When You Wish Upon a Double Axel
Mentioning Disney on Ice: Rockin' Ever After in this column proves that our eclectic enthusiasm for the arts knows no bounds – even if it does bring back painful memories of the infamous "Cathy Rigby episode" of 2005. Nevertheless, if you're a Walt-enthusiast and/or a demographically targeted reader with a rugrat or two in your life, going to this silly symphony on skates needs little prodding on our part. If you belong to a different category of our readership, you may like to think of it as a belated fantasy of sorts featuring several babes from the Buena Vista harem. Ariel, Rapunzel, Belle and Merida have been enlisted by Mickey & Minnie to find the best acts and combos for a spectacular revue. The result is an entertaining night at the Palace of Auburn Hills for all concerned – and a thoroughly refreshing example of nostalgia being enjoyed for its own sake. Tickets still available at palacenet.com.

Mesmerizing!
That hip hypnotist known as Kevin LePine is returning to the Comedy Castle on 10/24. Get your tickets TODAY and keep watching this space. Okay, you can wake up now.

Back To That Cabin In The Woods
The transition from movie trilogy to tongue-in-cheek musical didn't harm the Evil Dead saga one bit – indeed, adding music and lyrics to this ode to the Necronomicon permits the previously traumatized and amused to come to a deeper appreciation of what Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell achieved several decades ago. We want you to find time for this delight at the City Theatre between 10/4 and 27 – and we also want you to learn all the words to "All The Men In My Life Keep Getting Killed By Candarian Demons". Check olympiaentertainment.com.

DLightful
Pray there won't be a power outage on 10/5 because that's when the Motor City cranks up the generators and turns itself into an illuminated horizon thanks to DLectricity, a nighttime arts festival that will spread its current all over Detroit. Inspired by similar efforts in cities across the world, this collage of installations consists of 35 projects located at various downtown spots – and five of these should be checked out first at the DIA. One, a video canvas entitled dolefullhouse, will be set up by the artist known as Tabaimo. Described as an empty dollhouse that undergoes a surreal transformation replete with disembodied hands redecorating an interior, it's like nothing you've ever seen from Martha Stewart. The main branch of the Detroit Public Library will host a unique narrative performance staged by New D Media called Knowledge Is Power. A collaborative mission by Gabriel Hall, Daniel Land, Gabe Rice and Audra Kubat, it incorporates 3-D animation, music, optical magic and dimensional cinema. Similar sights (including Graem Whyte's eagerly anticipated Ice Cave) will be set up at MOCAD, CCS, The Max M Fisher, Wayne State and elsewhere. More at dlectricity.com

Pain Is The Price We Pay
We're always happy when an exhibit goes "The Odd Couple" route and combines the vision and talent of one artist with those of another. Audrey Pongracz and Tim Pewe (two favorites of this column) are superficially as different as night and day, and neither use the same materials or approach in their respective works. However, bringing them together for Splinters & Paper Cuts at the River's Edge in Wyandotte is a perfect match. With the use of elements as diverse as antique paper dolls and the imaginative rendering of metal or wood, they've created thematic harmony that meditates profoundly on such issues as memory, loss, and recovered strength. In some respects, it's a ritualized portrait of all of us – and what we're all obliged to experience in our day-to-day lives. Opening reception starts 10/6 at 3024 Biddle.

R is for Robert
The Rust Belt is in Ferndale and the Russell Industrial Center is in Detroit. Now that this geographic mystery is (hopefully) clear to most of you, be advised that the RIC is having its Fall Open House on 10/6. That means you can check out studios, glimpse the new exhibit at Detroit Center for Contemporary Photography, enter The World of Markness again at the Funhouse Gallery, and see what Detroit Industrial Projects have Centered thanks to Jada Bowden, Brooks Stevens and Jeanette Strezinski. 1600 Clay Avenue.

Lower Level, Highest Praise
Calling an exhibit of works by grad students In The Basement is a marvelous example of sardonic humor – and we've been told that quite a few of them DO occupy subterranean addresses. Nevertheless, what you'll see at the Elaine L. Jacob Gallery on 10/5 bodes well for the future and we would like to single out Jennifer Thrift, Alex Drummer, Kyle Dill and Stephanie Henderson for their submissions. Magna cum laude for all the others too! 480 W. Hancock in Detroit. | RDW