Dan's Papers - June 13, 2008 -

This Father's Day weekend brings with it a swag bag of entertainments and events to the South Fork. Charles Busch and company continue camping it up in Shanghai Moon at Bay Street Theatre, MUDasMAN does the performance piece The Prophecy of Isaiah at Guild Hall and the farce Moon Over Buffalo plays in Quogue. There's a battle-of-the-bands in Hampton Bays tonight, and there are several outstanding classical music performances this weekend, including the Playhouse Project benefit concert featuring Naumburg winner and Pianofest alum Awadagin Pratt in East Hampton on Saturday evening, and Pianofest graduate Di Wu playing in Southampton on Saturday evening. The former New York Times Baghdad bureau chief speaks at Southampton's Rogers Memorial Library on Monday evening, and comedian Tracy Morgan is the Bay Street Theatre Comedy Club star that night.

The Parrish Art Museum's outstanding "Landscape Pleasures" garden talks-and-tour takes place this weekend as does the Hamptons Auto Classic show and auction. Some of the worthy benefits are the Saturday evening dinner performance of the Off Broadway hit comedy Tony 'n' Tina's Wedding at the Ross School, hosted by Alec Baldwin ($250 for East Hampton Day Care Learning Center; call 631-324-5560), the "Heart of the Hamptons Gala" dinner dance for the American Heart Association on Saturday at the Hayground School, emceed by Chuck Scarborough, honoring Christie Brinkley, Dottie Herman, Robert McMahon and Dr. Michael Wolk ($450, call 516-777-8447 or email Barbara.Poliwoda@heart.org). Look out for the "Field of Dreams Summer Soiree" dinner dance and auction for Southampton Youth Services (SYS) honoring J. Andreassi ($275, call 631-287-1511 or email ), the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society musical show on Saturday evening at Riverhead's Vail-Leavitt Music Hall ($20 at the door), and Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center's golf tournament, auction and party honoring Starr Boggs on Monday at Westhampton Country Club (call 631-288-1500 or go online to www.whbpac.org).

Sag Harbor's Bay Street Theatre has Charles Busch's spoof of 1930s films, Shanghai Moon, onstage Tuesday through Sunday evenings with Wednesday and Saturday matinees until June 29. Tickets are $50 to $65. Comedian Tracy Morgan, well known from "Saturday Night Live" and "30 Rock," is Bay Street's Comedy Club star on Monday at 8 p.m. ($50). All Bay Street tickets are sold at the box office (631-725-9500) or online at baystreet.org.

While the John Drew Theater renovation is ongoing, Guild Hall holds its talks and performances at local venues. However, tonight and Saturday, the Christian-inspired, sociopolitical performance piece The Prophecy of Isaiah is at the Boots Lamb Education Center in Guild Hall's Main St., East Hampton building. Showtimes are 8 p.m. tonight, 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Sat. Tickets are $10 ($8 for Guild Hall members) at the door.

This is the last weekend to see the Hampton Theatre Company's production of the Ken Ludwig farce Moon Over Buffalo at the Quogue Village Theater. Performances are Thursday through Sunday and tickets are $10 to $22 (631-653-8955 or hamptontheatre.org).

The Town of Southampton hosts a "Battle of the Bands" starting at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Ponquogue Beach, Dune Road, Hampton Bays. Eight bands will compete for prizes and awards. Tickets are $10 at the gate; raindate is June 18.

The annual Playhouse Project benefit concert on Saturday, 6 p.m., in the historic Playhouse on Huntting Lane, East Hampton, features the award-winning American pianist Awadagin Pratt and Croatian guitarist Robert Belini as well as two very talented local recipients of the Project's music scholarships. Tickets are $90 and a reception follows the program (call 631-604-2852 or email janetgoleas@gmail.com).

The Southampton Cultural Center's spring Rising Stars piano recital series presents Pianofest graduate Di Wu this Saturday, 7 p.m., at its Levitas Center, 25 Pond Lane. She will play selections from Schubert, Liszt, Bartok and Ravel. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and free for students (add $5 for reserved seats). For reservations, call (631) 287-4377 (southamptonculturalcenter.org).

Pianist Anne Tedesco will give a recital on Saturday, 7:30 p.m., in the Montauk Library, and pianist Katherine Addleman will play the music of Schoenberg next Wed., noon, at Rogers Memorial Library, Southampton. These are free programs.

Recommended music at local clubs and restaurants: Amagansett - live music weekends at Surf Shack, at the Stephen Talkhouse on Fri. alt-rock with Gordon Gano (of The Violent Femmes) and the Ryan Brothers followed by Hot Lava, on Sat. metal tribute Bee Gees band Tragedy then benefit rock band Giving Tree, on Sun. singer/songwriter Mary Gauthier; East Hampton - Mambo Loco on Sat. at Fiddler's Cove, Mamalee Rose & friends at Turtle Crossing on Thurs.; Sagaponack - wine & jazz Thurs. at Wölffer Estate; Bridgehampton - light jazz with the Jody Carlson trio on Sun. and Vanessa Trouble on Tues. at Pierre's, singer Monica Hughes at One Ocean on Thurs.; Water Mill - singer/guitarist Steve Fredericks on Thurs. at Muse; Southampton - live music weekends at 75 Main and Regulars (new café on North Sea Rd.), Sunnyland Jazz Band at Le Chef on Thurs., Hampton Bays - live music Fri. at Buckley's; Westhampton Beach - live music Fri. at Annona, live music Thurs. to Sat. at The Patio, live music weekends at Westhampton Steakhouse (Swingset Quartet on Thurs.), live music weekends at Artful Dodger, live music Thurs. to Sun. at Starr Boggs; Quogue - at Dockers Waterside on Fri., Dave Tyler, and Sun., Paul Mahos; Riverhead - live music weekends at Tweed's and Eastenders Coffee House.

Dan Rattiner, founder of Dan's Papers, reads from his celebrated memoir In the Hamptons on Saturday, 5 p.m., at BookHampton, Southampton. Former New York Times "Styles" columnist Bob Morris reads from his well-received memoir Assisted Loving: True Tales of Double-Dating with My Dad at BookHampton, East Hampton, Sat. at 5 p.m. Abdul Razzaq al-Saiedi, former New York Times Baghdad bureau chief and current Nieman Fellow at Harvard, will speak about reporting from the Iraq front lines on Monday, 7 p.m., at the Rogers Memorial Library, Southampton (free admission, but please call 631-283-0774 ext. 523 to reserve seats).

The Parrish Art Museum's "Landscape Pleasures" gardens symposium and tour this weekend begins with a continental breakfast on Saturday morning followed by four experts talking briefly about famous gardens. There is a benefit cocktail party at the home and gardens of Susan and Louis K. Meisel on Saturday, and a self-guided tour of eight outstanding private gardens from Water Mill to East Hampton all day Sunday. Tickets are $125 for Museum members, $175 for non-members; benefit tickets are $300 ( include talks and tour); call (631) 283-2118.

The Hamptons Auto Classic show and auction of collectable cars is Friday and Saturday at Sayre Park, Snake Hollow Rd., Bridgehampton. There is a bidders' cocktail party on Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. ($35). Exhibit gates open 8 a.m. Saturday ($20 general admission, $75 for bidder's paddle). Kensington Motor Group organizes the show and part of the proceeds benefit Habitat for Humanity.