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KPBS Midday Edition

Weekend Preview: 'Divine Rivalry,' The Silent Comedy And Walking Urban Food Tours

By Alison St John / Reporter,  Angela Carone / Cultural Enterprise Reporter,  Claire Caraska / Production Intern/Culture Lust Blogger
Published July 5, 2012 at 8:20 AM PDT
This story was published more than 12 years ago.
Local band The Silent Comedy headline a matinee show at The Casbah on Sunday, July 8.
Courtesy photo
Local band The Silent Comedy headline a matinee show at The Casbah on Sunday, July 8.
Your weekend to-do list
GUESTSLiz Bradshaw, curator of The Loft at UC San Diego. Jim Hebert, theater critic at the U-T San Diego.

This weekend, treat yourself to some cultural fun. From new theater productions to live music to walking food tours, there's no excuse to get out and play.

Travel back in time to 16th-century Florence, Italy, and witness Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo as they face off in an artistic showdown in “Divine Rivalry” at The Old Globe. Based on a real-life painting competition devised by political mastermind Niccolò Machiavelli, "Divine Rivalry" begins previews Saturday and opens July 12. The play runs through August 5 at the Old Globe in Balboa Park. (U-T San Diego theater critic Jim Hebert previews the show.)

On Saturday night, take in (and take home) artworks at a benefit art auction at The JETT Gallery in Little Italy. The event is part of the weekend-long “BAM: Benefit of Arts & Music for the Museum School," and features works by more than 30 artists including Perry Vasquez, Tim McCormick, Allison Wiese and Jessica McCambly, among others. (You can preview the works up for bid on Friday from 4-7 pm).

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On Sunday afternoon, catch live music by The Silent Comedy, Rob Crow (of Pinback), Little White Teeth and more local musicians during a rare matinee show at The Casbah on Kettner Boulevard. Proceeds from both the art auction and the Casbah show will benefit arts and music education at the Museum School, a local charter school.

Composer Duncan Sheik and writer/lyricist Steven Sater team up again in “The Nightingale," the duo's first major collaboration since their smash-hit musical "Spring Awakening." The latest La Jolla Playhouse Page to Stage workshop, "The Nightingale" is based on the Hans Christian Andersen story about a Chinese emperor who neglects the enchanting song of a real-life nightingale in favor of a mechanical one that's built for him. The musical begins previews Tuesday and runs through August 5 at the La Jolla Playhouse.

Looking for a fun way to work up an appetite? NOSH San Diego leads walking urban food tours through North Park (Fridays) and South Park (Sundays). Get a taste of food and drinks at five different local spots, each reached by foot, during the three-hour walking/dining tour.

Cygnet Theatre presents “Man of La Mancha,” which begins previews tonight and opens July 14. The classic musical runs through August 26 at the Old Town Theatre in Old Town. (Jim Hebert speaks with Cygnet artistic director Sean Murray, who plays the lead role for the third time in his career.)

Learn the art of block printing with artist Wade Koniakowsky on Saturday at Bliss 101 in Encinitas. Koniakowsky, known for his ocean-inspired artworks, will be printing original designs on T-shirts and bags, which attendees can take home. (Bring your own T-shirt or purchase one there.)

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Looking for more options? Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and musician Roberta Flack performs Friday and Saturday with the San Diego Symphony.

And for those who prefer to stay at home, why not fire up the grill?

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KPBS Midday Edition TheaterVisual ArtsMusic
Alison St John
Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.
Angela Carone
Angela Carone covered arts and culture for KPBS and was the author of Culture Lust. Angela has produced public radio programs focused on the arts for the Atlanta and San Diego markets. In this role, she has covered topics ranging from books, film, theater, music, visual arts and pop culture. She also has more than 15 years experience in print media, having been published in various newspapers, alternative weeklies, and exhibition catalogs. Angela has degrees in political science from Pennsylvania State University and in English literature from Georgia State University. She is also a published photographer.
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Claire Caraska
Claire Caraska served as a production assistant for KPBS Midday Edition and a Culture Lust blogger. As a writer and editor, she has covered music and visual arts for various print and online publications, including San Diego CityBeat, The San Diego Union-Tribune and voiceofsandiego.org. Claire received her bachelor’s degree in communication from UC San Diego, where she spent time on the air at KSDT Radio. An avid audiophile and record collector, she is also a DJ and can be heard playing 60s and 70s soul and funk at local watering holes. Photo by Derrik Chinn.
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