Ah, the Garden of Eden. Full of lush greenery, plenty of food, some strategically placed fig leaves, jail cells...jail cells? Yep, at the fourth annual Saints & Sinners Mardi Gras Ball, you can rent your very own jail cell in the middle of the Garden of Eden, or at least the Mad Art Gallery (2727 South 12th Street; 314-771-8230 or www.madartgallery.com) made up to look like the Garden of Eden. Benefiting the AIDS Foundation of St. Louis (www.aidstl.org), the first official bash of the 2005 Mardi Gras season kicks off at 8:30 p.m. and will no doubt be more like a post-Tree-of-Life Garden of Eden (with plenty of sinners, snakes and temptation) than a saintly gathering of angels. Saints and sinners alike pay $30 ($25 in advance) for admittance to this celebration of good and evil. Two hundred dollars gets the little devil in you access to the Cell Block and a cell for you and five of your favorite ne'er-do-wells to do with as you please. Remember, Lent is just around the corner, so this could be your last opportunity to indulge your wicked impulses with sinful hors d'oeuvres and heavenly drinks from the cash bar. Call 314-367-7273 for tickets or information. -- Mia York
Boys to Men
Ragged Blade's Somebody Else's Life
WED 1/26
Ragged Blade presents a special, one-night-only sneak preview of Jerry Rabushka's one-man show, Somebody Else's Life, at 8 p.m. at the Theatre at St. John's (5000 Washington Place; 314-280-1035 or www.raggedblade.com). Rabushka plays Chuck, a cowboy in clothes only, and Ryan, a young grocery bagger who's never been kissed; in the course of the play, these two Okies realize that even if they aren't living the lives they dream of, they can still go out with the man who has that dream life. Admission is by donation, so be generous; Rabushka takes his show to Tulsa for its official premiere at the end of the month, and a little pocket money goes a long way in Oklahoma. -- Paul Friswold
Walk This Way
For pretty art
FRI 1/28
Brave new art shines your soul like it was an old shoe, transforming the weather-beaten thing into a mirror in which you can examine your beautiful reflection. And you'd look even better with a drink in your hand. Speaking of that, you can grab a few drinks at 6:30 p.m. at the new Lucas Park Grill (1232 Washington Avenue) in the downtown loft district, and then take a gander at superfantastic art as gallery owners and artists walk you through the the new location of the Philip Slein Gallery (1319 Washington Avenue; 314-621-4634), artist Tom Huck's studio (1627 Washington Avenue, #502) and the Wildwood Press (1627 Washington Avenue, #802). The ArtWalk, as the evening is known, is the kick-off party for the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis' ArtsDesire dinner-and-auction fundraiser this March (the organizers like to plan ahead). The ArtWalk is $20; visit www.contemporarystl.org or call 314-535-0770, ext. 216, for more info. Tickets are available at the museum (3750 Washington Boulevard) or anywhere mentioned above. Go forth and be awed. -- Mark Dischinger
Shoe Ins and Outs
As you can see in the above photograph, the Korean sisters in the Ahn Trio are wearing super-high-heeled shoes -- that's because they can. The performers leaping over the trio are from the Parsons Dance Company, and they are noticeably sans shoes -- you know, for the dancing. See both the shoed and the shoeless at 8 p.m. at the Fox Theatre (527 North Grand Boulevard) Friday and Saturday (January 28 and 29). Tickets cost $20 to $49 (314-534-1111), and you should wear shoes to the performance. -- Alison Sieloff
