Bay Area arts groups offer several streaming shows this weekend. Here’s a look.
From Russia, with talent
Russian pianist Alexander Kobrin has been dubbed by the BBC the “Van Cliburn of today,” and not just because he captured first prize in the famed competition that bears the legendary keyboardist’s name. He has also taken top prizes at the Busoni, Hamamatsu, and Scottish International Piano competitions.
This weekend, Kobrin performs an exclusive program for San Jose’s Steinway Society concert series that includes Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 2 in F Major, K. 280, Chopin’s Mazurkas, Op. 24, and Schubert’s Piano Sonata in C Minor, D. 958.
Details: Concert available for streaming April 23-26; $20 per household; steinwaysociety.com.
The plays are the thing
Here are two shows and a festival theater fans should know about.
“The Escape of Frederick Douglass”: The Marsh performance venue streams this solo show by Bay Area writer, performer and educator Darryl Van Leer, based on the memoir “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.” The show depicts, as publicity materials explain, “some of the most gut-wrenching moments of the activist’s life, from leaving his nurturing mother and grandmother, to brutal encounters with the notorious slave owner Edward Covey, and his thrilling and suspenseful train ride to freedom.” The show will be followed by Q&A with Van Leer and Marsh founder and artistic director Stephanie Weisman. Details: 7:30 p.m. Saturday; free but donations encouraged; themarsh.org.
TheatreWorks New Plays Festival: TheatreWorks Silicon Valley is presenting its popular festival as a virtual event, live-streaming sneak peaks of a wide variety of emerging works. Two of the shows deal with the President Donald J. Trump’s 2017 Muslin travel ban: Arab-American playwright Betty Shamieh’s comedy “As Soon as Impossible,” and Kareem Fahmy’s family drama “A Distinct Society.” Also included are an early look at the folk-rock musical “Lizard Boy,” which will open TheatreWorks’ 51st season in the fall, and Dan Wolf’s digital theatre/hip-hop take on “Merchant of Venice,” titled “Currency.” Details: April 23-May 15; passes are pay what you can (minimum is $10); www.theatreworks.org.
“More Than Grapes”: Carlos Aguirre, Jeffrey Lo and Lisa Ramirez wrote and star in this new play, directed by Sean San Jose, about the lead-up to the game-changing Delano Grape Strike of 1965-70 and the legacies of such labor activists Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta and Larry Itliong. Details: Presented by TheatreFIRST; tickets ($15) on sale through May 8; play will stream through August; theatrefirst.com.
