Arts & Events

Berkeley Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Presents: The Future of Telegraph Avenue is Now

From The Berkeley Chamber of Commerce
Friday March 22, 2013 - 02:23:00 PM

The Berkeley Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee is pleased to announce a two-part program for April and May focused on Telegraph Avenue. Telegraph Avenue has been the subject of a great deal of planning and attention over the last year. There has been broad recognition in the City and in the Southside neighborhood that strong efforts must be taken to revitalize the declining commercial strip as a destination but also as neighborhood serving, most particularly between Dwight Way and Bancroft Avenue. -more-


Steven Stucky Sets Czeslaw Milosz Poems for Berkeley Symphony Premiere

By Ken Bullock
Friday March 22, 2013 - 12:54:00 PM

"One of the lovely things about 'making noise,' being a composer, is that what you make ends up belonging to everyone. And everyone has their own interpretation--and some of them make sense!"

Composer-in-residence Steven Stucky was discussing the world premiere of his piece The Stars and the Roses, an orchestral setting of three poems by the late Nobel laureate, longtime Berkeley resident and UC professor Czeslaw Milosz, commissioned by Berkeley Symphony for the final performance in Zellerbach Hall this season, 8 p. m. Thursday, March 28--and the question of whether The Stars and the Roses is a song cycle.

Symphony music director Joana Carneiro suggested Stucky write orchestral songs, and that they work with well-known tenor Noah Stewart, a former San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow and Merola program alumnus.

"I've been a fan of Milosz for a long time," said Stucky. "And his connection to Berkeley was too good to pass up." -more-


FILM REVIEW: A Fierce Green Fire Brightens the Screens

By Gar Smith
Friday March 22, 2013 - 12:35:00 PM
Lois Gibbs takes EPA officials hostage.

Now playing at the Shattuck Landmark Theater, A Fierce Green Fire has been a long time coming but it's worth the wait. -more-


Around & About Theater: 'Weller: International Mad Man' at East Bay Media Center; Brecht's 'Galileo' at Masquers Playhouse; mugwumpin's 'The Great Big Also'

By Ken Bullock
Friday March 22, 2013 - 10:42:00 AM
Bill McClave (left) and Stanley Spenger (right) in Bertolt Brecht's The Life of Galileo at Masquers Playhouse.

—'Weller: International Mad Man': "A collection of insane stories told ... as only the International Mad Man can, with a mix of comedy, storytelling—& fear!" From Heavy Metal to Martial Arts ... Another notch up in the new performance series at the East Bay Media Center in Berkeley's downtown Arts District. 8 p. m. Saturday, 1939 Addison (between Milvia & MLK). $20. 843-3699; eastbaymediacenter.com -more-


This Friday, March 29th, at 7:30, BERKELEY SYMPHONY meets PIEDMONT CENTER FOR THE ARTS

By John A. McMullen II
Tuesday March 26, 2013 - 03:40:00 PM

Piedmont Center--in a partnership with the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra--will host a talented, professional quartet playing Mozart and Brahms featuring violinist Rene Mandel, who also is the Executive Director of the Berkeley Symphony. -more-


Bay Area Theater Critics Circle Announces Awards Nominations--
Winners will be disclosed at the “Gala Theatre Awards & Dance Party” Monday, May 6 at California Ballroom in Oakland

By John A. McMullen II
Friday March 22, 2013 - 01:09:00 PM

The San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle (SFBATCC) has announced the nominees for its 37th annual theatre awards. Nearly 60 Awards will be bestowed on theatre artists from the nine Bay Area counties, along with three special achievement citations. For the first time SFBATCC will held its Awards Gala in the East Bay, at the fabled California Ballroom, 1736 Franklin Street in Oakland’s uptown business district. The theme for the Gala is as new as the venue – a big, blow-out dance party with live band and a catered smorgasbord to help sustain the party-goers’ energy. -more-