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Inspired by the true story of the earliest stirrings of the gay rights movement, Perfect Arrangement merges madcap sitcom-style laughs with provocative drama as two closeted U.S. State Department employees struggle to maintain their cover – and their sanity – in 1950s America. It’s 1950, and new colors are being added to the Red Scare. Two U.S. State Department employees, Bob and Norma, have been tasked with identifying sexual deviants within their ranks. There’s just one problem: Both Bob and Norma are gay, and have married each other’s partners as a carefully constructed cover. Inspired by the true story of the earliest stirrings of the American gay rights movement, madcap classic sitcom-style laughs give way to provocative drama as two “All-American” couples are forced to stare down the closet door.
Based on the iconic 1985 film – which was inspired by the classic Hasbro board game – Clue is a hilarious farce-meets-murder mystery. At a remote mansion, six mysterious guests assemble for an unusual dinner party where murder and blackmail are on the menu. When their host turns up dead, they all become suspects. As the body count rises, Miss Scarlet, Professor Plum, Mrs. White, Mr. Green, Mrs. Peacock, Colonel Mustard, and Wadsworth, the butler, race to find the killer. Clue is the comedy whodunit that will leave both cult-fans and newcomers in stitches as they try to figure out WHO did it, WHERE, and with WHAT?! Clue is recommended for ages 12 and up (there are murders, after all). All children must have a ticket. This production features the use of a prop gun, gunshot sound effects, strobe lighting, and theatrical haze.
San Francisco is full of wonderful choral ensembles. For this concert, we partner with the San Francisco Girl’s Chorus – our next door neighbors and one of the best groups in the country – to present a concert full of new works and new sounds. Experience both groups as you’ve never heard them before on repertoire neither ensemble would be able to perform alone. This concert will be the premiere of a new, extended commission by Chanticleer’s ‘22-’23 composer in residence, Ayanna Woods.
Vienna is abuzz with excitement—Prince Orlofsky is throwing a party, and the cream of society is coming! While the guests toast to champagne and brotherhood, a tryst between masked lovers lays the groundwork for a prank repaid. Beware the Bat!
PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL, based on one of Hollywood’s most beloved romantic stories of all time, 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). Brought to the stage by lead producer Paula Wagner, PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL features an original score by Grammy® winner Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance (“Summer of ’69”, “Heaven”), and a book by the movie’s legendary director Garry Marshall and screenwriter J. F. Lawton. PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL will lift your spirits and light up your heart. “If you love the movie, you’ll love the musical!” (BuzzFeed News). Featured in the musical is Roy Orbison and Bill Dee’s international smash hit song “Oh, Pretty Woman,” which inspired one of the most beloved romantic comedy films of all time. Pretty Woman the film was an international smash hit when it was released in 1990. Now, 30 years later, PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL is “Big romance and big fun!” (Broadway.com). “Irresistible! A romantic fantasy. A contemporary fairy tale,” says The Hollywood Reporter. PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL delivers on all the iconic moments you remember. Get ready to experience this dazzling theatrical take on a love story for the ages. Are you ready to fall in love all over again? Atlantic Records’ PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL (Original Broadway Cast Recording) is produced by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance and is now available on all DSPs.
Sought-after soloists on their own, this “super-trio” has always devoted time to performing together since they were students in London. The result is an uncanny performance precision and warm camaraderie on stage. The London Telegraph enthused, “If any piano trio could achieve star status, it’s surely this one.”
Pianist Alexander Malofeev makes his Davies Symphony Hall recital debut in a Shenson Spotlight Series concert that opens with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, given this name by a music critic who noted that the first movement made him think of a peaceful scene on Lake Lucerne by moonlight. Melancholic, sarcastic, and light, Mieczys∤aw Weinberg’s masterful Fourth Piano Sonata is heard alongside Sergei Rachmaninoff’s immense and virtuosic Piano Sonata No. 2.
"Hugely entertaining, intelligently conceived and executed roots rock with a wickedly cool and otherworldly twist on tradition. Estrin’s harp work is masterful." –Living Blues "Rick Estrin sings and writes songs like the brightest wiseguy in all of bluesland and blows harmonica as if he learned at the knee of Little Walter." –DownBeat Larger-than-life blues star Rick Estrin has piloted the wildly fun and musically fearless Rick Estrin & The Nightcats for the last decade, touring the world and proving night after night why they won 2018’s Blues Music Award for Band Of The Year. The limitless combined talents of blues harmonica virtuoso and sly, soulful singer Estrin, guitar mastermind Kid Andersen, keyboard wizard Lorenzo Farrell and endlessly creative drummer Derrick “D’Mar” Martin take Estrin’s inventive, original songs to new and unexpected places. On stage, the band’s ability to deliver an unpredictable, no-holds-barred show is unmatched. Now, Rick Estrin & The Nightcats return with their fourth studio album, Contemporary. With the band kicking everything up a notch, Estrin and the Nightcats explore some different sounds, instrumentation and grooves, while maintaining the trademark Nightcats style. Produced by Andersen and Estrin and recorded at Andersen’s now-famous Greaseland Studio in San Jose, California, Contemporary delivers twelve surprising, wise-cracking, foot-stomping songs, including nine by Estrin (one co-written with Andersen), one each by Andersen and Farrell, and one obscure Bobo Jenkins cover. From the noir-ish romp I’m Running to the hilarious title track to the sardonic Resentment File (co-written with Estrin’s friend of over 50 years, Joe Louis Walker), Contemporary packs a modern blues punch. According to Estrin, “Recording at Greaseland, we all had so much fun and were so relaxed, the genius ideas just started pouring in from all sides. I really expect this record to blow some minds.” In addition to Estrin’s celebrated songwriting and spectacular harmonica playing, he and the band are among the most entertaining and colorful showmen around. Estrin’s flashing harmonica solos, quick wit and signature hipster-cool look, Andersen’s off-the-cuff guitar pyrotechnics, Farrell’s mighty organ and piano work and D’Mar’s dynamic drumming bring instant fun to their live performances. “People don’t go out to see people who look like themselves,” says Estrin. “They want to see something special. I was schooled in this business to be a showman, and that’s what you get when you come to see us perform. We know how to put on a show. I feel sorry for anyone who has to follow us.” Estrin was schooled by some of the very best blues musicians. While still a teen, he was tutored by San Francisco’s famous musician (and pimp) Fillmore Slim. He was mentored by Oakland’s legendary Rodger Collins, and gigged with blues stars Lowell Fulson and Z.Z. Hill. Estrin moved to Chicago when he was 19 to work with Windy City bluesmen Johnny Young, Eddie Taylor, Sam Lay and John Littlejohn, and even jammed with Muddy Waters. He returned to California and continued to hone his craft. By the time he joined forces with guitarist Little Charlie Baty and formed Little Charlie & The Nightcats in 1976—a band he would front for the next 30 years—Estrin was a seasoned performer with plenty of talent and a newfound knack for writing killer original songs. Upon Baty’s retirement from touring in 2008, Estrin recruited high-flying guitar wunderkind Christoffer “Kid” Andersen and formed Rick Estrin & The Nightcats. The band quickly became a worldwide favorite with blues fans as well as critics and radio programmers. “Kid’s a fearless nut on the guitar,” says Estrin. “He’s really the only guy who could fit in with us.” With an uninhibited style that perfectly meshed with Estrin’s wildly imaginative songs, the new band charged out of the gate. Billboard called them “fabulous, remarkable and original.” Since the 2009 release of Rick Estrin & The Nightcats’ celebrated Alligator Records debut, Twisted, the 2012 follow-up One Wrong Turn, 2014’s crowd-pleasing You Asked For It...Live!, and 2017’s Groovin’ In Greaseland, the band has toured the world, earning high praise and standing ovations everywhere they go. The Chicago Sun-Times said, “These are serious musicians having a hotter than hot good time. It’s tough to stay in your seat when Estrin and his musical cohorts get cooking.” They’ve performed at festivals and concert stages from San Francisco to Chicago to New York, and everywhere in between, plus tours of the United Kingdom, Norway, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Poland, Australia, Israel and recently Estonia and Russia. The band’s worldwide popularity helped Estrin win five Blues Music Awards, including two nods for Song Of The Year (1994 and 2018), Best Instrumentalist—Harmonica (2013) and Traditional Blues Male Artist Of The Year (2018). The full band, Rick Estrin & The Nightcats, won the highly coveted 2018 Blues Music Award for Band Of The Year. According to Estrin, “Contemporary is the most fully realized expression of who Rick Estrin & The Nightcats really are and what we’re capable of as a band. With the group’s help, everything I envisioned for the songs got turned up a notch, with everyone getting more and more inspired.” This is modern blues at its most potent and powerful, with phenomenal musicianship and lyrics that cut with a wink and nod. According to the UK’s Blues & Rhythm, “Rick Estrin & The Nightcats have crafted an instantly identifiable sound. They serve up insightful, original blues combined with tough rock’n’ roll. This band is superb.” Rick Estrin (harmonica, vocals) Rick Estrin was born in San Francisco, California in 1949, and grew up fiercely independent. As a 10-year-old boy, he made his way to the tough Market Street area and befriended many of the neighborhood characters. When he was 12, his older sister gave him a copy of Ray Charles’ The Genius Sings The Blues, and he became infatuated with the music. Albums from Jimmy Reed, Champion Jack Dupree, Mose Allison, Nina Simone and others soon followed. By the time he was a teenager, Estrin had immersed himself in the urban, African-American culture surrounding him. He got his first harmonica at age 15, and by age 18 was proficient enough to begin sitting in at black clubs around the city. He first jammed with blues master Lowell Fulson and immediately was hired to open five shows for R&B giant Z.Z. Hill. He worked five nights a week for almost a year with guitar legend Travis Phillips in a band fronted by famed pimp/bluesman Fillmore Slim (who was the centerpiece of the acclaimed Hughes Brothers documentary American Pimp). Slim introduced Estrin to singer Rodger Collins, the man who would become Rick’s first real musical mentor. Collins schooled Rick on the finer points of songwriting and show business. At 19, Estrin relocated to Chicago and worked with some of the city’s best bluesmen. He met and jammed with the legendary Muddy Waters, who told Rick, “You outta sight, boy! You got that sound! You play like a man!” Muddy wanted Estrin to go on the road with him, but Estrin missed Muddy’s phone call and it never happened. Estrin eventually moved back to the Bay Area, met guitarist Charlie Baty and formed Little Charlie & The Nightcats. With Charlie’s retirement from touring in 2008, Rick brought in guitar virtuoso Kid Andersen and formed Rick Estrin & The Nightcats. Estrin cites Sonny Boy Williamson II, Percy Mayfield and Detroit bluesman Baby Boy Warren as his major songwriting influences. His work on the reeds is deep in the tradition of harmonica masters Sonny Boy Williamson II and Little Walter Jacobs, while at the same time pushing that tradition forward with his innovative songs. And his sly and soulful vocals are the perfect vehicle for driving those songs home. Kid Andersen (guitar) Christoffer “Kid” Andersen was born in Telemark, Norway. A blues fan since childhood, Andersen fell in love with the music of Otis Rush, Buddy Guy, Junior Watson, and the Kings (B.B., Albert and Freddie). By the time he was 18, he was backing all the American blues stars who came through Norway, including Homesick James, Nappy Brown and Willie “Big Eyes” Smith. He moved to California when he was 21. Once in the U.S.A., Andersen earned a green card as an “Alien of Extraordinary Ability.” Andersen released four solo albums before joining blues harmonica legend Charlie Musselwhite’s band in 2004, a gig that lasted until he joined Rick Estrin & The Nightcats in 2008. In addition to being an expert multi-instrumentalist (guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion), Kid’s talents as engineer and producer keep his now-famous Greaseland Studio fully booked. Winner of the 2017 Keeping The Blues Alive Award, Greaseland has been featured in The San Jose Mercury News as well as on NPR. At Greaseland, Kid has produced, engineered (and many times played on) albums by artists including Tommy Castro, Nick Moss, John Nemeth, Wee Willie Walker and Finis Tasby, as well as all five Rick Estrin & The Nightcats CDs. Lorenzo Farrell (piano, organ) Lorenzo Farrell was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and grew up in Bloomington, Indiana, where he started playing piano at age five. During his high school years in California, he discovered jazz and made the switch to upright acoustic bass. After high school, Farrell took several years off from his music career to earn a degree in Philosophy from the University of California at Berkeley, and study religion in Delhi, India. Since returning to the San Francisco Bay Area, he has been a highly sought-after multi-instrumentalist, having returned to piano and mastered the organ in recent years. A Nightcat since 2003, Lorenzo has also had the opportunity to perform and/or record with many other artists, including Wee Willie Walker, Elvin Bishop, Finis Tasby, Jackie Payne, Andy Santana, Terry Hanck and Little Charlie Baty’s Organ Grinder Swing. Derrick “D’Mar” Martin (drums) Derrick “D’Mar” Martin is simply a force of nature. D’Mar is a musician, producer, songwriter, singer, educator, entertainer and motivational speaker. He traveled the world for 17 years as the drummer for the legendary Little Richard. D’Mar has also worked with a number of other artists including Dorothy Moore, Bobby Rush, Vasti Jackson, Ali Ollie Woodson (The Temptations), Big Jack Johnson, Carla Thomas, Billy Preston, Roy Gaines, Mitch Woods, Jackie Payne, Syl Johnson, Bob Margolin and Tutu Jones. He shares his passion for music education in his own music lecture series entitled Drums & More. Now, D’Mar brings all of these talents to his new family, The Nightcats.
The Wednesday 22nd March 2023, performance of Fiddler on the Roof at Golden Gate Theatre is not to be missed. This timeless classic is widely regarded as one of the greatest productions of all time and is admired by theatergoers all over the world. It has one of the most profound messages in any play, "Without tradition, our lives would be as shaky as a fiddler on the roof," and will leave you gobsmacked. You can expect to witness some of the most awesome sets and props ever created in the musical industry, all for your viewing pleasure. Don't wait around; tickets will go fast. The good news is that getting one is a breeze right here. Simply follow the instructions after clicking the "Get Tickets" button to make a ticket purchase. Set in the Pale of Settlement in Imperial Russia in or around the year 1905, Fiddler on the Roof is a play with music by Jerry Bock, book by Joseph Stein, and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. This magnum opus was inspired by "Tevye and His Daughters" (also known as "Tevye the Dairyman"), a story by Sholem Aleichem. Tevye, a milkman in the village of Anatevka, is the protagonist and he is having a hard time keeping his family's Jewish traditions alive as external influences enter their lives. Tevye must overcome his growing dislike for the men his three older daughters want to marry in order to accept their unique personalities and their determination to marry for love. The Jews are forced to leave their neighborhood because of a law issued by the tsar. The musical won nine Tony Awards, including those for best musical, score, book, direction, and choreography. It was made into a popular film in 1971, and its five subsequent Broadway revivals have all been hugely successful. It's also been used in a lot of regional and academic productions of plays. Expect to be awestruck as fan favorites like "Tradition," "Sunrise, Sunset," "If I Were a Rich Man," "Matchmaker, Matchmaker," and "To Life (L'Chaim!)" are sung. Show goers of musical theater should not miss this.
Steve has appeared on over 50 albums and produced seven. In October 2017, he was part of an upcoming Delmark recording called Back To Chicago by the Rockwell Avenue Blues Band which was released in 2018. Steve's most recent solo recording, Come On In This House received a great deal of critical acclaim it was when released, and his third studio album, Lonesome Flight was released by 9 Below Productions and included nine original songs along with four blues classics. He also has two solo records released on the historic Delmark label, C For Chicago, and I'll Be Your Mule. Steve also played on Koko Taylor's Grammy-winning Blues Explosion. He also tours nationally and internationally and can also be seen opening shows for Boz Scaggs.
Experience counts, especially in jazz. The more time musicians spend interpreting tunes and interacting with others, the more articulation an audience can expect. You can hear the fruits of such work in the expressive language The Cookers bring to the bandstand and to their six critically acclaimed recordings, Warriors, Cast the First Stone, Believe, Time and Time Again (which was the iTunes Jazz CD of the year in 2014), The Call of the Wild and Peaceful Heart and Look Out!. This exciting all-star septet summons up an aggressive mid ‘60s spirit with a potent collection of expansive post-bop originals marked by all the requisite killer instincts and pyrotechnic playing expected of some of the heaviest hitters on the scene today. Billy Harper, Cecil McBee, George Cables, Eddie Henderson, and Billy Hart all came up in the heady era of the mid ‘60s. It was a period that found the dimensions of hard bop morphing from their original designs, and each of these guys helped facilitate the process as members of some of the most important bands of the era. Hart and Henderson were members of Herbie Hancock’s groundbreaking Mwandishi group; Cecil McBee anchored Charles Lloyd’s great ’60s quartet alongside Keith Jarrett and Jack DeJohnette; Billy Harper was part of Lee Morgan’s last group, as well as being a member of Max Roach’s Quartet and Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers; while George Cables held down the piano chair in numerous bands including groups led by Sonny Rollins, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Dexter Gordon and Art Pepper. David Weiss and Donald Harrison, from a more recent generation and the youngest members of the band, are experts in this forthright lingo, having gained experience performing with Art Blakey, Bobby Hutcherson, Freddie Hubbard, Charles Tolliver, Roy Haynes and Herbie Hancock. Each member of the Cookers has spent time leading his own series of groups as well, and each has a keenly individual sound. But it’s the unmistakable power of teamwork that makes this music so commanding and resonates with a kind of depth and beauty that speaks of the seasoned track record of its principals (combined, the group has over 250 years of experience in the jazz world and has been a part of over 1,000 recordings). You can feel the collective weight of that experience in their CDs and especially in their live performances. Since this version of the band was solidified in 2007 the group has performed at venues around the world, including headlining the Newport Jazz Festival, New Orleans Jazz Fest, Playboy Jazz Festival, Vancouver Jazz Festival, Umbria Jazz Festival, Northsea Jazz Festival, Jazz a Vienne, London Jazz Festival, San Sebastein Jazz Festival, Detroit Jazz Festival, Chicago Jazz Festival, Portland Jazz Festival, San Jose Jazz Festival, The Jerusalem Jazz Festival, The Guinness Cork Jazz Festival, The Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, Jazz in Marciac, The Burghausen Jazz Festival, Jazz Terrassa, The Healdsburg Jazz Festival, Jazz Viersen, Ronnie Scott’s, SF Jazz, Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola and Yoshi’s. After fourteen years together, The Cookers, who “embody the serious-as-death commitment that it took to thrive on the New York scene some four decades ago” (Andrew Gilbert, The Boston Globe), recently released their sixth album, Look Out!, the follow up album to their five critically-acclaimed recordings, Warriors, Cast The First Stone, Believe, Time and Time Again and The Call of the Wild and Peaceful Heart. On Look Out! again the incredibly high level of musicianship has only increased with the latest offering of fresh, challenging, boundary-pushing music from these legendary, revered, veteran improvisers..
Ahh, to be young and in Sprung. Or maybe an old love’s flame holds steady in the cold and windy night? It’s that feeling you get when the nearness of a certain someone sets your soul ablaze. That same feeling you get when a melody from a song sends your emotions on a fritz and you’re left by your lonesome to think about the one you really want - the one who broke your heart. Bindlestiff Studio humbly welcomes back its most celebrated original short play series about love, heartache and the weirdness in between; The Love Edition: Sprung Edition.