‘Black Panther,’ several others have us excited for 2018.
‘Black Panther,’ ‘Angels in America,’ ELO, Wagner’s epic ‘The Ring’ have us excited
So much about 2017 was forgettable. So let’s turn our attention to the new year and the bounty of arts and entertainment it promises. Here are a few of our critics’ and writers’ favorite things on the 2018 landscape.
Film: A superhero bonanza
Comic book fans, prepare to geek out uncontrollably. The 2018 film calendar is stuffed with promising superhero offerings, but it’s not only the good guys and women getting in on the action. Even a couple anti-heroes are kicking it up on the big screen.
Of the bunch, the one I’m most psyched about is East Bay director Ryan Coogler’s “Black Panther,” which finds King T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) suiting up in the titular role to save the world. With an exceptional cast (Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Daniel Kaluuya, Forest Whitaker and Andy Serkis) and a proven filmmaker, this could well be one of Marvel’s finest. It opens, appropriately, during Black History Month, on Feb. 16.
A number of other comic-book-inspired films look appealing. While the Avengers films tend to be way too cluttered and unfocused, I’m
hoping “Avengers: Infinity War” avoids getting bogged down by too many egos. It opens May 4. The hilarious Ryan Reynolds returns June 1 as the foul-mouthed R-rated trickster in “Deadpool 2.” For more familyfriendly fare, Pixar snaps back with Elastigirl (voiced by Holly Hunter) and the rest of family June 15 with “The Incredibles 2.”
Tom Hardy’s hardcore workouts have us more than pumped up about seeing one of today’s most talented actors portraying Spidey’s nemesis Venom (Oct. 5). And you can catch Jason Momoa swimming with more than just the fishes in “Aquaman” on Dec. 21.
Need more? How about these: The YA-appealing “The New Mutants” (April 13); Paul Rudd making small look sexy in “AntMan and the Wasp” (July 6), a new “X-Men: Dark Phoenix” (Nov. 2) and the 3D animated “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” (Dec. 14). All release dates are subject to change. — Randy Myers, Correspondent
Theater: An ‘Angels in America’ revival
The great work begins once more.
“Angels in America” flies back into the Bay Area, more than a quarter-century after it was first born at San Francisco’s Eureka Theatre.
The iconic theatrical epic will be directed by Tony Taccone, who originally commissioned the sweeping work from thenunknown playwright Tony Kushner. Kushner’s masterpiece wings into Berkeley Repertory Theatre, with its startlingly relevant examination of greed, power and identity politics in American society, starts in April.
Although it is set amid the 1980s, Kushner’s insights into the harsh realities of capitalism and its impact on everything from health care to civil rights, couldn’t be more relevant in the Age of Trump.
Subtitled “A Gay Fantasia on National Themes,” the two-part play, which will be performed in its entirety on certain marathon days, premiered at the Eureka in 1991. It became a landmark in American theater, winning the Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize and raising the bar on theatrical scope and ambition. “Angels
in America” has been produced on Broadway (1992), as a six-part HBO miniseries (2003) as well as an opera (2004). On the heels of its London and Broadway revival starring Nathan Lane, this long-awaited epic runs April 17 through July 22 in Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theatre; $40-$100; www. berkeleyrep.org — Karen D’Souza, Staff
Pop: Jeff Lynne’s ELO ready to plug in
There are many intriguing classic rock acts heading
for the Bay Area in 2018, but the one I’m really counting the days to is Jeff Lynne’s Electric Light Orchestra.
The incredibly influential group, known for such innovative and catchy gems as “Mr. Blue Sky,” “Don’t Bring Me Down,” “Telephone Line” and “Sweet Talkin’ Woman,” performs Aug. 2 at Oracle Arena in Oakland ($49.50-$149.50, www.ticketmaster.com).
Bay Area ELO fans definitely won’t want to miss this date, which kicks off the band’s first full U.S. tour in more than 30 years.
Jeff Lynne and company did, however, play a soldout three-night stand at the Hollywood Bowl in 2016. I was able to catch one of those shows and can attest that this music has aged very well.
Other top rock shows scheduled for 2018 include Queens of the Stone Age Feb. 1 at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco ($49.50, www. ticketmaster.com), Jethro Tull’s 50th anniversary tour on June 2 at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley ($45$115, www.ticketmaster. com), and the Pixies-Weezer doubleheader on Aug. 7 at Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View ($20-$85, more for secondary-market tickets, www.livenation. com). — Jim Harrington, Staff
Classical: The return of ‘The Ring’
Richard Wagner’s “Der Ring des Nibelungen” is one of the world’s towering artistic achievements. An epic tale of gods and mortals, betrayal and redemption, the composer’s four-opera cycle, comprising “Das Rheingold,” “Die Walküre,” “Siegfried” and “Götterdämmerung,” adds up to an unforgettable musical and dramatic experience.
This year, San Francisco Opera will present three complete “Ring” cycles, reviving director Francesca Zambello’s acclaimed “American Ring” productions, which set the operas in a contemporary landscape scarred by environmental destruction. Donald Runnicles — one of the world’s great Wagnerians — will conduct the operas, with casts featuring such stellar singers as sopranos Evelyn Herlitzius and Karita Mattila, mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton, tenors Daniel Brenna and Stefan Margita, bass-baritones Greer Grimsley and Falk Struckmann. For music lovers, it’s the event of the year; one that will attract Ringheads from around the world.
The San Francisco Opera production of “Der Ring des Nibelungen” runs June 12July 1 at the War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco; $190-$3,420 for complete cycles, single ticket prices to be announced; 415-864-3330; www.sfopera.com/ring. — Georgia Rowe, Correspondent
Books: New novel from Anne Raeff
From award-winning author Anne Raeff of San Francisco in mid-February comes “Winter Kept Us Warm” (Counterpoint Press, $26, 304 pages), a complex
novel about a love triangle involving two soldiers and an interpreter that begins in immediate post-war Germany. It follow these characters across six decades, in locales as far flung as Manhattan and Morocco, weaving in themes of love and loss, friendship and loyalty and the tragic damage that war and its aftermath can wreak on even the closest of relationships. Its title comes from a particularly poignant quotation from T.S. Eliot’s epic poem “The Wasteland”:
“Winter kept us warm, covering
Earth in forgetful snow, feeding
A little life with dried tubers.”
Raeff’s 2015 short-story collection, “The Jungle Around Us,” a California Book Award finalist, won the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction. — Sue Gilmore, Correspondent
TV: New crime, new ‘Story’
How do you top a TV phenomenon such as “The People v. O.J. Simpson”? Prolific producer Ryan Murphy and his team are expected to give it a valiant try with the second installment of their lurid anthology series, “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.”
The nine-part saga focuses on spree-killer Andrew Cunanan (Darren Criss), whose cross-country path of destruction landed him on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted List even before he murdered fashion icon Gianni Versace (Edgar Ramirez) on the steps of Versace’s Miami mansion in 1997.
Based on the book “Vulgar Favors” by Maureen Orth, the series examines how cultural homophobia and prejudice delayed law enforcement’s
search for Cunanan. The cast also includes Penélope Cruz and Ricky Martin.
“Versace” debuts 10 p.m. Jan. 17 on FX. — Chuck Barney, Staff
Museums: Epic look at Bay Area culture
Where has Bay Area culture come from, and where
is it going? Berkeley, with its mix of history and innovation, seems the perfect place to look for answers, or at least discover a path. It’s there to explore in “Way Bay,” a sweeping exhibit of 200 works covering two centuries of Bay Area creativity opening Jan. 17 at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive.
It’s a sweeping survey, beginning
with works by the Ohlone culture, covering the boom years following the Gold Rush, and documenting the innovations and cultural clashes of the 20th century. Renowned painters such as Richard Diebenkorn, Joan Brown and Chiura Obata will be represented as well as such lesser-known artists.
The exhibit borrows from
UC Berkeley’s Bancroft library and Hearst Museum of Anthropology for historic underpinnings. It pops into the present with avantgarde and experimental cinema, audio and video interviews with artists.
“Way Bay” runs Jan. 17May 6 at BAMPFA, Berkeley; $13; Bampfa.org.
Meanwhile, the Bay Area plays a major role in several exhibits on the 2018 schedule. Among them are “Contraption: Rediscovering California Jewish Artists” (Feb. 22-July 29 at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, thecjm. org); “Respect: Hip-Hop Style and Wisdom” (March 24-Aug. 12 at the Oakland Museum of California, museumca.org); and “Rise Up! Social Justice in Art from the Collection of J. Michael Bewley” (June 8-Sept. 20 at the San Jose Museum of Art, sjmusart.org). — Robert Taylor, Correspondent
Video game: Time for some ‘Redemption’
It’s been five years since Rockstar Games released a new title. That’s an eternity for players. Blame that on the huge success of “Grand Theft Auto V” and its online component that extended the life of that project.
With the pent up demand, expect a ridiculous amount of anticipation for “Red Dead Redemption 2,” due out this spring. The sequel still takes place in the Wild West, but this time it follows a protagonist named Arthur Morgan, who is part of the Dutch van der Linde gang. That’s the same crew the previous protagonist, John Marston, joined.
From what Rockstar revealed, players will embark on another epic, but one that will feature better visuals thanks to more powerful systems. It will also have more settings, as Morgan travels across bayous of the South, snows of the Rockies and the sagebrush of the Southwest. It looks like a huge game that fans will love to explore. — Gieson Cacho, Staff
Dance: The rhythm of DNA
Lots of people these days are researching their own DNA for clues about their heritage. But most people