OPENING
Setting down at the beautiful Cosmo Cabaret for the fall will be "Bingo, the Winning Musical." The musical comedy, directed by California Musical Theatre artistic director Glenn Casale, starts calling numbers tonight.
Written in 2001 by Michael Heitzmann and Ilene Reid, with music and lyrics by Heitzmann, Reid and David Holcenberg, "Bingo" has become a regional favorite with an easygoing story line of friendship and forgiveness.
The cast includes Eydie Alyson, Bonnie Bailey-Reed, Jessica Crouch, Nikki D'Amico, Lisa Raggio and Michael Stevenson. "Bingo" opens today and plays through Jan. 8. Evening performances are 7 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, and 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Matinees will go on at 2 p.m. Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets are available at the Wells Fargo Pavilion Box Office, 1419 H St., by phone at (916) 557-1999 or through Tickets.com. Single tickets start at $33-$43. The Cosmopolitan Cabaret is at 1000 K St., Sacramento.
THE SOOTHSAYER
It probably shouldn't be all that surprising that composer and saxophonist Wayne Shorter has found arguably the greatest expression of his full-bodied art in what ought to be the twilight of his career.
At 78 years old, Shorter brings his now decade-old quartet to Jackson Hall at the Mondavi Center on Saturday night.
The band, featuring drummer Brian Blade, bassist John Patitucci and pianist Danilo Perez, represents most of Shorter's many facets, and their mutual understanding of his methods and each other makes for stunning modern music.
Shorter has shared the bandstand or led recording sessions with the greatest jazz musicians of the past 50 years. His many accomplishments and influences on the music put him in the rarefied company of peers John Coltrane and Miles Davis.
In the mid-'60s, when Shorter was writing and performing with Davis' great quintet, he also made a series of records for Blue Note that set a standard of jazz composition and innovation. Those albums include "Juju," "Speak No Evil," "Adam's Apple" and "Night Dreamer" and were made with either his Davis bandmates Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams and Ron Carter or the stalwarts of Coltrane's great quartet at the time, McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones.
Shorter, of course, went on to co-found Weather Report with Joe Zawinul and seemed content to step back into a quiet, moody secondary presence with that fusion-oriented group. So Shorter's re-emergence with his young band of major talents has been a revelation. Though his early work has never been undervalued, Shorter's current engaging, creative presence seems like an extra benefit of a truly singular career.
The Wayne Shorter Quartet performs at 8 p.m. Saturday in Jackson Hall at the Mondavi Center on the UC Davis campus. Tickets are $17.50-$58. For more information, go to mondaviarts.org or call (866) 754-2787.
FINAL CURTAIN
That sweet, charmingly self-aware musical "The Drowsy Chaperone," staged here by Runaway Stage Productions, takes its last bows this weekend. Performances are 8 p.m. today and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Sierra 2 Theatre, 2791 24th St., Sacramento. Call (916) 207-1226 or go to runawaystage.com for more information.
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Call The Bee's Marcus Crowder, (916) 321-1120.
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