Vocal Celebration

Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Patti LuPone, San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, and This Land is Our Land Featuring Martha Redbone Roots Project

San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus

Holiday Spectacular!

Sat, Dec 21, 5pm, Zellerbach Hall

Celebrate the season with a couple hundred of your most talented neighbors at the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus’ Holiday Spectacular!. The storied ensemble pulls out all the stops in this beloved annual tradition, complete with holiday carols, satirical sketches, ugly Christmas sweaters, Santa outfits, and guest dancers and drag artists. Expect nostalgic classics like "Little Drummer Boy," "Sleigh Ride," and "Deck the Halls"; holiday pop songs by the likes of George Michael, the Jackson 5, and the Manhattan Transfer; and glorious parodies of anyone who has been taking themselves too seriously of late. It’s heartfelt, it’s hilarious, and it’s a uniquely Bay Area celebration of community and holiday cheer. Last season’s holiday concert sold out, so get your tickets now!

Patti LuPone
Joseph Thalken, piano

Songs from a Hat

Sat, Apr 5, 8pm, Zellerbach Hall

In a wildly entertaining showcase of her wit and virtuosity, Broadway star Patti LuPone sings an intimate cabaret-style evening of songs, with the titles randomly chosen from an onstage hat. Over the course of her extraordinary career, LuPone has earned three Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards, and two Grammys, all confirming her uncommon talent and popularity. Expect signature songs from the musicals that made her a household name, such as Evita, Gypsy, Company, and Les Misérables, woven together with stories from her remarkable life in the limelight. "Admirers of LuPone are accustomed to her powerful vocals, her barbed banter, and affective reminiscences, all of which were grandly displayed in Songs from a Hat" (Theaterscene).

This Land is Our Land

Featuring Martha Redbone Roots Project
and American Patchwork Quartet

Fri, Feb 28, 8pm, Zellerbach Hall

Martha Redbone, guitar and vocals
Clay Ross, guitar and vocals
Falguni Shah, vocals
Yasushi Nakamura, bass
Ocie Davis, drums

Roots music singer and songwriter Martha Redbone lends her soul-stirring voice to a new collaboration with the genre-defying American Patchwork Quartet, for a performance exploring the United States’ rich cultural tapestry. Redbone draws on her southeastern Cherokee/ Choctaw and African American heritage to craft uplifting songs that celebrate the human spirit, infused with the folk and blues sounds of her childhood in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky. She has said, “I feel that the one thing that still resonates physically and emotionally with people is music…. [It] is the one field where we still have a fighting chance to be able to share some important, powerful, profound messages.”

An Illuminations: "Fractured History" event.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Sat, Mar 1, 8pm, Zellerbach Hall

Beloved South African vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, with one of "the most distinctive and uplifting choral sounds around" (NPR), visits with its unforgettable harmonies and inspiring message. Since its launch to global stardom on Paul Simon’s Graceland album in 1986, the group has won five Grammys and sung for millions across continents. Born from struggle under its country’s apartheid regime, Ladysmith sings songs of freedom, love, and peace, and Nelson Mandela famously cited the group’s music as a source of strength and inspiration during his imprisonment, later calling them "South Africa’s cultural ambassadors" (Theaterscene).

Which seminal roles did Patti LuPone originate on Broadway?

Joanne in Company
Rose in Gypsy
Evita in Evita
Marian Paroo in The Music Man
Fantine in Les Misérables

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