Arts And Entertainment

THURSDAY, MAY 1 -more-

The scene should have been a familiar one to a theater reviewer: rows of seats, the seatholders with an air of anticipation, focused on the spectacle to commence before them. -more-

Follies is one of Sondheim’s greatest works,” said Michael Morgan, Oakland East Bay Symphony director and conductor, of the concert version of the Stephen Sondheim-James Goldman Tony-winning musical the symphony will stage at Oakland’s Paramount Theatre May 16 and 18, with Academy Award-Tony-Grammy winner Rita Moreno, Val Diamond (Beach Blanket Babylon) and cabaret diva Sharon McKnight as guest stars. “[It’s] the timeless story of aging, learning from past mistakes and passing wisdom down from generation to generation.” -more-

Carla Zilbersmith of Albany is a dynamic performer—jazz singer, impressionist, comic, actor—who has also been influential as teacher and director. Her original show, Wedding Singer Blues, was a critical success here and in Los Angeles. Diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), she’s retiring from teaching, but will continue to perform—at the JazzSchool, June 14 and Anna’s Jazz Island on July 11, and also at 8 and 10 p.m. this coming Tuesday, May 6, at Yoshi’s Jack London Square in a benefit for her, with 30 musicians, including musical satirist Roy Zimmerman as well as the JazzSchool Composers Collective Big Band. Carla will sing standards from her new CD Extraordinary Renditions. 238-9200, www.yoshis.com or www.quiltmamas.com. -more-

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni climbed up the red-tiled stairs of the International House at UC Berkeley on a recent April afternoon with the familiar gait of someone who has done it a thousand times before. -more-

Almost from the beginning of the medium, filmmakers sought to exploit cinema’s unique properties. From the moment they could, directors were eager to transcend the limits of traditional theater by putting the camera in motion, by sending it racing, swooping and soaring; by using a variety of lenses to shape the image, to magnify, distort and exaggerate; and by using the editing process to suggest, startle and surprise. -more-

FRIDAY, APRIL 25 -more-

If I’d had a normal life, I could’ve been a Schopenhauer or a Dostoyevsky!” Funny, awkward explosions like that are rare but significant moments in Chekhov’s plays, which—as one spectator at the Actors Ensemble of Berkeley production of Uncle Vanya put it—seem to run on the rhythms of “the comedy of everyday life.” -more-

Guitarist John Schott will join poet Steve Dickison in an unusual “back and forth, call and response” poetry and music improvisation as part of this coming Monday At Moe’s reading series, 7:30 p.m. at Moe’s Books on Telegraph Ave. Admission is free. -more-