Get deep in the earth with NC potters. Get deep in Southern drama with Tennessee Williams. Get a beat on Deep Throat, too.
Maura's Three for the Week in Charleston, 2/24/25 - 3/2/25
From where I am typing, now is most certainly the time to mine deeper meaning wherever and whenever we can. Thankfully, Charleston regularly gathers those who trade in that very pursuit: the artists, writers and thinkers who dig deep in search of transcendent truth. Start with some Seagrove potters, who famously shape the stuff of the earth into majestic works of art, and have now landed in Summerville from North Carolina by way of an exhibition. Then wrap your head around long-held Southern mores with the master craftsman Tennessee Williams, as Charleston Stage mounts The Glass Menagerie. Want to get the skinny on what it takes to uncover elusive truths? The great Carl Bernstein is in town this week, too. So get booking, Charleston.
Get an earthy immersion via two Summerville art shows
Public Works Art Center, 135 West Richardson Ave., Summerville, through Sat., March 15
Another Clay Community: Seagrove potters of North Carolina displays the wares of 21 of Seagrove’s finest, all deeply engaged in the celebrated pottery community in North Carolina that is home to largest concentration of working potters in the United States. Within a twenty-mile radius there are over 50 pottery studios and shops. At this exhibition, featured potters include Fred Johnston and Carol Gentithes; David Stuempfle; Ben Owen III; Bulldog Pottery’s Samantha Heneke and Bruce Gholson; Studio Touya’s Hitomi and Takuro Shibata; Jared Zahmer; Dean & Martin Studio’s Stephanie Martin and Jeff Dean; Triangle Studio’s Kate Waltman; Blue Hen Studio’s Anne Partna; Hannah Cupp; Donna Craven; Jugtown Potters’ Pam, Vernon, Travis and Bayle Owen; Chad Brown; and Sid Luck.
Concurrently at Public Works, Between the Earth and Us — Linda Pepper features the plein air work of the Mexican-born, American-raised artist from rural Missouri who now calls Summerville her home. In her work Pepper often reflects on the relationship between the natural and the manmade world.
For more information, click here.
Learn a thing or two from famed journalist Carl Bernstein
Sottile Theatre, 44 George St., downtown Charleston, Wed., Feb. 26 at 6 p.m.
There are just a few tickets left for an evening with Carl Bernstein, the legendary journalist who has riveted the world with his investigative journalism and writing for over half a century, among them his coverage with Bob Woodward of the Watergate scandal. Now, the Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim and the Milton and Freddie Kronsberg Lecture Series at Yaschik/Arnold Jewish Studies Program host Bernstein in a dialogue exploring his life and career, with an outlook on current events. He will be in conversation with Donna Leinwand Leger, media strategist, former managing editor of USA Today and past president of the National Press Club.
For more information, click here.
Come calling at ‘The Glass Menagerie’
Dock Street Theatre, 135 Church St., downtown Charleston, Wed., Feb. 26 - Sun., March 16 at various times
Somehow as a young girl I stumbled onto the 1950 black-and-white film version of The Glass Menagerie, and was instantly enthralled by Tennessee Williams’ absorbing drama about a young woman named Laura consigned to a quiet life at home with her controlling, former debutante of a mother. Soon I was in classes at the Dock Street, performing monologues from his plays. I was also once lucky enough to spot him in the flesh, as he ambled along a pathway in a safari suit on Kiawah Island while in town for the 1978 Spoleto Festival premiere of his play Creve Coeur.
So I have high hopes for Charleston Stage’s new production of The Glass Menagerie, directed by company founder Julian Wiles. It starts a four-week run this week, with a Pay-As-You-Please performance on Feb. 26.
For more information, visit charlestonstage.com.
Bonus: Toast local theater at Footlight Players’ Wine Fundraiser
Queen Street Playhouse, 20 Queen St., downtown Charleston, Fri., Feb. 28, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
In vino veritas, they say, which translates to “in wine there is truth.” So if you search for yours through superior grapes, you’ll want to join Footlight Players for a fun, casual and funky new interactive fundraising adventure, A Wine for All Seasons. There you’ll sample a carefully selected array of six wines paired to evoke the spirit of
each of their six MainStage shows slated for the upcoming Season 94; graze paired bites; meet Footlight’s regular company of actors; aim to win prizes; and experience a live preview musical performance of one of next season’s musicals..
For full information, click here.
One for the Future: Celebrate and support The Waka Waka
Festival Hall, 56 Beaufain St., downtown Charleston, Fri., March 7, 6 p.m.
If you have yet to experience the Ibu Movement’s annual fundraiser, you are missing out on a vibrant happening that also promises a profound global reach. I’ve made it to a few, and they always delight and inspire—flowing with memorable conversation, fabulous, handcrafted styles and ample food both for thought and for savoring, too.
This year’s event celebrates the rich cultural heritage and remarkable craftsmanship of women artisans from across Africa, The Waka Waka, a term derived from the Camerooninan Fang language meaning “just do it.” Taking place on the eve of International Women’s Day, the event converges style and substance to promote the empowerment of women through the art of their hands.
The evening gala, A Celebration of The Waka Waka Women in Africa is a seated dinner that serves up African delicacies prepared by renowned Senegalese chef Bintou N’Daw, while learning more from Beatrice Lempaira, gender director at BeadWORKS Kenya, and Rukky Ladoja and Ozzy Etomi of Dye Lab in Nigeria. Guests can further support the Ibu Movement through a paddle raise, contributing directly to expanding Ibu’s artisan alliance, marketplace and grant funding. The event will spotlight artisans from Kenya, South Africa, Rwanda, Ghana and more, highlighting the impact of Ibu’s work on their communities.
Earlier that morning at Charleston Library Society, a three-session morning summit gathers these global leaders and others on the topics of culture and heritage, artisan design and impact, and women leaders around the continent.
For more information, click here.