From a transcendent pianist to the Oakland Gay Men’s Chorus to a night at the movies with Symphony San Jose, there are a lot of great shows to catch this weekend and beyond.
Here’s a rundown.
2 Threesomes will light up Bay Area stages
Two terrific trios have upcoming dates scheduled in the Bay Area.
Jazz fans definitely should known about the one featuring three of the greatest artists working in the genre today — pianist Brad Mehldau, bassist Christian McBride and drummer Marcus Gilmore.
Mehldau, who the The New York Times describes as “the most influential jazz pianist of the last 20 years,” is a simply spellbinding pianist who is particularly well known for his work in the trio format. McBride is arguably the most acclaimed and accomplished bassist of his generation, an adventurous musical spirit who has won eight Grammy Awards and captivated listeners with various projects. Gilmore is a powerhouse drummer who has worked with Chick Corea, Nicholas Payton and others.
That group performs April 2 at Stanford University’s Bing Concert Hall (live.stanford.edu); April 3-6 at SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco (sfjazz.org); April 7 at Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz (kuumbwajazz.org).
We’d also be interested in checking out the super trio featuring banjo master Béla Fleck, great drummer Antonio Sánchez and talented harpist Edmar Castañeda at the Presidio Theatre in San Francisco.
These acclaimed artists — with Fleck and Sanchez both ranking as multiple Grammy winners — perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and then two shows, at 2 and 7 p.m., on Sunday. Visit presidiotheatre.org for more information.
— Jim Harrington, Staff
OMG! It’s the OGMC
When times are tough and it’s near impossible to see light at the end of the tunnel, sometimes the only thing you can do is – cue lights and music – siiiiiinnng!
This March, fans of big-singy productions can get their fill at a double-header spring concert from the Oakland Gay Men’s Chorus. Celebrating the ascension of its new artistic director, Bruce Southard, the chorus group – which despite its name includes straight, lesbian, trans and other folks – has planned a 90-minute concert of proven bangers called “Every Voice Matters.” We’re talking the “Ragtime” anthem “Make Them Hear You,” Paul Simon’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “This Is Me” from the “The Greatest Showman” and other hits that strike at the heartstrings.
“This powerful concert embodies our mission: ‘To give voice through song to a community where everyone matters,’” the organizers say. “Celebrate a program filled with heart, harmony and the stories that unite us all.”
Details: 7:30 p.m. March 29, 4 p.m. March 30; Odell Johnson Performing Arts Center, Laney College, Oakland; $34-$55;oaklandgmc.org.
— John Metcalfe, Staff
Classical picks: Oakland Symphony, movie tunes
As March wraps up this weekend, the classical music calendar continues to come on strong. With performances at the Oakland Symphony and Symphony San Jose, and an early-April Cal Performances appearance by the great Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes, here are three performances music lovers won’t want to miss.
Armstrong conducts: Kedrick Armstrong has been music director of the Oakland Symphony for just under a year, but he’s already put a winning stamp on the orchestra; last November, he delivered a powerful performance of Shawn Okpebholo’s “Two Black Churches” that lingered in the memory. This week, he’ll be on the podium to conduct Gabriela Lena Frank’s “Three Latin-American Dances” in a side-by-side performance with the Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra. The program also includes Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” and “Forgiveness: Suite for Spoken Word and Orchestra” by composer Daniel Bernard Roumain and poet Marc Bamuthi Joseph.
Details: 8 p.m. March 28; Paramount Theatre, Oakland; $25-$90; oaklandsymphony.org.
Movies and music: The Oscars are over for 2025, but movies are still on one organization’s mind as Symphony San Jose prepares for a special concert honoring the essential contributions of film composers. “Hollywood Spectacular” features music from James Horner’s “Titanic,” Erich Korngold’s “Adventures of Robin Hood,” Henry Mancini’s “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” and a dozen additional film scores.
Details: 7:30 p.m. March 29, 2:30 p.m. March 3; California Theatre, San Jose; $35-$121.50 general; youth tickets also available; symphonysanjose.org.
Norwegian virtuoso: Pianist Leif Ove Andsnes returns to Berkeley on Tuesday evening for a special solo concert, one that reflects his deep connection to music of his native Norway. Presented by Cal Performances, his program features Edvard Grieg’s piano sonata, and also includes Geirr Tveitt’s “Sonata Etere,” another work with deep Norwegian roots.
Details: 7:30 p.m. April 1; Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley; $63-$106; calperformances.org.
— Georgia Rowe, Correspondent
‘Fat Ham’ settles in
Does “Fat Ham” include a 2025 take on the world’s most famous stage soliloquy?
You’ll have to see for yourself now that James Ijames’ contemporary take on Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” has opened in its Northern California premiere at San Francisco Playhouse.
North Carolina native Ijames sets “Fat Ham” in the modern-day South, with the protagonist, a Queer Black college student named Juicy, seeks to snap his family’s string of violence even though his his father’s ghost is demanding bloody retribution.
Directed by actor and theater-maker Margo Hall, a longtime mainstay of the Bay Area stage scene, “Fat Ham” blends humor, poignancy, a dance party and of course the Bard’s magic in a production that explores family history and individual identity, as well as the roots of pain, love, loss and loyalty.
Ijames’ play won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for drama. The SFP production stars Devin A. Cunningham as Juicy.
Details: Through April 19; San Francisco Playhouse, 450 Post St., $35-$135; sfplayhouse.org.
— Randy McMullen, Staff
Poetry, stories, resilience
Two organizations dedicated to preserving history and cultural traditions are joining forces on Thursday to present a special night of Latina poetry reading and storytelling. The event is titled Legacy.Legado and is presented in honor of Women’s History Month by the San Jose Museum of Art and the La Raza Historical Society of Santa Clara County. The event features poetry and stories presented by a dozen Bay Area women writers, and while there are no assigned themes, organizers say the readings will likely gravitate toward Latina history and culture and the special brand of resilience women need to preserve their heritage and strive for a better future.
Among the writers scheduled to present are Rosanna Alvarez, co-founder of Eastide Magazine and author of “Braided (Un)Be-Longing”; Arlene Biala, a San Francisco author and performance and former Poet Laureate of Santa Clara County; Elidia Esperanza Benites, a Gilroy-based poet known for incorporating family members and issues in her works; Rita Duarte Herrera, a dancer, teacher and storyteller who grew up in Santa Clara’s Valley of Hearts Delights; and many more.
Details: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. March 27; San Jose Museum of Art, 110 South Market St.; free; sjmusart.org.
— Bay City News Foundation
‘Mousetrap,’ she wrote
Agatha Christie’s works harken back to a more innocent time when not a drop of blood needed to be spilled to present a thoroughly engaging murder mystery. Not that there’s anything necessarily wrong with more gruesome fare, but we feel there’s a reason why folks flocked to the Christie-like “Knives Out” movies. A good mystery peppered with a dash of humor makes for a lovely time at the theater, in the cineplex or curled up on one’s couch.
In addition to her 66 novels and 14 short story collections, Christie penned 33 plays, spurred, in part, by her dissatisfaction with how others had adapted her works for the stage. Her runaway stage blockbuster remains “The Mousetrap,” which debuted in London in 1952 and, aside from COVID cancellations, has remained on stage there ever since. This is despite the fact that it includes neither of her two most revered detectives, Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple. What it does have, however, is one of the theater world’s all-time great twist endings – it’s so legendary that each production of the play includes a plea to audience members to not give anything away to future viewers. That tradition is being upheld in San Jose, where City Lights Theater Company is presenting the iconic whodunit, directed by Doll Piccotto.
Details: Extended through April 12; $38-$63; cltc.org
— Bay City News Foundation
Soaring with swans
“Swan Lake” remains one of the most storied, and most performed, works in ballet history, one that began as an 18th-century composition by Thaikovsky that was an unmitigated flop. It fared better after choreography was added a year later that established the story line fashioned from European folk tales about a princess being turned into a swan by an evil sorceress. The music and choreography have been tweaked and adapted countless times over the years, with many versions drawing from the 1895 version created in St. Petersburg by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov. While the dance and its score are justifiably seen as a Russian creation, the piece has a significant Bay Area history as well. The San Francisco Ballet staged the first full production of the work in the U.S., as something of a gift to the city’s sizable Russian population. Company founder and director William Christensen was chief choreographer, and his brother Lew was cast in the lead male role of Prince Siegfried.
Now Walnut Creek’s Diablo Ballet is marking its own history with the ballet – dedicating its 31st anniversary program to “Swan Lake Suite,” an abridged, one-hour, 15-minute production that incorporates highlights from Acts 2, 3 and 4, including the black/white swan pas de deux, a flurry of swans and the finale. Additional choreography is featured by Christopher Lam and Sean Kelly. Performances are 6 p.m. March 28 and 2 and 7:30 p.m. March 29 at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek. Following the Friday performance is Diablo Ballet’s annual gala, and following Saturday’s matinee there is a free reception with a chance to meet the cast and choreographers.
Details: Tickets for performances are $30-$58; www.diabloballet.org.
— Bay City News Foundation