Bay Area arts: 8 cool shows to see this weekend and beyond

There are some interesting shows to see in the Bay Area this weekend and beyond, ranging from a Steve Jobs opera to a famous photographer’s take on firearms. Here’s a partial list.

Classical picks: Steve Jobs, gala time

Here are four events that classical music fans should be aware of.

It’s Gala Time: The San Francisco Symphony’s opening night galas are always a lot of fun, and this year’s event is set to kick off the 2023-24 season in grand style. Music director Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts Mahler’s “Songs of a Wayfarer,” with soloist British baritone Simon Keenlyside. Anders Hillborg’s “Rap Notes,” featuring Oakland hip-hop artist Kev Choice, is also on the playlist. The program is completed by Ravel’s “Bolero,” as well as Richard Strauss’s “Don Juan” and “Maurice.” Details: 7 p.m., Sept. 22; Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco; gala at 5:30 p.m., concert at 7 p.m.; $150-$250; sfsymphony.org.

Even as the Symphony begins its season, the San Francisco Opera will present the Bay Area premiere of “The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs” on the same evening. Michael Christie conducts Mason Bates’ and Mark Campbell’s opera, which stars John Moore in the title role and mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke as Laurene Powell Jobs. Details: September 22-October 7; War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco; $26-$316; also live-streamed Sept. 27 at 7:30 p.m. ($27.50); www.sfopera.com.

San Jose’s star-crossed lovers:Fans of opera have two more opportunities to see Opera San Jose’s season-opening production of “Romeo and Juliet,” which runs through Sunday afternoon. Gounod’s romantic opera based on Shakespeare’s play is directed by Shawna Lucey. Details: 7:30 p.m. on September 22 and 2 p.m. on September 24; $55-$195; operasj.org.

A Meeting of Minds: At the Asia Society, opera and theater director Peter Sellars joins artist and human rights activist Ai Weiwei and Orville Schell, an expert on US-China relations, to discuss contemporary issues of exile, repression, and advocacy. Details: Sept. 24 at 2 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley; $36-$56; 510-642-9988; calperformances.org.

— Correspondent Georgia Rowe

A focus on firearms

The latest exhibit by renowned Bay Area photographer Judy Dater does not feature Imogen Cunningham, Yosemite, or any wood nymphs. This time, she’s focusing on guns and the people who own them in the Bay Area.

“The Gun Next Door,” a project that reportedly took a long time to complete, features images taken by the Berkeley-based photographer of Bay Area residents with firearms. Dater sought to challenge preconceptions about who owns guns and why they own them in response to the heated national debate over firearms ownership and gun control.

The exhibit is mostly black and white photos, many of which are simply constructed, depicting gun owners, the firearms they own, and written narratives from the subjects about their relationship with guns.

The iconic photographer, who was the subject of a retrospective exhibit at San Francisco’s de Young Museum in 2018, is probably best known for her series of photos featuring the groundbreaking woman photographer Imogen Cunningham — particularly a playful shot of Cunningham encountering a “nymph” (model Twinka Thiebaud) in Yosemite.

The East Bay Photo Collective organized the new exhibit, which is on display at the Oakland Photo Workshop until November 5.

The gallery is located at 312 8th St. in Oakland and is open from noon to 6 p.m. Free admission on Fridays and Saturdays, and noon-3 p.m. on Sundays; www.ebpco.org.

Staff member Randy McMullen

What’s doin’ at Smuin?

Smuin Contemporary Ballet begins its 30th season with a program that includes a brand new work as well as an old favorite that honors the Man in Black. The new work, “Salsa ‘Til Dawn,” is a Latin-themed number by award-winning choreographer Darrell Grand Moultrie, who has created dances for artists ranging from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre to Beyonce, and whose work “Jazzin'” was premiered by Smuin Ballet in 2013. “Salsa” is a Cuban-flavored work set to music by celebrated songwriter Charles Fox, whose credits include the theme song for “The Love Boat” and the hit song “Killing Me Softly With His Song.” He also composed the music for “Zorro!” by company founder Michael Smuin.

The new program, titled “Dance Series,1” also resurrects an old Suin Ballet favorite, “Man in Black,” a four-dancer gem that incorporates elements of swing, square dancing, and line dancing, all set to songs Johnny Cash covered late in his career. The program also includes a reprise of Val Caniparoli’s “Tutto Eccetto il,” a lively piece set to music by Vivali. Smiun Contemporary Ballet will present the new program at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St., Mountain View, for four performances Thursday through Sunday, and at the Fort Mason Center’s Cowell Theatre from Sept. 29 to Oct. 7.

Prices range from $25 to $89; visit www.smuinballet.org for more information.

— Foundation for Bay City News

A bloody good sequel

According to director Emilie Whelan’s program notes, you don’t need to have seen Shakespeare’s rarely performed bloodbath “Titus Andronicus” to enjoy Taylor Mac’s 2019 Broadway hit “Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus.”

In William Shakespeare’s “Titus,” set in ancient Rome, the emperor returns home from war with a few prisoners, who then exact revenge on him. Rape, mutilation, and murder are the order of the day; body parts are baked into a pie and served to the victims’ mothers before they are murdered as well. Eventually, almost everyone dies, and the palace is in ruins. How can the astute Taylor Mac not speculate on what happens next?

In “Sequel,” Gary (the always wonderful Jomar Tagatac) is the court clown who, by chance, escapes the mayhem and is promoted to clean-up man. Janice (a bustling, hilarious Matt Standley), his steely-eyed coworker and co-survivor, is in charge of preparing the bodies — disorderly stacks of gray, faceless, life-size blow-up dolls — for disposal. The two servants compete for dominance amid squabbles and existential musings reminiscent of some of Beckett’s plays.

Oh, and audience members are likely to be pressed into service by the actors, such as singing a love song, standing on a chair proclaiming Shakespearean verse, or simply holding a corpse on your lap.

Oakland Theater Project, 1501 Martin Luther King Junior Way, Oakland; $20-$55; oaklandtheaterproject.org; on view through Oct. 1.

Bay City News Foundation’s Jean Schiffman

The power behind the throne

An American president who is brash, impulsive, reckless, and ego-driven? Where would such an idea come from? Yes, when creating the titular Oval Office occupant for her comedy “POTUS,” which opens this week at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, playwright Selina Fillinger was inspired by a certain American president whose name rhymes with rump. But, as the full title “POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive” makes clear, the comedic stage show isn’t really about the guy who’s president. The show focuses on the president’s wife, press secretary, administrative secretary, mistress, journalist, sister, and chief of staff, who must scramble to save the chief of staff and the office after he inadvertently causes a global crisis. The president never appears in the play, which is performed entirely by women. “I didn’t want to see him; I didn’t want to write to him.” “He wasn’t interesting to me,” Fillinger has said about “POTUS” and its implied-only president.

“POTUS,” which had a successful Broadway debut last year, is Fillinger’s third full-length play. He is a 29-year-old Berkleley native. The other two are dramas: “Faceless,” about a would-be terrorist, and “Something Clean,” about the mother of a sex offender. It’s only fitting that her first stage comedy takes place in the White House.

Details: Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theatre, 2025 Addison St., through Oct. 22; $45-$134; www.berkeleyrep.org.