The Bay Area is hosting a lot of great concerts, plays and other shows this weekend and beyond. Here’s a partial rundown.
On stage: ‘Come from Away,’ ‘Sanctuary City’; ‘Brown v. Board of Education’
Here are three new productions Bay Area theater fans should know about.
“Come from Away”: The inspirational musical, based on a true story, has been a critical and box-office hit pretty much every place it’s played since debuting in 2013. It was nominated for seven Tony Awards in 2017, winning for best direction of a musical. The story follows the Newfoundland town of Gander after the 9/11 attacks, when some 38 planes and 7,000 passengers were suddenly stranded in the tiny town. A touring production returns to the Bay Area for a short run early next week.
Details: Presented by Broadway San Jose; July 12-17; San Jose Center for the Performing Arts; $38-$138; broadwaysanjose.com.
“Sanctuary City”: Pulitzer Prize-winning Polish playwright Martyna Majok’s acclaimed show about young undocumented immigrants, DREAMers, trying to make their way in America makes its West Coast debut this week at Berkeley Repertory Theatre.
Details: July 8-Aug. 14; Berkeley Rep’s Peet’s Theatre; $21-$86; www.berkeleyrep.org.
“Brown v. the Board of Education”: At a time when the U.S. Supreme Court is making headlines seemingly every day, a stage presentation based on one of the court’s most momentous decisions — which struck down school segregation — plays in Alameda for two days only. The script from Dr. Cindy Acker is drawn from court transcripts as well as the Chief Justice Earl Warren’s memoirs.
Details: 8 p.m. July 9, 2 p.m. July 10; Altarena Playhouse, Alameda; $25; www.altarena.org.
A tribute to Linda
Pop, rock and jazz singer Linda Ronstadt boasts one of America’s most iconic song catalogs. Blessed with a powerful, evocative voice and a knack for thrilling interpretations of seemingly every tune she tackles, the 11-time Grammy Award-winner is a superstar of American popular music.
This weekend, her legions of fans are offered a treat when Stanford University hosts “A Celebration of the Music of Linda Ronstadt,” a concert touching on the full breadth of her career, from the pop-rock standards she performed with the Stone Poneys and as a solo artist, to her jazz/pop standards performed with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra. Taking on the chief vocals for the show is acclaimed cabaret/jazz/blues singer Ann Hampton Callaway, whose impressive catalog includes tributes to Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan. She is also an accomplished songwriter whose tunes have been recorded by artists ranging from Liza Minnelli to Carole King to Patti Lupone. And if you want to impress pals with some tasty trivia, know that she also wrote the theme song for TV’s hit sitcom “The Nanny.”
On Saturday, Hampton will be accompanied by the Stanford Live Orchestra, along with guest artists The Good Lovelies, a Canadian folk/country trio known for its heavenly harmonies; San Francisco singer and trumpeter La Dona, and San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow Anne-Marie MacIntosh.
Details: Presented by Stanford Live; 7:30 p.m.; Frost Amphitheater; $15-$140, with some VIP four-person tables available; live.stanford.edu.
— Bay Area News Foundation
A good weekend for comedy
Couldn’t we all stand a laugh right about now? Fortunately, this weekend features a great choice of comedians on area stages and clubs. Here’s a partial roundup.
Ryan Hamilton: The Idaho native has earned a big fanbase with his charming, PG-rated, self-deprecating humor. He lands in Walnut Creek this weekend to close the the Lesher Center for the Arts’ Headliner Series of performers.
Details: 7:30 p.m. Saturday; $32-$52; www.lesherartscenter.org.
Don Reed: The East Bay actor and comedian’s solo stage shows — a mix of superb autobiographical storytelling and sharp observations on life — are always a hoot. Due to popular demand, his hit pandemic-themed show “Going Out” is getting a revival at The Marsh in San Francisco.
Details: Saturday through July 30 (performances are 7 p.m. Saturdays); $25-$100; themarsh.org.
D.L. Hughley: The star of TV’s “The Hughleys” and of Spike Lee’s standup film “The Original Kings of Comedy” is always a great stand-up act, full of insightful observations about politics, race, popular culture and more. He’ll be at San Jose Improv this weekend for five shows.
Details: 7:30 and 9:45 p.m. Friday, 7 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, 7 p.m. Sunday; $40-$100; improv.com/sanjose.
Christopher Titus: The Newark native might be best known for creating and starring in the Fox TV series “Titus,” but he remains an in-demand standup act, with its anecdotes of his wild life. He’ll be at Tommy T’s in Pleasanton this weekend.
Details: 7:30 and 10 p.m. Friday, 7 and 9:45 p.m. Saturday; $25-$35; tommyts.com.
Tommy Davidson: Yoshi’s in Oakland is better known for hosting top-flight jazz acts, but this weekend, the venerable nightclub features the popular comedian best known as a integral part of the sketch comedy show “In Living Color.”
Details: 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, 7 p.m. Sunday; $36-$79; yoshis.com.
Concert picks: Festival Napa Valley; Merola opener
Here are a festival and a classical recital music fans should known about.
Sip. Relax. Listen. Repeat: What’s not to love about Festival Napa Valley?
A summer tradition that brings top stars to the wine country’s spectacular indoor and outdoor venues, this year’s festival boasts a full calendar of performances featuring symphonic concerts, jazz, opera, bluegrass, and dance, paired with food and wine events throughout the region.
Highlights include Festival Live! chamber concerts at the Culinary Institute of America at Copia (Saturday through July 22); an opening night concert with Carlo Ponti conducting the Festival Orchestra Napa (July 15); country star Trisha Yearwood performing at the Arts for All Gala (July 17); The Brubeck Brothers Quartet (July 19); Donizetti’s rom-com opera “L’elisir d’amore,” starring soprano Andriana Chuchman (July 22); and “Voice and the Violin,” featuring violinist Joshua Bell and soprano Larisa Martinez (July 23).
Details: Saturday through July 24 at various Napa Valley locations; concerts free-$35, special events, including the Arts for All Gala $150-$295; tickets, complete schedule and more information is at www.festivalnapavalley.org.
Merola opens with American salute: The 2022 Merola Opera Program has a full summer schedule in store, including a staged performance of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” in August. But you can check out this year’s singers Saturday afternoon when the season opens with a recital concert. “A Celebration of American Song” is curated by Grammy Award-winning vocalist, pianist and director Craig Terry, and features the Merola artists performing music by Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, George and Ira Gershwin and a host of other great songwriters.
Details: 3 p.m. Saturday; San Francisco Conservatory of Music; $55-$80; www.merola.org.
— Georgia Rowe, Correspondent
‘Lower Body’ debuts in Palo Alto
It’s not every day you see a play about the pap smear, a widely used test used to detect cervical cancer and other diseases.
But that is just what TheatreWorks Silicon Valley is offering, with the world premiere of “Nan and the Lower Body.” Jessica Dickey’s comedy-drama, an audience favorite at TheatreWorks’ 2019 New Works Festival, follows the work of Dr. George Papanicolaou, credited with inventing the test, and his assistant, Nan Day, and, as organizers put it, “explores the mysteries of the heart and provides a personal perspective to the revolutionary technology that has saved the lives of millions.”
TheatreWorks artistic associate and director of new works Giovanna Sardelli directs the work, leading an all-woman design team. Starring are Christopher Daftsios as Papanicolaou and Elissa Beth Stebbins as Day.
Details: In previews Wednesday through July 15, main run is July 16-Aug. 7; Lucie Stern Theatre, Palo Alto; $25-$95; theatreworks.org.
Correspondent Georgia Rowe contributed to this report.
Source: www.mercurynews.com