Raleigh
‘Night, Mother
Raleigh Little TheatreSandwiched in the Raleigh Little Theatre fall schedule between such lighter fare as Hot Mikado and Deathtrap, ‘night, Mother is a searing two-hander in which a grown woman announces to her mother that she plans to commit suicide. The original 1983 production featured Kathy Bates as the daughter and earned playwright Marsha Norman a Pulitzer Prize for drama. The play received a fresh round of attention four years ago when Edie Falco and Brenda Blethyn starred in a Broadway revival and, locally, Raleigh Little Theatre’s production opened last week and continues through Sept. 28. Martie Todd Sirois and Linda O’Day Young are the daughter and mother, respectively, and Jesse Gephart directs. Visit raleighlittletheatre.org for tickets and info. David Fellerath

Chapel Hill
Vanguard Jazz Orchestra
UNC’s Memorial HallThe Vanguard Jazz Orchestra plays bebop as delicately as a battleship. In the guise of a swing band, the group has been pushing musical boundaries since its formation as the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra in 1966. While the personnel has changed over the years, the sound is still ridiculously tight: Nervy, improvised solos are backed up with an intimidatingly good armament of players. You can still catch them most Monday nights at The Village Vanguard in New York, but why not spare yourself the trip? Pay $10-$65 at 8 p.m. Andrew Ritchey

Durham
Charlie Hunter & Tamango
Duke’s Reynolds TheaterFrench Guiana-born, Paris-schooled, New York-based tap dancer Tamango is a whirl of controlled motion, all four limbs and his tiny dreadlock constantly breaking planes and hopping vectors. Tonight, Tamango works with Charlie Hunter, the eight-string guitarist he met in the late ’80s on the streets of Paris. Hunter’s unique instrument combines three bass strings with five guitar strings, often played through a rotating organ-like speaker, offering unexpected tonal range and voicing choices. In this program, fittingly entitled Rhythm Mavericks, look for forms you thought you understoodthe tap dancer and the jazzman with a guitar (or a bass)to take on brave new meanings. Tickets are $5-$28 for an 8 p.m. start. Grayson Currin