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Arts Briefs: Musicians to pay tribute to ‘Big Star’ in Glendale

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‘Big Star’ in Glendale

The Alex Theatre in Glendale will again be the site of a major musical event on April 27 when the tribute concert “Thank You, Friends: Big Star’s ‘Third’” is performed by members of Wilco, R.E.M., Big Star, Semisonic, Yo La Tengo, the Posies, Let’s Active, the dB’s and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

The concert will honor the band Big Star and its album “Third/Sister Lovers,” a modern pop and rock collection mostly ignored commercially at the time, but which has become a hugely influential recording to generations of rock players and songwriters. Big Star emerged in 1971 from Memphis led by the late indie rock icon Alex Chilton. Over time, the daring and emotionally potent songs on the album made an impact on the likes of Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy and the Replacements’ Paul Westerberg.

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The concert will include appearances by surviving Big Star member Jody Stephens, Tweedy, R.E.M’s Mike Mills, Ira Kaplan of Yo La Tengo, Robyn Hitchcock and many others. There will also be a full chamber orchestra led by the Kronos Quartet. The evening will be filmed and recorded for DVD and CD release next year.

The concert on Wednesday, April 27, begins at 8 p.m. sharp. Tickets are $25 to 75 (plus fees). The Alex Theater is at 216 N. Brand Blvd., in Glendale. More info at www.alextheatre.org.

Witness to Tragedy

Judy Saryan of the Armenian International Women’s Assn. will lead a discussion of the book “In the Ruins,” by Armenian writer and activist Zabel Yessayan, on April 28 at Abril Bookstore in Glendale.

The occasion is the very first English translation of the full book, which is Yessayan’s eyewitness account of a 1909 massacre by Turkish forces of 30,000 Armenians in Adana, which predated the Armenian Genocide by six years.

The discussion begins at 7:30 p.m. at Abril, located at 415 E. Broadway, Glendale, CA. Admission is free with reception. More info at (818) 243-4112 and abrilbooks.com.

‘Tennessee’ in Burbank

The Falcon Theatre in Burbank has announced the arrival next month of the Impro Theatre’s “Tennessee Williams Unscripted,” directed by Brian Lohmann. It will open June 17.

The Impro Theatre company creates full-length, completely improvised plays around various themes. In the past, the company has tackled the likes of Shakespeare, Chekhov and Jane Austen to hilarious results. With “Tennessee Williams Unscripted,” the group will dive into the Southern culture and particular qualities of the great playwright Tennessee Williams, author of “Cat On a Hot Tin Roof” and “The Glass Menagerie,” among other Broadway classics.

Preview performances begin June 10, ahead of the official June 17 opening. Preview tickets are $31.50 to $34; regular performances are $36.50 to $59 (opening night). Tickets go on sale May 11. The Falcon Theatre is at 4252 Riverside Dr., in Burbank. More info at (818) 955-8004 and falcontheatre.com.

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Marquee staff

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