Around Berkeley: Fourth Street lights; ‘Frozen’ at Berkeley Playhouse

Never miss local events! Sign up for Berkeleyside’s arts and culture newsletter, The Scene . And check out our new roundup of affordable things to do anytime in Berkeley . 📚 Matt O’Hara is joined in conversation by Rebecca Herman about his new book “ The Flying Death: Poison, Plunder, and the Quest for a Miracle Medicine in the Amazon ,” a dramatic tale of two 1930s gentlemen-explorers racing to find and harvest curare from a poisonous Amazon vine (one to save his own life and the other to make his fortune). Thursday, Nov. 12, 7 p.m. Mrs. Dalloway’s Bookstore. FREE (RSVP encouraged) 🎭 The Berkeley Playhouse presents “ Frozen ,” the musical based on Jennifer Lee’s hit Disney film of the same name, featuring the beloved songs by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. Friday, Nov. 13-Dec. 23. Julia Morgan Theater. $23-$45 🎷 As part of the library’s ongoing In the Stax collaboration with artist Derwin Deon Brown II transforming various branches into vibrant hubs of Black musical culture and community memory the Church of John Coltrane presents a convocation through live performance, listening, testimony and reflection. ( Read more about the series .) Friday, Nov. 13, 3 p.m. Central Library Mystery Room. FREE 🎸 A gathering to celebrate the recent volumes documenting the history Bay Area punk music and photography — “ We’re Having Much More Fun: Punk Archives for the Present from CBGB to Gilman and Beyond ” and Pegasus alum Anna Brown’s “ Hail Murray! The Bay Area Punk Photography of Murray Bowles, 1982-1995 ” — features readings and conversation with special guests Daniel Sea, Martín Sorrondeguy, and Tommy Gear, moderated by East Bay Yesterday’s Liam O’Donaghue. Friday, Nov. 13, 6:30 p.m. Pegasus Books Downtown. FREE 🇭🇺 For two weeks in the fall of 1956 the Hungarian people rose up in an attempt to free their country from Soviet domination , an effort that was crushed by Soviet troops. A self-guided exhibition at the Orly Museum, where Budapest meets Berkeley, commemorates this crack in the Eastern Bloc. Saturday, Nov. 14, 2-4 p.m. Orly Museum of Hungarian Culture. FREE (rsvp requested) 💡With Thanksgiving still two weeks away it might seem early to switch on the holiday lights but the Fourth Street display turns the shopping district into a wonderland , and this street party officially kicks off the nightly display, which will run through the winter until February. Saturday, Nov. 14, 5-7 p.m. Fourth Street Shops. FREE 🇬🇧 An evening of tunes and songs by British fingerstyle pioneers such as John Renbourn, Bert Jansch, and Davy Graham features Doug Young, Pete Madsen, Bruce Victor and Flynn Cohen performing solo, in duets, and various combinations. Saturday, November 14, 8 p.m. Timbre Folk & Baroque. $20, email [email protected] for reservations 🍷 BROC Cellars celebrates the holiday wine release with a child and dog friendly Japanese pop-up event featuring food from Okkon, Bar Tanuki, Casa De Kei, Daruma Kiosk, Not Too Sweet, and others (rain or shine). Saturday, Nov. 14, 12-5 p.m. BROC Cellars. Entry complimentary with beverage purchase 🎶 Mr. Hat presents Aki Kumar’s “Mumbai meets Muddy Waters ,” the South Bay harmonica ace’s high-energy musical mashup combining vintage Indian cinema soundtracks with raw, Chicago-style blues. Saturday, Nov. 14, 8 p.m. Chapel of the Flowers. $25-$67 🖊️ A prolific poet, writer and instructor at the San Francisco Writing Salon for the past decade, Katharine Harer leads a two-hour workshop designed to kickstart memoir writing by focusing on sensory details and vivid moments. Saturday, Nov. 14, 2 p.m. Claremont Branch. FREE 🎻 The Women Composers Collective presents a program by Bay Area women composers, including several world premieres, performed by a string quartet with violinists Ariel Wang and Corina Santos, Clara Schuuer on violin and viola, and cellist Jessica Ivry. Sunday, Nov. 15, 4 p.m. Good Shepherd Church. $25 suggested donation 🎭 Berkeley High Theater presents the groundbreaking Broadway musical “ A Year With Frog and Toad ” by the brothers Robert and Willie Reale based on the beloved children’s stories written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel following the woodland adventures of two amphibious friends. Sunday, Nov. 15, 10 a.m. & 1 p.m. David Brower Theater. $10-$30 🎶 The Dynamic Miss Faye Carol and the Freight present the 6th annual Black Women’s Roots Festival , a multigenerational program featuring Carol, Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist Jazzmeia Horn, soul matriarch Linda Tillery, emcee, soulstress and Coup vocalist Silk-E, and folky singer songwriter August Lee Stevens. Sunday, Nov. 15, 4 p.m. The Freight. $49-$54 (21 & under $29) 🎥 The Jazzschool documentary series continues with Robert Mugge’s 1986 portrait of the recently departed tenor sax legend “ Sonny Rollins – Saxophone Colossus ,” which documents a pivotal point in his career as he contended with his own legacy of classic recordings. Sunday, Nov. 15, 4 p.m. The Jazzschool. FREE 🎭 Two nights of previews offer an early view “ Octet ,” Tony Award-nominated composer Dave Malloy ’s acclaimed a cappella musical about eight internet addicts in a church-basement meeting wrestling with their struggles to connect IRL. The production runs through Dec. 20 and contains profanity and references to self-harm, mental illness, and pornography. Wednesday, Nov. 18, 8 p.m. Live Oak Theater. $43 🗓️ See more things to do in Oakland and Richmond . And check out our big list of affordable things to do anytime in Berkeley. Sign up for our weekly arts and culture newsletter , The Scene. If there’s an event you’d like us to consider for this roundup, email us at [email protected] . The deadline to submit events for Around Berkeley is end-of-day Monday. If there’s an event that you’d like to promote on our calendar, you can use the self-submission form on our events page . " * " indicates required fields Send a note to the editors. * Have a comment on this story? See an error that needs correcting? Have a tip, question or suggestion? Drop us a line. Email * Name Phone Would you like to be anonymous? No Yes If you reply "no," we may publish your comment in a story or newsletter under your name. Embed URL Submit Δ