Arts & Events

Verismo Opera -more-

BEACH BLANKET BABYLON This long-running musical follows Snow White as she sings and dances her way around the world in search of her prince. Along the way she encounters many of the personalities in today's headlines, including Nancy Pelosi, Condoleezza Rice, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Harry Potter, Tiger Woods, Oprah Winfrey, Britney Spears, Dianne Feinstein, Barbara Boxer, Hillary Clinton, George and Laura Bush, Michael Jackson, Martha Stewart, Tom Cruise, Angelina, characters from Brokeback Mountain and Paris Hilton. Persons under 21 are not admitted to evening performances, but are welcome to Sunday matinees. -more-

A GREAT GOOD PLACE FOR BOOKS -more-

BERKELEY REPERTORY THEATRE -more-

MEYEROVICH GALLERY -more-

CALVARY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH -more-

Verismo Opera -more-

• The revenge of a hunchbacked jester ... Rigoletto, one of Verdi's greatest works, will be performed by Verismo Opera onstage at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar at Arch, Sunday at 3, with Chris Wells as Rigoletto and Eliza O'Malley as Gilda, also featuring Marsha Sims, Darron Flagg, Kat Cornelius and John Milagro, accompanied by a piano-string quartet. $15 in advance, $18 at the door. ($12 for students/seniors) 800-838-3006 (or brownpapertickets.com); info: (707) 864-5508
• The only Bay Area appearance of Hindustani sarod master Rajeev Taranath, a four decade disciple of Ali Akhbar Khan, will be this Friday at 8, at Rudramandir, 830 Bancroft at 6th. rajeevtranathconcert@gmail.com; rajeevtaranath.com $20/$15

Zenshinza at Zellerbach; Palomino at the Aurora; SubShakes Reads -more-

Last night I sat next to this woman on an airplane. She was frenetic, sometimes frantic, and irrepressible, half in her own head, and talking incessantly. Bit of an overbite with a lower lip that seldom had any part in forming the words, resulting in a lisping sibilance that smacked of the girl that people avoided in high school and still do in the supermarket line. Apparel of the bag-lady quality. Sitting next to her began as torture, but in overhearing snatches of her story, and with a little heartbreaking mishap that brought all the passengers together, I grew quite fond of her during the hour and ten minute flight. She sort of made beauty out of loss. -more-

Now that the excitement over the Giants victory and the elections has mercifully subsided, normalcy has finally returned to the East Bay. If you feel the need to "lighten up" and lift your spirits, there's a lot going on in November; you just have to make choices. -more-

924 GILMAN ST. All ages welcome. -more-

ASIAN ART MUSEUM OF SAN FRANCISCO The Asian Art Museum-Chon-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture recently unveiled its new building in San Francisco's Civic Center. The building, the former San Francisco Public Library, has been completely retrofitted and rebuilt to house San Francisco's significant collection of Asian treasures. The museum offers complimentary audio tours of the museum's collection galleries. "In a New Light," ongoing. There are some 2,500 works displayed in the museum's new galleries. They cover all the major cultures of Asia and include Indian stone sculptures, intricately carved Chinese jades, Korean paintings, Tibetan thanksgas, Cambodian Buddhas, Islamic manuscripts and Japanese basketry and kimonos. -more-

ARDENWOOD HISTORIC FARM Ardenwood farm is a working farm that dates back to the time of the Patterson Ranch, a 19th-century estate with a mansion and Victorian Gardens. Today, the farm still practices farming techniques from the 1870s. Unless otherwise noted, programs are free with regular admission. -more-

A GREAT GOOD PLACE FOR BOOKS -more-

AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM AND LIBRARY AT OAKLAND ongoing. The Oakland Public Library's museum is designed to discover, preserve, interpret and share the cultural and historical experiences of African Americans in California and the West. In addition, a three-panel mural is on permanent display. -more-

ALAMEDA COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS -more-

ALAMEDA COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS -more-

BOOKS INC., ALAMEDA -more-

"SUN SPHERES," -- ongoing. "Sun Spheres'' is a trio of mosaic sculptures by artist Laurel True at the intersection of Ocean and Granada Avenues in the OMI District of San Francisco. -more-

ELKS LODGE, ALAMEDA -more-