HADESTOWN

broadway sf

COME SEE HOW THE WORLD COULD BE. Welcome to HADESTOWN, where a song can change your fate. Winner of eight 2019 Tony Awards® including Best Musical and the 2020 Grammy® Award for Best Musical Theater Album, this acclaimed new show by celebrated singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell and innovative director Rachel Chavkin (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812) is a love story for today... and always. HADESTOWN intertwines two mythic tales — that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone — as it invites you on a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back. Mitchell’s beguiling melodies and Chavkin’s poetic imagination pit industry against nature, doubt against faith, and fear against love. Performed by a vibrant ensemble of actors, dancers and singers, HADESTOWN is a haunting and hopeful theatrical experience that grabs you and never lets go.

Disney’s ALADDIN

Broadway SF

Discover a whole new world at Disney’s ALADDIN, the hit Broadway musical. From the producer of The Lion King comes the timeless story of ALADDIN, a thrilling new production filled with unforgettable beauty, magic, comedy and breathtaking spectacle. It’s an extraordinary theatrical event where one lamp and three wishes make the possibilities infinite. Hailed by USA Today as “Pure Genie-Us,” ALADDIN features all your favorite songs from the film as well as new music written by Tony® and Academy Award® winner Alan Menken (Newsies) with lyrics penned by the legendary Howard Ashman (Beauty and the Beast), Tony Award winner Tim Rice (The Lion King, Aida), and book writer Chad Beguelin (The Wedding Singer). Directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon, Something Rotten!),this “Fabulous” and “Extravagant” (The New York Times) new musical boasts an incomparable design team, with sets, costumes and lighting from Tony Award winners Bob Crowley (Mary Poppins), Gregg Barnes (Kinky Boots), and Natasha Katz (An American in Paris). See why audiences and critics agree, ALADDIN is “Exactly What You Wish For!" (NBC-TV).

Out of Character

Berkeley Repertory Theatre

Before he won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical (The Band’s Visit), Ari’el Stachel grew up in Berkeley, an Israeli American of Yemeni Jewish descent. Then came 9/11. Desperate to avoid taunts and threats at school, Ari hides his Middle Eastern background – setting off a years-long journey of trying on different identities, code switching, and navigating debilitating anxiety. Now a successful stage and screen actor, Ari comes home to Berkeley and joins with former artistic director Tony Taccone to tell his story in his new solo show. Out of Character explores the intersections of race, mental health, and survival in a way that’s raw, authentic, and entertaining. Special Community Salon and post-show discussion hosted by Berkeley Rep. NO/NO attendees received SWAG bags.

BEYONCÉ RENAISSANCE TOUR [BOSTON, MA: 8/1/23] RAFFLES

Boston Gillette Stadium

https://www.beyonce.com/

Calling the BEYHIVE!! Want to see Beyoncé perform on her first solo tour in seven years? We got you covered! Night Out / Night Off for Graduate Students of Color is raffling off 2 floor seat tickets exclusively to UCB Graduate Students for the 8/1/23 Boston, MA show this summer!! All proceeds from this fundraiser will go to future Night Out / Night Off for Graduate Students of Color events. The winner will receive 2 floor seat tickets in section D5 to see Beyoncé on her Renaissance Tour in Boston, MA on August 1, 2023. Airfare and accommodation are not included.

UCB-GRAD STUDENT RAFFLE DETAILS:
UC Berkeley Graduate Students may purchase up to 3 raffle tickets at $7 each to celebrate the the number of years NONO has been in existence and celebrate Beyoncé's return to the stage after seven years. We are only selling a limited number of raffle tickets, so purchase yours now! Raffle tickets will be available until we run out or on June 30th, whichever comes first. We will announce the winner on July 1st. The winner will receive 2 floor seat tickets just outside Club Renaissance to see Beyoncé on her Renaissance Tour in Boston, MA on August 1, 2023. Airfare and accommodation are not included.

Requirements to Enter and Win the UCB Grad Student Raffle:
***UCB Grad Student Raffle tickets can only be purchased by UC Berkeley Graduate Students. Status will be confirmed ahead of announcing the winner. UC Berkeley Graduate Students may not buy more than 3 raffle tickets @ $7 each. Raffle tickets are non-refundable. Concert tickets cannot be given away, transferred, or sold. If the winner cannot attend, we will pull another name.***

Not a UC Berkeley Graduate Student? We also got you covered! Night Out / Night Off for Graduate Students of Color is raffling off 2 floor seat tickets exclusively to the public / Non-UCB Graduate Students for the 8/1/23 Boston, MA show this summer!! All proceeds from this fundraiser will go to future Night Out / Night Off for Graduate Students of Color events.
The winner will receive 2 floor seat tickets in section D3 to see Beyoncé on her Renaissance Tour in Boston, MA on August 1, 2023. Airfare and accommodation are not included.

RAFFLE DETAILS:
Non-UC Berkeley Graduate Students may purchase an unlimited number of raffle tickets at $20 each. We are only selling a limited number of raffle tickets, so purchase yours now! Raffle tickets will be available until we run out or on June 30th, whichever comes first. We will announce the winner on July 1st. The winner will receive 2 floor seat tickets just outside Club Renaissance to see Beyoncé on her Renaissance Tour in Boston, MA on August 1, 2023. Airfare and accommodation are not included.

Requirements to Enter and Win the Public [Non-UCB Grad Student] Raffle: 
***Anyone can purchase the Public [Non-UCB Grad Student] Raffle Tickets. Raffle tickets are non-refundable. Concert tickets cannot be given away, transferred, or sold. If the winner cannot attend, we will pull another name.***

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE
BEYONCÉ RENAISSANCE TOUR [BOSTON, MA: 8/1/23] RAFFLE WINNERS!

Congratulations to our winners! They will see Beyoncé at the Renaissance Tour show in Boston with Floor Seats in August!!  

Congratulations to Quincy Blair, a recent UC Berkeley Law School grad studying for the Bar!!

Congratulations to Teresa Gonzales, a UC Berkeley Sociology Alum and Assistant Professor of Sociology at Loyola University Chicago!!

A Soldier’s Play

Altarena Playhouse

In a segregated Louisiana army camp in 1944, the murder of rancorous Black sergeant Vernon C. Waters, the sergeant of a Black company, stirs deep-seated animosity and corruption among the soldiers under his command. Captain Taylor, the white C.O., worries the murderer may be a white officer or the local Klan. Richard Davenport, a Black clean-cut Northern captain, is assigned to investigate. Taylor, fearing the assignment of a Black investigator means the case is to be swept under the rug, attempts to discourage Davenport. But Davenport perseveres, discovering deep-seated hatred and corruption among the men in the company. Despite each soldier’s motive for the killing, Davenport eventually solves the case, revealing a truth more shocking than the murder itself. Special post show talk back with Director ShawnJ West hosted by Altarena Playhouse. NO/NO attendees received SWAG bags.

El último sueño de Frida y Diego

San Francisco Opera


It’s 1957. Three years have passed since the Diego Rivera lost his wife, artist Frida Kahlo. But on the Day of the Dead, he’ll beg her to return—and the underworld will grant his wish. “[Daniela Mack] sang with an irresistible combination of tonal luster and bravado, bringing energy and charm to her coloratura passages and delicate wit to her characterization." -San Francisco Chronicle. Special pre-show community celebration hosted by SF Opera. NO/NO attendees received SWAG bags.

Madame Butterfly

San Francisco Opera

A 15-year-old Japanese girl devotes herself to her absent American husband—only to discover, after years of waiting, that he married another woman while abroad. "Karah Son sings Cio-Cio-San with a pure sound of rounded beauty, which is, by turn, caressing and thrilling, achieving searing power in climactic notes with never a hint of stridency." -The Sydney Herald. Special pre-show chat and refreshments with Cole Thomason-Redus, Educational Content Curator for SF Opera's department of Diversity, Equity and Community, that delves into the beauty, controversy, and historical context of this opera that is often heralded as a piece of grand opera, and criticized as representing the appropriation, assimilation, and simplification of Asian cultures. NO/NO attendees received SWAG bags.

SYMPHONIC III: ENDURING STORIES

Berkeley Symphony

No work is as lush as Rimsky-Korsakov's masterpiece Scheherazade, as Berkeley Symphony weaves and performs three tales of its own based upon strong women. Scheherazade's 1,001 tales changed her life and the lives of all those around her and Rimsky-Korsakov's vivid and imaginative orchestration is a perfect pairing with Carlos Simon's Portrait of a Queen which, through spoken word and music, tells the history of Black America from the vantage point of a strong black female narrator. We are also thrilled to present the world premiere of a new work entitled Lotus Prayer by Chinese-born composer Xi Wang. An evocative evening of colorful and powerful works elevating the musical portraits of trailblazing women. NO/NO sponsored free ticket giveaways for this event.

Songs of Protest

Oakland Symphony


This Classical Series performance from Oakland Symphony featured LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN: Leonore Overture No. 3, SAMUEL BARBER: Second Essay for Orchestra, MARTIN ROKEACH & REBECCA ENGLE, LIBRETTIST AND DRAMATURGE: Bodies on the Line: The Great Flint Sit-Down Strike (world premiere, Oakland Symphony commission with support from the Roger Shapiro Fund for New Music and Saint Mary’s College of California (Frank J. Filippi Professorship in Performing Arts; Provost’s Research Grant; Faculty Development Fund; Office of Faculty Development Writers’ Retreat); with parts Prologue; On the Line; Company Town; Memo from GM/Wife’s Lament; The Demands; Letters Home: “Sittin’ Tight, Feelin’ Fine”; Well, Mr. Diary; Letters Home: “They Shut Off the Heat”; Bull’s Run; Battle Royal; Taking Chevy 4; Bitter for a Businessman; Still We Stand. Additonally, Melody Wilson, mezzo-soprano; Marc Molomot, tenor; Morgan Smith, baritone; Oakland Symphony Chorus Ash Walker, acting chorus director; Pacific Edge Voices Ash Walker, music director. NO/NO attendees received SWAG bags.

Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower

Cal Performances

In a dream pairing of artistic personalities, two titans of Black American music collaborate on a new congregational opera based on the work of an iconic and revolutionary Black author. Singer, composer, and activist Toshi Reagon and her mother, legendary artist Bernice Johnson Reagon (of Sweet Honey in the Rock fame), bring science fiction writer Octavia E. Butler’s deeply resonant and startlingly prescient Parable of the Sower to life in an evening-length opera directed by Cal Shakes’ Eric Ting and Signe V. Harriday. Butler’s 1993 book and its sequel follow a young Black woman through a dystopian, apocalyptic American future, planting the seeds of a new religion that is fueled by empathy and collective action. Though the novels reveal some of our darker impulses as humans, in the end, the Reagons’ message is one of hope, expressed through the communal act of music making: “Don’t forget: Octavia is writing about the universe,” Johnson Reagon has said. “She’s saying that our destiny is to be amongst the stars…. We’re a part of something amazing.” NO/NO attendees received SWAG bags.

Paquito D'Rivera

Cal Performances

An unforgettable evening of music with a living legend of Latin jazz! Fourteen-time Grammy and Latin Grammy winner Paquito D’Rivera is a master woodwind improviser, revered bandleader, and accomplished composer who has spent a lifetime artfully dissolving the barriers between musical genres. As co-founder of Irakere, he created an explosive new mix of jazz, rock, and traditional Cuban music. And in his concert works, he has infused classical repertoire with the rhythms and sonorities of his native Cuba. Here, D’Rivera explores repertoire from his groundbreaking Jazz Meets the Classics release, his dynamic sextet reimagining canonic works by Chopin, Beethoven, Mozart, and others. NO/NO attendees received SWAG bags.

English

Berkeley Repertory Theatre

Award-winning playwright Sanaz Toossi makes her Berkeley Rep debut with English, winner of the 2022 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play. Language and identity intertwine in this incisive, funny, and moving seriocomedy set in a classroom in Iran in 2008, where four adult students are preparing for the Test of English as a Foreign Language. But as they pursue fluency in a language that for them represents access, opportunity, and even escape, they find that while English may expand their world, it might also limit their voice. NO/NO attendees received SWAG bags.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

Cal Performances

“Eavesdrop pre-curtain at Bay Area dance shows and you’ll hear audience members sharing their top dance memories. High on almost everyone’s list? Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at UC Berkeley” (San Francisco Chronicle). Continuing a tradition that dates to the late 1960s, the breathtaking Ailey dancers return for the company’s annual campus residency. Robert Battle, who recently celebrated 10 years as artistic director, has doubled down during his tenure on the values that make this ensemble a crown jewel among American companies: artistic excellence, daring innovation, and profound cultural relevance. Recent works by innovators like Rennie Harris and Jamar Roberts honor and continue the legacy of timeless Ailey masterpieces like Revelations, telling powerful and life-affirming stories through stunning dance.

SYMPHONIC II: CONNECTIONS

Berkeley Symphony

https://www.berkeleysymphony.org/

A deeply rich program celebrating the connections made through music, this concert explores friendships old and new and pays tribute to the places and people that inspire us. Juan Pablo Contreras starts us off in Jalisco, Mexico, his birthplace, and the origin of mariachi music. This energetic homage highlights traditional mariachi rhythms accompanied by original melodies and places us in Plaza de Los Mariachis-feeling the vibrancy of song from the mariachi on every corner. A true champion of long-forgotten and diverse voices, pianist Lara Downes performs a pair of works for piano and orchestra by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, highlighting the lifelong musical partnership between the two. Ellington referred to Strayhorn as "My right arm, my left arm, and all the eyes in the back of my head." Rounding out the evening of celebrating relationships, Elgar's theme and fourteen variations are sketches of friends-full of admiration, deep seriousness, and humor. Each variation, a reflection of an individual, immortalizing their connection and friendship.

Cambodian Rock Band

Berkeley Repertory Theatre

https://www.berkeleyrep.org/shows/cambodian-rock-band/

Guitars tuned. Mic checked. Get ready to rock! This darkly funny, electric new play with music tells the story of a Khmer Rouge survivor returning to Cambodia for the first time in 30 years, as his daughter prepares to prosecute one of Cambodia’s most infamous war criminals. Backed by a live band playing contemporary Dengue Fever hits and classic Cambodian oldies, this thrilling story toggles back and forth in time as father and daughter face the music of the past. Directed by Chay Yew, this intimate rock epic about family secrets is set against a dark chapter of Cambodian history. NO/NO attendees received SWAG bags.

William Kentridge’s SIBYL

Cal Performances

https://calperformances.org/events/2022-23/illuminations-human-and-machine/william-kentridges-sibyl/

Myth, magic, music, movement, and mesmerizing imagery combine in revered South African visual artist William Kentridge’s newest production. Presented in two parts, SIBYL is inspired by the Greek myth of the Cumaean Sibyl, and wrestles with the human desire to know our future and our helplessness before powers and technologies that obscure that knowledge from us. The chamber opera Waiting for the Sibyl features nine vocalists and dancers interacting with Kentridge’s distinctive stage design, which energizes the action of the performers with hand-painted sets, animated ink drawings, swirling projected text, collage, and shadow play. The music is composed by Nhlanhla Mahlangu and Kyle Shepherd, and layers South African vocal harmonies with rhythmic chants and piano accompaniment. NO/NO attendees received SWAG bags.

Graduate Student Diversity Day

UC Berkeley

Night Out / Night Off for Graduate Students of Color hosted a booth at the Diversity Days Lunch & Resource Fair hosted by the UC Berkeley Office of Graduate Diversity. The Lunch & Resource Fair was part of the campus visit for admitted graduate students who are underrepresented or first gen/low-income. Newly admitted students could learn about the offices, organizations, and resources invaluable in their decision making. Naniette also led a group of students to tour the Inclusive Excellence Hub and attend SIBYL at Cal Performances.

Zakir Hussain and Masters of Percussion

Cal Performances

The undisputed tabla star of his generation, Zakir Hussain possesses a “virtuosity that is barely to be believed” (The Washington Post). For his legion of Cal Performances fans, Hussain returns with his dazzling Masters of Percussion program, a gathering of fellow musical heavyweights representing a myriad of cultures and traditions, from Indian classical music to jazz. The spirit of collaboration and exchange runs in Hussain’s veins—he began touring more than two decades ago in a duo with his late father and mentor, the legendary Ustad Allarakha, and today keeps that artist’s memory alive through these spirited concerts featuring the world’s finest percussionists. NO/NO attendees received SWAG bags.

SIX: The Musical (Matinee and Evening Show)

Broadway SF

Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived. From Tudor Queens to Pop Icons, the SIX wives of Henry VIII take the microphone to remix five hundred years of historical heartbreak into a Euphoric Celebration of 21st century girl power! This new original musical is the global sensation that everyone is losing their head over! SIX has won 23 awards in the 2021/2022 Broadway season, including the Tony Award® for Best Original Score (Music and Lyrics) and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical. The New York Times says SIX “TOTALLY RULES!” (Critic's Pick) and The Washington Post hails SIX as “Exactly the kind of energizing, inspirational illumination this town aches for!” NO/NO attendees were at both the matinee show and evening show.

Preservation Hall Jazz Band - Pass It On: 60th Anniversary Musical Celebration

Cal Performances

In its far-ranging and always grooving repertoire, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band celebrates New Orleans as a place where sounds and cultures from around the world converge, mingle, and resurface, transformed by the Crescent City’s irrepressible joie de vivre. The septet is named for the renowned venue and cultural organization in the French Quarter, and since its founding by tuba player Allan Jaffe in 1961 has boasted an ever-evolving cast of A-list NOLA musicians committed to keeping the spirit and sounds of New Orleans alive and thriving. Now led by by Jaffe’s son, the band celebrates its 60-year anniversary with a concert of “shoulder-shaking, hip-swaying tunes that will fill the dance floor” (Downbeat)— traditional jazz mixing with gutbucket funk, Afro-Cuban rhythms, folk, and pop. NO/NO attendees received SWAG bags.