On Tap: El Campanil Theatre to host Irish music concert March 16

ANTIOCH

Lions of the North, a Sacramento band, will perform an Irish music concert at 2 p.m. March 16 in El Campanil Theatre. The band plays mostly classic Irish songs as well as some originals. The band features a guitar, accordion, bodhran (Irish drum) and occasionally a fiddle and a keyboard.

Tickets are $32 for adults, $29 for seniors and $15 for youths. The theater is at 602 W. Second St. in Antioch. For tickets or more details, visit elcampaniltheatre.com online.

— El Campanil Theatre

Drama Factory play “Death of Triboulet” starts March 17

The Drama Factory will open its new play “The Death of Triboulet (a Comedy )” on March 17 at the Nick Rodriguez Community Theater.

Written and directed by Max Ballesteros, the story centers on Triboulet, the court jester to the king of France, in his own comedy of errors as he tries to save the king from death, all the while hoping to save his own life. This is an original production being staged for the first time. The show is suitable for most ages.

Masking is suggested but not required, and the runtime is about 90 minutes. Tickets for all of the performances are available at the box office on the date of each show as well as online in advance at dramafactory.org/tickets-triboulet. The theater is at 213 F St. in Antioch. For more details, visit dramafactory.org online or call 925-695-4123.

— The Drama Factory

LAFAYETTE

George Floyd’s aunt to discuss book March 13 at theater

Town Hall Theatre will host an evening with Angela Harrelson, George Floyd’s aunt and the author of “Lift Your Voice,” at 7 p.m. March 13 in the theater at 3535 School St.

Harrelson’s talk will give listeners a glimpse of her life that taught her the tenets of resilience and perseverance. She’ll also share how her life changed for the better when Floyd joined her in Minneapolis and how she’ll spend the rest of her life fighting for justice to ensure that the name of her late nephew is never forgotten. Dennis Markam, the theater’s managing director, says Town Hall is the perfect venue for Harrelson’s visit.

“This building has been a community gathering place since it was first built, so it feels right (for this) event.” Markam says. “It was shortly after George Floyd’s murder that we at Town Hall suspended almost all of our programming so that we could fully rebuild in a way that is not only more equitable but anti-racist.”

Harrelson will read from her book, “Lift Your Voice: How My Nephew George Floyd’s Murder Changed The World,” then have a question-and-answer session led by Sharon Sobotta, a journalist who directs the Center for Women & Gender Equity at St. Mary’s College. This is a pay-what-you-can event, and all ticket revenues will go to the George Floyd Global Memorial.

Young Playwrights Festival announces winners, show date

Town Hall Education’s annual Young Playwrights Festival is back and in-person. The Young Playwrights Festival is a part of Town Hall Education’s Young Playwrights Program, which connects Bay Area theater professionals with local high school students to create, write and develop new theater pieces.

From the many talented writers, four finalists have been chosen whose plays will be performed by professional actors at the Young Playwrights Festival at 7 p.m. March 12 in the Town Hall Theatre.

The 2023 Young Playwrights Festival finalists are “It’s Not a Heist,” written by Ella Bradley and Colin Perusse; “May Lilies Do Die” by Amelia Soong; “Not For Myself” by Hannah Johnson; and “The Three Surgeons” by Ivan Smith.

Tickets are open to the public and “pay-what-you-can.” The community is encouraged to cheer on these young playwrights. Town Hall Theatre is at 3535 School St. in Lafayette.

Town Hall Theatre to present drama ‘The Shape of Things’

Town Hall Theatre will present a story of love, art, connection and deception in Neil LaBute’s “The Shape of Things” as part of its Main Stage season. When normal, boring Adam and unconventional and exciting Evelyn meet in a museum, Adam’s life is changed for the better … or worse. A young student drifts into an ever-changing relationship with an art major while his best friends’ engagement crumbles, unleashing a drama that peels back the skin of two modern-day relationships.

Featuring amazing, thoughtful and honest performances from Linda Maria Girón, Alejandro Eustaquio, Andrew Mondello and Mayreni Sweis under the direction of Salim Razawi, “The Shape of Things” will raise questions about truth, beauty and trust.

“My first encounter with ‘The Shape of Things’ was early on in the pandemic,” said the play’s director, Salim Razawi. “A group of artists and I were trying to nurture our artistry without being able to gather in a theater safely, so we gathered virtually to read and discuss plays. This particular work resonated with me, because one of the overarching themes is art and love.”

Performances will be March 24-25, and tickets are $25 to $40. The March 24 show will be a “pay-what-you-can” performance. Note that masks are required for theater-goers. The theater is at at 3535 School St. in Lafayette. For more information, call 925-283-6673.

— Town Hall Theatre

ANTIOCH

Students to perform ‘Into the Woods’ at El Campanil Theatre

El Campanil Theatre Academy’s students will perform “Into the Woods” in the theater Friday through March 12. The play will be directed by Rachel Kaiulani Kennealy with Susan Stuart directing the vocals. Music and lyrics are by Stephen Sondheim, and the play is based on a book by James Lapin.

In “Into the Woods,” the the audience is led on a journey through the darker side of fairy tales, exploring the breakdown of a community, the pain that parents pass on to their children and the moral gray areas that we encounter every day.

Each character has a wish: The Baker and Baker’s Wife long for a child; Jack wants to keep his cow Milky White; and Cinderella dreams of attending the King’s Festival. As they set out on their journeys, each story becomes altered and intertwined, and by the end of Act I, everything seems to come to a happy ending. But a force larger than all of them is still looming large, and the unintended consequences of their choices have just begun.

El Campanil Theatre is at 602 W. Second St. in Antioch. For more details, visit elcampaniltheatre.com online.

— El Campanil Theatre

WALNUT CREEK

See ‘California Remembered’ exhibit through March 18

Valley Art Gallery’s new exhibit through March 18, “California Remembered,” features work from the well-known Bay Area artist Maralyn Miller. Miller works in oils and pastels, painting the golden rolling hills and dramatic coastlines of California. She loves to capture the rhythm of the lights and shadows as they sweep across the horizon.

Also on view are an additional 300 works of art in all styles and media, along with a large selection of fine crafts and jewelry by local artisans. The gallery is at 1661 Botelho Drive and is open Tuesday through Saturdays. Visit valleyartgallery.org online or call 925-935-4311 for more information.

— Valley Art Gallery

ORINDA

Theater to show Oscar submission from Sweden on March 24

The International Film Showcase in March will present Sweden’s “Cairo Conspiracy,” an Academy Awards submission and Cannes Film Festival prize winner. The Tarik Saleh film will open March 18 at Napa’s Jarvis Conservatory and then be shown March 24 at the Orinda Theatre.

The film story centers on Adam, the son of a fisherman, who is offered the privilege to study at the Al-Azhar University in Cairo, the center of power in Sunni Islam. Adam, however, becomes a pawn in the conflict between Egypt’s religious and political elites.

For Orinda Theatre showtimes or more information about the International Film Showcase, visit orindamovies.com or internationalshowcase.org online.

— International Film Showcase

Submit area arts-and-entertainment On Tap items to Judith Prieve at jprieve@bayareanewsgroup.com.