From the return of Jeff Lynne to a new work by renowned theater-maker Mary Zimmerman, there is a lot to see and do in the Bay Area this weekend.
Here’s a partial rundown
Mary’s ‘Magic Flute’ comes to Berkeley
For theaters fans, there’s a name that promises a magical, unforgettable visit to the stage — Mary Zimmerman.
The director and theater-maker is revered for her unique adaptions of classics stories — from “Metamorphoses,” to “The Arabian Nights” and “The White Snake” — which soar not just on the telling of the tale but on the eye-popping, imaginative visual effects and the performances as well.
Now Zimmerman is returning to Berkeley Repertory Theatre with what is sure to be a mesmerizing adaptation of Mozart’s classic “Magic Flute.” With a cast of 10 singers and five musicians, Zimmerman’s production has Tamino on his desperate quest to free captive princess Pamina. Being a Zimmerman show, the dragons, birdmen, and creatures and complications that pop up will be a wonder to behold. The Chicago Reader described the “Matchbox Magic Flute” as “a box of treasures, a haze of marvels, a banquet of dreams.”
Details: Oct. 18 through Dec. 8; Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theatre, Berkeley; tickets start at $47; berkeleyrep.org.
— Randy McMullen, Staff
3 hot concerts headed our way
Here are a trio of shows that should be on Bay Area music fans’ radars:
Jeff Lynne’s ELO: Jeff Lynne has one of the greatest songbooks in rock ‘n’ roll history — one that includes “Can’t Get It Out of My Head,” “Strange Magic, “Evil Woman,” “Do Ya,” “Sweet Talkin’ Woman,” “Mr. Blue Sky” and so many other winners from his glory days with the Electric Light Orchestra. And this might just be your last chance to hear him perform those songs live in Northern California as he brings the Over and Out Tour to Golden 1 Center on Oct. 23. Having just seen the ELO concert at Chase Center in September, we can confidently say that it’s well worth the drive to Sacramento to see this tour.
Details: 8 p.m.; tickets start at $66; ticketmaster.com.
Mykal Rose: The acclaimed Jamaican artist has been delighting reggae fans since the 1970s. The vocalist is best known for his work with the legendary group Black Uhuru, which he fronted from 1977 to 1984. Yet, he’s also delivered scads of well-received solo albums. Rose performs on Oct. 18 at Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley. DJ Sep opens the concert.
Details: 8 p.m.; tickets are $42.73 advance/$48.91 door; sweetwatermusichall.com.
Rend Collective: The Northern Ireland folk outfit has delivered a number of hit records over the years, including two offerings — 2015’s “As Family We Go” and 2018’s “Good News” — which have each reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Christian Albums chart. Rend Collective is also known for putting on highly enjoyable live shows. But don’t just take our word for it — go see the band when it brings its Feel-Good Folk Tour to the Church on the Hill in San Jose on Oct. 20.
Details: 7 p.m.; tickets start at $19.50; tprlive.co.
— Jim Harrington, Staff
Pachyderm-sized pumpkins are back
Did you know the world’s largest pumpkin was coronated last year at the annual Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival? The orange monstrosity was named “Michael Jordan” because it started off small and round like a basketball, then swelled to 2,749 pounds, looking like a deflated hot-air balloon and weighing heavier than the average black African rhinoceros.
But pumpkin science is always improving, and there’s a chance a world record holder will be crowned the winner at this October’s fest in Half Moon Bay. Now in its 52nd year, the event promises everything and anything for pumpkin lovers — plus live music and local arts — from gigantic gourds to pie-eating contests to pumpkin treats and beer. Watch the Great Pumpkin Parade with its costumes and colorful floats, then head over to see Farmer Mike – the “Picasso of Pumpkin Carvers” – perform surgery with his knife on grotesque Jack-o-lanterns. There’s the special village of “Pumpkintown,” a Most Beautiful Pumpkin Award judged by crowd cheering and a roving pumpkin-headed mascot called Gourdy.
The only nonpumpkin thing seems to be Matt Williams, the San Francisco Giants all-time great, who is serving as grand marshal of the parade.
Details: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; Main Street, between Mill and Spruce streets, Half Moon Bay; free, hmbpumpkinfest.com.
— John Metcalfe, Staff
Classical picks: Wagner, Philharmonia Baroque, SF Music Day
The classical music scene has something for every interest this week, from Wagner’s “Tristan and Isolde” at San Francisco Opera to a new program by the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. And adventurous music fans won’t want to miss the annual SF Music Day, offering dozens of appearances by a range of artists.
Wagner for the ages: Following San Francisco Opera’s thrilling fall productions of “Un Ballo in Maschera” and “The Handmaid’s Tale,” the company is about to open “Tristan and Isolde,” returning to Wagner’s transcendent score for the first time in 18 years. Company music director Eun Sun Kim conducts this opera of epic romance, with two top international artists — tenor Simon O’Neill and soprano Anja Kampe — in the title roles. Performances run 4-1/2 hours, with two intermissions.
Details: Sunday through Nov. 5; War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco; tickets start at $34; sfopera.com.
Wide-ranging works: In its October program, the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra is about to span the centuries, from medieval music by Hildegard Von Bingen to a contemporary piece by Caroline Shaw. In between, conductor Grete Pedersen leads works by Haydn and Mendelssohn, and Thomas Carroll is the basset clarinet soloist in Mozart’s late-life Clarinet Concerto in A Major.
Details: Today through Saturday in S.F., Palo Alto and Berkeley; $20-$132; philharmonia.org.
WholeLottaMusic: SF Music Day returns on Sunday, with artists appearing throughout the day on San Francisco stages in Herbst Theatre, the Green Room, and the Taube Atrium Theater. More than 80 acts are on the schedule, including the Sierra Ensemble, Quartet San Francisco, the Circadian String Quartet, Chelsea Hollow and Taylor Chan. Come in person or hear performances via live broadcast.
Details: Noon to 7 p.m. Sunday; San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center, San Francisco; free; register for tickets at intermusicsf.org/sf-music-day.
— Georgia Rowe, Correspondent
Art for a turbulent era
At a time when it’s hard not to focus on the tension, strife, controversy and bad mojo that seemingly swirl around us 24/7, here’s an exhibit that reminds us that the key to serenity lies within each of us.
That’s kind of the idea behind “Sentinels & Saviors: Iconic Avatars,” an exhibit currently on display at the Richmond Art Center. Featuring the works of Oakland-based artists Joell Jones and Kim Thoman, “Sentinels & Saviors,” as exhibit organizers put it, encourages viewers to “pay closer attention to themselves, their thoughts, and their feelings.” Jones works with a wide variety of mediums but it is her paintings on display here; she sees her colorful, abstract and ethereal works of various sizes as representing different facets of herself as she invites viewers to visit the “unknown world” in which her images take life. “I have painted a woman engaged in a struggle for transformation and my paintings portray her as a fluid, shape-shifting creature adrift in liminal environments,” Jones says.
Thoman’s works are defined by large, steel figures that in a sense are standing guard over Jones’s works, each with an oil painting on canvas at its center. He compares the works to Chinese Terracotta Warriors designed to offer protection in the afterlife. “When I was recovering from a serious illness, I decided I’d like an army of bodyguards for protection in this life,” he says.
Details: “Sentinels & Saviors” is on display through Nov. 21 at the Art Center, 2540 Barrett Ave., in Richmond’s Civic Center Plaza; hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays; free admission; free admission; richmondartcenter.org.
— Bay City News Foundation
Terrific trio hits Bay Area
Touring together for the first time are three celebrated artists — Grammy-winning double bassist and composer Edgar Meyer, genre-hopping violinist Tessa Lark and cellist and composer Joshua Roman. They stop in at Hertz Hall on the UC Berkeley campus at 3 p.m. Oct. 20 for a recital sponsored by Cal Performances.
First up on their program is an arrangement made for their instruments of Bach’s Sonata for Viola da Gamba in G Major. They will also perform three of Meyer’s compositions – Trio 1986, Trio 1988 and the Bay Area premiere of a new trio co-commissioned by Cal Performances which Meyer says was inspired by his meeting the other two artists and is meant to “complete the thought” of his first two trios. The artists will record the new piece following their tour.
Details: Tickets, $68, are available at calperformances.org.
— Bay City News Foundation