Out of this World
Last year, filmgoers were captivated with Hidden Figures, the story of math prodigies — all of them black women — whose calculations helped NASA launch astronauts into space in the 1960s. On September 18, at 11 a.m. Katherine Moore, the youngest daughter of Hidden Figures’s protagonist Katherine Johnson, will address the Greensboro History Museum Guild (130 Summit Avenue) and recount stories about her mother’s experiences at NASA. On September 28, as a part of Greensboro Public Library’s One City, One Book initiative, Margot Lee Shetterly will speak at Dana Auditorium (5800 West Friendly Avenue) at 7 p.m. The author of the book that inspired the film, Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race, Shetterly wsill discuss her work with the Human Computer Project, which recovers the names and accomplishments of all of the women who worked as computers, mathematicians, scientists and engineers at the NACA and NASA from the 1930’s through the 1980’s. Info: greensborohistory.org;
beth.sheffield@greensboro-nc.gov.
Magnificent Magnolia
Readers of this magazine might remember a story from the February/March issue in 2012 (issuu.com/ohenrymag/docs/ohenry_february_2012/60), about a grande dame’s transformation: the restoration of the Magnolia House Motel. Once a successful lodging for black entertainers, business and civic leaders, the Gorrell Street beauty fell on hard times, only to be nurtured back to life by a one Sam Pass, who saw past the ravages of time and admired the lady’s character and soul. Well, five-and-a-half years, and a lot of community love later, The Historic Magnolia House blooms again. Last month her doors officially opened as an event space, and she was honored with a listing on the National Register of Historic Places. So if you’re looking for just the right ambiance for a special occasion — a wedding, shower or graduation — or somewhere to rally your employees or hold a fundraiser, consider the Magnolia in moonlight . . . now that she’s once again taken her place in the sun. Info: (336) 617-3382 or thehistoricmagnoliahouse.com.
RH Factor
That would be Rodgers and Hammerstein, the Broadway duo that produced some of the best-loved musicals of all time. One of them, South Pacific, comes to Triad Stage (September 17–October 8) to start the theater company’s 2017–18 season. Set on a Polynesian island during World War II, the show centers on a romance between Midwestern nurse and a French plantation owner, with a subplot involving the relationship between a young Navy lieutenant and an island girl. Both stories are lessons in tolerance told with unabashedly romantic songs, such as “Some Enchanted Evening,” and “Younger than Springtime,” amid the comic hijinks of the American sailors in the chorus. So H’ai thee to Bali H’ai and be swept away. Tickets: (336) 272-0160 or triadstage.org.
Worth The Drive To Winston-Salem
Calling all mad gardeners! If you want to hear some of the pre-eminent authorities on American gardens and see some of the finest examples of the art of growing things, then sign up for the 21st Conference on Restoring Southern Gardens and Landscapes (September 21–23) at Old Salem. Titled “Gardening in the Golden Age: Southern Gardens & Landscapes of the Early 20th Century,” the three-day event includes a roster of speakers who will lecture on topics such as garden photography, soil restoration, garden design and a trolley tour some of the finest local examples of gardens created by the likes of Buckenham & Miller and Thomas W. Sears, among others. Self-guided tours of Reynolda House Museum of American Art, plus the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA), are included in the program. Tickets: (800) 441-5305 or oldsalem.org/landscapeconference.
Morris Towns
A mountain woman who dispensed folk remedies and political opinions.
A psychic who worked the case of a 19-year-old’s disappearance.
A Mennonite man who sought a court-ordered injunction after the church shunned him, leading to his wife’s refusal to sleep with him.
These are just a few characters in American Berserk: A Cub Reporter, a Small-Town Daily, the Schizo ’70s (Sunbury Press). It’s recently been published by Bill Morris, author of three novels and a former columnist and reporter for Greensboro’s News & Record, and author of three novels.
Morris, who now lives and works in New York City, will read from Berserk at Greensboro’s Scuppernong Books (304 South Elm Street) on Saturday, September 30 at 7 p.m. with music from The Difficulties. The autobiography covers Morris’s days as fledgling writer for the daily newspaper Public Opinion in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, but the story starts and ends in Greensboro, where he worked at the Record Bar in Friendly Center in 1976 — and where he returned to work for newspapers at the News & Record a few years later. — M.J.
OGI SEZ
Most of the September Songs the past two years have been sung at the National Folk Festival, and this year is no exception. Believe me, I am not complaining, but my task is to remind you that there are 27 more days this month and that music will fill the air for most of them. Here are the top picks for kicks.
• September 1, Blind Tiger: The month gets off to a running start with Michael Franti and Spearhead. Mixing social activism with brilliantly crafted world music, he has become the voice for the oppressed, the disenfranchised, the marginalized, while still making you want to dance. No mean feat. Just feet.
• September 9, White Oak Amphitheatre: Speaking of dancing, break out your best two-toned dogs for Morris Day and The Time. This might be the outdoor party of the summer. No word on whether Jay and Silent Bob will be in attendance.
• September 10, Cone Denim Entertainment Center: After playing the New Orleans Jazz Festival in 2010, one scribe called Lettuce “the funkiest band on the planet.” And that came after a gig with the best of the best in NOLA, the funk capital of the world.
• September 22, Carolina Theatre: One of the last members who can rightly claim a direct lineage to the Temptations, Bo Henderson is keeping their magical legacy alive. He sang with the Temps from 1995 to 2001 and his Temptations Revue is the closest you’ll ever get to the real thing.
• September 26, Blind Tiger: I hate to double-dip the BT, but this is too huge to omit. The Chris Robinson Brotherhood might be the finest rock ensemble not playing arenas today. Oh, he’s played in plenty — as cofounder of the Black Crowes. I rest my case.
