Arts Listings

This weekend, one notable music event and several in the theater: 

The Berkeley World Music Festival is teaming up with Art House Gallery & Cultural Center, 2905 Shattuck, just north of Ashby, for a new series of "favorite picks," starting this weekend with a double bill of Sukhawat Ali Khan's Qawwali Sufi vocals and Lisa Sangita Moskow's unique electric sarode playing. 7:30 p. m. Saturday, March 27. $10 at the door. Berkeley World Music Festival will transform Telegraph Avenue once again on Saturday, June 5. berkeleyworldmusic.com  

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This Monday, a special event in local theater: Subterranean Shakespeare presents, one night only, KING LEAR, as number 34 of their Shakespeare Superintensive staged reading series of The Bard's complete canon--directed by Bob Ernst, cofounder of the Blake Street Hawkeyes, who will also play the crazed king. GEoffrey Pond of SubShakes notes that Ernst wrote and performed a solo show, THE JOHN, about a spectator at a production of LEAR who meets the devil in the men's room, featuring the storm scene from the original tragedy, which Ernst later sang as "Lear's Blues" on SubShakes' CD, SHAKESPEARE'S GREATEST HITS. Ernst will do a reprise during the reading, with some of his original accompanists, The Serfs. (A' that! But can he heft Cordelia?) 

Monday, March 29, 7:30 p. m. at the Unitarian Fellowship, 1924 Cedar at Bonita. $8. 276-3871. 

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Masquers Playhouse in Pt. Richmond opens the Jerry Bock-Sheldon Harnick-Jerome Coopersmith musical comedy omnibus, THE APPLE TREE, with vignettes from Mark Twain and Jules Feiffer, March 26-May 1. 232-4031; masquers.org  

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Active Arts Theatre for Young Audiences opens the PEANUTS musical, YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN, March 27-April 18 at the Julia Morgan Center on College Avenue, followed by a briefer run in San Ramon, after which the troupe of professional actors will change its name to Bay Area Children's Theatre, partnering with the new Freight and Salvage downtown for its performances next season. 296-4433; activeartstheatre.org  

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Closing this weekend: Ragged Wing's engaging HANDLESS at Central Stage, 5221 Central Avenue near I-80, Richmond Annex. $15-$30. (800) 838-3006; raggedwing.org MAN OF LA MANCHA at Altarena Playhouse, 1409 High Street, Alameda (523-1553; altarena.org --and Virago's concert version of LA BOHEME at Rhythmix Cultural Works, near the Fruitvale Bridge, also in Alameda. 865-6237; viragotheatre.org