleasant. Final performances are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. $25 adults; $23 seniors; $20 students. 856-1579 or visit www.villageplayhouse.com.

Play Fest: The South of Broadway Theatre Co. and Olde North Charleston Merchants' Association conclude the Greater Park Circle Play Fest at 2 p.m. today with a staged reading of "Burning the Saint." $7.50. 814-4451 or www.SouthofBroadway.com.

Opening this week

"Annoyance": LateNight @ the Footlight opens its fourth season with the gleefully rude comedy "Annoyance" by Sam Bobrick that follows Ethan Steckler, an annoying man who goes to see two therapists. In his pursuit of mental stability, he drives them both to maddening heights. 9 p.m. Oct. 1-3 and 8-10 at the Footlight Players, 20 Queen St. Tickets are $10 on Thursdays and $15 on Fridays and Saturdays. To buy tickets, call the Footlight Players Box Office at 722-4487 or go to www.etix.com.

"The memory of water": College of Charleston theater department presents "The Memory of Water" by Shelagh Stephenson at 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and Oct. 5-6, and 3 p.m. Oct. 4 in the Emmett Robinson Theatre, 54 St. Philip St. The dark comedy proves that death can reveal the absurdity of life. $15 for general public; $10 C of C students, faculty, staff, seniors. Call 953-5604.

"Up": Pure Theatre presents regional premiere of Bridget Carpenter's "Up," a bittersweet tale about escaping the boundaries of the everyday. 7:30 p.m. Thursday (pay-what-you-can preview), Friday, Saturday and Oct. 7-11, 14-17 and 21-24, and at 2 p.m. Oct. 11 at Circular Congregational Church's Lance Hall, 150 Meeting St. Tickets are $20 on Wednesdays, $25 Thursdays and Sundays, and $30 Fridays and Saturdays. Tickets: Buy tickets at www.puretheatre.org or 723-4444.

Ongoing theater

Theatre 99: The Have Nots! and Theatre 99 have two shows this week. At 8 p.m. Wednesday, it's Laugh for a Lincoln featuring Moral Fixation, a long-form improv show with Lee Lewis and Greg Tavares. Tickets are $5. Saturday at 8 p.m., it's the Banana Monologues for $10. 280 Meeting St. 853-6687, e-mail thehavenots2000@aol.com or visit www.thehavenots.com.

Music

Monday Night Concert: The College of Charleston's Monday Night Concert Series features award-winning clarinetist and composer Jorge Variego in a program featuring solos with computerized recordings and other recorded music at 8 p.m. Monday in the Recital Hall of Simons Center for the Arts, 54 St. Philip St. $10 at the door and free for College of Charleston students with valid ID.

St. Luke's Series: College of Charleston presents the St. Luke's Recital Series at 12:15 p.m. Tuesday at St. Luke's Chapel, MUSC, Ashley Avenue at Bee Street. Free. 792-6775, e-mail mccauleyn@cofc.edu or visit www.cofc.edu/sota.

Downtown Series: Chamber Music Charleston presents its Downtown Concert Series at the Palmer Home, 5 East Battery (3 p.m. today) and Stewart Home, 60 Montagu St. (7:30 p.m. Monday). $35 individual; $150 subscription of five concerts. Call 763-4941 or visit www.chambermusiccharleston.org.

Daniel Island Series: Chamber Music Charleston's Daniel Island Concert House Series at the King Home, 388 Ralston Creek St. A light reception will follow. 7 p.m. Tuesday. Individual concert $35; subscription of five concerts $150. Call 763-4941; visit www.ChamberMusicCharleston.org.

Dance

Decadent Divas: Charleston Ballet Theatre opens season with a tribute to some of the greatest female vocalists of the past century, from Edith Piaf to Billie Holiday and Barbra Streisand. Choreography by Jill Eathorne Bahr. CBT's black box theater, 477 King St., 7:30 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Oct. 9-10 and at 3 p.m. Oct. 4. Tickets $30 and $32 at www.etix.com.

Festivals

Moja: The city of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs presents the 2009 MOJA Arts Festival celebrating African-American and Caribbean arts and culture through visual arts, music, theater, dance, literary arts and outreach through Oct. 4. Venues and times vary. Admission varies and ranges from free to $35. 724-7305, e-mail ocaintern@ci.charleston.sc.us or visit www.mojafestival.com.

Special events

Charleston Stage Gala: Charleston Stage's 14th annual dinner and gala at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Gaillard Auditorium. Greg Tavares, founding member of Charleston's improv troupe The Have Nots!, is master of ceremonies for the evening that will feature live and silent auctions and gourmet three-course meals prepared by Charleston chefs and restaurants. Charleston Stage's Resident Professional Acting Company, Theatre School and SummerStage students will present a musical salute highlighting "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" and "Evita." $200 per person or $1,850 for a table of 10. Order by calling 856-5316.

Museum Mile Weekend: During the first Museum Mile Weekend, visit five museums, six historic buildings and a powder magazine with a single pass giving complimentary admission at 12 sites along Charleston's Meeting Street through today. $20 adult, $10 child 12 and under. 722-2996, ext. 235, e-mail rchesser@charlestonmuseum.org or visit www.charlestonmuseum.org.

Bowen's Island Throwdown: Author Roger Pinckney holds Bowen's Island Throwdown 2-9 p.m. today to celebrate the release of his new novel, "Reefer Moon." Bowen's Island Restaurant off Folly Road, with band, cash bar and food, book signing and giveaways. Call 795-2757.