Curtain Calls: Circus Bella comes into town for performances in Oakland, Richmond
Have you ever wanted to run away with the circus? Or maybe attempted to juggle or perform your own aerial act in the backyard? Although I never got beyond juggling three balls, I certainly enjoyed it. My aerial routine featuring a garage roof and an umbrella was less successful!
Here’s your chance to relive those fantasies with Circus Bella’s “Bananas! – A Bombastic Ballyhoo and Celebration of Silliness.” The free, outdoor one-ring circus performs in a variety of venues throughout the Bay Area from June 8-July 16.
The 60-minute show features an exciting array of acrobats, aerialists, jugglers and clowns performing to live music provided by Rob Reich and the six-piece Circus Bella All-Star Band. The show is written and directed by Circus Bella founder Abigail Munn.
East Bay shows take place June 8 at 5:30 p.m. (DeFremery Park, 1651 Adeline St., West Oakland), July 13 at 6 p.m. (Lincoln Square Park, 261 11th St., Oakland) and July 18 at noon and 3 p.m. (Point San Pablo Harbor, 1900 Stenmark Dr., Richmond).
For more information, go to circusbella.org/bananas.
Pittsburg: June has always been a big month for weddings and, as anyone who has been involved with planning a wedding knows, things seldom go smoothly. Pittsburg Theatre Company, however, has taken wedding catastrophes to a new level with its original musical “It Shoulda Been You.”
Running June 17-25 at the California Theatre (351 Railroad Ave., Pittsburg), playwright Brian Hargrove’s musical invites you to a wedding where anything that can go wrong does.
In this new musical, two families from wildly different backgrounds come together to celebrate the marriage of a bride (Shelly McDowell), who is Jewish, to groom (Liam Cody), who happens to be Catholic. The bride’s mother (Pear Michaels) is a force of nature, with the groom’s mother (Dianna Schepers) a tempest in a cocktail shaker. To add to the fun, the bride’s ex-boyfriend (Phillip Leyva) shows up to create total chaos.
Tina Smith directs with choreography by Shelly McDowell and musical direction by Jennifer Krey.
For tickets, go to pittsburgcommunitytheatre.org.
Martinez: Murder, blackmail, jewel heists and kidnapping are on tap at the Campbell Theater (636 Ward St., Martinez) with the improv group “Partners in Crime” on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Follow the exploits of two partners who rely on audience suggestions to decide where the next investigation leads them.
Then, June 16 and 17 at 8 p.m., Orinda Theatre owner Derek Zemrak presents his one-man show “Looking Out the Window,” which chronicles a young child’s journey living with a grandmother with Alzheimer’s.
“It’s based on my son’s college essay about growing up with my mom who had the disease,” Zemrak said. “I had no idea he had written about that but when I saw it, I asked my friend, New York writer John Pizzo, to use it as the basis for a play, which I’ve been performing since 2019.”
Zemrak also started the MaKey Foundation in his mother’s honor, which provides free movie tickets and live theater to low-income children.
“People might think it’s crazy going to a show about Alzheimer’s, but it has a lot of humor in it,” Zemrak said. “It’s a real roller-coaster ride where you’re crying one minute and laughing the next.”
For more information on either show, go to campbelltheater.com.
Walnut Creek: Latin American arts and culture is celebrated with a week-long Fiesta Cultural at the Lesher Center, 1601 Civic Dr.
Diablo Regional Arts Association presents Latinex comedian Gina Brillon (June 22), legendary jazz musician Arturo Sandoval (June 23), Afro Mexican fusion musical from Las Cafeteras (June 24) and modern Mariachi Herencia de Mexico (June 25), with Latin artists highlighted in the Lesher’s Bedford Gallery through June 25.
Also on tap is the Lesher Foundation Newsmakers series featuring Ana Navarro (June 20) and Center Repertory’s production of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hit musical “In the Heights” (through June 24).
June 24 also features a Fiesta Cultural Street Fair from noon to 7 p.m. offering music, dance, food, activities and more from the diverse cultures of Latin America.
For more information, go to lesherartscenter.org.
S.F.: Obie Award-winning director Timothy Near, who directed several shows for Walnut Creek’s Center Rep, focuses her considerable talents on Athol Fugard’s “The Road to Mecca.”
Performing at Z Below (470 Florida St., San Francisco) from Sunday-June 30, the show tells of an eccentric aging widow who fills her house and garden with life-sized sculptures representing a fantasy pilgrimage to Mecca. Spurred on by neighbors who think the artist is crazy, a conservative pastor attempts to convince the woman she needs to leave her strange home and let others care for her while a young schoolteacher advocates for the aging artist to stay.
The all-star cast includes award-winning actress Wendy vanden Heuvel as the artist, Broadway actor Victor Talmadge as the pastor and regional actress Kodi Jackman as the young teacher.
For more information, go to zspace.org/mecca.
Sally Hogarty can be reached at sallyhogarty@gmail.com. Read more of her reviews online at eastbaytimes.com/author/sally-hogarty.