The weekend is here, and the kids are restless. But worry no longer. The Palo Alto Children's Theatre and the Jordan Middle School PTA are presenting "Annie" at the Children's Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, at 7:30 p.m. tonight, Feb. 25, and at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 26. Tickets are just $4 for adults and $2 for children. For more information, call 329-2623 or 329-2652. Pictured are Ramie Gold as Annie and Liz Gannes as the orphan Molly.
Music
Bach to Bach concerts
The Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, featuring some of the Peninsula's most talented teen musicians, has invited back some distinguished alumni for three Bach Celebration concerts among the redwoods surrounding the Portola Valley United Presbyterian Church. The dates for this 10th season of all-Bach concerts are Feb. 27, March 6 and 13. Featured soloists include flutist Alexandra Hawley, cellist Eileen Moon and violinists Anita Stoneham and Catherine Ro. Tickets are $8 general admission and $5 for students and seniors. The concerts begin each evening at 7 p.m., and the box office opens at 6:30 p.m. The church is at 945 Portola Road. For more information, call 856-3848.
Winds, piano and soprano
Fresh from educational recitals this week at the Cesar Chavez Academy and Menlo Oaks School in East Palo Alto, Opus 90, the Palo Alto-based chamber ensemble composed of performers who are individually active in their own concert and recording careers, comes to the Cubberley Theatre, 4000 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, for an 8 p.m. concert tonight, Feb. 25. Tickets are $10-$12 and will be available at the door. Opus 90 was founded in November 1989 when a group of classical soloists assembled in Palo Alto with the idea of forming a new performing group--a Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center on the West Coast, but with a difference, explains pianist Lyn Reyna (pictured). This would be a group of primarily wind players in a new chamber music configuration: oboe, bassoon, French horn, clarinet/saxophone, piano and soprano. The performers would be chosen for the their on- and off-stage personalities, as well as their performing experience and reputations. Since its first concert in 1990 (hence the name), Opus 90 has committed itself to performing innovative, contemporary music, but never neglects the works of Mozart, Poulenec and so on. Tonight's concert for piano, winds and voice features guest soprano Sally Reid, who is filling in for Emily Rawlins, now touring Europe, most recently singing the title role in Richard Strauss' "Salome" at the Bonn Opera House in Germany.
Singing for peace and justice
Just back from a two-week concert tour in El Salvador, Jim and Jean Strathdee come to St. Andrew's United Methodist Church, 4111 Alma St., Palo Alto, at 7:30 p.m. tonight, Feb. 25, to play their brand of folk music concerned with the plight of the homeless, poor and immigrants. Tickets are available at the door for $6 each, or $18 for a family. For more information, call 493-0900.
The Children's Health Council's annual Seafood Spectacular, held every year at the Fish Market restaurant in Palo Alto, offers seafood lovers the chance to indulge in Dungeness crab, smoked salmon, steamed shellfish, wine and dessert, all while helping to support the Council's outreach programs for local children and families. Tickets to the March 13 party at the Fish Market, 3150 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, are $35 per person ($36 if you pay by credit card), and are available by calling the Children's Health Council at 326-5530.
Dorothy Dehner did not begin sculpting actively until she was in her 50s, after her divorce from the famed sculptor David Smith. Since then, her abstract, sometimes whimsical works have taken their places alongside some of this century's most respected sculptures. Her work is on display in New York City at the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan and the Whitney. Now, the first California exhibition of sculptures, prints and drawings by the 92-year-old New York City artist comes to the Lucy Berman Gallery, 534 Ramona St., Palo Alto, from Feb. 26 through April 2. Twenty-five percent of the proceeds from "Dorothy Dehner: A Pictorial and Sculptural Journey" will benefit the Community Breast Health Project, a grass-roots organization under the umbrella of the Office of Community and Patient Relations at Stanford University. This new support network is dedicated to improving the coordination of medical care delivered to women with breast cancer. "I've been wanting to do a Dorothy Dehner show since I first saw her work five years ago," said gallery owner Lucy Berman. "Jill (Jill Freidenrich, one of the organizers of the Community Breast Health Project) also loves Dorothy Dehner and has met her. She and I were talking and decided this could be an opportunity to do something for the Breast Health Project. I've had an awful lot of friends diagnosed with breast cancer . . . and I think we're all aware of how omnipresent cancer is and how much people need in the way of support after they are diagnosed." A reception will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. on March 4 at the gallery. For more information, call 322-2533.
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