California Symphony explores the sphere of incredibly gifted people who influenced Gustav Mahler in its “Mahler’s Inner Circle” concerts, including one recently presented at the Hoffman Theatre at Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek, CA. Featuring contralto Sara Couden performing Alma Mahler’s ‘Fünf Lieder’, the California Premiere of Hans Rott’s ‘Symphony No. 1’, and Alexander Zemlinsky’s ‘Lustspiel Ouvertüre’. This program continues the orchestra’s adventurous 2022-23 season, celebrating its 10th season under Music Director Donato Cabrera, introducing works never before performed by the California Symphony, and featuring an all-women line-up of soloists.

     Alma Mahler was an accomplished composer who relinquished her work to marry Gustav Mahler, with the five songs in her ‘Fünf Lieder’ being the only works published during her husband’s lifetime. Throughout her life, Alma became the muse of many celebrated writers, composers, and artists – from Gustav Klimt to Alexander Zemlinsky, Gustav Mahler, Walter Gropius, Oskar Kokoschka, and Franz Werfe. Klimt and Kokoschka painted her; she married Mahler, and following his death, Gropius and then Werfel. During her marriage to Mahler, she had an affair with young architect Walter Gropius, who helped her edit and publish the five songs that make up Fünf Lieder. They will be performed by Walnut-Creek based Sara Couden, a premiere interpreter of operatic, chamber, and song repertoire who has appeared at major opera companies including the Metropolitan Opera and San Francisco Opera, as well as Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Seattle Symphony.

     Abhann Productions has announced that the 25th anniversary production of Riverdance will continue its critically acclaimed tour in over 50 cities across North America in 2023 with a limited engagement at San Jose’s Center for the Performing Arts (255 S. Almaden Blvd.) from Friday, May 12 through Sunday, May 14, 2023. The San Jose engagement of Riverdance is presented by Broadway San Jose, a Nederlander presentation.

     The performance schedule for Riverdance 25th Anniversary Show is as follows: Friday, May 12 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, May 13 at 2 p.m. & 8 p.m.; Sunday, May 14 at 1 p.m. & 6:30 p.m.

     Riverdance completed a successful 40-city North American Tour which marked the dance phenomenon’s long-awaited return to stages after the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. The 2022 tour included a sold-out, two-week inaugural run at Washington DC’s historic Kennedy Center, a special performance for President Joe Biden and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and national television appearances on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, Good Morning America, GMA3 and Watch What Happens Live. The 2023 Tour recently kicked off with a special performance on America’s Got Talent, seen by over 7 million people across the country.

Welcome back San Francisco Playhouse (450 Post Street)! The opening night performance of “Clue” played to an excited packed house! This production, currently playing through April 22, 2023, brings the beloved board game “Clue” to the stage in a hilarious farce-meets-murder mystery. Murder and blackmail are on the menu as six mysterious guests arrive at Boddy Manor for an unusual dinner party. When their host turns up dead, they all become suspects and race to find the killer as the body count rises. Based on the cult-hit 1985 film, which was inspired by the classic Hasbro board game, “Clue” has been deemed “a welcome throwback to an era of physical comedy” by The New York Times. This uproarious comedy whodunit is certain to leave both cult-fans and newcomers in stitches as they try to solve the mystery.

San Francisco Playhouse Co-Founder and Producing Director Susi Damilano helms a starry cast of theatre talents who personify the game’s iconic characters. Bay Area theatre veteran Stacy Ross returns to San Francisco Playhouse as Mrs. Peacock, the batty wife of a Senator while another Bay Area theatre veteran, Michael Gene Sullivan, takes on the role of Professor Plum, an academic Casanova.

The Bankhead Theater in Downtown Livermore, CA. has a little something for everyone this month in a March Music celebration, with concerts and performances to satisfy every appetite. From nostalgic tones with the “Ronstadt Revue,” featuring Gesenia and special guest John Beland, on Wednesday, March 22 to a performance for families to come together at “Somos Amigos – Songs on Common Ground,” on Sunday, March 19, this month fills The Bankhead with melodies and tunes for all ages. Smooth jazz will even take over with Peter White on Saturday, March 25.

The Bankhead invites families to come together for an all-ages concert at “Somos Amigos – Songs on Common Ground.” Friendship is at the heart of this joyful collaboration between Mexican songstress Sonia De Los Santos and the Americana folk duo, The Okee Dokee Brothers. This bilingual program includes old and new songs that span the musical traditions of North America and illustrates the collective power of singing together and learning from each other. With an adventurous spirit and a shared vision of peace and understanding, Somos Amigos encourages young and old alike to explore, dance, sing, and laugh together hand-in-hand.

     Tropicana Las Vegas is excited to announce the opening of pool season for the Iconic South Beach-themed Tropicana Pool. The 2023 pool season will kick off on March 17 and guests can expect the new season to come with exclusive new menu food and drink options as well.

     Vegas comes alive when the weather warms up and the legendary Tropicana Pool has been a pool to been seen at for many years. New for 2023 Tropicana Las Vegas will celebrate “Tequilas in the Desert” as well new menu options such as Tequila-Infused Seasonal Fruit, Shrimp Tacos, Burrito with freshly grilled Carne Asada or Chicken, Tequila’s Famous Super Stacker and to go with the season’s theme of “Tequilas in the Desert,” an all-new large party Tequila Sampler platter that serve 4-6 people.

Guitars tuned. Mic checked. Get ready to rock as contemporary Dengue Fever hits and Cambodian oldies come together in perfect harmony to take you through past and present Cambodia as Lauren Yee’s Cambodian Rock Band performs at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre through April 2, 2023.

  Immerse yourself in the darkly electric story of a father and daughter set against a grim chapter of Cambodian history. As this intimate rock epic reaches its riveting crescendo, get ready to meet your new favorite band, the Cyclos.

     A dramatic, intriguing new exhibit, “Bay Area Figurative: Emerging from Abstraction,” is on display this spring at the UNCLE Credit Union Art Gallery through April 23, 2023. This gallery exhibition centers on one of the major art movements with direct roots in the Bay Area, Bay Area Figurative, and highlights the significance of this Movement, considered the first significant North American art movement to be based on the West Coast. The public is invited to experience this exciting exhibit at the UNCLE Credit Union Art Gallery at the Bankhead Theater in Downtown Livermore, CA.

The Oakland Zoo has a number of exciting events that the public is invited to attend this spring.

On March 15, 22, 25, 29, and April 1 the public is invited to take your next Zoo visit to a while new level by touring the Oakland Zoo’s state-of-the-art Veterinary Hospital. This behind-the-scenes tour will take you through a facility designed to accommodate all current and future animals at the Oakland Zoo.

Then, on April 3-7 and 1i0-14 the Oakland Zoo has two fun-filled sessions of Spring Break ZooCamp, and you’re welcome to join the Zoo’s staff for one or both! Each session will include all your ZooCamp favorites including games, songs, assemblies, animal close-ups, Zoo tours, Behind-the-Scenes, and more!

Broadway San Jose, a Nederlander Presentation, will present the San Francisco Bay Area premiere of “Pretty Woman: The Musical” at San Jose’s Center for the Performing Arts (255 S. Almaden Blvd.) beginning Tuesday, March 21 and running through Sunday, March 26, 2023.

“Pretty Woman: The Musical” is based on one of Hollywood’s most beloved romantic stories of all time. Starring Broadway superstar and Tony Award®-nominee Adam Pascal as Edward Lewis and newcomer Jessie Davidson as the charming and charismatic Vivian Ward, “Pretty Woman: The Musical” springs to life with a powerhouse creative team led by two-time Tony Award®-winning director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell (“Hairspray,” “Kinky Boots,” “Legally Blonde”).

The Bankhead Theater in Livermore, CA. is set to take its audiences on a music trip around the world this month. From its talented neighbors to the North bringing us Canadian Brass on February 19, to a now fifth visit back to Livermore with the 23rd International Guitar Night on February 24, The Bankhead is celebrating musicality from beautiful cultures all over the globe this month. Both of these international performances will be right in the Tri-Valley at the beautiful Bankhead Theater in Downtown Livermore, CA.

Over the President’s Day holiday weekend, the Bankhead will be presenting Canadian Brass. With an international reputation as one of the most popular brass ensembles today and an imagination and consummate musicianship that has elevated the art of the brass quintet to what it is today, Canadian Brass has truly earned the distinction of “the world’s mot famous brass group.” Masters of concert presentations, Canadian Brass has developed a uniquely engaging stage presence and rapport with audiences. Each of their concerts shows the full range from trademark Baroque and Broadway hits, to new compositions and  arrangements created especially for them – from formal classical presentations to music  serve up with lively dialogue and theatrical effects. The hallmark of any Canadian Brass performance is having a spirit of fun – but never at the expense of the music, performed with utmost dedication, skill, and excellence.

by Ed Brice

Center Repertory Company’s adaptation of Obie Award-winning Cuban American author Caridad Svich’s compelling play “Red Bike” examines a crumbling American dream and the economic-social-cultural divide through the eyes of an 11-year-old growing up in small-town America. Trying to determine how to belong in a divided country, a child fixes her hopes on a red bike that encompasses all the possibilities the world might have to offer. Directed by acclaimed Bay Area director Jeffrey Lo, “Red Bike” presents an imaginative performance of highly choreographed theatrical storytelling.

Bay Area theatre veterans Adrienne Kaori Walters and Amy Lizardo co-star in this production. As the play’s two characters, M (Amy Lizardo) and A (Adrienne Kaori Walters), are the two halves of that 11-year-old’s mind; they are playmates and foils, sidekicks and enemies all in one. Walters turns her lines into little gems, as if she’s always finding the quiet way to read aloud from a diary. Lizardo is very convincing, having the ability to level with audience members, and enlist them into her many moods.

by Darlene Jurow

“Chopin in Paris” is an enchanting ‘play with music’ on the life of the renowned pianist and composer, Fryderyk Chopin, having recently been presented at the Hofmann Theatre at Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek, CA.

This production takes audiences on a musical trip to the City of Light as the California Symphony continues its season featuring all female soloists; currently having Austrian-Romanian pianist Maria Radutu returning to take center stage as she performs Frédéric Chopin’s ‘Piano Concerto No. 1 (in E minor, Op. 11)’.

By Ron Friedenthal

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley is ringing in 2023 with the West Coast Premiere of Ali Viterbi’s “In Every Generation.” This celebration of Jewish tradition, following one family through four millennia of Passover dinners, past, present, and future, is both provocative and thought provoking. As the multi-generational, multi-cultural Levi-Katz family asks, “Why is this night different from all other nights?” they find they all have different answers as they struggle with questions of race and religion that have yet to be resolved. Maybe that is the perspective of watching  “In Every Generation.”  The theme of Passover is freedom and after all of this time, the question remains:  Will we ever be free?

It is obvious as the scenes developed that the Passover theme was used to show the importance of family, tradition, and the strength of Jewish independent thinking.  As the four scenes of the play unfold, they show the perspective of the family members, their lives and how they interact with each other throughout three generations.  The play also shows the importance of everyone following their own path, even it falls outside traditional norms.

Hammer Theatre Center (101 Paseo De San Antonio) in San Jose, CA. invites audiences to escape to the Italian Riviera during its National Theatre Live (NT Live) screening of Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing,” directed by Simon Godwin (“Twelfth Night,” “Anthony and Cleopatra,” “Romeo & Juliet”). Filmed in front of a live audience at the National Theatre in London, this beloved comedy of new beginnings features Katherine Parkinson and John Heffernan in a new production reset in the 1930s. This gleeful production takes place in the legendary family-run Hotel Messina visited by artists, celebrities, and royalty. When the owner’s daughter falls for a dashing young soldier, the hallways are ringing with the sounds of wedding bells. However, not all guests are in the mood for love, and a string of deceptions soon follow. Met with critical acclaim, “Much Ado About Nothing” has been hailed as “a blissful revival”  and “sweet, sparkly, sexy, somber, and touching.” The NT Livescreenings of “Much Ado About Nothing” will be presented at 7:00pm, Thursday, February 2 and 2:00pm, Sunday, February 5, 2023 at the Hammer Theatre Center. For tickets ($20) or more information, the public may visit hammertheatre.com or call (408) 924-8501.

     Fresh off her acclaimed performance in last year’s Academy Award winning film CODA, actress and activist Marlee Matlin will tell the story of her life, Hollywood career, and activism in a Bankhead Theater presentation Thursday, Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m. In partnership with the Rae Dorough Speaker Series, The Bankhead is thrilled to bring to Livermore, CA. “An Evening with Marlee Matlin.” The Apple TV+ film “CODA” won the 2022 Academy Award for Best Picture and Matlin previously won the Oscar for Best Actress for her performance in the 1986 drama “Children of a Lesser God.” Deaf since age 18 months, Matlin is a staunch advocate for inclusion, acceptance and access. Her presentation will be offered in ASL and translated by an interpreter.

     BroadwaySF, part of the Ambassador Theatre Group, has announced that award-winning actor William Shatner, the Emmy® Award-winning actor who came to fame portraying Captain James T. Kirk on the original “Star Trek” television series, has signed on to provide special co-narration for the all-new concert tour, “Our Planet Live in Concert.”  Based on the Netflix original documentary nature series, the tour will play BroadwaySF’s Golden Gate Theatre (1 Taylor Street, San Francisco) on Saturday, March 4 at 8 PM.

     Audiences will experience the magic of “Our Planet” with the most memorable clips from the series projected on a large HD screen. Like the series, the live show is narrated on-screen by David Attenborough, who has brought the natural world to living rooms all over the world.

Charles Dickens’ endearing “A Christmas Carol” has beautifully withstood the test of time, and CenterREP’s stage production, currently playing at the Hofmann Theater at the Lesher Center for the Arts (1601 Civic Drive) in Walnut Creek, CA. through December 22, is the perfect way to welcome in this holiday season. It’s a charming story, brimming with music and dance, love and laughter, as well as compelling characters. Spectacular special effects throughout the show add to the excitement and surprise of the play, and even really scary ghosts, who, when introduced on stage, really gives the audience a scare!

It’s the most ‘bricktastic’ time of the year! Tis’ the season to make new traditions with holidays at LEGOLAND. The entire resort is bursting with holiday cheer through January 8, 2023, including a 30-foot LEGO Christmas tree that twinkles to holiday tunes.

Favorite holiday characters sare back and ready for hugs, pictures and selfies, and festive food offerings are plentiful.

From 4-D Movies to the LEGO Friends Beach Mission, LEGOLAND California offers entertainment to delight every member of the family. The Park is also filled with more than 60 kid-powered, kid-tastic rides, shows and attractions all built for fun!

     The 80-city “Disney Junior Live On Tour: Costume Palooza” national tour recently kicked off in California, and is geared toward Disney Junior’s most beloved super fans.

     The show brings beloved Disney Junior characters and favorite Marvel Super Heroes together live on stage for an immersive, interactive concert-style show with singing, dancing, 3D special effects, acrobatics, and more, with cirque-level performances, including trampoline routines from renowned acrobatic director John Brady. It features favorite songs from hit Disney Junior series, as well as new original music.

     It’s showtime! BroadwaySF, part of the Ambassador Theatre Group, presents ‘BEETLEJUICE: THE MUSICAL“ -- the ghost with the most that makes it’s San Francisco debut. ‘BEETLEJUICE is currently performing at Broadway SF’s Golden Gate Theatre (1 Taylor Street), San Francisco, CA. through December 31, 2022.

     Based on Tim Burton’s beloved film, “BEETLEJUICE” tells the story of Lydia Deetz, a strange an unusual teenager whose life changes  when she meets a recently deceased couple and Beetlejuice, a demon w ith a thing for stripes. When Lydia calls on Beetlejuice to scare away anyone with a pulse, this double-crossing specter unleashes a (Nether)world of pandemonium, and the biggest sandworm Broadway has  ever seen.