Is It Something I Said?

We love it when Proctors works blue.

On Friday, the classy Schenectady theater honors the late, great Richard Pryor with a screening of the comedian’s 1977 film, Which Way Is Up? Comedienne Dee Watson also will perform with an ensemble cast of comics, and comedic featurettes by local video artists will be shown. There will be games; and where there are games there are prizes.

We know that you know all about Pryor, already. He’s one of the most important figures of American comedy and social commentary, after all, and the winner of the first Mark Twain Prize for American Humor (as well as countless others, from Emmys to Writers Guild awards to Grammys). So we’ll just hit you with a trivial tidbit: The title of the performance is taken from Pryor’s 1975 album of the same name, which features the first recorded performance of his character “Mudbone.” It also features Mudbone’s punchline “ . . . and deep, too.”

If you can’t puzzle it out, seek it out. That Pryor was a funny motherf . . .

Proctors’ presents Is It Something I Said? as part of the It Came From Schenectady series in the GE Theatre (432 State St., Schenectady) tomorrow (Friday, Feb. 26). Tickets for the 7 PM show are $12. For more information, call 346-6204.

Knickerbocker Film Festival

Isn’t it time Albany’s Pine Hills neighborhood had its own film festival? Haven’t you thought that? Ah, well, don’t worry if it hadn’t occurred to you. Somebody’s been working on it: the folks behind the Knickerbocker Film Festival, who will stage their week-long event at the Madison Theater beginning Friday.

The short films (20 minutes or less) being shown include Peaches (Copper Wright), Breaking Up (Jeff Burns), The Exam (Eric Manning, Tyler Shaw, Andrew Duffey, Zak Ryan), Shot Through the Heart (Karen Christine Jones), The Greatest Man Alive (Mike Feurstein, Kevin Craig West), The Future of Coney Island (Ben Schuman) and Making It (Chau Mui).

Awards in several categories will be presented March 4 at the festival’s culminating party.

The Knickerbocker Film Festival begins at the Madison Theater (1036 Madison Avenue, Albany) tomorrow (Friday, Feb. 26), running through March 4. Films are shown daily at 7 and 9:35 PM; and Saturday and Sunday at 12:10, 2:15 and 4:35 PM. Tickets for individual showings are $5. The Film Festival Awards + Party will be held March 4 at Elda’s (205 Lark St., Albany) at 8 PM. Admission is $10. To purchase tickets or for more information, including show schedules, visit knickfilmfest.com or call the Madison Theater, 438-0040.

Rosanne Cash

“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” said someone who knew very, very little. “It’s not what you know, it’s what you can prove,” said someone else, who was getting a whole lot warmer—because even if the door is open, there’s still an outside. It’s true enough that Rosanne Cash (who will play the Egg on Saturday) could have coasted farther on the name of her dad, Johnny Cash, than you likely could have on your dad’s; but her accomplishments are all her own. Johnny’s eldest daughter has more than proven herself.

The singer-songwriter-writer-editor-activist has released a dozen albums over a more-than-two-decade career, chalking up both commericial hits and critical adulation. From her first U.S. release, which hit No. 1 on Billboard’s country chart and No. 22 on the pop chart, Cash has been a confident and winning performer. Starting with the release of 1990’s Interiors, which Cash self-produced and for which she wrote or co-wrote all but one track, she also has shown herself to be an artist of depth and ambition. A career as a legacy pop-country idol would have been a breeze; but Cash’s nervy introspection coupled with her deep ties to American songcraft has put her in the company of such torchbearers as Steve Earle.

On Saturday, Cash will circle back, paying homage to her dad and to the broader tradition by playing songs from her latest release, The List. The album’s 12 tracks—which feature contributions from Elvis Costello, Rufus Wainwright, Jeff Tweedy, and Bruce Springsteen—are drawn from a list of 100 essential country songs given by Johnny to Rosanne when she was just 18. (’Course, 12 songs don’t a set list make. So, you might just hear a few of her own compositions, as well.)

Rosanne Cash will play the Egg (Empire State Plaza, Albany) on Saturday (Feb. 27). Opening will be alt-country violinist Jenny Scheinman. Tickets for the 8 PM show are $34.50. For more information, call 473-1848.