Dweezil Zappa Plays the Rex; ‘Potted Potter’ at Byham (Sun., 4/29/18)

1) Dweezil Zappa brings his World Tour 2018: Choice Cuts! to the Rex Theater. “Choice cuts” refer to cuts by his father, the late Frank Zappa, and will include not only hits but also some of his father’s more avant garde numbers. Of course, all of the elder Zappa’s music was sort of avant garde. It began with 1966’s Freak Out!, the seminal debut by The Mothers of Invention, Frank Zappa’s band. More albums followed, such as 1970’s Weasels Ripped My Flesh and songs like “Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow” from 1974’s Apostrophe (’). Frank Zappa died in 1993 from prostate cancer. Dweezil is an accomplished musician himself with his own discography. He even released his first single, “My Mother Is a Space Cadet,” produced by Eddie Van Halen, at 12. His latest album is 2015’s Via Zammata. He and his talented band are sure to make his father’s songs come alive. 8 p.m. 1602 E. Carson St., South Side. (CM)

Wands out! ‘Potted Potter’ tangles again.

2) Do Millennials have short attention spans? Unlikely, given that so many have read all seven Harry Potter books. But just in case, Potted Potter is back on tour. This is the two-man parody show that condenses the entire J.K. Rowling saga into less than an hour and a half of high-speed silliness. Created by British comic actors Daniel Clarkson and Jefferson Turner, a.k.a. Dan and Jeff, Potted Potter is performed with precious few props but with plenty of pep and pop. Participation is prevalent, too—particularly in the part where children from the audience are invited onstage to fill out the sides for a Quidditch game. Anxious moments ensued in a recent Chicago performance when one of the kids turned violent and unruly, but we won’t let that happen in Pittsburgh. Gryffindor is going to beat Slytherin fair and square! 2 p.m. Last day. At the Byham Theater, 101 6^th St., Cultural District. (MV)

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