Donald’s list: Weekend choices (Feb. 9)

Some promising options for a busy weekend:

‘Walk in Peace’

This sounds like a beautiful event: The choirs of Fresno State and Fresno City College collaborate on the concert “Walk in Peace,” which celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King and Black History Month. Fresno State’s Cari Earnhart and Fresno City’s Julie Dana conduct. Guest artists include Mike Dana, Richard Giddens and members of the Fresno State Jazz Ensemble.

If you’re a fan of choral music, this is a chance to hear two strong collegiate music programs for the price of one!

Details: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9, Fresno State Concert Hall. Tickets are $5.

‘King Lear’

Just three performances of the Shakespeare classic remain in Theatre Ventoux’s run. This taut adaptation, directed by Broderic Beard and starring Greg Taber in the title role, runs just 105 minutes including intermission.

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The theater company’s Facebook page has an interesting take on the production. It begins:

Unlike a traditional production, our Lear is not about the dissolution of the natural order via a cosmic archetype embodied in the person of a deteriorating old man. Instead, it is about the madness of a middle aged monarch and its all-too-real effects on the people around him.

I got a chance to talk with Taber about the company and the production on the February episode of The Munro Review (interview begins at the 16:50 mark):

Details: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9; and 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10, Fresno Soap Co., 1470 N. Van Ness Ave. Suggested donation is $10, but all performances have a Pay What You Will policy.

Oscar short films

For film buffs and Oscar fans, Fresno Filmworks has a special treat: It’s once again putting the Oscar-nominated short films into focus. Over a two-day period, Filmworks is featuring five full programs of Academy Award-nominated pics, just weeks before the winners are announced. This marks the 13th straight year that Filmworks has brought the world’s best short-form cinema to central San Joaquin Valley audiences.

Here’s the schedule:

5:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9: live-action shorts

8:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9: animated shorts

1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10: animated shorts

4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10: live-action shorts

7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10: documentary shorts

Audience members will get a chance to share their night at the Oscars by showing off their outfits on the red carpet and making photo booth pictures, with Hollywood-style props available.

Details: All screenings are at the Tower Theatre, 815 E. Olive Ave. Tickets for single programs are $10 general, $8 students and seniors. A special $15 double-feature ticket is available for any two programs.

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