They feature a few guilty chuckles, many from the grumpy yet affable host who interjects his awkward perspective into the proceedings constantly. Then there are feather-fisted members of the security team that tries to break up the angry subjects and their physical battles, a motley crew of bad behavior.

Sadly, the security staff has all the effectiveness of a mouse guarding the door at a nightclub, but hey, anything that gets the purveyors of this brand of trash television to chant the host’s name is a supposed win.

All of which raises a question that probably no one in their right mind would even stumble upon: How in the world does “The Jerry Springer Show” connect to the primal nature of opera?

The answer is “Jerry Springer: the Opera,” a show born in London’s West End 20 years ago and now playing at San Jose Playhouse. It is not for the faint of heart. While the television show functioned highly as a prude-free zone, the production led by the talented cast is solid, even though creators Richard Thomas and Stewart Lee’s concoction isn’t exactly high culture.

The premise is predictable, based on the infamous host whose name blares inside the play’s title. The guests have lots of range — there are serial cheaters, all types of scuzzy folks and even a man who likes to dress as a baby and act out everything, down to the boom boom in his diaper. Oh, and there are also appearances from Angel Gabriel, Jesus and Satan, because hey, why would they miss out on this nonsense?

Any great opera has a brutal death, and Springer’s offing at the hands of someone who was probably actually gunning for a Klan member in Act 1’s finale is brutal indeed. That ending is complete with tap dancing leading to the tighter Act 2, aided by yet another Steve Wilkos (Fred Isozaki) security fail. As a result, Jerry’s infamous final thoughts have transitioned to his new address in Hell.

One of the challenges of the show is finding the line between gratuitous shlock and something genuinely edgy, which is blurred too often. Irreverent humor is the hallmark of many a great production, but here, that irreverence does not have nearly enough sharp satire for it to effectively sustain over the course of the show’s two hours.

That said, many moments are delightfully funny, with terrific production values — some of the best the Playhouse has produced in recent memory. The trio of creatives who make up the bulk of the Playhouse’s productions in downtown San Jose take turns showcasing the mastery of the spectacle.

That spectacle is led with Scott Evan Guggenheim’s deft direction of his talented cast, with Ric Iverson’s turn as Springer achieving a nice balance of the television host’s befuddlement and sketchy inquiry of his oddball guests. Vocal director Stephen Guggenheim consistently receives a pleasing sound from the 11-member cast that serves up tight harmonies and solos. And Shannon Guggenheim’s choreography parallels the freneticism of the original source material, the play mostly moving at breakneck speed. In addition, Shannon Guggenheim’s stellar video designs along with Jon Gourdine’s terrific set creates an environment where television hell (literally) is about to be unleashed.

What works well is the constant tension housed under the studio roof, with the basest and most offensive humor imaginable paired with the pleasing sounds of opera. Many Playhouse regulars make appearances in the production. Nina Edwards is a stellar Mary, with a buttery smooth register making fantastic runs constantly. Beautifully-presenced B Noel Thomas understands deeply the nature of tongue-in-cheek within her multiple roles. Krista Wigle showcases both a solid voice and impeccable comic timing, and Joseph Meyers is especially funny throughout, namely as the narrative comes to a close with his donning a skin-tight Elvis costume.

“Jerry Springer: the Opera” is one wild ride that isn’t going to be for everyone. I can’t really say it was even for me, and I love irreverence. But if it wasn’t wild, it wouldn’t be Jerry Springer. Or opera. After all, people who want their mamas to spank them while dancing on poles are still just, well, people.

David John Chávez is chair of the American Theatre Critics Association and a two-time juror for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (‘22-‘23); @davidjchavez.

‘JERRY SPRINGER: THE OPERA’

Created by Richard Thomas and Stewart Lee, presented by San Jose Playhouse

Through: March 17

Where: 3Below Theaters, 288 S. Second St., San Jose

Running time: Two hours with an intermission

Tickets: $45-$65; sanjoseplayhouse.org

The seven-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter has lined up five California dates on her 2024 Deeper Well World Tour.

Musgraves performs Sept. 23 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Sept. 24 at Chase Center in San Francisco, Oct. 1 at Pechanga Arena San Diego in San Diego and Oct. 3-4 at the KIA Forum in Inglewood.

Tickets go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. March 8, kaceymusgraves.com/tour. American Express cardholders have access to presales in some markets, from 10 a.m. March 5 to 10 p.m. March 7.

Support acts for the tour include Madi Diaz, Father John Misty, Lord Huron and Nickel Creek.

Musgraves is set to release her fifth studio album, “Deeper Well,” out March 15.

KACEY MUSGRAVES DEEPER WELL WORLD TOUR DATES

+Madi Diaz supporting

*Father John Misty/ Nickel Creek supporting

#Lord Huron/ Nickel Creek supporting

Sunday, April 28, 2024- Dublin, IE @ 3Olympia Theatre +

Wednesday, May 1, 2024- Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso +

Friday, May 3, 2024- Brussels, BE@ Ancienne Belgique +

Sunday, May 5, 2024- Cologne, DE @ Carlswerk Victoria +

Monday, May 6, 2024- Hamburg, DE @ DOCKS +

Thursday, May 9, 2024- Glasgow, UK @ O2 Academy +

Saturday, May 11, 2024- Manchester, UK @ O2 Apollo+

Monday, May 13, 2024- Wolverhampton, UK @ The Civic at The Halls +

Tuesday, May 14, 2024- London, UK @ Roundhouse +

Wednesday, September 4, 2024- State College, PA @ Bryce Jordan Center *

Friday, September 6, 2024- Boston, MA @ TD Garden *

Saturday, September 7, 2024- Boston, MA @ TD Garden *

Monday, September 9, 2024- Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center *

Wednesday, September 11, 2024- Grand Rapids, MI @ Van Andel Arena *

Thursday, September 12, 2024- Rosemont, IL @ Allstate Arena *

Sunday, September 15, 2024- Greenwood Village, CO @ Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre *

Thursday, September 19, 2024- Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena *

Friday, September 20, 2024- Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena *

Monday, September 23, 2024- Sacramento, CA @ Golden 1 Center *

Tuesday, September 24, 2024- San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center *

Friday, September 27, 2024- Glendale, AZ @ Desert Diamond Arena *

Saturday, September 28, 2024- Las Vegas, NV @ T-Mobile Arena *

Tuesday, October 1, 2024- San Diego, CA @ Pechanga Arena San Diego *

Thursday, October 3, 2024- Inglewood, CA @ Kia Forum *

Friday, October 4, 2024- Inglewood, CA @ Kia Forum *

Wednesday, November 6, 2024- Laval, QC @ Place Bell #

Thursday, November 7, 2024- Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena #

Saturday, November 9, 2024- Baltimore, MD @ CFG Bank Arena #

Sunday, November 10, 2024- Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena #

Tuesday, November 12, 2024- Louisville, KY @ KFC Yum! Center #

Wednesday, November 13, 2024- Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center #

Friday, November 15, 2024- Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center #

Saturday, November 16, 2024- Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center #

Thursday, November 21, 2024- Houston, TX @ Toyota Center #

Friday, November 22, 2024- Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center #

Saturday, November 23, 2024- Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center #

Tuesday, November 26, 2024- Austin, TX @ Moody Center #

Wednesday, November 27, 2024- Austin, TX @ Moody Center #

Friday, November 29, 2024- Tampa, FL @ Amalie Arena #

Saturday, November 30, 2024- Hollywood, FL @ Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood #

Monday, December 2, 2024- Orlando, FL @ Kia Center #

Thursday, December 5, 2024- Charlotte, NC @ Spectrum Center #

Friday, December 6, 2024- Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena #

Saturday, December 7, 2024- Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena #

1 WATCH : The ‘Dune’ we deserve

“Dune: Part 2” is finally in theaters and all we can say is, wow!

2 PLAY: Magic mustard season

It’s that time of the year in Napa when mustard blooms cast those rolling hills in a beautiful golden glow — but that’s not the only reason to visit the wine country these days.

3 DINE: Check out an exciting new seafood restaurant

Newly opened Hurrica Restaurant in Redwood City welcomes visitors by land or sea with first-rate seafood and a flashy jellyfish aquarium. We checked it out recently and here are our thoughts.

4 MAKE & SCARF: Umami bombs away

These crispy, healthy and utterly addictive lettuce wraps are so easy and quick to make, you won’t believe your tastebuds.

5 SEE & HEAR: Great shows are all over

From Smuin Ballet reviving two of its greatest hits to a “Magic Flute” in Livermore and free tunes at a beloved old bandshell, there are a lot of great shows and concerts to catch this weekend.

6 WATCH: A ‘Shogun’ for a new generation

James Clavell’s epic and compelling novel has been adapted for TV again, and this version is even better than the classic 1980 one.

7 PLAY: A hot, hot, hot new game

“Helldivers 2” is taking the video game world by storm — here’s why.

Smuin Ballet in a celebratory mood

Smuin Contemporary Ballet, the popular San Francisco troupe known for its evocative works that range from somber to silly to sassy, is turning 30 this year and is celebrating the milestone by reviving two favorite pieces created by company founder, the late Michael Smuin.

In five performances today through Sunday, the troupe will perform Smuin’s “Zorro!,” a work that centers on a movie theater usher who dreams on becoming the swashbuckling masked hero. The work is set to music by Grammy- and Emmy-winning composer Charles Fox and features some stunning special fighting and swordplay choreography created by famed fencer Richard Lane. The company is performing the work for the first time since 2006.

Also on the bill is Smuin’s joyous tribute to great American crooner Frank Sinatra, “Fly Me to the Moon.” The work is set to some of singer’s warmest and best-loved hits, including the titular toon, as well as “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “I Won’t Dance,” “That’s Life” and (naturally) “New York, New York.” The 20-year-old work is being revived for this program.

Details: Performances are 7:30 p.m. today and Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday; Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco; $25-$99; www.smuinballet.org

— Randy McMullen, Staff

Classical picks: ‘Poem of Fire,’ Saariaho Celebration, ‘Magic Flute’

An alluring double bill at San Francisco Symphony, a “Saariaho Celebration,” an award-winning tenor in recital, and a magical “Flute” at the opera: here are four events music lovers won’t want to miss.

Dark and deep: Davies Hall is the place to be this week, as the San Francisco Symphony pairs Scriabin’s “Prometheus: The Poem of Fire” with Bartók’s “Duke Bluebeard’s Castle.” In three performances conducted by music director Esa-Pekka Salonen, the double bill program features pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, vocalists Michelle DeYoung and Gerald Finley, and narrator Breezy Leigh; Jenny Wong directs the SF Symphony Chorus. Colored lighting, and “scent effects” by professional perfumer Mathilde Laurent, contribute to the atmospheric experience.

Details: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday; Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco; $39-$169; www.sfsymphony.org.

Saariaho Celebration: The Bay Area has heard enough of Kaija Saariaho’s music to know that the late Finnish composer was a master — and that we want to hear more. Now the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble presents “Butterflies, Moons, and Mirrors: A Saariaho Celebration,” featuring her works for flute, cello, and piano. The program also includes music by Prokofiev, Kay Rhie, Monica Chew and Tomàs Peire Serrate.

Details: 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Berkeley Piano Club; 4 p.m. Sunday at Noe Valley Ministry, San Francisco; $5-$35; leftcoastensemble.org.

Mozart’s “Magic”: Livermore Valley Opera opens its new production of “The Magic Flute” this weekend; sung in English, and directed by Yefim Maizel, the cast features artists Victor Cardamone as Tamino and Phoebe Chee as Pamina, with Shawnette Sulker (Queen of the Night), Alex DeSocio (Papageno) and Kirk Eichelberger (Sarastro.)

Details: 7:30 p.m. Saturday and March 9; 2 p.m. Sunday and March 10; Bankhead Theater, Livermore; $20-$105; LVOpera.com.

— Georgia Rowe, Correspondent

Bandshell gets back to work

The iconic Golden Gate Park Bandshell – aka the Spreckels Temple of Music – was constructed as part of a major San Francisco exposition more than 120 years ago. So, yeah, the stately venue, which was a gift to the city from industrialist Claus Spreckels, is going to require a little fixing up from time to time. The bandshell — one of the oldest and largest of its kind in the country — has been closed for renovations for nearly a year but springs back to action this weekend as the host of a 125-show free concert series that runs into November.

The series, organized by the city Recreation and Parks Department and Illuminate, a nonprofit seeking to promote public arts projects, kicks off from 4 to 7 p.m. March 1 with a concert headlined by Berkeley-based indie soul/pop band Cardboard People. Also on the bill are San Francisco singer/songwriter/rapper Jane the Message and DJ NObe. The extensive schedule of free tunes will follow a theme: singer/songwriters from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesdays; a 4:30-to-7:30 p.m. Happy Hour on Fridays and reggae from 4:20 to 7:30 p.m. Sundays. There will also be extra shows added to the mix, such as March 2, when Bryan Dyer, Teacher Barb and the Musicmakers and more performers take the Bandshell stage from noon to 4 p.m.

In all, acts representing rock, R&B, soul, jazz and big band, funk and more are slated to take the stage. And during March, Women’s History Month, the lineup will feature almost exclusively female or female-fronted acts. The concert series has actually been going on since Golden Gate Park’s 150th anniversary in 2020, when the Bandshell and surrounding facilities received a $1 million renovation that upgraded the stage, sound and lighting systems.

Details: All shows are free; for more information and full schedule, go to illuminate.org.

Bad Bunny brings juggernaut tour to Bay Area

After breaking onto the international scene with the multiplatinum single “Diles” in 2016, Bad Bunny quickly became one of the world’s most popular artists. And he has not looked back.

Just check the Puerto Rican rapper’s stats on Spotify for proof. By 2019, he was the fifth most-streamed artist on the music site. One year later, he came in at No. 1, a position he held for three consecutive years until Taylor Swift finally managed to nudge Bad Bunny into second place in 2023.

He’s also an absolute beast on the Billboard 200, where his 2022 album, “Un Verano Sin Ti,” spent an amazing 13 weeks at No. 1. His latest album (and fifth overall), “Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana,” also topped that same chart.

Bad Bunny is supporting “Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana” — which translates to “Nobody Knows What Is Going to Happen Tomorrow” — with his Most Wanted Tour, a blockbuster trek includes more than 40 shows in more than 30 cities — including three stops in Northern California.

Details: Bad Bunny performs March 1-2 at Chase Center in San Francisco, and March 5 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento; all shows 8 p.m.; tickets start at $200 (subject to change); ticketmaster.com.

— Jim Harrington, Staff

From Provincetown, with love

The current push in many areas to restrict and retrench the rights of members of the LGBTQ community is a sad reminder that certain people have throughout history been attacked and punished simply for wanting to express an identity or pursue a lifestyle that doesn’t jibe with more conservative elements of society. Another aspect of this history is at the center of “Unpacking in P-Town,” a world premiere play opening this week at the New Conservatory Theatre Center in San Francisco.

Jewelle Gomez’  work centers on four former vaudevillian performers making their annual trip to Provincetown to enjoy some fun and sun in the East Coast’s queer summer capital. But it’s 1959 and civil rights battles of all sorts are taking off, and for Buster, Lydia, Minty, and Scottie, the times are a changin, raising complications in their usual vacation plans. Gomez’ work is the third part of a trilogy (following “Waiting for Giovanni,” about author James Baldwin, and “Leaving the Blues” about singer and activist Alberta Hunter) looking at performers and authors during pivotal periods of LGBTQ and civil rights history. “Leaving the Blues” also got its world premiere at New Conservatory.

Details: In previews March 1-3; main run is March 6-31; New Conservatory Theatre, 25 Van Ness Avenue, near Market Street; $20-$48; nctcsf.org.

— Bay City News Foundation

He’s just clowning around

Youngsters onstage with clown Unique Derique in Berkeley portray a rain cloud watering a flower in a pot, and a rainbow popping up. It’s truly charming, and among many delights in “Fool La La: Gift,” running this weekend and next at The Marsh.

Toddlers as young as 3 will enjoy the festivities, but so will older folks, who also get invited to partake in the shenanigans in the spotlight. And while the audience participation sections of “Fool La La” are particularly invigorating, it’s also a riot to watch Unique Derique’s skillful physical comedy. He juggles hats of multiple shapes and colors, rings that glow in the dark, bowling pins, and even a wispy feather he manages to balance on his chin. Oh, and he balances a full-sized unicycle on his face.

Fully engaged in the 21st century, Derique (his alter ego is Lance McGee, a wellness consultant and coach) also packs high tech into his show, with colorful and light displays, references to artificial intelligence, robotics and electronics. He’s also known for his dynamic “hambone” body percussion, and invites patrons for juggling and hambone workshops after each show. And in observance of Black History Month, he’s starting each performance during this run with a tribute to African American artists.

Details: 1 p.m. March 2 and 9; The Marsh Berkeley (also available for streaming); $20-$100; themarsh.org.

— Bay City News Foundation

Sneak peeks from West Edge

West Edge Opera is presenting its eighth incarnation of a unique event, this one labeled Snapshot 2024, twice this weekend — at 7 p.m. March 2 at the Hillside Club in Berkeley and 3 p.m. March 3 at the Taube Atrium Theater in San Francisco. Working with the Earplay Chamber Ensemble and several singers, the company will present excerpts from four new operas, one after the other. In the lineup are composer Kennedy Verrett and librettist George Kopp’s “Madame Theremin,” based on the life of the black ballet dancer who married Russian electronic music pioneer Leon Theremin; Matt Boehler and Tony Asaro’s  “The Road to Wellville,” inspired by novelist T.C. Boyle’s novel of that name about John Harvey Kellogg’s infamous health spa; composers Hovia Edwards and Justin Ralls’  “Nu Na-Hup: Sacajawea’s Story,” with the libretto provided by Rose Anne Abrahamson, the great-great-grandniece of the Native American woman who guided the Lewis and Clark expedition; and the first documented work about the AIDS epidemic in San Francisco, “Least of My Children,” written by the late composer-librettist team of Loren Linnard and Donald Brigg and rediscovered by Linnard’s son, Dean. Hovia Edwards is also one of the singers; others include Katy Pracht, Daniel Cilli, Molly Mahoney, Rayna Campbell, Wilford Kelly and Sergio Gonzalez.

Details: $45 general admission; westedgeopera.org.

— Bay City News Foundation

This year’s lineup is absolutely gigantic, featuring such masters of hard rock as Iron Maiden, Slayer, Halestorm, Slipknot, Pantera, Five Finger Death Punch, Evanescence, Judas Priest and Mötley Crüe.

The complete lineup — which was released on Wednesday — is listed below. Highlights include the the sole U.S. festival date on Iron Maiden’s 2024 tour itinerary and the only West Coast performance from Slayer. And, of course, Halestorm ranks as a highlight on basically any bill.

Over all, more than 130 bands will perform across five stages during the festival’s four-day run, Oct. 10-13, at Discovery Park in Sacramento.

Passes are currently on sale at aftershockfestival.com.

2024 lineup:

Iron Maiden, Slayer, Mötley Crüe, Slipknot, Disturbed, Pantera, Judas Priest, Five Finger Death Punch, Evanescence, Breaking Benjamin, Till Lindemann, Falling in Reverse, Rise Against, Staind, Halestorm, Seether, Dropkick Murphys, Flogging Molly, Mastodon, Anthrax, Architects, Tom Morello, Cypress Hill, Ministry, Daron Malakian and Scars on Broadway, Skillet,  Sevendust, Tech N9ne, Insane Clown Posse,  Static X, Clutch, Body Count, Lorna Shore, Highly Suspect, Poppy, Grandson, Nothing More, P.O.D., Filter, Eagles of Death Metal, Coal Chamber, Code Orange, Jinjer, Bad Wolves, Shadows Fall, Fear Factory, Sleeping With Sirens, Juliette Lewis and the Licks, Marky Ramone Plays The Ramones Classics, Drain, City Morgue, Saosin, L.S. Dunes,

“Is my hair a mess? Do I look like trash, right?” asked the legendary singer and pop culture icon. At this point, her famous blond hair was bound in school-girl braids. “You can’t always look good when you’re working hard, right?”

“I do my best. I do my best,” she said to the Chase Center crowd.

At Madonna’s behest, the audience held up the lights in their phones to create that starry-night effect so beloved by arena performers. “Remember the light you shine outside of you is also inside of you,” Madonna told her many adoring fans, while they joined her in singing, “Don’t go for second best, baby, Put your love to the test.”

It was perhaps the heartfelt, authentic moment in the 2½-hour concert, which for  the most part was exhilarating but could also be occasionally frustrating and messy, as if the show, or the star herself, were sometimes off her game.

It could be that Madonna was acknowledging that even she can’t always be perfect when she said, “I do my best. I do my best.”

Maybe that line was also a way for the 65-year-old to summarize a life and career marked by resilience and a determination to entertain, engage, push boundaries, make art. The Celebration Tour is Madonna’s first road show devoted to a career retrospective rather than on promoting a new album. That means the seven-part set list is populated with versions of “Into the Groove,” “Holiday,” “Vogue,” “Like a Virgin,” “La Isla Bonita,” and “Nothing Really Matters.”

This retrospective aspect of the show clearly pleased many in the crowd at Chase Center. It got them up and dancing and they didn’t seem to mind her usual hour-and-a-half-late start. These fans appeared to be her contemporaries and probably witnessed, first hand, her ascent to global stardom. A fair number also were women and gay men, who perhaps believe they benefited from Madonna’s many artistic campaigns on behalf of gender and sexuality equality.

But as a retrospective for an artist who is nearing the age to collect her full Social Security benefits (as if multimillionaire Madonna would need them), they also had to feel that the show offered plenty of reminders of the passage of time and of her mortality – and of their own.

For one thing, Madonna is no longer the most famous and influential music artist in the world – having been most recently supplanted by Taylor Swift and Beyonce. Meanwhile, her ability to shock has waned, though that doesn’t mean she didn’t still try to provoke and titillate Tuesday night  — featuring topless female dancers in some dance numbers, one of whom she French kisses a la Britney Spears at the 2003 VMAs. For “Justify My Love,” she also performed with dancers in flesh-colored tights in what’s supposed to evoke an orgy, though this number didn’t come off as sexy as it could have been.

Madonna fares better when she upends religious iconography in the show’s most spectacular number, “Like a Prayer.” She sings the anthemic work on a dramatic spinning carousel that held shirtless dancers striking poses that at times mimicked Christ’s crucifixion

It’s hard to deny that Madonna’s supposedly inexhaustible body shows that she’s a stage veteran who has pushed herself to physical extremes for decades. Sure, she looked amazing in the multiple corsets she donned and performed in almost non-stop for 2½ hours. There also were moments when she was able to skip down the runway, like her ‘80s club kid self.

But in the opening “Into the Groove,” she almost took a tumble over one of her dancers after completing a spin. At other times, she appeared to be slightly behind the beat. Much of the choreography appeared to be built around giving Madonna a break from doing the more athletic, intricate moves she used to be on board for.

Her dancers carried that weight. Madonna also had dancers dress up to perform as iconic younger versions of herself. This tactic was used in full force in the climactic number, “Bitch, I’m Madonna,” when the stage is populated by “Material Girl” and “Blonde Ambition”  Madonnas, and even a Madonna from her film role in “A League of their Own.” “Ozark” star Julia Garner, who reportedly was slated to play Madonna in a long-delayed film biography, also came on stage to portray one of these younger Madonnas versions of the singer in “Vogue.”

When Madonna kicked off the North American leg of her tour in Brooklyn in December, she acknowledged her close call with fate last July, when she contracted a bacterial infection that put her in the ICU and forced her to postpone her tour.

In some ways, the Celebration Tour’s name seems to underline the fact that she’s still here — unlike some of her peers. She devotes several songs and visuals to people who have died. There’s her mother, of course, whom she lost when she was 5. There’s also Prince, as well as the vast community of artists decimated by the AIDS epidemic. Some of these artists nurtured her when she was an ambitious young dancer and musician starting out in New York City in the early 1980s. They and so many others are represented by black-and-white images that flash on screen and grow into the hundreds and even the thousands.

Towards the end of the show, Madonna also offered a curious tribute to Michael Jackson, who died in 2009.  It may have been her way of circling the show back to her musical roots in the early 1980s when both she and Jackson ruled the pop culture universe, and when she reminds us they were friends in a montage of images of them together.

But it’s one of the more frustrating moments in the show. The number features a screen showing shadow images of dancers emulating Jackson and Madonna, while Jackson’s “Billie Jean” and “Smooth Criminal” plays along with Madonna’s “Like a Virgin.” However, it’s a recorded version of “Like a Virgin,” which was a bit of a letdown. Of course. This devoted crowd would likely have preferred to see Madonna drop the gimmickry to perform one of her biggest hits in person.

Set list 

Act 1
“Nothing Really Matters”
“Everybody”
“Into the Groove”
“Burning Up”
“Open Your Heart”
“Holiday”

Act II

“The Ritual”
“Like a Prayer”

Act III

“Erotica”
“Justify My Love”
“Hung Up”
“Bad Girl”

Act IV

“Vogue”
“Human Nature”
“Crazy for You”

Act V

“Die Another Day”
“Don’t Tell Me”
“Mother and Father”
“Express Yourself”
“La Isla Bonita”
“Don’t Cry for Me Argentina”

Act VI

“Bedtime Story”
“Ray of Light”
“Take a Bow”

Act VII

“Bitch I’m Madonna”
“Celebration”

The El Paso, Texas dream-pop outfit, led by Greg Gonzalez, performs Oct. 5 at Oakland Arena.

The show is part of a 2024 tour in support of the group’s forthcoming album, “X’s,” which is due in stores July 12.

“The record feels brutal,” Gonzalez says in a news release. “I could sit and talk about this loss to someone, but that wouldn’t scratch the surface. I have to really write about it, sing about it, have the music, and then I can start to analyze and learn from it. Or just relive it — in a good way. I don’t have that Eternal Sunshine-thing of wanting to forget.”

The album’s first single, “Tejano Blue,” was released today. The song is “a nod to the music of bandleader Greg Gonzalez’s Texas childhood, resulting in the most instantly memorable version (and liveliest tempo) yet of the band’s signature sensual, timeless, love songs,” according to the news release.

“I grew up in El Paso and Tejano music is huge there,” Gonzalez says. “You could go to a lot of the bars in the city and hear artists like Selena, Los Ángeles Azules and La Mafia playing over the speakers. It was in the atmosphere around me back then, but I always rejected it and gravitated towards anything else I was attracted to really.

“Years later when I was living in New York City I finally started listening to Selena’s ‘Como La Flor’ at the same time that I was also listening to a lot of Cocteau Twins. I had the idea then to try to combine both of their sounds somehow, which felt a bit strange, but also felt like it was coming from a genuine place of rediscovering & finally connecting with the music that I heard around me in my youth.”

CIGARETTES AFTER SEX TOUR DATES

North American Dates

15 JUN 2024 / US / Manchester, TN / Bonnaroo

31 AUG 2024 / CA / Montreal, QC / Centre Bell

01 SEP 2024 / CA / Toronto, ON / Scotiabank Arena

03 SEP 2024 / US / Philadelphia, PA / Wells Fargo Center 04 SEP 2024 / US / Boston, MA / TD Garden

06 SEP 2024 / US / New York, NY / Madison Square Garden

10 SEP 2024 / US / Columbia, MD / Merriweather Post Pavilion

11 SEP 2024 / US / Raleigh, NC / PNC Arena

13 SEP 2024 / US / Orlando, FL / Kia Center

14 SEP 2024 / US / Atlanta, GA / State Farm Arena

17 SEP 2024 / US / San Antonio, TX / Frost Bank Center

18 SEP 2024 / US / Houston, TX / Toyota Center

20 SEP 2024 / US / Austin, TX / Moody Center

21 SEP 2024 / US / Fort Worth, TX / Dickies Arena

23 SEP 2024 / US / Chicago, IL / United Center

24 SEP 2024 / US / Saint Paul, MN / Xcel Energy Center

27 SEP 2024 / CA / Vancouver, BC / Rogers Arena

28 SEP 2024 / US / Seattle, WA / Climate Pledge Arena

30 SEP 2024 / US / Portland, OR / Moda Center

02 OCT 2024 / US / Greenwood Village, CO / Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre

03 OCT 2024 / US / Salt Lake City, UT / Delta Center

05 OCT 2024 / US / Oakland, CA / Oakland Arena

07 OCT 2024 / US / San Diego, CA / Viejas Arena

08 OCT 2024 / US / Phoenix, AZ / Desert Diamond Arena

11 OCT 2024 / US / Los Angeles, CA / Kia Forum

15 OCT 2024 / MX / Mexico City / Palacio de los Deportes

EU/UK Dates

25 OCT 2024 / GR / Athens / OAKA Indoor Arena

28 OCT 2024 / NL / Amsterdam / Ziggo Dome

29 OCT 2024 / BE / Brussels / Forest National

01 NOV 2024 / IT / Milan / Forum

03 NOV 2024 / AT / Vienna / Wiener Stadthalle

05 NOV 2024 / PL / Warsaw / COS Torwar

07 NOV 2024 / DE / Berlin / Uber Arena

09 NOV 2024 / CH / Basel / St Jakobshalle

10 NOV 2024 / DE / Cologne / Lanxess Arena

12 NOV 2024 / UK / London / The O2

16 NOV 2024 / FR / Paris / Accor Arena

17 NOV 2024 / FR / Lyon / Halle Tony Garnier

20 NOV 2024 / ES / Madrid / WiZink Center

21 NOV 2024 / PT / Lisbon / Altice Arena

Asia Dates

9 JAN 2025 / HK / Hong Kong / Asia World-Expo, Hall 5

11 JAN 2025 / MY / Kuala Lumpur / Sunway Lagoon

14 JAN 2025 / PH / Manila / MOA Arena

17 JAN 2025 / ID / Jakarta / Beach City International

21 JAN 2025 / TH / Bangkok / Impact Exhibition Hall 5

South Africa Dates

5 MAR 2025 / ZA / Cape Town / Grand Arena at GrandWest

7 MAR 2025 / ZA / Pretoria / SunBet Arena

AU/NZ Dates

12 MAR 2025 / AU / Melbourne / Rod Laver Arena

14 MAR 2025 / AU / Sydney / ICC Theatre

17 MAR 2025 / AU / Brisbane / Brisbane Entertainment Centre

19 MAR 2025 / NZ / Auckland / Spark Arena

LOS ANGELES — The estate of Donna Summer sued Ye and Ty Dolla $ign on Tuesday for what its attorneys say is the “shamelessly” illegal use of her 1977 song “I Feel Love” in their collaboration “Good (Don’t Die).”

The copyright infringement lawsuit was filed in federal court in Los Angeles by Summer’s husband Bruce Sudano in his capacity as executor of the estate of the singer-songwriter and “Disco Queen,” who died in 2012.

The suit alleges that when representatives of Ye, formerly Kanye West, sought permission for use of the song they were rejected because the Summer estate “wanted no association with West’s controversial history.”

The suit contends that the album instead “shamelessly” includes re-recorded parts of the song that were “instantly recognizable.”

“In the face of this rejection,” the suit says, “defendants arrogantly and unilaterally decided they would simply steal ‘I Feel Love’ and use it without permission.”

An email seeking comment from representatives for Ye was not immediately returned.

“Good (Don’t Die)” was released February 10 on Ye and Ty Dolla $ign’s collaborative album, “About Vultures 1.” The lawsuit names as defendants both artists and Ye’s record label Yeezy.

The estate first publicly alleged the copyright violation in an Instagram post on the official Summer account on the day of the album’s release.

It seeks a judge’s injunction stopping any further circulation of the song, and money damages to be determined at trial.

The song does not currently appear on the version of the album available on Spotify and other streaming services.

Those attractions and more highlight the company’s 2024-25 season, announced recently by company general director Matthew Shilvock and music director Eun Sun Kim.

The 2024-25 season — the company’s 102nd — runs Sept. 6 through June 27, 2025, with six mainstage productions, the company’s first-ever performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and a special “Pride Concert,” celebrating San Francisco’s LGBTQIA community, scheduled to close the season with details to be announced.

The six featured operas begin with Verdi’s “Un Ballo In Maschera,” opening the mainstage season on Sept. 6 with Kim conducting, and a cast that features soprano Lianna Haroutounian as Amelia, tenor Michael Fabiano as Gustav III, and baritone Amartuvshin Enkhbat as Renato.

September also brings the West Coast premiere of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” inspired by Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel and created by esteemed Danish composer Poul Ruders and librettist Paul Bentley; mezzo-soprano Irene Roberts will sing the leading role of Offred, and Karen Kamensek conducts (Sept. 14-Oct. 1). Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde” returns, conducted by Kim (Oct. 19-Nov. 5),  followed by Bizet’s “Carmen,” with Swiss mezzo-soprano Eve-Maud Hubeaux in the title role (Nov. 13-Dec. 1). Other featured singers for the season include mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack, and tenors Simon O’Neill and Matthew Polenzani.

The season also features Puccini’s “La Bohème” (June 3-21, 2025) and Mozart’s “Idomeneo” (June 14-25, 2025). The company will revive its popular “Bohème Out of the Box,” designed to offer outdoor performances throughout the Bay Area. Looking forward, the company also announced “The Monkey King,” a new commission by composer Huang Ruo and librettist David Henry Hwang; the opera will make its world premiere in fall 2025, with dates to be announced.

San Francisco Opera is offering live-streams for each mainstage opera and the “Pride Concert,” the latter still to be scheduled with a date in 2025.

Season tickets are now available: $120-$2,530 (half series $526-$1,619); as are individual tickets, $28-$438. Additional ticket options and more information are available at sfopera.com.

NEW YORK — Two men were convicted of murder Tuesday in the death of Run-DMC star Jam Master Jay, a brazen 2002 shooting in the rap legend’s studio.

An anonymous Brooklyn federal jury found Karl Jordan Jr. and Ronald Washington guilty on charges of murder while engaged in a narcotics trafficking conspiracy and firearm-related murder for killing the pioneering DJ over what prosecutors characterized as revenge for a failed drug deal.

“Y’all just killed two innocent people,” Washington yelled at the jury following the guilty verdict.

Jordan’s supporters also erupted at the verdict, cursing the jury. “I love y’all,” Jordan said to the group who sat in the courtroom pews before they were escorted out by U.S. Marshalls after more yelling.

Jam Master Jay, born Jason Mizell, worked the turntables in Run-DMC as it helped hip-hop break into the pop music mainstream in the 1980s with such hits as “It’s Tricky” and a fresh take on Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way.” Mizell later started a record label, opened a studio in his old Queens neighborhood and helped bring along other talent, including rapper 50 Cent.

Mizell was gunned down in his studio in front of witnesses on Oct. 30, 2002.

Like the slayings of rap icons Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. in the late 1990s, the Mizell case remained open for years. Authorities were deluged with tips, rumors and theories but struggled to get witnesses to open up.

Jordan, 40, was the famous DJ’s godson. Washington, 59, was an old friend who was bunking at the home of the DJ’s sister. Both men were arrested in 2020 and pleaded not guilty.

“Twenty years is a long time to wait for justice,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Artie McConnell had told jurors in a closing argument, urging them: “Don’t let this go on for another minute.”

The men’s names, or at least their nicknames, have been floated for decades in connection to the case. Authorities publicly named Washington as a suspect in 2007. He, meanwhile, told Playboy magazine in 2003 he’d been outside the studio, heard the shots and saw “Little D” — one of Jordan’s monikers — racing out of the building.

Prosecutors contend that the two men turned on the rap star over a cocaine deal.

Mizell had been part of Run-DMC’s anti-drug message, delivered through a public service announcement and such lyrics as “we are not thugs / we don’t use drugs.” But according to prosecutors and trial testimony, he racked up debts after the group’s heyday and moonlighted as a cocaine middleman to cover his bills and habitual generosity to friends.

“He was a man who got involved in the drug game to take care of the people who depended on him,” McConnell said in his summation.

Prosecution witnesses testified that in Mizell’s final months, he had a plan to acquire 10 kilograms of cocaine and sell it through Jordan, Washington and a Baltimore-based dealer. But the Baltimore connection refused to work with Washington, according to testimony.

According to prosecutors, Washington and Jordan went after Mizell for the sake of vengeance, greed and jealousy.

Two eyewitnesses, former studio aide Uriel Rincon and former Mizell business manager Lydia High, testified that Washington blocked the door and ordered High to lie on the floor. She said he brandished a gun.

Rincon identified Jordan as the man who approached Mizell and exchanged a friendly greeting moments before shots rang out and one bullet wounded Rincon himself. Three other people, including a teenage singer who had just stopped by the studio to tout her demo tape, testified that they were in an adjoining room and heard but didn’t see what happened.

Other witnesses testified that Washington and Jordan made incriminating statements about the Mizell killing after it happened.

Neither Washington nor Jordan testified. Their lawyers questioned key prosecution witnesses’ credibility and their memories of the long-ago shooting, noting that some initially denied they could identify the attackers or had heard who they were.

“Virtually every witness changed their testimony 180 degrees,” one of Washington’s lawyers, Susan Kellman, told the judge during legal arguments.

The witnesses said they had been overwhelmed, loath to pass along secondhand information or scared for their lives.

Washington’s defense also tapped a retired psychology professor, who testified that people’s recollections of any event can become a blend of what they actually experienced and subsequently learned.

The trial shed limited light on a third defendant, Jay Bryant, who was charged last year after prosecutors said his DNA was found on a hat at the scene. They assert that he slipped into the studio building and let Washington and Jordan in through fire door in the back so they could avoid buzzing up.

Bryant has pleaded not guilty and is headed toward a separate trial.

Testimony suggested that he knew someone in common with his co-defendants, but there’s no indication that Bryant was close with Mizell, if indeed they ever met.

McConnell said Bryant was “involved, but he’s not the killer.” Prosecutors’ theory doesn’t even place Bryant in the studio, though that’s where authorities found the hat with DNA from him and other people — but not the other defendants, according to court filings.

Still, McConnell suggested that Jordan or Washington could accidentally have left the hat behind after Bryant came into contact with it. But lawyers for Washington and Jordan portrayed the garment as a key piece of evidence in their clients’ favor.

“Jay Bryant is literally reasonable doubt,” one of Jordan’s lawyers, Michael Hueston, told jurors.

While the case may complicate Mizell’s image, Syracuse University media professor J. Christopher Hamilton says it shouldn’t be blotted out.

If he was indeed involved in dealing drugs, “that doesn’t mean to say his achievements shouldn’t be lauded,” said Hamilton, a former entertainment lawyer and Brooklyn prosecutor who grew up partly in Mizell’s neighborhood. Hamilton argues that acceptance from local underworld figures was a necessity for successful rappers of the ’80s and ’90s.

“You don’t get these individuals without them walking through the gauntlet of the street,” Hamilton said.