What's Happening This Week at Boswell? Englander and Chiaverini, Events with the Florentine and In Tandem Theatre, Plus We're Off to UWM's Golda Meir Library.

I get in these weird funks where I don't want to do the very thing that has the most imminent deadline. Needless to say, today's blog should be about what's coming up for the week. It should have posted before 11 am. Instead it's close to 5 and I've just finished making our "Carol Anshaw is coming March 27" sticker for our Indie Next fliers.

This is not a new marketing strategy for us, as we did the same thing for our Nathan Englander February fliers. And Englander is the very person I was supposed to talk about first for this very what's happening post. He's appearing tomorrow, Tuesday, February 21, 7 pm. We went back and bought another dozen copies of What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank, due to a solid weekend of Englander sales. Stacy Schiff reviewed the book for the front page of The New York Times Book Review. And Mike Fischer's review ran in yesterday's Journal Sentinel. We should have a very, very, very, very good time tomorrow night.

On to Wednesday, February 22, 5:30 pm, where we mention our Jennifer Chiaverni event for Sonoma Rose, going on with Thief Wine at the Public Market, 400 North Water Street. The book isn't even on sale until tomorrow, so this is what one calls a launch event. Here's more in the Journal Sentinel, whose eat-a-tron suggest Ryan Braun's Graffito for your dining pleasure.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch (also on Wednesday, February 22, at 7 pm), Stacie will be hosting the Florentine Opera is at Boswell for their beloved Opera Insights series, featuring Corliss Phillabaum and the Florentine Opera Studio. And I quote:

"Susannah tells the story of an innocent 19-year-old girl branded as a sinner in a 1950s Tennessee community, bringing to light the tragic consequences of intolerance, betrayal and revenge.

"Maestro Joseph Mechavich, highly praised by composer Carlisle Floyd for his masterful interpretation of the Susannah score, leads the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra as the Florentine Opera presents this stirring twentieth-century American classic to our audiences for the first time.

"Betty Waynne Allison (Susannah) and Wayne Tigges (Blitch) make their Florentine Opera debuts, while tenors Jonathan Boyd and Rodell Rosel return to the Florentine stage. Chorus Master Scott Stewart unleashes the power of the Florentine Opera Chorus in compelling ensembles and fervent hymns in an enthralling production directed by William Florescu."

Tickets for the March 16 and 18 performances are available on their website.

Thursday, February 23, we're off the Golda Meir Library for a talk by Barbara Brown Lee called "Ruth Grotenrath and Schomer Lichtner: The Artists and Their Art", featuring two books from the Museum of Wisconsin Art, In Celebration: The Life and Art of Ruth Grotenrath and In the Moment: The Life and Art of Schomer Lichtner. This event begins at the earlybird special time of 6 pm.

Lee is the chief educator at the Milwaukee Art Museum. This talk, like many things we're associated with, is very valuable, and yet free. More here.

On Friday, February 24, 2 pm, we are a talk from director Chris Flieller plus a scene preview from In Tandem Theatre's new production of The Chosen. The show opens March 2; here is the calendar of performances.