Bay Area arts: 9 great shows and exhibits to see this weekend
From 'Every Brilliant Thing' in Walnut Creek to Pacific Mambo Orchestra and great comedy in San Jose, there is a lot to see and do in the Bay Area.
There are a lot of great shows, films and exhibits to catch this weekend and beyond in the Bay Area, from a funny and poignant new play in Walnut Creek to the awesome Pacific Mambo Orchestra. Here’s a partial roundup.
A ‘Brilliant’ sense of sharing
At first blush, a play about someone who keeps a list of things that make him happy might seem like a little much. After all, the holiday period just ended, we’ve probably all had our share of real or imagined good cheer — the last thing we need is someone nattering away about how puppies and peanut butter cookies make him feel good.
But there is much, much, more to “Every Brilliant Thing,” the acclaimed solo show by Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe that begins in previews this week in Walnut Creek. In this case, the constantly evolving list — which also serves as a conduit to some clever and meaningful audience participation — is a response to the complicated mental state of the protagonist’s mother. It is both a defense mechanism and an avenue toward hope and healing.
Helmed by Bay Area director Jeffrey Lo and starring Oakland Theater Project co-artistic director William Thomas, “Every Brilliant Thing” is a joyful and entertaining reminder of the power of positive thinking and how compassion feels even better when it is shared with a roomful of people.
Details: In previews Jan. 6-7, main run is Jan. 9-28; Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek; $35-$40; Jan. 6-14 is pay what you can (suggested $25); www.lesherartscenter.org.
— Randy McMullen, Staff
Provocative art at Berkeley museum
Since Thursday, Jan. 4, is free admission day at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (as is the case with the first Thursday of each month), it’s a good day to check out two provocative new exhibits that opened there recently as part of the Matrix series that aims to shine a light on new experimental and non-traditional art works. “Gabriel Chaile: No hay nada que destruya el corazón como la pobreza” (There is nothing that destroys the heart like poverty) features the acclaimed Argentine artist known for his large-scale clay sculptures that incorporate Inca-influenced pre-colonial styles from his homeland with more contemporary effects and pointed social commentary. The exhibit centers on a new large work commissioned by BAMPFA and which Chaile will complete on-site. The exhibit runs through April 14.
Meanwhile “Sin Wai Kin: The Story Changing” features two video works from the Toronto-born artist and performer (who identifies as they/them), “Dreaming the End” (2023) and “The Breaking Story” (2022). Their works incorporate various personas – ranging from Cantonese and Peking opera characters to 1950s London drag performers to archetypal fashion models – to comment on conventional concepts of gender, beauty and identification. Sin’s exhibit runs through March 10.
Both artists are getting their first solo U.S. shows through the BAMPFA Matrix program. And while you’re there, you might want to check the museum’s exhibit “Duane Linklater: mymothersside,” the Canadian artist’s collection of large-scale sculpture and installations that challenge concepts of Native American life and art. That exhibit closes Feb. 25.
Details: The museum at 2155 Center St., Berkeley; hours are 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday; normal admission is $12-$14; bampfa.org.
— Bay City News Foundation
Botti’s back at SFJAZZ
Want to see Chris Botti in concert?
Well, you’ve got plenty of chances to do so as the famed trumpeter plans to perform eight shows in six nights, Jan. 9-14, at the SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco.
That’s a rare kind of a multi-show run for a jazz instrumentalist to enjoy, well, basically anywhere outside of New York City. Yet, Botti isn’t just any jazz instrumentalist. According to SFJAZZ, he’s “the world’s best-selling jazz instrumentalist.” Not coincidentally, he can draw the type of big crowd numbers to warrant eight consecutive shows in the same venue. And his early-2024 gigs at SFJAZZ are the chapters of a treasured tradition at the venue.
What’s so great about Botti? Let’s start off with his amazing tone and sense of lyricism, which pay off in various enchanting ways in both his studio recordings and on the live stage.
The list of all stars who have called upon Botti’s talents over the years include Buddy Rich, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Sting and, yes, even Frank Sinatra. The Portland, Oregon,-born trumpeter has also delivered so many popular albums of his own, including the 2009 platinum-selling live offering “Chris Botti in Boston.”
Details: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 9-12, 3 and 7:30 p.m. Jan. 13, 3 and 7 p.m. Jan. 14; $55-$175, sfjazz.org.
— Jim Harrington, Staff
Big band, big sound
There’s no doubt that the Pacific Mambo Orchestra has earned big-time cred in the music world. The Bay Area-based big band that formed 13 years ago won a Grammy Award for best tropical Latin album for its self-titled 2014 debut release. PMO has been invited to perform at such prestigious festivals the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland), Aspen Jazz Festival, Mexico City’s Tribute to Salsa event and of course the Monterey and San Francisco jazz festivals. And it’s been credited with helping ignite a rebirth in Latin big band music with its genre-spanning catalog of original tunes and classy covers of composers ranging from Stevie Wonder to Dizzy Gillespie to Sergei Rachmaninoff. Which is all fine and well but the 20-member band really just wants you to have a blast listening to its crisply-delivered music, preferably with your dancing shoes on. You have four chances to do that this week when the band, directed by pianist Christian Tumalan and trumpeter Steffen Kuehn, comes to Yoshi’s in Oakland for a weekend set.
Details: 8 and 10 p.m. Jan. 5 and 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Jan. 6; 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland; $32-$65; yoshis.com.
— Bay City News Foundation
From L.A., with attitude
Two Los Angeles female comedy stars on the rise are headed north this weekend to serve up the yucks at San Jose Improv.
On Jan. 5-6, the comedy joint hosts Jade Catta-Preta, a Brazilian-born comic and actor who’s known to perform in English and Portuguese and who might be best known for hosting the ill-fated 2020 comeback by the iconic talk-comedy show “The Soup,” which was yanked off the air by Covid complications, only to return and get yanked again when it was abruptly canceled. (If that doesn’t give you some comedic material, nothing can). She’s now hosting the Hulu humor-infused food/dating show “Hotties,” credited with holding together a show with the flimsy setting – couples meet and cook together in a sizzling desert locale – with her humor and personality. Known for high-energy, anything-goes stand-up show, Preta performs at San Jose Improv 7:30 and 9:45 p.m. Friday and 7 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday. Tickets run $20-$70.
On Jan. 7, comedian and actor Esther Povitsky takes the stage. She is known for her starring turns on the TV comedies “Dollface” and “Alone Together” (which she co-created), but might be better known for her popular, very tongue-in-cheek series of TikTok posts titled “Things Hot Girls in L.A. Are Currently Obsessed With.” The theme – she has dubbed herself “the Jane Goodall of L.A. hot girls” – continues to be prominent in her comedy routine. Povitsky performs at San Jose Improv 7 p.m. Sunday; tickets are $75 and going fast.
Details: Tickets and information at improv.com/sanjose
— Bay City News Foundation
Music for the new year
Berkeley-based but known across the country (the New York Times has called her “an intrepid illuminator of the classical avant-garde”), the superb pianist, new music champion and classical radio host Sarah Cahill kicks off 2024 with a concert of music that spans the 20th and early 21st centuries. Hosted by Old First Concerts, the event takes place at 2 p.m. Sunday in San Francisco’s Old First Church at 1751 Sacramento St. Works on the program are by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Amy Beach, Ruth Crawford, Terry Riley, Ann Southam and Evan Ziporyn. Tickets are $25 at oldfirstconcerts.org, where you will also find an option to livestream the concert for a suggested donation of $20.
— Bay City News Foundation
Bay Area awesomeness on screen
On screens big and small, 2023 turned out to be one of the most robust and dynamic entertainment years in some time. And Bay Area artists more than held their own. Here’s a series and a documentary the illustrates this point (both of which you can watch now). For a bigger list of Bay Area filmmakers 2023 triumphs, go to www.mercurynews.com/movies.
“I’m a Virgo”: Among the few series this year that has floored viewers with originality is Boots Riley’s seven-part Amazon Prime series. The Oakland resident, a gifted filmmaker, gave us the wildly entertaining “Sorry to Bother You,” and follows it with this tale about an Oakland boy/teen/man Cootie (Jharrel Jerome in a pitch-perfect performance) who is 13-feet tall and breaks free to experience life in a big way. “I’m a Virgo” is bold, hilarious and addictive. Details: Available on Amazon Prime.
“Stephen Curry: Underrated”: Say what? How could the four-time NBA champ and much-loved Golden State Warriors point guard ever be considered an underdog? Peter Nicks’ eye-opening documentary presents a case on why the description applies. The Oakland director charts Steph’s collegiate years and fledgling basketball career (2006-09) at Davidson College in North Carolina, where, under the guidance of coach Bob McKillop, he went from underrated to a top performer. Nicks also cuts from Curry’s Davidson years and the Warriors’ 2021-22 season, when commentators doubted Curry could help pull off another title. Spoiler alert! He did. Details: Available on Apple TV+.
A bigger roundup of Bay Area films and TV shows to catch is here.
— Randy Myers, Bay City News Foundation