While most performing arts groups are working hard to get patrons back into theaters, Silicon Valley Shakespeare is going to have its audience out in the open air for this month’s production of “A Christmas Carol.”
The performance will be held among the Victorian-era houses and buildings at San Jose’s History Park.
During the show, which opens Friday night, the audience will walk from scene to scene as Ebenezer Scrooge faces up to his past, present and future — and if you really want to get into the spirit of things, dressing up in Dickensian apparel is definitely encouraged.
There’s another aspect to the immersive show that local fans of “A Christmas Carol” should appreciate, too. This is the adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic story by Richard Orlando, founder of San Jose’s Northside Theater Company, which produced it annually for 37 years in a row until the COVID-19 pandemic.
Orlando died in 2016, and Northside shut down operations last year. But “A Christmas Carol” co-directors Angie Higgins and Doll Piccotto say Orlando’s legacy lives on through this production, which will include many longtime Northside performers in the cast. “Richard was a mentor and friend who lives on in our hearts and whose inspiration has had a profound ripple effect in the Bay Area artistic community and beyond,” they say in the show notes, adding that two of Silicon Valley Shakespeare’s founders — Dinna Myers and Sara Betnel — met while doing a show under Orlando’s mentorship.
The show, which runs Thursdays through Sundays until Dec. 18, takes place both outdoors and indoors and you can expect to clock about 1,000 steps along the way. For people with mobility concerns, the 2 p.m. show on Dec. 11 will be performed in one location with traditional seating (which will also happen in case of rain). Go to svshakespeare.org for more details and tickets.
BATON TRYOUT: With San Jose Wind Symphony Maestro Edward C. Harris planning to retire next May, the group is searching for just its third conductor in its 64-year history. And the four finalists for the job are getting the chance to show what they can do in front of a live audience by being a guest conductor for a show this season, which has been appropriately titled “Passing the Baton.” And I bet you thought you’d had some high-pressure job interviews.
The audition tour started when Craig McKenzie, director of bands at San Jose State, took the baton for October’s “Changing Tides” program. Next up is Troy Davis, director of instrumental music and jazz studies at West Valley College, who’ll lead the symphony for Sunday’s concert at the McAfee Center in Saratoga, “Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Out of the Blue.” The guest conductors for the next two concerts haven’t been announced, but you can stay updated and get tickets at www.sjws.org.
HOLI-DAZED WEEKEND: Boom, it’s suddenly December — and that means the monthly South First Fridays art walk in downtown San Jose also returns this week. That’s good news for holiday shoppers looking for something creative who can head to Kaleid Gallery on the corner of First and San Carlos streets for the annual “Hark!” holiday show and sale. More than three dozen artists from the San Jose area have contributed more than 100 works of art, with prices as varied as the mediums.
If you’re in the mood for music, swing by the California Theatre lobby at 7 p.m, when the Symphony San Jose Chorale will be singing Christmas carols. And then stick around to watch a free open rehearsal by Symphony Silicon Valley in the auditorium at 7:30 p.m.
• During Sunnyvale’s annual tree-lighting festivities on Saturday night, Mayor Larry Klein will unveil the gingerbread village created this year by community members including students from Santa Clara, Wilcox and Westmont high schools, bakers from the charity Cake4Kids, and local businesses including the Sugar Table, Fozzie’s Kitchen and City National Bank. The festivities — which include lots of entertainment — get started at 5 p.m., and the village will move to the lobby of the Sunnyvale Public Library from Dec. 4 through Jan. 7.
• There’ll be plenty going on in Campbell on Saturday, too, as the Carol of Lights returns at 3 p.m. on Campbell Avenue downtown with a petting zoo, donkey rides, face painting and music and dance performances. Of course, there’ll be visits with Santa, but organizers say there won’t be the usual snow play area this year. Guess you can leave the sleds at home this time.
Source: www.mercurynews.com