'La Cage Aux Folles'
Theater
It's been a long wait for this show to officially open at Cygnet Theatre — they were all set in March of 2020 and even held a preview performance before shutting down entirely for an 18-month pandemic-extended curtain call.
"La Cage Aux Folles" is an '80s Broadway adaptation of a French play of the same name, which was then famously adapted into the '90s movie "The Birdcage." The plot centers on a drag club at risk of being shut down, and its owners, an older gay couple who try to act "normal" as they prepare to meet a future daughter-in-law. It's jam-packed with vibrant and memorable song and dance numbers (I'm partial to "We Are What We Are").
Cygnet requires that audience members show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative PCR test within 72 hours, and masks must be worn indoors regardless of vaccination status.
Details: Event information. Friday at 8 p.m. (sold out), Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Performances continue next week through Oct. 13, Wednesdays through Sundays. $25-58.
'The Rebellious Miss Breed'/'Call To Serve'
Literature, Visual Art, History
Clara Breed, a long-time San Diego children's librarian, exchanged letters with Japanese American youth during the WWII incarcerations — if that's ringing a bell, it should: last year's KPBS One Book, One San Diego children's selection was "Write to Me," which chronicled her story.
This fall, the San Diego Public Library is commemorating the life and advocacy of Breed with a series of programs that all center around an exhibition at the Central Library Gallery. On view are photographs, archives and relics that shed light onto the experience of Japanese Americans during WWII, including a replica of a WWII barrack built on-site at the library.
The exhibition launches with a reception at the library's 9th floor sculpture garden Saturday afternoon.
Details: Exhibition and event information. Saturday, Sept. 18 from noon to 2 p.m., then on view Monday through Saturday afternoons through Jan. 30, 2022. 330 Park Blvd., Downtown. Free.
San Diego Women's Film Festival
Film
The 8th annual Women's Film Festival, hosted by the Women's Museum of California, is virtual again this year. This means you can stream all the selections on demand with just a $15 festival pass, or check out an individual screening for $5. A few selections that stand out: the Australian documentary short "You Are Not Alone," about the impact and prevalence of miscarriage; "3:35 to Boston," by 2021 GI Film Festival director Kay Barnes, a short about a runner; "You Haven't Seen What I've Seen," a suspenseful Polish short; and "Red Threads," a Lebanese film about a fashion designer in exile.
Details: Event information. Streams on demand Friday, Sept. 17 through Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021. $5-15.
'Disestablishment': Public Destruction Event
Visual Art
Ever wanted to absolutely trash some fine art? Wait, don't answer that. But on the steps of the San Diego Museum of Art Thursday and Friday afternoon, you can try it anyway.
San Diego artist John Raymond Mireles' exhibition, "Disestablishment" is currently on view in SDMA's free gallery (near Panama 66), but these works were intended to be destroyed, much like the future Mireles presumes for the pristine nature depicted in his works. Dozens of stunning photographs feature two recently disestablished National Monuments, set for mining or drilling. The public is invited to scratch, tear, puncture and leave their mark on the photographs as a symbol of the human destruction on the planet.
These works will then be rehung, destroyed, in the gallery and will be on view through Jan. 30, 2022. Some notes: you'll need to sign a waiver, and you have to be over the age of 12 to participate.
Details: Exhibition and event information. Thursday and Friday, Sept. 16-17 from 2-5 p.m. 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park. Free.
More visual art: This weekend only, catch three exhibitions at once at the Oceanside Museum of Art. Charlotte Bird's incredible quilt works open in a solo exhibition Saturday, Melissa Walter's "Smallest of Places" continues through early November, and Mark Bryce's "Love and War" exhibition (originally configured for CECUT Tijuana) will close on Sunday.
Music By The Sea: Zelos Saxophone Quartet
Music
Okay, I admit. I was skeptical. A saxophone quartet? Not one but four saxophones? But Zelos Quartet kind of blew me away. They'll perform a collection of works including some by underrepresented contemporary composers Clare Shore, Kevin Villalta, William Grant Still and more.
Details: Event information. Friday at 7:30 p.m. 540 Cornish Dr., Encinitas. $20.
For more arts events, to submit your own, visit the KPBS/Arts calendar. And be sure to sign up for my weekly KPBS/Arts newsletter.
