A&E picks for the week: Dance Kaleidoscope, Magna cum Murder, more

Looking for something to do this weekend? I've searched through Central Indiana offerings to find a range of promising options.

“The Rocky Horror Show”

No, there’s no “Picture” in the title. This is the live version of the cult hit, not the movie. Zach Rosing and Zack Neiditch, the impresarios behind the Indy Fringe hit “The Great Bicycle Race,” once again offer a Halloween production of the camp classic. You haven’t really done “The Time Warp” until you’ve done it during a fully live performance. Likely to make this production more fun: Four of the performance nights have 10:30 p.m. shows. Oct. 23-Nov. 1 Athenaeum

“Carmina Burana”

I would say it’s the “swan song” for Dance Kaleidoscope senior dancer Liberty Harris, but that’s another dance piece. “Carmina Burana” is, however, a fitting finale for Harris, whose first work with DK was in the same show, a signature dance for the company (Harris has danced it six times). The audience favorite returns for a 20th anniversary production to kick off Dance Kaleidoscope’s season. Oct. 23-26 Indiana Repertory Theatre

Magna cum Murder XX/Crimefest

Sure, GenCon gets a lot of attention. But gamers aren’t the only obsessive folks who gather every year in Indianapolis. Consider murder mystery fans, who will be gathering for this event featuring thriller-writer John Gilstrap, British crime writer Robert Wilson and others. Included are forensics speakers, panel discussions, and a celebration of the 120th birthday of Dashiell Hammett, author of the classic “The Thin Man.” Oct. 24-26  The Columbia Club

ComedySportz relaunch

ComedySportz started in Milwaukee in 1984 and has since expanded to 24 cities. The Indianapolis branch is celebrating the company’s 30th birthday with a door-prize-laden open house followed by competitive improv matches in its freshly redecorated Mass Ave digs. Oct. 25 ComedySportz

Also this week

“The Rise of American Modernism,” Oct. 24-July 26, includes 29 prints, drawings, watercolors and photographs showcasing treasures from the Indianapolis Museum of Art’s collection, including pieces by Alfred Stieglitz, Pablo Picasso and Paul Cezanne.

Miki Mathioudakis returns to the role of former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir in Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre’s revival of its 2008 hit “Golda’s Balcony,” Oct. 24-Nov. 8 at the Tarkington Theatre.

The Indianapolis International Film Festival and the Indianapolis Museum of Art screen “The Blair Witch Project” in the woods of the IMA’s 100 Acres Art & Nature Park Oct. 24.

The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra offers “A Tribute to Marvin Hamlisch,” Oct. 24-25 at Hilbert Circle Theatre.

The Ann Katz Festival of Books and Arts, running Oct. 28-Nov. 15 at the JCC, includes author appearances, film screenings, a dance performance and more. This week’s events include, Oct. 28, Hank Phillippi Ryan, author of “Truth Be Told.”

Jonathan Franzen, the best-selling author of “The Corrections,” winner of the National Book Award for Fiction, presents as part of Butler University’s Visiting Writers Series Oct. 28 at Clowes Hall.

Phoenix Theatre offers the local premiere of “Old Jews Telling Jokes,” Oct. 23-Nov. 23. If you have to ask what it’s about, you aren’t reading closely enough.

Lily & Madeleine perform Oct. 24 at Deluxe at Old National Centre.