There are a lot of great shows to see this weekend in the Bay Area, from Smuin Ballet reviving two greatest hits to a the return of the Golden Gate Park Bandshell and a “Magic Flute in Livermore.
Smuin Ballet in a celebratory mood
Smuin Contemporary Ballet, the popular San Francisco troupe known for its evocative works that range from somber to silly to sassy, is turning 30 this year and is celebrating the milestone by reviving two favorite pieces created by company founder, the late Michael Smuin.
In five performances today through Sunday, the troupe will perform Smuin’s “Zorro!,” a work that centers on a movie theater usher who dreams on becoming the swashbuckling masked hero. The work is set to music by Grammy- and Emmy-winning composer Charles Fox and features some stunning special fighting and swordplay choreography created by famed fencer Richard Lane. The company is performing the work for the first time since 2006.
Also on the bill is Smuin’s joyous tribute to great American crooner Frank Sinatra, “Fly Me to the Moon.” The work is set to some of singer’s warmest and best-loved hits, including the titular toon, as well as “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “I Won’t Dance,” “That’s Life” and (naturally) “New York, New York.” The 20-year-old work is being revived for this program.
Details: Performances are 7:30 p.m. today and Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday; Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco; $25-$99; www.smuinballet.org
— Randy McMullen, Staff
Classical picks: ‘Poem of Fire,’ Saariaho Celebration, ‘Magic Flute’
An alluring double bill at San Francisco Symphony, a “Saariaho Celebration,” an award-winning tenor in recital, and a magical “Flute” at the opera: here are four events music lovers won’t want to miss.
Dark and deep: Davies Hall is the place to be this week, as the San Francisco Symphony pairs Scriabin’s “Prometheus: The Poem of Fire” with Bartók’s “Duke Bluebeard’s Castle.” In three performances conducted by music director Esa-Pekka Salonen, the double bill program features pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, vocalists Michelle DeYoung and Gerald Finley, and narrator Breezy Leigh; Jenny Wong directs the SF Symphony Chorus. Colored lighting, and “scent effects” by professional perfumer Mathilde Laurent, contribute to the atmospheric experience.
Details: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday; Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco; $39-$169; www.sfsymphony.org.
Saariaho Celebration: The Bay Area has heard enough of Kaija Saariaho’s music to know that the late Finnish composer was a master — and that we want to hear more. Now the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble presents “Butterflies, Moons, and Mirrors: A Saariaho Celebration,” featuring her works for flute, cello, and piano. The program also includes music by Prokofiev, Kay Rhie, Monica Chew and Tomàs Peire Serrate.
Details: 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Berkeley Piano Club; 4 p.m. Sunday at Noe Valley Ministry, San Francisco; $5-$35; leftcoastensemble.org.
Mozart’s “Magic”: Livermore Valley Opera opens its new production of “The Magic Flute” this weekend; sung in English, and directed by Yefim Maizel, the cast features artists Victor Cardamone as Tamino and Phoebe Chee as Pamina, with Shawnette Sulker (Queen of the Night), Alex DeSocio (Papageno) and Kirk Eichelberger (Sarastro.)
Details: 7:30 p.m. Saturday and March 9; 2 p.m. Sunday and March 10; Bankhead Theater, Livermore; $20-$105; LVOpera.com.
— Georgia Rowe, Correspondent
Bandshell gets back to work
The iconic Golden Gate Park Bandshell – aka the Spreckels Temple of Music – was constructed as part of a major San Francisco exposition more than 120 years ago. So, yeah, the stately venue, which was a gift to the city from industrialist Claus Spreckels, is going to require a little fixing up from time to time. The bandshell — one of the oldest and largest of its kind in the country — has been closed for renovations for nearly a year but springs back to action this weekend as the host of a 125-show free concert series that runs into November.
The series, organized by the city Recreation and Parks Department and Illuminate, a nonprofit seeking to promote public arts projects, kicks off from 4 to 7 p.m. March 1 with a concert headlined by Berkeley-based indie soul/pop band Cardboard People. Also on the bill are San Francisco singer/songwriter/rapper Jane the Message and DJ NObe. The extensive schedule of free tunes will follow a theme: singer/songwriters from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesdays; a 4:30-to-7:30 p.m. Happy Hour on Fridays and reggae from 4:20 to 7:30 p.m. Sundays. There will also be extra shows added to the mix, such as March 2, when Bryan Dyer, Teacher Barb and the Musicmakers and more performers take the Bandshell stage from noon to 4 p.m.
In all, acts representing rock, R&B, soul, jazz and big band, funk and more are slated to take the stage. And during March, Women’s History Month, the lineup will feature almost exclusively female or female-fronted acts. The concert series has actually been going on since Golden Gate Park’s 150th anniversary in 2020, when the Bandshell and surrounding facilities received a $1 million renovation that upgraded the stage, sound and lighting systems.
Details: All shows are free; for more information and full schedule, go to illuminate.org.
Bad Bunny brings juggernaut tour to Bay Area
After breaking onto the international scene with the multiplatinum single “Diles” in 2016, Bad Bunny quickly became one of the world’s most popular artists. And he has not looked back.
Just check the Puerto Rican rapper’s stats on Spotify for proof. By 2019, he was the fifth most-streamed artist on the music site. One year later, he came in at No. 1, a position he held for three consecutive years until Taylor Swift finally managed to nudge Bad Bunny into second place in 2023.
He’s also an absolute beast on the Billboard 200, where his 2022 album, “Un Verano Sin Ti,” spent an amazing 13 weeks at No. 1. His latest album (and fifth overall), “Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana,” also topped that same chart.
Bad Bunny is supporting “Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana” — which translates to “Nobody Knows What Is Going to Happen Tomorrow” — with his Most Wanted Tour, a blockbuster trek includes more than 40 shows in more than 30 cities — including three stops in Northern California.
Details: Bad Bunny performs March 1-2 at Chase Center in San Francisco, and March 5 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento; all shows 8 p.m.; tickets start at $200 (subject to change); ticketmaster.com.
— Jim Harrington, Staff
From Provincetown, with love
The current push in many areas to restrict and retrench the rights of members of the LGBTQ community is a sad reminder that certain people have throughout history been attacked and punished simply for wanting to express an identity or pursue a lifestyle that doesn’t jibe with more conservative elements of society. Another aspect of this history is at the center of “Unpacking in P-Town,” a world premiere play opening this week at the New Conservatory Theatre Center in San Francisco.
Jewelle Gomez’ work centers on four former vaudevillian performers making their annual trip to Provincetown to enjoy some fun and sun in the East Coast’s queer summer capital. But it’s 1959 and civil rights battles of all sorts are taking off, and for Buster, Lydia, Minty, and Scottie, the times are a changin, raising complications in their usual vacation plans. Gomez’ work is the third part of a trilogy (following “Waiting for Giovanni,” about author James Baldwin, and “Leaving the Blues” about singer and activist Alberta Hunter) looking at performers and authors during pivotal periods of LGBTQ and civil rights history. “Leaving the Blues” also got its world premiere at New Conservatory.
Details: In previews March 1-3; main run is March 6-31; New Conservatory Theatre, 25 Van Ness Avenue, near Market Street; $20-$48; nctcsf.org.
— Bay City News Foundation
He’s just clowning around
Youngsters onstage with clown Unique Derique in Berkeley portray a rain cloud watering a flower in a pot, and a rainbow popping up. It’s truly charming, and among many delights in “Fool La La: Gift,” running this weekend and next at The Marsh.
Toddlers as young as 3 will enjoy the festivities, but so will older folks, who also get invited to partake in the shenanigans in the spotlight. And while the audience participation sections of “Fool La La” are particularly invigorating, it’s also a riot to watch Unique Derique’s skillful physical comedy. He juggles hats of multiple shapes and colors, rings that glow in the dark, bowling pins, and even a wispy feather he manages to balance on his chin. Oh, and he balances a full-sized unicycle on his face.
Fully engaged in the 21st century, Derique (his alter ego is Lance McGee, a wellness consultant and coach) also packs high tech into his show, with colorful and light displays, references to artificial intelligence, robotics and electronics. He’s also known for his dynamic “hambone” body percussion, and invites patrons for juggling and hambone workshops after each show. And in observance of Black History Month, he’s starting each performance during this run with a tribute to African American artists.
Details: 1 p.m. March 2 and 9; The Marsh Berkeley (also available for streaming); $20-$100; themarsh.org.
— Bay City News Foundation
Sneak peeks from West Edge
West Edge Opera is presenting its eighth incarnation of a unique event, this one labeled Snapshot 2024, twice this weekend — at 7 p.m. March 2 at the Hillside Club in Berkeley and 3 p.m. March 3 at the Taube Atrium Theater in San Francisco. Working with the Earplay Chamber Ensemble and several singers, the company will present excerpts from four new operas, one after the other. In the lineup are composer Kennedy Verrett and librettist George Kopp’s “Madame Theremin,” based on the life of the black ballet dancer who married Russian electronic music pioneer Leon Theremin; Matt Boehler and Tony Asaro’s “The Road to Wellville,” inspired by novelist T.C. Boyle’s novel of that name about John Harvey Kellogg’s infamous health spa; composers Hovia Edwards and Justin Ralls’ “Nu Na-Hup: Sacajawea’s Story,” with the libretto provided by Rose Anne Abrahamson, the great-great-grandniece of the Native American woman who guided the Lewis and Clark expedition; and the first documented work about the AIDS epidemic in San Francisco, “Least of My Children,” written by the late composer-librettist team of Loren Linnard and Donald Brigg and rediscovered by Linnard’s son, Dean. Hovia Edwards is also one of the singers; others include Katy Pracht, Daniel Cilli, Molly Mahoney, Rayna Campbell, Wilford Kelly and Sergio Gonzalez.
Details: $45 general admission; westedgeopera.org.
— Bay City News Foundation