Top picks
The Old Globe: 'Fat Ham'
For more arts events or to submit your own, visit the KPBS/Arts Calendar. If you want more time to plan, get the KPBS/Arts Newsletter in your inbox every Thursday to see event picks for the weeks ahead.
Theater | Playwright James Ijames won a Pulitzer Prize for drama for his spin on Shakespeare's "Hamlet," which brings us Juicy, a queer, smart, Black college student faced with the ghost of his father who shows up at a family barbecue looking for revenge. But these generational woes don't quite play out like Hamlet himself might have expected. Ijames' take is about finding agency and stepping out of the cycles of trauma and violence. Directed by Sideeq Heard and starring Ṣọla Fadiran as Juicy.
Details: Event information. On stage May 25 through June 23. The Old Globe Theatre, 1363 Old Globe Way, Balboa Park. $49+.
'Architecture of Jubilation: The Art and Vision of James Hubbell'
Visual art |Visionary local artist, sculptor, architect and designer James Hubbell passed away last week at 92. His public artwork is all over the region, but a major four-part survey exhibit is currently on view across San Diego libraries through early August.
"Architecture of Jubilation: The Art and Vision of James Hubbell" is divided into four parts. At the downtown Central Library's 9th floor gallery, a retrospective covers the breadth of his career. At Scripps Miramar Ranch Library, the exhibit is dedicated to his iconic Julian home and studios. The Pacific Rim Project, Hubbell's series of global public art parks, is featured at the Mission Valley Library. And an installation at Otay Mesa-Nestor Library explores his work in Baja California, Mexico.
You can listen here to this week's KPBS Midday Edition interview with Marianne Gerdes — executive director of the Ilan-Lael Foundation, a nonprofit founded by Hubbell and his wife Anne in 1982 — about the life and legacy of Hubbell.
Details: Event information. On view through Aug. 4, 2024. Library hours vary. Central Library Art Gallery: 330 Park Blvd., downtown. Free.
San Diego Symphony: Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto and Stravinsky’s Firebird
Music, Classical | Ludwig van Beethoven's "Piano Concerto No. 4" is a sweeping, lively and complex piece for piano and orchestra, and will be performed by pianist Jeremy Denk alongside the San Diego Symphony.
Also in the program is Igor Stravinsky's complete "The Firebird" work. Rafael Payare conducts.
Details: Event information. 6:30 p.m. Saturday, May 25. The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park, 222 Marina Park Way, downtown. $25-$90.
An Evening with Kevin Kwan
Books | Kevin Kwan, author of the "Crazy Rich Asians" trilogy, has a new book, "Lies and Weddings." The story is set against the backdrop of a tropical wedding, as courtship, scandals, oligarchs and trust funds collide. Kwan will discuss the book with San Diego-based writer Lacy Crawford.
Details: Event information. 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 23. Joan P. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice at the University of San Diego, 5998 Alcala Park Way, Linda Vista. $15-$39.
'Undocumented Times / Queer Yearnings'
Visual art | Undocumented trans artist Alexa Vasquez opens a new exhibition at the Oceanside Museum of Art this weekend, featuring artwork informed by Vasquez's experience and the dual marginalization of being trans in the immigrant community and being an immigrant in the queer community. Vasquez's work is vivid and nostalgic, weaving in elements of childhood and folklore. Curated by M. Lilliana Ramirez.
Details: Event information. On view May 25 through Oct. 6, 2024. Exhibition reception is 5-7 p.m. June 8. Oceanside Museum of Art, 704 Pier View Way, Oceanside. $0-$10.
Museum School Art Auction
Visual art, Music | You don't need to have a kid in elementary school to acknowledge the value of a) art in schools and b) this annual well-stocked exhibition and art auction. Each year, the Museum School displays dozens of unique works of art by gifted, internationally recognized artists in a one-night-only exhibition at Bread and Salt. Artists include Kaori Fukuyama, Hugo Crosthwaite, Einar and Jamex de la Torre, Beliz Iristay, Andrew Alcasid, Claudia Biezunski-Rodriguez, Ted Washington, Charles Glaubitz and more. Bidding is already open online, and you can browse the works here.
Details: Event information. 5-8 p.m., Friday, May 24. Bread and Salt, 1955 Julian Ave., Logan Heights. Free.
Live music picks
* Indicates local act
Thursday: Maggie Rogers and The Japanese House at Petco Park (pop); Cloud Nothings, Truth Club and Bondo at Soda Bar (rock/indie); Fruition and Parker Ainsworth at Casbah (rock, folk); Gilbert Castellanos and the New Latin Jazz Sextet* at Lou Lou's (jazz/Latin); Russ Blvd*, Tsunami Sound Waves* and Virginia Crime* at Music Box (indie/rock).
Friday: CD Ghost at Whistle Stop (indie); Burning Spear, Ginger Roots and the Protectors Trio* at Humphreys by the Bay (reggae); Aviator Stash*, Moondaddy* and Matthew Hall and the Mailroom* at Music Box (indie, pop); Pearl & The Oysters and Well Well Well* at Soda Bar (indie/pop); Wine Lips, The Macks and Permissive Rot* at Casbah (punk, indie rock); Valeska Suratt, Gxllium and more at The Che Cafe (punk/hardcore/screamo); Rob Leines and Ash Easton* at Til Two Club (Americana/rock/country).
Saturday: Pleasure Pill*, Billy Tibbals and Blair Gun* at Casbah (indie/pop); 5th Annual R&B Block Party at Quartyard (DJs, R&B/hip-hop, soul); Gloria Trevi and Mar at Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre (pop/Latin); Tijuana Panthers, Sands*, Fun Country at Soda Bar (surf rock, garage); Stiff Little Fingers and Ricky Warwick at House of Blues (punk); Maracuyá* with Mar Picao at Lou Lou's (Latin) [sold out].
Sunday: Cheekface and Yungatita at House of Blues (indie); The Red Fox Tails* at Panama 66 (surf/jazz); Mon Laferte and Ximena Sariñana at Petco Park (rock, Latin, pop, hip-hop).
More arts and culture picks
Africa Day Celebration
Music, Food | Klaman & Co present an Africa Day Celebration at Speckle Rock Vineyards, with African cuisine, live musical performance, drumming workshops and more. Event information. 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 25. 16138 Highland Valley Rd., Escondido. $75.
San Diego International Fringe Festival
Theater | San Diego International Fringe Festival continues its bonanza of experimental and boundary-pushing theater, closing Sunday, May 26. KPBS' Beth Accomando has a list of recommended shows to help you curate your own "fringiest" Fringe experience here. Event information. Through May 26. Times and locations vary. $7-$13.
Poets at the Grove
Poetry | San Diego Poetry Annual hosts an open-mic community poetry reading outdoors in Balboa Park, near the lawn bowling area on the Sixth Ave. side. Bring your own chair or blanket. Sign up to read your own work, or just show up to listen. Event information. 2-4 p.m. Sunday, May 26. Cypress Grove Picnic Area, Balboa Dr., Balboa Park. Free.
'Piano Women'
Theater, Music | This production from CCAE Theatricals features a cast of four female pianists performing a slate of music by piano powerhouses like Norah Jones, Alicia Keys, Carole King and Sara Bareilles. Event information. 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 24-25; and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 26. $25-$75.
