1 “SEED LANGUAGE: A NEW IDENTITY”: Oakland’s Destiny Arts Center and the San Francisco-based urban dance troupe Embodiment Project have been working together nearly two years on this production, which blends hip-hop and aerial dance styles, Anna Deavere Smith-style documentary theater, spoken word and singing, and utilizes nearly 50 performers ages 9 to 38. What it all adds up to, organizers say, is a Black Lives Matter-themed show that explores the “invisible narratives that bodies can carry” from history and pervasive challenges. The production finally gets its premiere March 25 through April 3 at the Odell Johnson Theater at Laney College in Oakland, followed by a single performance 7 p.m. April 16 at the Geary Theater in San Francisco.
Details: Tickets are $10-$30; for Laney College performances, go to http://seedlanguage.brownpapertickets.com; for Geary Theater tickets, go to https://tickets.act-sf.org; for more information, visit www.destinyarts.org.
2 COREY CEROVSEK TRIO: Canada-born Cerovsek is a Grammy-nominated, former child prodigy violinist who has turned heads as a featured soloist with the San Francisco Symphony and orchestras around the world. He’s headed to the Bay Area with his trio — featuring cellist Claudio Bohorquez and pianist Katia Skanavi — for a trio of shows.
Details: 2:30 p.m. March 26 at Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek; $51; 925-943-7469, www.lesherartscenter.org; 7 p.m. March 27 at Herbst Theatre, San Francisco; $36-$48; 415-392-4400, www.cityboxoffice.com; 7:30 p.m. March 28 at Oshman Family Jewish Community Center, Palo Alto; $50 (only a handful of tickets remain); 415-392-4400, www.cityboxoffice.com; more information: www.chambermusicsf.org.
3 THE SMITHEREENS: These leather-loving lads from New Jersey might be best known for the single “Blood and Roses,” but their primary MO since forming 30 years ago has been a hard-edged interpretation of British Invasion pop. They’ve covered the Beatles in a couple of albums, and The Who’s “Tommy” in 2009. The foursome arrive at Livermore’s Bankhead Theater on March 25 to perform songs from “Tommy” and other Who classics as well as cuts from their own catalog.
Details: 8 p.m.; $16-$59; 925-373-6800, www.livermoreperformingarts.com.
4 THE CHOIR OF ST. JOHN’S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE: This world-renowned men-and-boys choral group has been around since the late 17th century (I’m guessing there have been a few personnel changes). The group arrives at Stanford University next week to perform works by Bach and Poulenc on March 29 at Memorial Church on campus and Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms on March 30, accompanied by Stanford Chamber Chorale and musicians from Stanford Symphony Orchestra and Stanford Philharmonia at Stanford’s Bing Hall.
Details: Both concerts are 7:30 p.m.; $15-$50 Tuesday; $15-$65 Wednesday; 650-724-2460, http://live.stanford.edu.
5 “FLAMENCO!”: This production presented by the Flamenco Society of San Jose features the acclaimed gypsy flamenco singer Jose Mendez accompanied by guitarists and percussionists and, of course, some amazing dancers. There are two Bay Area performances this weekend.
Details: 7:30 p.m. March 26 at Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts; $42-$58; www.mvcpa.com; 3:30 p.m. March 27 at La Peña Cultural Center, Berkeley; $20; www.eventbrite.com
6 “A HOUSE TOUR …”: The full title of this new show by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb is “A House Tour of the Infamous Porter Family Mansion with Tour Guide Weston Ludlow Londonderry.” It’s a surreal comedic audience-immersion show in which a tour guide leads us (the audience) through a mansion once belonging to a fabulously rich and thoroughly eccentric couple, Hubert and Clarissa Porter. The other thing you need to know about this is it stars Danny Scheie, one of the Bay Area’s funniest and most reliably entertaining stage actors.
Details: March 29 through April 23; Z Space performance center, San Francisco; $22-$250; http://zspace.org.
7 TRIBUTE BANDS: The Bay Area never seems to be hurting for shows by top-notch cover bands. This weekend, Zep Live! The Led Zeppelin Concert Experience comes to Walnut Creek’s Lesher Center for the Arts, and Waterloo, an ABBA tribute band, heads to the Montgomery Theater in San Jose. Maybe these two bands can meet up somewhere afterward for a mash-up concert (“Stairway to a Dancing Queen?” “Whole Lotta Fernando?”)
Details: Both shows are 7:30 p.m. March 26; Zep Live tickets are $45; 925-943-7469, www.lesherartscenter.org; Waterloo tickets are $39-$49 and going fast; 408-792-4111, http://sanjosetheaters.org.
8 ST. LAWRENCE STRING QUARTET: The “house band” of the Stanford Live performing arts series serves up a holiday-themed freebie on March 25, performing Haydn’s seven-movement “Seven Last Words.”
Details: 5 p.m.; Memorial Church, Stanford University campus; free, no reservations needed, seating on first-come, first-served basis; https://live.stanford.edu.
9 YOUTH MUSIC FESTIVAL: Who knows, the next Carlos Santana or Alicia Keys might take the stage when students ages 12-16, from Amador High School, De La Salle High School, Foothill High School, Hart Middle School and Harvest Park Middle School perform at this 14th annual event.
Details: 2 and 7:30 p.m. March 26; Firehouse Arts Center, Pleasanton; $10; 925-931-4848, www.firehousearts.org.
10 “BAREFOOT IN THE PARK”: Broadway West Theatre Company presents this quintessential Neil Simon rom-com about newlyweds — she’s a free spirit, he’s a button-down lawyer — adjusting to married life in a cramped New York City brownstone.
Details: Through April 16; Clarke’s Hall, Fremont; $10-$27; 510-683-9218, www.broadwaywest.org.
Contact Randy McMullen at rmcmullen@bayareanewsgroup.com. Follow him on Twitter.com/randymac57.
