Our Best Bets: July 27th – August 2nd go from coast-to-cast with world-renowned artists and a slew of premieres.
DISRUPTION – Pershing Square Signature Center – New York, NY – Now – September 13th
OPENING NIGHT: AUGUST 2nd
Can, or even will, technology get to the point where it knows us better than we know ourselves? That’s the premise at the center of Andrew Stein’s play having its New York Premiere.
What could be more timely than a play about AI?
What interests me most about this production is the cast: Emma Kikue, Irene Sofia Lucio, Jason Ralph, Conrad Ricamora (Tony nominee for Oh, Mary!), Jasmine Sharma, Elizabeth Stanley (Tony nominee for Jagged Little Pill); Joe Tippett, John David Washington and Shaunette Renée Wilson.
The production is directed by Hersh Ellis.
For tickets and more information, please go HERE.
NEWPORT JAZZ FESTIVAL – Newport, RI – July 31st – August 2nd
The line-up for this year’s Newport Jazz Festival is quite possibly the best line-up for any jazz festival this summer. Here are my highlights:
July 31st: Robert Glasper featuring Bilal & Ari Lennox; Leon Thomas; Charles Lloyd Sky Quartet featuring Jason Moran, Larry Grenadier & Kweku Sumbry; Chief Adjuah and Lalah Hathaway
August 1st: Sonny Miles on a Trane featuring Kamasi Washington & Chief Adjuah; Jonathan Batiste Trios; John Scofield & Dave Holland; Terri Lyne Carrington; Linda May Han Oh Trio with Ambrose Akinmusire & Tyshawn Sorey and Brandon Woody’s Upendo
August 2nd: Herbie Hancock, Thundercat, Lake Street Dive, The Bad Plus Farewell Tour, Charlie Hunter & Ella Feingold and Sullivan Fortner Trio.
There is a waitlist for all three shows.
For tickets and more information, please go HERE.
SUPERSTARS OF PARIS – Dorothy Chandler Pavilion – Los Angeles, CA – July 31st – August 2nd
In 1987, I saw Mikhail Baryshinkov in Baryshnikov & Co. that featured the ballet superstar and women. No men.
Hugo Marchand, Danseur Étoile, is taking a different path with this show that features three other male dancers (Antonio Conforti, Germain Louvet and Marc Moreau) along with four women (Léonore Baulac, Letizia Galloni, Dorothée Gilbert and Hannah O’Neill.) All are members of the Paris Opera Ballet.
They will be accompanied by pianist Elena Bonnay and cellist Julie Sevilla Fraysse in a program that includes ten works by George Balanchine, Jean-Guillaume Bart, Carolyn Carson, Michael Fokine, Hans van Manen, José Martinez, Marc Moreau, Roland Petit and Angelin Preljocaj. Note that not all the music is being performed by the two musicians.
In a recent profile in the New York Times, Marina Harss wrote about his “intensity, combined with impeccable technique…has propelled him to the summit of the French ballet world, and more recently to an international career.”
For tickets and more information, please go HERE.
LA JOLLA MUSIC SOCIETY SUMMERFEST 2026 – Multiple Venues – La Jolla, CA – July 31st – August 29th
Perhaps you have watched or read my interview with Music Director Inon Barnatan about this year’s Summerfest – a top chamber music festival in the United States. This year marks the 40th season.
We talked a bit about the programming, but not much. So here are the shows I feel are going to be highlights:
What If? – August 2nd – The program is centered on Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater and features other works composed by composers who were remarkably young. Pergolesi was 26 when he composed Stabat Mater. Amongst the musicians performing are Barnatan (piano), Stefan Jackiw (violin), Randall Goosby (violin) and George Li (piano)
Out of the Shadows – August 14th – An exploration of work composed after World War I. This includes works by Bridge, Debussy, Korngold and Poulenc. The musicians include Barnatan, Imani Winds, Tessa Lark (violin) and Paul Wiancko (cello).
The Complete Brandenburgs Part 1 and Part 2 – August 15th – August 16th – All of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos performed over two days by many of the musicians performing throughout the festival
Remade/Reborn – Composer/conductor Thomas Adés features prominently in this program that opens with his arrangement of Four Songs by Purcell (which he will perform on piano with mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano.) That’s followed by the US premiere of his Concerto Conciso. The concert closes with Brahms’ Piano Quintet in F Minor, Op. 34 featuring Jeremy Denk on piano.
Schubertiade – August 26th – An all-Schubert program featuring Barnatan along with Jonathan Biss (piano); Robin Tritschler (tenor) and more.
Conversations Across Centuries – August 28th – Barnatan told me he’s long wanted to program Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. He gets his wish in this concert that features music by Beethoven, Hayden, Rautavaara and more.
For tickets and more information for the shows I’ve highlighted, please click on their names. To see the entire schedule and get tickets, please go HERE.
THE PEOPLE OF POMPEII – Theatricum Botanicum – Topanga, CA – August 1st – October 4th
Bernardo Cubría’s new play takes place shortly after the disastrous Palisades Fire. Carlos and Vera’s home was spared and they invite friends over to celebrate their luck. As the night progresses, they are their guests find themselves in a a tug-of-war between longtime residents in the neighborhood and the elite who want to make the area more elite.
Ellen Geer and Xochitl Romero co-direct. The cast includes Cubría, Willow Geer, Aaron Hendry, Amber Luallen, Lauren Saffa and Jon Sprik.
For tickets and more information, please go HERE.
That’s all for Best Bets: July 27th – August 2nd.
Enjoy your week!
Go see a show (or two)!
Main Photo: Hugo Marchand in Bolero (Photo by JUlien Benhamou/Courtesy The Music Center of Los Angeles)