Item World: Local news and views 7/29

It's a mad, mad, mad world With cameras finally ready to roll on season 5 of "Mad Men" next month, Minnesota-born cast member Rich Sommer spent a few days back home. He attended last Friday's opening of "Obama Mia" at Brave New Workshop, then showed up for the Gilda's Club charity tournament Monday at the Minneapolis Golf Club. Sommer, a Workshop alum, auctioned a pilot script from "Mad Men" signed by the entire cast. "He even offered to drive it personally to someone's home or office," said BNW co-owner Jenni Lilledahl. It sold for $3,500. Lilledahl said that when her sister had cancer in the summer of 1998, Sommer -- then an intern -- "was very helpful." Gilda's Club is named for "Saturday Night Live" comic Gilda Radner, who died of ovarian cancer. Lilledahl said the local event -- which included many other BNW alumni -- is aimed at establishing a Twin Cities "clubhouse" to provide support programs for cancer patients and their loved ones. Actor/comedian Melissa Peterman did about 20 minutes of standup after dinner Monday. Seen on TV last winter as the star of CMT's now-canceled sitcom "Working Class," Peterman is working on a comedy CD that she hopes to record this fall.

Stand by me In their backstage meeting to discuss Somalia's famine before Saturday's U2 concert, three Twin Cities college students had trouble hiding their excitement over being in the room with one of their favorite pop stars -- and we're not talking about Bono. "When they told me K'naan was going to be there, too, I started freaking out," said Mohamed Samatar, 19. The once-locally based Somalian hip-hop star known for the World Cup anthem "Wavin' Flag," K'naan later took the stage to sing "Stand by Me" with U2. Samatar and the other students also got to hear Bono's shout-out to them as "the incredible people working on the famine in Africa" before the closing song, "Moment of Surrender." Samatar is now a huge fan of Bono and his organization One, citing an ABC-TV story among other good things that have already come from their pre-concert powwow. "More than anything, the highlight of this whole experience is the chance to get the word out far and wide," he said. Follow Neighbors for Nations and other relief efforts at www.ARCrelief.org.

A shot of wisdom Given the Twin Cities' growing number of cocktail dens, I.W. often wonders why such magazines as GQ and Esquire consistently exclude our mixologists in their best-of lists. Esquire threw Minneapolis a bone this week by featuring Johnny Michaels of La Belle Vie in its online column "Bartender Wisdom." Michaels unloads gems of knowledge with a slight smirk and self-deprecating humor. On himself: "With my looks and personality, I should've been a cook." On drinking: "I don't drink anymore. I used to -- a lot. ... Now I'm hanging out on the sidelines with Moses, taking Xanax, making drinks." On his job: "One summer, I was an ice cream man. Now, as a bartender, I feel like an ice cream man for big kids." And that's why I.W. loves him. Read the full piece at www.Esquire.com/blogs/food-for-men.

Class act When MacPhail Center for Music invited University of Minnesota piano professor Lydia Artymiw to critique a master class at its Adult Chamber Music Camp last week, it clearly had no idea she would rip into the 20 camp participants like a dominatrix, giving a whole new spin to the term "mean girl." An agile keyboard performer herself, Artymiw mocked one pianist's "weak hands" and dismissed performances as "unmusical" and "ugly," all while boasting of her own triumphs. Camp participants, who included music instructors and longtime community-orchestra players, not to mention I.W., were aghast. Responding to their "candid feedback," MacPhail's Melissa Falb sent a letter of apology and promised a 20 percent refund ($70) to every camp participant. The checks are in the mail.

Franklin at the Fitz Ed Asner may not look much like Franklin Delano Roosevelt, but he acts like him in a one-man show coming to the Fitzgerald Theater Sept. 9. "FDR," based in part on Dore Schary's play "Sunrise at Campobello," imagines the 32nd president reflecting on his years in office. "I worshipped him," Asner told the Miami Herald last spring. "I was on my way home from high school when the news came [that FDR had passed away], and it was like God the father had died. It angers me that so many have worked so hard and so assiduously to take down what he achieved." Sounds like something the crusty-but-lovable Lou Grant might say. Tickets, at $39, go on sale Wednesday.

Paid up and checking out In more than 30 years at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, associate curator of photography Christian Peterson has given innumerable talks, staged countless shows, written more than 20 books and catalogs, and -- most important -- paid off the mortgage on his "starter home." So this week he announced his resignation, effective Sept. 30. Between now and then, he'll take in some county fairs and open a final show at the museum: "Wide/Eyed: Panoramic Photographs," running Sept. 15 through Feb. 27. Peterson, 58, plans to remain in Minneapolis and pursue personal photo research and book projects. "It's my choice and my timing," he said. Wrapping up the mortgage "allowed me to move forward with something I've been thinking about for some time."