Every Friday, we highlight three great shows from local performing artists that you can see this coming weekend.

 

Orange Community Players Presents Seussical The Musical
Friday, July 25th and Saturday, July 26th at 7PM and Sunday, July 27th at 2PM at Orange High School

OCP_Seussical_2014_poster_v3_cyan

It’s a wonder no one made a Dr. Seuss musical before 2000’s Seussical – I mean, the lyrics are already in perfect meter and rhyme! Seussical made a mild splash on Broadway, but it’s really thrived thanks to small theaters all over America, who look for fun and family-friendly material for their audiences. That long and successful post-Broadway life brings it to our area, as the Orange Community players perform the show in Hillsborough all weekend.

Note that this isn’t just an adaptation of a single Seuss story – instead, it brings more than a dozen of his classics into a single storyline, with the Cat in the Hat as a kind of spirit guide through the world of imagination. Along the way, you’ll encounter everyone from Horton the elephant to Gertrude McFuzz. It’s nostalgic, sure, but it’s also a new look at characters you never thought you’d see all in the same place. Above all, it’s fun as all get-out.

 

Merge Records 25th Anniversary Outdoor Festival
Saturday, July 26th at 1PM at Cat’s Cradle Parking Lot

merge25_newsitem_datesonly

Durham’s Merge Records has long since gone national – thanks to breakouts from bands like Arcade Fire, Spoon, She & Him and The Magnetic Fields. But they’ve managed to stay doggedly local at the same time, keeping a handmade feel and promoting Triangle acts with as much verve as their arena-packing counterparts. The label that started in Laura Ballance’s Chapel Hill bedroom is determined to act like it’s still the little guy.

But despite that little-guy act, they can still throw themselves a big honking 25th birthday party. All this weekend, Carrboro is overrun with Merge-related concerts, exhibits and other events. Though most of them sold out months ago, you can still find tickets for the centerpiece extravaganza, a daylong music festival in the ArtsCenter/Cat’s Cradle parking lot (newly cleared of cars for the occasion!). For a mere $65, you can spend nine hours with eight of Merge’s legendary bands, from local rockers The Love Language to former Hüsker Dü frontman Bob Mould to reclusive headliner Neutral Milk Hotel. And they’ll throw in host Margaret Cho for free! It’s a way for the community and one of its favorite native institutions to mark a milestone together.

 

Music On The Green: The Instruments Of Justice
Sunday, July 27th at 6PM at Southern Village

InstruJusticePoster3

The Instruments of Justice is a great band name. It just also happens to be a very apt band name.

That’s because the IOJ are the house band at Raleigh law firm Poyner Spruill, made up largely of the firm’s lawyers, paralegals and other staff. As the years have gone by and they’ve become a more serious entity, they’ve invited in a few pros (and even a UNC astrophysicist) to fill out their numbers.

Nowadays, they’re a thirteen-piece R&B and soul outfit, playing the hits on stages far beyond their conference rooms. That makes them just the right fit for Southern Village’s green, where dancing is encouraged. They’ll play Motown, funk, and much more. But save the legal briefs for Monday – Sunday night’s concert is all play, no work.

 

For more on these and other great activities, visit our full event calendar, or click here to sign up for our newsletter and get “Ten Things To Do In Chapelboro This Weekend” delivered every Thursday to your email inbox.