Arts & Events

FRIDAY, DEC. 15 -more-

MUSIC FROM THREE GREAT COMPOSERS -more-

At the outset of The Forest War, Mark Jackson’s new play (which he also directs), produced by the Shotgun Players at the Ashby Stage, a doddering old Grand Lord Karug (Drew Anderson) and his retinue slide out onto the stage, facing the audience, in an impression of Kabuki. -more-

Between 1900 and 1910, Berkeley’s population more than tripled, from 13,214 to 40,434 inhabitants. Much of the growth was stimulated by the flight of thousands of San Franciscans to the East Bay following the 1906 earthquake and fire. -more-

I met a nice couple the other day. Sadly, they were clearly in some distress over the fortunes of their remodeling process. They’d engaged a GC (builder-speak for general contractor) last year to do a rather sweeping and costly rehab on a mid-sized house in the hills of Oakland and things hadn’t gone quite as well as they’d hoped. -more-

Oh my, this is a touchy time of year, all those cultural sensitivities waiting to be stepped on. Wishing someone “happy holidays” would seem universal enough, but I read a newswire piece the other day in which a guy was quoted as bragging that he’d bullied some hapless WalMart clerk into wiping that phrase off a window because, “It’s supposed to be ‘Merry Christmas!’” Honestly, sometimes it makes me miss good old Saturnalia. -more-

FRIDAY, DEC. 15 -more-

TUESDAY, DEC. 12 -more-

RISE OF ITALY’S TRADE UNION MOVEMENT -more-

Today (Tuesday) marks the return of Berkeley’s Charlie Hunter, one of the most innovative and entertaining performers in jazz, to Yoshi’s for six shows. For many years a regular on the Bay Area club scene, the guitarist, currently based in New York, will bring his trio back to the East Bay for his annual winter pilgrimage. -more-

Among the Nutcrackers and Christmas Carols, another holiday show has sprouted up, Ron Lytle’s original musical comedy, The Man Who Saved Christmas, going into its last week at Altarena Playhouse on High Street in Alameda. -more-

A tree student learns a set of categories: the 50-mph tree, the 30-mph tree, the stop-and-think tree. The distinctions here concern how fast-moving and far away you can be and still be able to identify a tree—how distinctive it is from a distance. -more-

TUESDAY, DEC. 12 -more-