On Tap: Brentwood’s Ghostlight Theatre presenting ‘Drowsy Chaperone’

BRENTWOOD

East Contra Costa County’s Ghostlight Theatre Ensemble will continue “The Drowsy Chaperone” Aug. 11-13 in the Theatre at Edna Hill at 140 Birch St. in Brentwood.

The musical, which opened Aug. 4, is a loving send-up of Jazz Age musicals, featuring one show-stopping song and dance number after another. “The Drowsy Chaperone” won five Tony Awards, including Best Book and Best Original Score.

With the houselights down, a man in a chair appears on stage and puts on his favorite record: the cast recording of a fictitious 1928 musical. The recording comes to life, and “The Drowsy Chaperone” begins as the man in the chair looks on.

Mix in two lovers on the eve of their wedding, a bumbling best man, a desperate theater producer, a not-so-bright hostess, two gangsters posing as pastry chefs, a misguided Don Juan and an intoxicated chaperone, and you have the ingredients for an evening of madcap delight.

Hailed by New York Magazine as “the perfect Broadway musical,” “The Drowsy Chaperone” is a masterful meta-musical, poking fun at all the tropes that characterize the musical theater genre. Tickets for adults are $28 each; for seniors and students, $25. They can be purchased at the door or over the phone from Kathryn at 925-354-2117.

— Ghostlight Theatre Ensemble

ORINDA

Gallery exhibits black-and-white San Pablo Valley photos

In an exhibit hosted by the Lamorinda Arts Council at the Orinda Library, East Bay photographer Jeff Heyman is showcasing a unique series of 28 black-and-white photographs of the San Pablo Valley.

The exhibit is running now through Sept. 2 in The Art Gallery at Orinda Library, 26 Orinda Way in Orinda. The gallery is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The small, intimate photographs draw the viewer into a range of light and shadow that capture the moodiness of the San Pablo Valley’s classic California landscape. The alternately sun-lit or fog-covered images invoke the light and dark moods characteristic of the valley’s changing scenery, the San Pablo Reservoir and San Pablo Bay.

Heyman, a Bay Area native, first took photography classes at San Ramon Valley High School in Danville. He went on to earn a fine art photography degree from San Francisco State University, studying under such photographers as Catherine Wagner, Don Worth, Jack Welpott and Melanie Walker and painters Paul Pratchenko and Robert Bechtle.

Heyman, who lives in Orinda, has had his work exhibited in solo and group shows. His photographs are regularly featured in the Lamorinda Weekly and Orinda News. His work, including the San Pablo Valley photographs, can be viewed onilne at heymanfoto.smugmug.com.

— Lamorinda Arts Council

DANVILLE

Village Theatre to host performance of Piaf’s music Aug. 19

The Village Theatre and Art Gallery will host an evening of Parisian music by famed French singer Edith Piaf at 7 p.m. Aug. 19. The Bay Area’s SonoMusette, featuring Parisian singer Mimi Pirard, will perform Piaf’s music and other famous songs from the 1900s in honor of the liberation of Paris during World War II.

The musical group will transport you back to the Paris that is often romanticized within our imaginations. Pirard’s powerful and emotional interpretations of these classic songs will provide a fresh and exciting take that remains faithful to the spirit and tradition of the original music.

The musicians of SonoMusette weave musette accordion, piano, guitar, upright bass and drums to create a musical tapestry for these enchanting songs and melodies. The concert will also feature a set of music made famous by other iconic French performers of the era.

From her beginnings as a child singing on the streets of Paris to becoming an international star, Piaf remains at the forefront as the voice of French music. Much of Piaf’s music resonated with her own personal life as she specialized in chanson and torch songs about love, loss and sorrow. Known as “The Little Sparrow,” Piaf ascended beyond Paris to worldwide fame through timeless classics such as “Padam,” “Milord,” “L’Accordéoniste” and “La Vie En Rose.”

Tickets for this event are $35, and advance purchase is strongly recommended. To purchase tickets, visit danville.ca.gov/vtshows online. For more information, contact John Dunn, the performing arts program coordinator, at 925-314-3418 or jdunn@danville.ca.gov.

— Village Theatre and Art Gallery

Artists group shows ‘Motion’ exhibit at Blackhawk Gallery

The Alamo Danville Artists’ Society has opened a new show at its Blackhawk Gallery. The “Motion” exhibit features sculptures by guest artists Michael Rizza and jewelry artist Nancy Hoover’s works as well as art by 28 member artists. Members’ artworks include paintings, drawings, sculptures, ceramics, photographs and wearable art.

The exhibit is curated by Debby Koonce, Andrea Schwartz and Julia O’Reilly and will continue through Oct. 22. The gallery is at 3416 Blackhawk Plaza Circle. For more information, call 925-648-8023 or go online to blackhawkgallery.org or adas4art.org.

— Alamo Danville Artists’ Society

BRENTWOOD

Chorus welcomes new members, prepares for fall season

Want to get your holiday spirit started early? The Brentwood Community Chorus, under the direction of Susan Stuart, is preparing for an exciting fall season and welcomes new members.

Starting Aug. 15, the Brentwood Community Chorus will meet from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays in the Brentwood Community United Methodist Church at 809 Second St. and is open to all ages and abilities.

Rehearsal tracks are provided when you register so you can practice on your own if you can’t make it on a Tuesday. Registration information is available online at brentwoodcommunitychorus.com/join_us.

— Brentwood Community Chorus

Hear diverse Friday lineups at Concerts in the Park series

The city of Brentwood has put together a diverse lineup of entertainment for its Friday night Concerts in the Park series.

Since 2000, the series has connected families and friends and provided a free, fun-filled event that has become a Friday night summer tradition. Over the years, some 100,000 community members have danced, picnicked and played while experiencing a variety of performing arts entertainment in downtown City Park.

The series will continue Friday with: Smooth Sounds of Santana (a Santana tribute band); and Thunder Cover (Top 40 dance) on Aug. 18.

— city of Brentwood

MORAGA

‘Wonders of Man and Nature’ exhibit to open at art gallery

For years in the Bay Area, photographer Wenda Pyman and acrylic painter Linh Kang have opened viewers’ eyes to uncommon features of the world. Starting Aug. 16, both artists will be featured in a new exhibit, “Wonders of Man and Nature,” at the Moraga Art Gallery in the Rheem Shopping Center at 432 Center St. in Moraga.

For this exhibit, Pyman focused her camera on the lines, curves and shadows found on beautiful buildings, while Kang shows lotus blossoms awash with color emerging from murky waters, reminding us symbolically that every new day brings fresh eternal hope.

On view until Oct. 22, the show also includes work by more than two dozen gallery members and guest artists. A free reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Aug. 19. The public is invited to view the art, chat with the artists, enjoy wine, light snacks, tasteful music and the company of fellow art lovers. For more information, visit moragaartgallery.com online or call 925-376-5407.

— Moraga Art Gallery

WALNUT CREEK

‘Three Feathers’ opera’s West Coast premiere Sept. 8-10

Concord opera company Solo Opera is preparing its largest, most ambitious opera to date, “The Three Feathers,” with music by award-winning composer Lori Laitman and a libretto by former poet laureate Dana Gioia.

This family-friendly, 85-minute show will be sung in English and run Sept. 8-10 in the 785-seat Hofmann Theater at Walnut Creek’s Lesher Center for the Arts. A fairly new opera, written in 2013 and premiering in 2014 at Virginia Tech’s Center for the Arts, “The Three Feathers” has been produced from the East Coast to Singapore.

With Solo Opera’s production, the full opera is finally premiering on the West Coast. Based on a fairytale by the Brothers Grimm, the opera follows Princess Dora not as a damsel in distress but as a heroine. A magic feather leads the shy, self-doubting princess to an enchanted underworld ruled by a giant Frog King.

She summons her courage and compassion to face a series of mysterious and comic adventures in the underworld that change her life. Completing her quest, she saves her father’s kingdom from the plots of her selfish sisters and earns her right to the crown.

“We chose this opera, not only for its beautiful music and charming libretto, but for the important messages it shares about the power of women, believing in yourself and finding real treasure in life,” said Sylvia Amorino, Solo Opera’s executive director.

A 20-piece orchestra will be led by maestro Alexander Katsman, and librettist Dana Gioia, a former California poet laureate, will give a lecture. For tickets or more details, visit soloopera.org/upcoming-performances online or call at 925-943-7469.

— Solo Opera

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