TheatreWorks, Microsoft shake up Shakespeare

Oakland Tribune, Jan 22, 2004

THEATREWORKS, Shakespeare and Microsoft join forces to give Bay Area students a fresh look at classic literature. The Microsoft Corp. has donated $15,000 to support Mountain View-based TheatreWorks' interactive Shakespeare tour, "Shakespeare: The Re-mix." This is the follow-up tour to the successful "Where's William." Taking their cue from DJ culture, New York playwrights Aaron Jafferis and Gihieh Lee have given "Where's William" a new spin. This time around, the touring Shakespeare show deals with the women in Shakespeare's plays. A teenage girl finds herself face-to-face with Bill Shakespeare himself, and the two trade text from the plays along with original hip-hop poetry and music. The six-week "Re-mix" tour runs April 19 through May 31. Call (650) 903-6000 or visit www.theatreworks.org -- Chad JonesHindi 'Rhythm'

"Rhythm of Light," a "music and dance extravaganza," will be Feb. 21 in Hayward.

The event will feature Hindi music performances by the band Dhun as well as flamenco dancer Adela Clara, the Ballet Folklorico de Stanford, bhangra by the Dholrhythms dance troupe, Egyptian dance by the Hala Dance Company and salsa dancing by Lindsay Eshleman and Israel Bibriesca.

The fund-raiser benefits San Jose's Sankara Eye Foundation, which hopes to completely eradicate curable blindness from India by 2020. The event runs from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Chabot College Performing Arts Center at 25555 Hesperian Blvd. Tickets cost from $20 to $100 and can be purchased by calling (510) 324-2924, e-mailing seftickets@yahoo.com or at www.sulekha.com

For more information, visit www.giftofvision.org/events/2004

-- Melissa Schorr

'Think Big' with Kaiser

Henry J. Kaiser, the man who adopted the corporate slogan "Find a Need and Fill It," followed his own advice.

Under his guidance, Kaiser's companies launched more World War II- era ships than any other builder, completed construction of the Hoover Dam, produced the first car with a fiberglass body and created the Oakland-based medical system that became the model for 21st century health maintenance organizations.

Kaiser's work and its impact on the West is the subject of "Henry J. Kaiser: Think Big," opening Saturday at the Oakland Museum of California. The three-part exhibition, formed around themes including "Together We Build," "Dare to Dream" and "An Idea for the Entire Country," runs through Aug. 29.

Artifacts on view in the exhibition include ship and aircraft models, a 1954 Kaiser Darrin sports car, a rare Kaiser-Fleetwings dishwasher and videos about the Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond and the history of Oakland-based Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program.

Events planned in conjunction with the exhibition range from a March 5 "Evening of Shipyard Blues" to an April 18 car show featuring vintage Kaiser automobiles.

Hours at the museum, at 10th and Oaks streets in Oakland, are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays; noon to 5 p.m. Sundays; open to 9 p.m. the first Friday of each month. Free admission the second Sunday of the month. Admission is $5 to $8. Call (510) 238- 2200 or visit www.museumca.org

-- Monique Beeler

4 Seasons, 3 concerts

Broaden your mind and enlighten your spirit with a trio of winter concerts presented by Four Seasons Concerts in Oakland and San Francisco.

Pianist J.Y. Song and the Marian Anderson Quartet offer works by Beethoven, Chopin and Brahms at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

Song performs Chopin's "Berceuse," Op. 57, and a version of Dukas' "Sorcerer's Apprentice."

This concert is at Calvin Simmons Theatre, 10 10th St., Oakland. Tickets are $25-$35 and are available by calling (510) 451-0775. Order tickets online at www.fourseasonsconcerts.com

Next month, pianist Frederic Chiu presents a solo performance of Liszt and Chopin at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 21. Enjoy this well known musician's recital of "Annees de Pelerinage, Italie" by Liszt and "Etudes," Op. 10 by Chopin.

Chiu's concert is also at Calvin Simmons Theatre. Tickets are $25- $35.

The third concert features baritone Thomas Buckner and Wu Man, expert on the pipa (Chinese lute) at 4 p.m. Feb. 29.

Listen to new works by Noah Creshevsky, May Tchi Chen and Bun Ching Lam, whose piece "Bolts of Melody" includes words by poet Emily Dickinson. Also premiering is "ILEX" by Earl Howard and "The Blind Beekeeper" by W.A. Mathieu.

The concert is at Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco. Tickets are $25-$35. Call (415) 392-4400 for tickets or go to www.cityboxoffice.com

-- Kathleen Grant Geib