Out and About in March and April 2023

Depeche Mode launches a world tour at G1C, Alvin Ailey takes the stage at the Mondavi Center, and more. Here are 10 can't-miss events to check out around town this spring.
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode (Photo by Anton Corbijn)

 

National Geographic Live 

March 9 Photographer Keith Ladzinski has captured everything from Antarctic icescapes to terrifying tornadoes for National Geographic over the past 10 years. In a presentation titled “Force of Nature”—which could equally describe the lensman or his subject matter—Ladzinski tells the tales behind his jaw-dropping images at the Harris Center in Folsom. harriscenter.net

Natgeo Live By Keith Ladzinski

Photo by Keith Ladzinski, Courtesy of National Geographic

Ms. Holmes And Ms. Watson – Apt. 2B

March 8–April 16 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s investigative duo gets gender-swapped and dropped into the 21st century, mid-pandemic, in Ms. Holmes and Ms. Watson – Apt. 2B. With this clever spin on the Sherlock Holmes series, playwright Kate Hamill—lauded by The Wall Street Journal for her “ingenious adaptations” of timeless works—brings the mysteries of Baker Street to the B Street Theatre. bstreettheatre.org

Hairspray 

March 15-19 Two decades after John Waters’ 1988 cult classic sock-hopped its way from the big screen to the Big Apple—where the stage production won eight Tonys in 2003, including best musical—we still can’t stop toe-tapping alongside everyone’s favorite big-haired barrier-buster, Tracy Turnblad. Can we get a “Good Morning, Broadway Sacramento”? broadwaysacramento.com

Hairspray

Hairspray‘s Tracy Turnblad (Photo by Jeremy Daniel, Courtesy of Broadway Sacramento)

Sacramento Master Singers

March 18-19 How to explain the sweep of a program that includes both Cole Porter’s “I Get a Kick Out of You” and Robert Cohen’s Alzheimer’s Stories? Simple: Joy and sorrow are both movements in the symphony of life—and in the 50-voice Sacramento Master Singers’ “Songs in the Key of Life” concert, which will be performed at The Sofia. mastersingers.org

David Cross

March 22 Calling all Arrested Development aficionados. Catch dark-comedy master David Cross—aka Tobias Fünke in the acclaimed sitcom—pushing the stand-up envelope at the Crest (his latest special tackled topics ranging from anti-maskers to the Holocaust) during his “Worst Daddy in the World” tour. crestsacramento.com

Depeche Mode

March 23 Get ready to hear some songs of faith and devotion, Sacramento. The British synth-rock stalwart, which was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2020, kicks off a world tour—its first without founding member Andy Fletcher, who died unexpectedly last May—at the Golden 1 Center to coincide with the release of the group’s 15th studio album, Memento Mori. golden1center.com

Intimate Apparel 

April 14–May 14 See why Lynn Nottage is the most produced playwright in the country during this run of Intimate Apparel at Carmichael’s Chautauqua Playhouse. Set in New York at the turn of the 20th century, this 2003 drama by the two-time Pulitzer winner—who collaborated with Spike Lee on the TV series She’s Gotta Have It—tells the story of a Black lingerie designer caught between love and ambition. cplayhouse.org

Alvin Ailey Revelations

Alvin Ailey’s Revelations (Photo by Dario Calmese, Courtesy of The Mondavi Center)

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater 

April 18-19Revelations feeds the soul,” the San Francisco Chronicle wrote of Alvin Ailey’s 1960 masterpiece when the late legendary choreographer’s eponymous dance company performed the piece in Berkeley last year. The emotive work, which was inspired by Ailey’s experience of growing up Black in Texas, headlines a diverse program at the Mondavi Center. mondaviarts.org

Bryan Adams 

April 28 Pop quiz: What song holds the record for the longest stretch at No. 1 on the UK singles chart? Why, Bryan Adams’ 1991 ballad “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You,” which reigned for 16 consecutive weeks. Expect the rocker to perform that megahit and other classics like “Summer of ’69” and “Heaven,” as well as tracks from his 2022 album So Happy It Hurts, at Thunder Valley. thundervalleyresort.com

Leonard Slatkin

April 29 A celebrated interpreter of American music, conductor Leonard Slatkin has earned six Grammy wins and 35 noms over the course of his distinguished career. This spring, the maestro will lead the Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera at downtown’s SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center in a program featuring César Franck’s Symphony in D minor, Cindy McTee’s concert overture Circuits and music from Aaron Copland’s Rodeo ballet. sacphilopera.org