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

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

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.

Cirque du Soleil presents ‘KOOZA’: Now through March 10, 24 Willie Mays Plaza, San Francisco. This cirque show combines acrobatic performance with the art of clowning while exploring fear, identity, recognition and power. Sit back and watch as The Innocent’s journey brings him into contact with comic characters from an electrifying world full of surprises. Tickets starting at $72. cirquedusoleil.com/kooza

2024 Culinary Clash: March 4, 8 and 11, Luce, 888 Howard St., San Francisco. Six rising City College of San Francisco students take over Luce’s world-class kitchen to showcase their very own three-course fine-dining menu. Revel in the rivalry as these culinary students compete for scholarships and cash prizes. $55. bit.ly/CulinaryClash

‘God is a Scottish Drag Queen’: 8 p.m. March 8, Bankhead Theater, 2400 First St., Livermore. Revel in the humorous genius of award-winning comedian Mike Delamont. Winner of “Best of Fest” a staggering 18 times, this one-man show is a side-splitting comedy that clears up some misconceptions about God, while also allowing God to vent about human behavior. $25 to $55. livermorearts.org/events/god-is-a-scottish-drag-queen

Early Blooming Wildflowers Hike: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. March 9, Jack London State Historic Park, 2400 London Ranch Road, Glen Ellen. Amazing wildflowers! On this walk through Jack London State Historic Park, guests will learn how to identify them and their potential pollinators, and how to recognize common Sonoma County plant family characteristics. $15. jacklondonpark.com/events/early-wildflowers-2024

‘Eden’ Cinequest Film Screening: 4:30 p.m. March 9, California Theatre, 345 S First St, San Jose. See the feature-film debut of Los Gatos filmmaker Chris McGilvray. ‘Eden” tells the story of a family that operates one of California’s most historic wineries, struggling with succession in a hauntingly beautiful mediation on balancing personal and professional identities. $14. bit.ly/EdenScreening

Berkeley Chamber Performances Presents The Zodiac Trio: 7:30 p.m. March 12, Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave., Berkeley. Premiere clarinet-violin-piano ensemble, the Zodiac Trio, is known for its performances featuring unconventional instrumentation, hidden gems, eclectic arrangements, and the occasional duo/solo. $35. berkeleychamberperform.org/zodiac-trio

Fork2Film Festival: March 14-17, Cameo Cinema, 1340 Main St., St. Helena. This festival brings together audiences, filmmakers, chefs and winemakers for a celebration of culinary, wine-centric and agriculture films from around the world with epicurean screenings, food and wine experiences and filmmaker Q&As. $20 to $25 per event. cameocinema.com

All Star Swing Jam: March 14-17, Embassy Suites, 101 McInnis Parkway, San Rafael. Swing into spring with a casual event where attendees can try out new swing skills in a pressure-free atmosphere while enjoying the expertise of all-star level competitors, instructors, judges and DJs. $0 to $179. allstarswingjam.com

Oakland Running Festival: March 15-17, Oakland venues. Nationally recognized as one of the country’s best running festivals, this three-day series offers distance running for all skill levels, as well as other events featuring food, drinks and fun activities. Register at oaklandmarathon.com

‘Dancing With The Stars’ Live 2024: 3 p.m. March 17, Luther Burbank Center for the Arts, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa. ‘Dancing with the Stars’ is back to heat up this winter with an all-new stage show featuring your favorite professional dancers from the hit television series performing glittering new numbers, as well as some unbelievable showstoppers from Season 32. $59 to $575. lutherburbankcenter.org/event/dwts24

SF Salsa Festival: March 21-23, SF Airport Marriott Waterfront, 1800 Old Bayshore Hwy., Burlingame. Celebrating samba — the dance, not the condiment — the 14th annual festival offers a weekend of world-class performances, dancing, competition and workshops with top salsa instructors. $20 to $170. sfsalsafestival.com

California Artisan Cheese Festival: March 22-24, Sonoma County Event Center, 1350 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa. This celebration brings together lively experts and presenters from the artisan cheese world to promote awareness and enjoyment of those delicious products. Enjoy tours, tastings, seminars, a cheese crawl and an artisan marketplace. $25 to $175. artisancheesefestival.com

Appellation St. Helena bASH: 6 to 8:30 p.m. March 23, CIA at Greystone, 2555 Main St., St. Helena. Appellation St. Helena invites guests to its 13th annual bASH, a wine and food pairing competition. Wines from twenty ASH member wineries will be paired with savory bites prepared by professional chefs and teams of ‘rising star’ students at the CIA. $200. bit.ly/bASH2024

West Coast Taco & Beer Festival: March 23-24, History San Jose, 1650 Senter Road, San Jose. Eat. Sip. Repeat! This event features unlimited taco and beer tastings from dozens of restaurants and breweries, plus live music, boutique vendors, games and entertainment. $49 to $109. bluestreament.ticketspice.com/wctbfbayarea

Frank Sinatra Dinner Show: 7 to 9 p.m. March 30, Alhambra Irish House, 831 Main St., Redwood City. Enjoy a five course meal and a glass of wine while watching as award-winning artist Perry D’Andrea pays tribute to one of the most iconic members of the Rat Pack. $55. bit.ly/SinatraDinner

A Conversation with The Lincoln Lawyer: 7:30 p.m. April 5, Danville Village Theatre, 233 Front St., Danville. Best-selling crime novelist Michael Connelly engages in conversation with his long-time collaborator, legendary former LAPD homicide detective Rick Jackson, about murder investigations and the real-life Southland mysteries of Connelly’s “Lincoln Lawyer” and “Harry Bosch” series. $95. bit.ly/LincolnLawyerConvo

Folk Music Festival Series: April 5, Aug. 2 and Nov. 1, Town Hall Theatre, 3535 School St., Lafayette. Front Porch Open Mic continues its partnership with Town Hall Theatre to present a folk music festival series featuring acoustic musicians and performers. $15 to $20. townhalltheatre.com/front-porch

Bay Area Super Ball Competition: 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. April 6, Stanford ACSR, 341 Galvez St., Stanford. Step out for a ballroom and Latin dance competition featuring competitive events in international standard and Latin, American smooth and rhythm, and nightclub dances. There also will be performances, a team match and other fun events throughout the day. $5 to $50. bit.ly/BayAreaSuperBall

Bay Area Printers Fair & Wayzgoose: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 13, History Park, 635 Phelan Ave., San Jose. Join this annual celebration of printmaking, book arts and letterpress printing. The fair features a wide range of activities, book artists, letterpress printers, live demonstrations and a marketplace with more than 40 vendors. Free admission. printersguild.wordpress.com

Mad Tea Party: 6 to 10 p.m. April 13, Children’s Fairyland, 699 Bellevue Ave., Oakland. Fairyland invites adults for an Alice in Wonderland immersive experience filled with fantasy, dance, games, live entertainment and special libations including the March Hare’s Madness cocktail. $35. fairyland.org/events-and-performances/mad-tea

Whalefest Monterey: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 13-14, Old Fisherman’s Wharf and the Custom House Plaza, Monterey State Historic Park. This festival features engaging and educational activities for all ages, including live music, a symposium and dozens of fascinating marine-related interactive exhibits by local and national organizations. Free admission. whalefest.org

Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival: April 13-21, Japantown, San Francisco. Enjoy the largest Cherry Blossom Festival on the West Coast. Each year, more than 220,000 people attend this dazzling display showcasing vibrant Japanese culture and the rich heritage and diversity of the Japanese American community. Free admission. sfcherryblossom.org

Sausage Making at The Local Butcher Shop: 7 to 9 p.m. April 14, The Local Butcher Shop, 1600 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. Learn how to make sausages with The Local Butcher Shop’s sausage makers. From grinding and mixing to recipes, proportions and casings, you’ll become a sausage pro in no time. $135. bit.ly/LocalButcherClass

Tech Roast Show 2042: 8 to 9:30 p.m. April 19, SFJAZZ, 201 Franklin St., San Francisco. Humanity may be toast, but we can still go out with a laugh. Enjoy a comedy show where renegade tech comedians will roast whimpering techies on stage in front of a live crowd. $44 to $129. bit.ly/Roast2042

Sacramento Grilled Cheese Festival: 1 to 4 p.m. April 27-28, Southside Park, 2115 Sixth St., Sacramento. This annual festival pairs grilled cheese with everything from craft beer to kids fare, so there’s fun for everyone. Enjoy unlimited samples while sipping from your souvenir tasting glass, playing games and enjoying live music. $10 to $95. sacgrilledcheese.com

Sol Blume Festival: May 3-5, Discovery Park, Downtown Sacramento. Enjoy music performances by some of the most sought-after R&B, soul and hip-hop acts, plus family-friendly activities, wellness experiences, immersive art activations and local vendors. $249 to $449. solblume.com

Foodieland Night Market: May 10-12 at Sacramento’s Cal Expo and May 24-26 at San Francisco’s Cow Palace. FoodieLand is a renowned outdoor festival featuring food, shopping, games and live entertainment. This year’s edition promises more than 185 food and retail vendors. $0 to $7. foodielandnm.com

SF Beer Fest: 12 to 10 p.m. May 11, 2 Marina Blvd., San Francisco. Head for Fort Mason to try the best beer in town, all under the same roof. Enjoy a vast selection of specially curated beers set to an absolutely jamming soundtrack. $45 to $65. bit.ly/SFBeerFest2024

Bottle Rock: May 24-26, Napa Valley Expo, 575 Third St., Napa. This annual Wine Country music festival features a fabulous lineup of live entertainment from nationally known artists, singers and bands, as well as gourmet food, wine and beer stalls and a culinary stage. $233. bottlerocknapavalley.com

Carnaval San Francisco: May 25-26, San Francisco venues. The 46th edition of this annual multicultural celebration and parade will feature a rich assortment of food, music, dance, arts and crafts, games and live entertainment for all ages to enjoy. Free admission. carnavalsanfrancisco.org

Have an entertainment event to add? Submit it online at forms.gle/Cu9J6Ks2fQiQUcKk8.

“‘Peter Pan’ is a very triggering show for me,” said Ramos, an actor and member of the Barona Band of Mission Indians.

“I grew up on a reservation, and even as an audience member the racism left me feeling disempowered and betrayed. Eventually, I ended up quitting theater altogether.”

But last week, Ramos took the stage at the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore, launching a 50-city national tour, performing in a show that at one time he loathed. Ramos, a member of the “Peter Pan” ensemble, is originating the role of a character named Acoma, a member of Tiger Lily’s tribe — a role added by Larissa FastHorse, the Native American playwright tasked with revising the script.

“I’ve found my way back,” Ramos said.

The tour stops at Broadway San Jose June 25-30; single tickets go on sale in late March at broadwaysanjose.com.

“This is the ‘Peter Pan’ that everyone knows and loves, but it’s also brand new. And it’s finally being done with care and compassion and smarts, in a way that isn’t embarrassing or cringey and that doesn’t perpetuate racist stereotypes that harm Native people.”

“Peter Pan” has been a much-produced staple of American theater since the Scottish playwright J.M. Barrie first created the character in 1904. A half-century later, Barrie’s original play was recast as a musical that debuted on Broadway with Mary Martin in the title role as the boy who never grew up.

Even then, the casual denigration of Native American characters who were depicted in the script as playing tom-toms, holding powwows and speaking in pidgin English raised eyebrows.

The 1953 Disney movie contained a song titled, “What Makes the Red Man Red?” while the musical featured “The Pow Wow Polka” with such lyrics as “Ugh a wug, ugh a wug, ugh a wug, ugh a wug, waahh.” At one point, Tiger Lily even refers to Peter Pan as “the great white father.”

Seventy-one years later, nearly every theater professional agrees that “Peter Pan” contains material too offensive to be staged in the U.S. in 2024.

“There is no explanation in the original script as to why everybody was trying to kill the Indians,” said FastHorse, a member of the Sicangu Lakota nation. “The assumption was that if Indians were there, of course you should try to kill them.”

But after 120 years, Barrie’s story has yet to release its grip on the American imagination. The musical’s celebration of the wonders of childhood remains deeply beloved — and profitable. But below the whimsy runs a serious undercurrent about the necessity of coming to terms with the inevitably of death. It’s no coincidence, according to the revival’s director, Lonny Price, that Hook’s chief nemesis is quite literally a ticking time bomb.

“Hook is being chased by a clock,” Price said. “He’s fighting his own mortality, and he’s jealous of Peter Pan because he will live forever.”

The Disney movie alone grossed $87.4 million, while such performers as Martin, Sandy Duncan and former Olympic gymnast Cathy Rigby vied to perform the title role on Broadway. The musical also has spawned cinematic spinoffs ranging from “Hook” in 1991 to “Finding Neverland” in 2004 to “Peter and Wendy” in 2023.

But so far, no one has successfully figured out how to salvage what is magical about the musical while removing all vestiges of racism.

Movie director Stephen Spielberg cut out Tiger Lily and her tribe altogether in “Hook,” but the result didn’t feel much like “Peter Pan.” A 2014 television special, “Peter Pan Live!” kept the original song melodies, but replaced the most objectionable lyrics with words and phrases from the Wyandotte people, one of the Northeast U.S. tribes that are thought to have served as the inspiration for Tiger Lily’s band.

But for Price and FastHorse, that solution doesn’t go far enough; “The Pow Wow Polka” has accumulated so much emotional baggage over the decades, they said, that it can’t be redeemed by a mere rewrite.

“You will not find that song at the Hippodrome,” Price said.

In FastHorse’s revision, the polka has been excised and replaced by a new song called “Friends Forever” with music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Amanda Green, daughter of Adolph Green, one of “Peter Pan’s” original lyricists.

“‘Peter Pan’ is very likely the first musical that many children will attend,” Price said. “We want them all to be able to see themselves in the world we create on stage so that they fall in love with theater and grow up to bring their children and grandchildren.”

FastHorse hit upon the idea of expanding Tiger Lily’s tribe globally. Now, tribal members aren’t exclusively native people living in North America, but instead are the last representatives of Indigenous populations from around the world that are in danger of going extinct.

Ramos’ character represents the Cahokia nation, which built a large and sophisticated city near what now is St. Louis between the 11th and 14th centuries. Other members of Tiger Lily’s band represent vanishing ethnic groups from Japan, Africa, South America, and even eastern Europe.

“Neverland is a place where you never grow old,” FastHorse said, “so that is where endangered peoples come to protect their cultures.”

There’s also a practical reason for broadening the backgrounds of Tiger Lily’s tribe; FastHorse hopes the production will have a life after the national tour.

“We want this show to be performed for generations to come,” she said. “But what about areas of the country where the native population has all been removed and there are very few native performers? I signed on to this production because I wanted to stop the harm. I don’t want anyone producing this show to ever do redface again.”

Nonetheless, FastHorse has added a stipulation to the script that any future productions must employ at least two Native American actors.

“There are so few roles for Native Americans,” she said. “They can find two of us.”

The cross-cultural signifiers don’t end with the casting. In FastHorse’s script, Wendy’s brother John has been studying the Cahokia nation in school. The set for the Darlings’ nursery designed by Anna Louizos includes a model of a Cahokia village, while the design of John’s bedspread is based on Native American textiles.

Costume designer Sarafina Bush has created culturally accurate clothing for the members of Tiger Lily’s tribe. For instance, Ramos said his costume closely resembles the clothing worn by Native statues at Missouri’s Cahokia Mounds Historic Site.

All of those production decisions mean that Ramos can participate in this production of “Peter Pan,” and can invite friends and family members to see him perform without wincing when he looks in the mirror.

“I don’t know if the revision we have come up with is perfect,” Ramos said. “But compared to the harm that’s been done by productions of ‘Peter Pan’ in the past, this is so, so much better.”

These dangers threaten the existence of many components of life as we know it. The pollination of plants alone accounts for hundreds of billions of dollars in the economy–plants that not only nourish society but provide opportunities for other food sources to thrive.

In Madhuri Shekar’s play “Queen,” two Ph.D. candidates at UC Santa Cruz are knocking on the door of a major breakthrough. Best friends Sanam and Ariel are from India and the United States, respectively. As their research reaches a conclusion that commercial pesticides are the culprit, and on the cusp of publishing their findings, the numbers inside the conclusion are telling a different story.

Ethical dilemmas abound in the play, beginning previews on March 6 and opening March 9 at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley in partnership with Sunnyvale’s EnActe Arts. Sanam faces a critical choice: Does she move forward with the environment’s health as the No. 1 priority, or does she follow the science, which will put her career and friendship in peril?

Shekar, whose plays are produced often throughout the country, made some deliberate choices with her narrative that she began writing in 2014, the play receiving its world premiere at Chicago’s Victory Gardens Theater in 2017. The play is set in 2016, which is where Shekar says it will always stay, putting the story in a sort of stasis. While the play’s major plot point is a perilous phenomenon that still carries resonance today, it is the critical nature of humanity and connection that informs the play’s universality.

“The thing that still resonates is people are genuinely trying to do the right thing in a very complicated world, which I feel is what people are drawn to in this play,” Shekar said. “The characters believe deeply in what they’re doing and fundamentally have a shared view of the world. But even with that, there can be a passionate disagreement about what is the right thing to do.”

Shekar carries a few personal touchstones for the region the play is set in. She was born in San Jose and resided in the Blossom Valley neighborhood until she was 6 years old before moving to Singapore. While she later lived in India, Shekar still had one more West Coast stop to go: Los Angeles, where she earned an MFA at the University of Southern California. She now resides in New Jersey with her husband and two young sons.

The play has many intersectionalities at its core. There are conversations about privilege, including how that impacts each woman. Both have specific approaches to accessing higher levels of academia, forcing their way onto some spaces not always afforded to women. Diversity dynamics also play a strong role in the story’s power struggle.

“Diversity is nonsense without sacrifice,” Shekar said. “The head of their department is very supportive of the women on his team until they ask him to sacrifice something for the greater good, and he refuses because he still has the power and refuses to sacrifice anything. Even when you have progressive organizations willing to have honest conversations, those conversations are (nonsense) without sacrifice.”

Sacrificing is also a critical aspect of any solid friendship. While the play has lots to say about environmental and ecological concerns that society continues to wrestle with, the story is based on a much more basic principle.

“Ultimately, it’s a play about friendship, and that’s what I feel will always resonate. How do you figure out how to move forward together? I think people really feel that, which is kind of what I think about when looking at where the play is now.”

“Queen” runs March 6-31 at Lucie Stern Theater, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. Tickets are $27-$82 at theatreworks.org.

David John Chávez is chair of the American Theatre Critics Association and a two-time juror for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (2022-23). @davidjchavez

Apple exec Nilab Hessabi has joined Opera San Jose’s Board of Trustees with an eye toward diversifying audiences.  Hessabi currently serves as the head of data science, research and insights, human evaluation in the Services Engineering division at Apple headquarters in Cupertino.

“I truly believe that opera is for everyone,” Hessabi said in a release. “I have been passionate about the arts and, in particular, opera from an early age. It’s this passion that motivates me to bring opera to younger generations and broader, more diverse communities.”

In her role at Apple, Hessabi oversees functions including product analytics and insights, data and research science for global teams in California, Washington, New York, Canada, the UK and Singapore.

A fair contest

The Santa Clara County Fair is celebrating its 80th year with the return of a contest for young artists to create a commemorative fair poster. Using the theme “From the Fields to the Future,” artists are being asked to illustrate how the Santa Clara Valley has evolved from agriculture to high tech.

The contest, the first held at the fair in over 20 years, is open to all school-age youth. All participants will receive two tickets to the fair’s opening day on July 25. This year’s fair runs July 25-28 and Aug. 1-4, during which there will be a people’s choice contest for the best grade level and overall posters.

Deadline for submissions is May 15. For contest rules, visit http://bit.ly/3wit6nc.

There’s always a distraction handy, people are glued to their devices instead of engaging with each other, and the information we receive is catered to us by algorithms that enable us to live in completely different realities informed by our browsing habits.

Rarely have the pitfalls of this online world been illustrated as well as in Kate Attwell’s play “Big Data,” now getting its world premiere at American Conservatory Theater.

“Big Data” premieres just as a very different play about online life encroaching onto the real world, Minna Lee’s “My Home on the Moon,” finishes its run nearby at San Francisco Playhouse.

ACT previously premiered Attwell’s time-traveling play “Testmatch” about cricket and colonialism in 2019, and “Big Data” is somehow even more adventurous, unconventional, funny and thought-provoking.

The play focuses on the way websites gather data about individuals, tracking what they do so as to better market to them and influence their behavior for profit. Attwell doesn’t do that through exposition about what any particular companies are doing, laying out a case in any journalistic sense, but through a character who embodies voracious information-gathering and manipulation.

BD Wong is omnipresent in the play as M, a researcher in a plaid suit who insinuates himself into people’s lives, always watching, asking personal questions and extrapolating out loud about what kind of people they are.

His whole attitude changes depending on who he’s talking to — he’s sometimes gently ingratiating, sometimes aggressive, sometimes smilingly dismissive. He mirrors some of their phrases, body language, sometimes even bits of clothing in Lydia Tanji’s clever costume design. But he’s always pushing, always prodding, encouraging people’s worst instincts into whatever course of action he might be able to profit from.

In all his charismatic, chameleonlike guises, Wong regards the others with grinning, amoral amusement, as if seeing what he can make them do simply for the sake of doing it.

His subjects are all couples that are part of the same family. Jomar Tagatac is hilarious in his logorrheic anxiety as Max, an out-of-work writer so plagued by worries about the world beyond his control that he can’t focus on getting anything done. His partner Lucy, played with professional poise by Rosie Hallett, is high-stress in a different way, a busy eye surgeon with a sense of holding the world together through sheer force of will. The way M weakens their defenses to insert himself into their lives is accordingly entirely different for each.

Lucy’s brother Sam and his husband Timmy are always squabbling. Michael Phillis’ Timmy is breezily inattentive but also jealous and easily agitated, while Gabriel Brown’s Sam is incredulous and defensive.

When M’s in the room, which he always is, no two characters seem to see him at the same time or in the same way. It’s as if he’s having a private conversation with each one at once, drawing their eye away when their partner is talking, suggesting rash life changes and egging them on in their arguments.

As Sam and Lucy’s parents, Julia McNeal and Harold Surratt exude a calm, easygoing quality, seemingly content in a quiet life. They’re patient with the others’ various agitations, supportive and loving with each other, but also genially evasive when certain subjects come up. There’s something they’re not saying. We don’t meet them until the second act, and after all their kids’ earlier comments about being worried about them, they’re not at all what we might expect.

Tanya Orellana’s scenic design is a marvel, starting with a sleek, minimal set resembling an iPhone and then conjuring a wonderfully detailed, lovingly cluttered country living room that gives a sense of a lifetime lived within its walls.

Kaitlyn Pietras and Jason H. Thompson’s projection design is used to hypnotic effect in the first act, with montage barrages between scenes and alternate video perspectives of the people onstage that give a sense of constant surveillance. Madeleine Oldham’s sound design is filled with subtle birdsong and aggressive looping interstitial music.

“Big Data” gives the viewer a lot to ponder about the way we live today. More than that, though, it’s a dazzling theatrical experience, hilarious and chilling, tense and inventive, and always thoroughly engrossing. Like M, it knows how to capture your attention.

Contact Sam Hurwitt at shurwitt@gmail.com.

‘BIG DATA’

By Kate Attwell, presented by American Conservatory Theater

Through: March 10

Where: ACT’s Toni Rembe Theater, 415 Geary St., San Francisco

Running time: Two hours and 35 minutes, one intermission

Tickets: $25-$130; 415-749-2228, www.act-sf.org

Taylor Mac’s new show “Bark of Millions,” coming to UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall courtesy of Cal Performances, illustrates that LGBTQ+ people have always been here and always will.

“It’s reverse conversion therapy,” Mac says. “We’re trying to make the audience more queer, not less queer.”

Subtitled “A Parade Trance Extravaganza for the Living Library of the Deviant Theme,” the four-hour show consists of one song for every year since the very first Pride March in 1970.

“I say from the First Pride March, but people started saying since Stonewall because they’re so close to each other,” Mac says. “It’s 54 years since the very first Pride March, and so we have 55 songs, because you gotta have a cherry on top.”

Each inspired by different queer figures in history and mythology, the all-new songs in a multiplicity of styles all have lyrics by Mac and music by longtime collaborator Matt Ray.

“I would describe it as a gathering of queer people on a stage, expressing ourselves in the presence of an audience which we hope will feel part of the show, and singing about our queer forebears,” Ray says.

A dazzlingly inventive New York-based performance artist, playwright and MacArthur “Genius” grantee who uses “judy” as a pronoun, Mac is a frequent visitor to the Bay Area and grew up not far away in Stockton.

Mac’s epic theater piece “The Lily’s Revenge” and world premiere drama “Hir” played the Magic Theatre, and other shows such as the more cabaret-style “Taylor Mac’s Holiday Sauce” and “A 24-Decade History of Popular Music” have come to the Curran.

The mammoth “A 24-Decade History of Popular Music” saw Mac performing American popular songs from 1776 to the present over the course of 24 hours in an amazing array of drag costumery by designer Machine Dazzle. Ray was the show’s musical director and created bold new arrangements for its 246 songs.

Performed nonstop in 2016 at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn, the original production become a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and was immortalized in a two-hour HBO documentary. In 2017 Mac performed it at the Curran broken up into four six-hour shows.

Unlike that earlier show, Mac doesn’t sing all the songs in “Bark of Millions” but shares the spotlight with a host of other performers. But in a way, “Bark of Millions” is a direct descendent of the “24-Decade” project.

“We were learning all the American music we could find, trying to decide what we wanted to put in the show, and there were hardly any songs about queer existence, about queer figures, about anything about our community,” Ray says. “And we felt like, well, if it’s not there, maybe we should write it.”

In the meantime Mac and Ray collaborated as lyricist/librettist/star and composer on “The Hang,” a 2022 jazz opera about the last days of Socrates.

The two have been working together ever since composer and mutual friend Rachelle Garniez brought Ray in as musical director for “The Lily’s Revenge” in 2009.

“Bark of Millions” premiered at Australia’s Sydney Opera House last year, and it comes to Berkeley direct from a five-night run in New York earlier this February.

“It’s not really finished in the grand scheme of things, because the idea is that it’s not just a four-hour concert,” Mac says. “Every year we’re going add at least another song to the show. The idea is that it just keeps growing and growing, and maybe in a decade or two, we’ll pass it on to somebody else to continue it.”

That’s “bark” as in boat, not the sound a dog makes.

“Bark of Millions is an ancient Egyptian myth about Ra, a Sun god who is a genderqueer,” Mac says. “It’s this mythical boat that Ra sails around the earth bringing the sun every day. Every night they do battle with the serpent which is an aspect of chaos, and then they arrive victorious the next day, pulling the sun with them. Ra is one of the first gods in human history, and a lot of people in ancient Egyptian times decided that the great god that they would worship would be a god that is all genders.”

It’s certainly not lost on Mac that “Bark of Millions” arrives amid a newly revived and coordinated flood of homophobic and transphobic political rhetoric and legislation across the United States.

“I’ve just done this big thing about history in America, and one of the things that became super clear to me is that history doesn’t repeat, but it rhymes,” Mac says. “And so in no way, shape or form does it surprise me that it’s two steps forward, one step back, because you see it again and again and again and again throughout history. I think that’s why I’m interested in the sun metaphor. For centuries we’ve been doing this thing, but we keep arriving victorious.”

Contact Sam Hurwitt at shurwitt@gmail.com, and follow him at Twitter.com/shurwitt.

‘BARK OF MILLIONS’

By Taylor Mac and Matt Ray, presented by Cal Performances

When: 7 p.m. Feb. 23-24, 3 p.m. Feb. 25

Where: Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley

Tickets: $42-$158; www.calperformances.org