It’s a mouthful to say and an eyeful to see: GAYLAPALOOZA is here! The 12th annual benefit serving the Billy DeFrank LGBTQ+ Community Center—hosted by queen Elsa Touché—presents a rainbow of entertainment for those seeking further revelry to ring in 2022. The Rainbow Women’s Chorus, Opera San José and the Gay & Lesbian Freedom Band all make appearances, as well as the incomparable opera-singer-drag-queen Dusty Pörn fronting a string quartet. Higher-priced ticket tiers include raffle entry (ooh, prizes!), and of course it’s not too late to Auld Lang Syne a big check in support of queer community resources in the South Bay.

Gaylapalooza
Sun, 3pm, $45+
Hammer Theatre Center, San Jose

Though Christmas music has its nay-sayers, complaints about Christmas music are sometimes more tiring than the Christmas music itself. What’s the problem with classically constructed, fun pop songs that we save for three-to-six weeks of the year? I have a feeling Jose Hernandez, leader of the three time Grammy nominated mariachi group Sol de Mexico, would agree with me. This weekend, Hernandez’s thirteen piece ensemble gives two performances of classic Christmas Music this Saturday, full of rich arrangements and the liveliness of a full mariachi band.

A Merry-Achi Christmas
Sat, Various Times, $35+
Hammer Theatre, San Jose

Although it may not snow in San Jose this year, that doesn’t mean the winter holidays aren’t in full force. Take, for example, “Cool Yule,” a classic orchestral twist on the popular holiday tunes from years past. Hosted by SJSU’s Jazz Orchestra, the ensemble will be joined by Valley Christian High School Jazz Ensemble in a holiday performance led by Grammy Award-winning baritone saxophonist and composer Aaron Lington. Not only might there be a revamped and exciting version of “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,” but this mellow evening out could be the perfect festive start to the holiday season.
Cool Yule
Tue, 7:30pm, $5+
Hammer Theatre, San Jose

The work of Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri is a testament to literature’s distance-traversing magic. Following the success of her short story collection Interpreter of Maladies and novel The Namesake, which explored the lives and lonelinesses of South Asian immigrant communities, Lahiri moved to Rome and began writing books in Italian. For this CLA-sponsored Crowdcast put on by Hammer Theatre, the author will read from her newest novel, Whereabouts, continuing themes of belonging and alienation. Published in Italy as Dove mi trovo (“where I find myself”) in 2018, this is the first book Lahiri herself has translated into English.

Jhumpa Lahiri
Thu, 6pm, Free
Online Event

In celebration of its 25th year, the Mission Chamber Orchestra of San Jose has made all performances in its 2021-22 season free. The season highlights the works of women and composers of color, and in addition to the standard Beethoven (here represented in his “first large-scale groundbreaking work,” the “Eroica” symphony), the Mission Chamber will perform the mesmeric 2021 composition A-ri-a-rang by South Korean-American composer HyeKyung Lee. Lee’s works bubble with moody swells and display surprising rhythmic modernity for orchestral pieces. Virtuoso guitarist Christopher Mann joins with Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s classic Guitar Concerto No. 1.

Mission Chamber
Sat, 7:30pm, Free
Hammer Theatre, San Jose

Rostand’s classic about an immensely talented but ugly man holding his own in a narcissistic society gets a new treatment by renowned British playwright Martin Crimp in this production broadcast from the National Theatre in London. Known for his experimental and austere approach to theater, Crimp’s minimalist art direction allows star James McAvoy to convince his audience of his self-loathing through acting alone. Audiences probably aren’t used to envying romantic lead Roxane as much as they will here. Repeat performance airs Sunday afternoon at 2pm.

Cyrano de Bergerac
Thu, 7pm, $20
Hammer Theatre Center, San Jose

Mark Haddon’s inventive and profound mystery novel “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time” reached a whole new audience when it was adapted into a Tony-award winning play. Following an Aspergian teenager trying to solve the mystery of a neighbor dog’s death, the audience must see the world through the main character’s eyes, including both tremendous insights and infuriating limitations. This performance, run by the legendary National Theatre in London, will be broadcast for a limited run in San Jose State’s gorgeous Hammer Theatre Center.

The Curious Incident
Thu + Sun, 7pm & 2pm, $20+
Hammer Theatre Center, San Jose

Not since Sherman Alexie’s heyday has there been a Native American novelist with as strong a literary tailwind as Oakland-born writer Tommy Orange. His heartfelt and hilarious 2018 novel There, There won a whole mantlepiece of awards, including the American Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award (and was a finalist for the Pulitzer). Orange made news recently as one of the writers signing a letter to Oprah Winfrey asking her to withdraw the controversial American Dirt from her book club. He comes to the Hammer to chat live with SJSU English Professor Nick Taylor. RSVP required at hammertheatre.com.

Tommy Orange
Thu, 7pm, Free
Hammer Theatre, San Jose

The accomplished Ukranian-American pianist Anna Dmytrenko takes the stage for the second concert of the Steinway Society’s 25th season. The Juilliard-trained Dmytrenko plays works by Medtner Rachmaninoff and Barber on her recently released debut album. She has performed in such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center and the Salle Cortot in Paris. In this performance, she will take on Rachmaninoff’s “Variations on a Theme of Corelli” as well as Beethoven’s Andante Favori in F Major and Sonata No. 32 in C minor.

Anna Dmytrenko
Sun, 2:30pm, $40+
Hammer Theatre Center, San Jose

With the Vietnam War at its height and serious civil unrest sweeping the country, one of the 20th century’s most respected composers sought to produce a work that would both challenge and unify a deeply divided America. After his decade-spanning tenure leading the New York Philharmonic concluded in 1969, former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis asked Leonard Bernstein to compose a work to commemorate the inauguration of the Kennedy Center in 1971. The son of Russian-Jewish parents took inspiration from the Roman Catholic Mass, pulling elements from a centuries-old tradition and fusing them with decidedly modern music and lyrics.

Bernstein’s Mass
Fri & Sun, $20
Hammer Theatre Center