Random Acts
A near-century of skewering: Fiesta Melodrama
Santa Fe Playhouse presents its 99th Fiesta Melodrama; Entreflamenco continues performances; the summer series of chamber music wraps up at San Miguel Chapel; and Robert Earl Keen and the Flatlanders play Santa Fe Opera
It’s that time of year again — when the scent of roasting chile fills the air and the Santa Fe Playhouse (142 E. De Vargas St.) puts on its Fiesta Melodrama. Now in its 99th year, the annual bit of community theater skewers the politicians and politics of Santa Fe with humor, song, and high pathos. This year’s topics for send-up include the lack of lane markings on Paseo de Peralta, the fate of the midtown college campus, and whether or not Meow Wolf can save Santa Fe’s economy. The 2018 Fiesta Melodrama continues Friday, Aug. 24, with additional shows through Sept. 9, Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., with some late shows and special events; there is no performance on Aug. 31. Tickets are $25 general admission with discounts available; visit santafeplayhouse.org. — Jennifer Levin
Don’t play the hits: Robert Earl Keen
Robert Earl Keen is an underground hero of Texas red-dirt music. Well-known to serious fans of outlaw country, he has a pleasing break in his voice, is pals with Lyle Lovett and Steve Earle, and has recorded 18 full-length albums — but he’s never had a hit song. Keen is a storyteller, not a rock star, and his followers know the words to all his songs. If they’re lucky, he’ll grace them with an offseason rendition of “Merry Christmas From the Family,” when Keen and the Flatlanders play at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 27, at Santa Fe Opera (301 Opera Drive). Tickets are $36-$93; see holdmyticket.com. — J.L.
Baile, baile: Entreflamenco
Antonio Granjero and Estefania Ramirez, co-directors of Entreflamenco, have put down serious roots in Santa Fe. Their company and school is the only year-round brick-and-mortar flamenco presence in town. Through Sept. 2, they’ll be offering food, drink, and flamenco at their 135 W. Palace Ave. tablao. The fall season runs Sept. 19 through Oct. 13, and the holiday flamenco season will be held Dec. 14-21. Granjero and Ramirez offer classes in the public schools, and they are training a new generation of flamenco dancers at their studio. Joining the directors, who are both powerful and intense performers, are guitarist Angel Ruiz (Cordoba, Spain), bassist Marco Topo (Milan, Italy), singer-percussionist Francisco Orozco “Yiyi” (Barcelona, Spain) and flutist Magela Herrera (Havana, Cuba). The flamenco performances run Wednesday to Sunday evenings at 7:30 p.m. (plus brunch matinee Sundays). A jazz/flamenco trio, Vaivén, performs on Mondays. Tickets are $25-$40 with discounts for children and groups. Call 505-209-1302 or go to entreflamenco.com for information. — Michael Wade Simpson
Season’s end: Chamber music at San Miguel Chapel
The new summer series of chamber music at San Miguel Chapel (401 Old Santa Fe Trail), featuring Santa Fe Opera Orchestra members and colleagues, concludes at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 25. Orchestra member Pat Zuber, a flutist, and her husband Greg Zuber (principal percussionist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra), plus several collaborators, have constructed an appealing program of works relating to humankind’s relationship to the natural world: Vivaldi’s Flute Concerto in D major (Il gardellino, i.e. The Goldfinch); two movements from John Luther Adams’ Songbird Songs; Takemitsu’s Toward the Sea; and George Crumb’s Idyll for the Misbegotten. Suggested contribution at the door of $20 for adults, $10 for students, and free for certifiable kids. — James M. Keller