IBJ A&E priority list for May 2-8

May is off to an ecclectic start with a wide range of A&E options. Here's my starter list (and don't forget to enter to win "Star Wars" exhibition tickets here):

“Our Experiences During the First Days of the Alligators”

May 2-17

Garfield Park

Nuvo Newsweekly arts guru David Hoppe penned this play about a world overrun by, yes, alligators. But this is no action-adventure exploitation tale. It promises to “explore the human condition and our reaction to fear.” NoExit Performance, adept at site-specific productions, takes this one outdoors, to Garfield Park, where it incorporates original sound design by Andy Fry, from Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s. Details here.

Shining Light Film Festival 

May 2-4

Wheeler Arts Community

Don’t expect a schedule full of only standard-issue “problem” movies at this, a festival of films focused on mental health issues. The flicks range from “The Insatiable Moon,” about a Maori who believes he is the second son of God, to “Of Two Minds,” a documentary about bipolar disorder from the makers of the crossword-puzzle documentary “Wordplay.” The fest also includes short programs, seminars and opportunities to meet some of the filmmakers. Details here.

Cinco de Mayo Celebration

May 4

The Jazz Kitchen

Guero Loco, specializing in Latino hip-hop, and Grupo Tumbao, with high-energy salsa, lead the music beginning at 8:30 p.m. But don’t even think of leaving before midnight. That’s when a mariachi band takes the stage. Of course, the bar will be stocked with plenty of margarita ingredients. Details here.

“Happily Ever After: Mother Goose Suite”

May 5

Hilbert Circle Theatre

What’s that you say about the aging of symphony audiences? You won’t feel that way if you attend one of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s Family Series concerts. This one features the Philadelphia-based Enchanted Theatre Company, which mixes puppetry, magic, dance, pantomime and masked actors to accentuate the ISO playing of Maurice Ravel’s “Ma Mere l’Oye.” Also on the bill: the overture to Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” and the prelude to Engelbert Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel.” Details here. 

Also this week

Emily Skinner, star of Broadway’s “Side Show,” performs at the Cabaret at the Columbia Club May 3-4. Details here. 

The Indiana Ballet Conservatory performs “Cipollino” at the Indianapolis Museum of Art’s Tobias Theatre. Details here. 

Herron School of Art’s “Look/See 2013,” May 2, not only opens a year-end exhibition, but also cuts the ribbon on the expanded Eskenazi Fine Arts Center. Details here.

In Theatre on the Square’s “Bathroom Humor,” running May 3-25, an assortment of characters escape to the rest room to avoid an office party. Details here. 

Gordon Lightfoot headlines at the Palladium May 2. Details here. 

The second annual OnyxFest features new work by African-American playwrights May 3-5, 10-12. Details here. 

Comedian Andy Kindler headlines a benefit for Cardinal Stage’s education initiative May 2 at the Comedy Attic in Bloomington. Details here.

The NPR quiz show “Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!” gets a live-in-movie-theaters broadcast May 2 at screens including Goodrich Brownsburg 8, AMC Indianapolis 17, Regal Galaxy 14, Goodrich Hamilton 16 and Carmike Cinemas Metropolis 18. Details here.