FRI 2/28
Armageddon on the mind? Worried about a president whose brazen will to go to war is still unshaken, despite dozens of protest marches supported by millions of protesters? Even if you’re unperturbed by Code Orange alerts and the dearth of duct tape, you may still be interested in knowing that UC Berkeley’s Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies has its eye on the zeitgeist for the next few weeks as it stages Jose Rivera’s Marisol, a magic-realist glimpse into the apocalypse. Obie Award-winning Rivera takes New York City as his landscape and young Marisol Perez, a Puerto Rican woman from the Bronx, as his protagonist. The landscape is a ruined one. The moon has vanished. Cows’ milk is undrinkable for its saltiness. And angels have left heaven for battle in the city against a senile king. Meanwhile, Nazis from Staten Island set people on fire, and those who exceed their credit card limits are beaten. Marisolplays February 28 through March 16 at Zellerbach Playhouse, UC Berkeley. 510-642-9925 or www.ticketweb.com — Ann Murphy
Jose Rivera Credits: Al Cameron
TUE 3/4
Poetry, Water Back
“He writes very personal poems,” says Allison Chokwadi Fletcher about John Eugene, the Canadian-born ex-bartender who stops into Fletcher’s Poetry Diversified next Tuesday (March 4, 7:30 p.m.) to update us on the latest chapter of his colorful life. Poetry Diversified is one of the East Bay’s most durable spoken-word nights, and poet Eugene, who lives in Oakland, is the latest in the parade of local vocal talents. Poetry Diversified takes place every first and third Tuesday at the World Ground Cafe, 3726 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland. Go to www.worldgrounds.com/events.html or phone 510-482-4933. — Kelly Vance
SUN 3/2
Lady Fest
“Sojourner Truth will be there,” claims the advertising. “Harriet Tubman, Marie Laveau will be there, Zora Neale Hurston will be there …” But Luisah Teish isn’t crazy, and she’s not hosting some sort of psychic salon for women of color. Teish is one of the performers in Wonderful Women, a program whose first half is dedicated to celebrating the lives of famous women. Uzuri Amini, Laura Combs, and others will portray the women through poetry and prose, and the second half of Sunday’s program is a litany for the endangered species of the ocean. The event takes place at the First Congregational Church of Oakland (2501 Harrison St.) from 2-5:30 p.m., and donations will be accepted in multiples of $5. — Stefanie Kalem
