Hot Picks 10.19.23

Friday, Oct. 20

Bye Bye Bye

Bye Bye Birdie, a musical send-up of fame and fandom culture set in 1958 (the Elvis Presley era) first opened on Broadway on April 14, 1960 at the Martin Beck Theatre. It played for over a year (607 performances) and won four Tony Awards. The New York Daily News called it “the funniest, most captivating, and most expert musical comedy one could hope to see.” Got your attention yet? Good. Santa Catalina School’s rendition of this classic opens Friday, Oct. 20, with subsequent performances Oct. 27-29. Go see young thespians playing teenagers from the town of Sweet Apple (and America) bid a fond farewell to rockstar Conrad Birdie. There are a lot of captivating layers there. [TCL]

12:45pm Friday, Oct. 20. Santa Catalina School, 1500 Mark Thomas Drive, Monterey. $10-$15. santacatalina.org/upper-school/academics/arts/theatre/tickets.

A Lot Of Luck

In childhood, Miguel Hernandez’s life was far removed from the halls of justice. Growing up in a poor family, one of nine children, Hernandez started kindergarten in Fresno knowing not a word of English, just Spanish – he came to dread public speaking from an early age. His family struggled, and was evicted multiple times; he changed schools and starting at age 8, worked on the weekends as a farmworker. This backstory is material only because Hernandez does not let it dominate his life story – instead, the retired defense attorney, who testified for 45 years before judges and juries, views his trajectory as a series of lucky breaks. During the Vietnam War he enlisted in the Air Force; the G.I. Bill enabled him to attend law school. The rest… well you can read about it in Hernandez’s memoir, The Lucky Lawyer: Dreams of Hope and Justice. As a defense attorney, Hernandez came to help defendants change their lives and prospects in the world. This book is his chance to share his own journey – whether it’s “luck” or something else that deserves the credit, well that’s up to the reader to decide. Learn more (and buy the book) at this signing event. [SR]

6:30pm Friday, Oct. 20. National Steinbeck Center, 1 Main St., Salinas. Free. 757-3925, jevinh@gmail.com.

Minestrone Music

Sicily native Peppino D’Agostino has won admirers the world over for his smooth, soulful, intricate ways with the acoustic guitar. After moving to the U.S. in the mid-1980s, he started out busking at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco (and still calls that other, larger Bay Area his home); by 2016, his renowned fingerstylings prompted Monterey Bay Aquarium to commission D’Agostino for a 15-minute original score for its auditorium program. In the meantime, his talents took him far from Fisherman’s Wharf to clubs, concert halls and festivals around the globe, winning him plaudits from fans and critics alike. This modern great is back in the smaller, better Bay Area this week for a concert presented by Carmel Guitar Society in conjunction with SandBox. [RM]

7-8:30pm Friday, Oct. 20. SandBox, 440 Ortiz Ave., Sand City. $40; $30/students and military. sandboxsandcity.com.

Friday, Oct. 20-Sunday, Oct. 22

T-Riffic

The weekend outlook includes smoke, unheard of traffic and plenty of pain. Bleak? Just the opposite, in fact. Gridlife drops in on WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca this weekend, Oct. 20-22, bringing some of the world’s top drivers performing freestyle drift sessions (causing billows of tire smoke), almost constant on-track racing and a lineup of music headlined by we’ve-lost-track-of-the-number Grammy winner T-Pain, and a lot more. “How could there be more?” We hear you wonder. But trust us: a midway with retro arcade games and simulators, DJs like Umami and White Mike, karaoke, a concours of hip cars from the 1980s onward, an attempt by Pike’s Peak veteran Robin Shute to break the Laguna Seca track record, social media influencers everywhere and one big, unconfirmed rumor. And the party goes on into the night. It’s the first time this festival of youth car culture, music and fun has visited the West Coast. Oh, yeah. The rumor. Unconfirmed, but T-Pain may drop a new single. [DF]

All day Friday-Sunday, Oct. 20-22. WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, 1021 Highway 68, Salinas. $55-$115; $175 VIP. 242-8200, grid.life.

Saturday, Oct. 21

Unknown Fun

Here’s what is fundamentally wrong with improv: It is not possible for us to let you know in advance what will happen on stage. Will there be plot twists? Surely, but for the moment, there’s not a plot to bend even a little. Laughter? Absolutely. You’ll be floored – but by what? An unexpected punchline? A bit of slapstick? The actors can’t even tell you, not until they do it. That said, here’s what is so very right about Comedy Variety Showcase’s new Controlled Chaos Improv show: Maria Dawson and her cast of local cut-ups deliver lively, quick-hitting skits with just enough truth to give you pause, even as you are doubled up in hysterics. So we can’t tell you what you are in for, except that it’s bound to be very funny. [DF]

7-9pm Saturday, Oct. 21. Monterey History and Art at Stanton Center, 5 Custom House Plaza, Monterey. $20-$30. 372-2608, comedyvarietyshowcase.com.

Irish Fire

Fire & Grace (guitarist William Coulter and violinist Edwin Huizinga) return to Big Sur, this time accompanied by special guest from Ireland, Éilis Kennedy, adding the rich Irish tradition to their already impressive repertoire. Ranging from Bach to Vivaldi, tango to Celtic tunes, traditional Bulgarian to American fiddle tunes and waltzes, Fire & Grace are no strangers to the area. Kennedy was raised in Baile an Mhúraigh in West Kerry, the second-youngest of eight children born to parents who passed on a lifelong interest in the poetry and songs of that region. Kennedy recorded her first solo album, Time to Sail (2000), with Coulter and it gained her widespread critical acclaim. This acoustic concert will be held indoors in the intimate bookstore space. [AP]

7:30pm (doors 7pm) Saturday, Oct. 21. Henry Miller Memorial Library, 48603 Highway 1, Big Sur. $40. 667-2574, henrymiller.org.

Sing Song

Palenke Arts presents award-winning singer-songwriter Keith Greeninger in concert with virtuoso guitarist Nina Gerber. Greeninger is a singer and performer whose writing has been deeply influenced by his work with Native American and Latin cultures. His songs cut an honest, hard-worn path to places of simple truth about good people holding on to hope and instinct in a world that often tries to strip these things away. Gerber started her music career playing alongside the now iconic Kate Wolf and has gone on to perform, record and produce for many of the country’s finest singer-songwriters. After carving a career out of what some might call the shadows, Gerber is at last beginning to come into the light. Her first album as a leader, Not Before Noon, follows two decades which brought her to prominence without ever placing her name on the front of an album cover. [AP]

7:30-9:30pm Saturday, Oct. 21. International School of Monterey, 1720 Yosemite St., Seaside. $25; RSVP at bit.ly/45sUeeQ. 899-9909, palenkearts.com.

Wednesday, Oct. 25

A Howling Good Time

For those who cannot get enough of celebrating the spookiest day of the year, here’s another way to extend the party by getting a head start: Paper Wing Theatre’s Halloween Karaoke Night. Come dressed in your best disguise for a competitive costume contest and be ready to croon – no worries if your singing is startling, the scarier the better. Which song to choose? Michael Jackson’s “Thriller?” The Addams Family theme? “Witchy Woman” by the Eagles? Or maybe the campy Chipmunks tune “Witch Doctor?” So many possibilities for screeching one out. Hungry and thirsty? Feast on $2 tacos and wash them down with $5 beers. It’ll be creepy and kooky, mysterious and spooky, but (unlike the Addams Family) not all together ooky. Just a frightfully fun time. [PM]

8-11pm Wednesday, Oct. 25. Paper Wing Theatre, 711 Cannery Row, Monterey. Free. 905-5684, paperwing.com.

HOT PICKS by Tajha Chappellet-Lanier, Dave Faries, Celia Jiménez, Pam Marino, Rey Mashayekhi, Agata Popęda, Sara Rubin and David Schmalz.