FRIDAY, APRIL 21 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Ron Parsons on “Wildflowers of California” Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $13.50, speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. 526-2925.  

“Haiti at the Crossroads” A discussion with Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine, Haitian human rights activist and coordinator, and Brian Concannon, human rights lawyer and director, Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti, at 7 p.m. at East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, 2362 Bancroft Way. Enter from church parking lot between Bancroft & Durant. 483-7481.    

“Votergate” a film followed by discussion with Jim Soper at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Hall, 1924 Cedar St. at Bonita. Donation $7. 528-5403.  

“A Large Pill to Swallow: Navigating the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Coverage Program” with health insurance counselors at 1 p.m. at the Center for Independent Living, 2539 Telegraph Ave. Please bring a list of your medications and dosages with you. 559-1406. 

Knit and Crochet Show and Marketplace Fri. from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sun. from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Oakland Marriott City Center. www.KnitandCrochetShow.com 

Berkeley Chess School classes for students in grades 1-8 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. A drop-in, rated scholastic tournament follows from 7 to 8 p.m. at 1581 LeRoy Ave., Room 17. 843-0150. 

Berkeley Chess Club meets Fridays at 8 p.m. at the East Bay Chess Club, 1940 Virginia St. 845-1041. 

Women in Black Vigil at noon at UC Berkeley, Bancroft at Telegraph. 548-6310. 

SATURDAY, APRIL 22 

Berkeley Earth Day Celebration from noon to 5 p.m. and Civic Center Park. Cultural performances, food, craft and community booths and activities. To volunteer call 654-6346, ext. 2. 

West County Earth Day with crafts, workshops, entertainment and food from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 101 Pittsburg Ave., one block off the Richmond Parkway. 215-3125. 

Earth Day Cleanup of the Berkeley Shoreline from 10 a.m. to noon at the Eastshore State Park in Berkeley. To sign up call 544-2515. 

Earth Day Computer Recycling Drop-off from 10 a.m. to noon at the Elephant Pharmacy parking lot, 1607 Shattuck Ave.  

Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club Open House from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Bowling Green, 2270 Acton St., corner of Bancroft. Lawn bowling lessons and refreshments. 898-1931. 

Kid’s Garden Club for ages 7-12 to explore the world of gardening, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area. Cost is $6-$8, registration required. 636-1684. 

Earth Day at Habitot from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Celebrate the environment and make hand-made recycled paper, nature collages, and art sculptures at 2065 Kittredge St. 647-1111.  

Rhododendron Flower Show and plant sale, by the American Rhododendron Society, with rare and unusual varieties in all colors, Sat. from noon to 5 p.m. and Sun. from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Lakeside Garden Center, 666 Bellevue Ave., Oakland. Free. www.calchapterars.org 

Bioforum: Water and California A look at current research on California’s waterways and water uses from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak Sts. Cost is $15-$30. To register call 415-321-8104. 

Berkeley History Center Walking Tour: “Earthquake Relief Efforts on the UC Campus in 1906” led by Bruce Goodell, from 10 a.m. to noon. Cost is $8-$10. 848-0181. www.cityofberkeley.info/histsoc 

Celebration of Children’s Literature Book fair with author signings and costumed characters, storytelling, music and a drop-in art activities for children, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m at Tolman Hall, UC Campus. http://gse.berkeley.edu/ 

admin/childlit 

“No Toddler Left Behind? The Pros and Cons of California’s Preschool for All Act” with Bruce Fuller, David Kirp and Louis Freedberg, moderator, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Graduate School of Education, Tolman Hall, Room 2515, UC Campus. 642-0137. 

Creating Your Garden Paradise with Aerin Moore at 10 a.m. at Magic Gardens Landscape Nursery, 729 Heinz Ave. 644-2351. 

Edith Coliver Festival of Cultures with a focus on Switzerland, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at International House, 2299 Piedmont Ave. at Bancoft. Cost is $5-$7. 642-9461. 

“President Bush: Reckless Disregard for the Truth—and the Law” with Elizabeth de la Vega, former Chief of the San Jose Branch of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, from 7 to 9 p.m., at the Home of Truth Center, 1300 Grand St., Alameda. Sponsored by the Alameda Public Affairs Forum. Free, donations accepted. www.alamedaforum.org 

“Cancer in Other Words” A series of four writing workshops for women on Sat. through May 13 at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, Summit Campus, 450 30th St., Oakland. Registration required. 869-8833. 

Guide Dogs for the Blind A presentation by Jan Robitscher and her dog Christmas at 11 a.m. at the Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. All ages welcome. 524-3043. 

Emeryville’s Spring Festival with fun for the entire family from noon to 2 p.m. at Bay St., Emeryville. 655-4002.  

Out of the Darkness Overnight Walk orientation meeting at 1 p.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, 3rd floor meeting room, 2090 Kittredge St. The walk will take place in July. Benefits the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. RSVP to coaches@theovernight.org 

Noetic Sciences Earth Day Conference from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Scottish Rite Auditorium, Oakland. Cost is $75. www.noetic.org 

Free Garden Tours at Regional Parks Botanic Garden Sat. and Sun. at 2 pm. Regional Parks Botanic Garden, Tilden Park. Call to confirm. 841-8732.  

Around the World Tour of Plants at 1:30 p.m., Thurs., Sat. and Sun. at UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. 643-2755.  

Car Wash Benefit for Options Recovery Services of Berkeley, held every Sat. from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lutheran Church, 1744 University Ave. 666-9552. 

SUNDAY, APRIL 23 

Turtle Time Meet the awakening reptiles from 1 to 3 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

“Draft Registration and Conscientious Objection—What Every Teenager Needs to Know” A workshop from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. at Berkeley Friends Church, 1600 Sacramento St. Free. 925-274-0900. 

Celebrate People’s Park 37th Anniversary from noon to 7 p.m. with music, dancing, children’s activities, spaekers and food. 390-0830. 

Create a Perennial Border Using California Natives. A workshop with horticulturist Nathan Smith, from 10:30 a.m. to noon at UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. Cost is $20-$25. Registration required. 643-2755. 

“Berkeley Architecture of Bernard Maybeck” with UC Architecture Professor Emeritus Kenneth H. Cardwell at 3 p.m. at the Berkeley History Center, 1931 Center St. 848-0181.  

Berkeley Cybersalon meets to discuss “Asperger’s: The Geek Syndrome?” with Steve Silberman, Ellen Ullman, Annette Blackman and Philip Rosedale, at 5 p.m. at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. Donation $15. Please RSVP to 527-0450. 

Dog Park Behavior Training from 10 a.m. to noon in Ohlone Dog Park, Grant St. and Hearst Ave., and on Sun. April 30. Cost for both sessions is $15 and free for ODPA members. People (and dogs) must attend both sessions. 845-4213. ohlonedogpark.org 

Loose leash Walking Workshop at 3 p.m. at Grace North Church, 2128 Cedar St. Cost is $35. Registration required. 849-9323. companyofdogs.com 

“Don’t Be Six Feet Under Without a Plan” Learn about creating a living will, powers of attorney and end of life services at 2 p.m. at Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. 228-3207. 

Fashion Fusion 2006 Show Annual charity fashion show at 3 and 7 p.m. in the Pauley Ballroom, Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union, UC Campus. Tickets are $5-$10. http://fashion.berkeley.edu 

Berkeley City Club free tour from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tours are sponsored by the Berkeley City Club and the Landmark Heritage Foundation. Donations welcome. 2315 Durant Ave. 848-7800 or 883-9710. 

Hands-On Bicycle Clinic on flat repair from 10 to 11 a.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. Free. 527-4140. 

Tibetan Buddhism with Jack Petranker “Structures of the Ego” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

MONDAY, APRIL 24 

Holocaust Rememberence Day at noon at City Council Chambers, 2134 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. Featuring Chana Bloch, Paula Fass, David Joseph-Goteiner, Joseph Rothberg, Ruth Atkin, and Ljuba Davis. Honoring Ben Sieradski and all Survivors present . 981-7170. 

Berkeley High Red & Golden Girls Reunion Luncheon for women graduates of BHS 50 or more years ago, at 11 a.m. at Double Tree Hotel, Berkeley Marina. Cost is $30. For reservations call 524-6877. 

“Perspectives on Berkeley: Past and Present” Chuck Wollenberg’s Berkeley history class at 7 p.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. Meets Mon. evenings through May 22. Free. 981-6150. 

TUESDAY, APRIL 25 

Shakespeare’s Birthday Celebration with actors scholars and musicians on “Shakespeare and his religion, from Agnosticism to Zen” at 7 p.m. at the Northbrae Church, 741 The Alameda. 843-6798. 

Return of the Over-the-Hills Gang For hikers 55 years and older who are interested in nature study, history, fitness, and fun. This month we’ll enjoy spring wildflowers and mining history at the Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve on a 3-mile hike. To register call 525-2233.  

The BHS Site Council meets at 4:30 p.m. at Berkeley High Conference Room B. On the agenda are a vote on a proposal for a Site Council bylaw change, First Semester Grade Reports, Small Schools Data, Algebra Project Update, Student Coordination Update. 

Cancer Prevention and Survival Cooking Course begins at 6:30 p.m. at Keller Williams, 4341 Piedmont Avenue, 2nd Floor, Oakland, and runs to June 13. Sponsored by The Cancer Projec. To register, call 531-2665. 

Raging Grannies of the East Bay invites new folks to come join us the 2nd and 4th Tues, of each month, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. to sing and have fun at Berkeley Gray Panthers office, 1403 Addison St., in Andronico’s mall. 548-9696. 

Earthquake Retrofitting and Home Safety Seminar at 1:15 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 981-5190. 

Green Health Care at 7 p.m. at the Teleosis Institute, 1521B 5th St. To register call 558-7285. 

Berkeley PC User Group meets at 7 p.m. at 25 Dartmouth, in the Hiller Highland area. For questions and directions email rhs@surfbest.net  

Trance Drumming Workshop with Auntie Matter from 7 to 9 p.m. at Change Makers, 6536 Telegraph Ave. at 66th, Oakland. Cost is $40. www. 

changemakersforwomen.com  

Family Story Time at 7 p.m. at the Kensington Branch Library, 61 Arlington Ave., Kensington. Free, all ages welcome. 524-3043. 

Tuesday Tilden Walkers Join a few slowpoke seniors at 9:30 a.m. in the parking lot near the Little Farm for an hour or two walk. In case of questionable weather, call around 8 a.m. 215-7672, 524-9992. 

Free Handbuilding Ceramics Class 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at St. John’s Senior Center, 2727 College Ave. Also, Mon. noon to 4 p.m. at the South Berkeley Senior Center. Materials and firing charges not included. 525-5497. 

“Jewish Insights on Transformation” at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Buddhist Monastery, 2304 McKinley St. at Bancroft. 527-2935. 

Berkeley Camera Club meets at 7:30 p.m., at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. 548-3991. www.berkeleycameraclub.org 

St. John’s Prime Timers meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. 845-6830. 

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26  

Tilden Explorers An after-school nature adventure program for 5-7 year olds, who may be accompanied by an adult. We will learn about the seasons from 3:15 to 4:45 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Cost is $6-$8, registration required. 636-1684. 

Public Workshop on Community Choice Aggregation at 7 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center, Classroom A. The cities of Berkeley, Oakland and Emeryville are exploring the creation of a public agency that would purchase power and build power plants to serve customers in Berkeley. 981-5434.  

“Iraq: Strategies to Get Out” with Andy Lichterman at 1:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst St. Sponsored by the Berkeley-East Bay Gray Panthers. 548-9696. 

Bayswater Book Club meets to discuss becomming a Democratic Central Committee Chartered Club of Alameda County, and to discuss “Sell Now! The End of the Housing Bubble” by John R. Talbott at 6:30 p.m. at Barnes and Noble, El Cerrito. 433-2911. 

Lonely Planet Travel Series with Morgan Konn on Thailand at 6 p.m. at Oakland Public Library, 124 14th St. 238-3136. 

Free Prostate Screening for men ages 35-70 at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, Herrick Campus, 2001 Dwight Way. Free, but appointments required. 869-8833. 

Early Childhood Safety: Choke Saving Skills at 11 a.m. at Habitot, 2065 Kittredge St. Cost is $5-$6. 647-1111. 

Repetitive Stress Injury Learn how to take care of yourself before you get carpal tunnel syndrome at 7:30 p.m. at Elephant Pharmacy, 1607 Shattuck Ave. 549-9200. 

Walk Berkeley for Seniors meets every Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. at the Sea Breeze Market, just west of the I-80 overpass. Everyone is welcome, wear comfortable shoes and a warm hat. 548-9840. 

The Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club provides free instruction every Wed. and Sat. at 10:30 a.m. at 2270 Acton St. 841-2174.  

Fresh Produce Stand at San Pablo Park from 3 to 6:30 p.m. in the Frances Albrier Community Center. Sponsored by the Ecology Center’s Farm Fresh Choice. 848-1704.  

Sing your Way Home A free sing-a-long at 4:30 p.m. every Wed. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720. 

Prose Writer’s Workshop An ongoing group made up of friendly writers who are serious about our craft. All levels welcome. At 7 p.m. at BRJCC, 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237. georgeporter@earthlink.net 

Berkeley Peace Walk and Vigil at 6:30 p.m. at the Berkeley BART Station. www.geocities.com/vigil4peace/vigil 

“Kabbalah of Creation: The Mysticism of Isaac Luria” with Rabbi Eliyahu Klein at 7:30 p.m. at the BRJCC, 1414 Walnut St. Donation $10-$20. 848-0237. 

THURSDAY, APRIL 27 

Teach-In and Vigil on U.S. Torture Policy, every Thurs. from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. outside the classroom of Prof. John Yoo, Boalt Hall, UC Campus. Weekly speakers. Sponsored by the Buddhist Peace Fellowship and other organizations. www.bpf.org 

Introduction to BASIL Bay Area Seed Interchange Library Learn about what we do and volunteer opportunities at 5:30 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. 658-9178. 

Workplace Bullying A special workshop with Gary Namie, Workplace Bullying & Trauma Institute, at 5:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst. Sponsored byt the Commission on Labor. 981-6903.  

Easy Does It Disability Assistance Board of Directors’ Meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst St. Public is welcome. 845-5513. 

Berkeley School Volunteers Training workshop for volunteers interested in helping the public schools, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at 1835 Allston Way. 644-8833. 

Dining Out for Life Over 60 restaurants will donate a portion of their proceeds to Vital Life Services. For a list of participating restaurants, see www.diningoutforlife.com 

Ask a Union Mechanic from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at Parker & Shattuck, until the strike is settled. They will offer advice on all makes of car. 

fWorld of Plants Tours Thurs., Sat. and Sun. at 1:30 p.m. at the UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. Cost is $5. 643-2755. http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu 

“Dancing with Wonder: Self Discovery Through Stories” with Nancy King and Susan Felix at 7:30 p.m. at the BRJCC, 1414 Walnut St. Cost is $5, reservations required. 848-0237. 

ONGOING 

Poll Workers Needed in Alameda County for June 6 Primary Election. Poll workers must be eligible to register to vote in California, have basic clerical skills. Training classes begin in May. To sign up call 272-6971. 

CITY MEETINGS 

Parks and Recreation Commission meets Mon., April 24, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Virginia Aiello, 981-5158. ww.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ 

commissions/parksandrecreation 

City Council meets Tues., April 25 at 7 p.m in City Council Chambers. 981-6900. www.ci. 

berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil 

Civic Arts Commission meets Wed., April 26, at 6:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Mary Ann Merker, 981-7533.  

Disaster and Fire Safety Commission meets Wed., April 26, at 7 p.m., at the Emergency Operations Center, 997 Cedar St. Gil Dong, 981-5502.  

Energy Commission meets Wed., April 26, at 6:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Neal De Snoo, 981-5434.  

Planning Commission meets Wed., April 26, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Janet Homrighausen, 981-7484. www.ci.berkeley. ca.us/commissions/planning 

School Board meets Wed. April 26 at 7:30 p.m., in the City Council Chambers. Mark Coplan 644-6320. 

Commission on Labor Special Meeting on Workplace Bullying on Wed., April 27 at 5:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Delfina M. Geiken, 981-7550.  

Zoning Adjustments Board meets Thurs., April 27, at 7 p.m., in City Council Chambers. Mark Rhoades, 981-7410.   

7

FRIDAY, APRIL 21 

CHILDREN 

“Percussion Discussion” a performance by Ken Bergmann, including making your own instruments, from noon to 2 p.m. at Lawrence Hall of Science, Centennial Drive. Cost is $7.50-$9.50. 642-5132. 

THEATER 

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley “The Devil’s Disciple” by G.B. Shaw, Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at Live Oak Theater, 1301 Shattuck Ave. through May 6. Tickets are $12. 649-5999.  

Aurora Theatre “Small Tragedy” Wed.-Sat at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 and 7 p.m. at 2081 Addison St., through May 14. Tickets are $38. 843-4822.  

BareStage “The Fantasticks” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m., at Cesar Chavez Student Center, UC Campus. Tickets are $8-$12. 642-3880.  

Berkeley Rep “The Glass Menagerie” at 8 p.m. at the Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St. Tickets are $59. Runs through May 31. 647-2949.  

Contra Costa Civic Theater “Animal Crackers” at 8 p.m. Fri and Sat., and Sun. at 2 p.m. at 951 Pomona Ave., El Cerrito, through May 20. Tickets are $12-$20. 524-9132.  

Impact Theater “Money & Run Episode 4: Go Straight, No Chaser,” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m. at La Val’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid Ave. Cost is $10-$15. Runs through May 27. 464-4468.  

Masquers Playhouse “Relative Values” by Noel Coward. Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at 105 Park Place, Point Richmond, through May 6. Tickets are $15. 232-4031. www.masquers.org 

Shotgun Players “Bright Ideas” Thurs.-Sun. at 8 p.m. at the Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave. to April 23. Tickets are $15-$30. 841-6500.  

Subterranean Shakespeare “Richard III” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. at Rose in Live Oak Park, through May. 20. Tickets are $12-$17. 276-3871. 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Is It a Crow?” Abstract works by eight Bay Area artists. Reception at 6 p.m. at the Women’s Cancer Resource Center, 5741 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. Exhibition runs to May 25. 601-4040, ext. 111. www.wcrc.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

John Hideyo Hamamura describes the Japanese-American experience in his novel “The Color of the Sea” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

En Pointe Youth Dance Company “Horizons” at 8 p.m. at the Roda Theater, 2025 Addison St. Tickets are $6-$10. enpointedance@yahoo.com 

Berkeley Dance Project 2006 Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 7 p.m. at Zellerbach Playhouse, UC Campus. Tickets are $8-$14. 642-9925. 

Paufve Dance “The Big Squeeze” at 8 p.m. at Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, 2704 Alcatraz at College. Tickets are $10-$15. Reservations required. 428-9713.  

“Four Choreographers/One Connection” Dance performance Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at Mills College, Lisser Hall, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland. Tickets are $12-$15. 430-2175. 

Oakland East Bay Symphony with Karla Donehew, violin, at 8 p.m. at Paramount Theater, 2025 Broadway. Pre-concert lecture at 7:05 p.m. Tickets are $15-$60. 625-8497.  

The Georges Lammam Ensemble at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $15. Benefit for the Palestinian youth of Deir Ibzi’a. 849-2568.  

Project Greenfield, Midnight Madness at 9 p.m. at Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph Ave. Cost is $5.  

California Bach Society “Monteverdi: Missa in illo tempore” at 8 p.m. at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 2300 Bancroft Way. 415-262-0272.  

Salvador Santana at 9 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $8-$10. 848-0886.  

John Newby & his Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island. Cost is $7. 841-JAZZ.  

Caribbean Allstars at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $11-$13. 525-5054.  

Bittersweet, americana, at 8 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave. 548-5198.  

Laurie Lewis & the Right Hands at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761.  

Eddie Marshall Trio at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

Renee Asteria & Deborah Crooks at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

Bart Davenport, Mushroom, at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082.  

Deadfall, Formaldahyde Junkies, I Object, at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

Beatropolis at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Omar Sosa Quartet, featuring Pee Wee Ellis at 8 and 10 p.m., at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10. 238-9200.  

SATURDAY, APRIL 22 

CHILDREN  

Celebration of Children’s Literature Book fair with author signings and costumed characters, storytelling, music and a drop-in art activities for children, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m at Tolman Hall, UC Campus. http:// 

gse.berkeley.edu/admin/childlit 

Los Amiguitos de La Peña with Colibri, songs in English and Spanish, at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $4 for adults, $3 for children. 849-2568.  

Create Your Own Flip Book A free workshop with Roberta Gould from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

EXHIBITIONS 

Earth Day Glass Blowing Demonstration from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Cohn-Stone Studios, 560 South 31st St., near Regatta Blvd exit, Richmond. Also on Sun. 234-9690.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Wole Soyinka, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature reads from his memoir “You Must Set Forth at Dawn” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852.  

Rhythm & Muse Open Mic Night at 7 p.m. at at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St., between Eunice & Rose Sts. Admission free. 644-6893.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Berkeley Opera “Chrysalis” by Clark Suprynowicz and John O’Keefe at 8 p.m. at Julia Morgan Theater, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $15-$40. 925-798-1300.  

Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra “Ode to Joy” at 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church, Dana and Durant Sts. Tickets are $28-$62. 415-392-4400. www.philharmonia.org 

En Pointe Youth Dance Company “Horizons” at 8 p.m. at the Roda Theater, 2025 Addison St. Tickets are $6-$10. enpointedance@yahoo.com 

Paufve Dance “The Big Squeeze” at 8 p.m. at Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, 2704 Alcatraz at College. Tickets are $10-$15. Reservations required. 428-9713.  

Berkeley Dance Project 2006 Works by Margaret Jenkins, Reggie Wilson and Ellis Wood at 8 p.m., Sun. at 7 p.m. at Zellerbach Playhouse, UC Campus. Tickets are $8-$14. 642-9925. 

Trinity Chamber Concerts, The Music of Walter Gieseking, at 8 p.m. at Trinity Chapel, 2320 Dana St.. Tickets are $8-$12. 549-3864.  

Kensington Symphony with Chauncey Aceret, cello, Young Soloist Competition Winner, 8 p.m. Northminster Presbyterian Church, 545 Ashbury Ave., El Cerrito. Donation $8-$10. 524-9912.  

“Four Choreographers/One Connection” Dance performance at 8 p.m. at Mills College, Lisser Hall, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland. Tickets are $12-$15. 430-2175. 

Jai Uttal Kirtan Devotional Music Series at 7 p.m. Studio Rasa, 933 Parker St. Tickets are $15-$18. 843-2787.  

Jen Spool at 8:30 p.m. at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave. Tickets are $10-$15, no one turned away. 644-2204. 

Erica Azim, traditional Shona mbira music of Zimbabwe at 8 p.m. at the Mahea Uchiyama Center for International Dance, 729 Heinz Ave. 

Justice, Jazz & Decadent Desserts with Ben Brandzel, of MoveOn.org, George Brooks, jazz sazophonist, and members of Berkeley High School Jazz Band, at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. Tickets are $10-$50. 547-2424, ext. 110. www.jycajustice.org  

The Mixers, classic rock and blues at 9:30 p.m. at The Pub at Baltic Square, 135 Park Place, Pt. R ichmond. Cost is $5. 237-4782. 

Carne Cruda, Latin, funk, cumbia, reggae at 9:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $5-$7. 849-2568.  

Jessica Neighbor & her Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ.  

Wild Catahoulas at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $11-$13. 525-5054.  

Sam Misner & Megan Smith at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

Kasey Knudsen Sextet at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Laurie Lewis & the Right Hands at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761.  

Jennifer Johns, Bumbalo & Sok the Virgo at 9 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $8-$10. 848-0886.  

Mark Levine Trio at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12-$15. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Eric Swinderman Quartet at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Kurt Ribak Jazz Group at 9:30 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $3. 843-2473.  

Don Villa & Friends at 8 p.m. at Spuds Pizza, 3290 Adeline St. Cost is $7. 558-0881. 

Conspiracy of Beards, The Pillows, Loop Station at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082.  

Internal Affairs, Blue Monday, Miles Away, Panic at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $7. 525-9926. 

Omar Sosa Quartet, featuring Pee Wee Ellis at 8 and 10 p.m., at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10. 238-9200.  

SUNDAY, APRIL 23 

CHILDREN 

Mary Ellen Hill, stories in honor of Earth Day at 3 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $4-$6. 525-5054.  

THEATER 

Josh Kornbluth “Ben Franklin Unplugged” at 2 p.m. at Congregation Beth El, 1301 Oxford St. Tickets are $50 and up. 848-3988. www.bethelberkeley.org 

FILM 

San Francisco Women’s Film Festival “All is Normal” and “Snowblink” at 5 and 8 p.m. at the Parkway Theater, 1834 Park Blvd., Oakland. Tickets are $8. 814-2400. www.sfwff.com 

Watchword Cartoon Festival and brunch from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave. Cost is $5. 845-0304. www.watchwordpress.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Berkeley Architecture of Bernard Maybeck” with UC Architecture Professor Emeritus Kenneth H. Cardwell at 3 p.m. at the Berkeley History Center, 1931 Center St. 848-0181.  

“If You Don’t Listen You Don’t Hear” Spoken word, poetry and more by East Bay youth at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $7-$10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Dr. Amy Tiemann, author of “Mojo Mom” at 3 p.m. at Play Café, 4400 Keller Ave., Oakland. Cost is $29.95, includes book. Registration required. 632-4433. 

Island Literary Series, jazz and poetry at 3 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $2-$4. 841-JAZZ. 

Poetry Flash with Basil King and Martha King at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. Donation $2. 845-7852.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Krystian Zimerman, piano, at 3 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $34-$58. 642-9988.  

UC Alumni Chorus presents “It Takes Two: A Concert of Pairs” at 7 p.m. at Hertz Hall, Bancroft at College Ave., UC Campus. Tickets are $6-$15. 233-3469. www.ucac.net 

Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra “Ode to Joy” at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church. Tickets are $28-$62. 415-392-4400.  

Berkeley Dance Project 2006 at 7 p.m. at Zellerbach Playhouse, UC Campus. Tickets are $8-$14. 642-9925. 

Paufve Dance “The Big Squeeze” at 8 p.m. at Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, 2704 Alcatraz at College. Tickets are $10-$15. 428-9713.  

“Four Choreographers/One Connection” Dance performance at 2 p.m. at Mills College, Lisser Hall, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland. Tickets are $12-$15. 430-2175. 

Bay Area Follies Senior Center dancers at 2 and 7 p.m. at the Roda Theater, 2015 Addison St. Tickets are $10-$15 at the door. 

Vasen, Swedish folk revivalists, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $19.50-$20.50. 548-1761.  

Dave Matthews Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ.  

TrioMetrik New Media Compositions at 8 p.m. at Center for New Music and Audio Technologies, 1750 Arch. Tickets are $10. www.cnmat.berkeley.edu  

Americana Unplugged, bluegrass and oldtime showcase, at 5 p.m. at Jupiter. 655-5715.  

Ajamu Akinyele with Gemini Soul at 11 a.m. at Nomad Cafe. 595-5344. 

Wire Graffiti, Compton SF, Dynamite 8 at 3 p.m. at Stork Club, 2330 Telegraph Ave. Cost is $5. 444-6174. 

108, Look Back and Laugh, Lights Out Gather at 5 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

MONDAY, APRIL 24 

EXHIBITIONS 

Barclay Simpson MFA Awards Exhibition at the Tecoah Bruce Gallery, Oliver Art Center, California College of the Arts, 5212 Broadway. Reception and awards presentation at 5:30 p.m. 415-51-9213. 

THEATER 

Traveling Jewish Theatre, “All Through the Night” at 8 p.m. at the Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave. Tickets are $12 - $15. 415-522-0786.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Aurora Theatre “Los Once” a reading of the play by Finnigan Sullivan, and “The Nigeria Show” by Jayne Wenger at 7:30 p.m. at 2081 Addison St. Free. 843-4822.  

Michael Lavigne introduces his new novel about the Holocaust, “Not Me” at 7:30 p.m. at the BRJCC, 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237. 

Jane Fonda introduces her memoir “My Life So Far” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Poetry Express Open Mic Theme Night “Cats” at 7 p.m., at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. berkeleypoetryexpress@yahoo.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

West Coast Songwriters Open Mic at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $5. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Mastro Omar Mokhtari, Algerian music and flamenco fusion, at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Zilberella Monday at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ.  

Chabot College Jazz Groups at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

TUESDAY, APRIL 25 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Tell It On Tuesday Original storytelling at 7 p.m. at the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Cost is $8-$12 at the door. www.juliamorgan.org 

Joel Beinin introduces “The Struggle for Sovereignty: Palestine and Israel, 1993-2005” edited by Joel Beinin and Rebecca L. Stein at 5:30 p.m. at Unversity Press Books, 2430 Bancroft Way. 548-0585. 

Morris Bermanon introduces “Dark Ages America...” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

David Mitchell reads from his new novel “Black Swan Green” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Tom Rigney & Flambeau at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $9. 525-5054.  

Larry Vuckovich, solo jazz piano, at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Ellen Hoffman Trio and Singers’ Open Mic at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ.  

Dave Douglas Quintet at 8 and 10 p.m. Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$18. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

Randy Craig Trio at 7:30 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Jazzschool Tuesdays at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26 

THEATER 

The Marsh Berkeley “Faulty Intelligence”satirical songs by Roy Zimmerman, Wed.-Thurs. at 7 p.m. at 2118 Allston Way, through April 27. Tickets are $15-$22. www.themarsh.org 

FILM 

Film 50: History of Cinema “Wings of Desire” at 3 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Berkeley Treasures “A Conversation with Karl Kasten,” painter and printmaker, at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. in Live Oak Park. 644-6893. 

Jonathan Safran Foer introduces his novel “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852.  

Elisa Southard, author of “Break Through the Noise: 9 Tools to Propel Your Marketing Message” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698.  

Cynthia Taylor in conversation on her new book “A. Philip Randolph: The Religious Journey of an African American Labor Leader” at 5:30 p.m. at Unversity Press Books, 2430 Bancroft Way. 548-0585. 

Writing Teachers Write, monthly reading, at 5 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Berkeley Poetry Slam with host Charles Ellik and Three Blind Mice, at 8:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5-$7. 841-2082 www.starryploughpub.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Wednesday Noon Concert, “Javanese Gamelan” at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Free. 642-4864. http://music.berkeley.edu 

Berkeley Opera “Chrysalis” by Clark Suprynowicz and John O’Keefe at 7:30 p.m. at Julia Morgan Theater, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $15-$40. 925-798-1300. www.berkeleyopera.org 

UC Jazz Ensembles at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Ned Boynton Trio at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

Helsinki Skylight, with bassist Sam Beven, at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Track Fighter, The Main Event, The Great Divorce at 9 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $8-$10. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

Dave Douglas Quintet at 8 and 10 p.m. Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$18. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

After too long a period of vacuous, gallery-driven shows, the MATRIX program of the Berkeley Art Museum has come back to life with a radical exhibition by its newly appointed curator Chris Gilbert: “New-Time: Media Along the Path of the Bolivarian Process.”  

The work of Dario Azzelini, a writer and political analyst, living in Berlin and Mexico City, and the Austrian artist Oliver Ressler, it is a multi-screen projection on the subject of Venezuela’s worker-controlled factories. The two men recorded extensive interviews with workers in five factories which produce aluminum, textiles, cocoa, paper and tomato products. The viewer confronts workers who have occupied and controlled factories as part of Hugo Chávez’s socialist revolution. In the background we see and hear the factories at work. 

Aware of the failure of Soviet Russia and the countries under Soviet domination, the workers themselves, not the state, control the means of production in these factories. They make decisions, which, they tell us, are based on human values.  

The viewer listening to the workers and looking at the factories learns about co-management (cogestión), which is based on the Bolivarian Constitution of Venezuela (1999), that stresses the economic rights of the country’s citizens: “the fair distribution of wealth as well as the production of goods and services that meet the needs of the populace,” and “security, health, environmental protection.” In the video one of the workers sums it up by saying, “We are the protagonists ... We don’t think as Commandante Chávez does, Commandante Chávez thinks like us and that is why he is there and we will keep him there.” 

With the over-extension of the U.S. military, we can hope that there might not be another interference of “Contras” in the Venezuelan revolution. With the exception of the right-wing governments of Columbia and Paraguay, most of the South American continent has moved to the left, with Venezuela advancing furthest in its revolution against neo-liberal globalization and U.S. hegemony. Is it possible that George W. Bush has succeeded where Simon Bolivar and Che Guevara had failed? 

The current exhibition will be on view until May 28. It is to be followed by further presentations in a yearlong cycle of projects in solidarity with the Bolivarian Revolution. Mr. Gilbert wants art to be didactic and politically active. He says that these exhibitions will “not merely document but also contribute to their subjects. This is a departure from a tradition of political art and exhibitions, in that it acknowledges that works of art can be part of the new world that revolutionary art brings into being rather than simply reflecting upon them.” 

In the long debate as to whether art can change consciousness, the new MATRIX curator, like this writer, believes that it can indeed have an effect on society. This work seems related to the earlier photo documentations by Allan Sekula, who in 1978 wrote: “We need to counterpose an active resistance, simultaneously political and symbolic, to monopoly capitalism’s increasing power and arrogance, a resistance aimed ultimately at socialist transformation.” 

This is by no means the only political art exhibition in the Bay Area. The Yuerba Buena Center for the Arts has just opened a major exhibition, “Black Panther Rank and File” which offers a multifaceted look at the legacy of the Black Panthers, using “the Black Panther Party as a lens through which we can explore the role the artists play in inspiring social change and in remembering and reflecting on human struggle and achievement.” 

Now-Time Venezuela, Part 1:  

Worker-Controlled Factories 

Through Sunday, May 28 

Now-Time Venezuela, Part 2:  

Revolutionary Television in Catia 

Sunday, May 14 through Sunday, July 16 

Berkeley Art Museum 

2626 Bancroft Way 

2621 Durant Avenue 

Wednesday – Sunday 11 a.m.-5 p.m. 

Thursdays 11 a.m.-7 p.m. 

Photo Caption:  

A factory worker from a scene in “Now Time Venezuela, Part 1: Worker-Controlled Factories.”

The films of Busby Berkeley are rendered in the popular imagination as naïve and silly entertainments from a simpler time, from a bygone era of innocence, frivolity and wholly unsophisticated audiences. This notion is not only false, it gives short shrift to the director and to the moviegoers who flocked to his films. 

In the 1930s films of Busby Berkeley the plot is merely a hook on which to hang the director-choreographer’s surreal musical sequences—interludes of imaginative and often highly subversive sexual fantasies. 

Six of Berkeley’s best-known movies have recently been released in a box set, the Busby Berkeley Collection, and a careful viewing of these early musicals dispels any lingering notions of their innocence. 

Movie musicals began with the advent of reliable sound technology in the late 1920s, which sent the industry into a tailspin as the major studios hastily adopted the new medium. 

Though there are examples of extraordinary filmmaking during this era, they are few and far between. For the most part, the earliest talkies were awkward and clumsy, and hardly any them are remembered today, other than as examples of the pitfalls of the new technology.  

Much of this was due to the physical demands of the equipment. The boom microphone hadn’t been invented, so large mics had to be somehow concealed on the set, and actors had to do their best to direct their voices toward them. And the camera, which was quite noisy, had to be engulfed in blimp-like wrapping to silence it, or placed inside a sound-proof booth, filming the action from behind a plate-glass window. Both techniques essentially immobilized the camera, rendering the early talkies static and stagebound.  

This is the context from which sprang the Hollywood musical. Early musicals were essentially filmed stage productions, with the camera placed dead center in the equivalent of the front row and the actors and dancers paraded back and forth before its gaze. And that was enough—for a while. Audiences were drawn by the spectacle, by the novelty of sound, and of course by the allure of Hollywood chorus girls. 

Then came Busby Berkeley. 

Before making the move to Hollywood, Berkeley had made a name for himself as a choreographer in a string of successful New York stage productions. Once in the movie business he quickly expanded his role, first taking over the direction of his musical numbers and then assuming control of the films themselves.  

Berkeley wasn’t much of a director when there was no music. In fact, he was quite mediocre. It’s unclear whether he simply had no talent for handling actors and dialogue or simply didn’t care enough to bother. But once the music started, there was no one like him. He exploited every device and angle that cinema afforded him. 

Berkeley presented dancers in vast groups, in multitudes swirling about in shifting geometric patterns. More often than not these multitudes featured dozens of identically and scantily clad ingenues in pulsating patterns, with the camera dollying smoothly and suggestively toward and through them. Film critic David Thomson, in his Biographical Dictionary of Film, describes Berkeley as having revealed cinema’s “ready, lascivious disposition toward orgy.” 

Gold Diggers of 1935 was made shortly after the industry began enforcing the Production Code, Hollywood’s attempt to appease the federal government by a method of self-censorship. It laid down strict rules of morality for film content: villains were to be punished; good must always triumph over evil; loose women should learn the error of their ways or at least be made to face dire consequences, etc. A director could manage to smuggle in some immoral behavior here and there, as long as it was questioned or punished by the film’s end. 

There were plenty of directors who flouted these rules, slipping subtle innuendo into their films. But no one subverted the code more ostentatiously than Berkeley. 

By the time Gold Diggers was made, sound technology had advanced significantly, with boom mics and a mobile cameras allowing Berkeley to expand his canvas. Though it is neither the film’s biggest nor most famous number, the “Words in My Heart” sequence is one of Berkeley’s most fascinating. The song features dozens of virginal upper-class society girls, dressed in white and seated primly at pearly white baby grand pianos, all swirling and spinning in ecstatic little pirouettes amid a sea of blackness. As they move about, the group takes on various shapes, at one point aligning themselves in two columns which recede into the distance. The two lines begin to move apart and together again in sensuous undulations as the camera pulls back, essentially taking on the appearance of a sort of animated Georgia O’Keefe painting.  

This would be suggestive enough, but Berkeley takes it a step further. For if you look closely, under each of those pianos is a pair of black-clad legs, the legs of dozens of men who are essentially carrying the pianos on their backs, propelling these young belles around the floor. The furtiveness of their placement, along with the positioning of the their bodies in relationship to the women, suggests far more than one might suspect at first glance. 

The fact that these men are visible is not an accident. Special effects were quite sophisticated by the early 1920s. This is not a case of a director clumsily revealing the mechanics of his technique. Berkeley chose to make those men visible, chose to incorporate them into the dance, chose to allow reflections on the black floor to bring out their silhouettes. With Freudian flair, he quite deliberately placed them beneath the gleaming, shimmering surfaces of lovely white pianos and lovely white ladies. 

The song is followed a few minutes later by the film’s climactic sequence, Winy Shaw’s Oscar-winning performance of “Lullaby of Broadway.” Again, the segment is typical Berkeley: A swarm of dancers parades across vast Art Deco sets, drawing Shaw into their whirlwind of movement. But the sequence ends abruptly as Shaw falls from a balcony to her death. It’s difficult to interpret this development: Was Berkeley bowing to the Production Code? Or was he satirizing the code? Or was it just a tragic little melodrama with no greater consideration?  

Perhaps it was meant to appease the censors, not for Wini Shaw’s devil-may-care frolic among the chorus, but for the racy “Words in My Heart” sequence that preceded it.  

In the depths of the depression, Hollywood provided glossy, escapist movies which sought to entertain audiences by returning them to the heady days of the 1920s, to the days of jazz, flappers and prosperity, an era when the theories of Sigmund Freud were in vogue. And in that generation of directors, there was no one more giddily Freudian than Busby Berkeley. 

The Busby Berkeley Collection 

Featuring Footlight Parade, Gold Diggers of 1933, Dames, 42nd Street, Gold Diggers of 1935, as well as bonus features, including a compilation of more than 20 complete musical numbers from nine of Berkeley’s Warner Bros. films of the 1930s.  

Warner Home Video. Unrated. $59.98›

The Devil’s Disciple, Bernard Shaw’s comedy set during the Revolutionary War—and now onstage at Live Oak Theatre in an Actors Ensemble production—is a humorous collision between costume drama, comedy of manners and a problem play: Shaw’s peculiar formula. 

It follows out the line of deliberate statements of apostasy by the self-proclaimed “Devil’s Disciple,” one Dick Dudgeon (Josh Lenn), and his seemingly Non-Euclidean parallel actions that never quite intersect with the blackened self-impression which he carefully presents to puritanical Websterbridge, New Hampshire, in 1777. The plot involves his family, the local Presbyterian minister (Jim Colgan) and his pretty young wife (Nancy Bower) and the occupying forces of His Majesty’s Army. Dick’s brother Christy (Christopher Fabbro) rankles against their mother’s (Dory Ehrlich) pious sternness—“least said is soonest mended”—as they await the arrival of minister and attorney (David Cohen) to hear the reading of old Dudgeon’s will. They also learn that his brother was just hanged by the British as a rebel in nearby Springtown.  

Mrs. Dudgeon is deadset against her eldest: “I am Richard’s mother. If I am against him, who has any right to be for him?” and acidly tells the minister he lost influence over her when he married a young thing. Dick high-handedly waltzes in and claims his lion’s-share of family estate. ”Because, sir,” as the lawyer declares, “the courts will sustain the claims of a man, and that the eldest son, against the claims of any woman.” 

But Mrs. Dudgeon isn’t having anything of primogeniture; she stalks out of the house her late husband intended them to live in together as a family, with Prodigal Son Dick providing for them and acting “as a good friend to my old horse, Jim.” 

Only his young cousin Essie (Lily Cantor), “that sinful child” who slept when her father “was just in the grave,” asks to stay with him in the family home. Dick sticks it to the townfolk who have come to hear the reading, telling them with delight to their faces what they only discuss behind each other’s back. 

Actors’ Ensemble, with David Stein directing, essays its way through this welter of tartly hilarious contradiction. And it succeeds at the point many community theater productions of Shaw conk out. 

There’s a somewhat rough start in act one, with diction and dynamics often out of kilter—enlivened by some juice from Cohen and Lenn, though Dick’s swagger gets a bit pose-y and his glibness a bit too contemporary in manner. Act two begins to get in step, and the third act, the most suave of Shavian comedy in the play, hits its stride with the excellent repartee of Kyle Nash as mannered Major Swindon, dismissive of the efficacy of the colonials who have started to surround them, and splendid Tom Reilly as “Gentlemanly Johnny.” 

They insist on all behaving like gentleman throughout kangaroo court and hanging, though Johnny speaks of incompetence and red tape as the real enemies, in London, and remarks to stilted Maj. Swindon, “Your friend the British soldier can stand up to anything—except the British War Office!” 

The final scenes veer between drama and farce: with the rope around his neck, Dick’s confronted with a High Church priest ( Cohen again) he hasn’t asked for, and lashes out at his pious reading of scripture with “Thou shalt not kill”—to which the priest snaps back: “Now what do you want me to do with that?” 

But another substitution takes place: “In the hour of trial, a man finds his true profession.” 

Just as the man of God turned out to be the revolutionary, Dick, in the midst of yet further reversals, discovers his true calling is rather different from the position espoused in his fluent and frequent freethinking rhetoric. 

Dick Dudgeon’s that unique character, the Shavian hero, a figure that perhaps led Bertolt Brecht in his search for a political and epic theater to investigate what Walter Benjamin called “the untragic hero,” a creature of the contradictions of his peculiar predicament in the conditions that bred him. 

Shaw’s comedy is always conditional, yet has the gleam in the eye of the actor who steps out of the scene for an instant, pointing back to it with humor, saying, “Can you believe this?” 

Box:  

The Actors Ensemble of Berkeley present The Devil's Disciple by George Bernard Shaw at Live Oak Theatre at Live Oak Park on Shattuck Avenue through May 6. For more information, see www.aeofberkeley.org or call 525-1620.  

The Actors Ensemble of Berkeley present The Devil’s Disciple by George Bernard Shaw at Live Oak Theatre at Live Oak Park on Shattuck Avenue through May 6. For more information call 525-1620 or see www.aeofberkeley.org.