May arts roundup: Watercolor exhibit, live theater and music events in Sacramento

Below are just a few of the many Saramento-area arts opportunities in May, with more in-person options being added every month. Many virtual options continue to be available. Whether you enjoy books, theater, music, or art, there is something for everyone.

May 4 through 30: The American Watercolor Society Traveling Exhibition will be available at the Sacramento Fine Arts Center in Carmichael. The exhibit will feature the best of the best of international watercolor. The society’s traveling exhibition includes 40 paintings selected from 1,100 entries. In addition, Sac Arts will feature the watercolors of Sacramento artists Wayne Thiebaud, Kenneth Potter, Sandy Delehanty and more. The Foyer Gallery will feature a silent auction for small original artwork. Gallery 3 will feature art from Watercolor Artists of Sacramento Horizons. The Gallery is open to the public Tuesday through Friday. There is free parking and entry donations accepted at the door.

May 6: The B Street Theatre will livestream a six-hour Sofia Telethon as part of the Big Day of Giving. The B Street Theatre will bring nonstop entertainment featuring comedy, music, games, partner showcases and more. Throughout the day, B Street Company members will honor generous donations with a personalized thank you and also show their gratitude with fun select giveaways. See bstreettheatre.org.

May 7-16: the Sacramento Theatre Company Cabaret Series continues with “Hear My Song: Musicals of Jason Robert Brown.” His famed works include “The Last 5 Years,” “Songs For a New World,” “Parade,” “Honeymoon in Vegas” and “The Bridges of Madison County.” The show features songs like “Stars and the Moon,” “I’d Give it All for You,” “Picture Show,” “All the Wasted Time,” “I Love Betsy” and more. The cabaret will be recorded live on the STC Cabaret Stage and streamed over several days. A link to view the performance will be sent out 24 hours prior to the performance date of choice. Buy tickets at sactheatre.org.

May 13: “The Shot” will be hosted by the Manetti Shrem Museum. Award-winning actor Sharon Lawrence stars in a reading of Robin Gerber’s new play “The Shot,” about iconic Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham. For more than 20 years, Graham was a self-described “doormat wife,” secretly enduring years of domestic abuse from her husband. After his suicide, she took over as publisher and CEO of the Washington Post, where she defied the government by publishing the Pentagon Papers, took on President Richard Nixon in the Watergate scandal, and stunned her male executives who bet against her success. A live town hall will follow the reading with playwright Robin Gerber, Sharon Lawrence, Bike City Theatre Company’s director of development, J.R. Yancher and UC Davis professor of theater and dance Mindy Cooper. This online event is part of a national initiative that uses performing arts to raise awareness of domestic violence. Visit theshotplay.com and empoweryolo.org to learn more. More at manettishremmuseum.ucdavis.edu.

May 14: The Manetti Shrem Museum will stream “Two American Painters: Lois Dodd and Wayne Thiebaud in Conversation with Karen Wilkin.” Artists Wayne Thiebaud and Lois Dodd address the everyday world around us in their paintings from their separate coasts —Thiebaud from California, and Dodd from Maine and New York. Karen Wilkin, an art historian curator and critic specializing in 20th century modernism who has written extensively about Thiebaud and Dodd, will lead a conversation exploring their histories, motivations and predilections, and what has sustained them during their long and productive careers. “Wayne Thiebaud Influencer: A New Generation” is on view at the museum this year. For more information, visit manettishremmuseum.ucdavis.edu.

May 16: The Mondavi Center will stream the Alexander String Quartet with Robert Greenberg. The Alexander String Quartet will make Mozart’s music the focus of their concerts in 2021. This year the quartet introduces a new member, violist David Samuel, joining cellist Sandy Wilson, and violinists Fred Lifsitz and Zakarias Grafilo. Greenberg has performed, taught and lectured extensively across North America and Europe. He is currently music historian-in-residence with San Francisco Performances, where he has lectured and performed since 1994. For more information go to mondaviarts.org.

May 19-20: UC Davis will host its 2021 Film Fest. The festival features short films of eight minutes or less in a variety of genres from animation to live action, from documentary to experimental. This year the selection committee also accepted submissions of original screenplays eight pages or less. Each evening, audience members will be able to vote for their favorite film for that program. The winning films in all categories will be announced after the screening on May 20. For more information see arts.ucdavis.edu.

May 21-30: Sacramento Theatre Company presents “The Show Must Go Online!” a virtual children’s musical. “The Show Must Go Online!” is a first-of-its-kind musical, which tells the hilarious story of a group of passionate students desperate to save their drama program by producing their spring musical “Brushes With Greatness: The Dental Hygiene Musical” online. This show was written during COVID-19 as a new way for students to perform in a virtual world. Made up of individual scenes and songs, each student gets their moment to shine. This event will be recorded and then streamed over several days. To buy tickets, go to sactheatre.org.

May 26: “Disgorgement, Depreciation, Encumbrance: Artist Cameron Rowland in Conversation with Erin Gray and Justin Leroy” will be hosted by Manetti Shrem Museum. MacArthur Foundation fellow Cameron Rowland is an artist making visible the institutions, systems and policies that perpetuate systemic racism and economic inequality. His work centers around the display of objects and documents whose provenance and operations expose the legacies of racial capitalism and underscore the forms of exploitation that permeate many aspects of our daily lives. Rowland joins UC Davis professors Erin Gray (English) and Justin Leroy (History) for a conversation that centers on Rowland’s work. For more information, go to manettishremmuseum.ucdavis.edu.

May 27: The Crocker will host via Zoom their “Official Rogue Book Club.” This month’s book for discussion is “Marbles,” by Ellen Forney. This graphic novel and memoir is described as “darkly funny and intensely personal.” Drawing on her own experience with bipolar disorder, Forney interweaves her story with those of famous bipolar artists and writers. Attempting to dispel any romantic notions about her life, Forney tries to come to terms with the concept of the “crazy” or “tortured” artist, finding inspiration in the lives and work of artists such as Vincent van Gogh, Georgia O’Keeffe, William Styron, and Sylvia Plath. Forney also researches the clinical aspects of bipolar disorder, including the strengths and limitations of various treatments and medications, and what studies tell us about the conundrum of attempting to “cure” an otherwise brilliant mind. To register go to crockerart.org.

Ongoing: The Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera introduces Spring Soirées, the SP&O’s latest digital series. Recorded at the Mondavi Center’s Jackson Hall, the four-concert series will feature conductor Stuart Chafetz and musicians from the string, woodwind, brass, and percussion sections of the SP&O. Whether digitally streaming from your computer or tablet, you can enjoy these concerts from the comfort of your own home. Each stream will go live at 7 p.m. on the day of the concert, and be available for streaming for up to 30 days after its premiere. “Seductive Strings” premiered April 24. On May 8, they will premiere “American Masters.” “Tchaikovsky and More” will be available May 22. For more information go to sacphilopera.org.