Exhibitionism at the Crocker “JapanAmerica: Points of Contact, 1876-1970,” on view Feb. 12 through May 21 “Two Views: Photographs by Ansel Adams and Leonard Frank,” on view Feb. 19 through May 14 Crocker Art Museum, 216 O St. crockerart.org Check out two exciting new exhibitions opening at the Crocker this month. “JapanAmerica: Points of Contact, 1876–1970”, a major exhibition organized by the Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University, surveys the role that international exhibitions and world’s fairs have played in artistic exchanges between Japan and the United States. Focusing on Japan’s place in major international exhibitions held on the American continent from 1876 onward, finishing with a look at the first World’s Fair held in Osaka in 1970, this beautiful and diverse assembly of more than 100 works examines the influence of Japanese aesthetics on painting and printmaking, ceramics and metalwork, graphic design, advertising, bookbinding and illustration. “Two Views: Photographs by Ansel Adams and Leonard Frank” opens Feb. 19, 75 years to the day after former President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 during World War II, authorizing the Secretary of War to designate certain areas as military zones and clearing the way for some 120,000 Japanese Americans to be incarcerated in camps throughout the American West. This compelling collection of photographs—40 by Ansel Adams and 26 by Leonard Frank—presents two views of internment and incarceration in the early 1940s, providing an opportunity to reflect on the nature of reactionary politics, racism, forced separation and the resulting effects on victims.
Stormy Weather “The Tempest,” presented by the Sacramento Theatre Company Feb. 22 through March 19 Sacramento Theatre Company, 1419 H St. sactheatre.org Teeming with shipwrecks, fairies and magic, “The Tempest” is considered by many to be William Shakespeare’s finest romance. The deposed Duke Prospero and his daughter, Miranda, have been stranded for 12 years on a small island where nothing is quite as it seems. But as they separate fantasy from authenticity, they eventually triumph in a new world of love, harmony and redemption.
The Sound of Love “Love Songs in Feb.: From Nat King Cole to Diana Krall—And A Whole Lot of Lovin’ In Between,” a concert featuring the Valerie V Quintet Saturday, Feb. 25 from 6:30-9 p.m. Nepenthe Clubhouse, 1131 Commons Drive 205-4001, valsvocals.com. To reprise the mood from V Day, crooner Valerie V and her talented quintet will perform sultry standards sure to delight the ear and inspire some amorous admiration. A percentage of profits from the concert will go to Community Resident Services Broadway Senior Center, Sacramento.
"Sex With Strangers" is playing at William J. Geery Theater.
Strange Bedfellows “Sex With Strangers,” a play by Laura Eason presented by EMH Productions Feb. 2-18 William J. Geery Theater, 2130 L St. emhpros.weebly.com When star sex blogger and memoirist Ethan Kane, aka Ethan Strange (played by magnetic local actor Tory Scroggins), tracks down his idol, the gifted but obscure novelist Olivia (played by Elise Hodge, founder of EMH Productions), he finds they each crave what the other possesses: her brilliance as a serious writer and his notoriety as a hit on The New York Times best-sellers list for five years in row. As they inch closer to getting what they want, both must confront the dark side of ambition and the near impossibility of reinventing oneself when the past is only a click away. “Sex with Strangers” had its world premiere at Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago and its New York premiere at Second Stage Theatre in June 2014 under the direction of David Schwimmer (yes, of “Friends” fame).
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