On Tap: ‘Peter Pan,’ ‘Dreamcoat’ and more

ANTIOCH

‘Peter Pan’ coming to Nick Rodriguez theater

The Drama Factory stages “Peter Pan”  through March 23 at Nick Rodriguez Community Center theater, 213 F St.

The J.M. Barrie play is being presented through special arrangements with the Samuel French publishing company. The classic tale tells of Peter Pan, his troupe of lost boys, accompanied by the Darling children and all their adventures in Neverland. There’s also the villainous Captain James Hook and his band of cut-throat pirates who also prowl the island, waiting to clash with the lost boys and Neverland braves.

“Peter Pan” will play March  22, 23 at 7:30 p.m. and March 17, 23 at 1:30 p.m. The March 17 matinee is free to seniors.

General admission is $10; seniors $8. For more information, go to www.dramafactory.org

ANTIOCH/WALNUT CREEK

Chamber Orchestra present ‘Italian Nights’

The Contra Costa Chamber Orchestra will present “Italian Nights” at 2 p.m. March 23, El Campanil Theatre, 602 W. Second St., Antioch, and at 2 p.m. March 24, Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek.

Tenor Alex Frankel, currently based in New York City but raised in Walnut Creek, joins the Contra Costa Chamber Orchestra for performances celebrating some of the world’s most beloved Italian music.

Cost: $7 for students, $15 for seniors and $20 general admission.

For El Campanil tickets, go to www.elcampaniltheatre.com. For more information, go to https://bit.ly/2UmZ5dZ

PITTSBURG

‘Technicolor Dreamcoat’ to mark PCT’s 40th anniversary

With “a crash of drums, a flash of light,” “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” opens at the California Theatre on the eve of Pittsburg Community Theatre’s 40th anniversary of incorporation. Performances begin April 5 and run three weekends, closing with a special performance on Easter Sunday at 4 p.m.

Noted for its family-friendly storyline and universal themes, the musical combines a wide variety of musical styles – everything from country to calypso to rock ‘n’ roll — in a series of memorable musical numbers.

The show is a re-imagining of the Biblical story of Joseph, his father Jacob, 11 brothers and the coat of many colors. Told entirely through song with the help of a main character, narrator (Bobbie Barlow), the musical follows the journey of Jacob’s “favorite son,” Joseph (Luke Cannon).

Under the direction of Keith Barlow, Joseph brings one of PCT’s largest casts to the California Theatre’s stage, 43 in all, including a youth choir. Other featured players include: Lou Esposito II as Pharaoh, John Arnold as Potiphar, Shelley McDowell as Potiphar’s wife, David Ward as Jacob, and the brothers, Phillip Leyva, Justice Krugman, Ethan Davis, James Bradley, Jr., Spencer Barlow, Johnathan Carlson, Brian Doolittle, Kyle Jacques, Thomas James, Julien Rivera, and Elijah Waller.

Performances are at April 5, 6, 12, 13, 20 at 8 p.m., April 7, 13, 14 at 2 p.m., holiday matinee – April 21 at 4 p.m.

Tickets are available through the box office at the California Theatre or online.  Tickets are $20-$25 with group tickets available when purchasing 10 or more for a single performance.

The California Theatre is at 351 Railroad Ave. Call for tickets at 925-427-1611 or
go to www.PittsburgCaliforniaTheatre.com

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY

‘Dark Crime’ film to be shown at Rheem theater

The International Film Showcase presents the South Korean film “Dark Crime” at the Rheem, through March 21.

This film centers around Hyung-min (KIM Yoon-seok), a prominent police detective who lives to solve criminal cases. With the help of an informant, he meets Tae-oh (JU Ji-hoon) who claims that he was hired to kill someone 10 years ago. Just when he is about to confess where he buried the body, another team of police detectives snatch him away for an arrest. A month later, Tae-oh calls Hyung-min from prison and confesses that he actually killed seven more people and will give him clues if he visits.

For more information, go to http://internationalshowcase.org/ or to watch a trailer, go to https://youtu.be/vz3wTvzC1vY

ORINDA

Arts Council hosts  ‘Live Poets Society’

Lamorinda Arts Council’s Poet Laureate, Amy Glynn, will host the monthly Reading Series, “Live Poets Society,” at Orinda Books 276 Village Square, Orinda.

The featured writers for March 24 will be Sojourner Kincaid Rolle and Connie Post. Rolle is a poet, playwright, peacemaker, and community activist, and was 2015-2017
Poet Laureate of Santa Barbara. She is the author of “Common Ancestry” (Mille Grazie Press, 1999) and “Black Street” (UCSB Center for Black Studies Research, 2009). Her bilingual book of poems for young people, “The Yellow Mellow Global Umbrella,” was published in 2019 by Lucky Penny Press. Her recent work has been published in several anthologies, including “To Give Life a Shape” (SBMA, 2017) and “Looking Backward, Moving Forward” (SBMNH, 2018).
Her first full-length book, “Floodwater” (Glass Lyre Press) won the Lyrebird Award.

Every month an amateur youth reader will also be invited to present his/her writings. There is no charge for this event. More details can be found at https://lamorindaarts.org/poet-laureate

BRENTWOOD

Tickets on sale for ‘Treasury of 10-Minute Plays’

Tickets are on sale now for Ghostlight Theatre Ensemble’s “Festival10 – Treasury of 10-Minute Plays,” a one-day play festival showcasing the breadth of talent in East Contra Costa County.

During this March 31 event, you’ll be treated to numerous short plays produced “black box” in an arena-style setting, enabling you to focus on the stories and characters you’ll meet throughout this very special day.

Each short play has its own director and cast, supported by Ghostlight’s Artistic Director, Helen Dixon. You’ll recognize many of the faces you’ll see, but some will be gracing our stage for the very first time.

There will be two performances of two separate sets of plays, one at 3 and another at 7 p.m. at the Brentwood Community Center.

Seating is limited, so advance purchase is highly recommended.
For tickets, go to www.ghostlightte.org/main-stage-festival10.htm

WALNUT CREEK
‘Spontaneous Brothers Grimm’ to be staged at Lesher

Synergy Theater, the troupe that brought “Improvisors in Space: A Spontaneous Starship Adventure!” and “Spontaneous Shakespeare!,” returns to the Lesher Center for the Arts for a brand-new show, “Spontaneous Brothers Grimm: The Improvised Collection.”

This will be world premiere, an improvised evening of one-act plays in the style of a Brothers Grimm fairy tale. Performances are April 18-20 at 8:15 p.m. and April 21 at 3:15 p.m.

Artistic Director Kenn Adams, explains how the show will work: “The audience will make up the title and the first line of a Grimm-sounding fairy tale, and we’ll start improvising from there. Since the fairy tales were originally published as collections, we’ll improvise several different one-act fairy tales throughout the course of the show.”

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online at www.lesherartscenter.org or by phone at 925-943-7469.

The Lesher Center for the Arts, George and Sonja Vukasin Theatre is at 1601 Civic Drive.

WALNUT CREEK
Festival Opera’s recital features Shana Blake Hill

Festival Opera’s 2019 Season Artist Recital Series featuring soprano Shana Blake Hill is set for 7:30 p.m. March 21 at the Lesher Center for the Arts, Margaret Lesher Theater.

Blake Hill returns to Festival Opera, singing the works of Handel, Fauré, Dvorak, Ricky Ian Gordon, Carlisle Floyd and more. In partnership with the Contra Costa School for the Performing Arts, exceptional vocal students have been selected to precede her performance. An alumna of Los Angeles Opera’s Resident Artist Program, Blake Hill made her Festival Opera debut in 2017 as Tosca in Love, Lust & Laughter. She has performed with LA Opera, Dayton Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Opera Pacific, The Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Seattle Symphony and many others.

In addition, Contra Costa County School for Performing Arts will perform at 7:30 p.m. May 28, and Susannah, by Carlisle Floyd, at 8 p.m. July 12 and 2 p.m. July 14, all at  the Lesher Center for the Arts. Zachary Gordin is the artistic director.

For more information, go to www.festivalopera.org.

BRENTWOOD
Auditons set for Ghostlight’s musical ‘Honk!’

Ghostlight Theatre Ensemble is seeking actors of all ages to audition for its largest show of the season, the  summer main stage production of “Honk!”

Auditions will be held on April 3 and 4 from 6 to 9 p.m., and April 6 from 10 a.m. to  1 p.m. You’ll be asked to sign up for an audition appointment on one of those dates. Callbacks will be held on April 7 from 2 to 6 p.m., so block that date in your calendar as well.

All roles are available, with the exception of the Bullfrog, who will be portrayed by Bart Schneider.

For full details and to sign-up for auditions, visit: http://ghostlightte.org/main-stage-honk.html. For further information, contact Helen Dixon at helen@ghostlightte.org.

CONCORD
‘Landscapes of the Mind’ art show continues

The Concord Art Association hosts “Landscapes of the Mind,” a wild ride from the natural world to the exciting, abstract world of fantasy, through March 30 at the Concord aRt Cottage.

Nearly 30 members from the Concord Art Association are showing their visions of landscapes through paintings, photography, collage and more at the show.

The show is at 2238 Mt. Diablo St.

For more information, go to http://artscottage.blogspot.com/2019/02/landscapes-of-mind-march-show.html?m=1

MORAGA
Art gallery to open new ‘Woods’ exhibit

The Moraga Art Gallery will host a new exhibit, “Into the Wood(s),” an homage to trees, opening on the first day of spring, March 20.

Watercolor landscapes by George Ehrenhaft, the show’s featured artist, capture the arborial splendor of the Eat Bay and beyond — from the Pacific shore to peaks of the Sierra. The featured guest artist, Duke Herrero, has created museum-quality wooden objects — utensils, table-top boxes, footstools, cutting boards, and more — all hewn and lovingly shaped from a variety of trees from everyday walnut and cherry to exotic ipe and cocobolo.

The show, which runs until June 1, also includes work  by one of the Bay Area’s most celebrated painters, Teresa Onoda, and also the ceramics, fused glass, jewelry, and tree-themed photos by the gallery’s fourteen members and other guest artists.

At a free opening reception on March 23 from 5 to 7 p.m. the public is invited to meet the artists, enjoy a glass of wine and light snacks accompanied by live music.

The gallery, located in the Rheem Shopping Center, at 522 Center St., Moraga, is open Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. For more information, visit www.moragaartgallery.com or call 925-376-5407.

DANVILLE
New free art exhibit at Blackhawk Gallery

The Alamo Danville Artists’ Society will host Blackhawk Gallery’s new exhibit “Artistry.”

The exhibit will be on view seven days a week through April 21. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

The “Artistry” exhibit features one guest artist and 40 member artists. Guest artist Jean Cherie will be showing her Raku sculpture pieces. Members’ artworks include paintings, drawings, sculptures, ceramics, photographs, and wearable art.

The exhibit is curated by Shadi Kiaee, Kerima Swain and Beverly Turner.

The Blackhawk Gallery is at 3416 Blackhawk Plaza Circle in the Blackhawk Plaza. Call 925-648-8023.

LAFAYETTE
Town Hall Theatre to present ‘Brooklyn Bridge’

Next up in Town Hall Theatre’s  “Lost & Found” season is the California premiere of Melissa James Gibson’s “Brooklyn Bridge,” a play full of heart and humor for the whole family.

The play will have 12 performances through March 23, at Town Hall Theatre Co., 3535 School St. in Lafayette.  Tickets are $18 to $30, and are available through the Box Office at 925-283-1557 or online at www.TownHallTheatre.com.

WALNUT CREEK
Bedford Gallery presents ‘Altered’ art exhibit

Guest-curated by Heather Marx, “Altered States” features artists across generations living and working along the California coast who harness natural elements or the environment to create their artwork at The Bedford Gallery through March 24.

The artists work in a wide range of media and share a passion for creating art that is about process and reclamation. This exhibition highlights the natural cycles of our complex environment and offers patrons an opportunity to slow down and reflect on how we are all interconnected by the sun, moon, air and tides.

Artists include: Kim Abeles, Mari Andrews, Chris Duncan, Tanja Geis, Sonja Hinrichsen, Jay McCafferty, Klea McKenna, Sam Perry and Victoria Wagner.

For more information, check out bedfordgallery.org/alteredstates

WALNUT CREEK
Valley Art Gallery to open ‘Splash’

The Valley Gallery’s will host “Splash!, featuring 300 fresh pieces for its 70th annual spring show March 30 through May 1.

From abstracts to zoomorphics to everything in between, the work represents the best of the best by East Bay artists — with all works available for sale or rent.

Opening reception will be from 3 to 5 p.m. March 30.

Also on hand is a wide-ranging juried selection of locally created fine crafts and jewelry.

Valley Art Gallery is a volunteer-run, nonprofit organization that has been representing artists of the Bay Area since 1949.

The gallery is at 1661 Botelho Drive, Suite 110. Go to www.valleyartgallery.org or call 925-935-4311.

 

Do you have an arts or entertainment item to submit? Write to Judith Prieve at jprieve@bayareanewsgroup.com.