by: Jessi Hafer

If you've already picked up our November issue, you've probably already noticed that there are lots of great things to do this weekend, including some great performances from Fresno's theatre and music communities.

Don't miss Epic Theatre's last weekend of The Mercy Seat, with performances Friday (11/2) at 8pm and Sunday (11/4) at 2pm at the beautifully remodeled Severance Building in the Tower District. This challenging, two person, one act play considers two New Yorkers' reactions to 9/11 in the context of their personal lives. I found the two characters to be completely unlikable, yet as they struggle to cope with both personal events and events that hit them larger than life (even on their wide-screen television), the characters' humanity comes through in surprising dialogue. I found myself thinking about this play long after I left the performance. Tickets are $15 general admission and $10 for students and seniors. For more information, visit http://www.myspace.com/epictheatre.

The Fresno Philharmonic is performing Friday (11/2) at 8pm and Saturday (11/3) at 2:30pm at the William Saroyan Theatre downtown. For these performances, the Philharmonic will be joined by Grammy-award winning violinist Joshua Bell, whom you may have heard in the sound track for the film The Red Violin. Fresno violinist extraordinaire Patrick Contreras listed Joshua Bell as one of his top ten favorite musical performers on his myspace blog, saying "he [Bell] had the whole audience in the palm of his hands with just his violin... hard to top." For more information on the Fresno Philharmonic or to order tickets (starting at just $27) , visit http://www.fresnophil.org/.

Also this weekend, Aithon Theatre is performing the off-Broadway musical, The Last Five Years, at the Fresno Memorial Auditorium in downtown Fresno on Friday, November 2 at 7:30pm; Saturday, November 3 at 2:00 pm; and Saturday, November 3 at 7:30pm. This one act, two person musical exploring the five year relationship (from meeting, marriage, to break-up) between rising novelist Jamie Wellerstein and struggling actress Cathy Hiatt. Advance tickets are available for $25 at brownpapertickets.com (search for Aithon), and tickets will be available at the door for $35. For more information on Aithon, visit www.aithontheatre.com.

This weekend is the perfect chance to check out some of the wonderful world-class arts we are so fortunate to have locally!