Bone Thugs-n-Harmony Play Mr. Smalls; Charles Mee’s ‘Big Love’ at Playhouse (Sun., 2/26/17)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9IXAJg4Vm0

1) Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, who celebrated 20 years of “Tha Crossroads” last year, return to Mr. Smalls. “Tha Crossroads” won the Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group; Bone Thugs-n-Harmony dedicated it to the late Eazy-E of N.W.A. fame. Eazy-E signed the Cleveland group to his record label, Ruthless Records, in 1993 and was the group’s friend, mentor, and business adviser until his death in 1995. Though crushed by his loss, the group persevered and has continued to make music. Their lyrics are heavy. Their raps, melodic. It’s perhaps this novel combination that’s kept them relevant for so long. They also hold the distinction of collaborating with 2Pac, Notorious B.I.G., Eazy-E, and Big Pun while all four men were still alive. A new album, E. 1999 Legends, has been in the works for a few years, though no release date has been set yet. Special guest is Kipp-E Dbe-Srg 8 p.m. 400 Lincoln Ave., Millvale. (CM)

2) Oh, that Charlie Mee! In a long, wild, and maybe not-so-crazy career, American writer Charles L. Mee has, among other things: agitated for the impeachment of Richard Nixon; written critically acclaimed histories and biographies; written an autobiography titled A Nearly Normal Life, much of which he has spent in a wheelchair since contracting polio as a teenager … and authored dozens of plays, many of them freewheeling adaptations of older plays, posting his scripts on the Internet and inviting anyone to do whatever they want with them. Further tinkering is encouraged, since Mee claims there is no such thing as an “original.” Point Park University’s Conservatory Theatre is doing Mee’s Big Love, an adaptation of The Suppliants by the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus, which concerns a horde of women fleeing a forced mass marriage to their Egyptian cousins. The Point Park version includes the helicopter ambush that Mee put in to enhance the non-original, and those attending Big Love are advised to be ready for anything. 2 p.m. Runs through March 12. In the Rauh Theatre at Pittsburgh Playhouse, 222 Craft Ave., Oakland. (MV)

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