Comedy
Actor/standup Chris Tucker is in good company. He’s a performing alumnus of the “Def Comedy Jam,” the groundbreaking series that ran 30 wow!) years ago on HBO.
Over the course of its eight seasons, the show co-produced by Def Jam Recordings executive Russell Simmons and hosted by Martin Lawrence showcased a slew of standup comedians that, looking back, can make your head spin. Like Jamie Foxx. Dave Chappelle. Chris Rock. Bernie Mac. Adele Givens. D.L. Hughley. Kevin Hart. And Chris Tucker, who would go on to a big-time movie career with films like the original “Friday” with Ice Cube and “Rush Hour” with Jackie Chan.
Like many of his former “Def Jam” performers, Tucker, a talented impersonator as well as a comic, never turned his back on standup. In fact he’ll do a night of comedy on Saturday at Harrah’s Resort Southern California in Valley Center.
As for “Def Comedy Jam,” its star-studded episodes haven’t disappeared. They can be streamed via Amazon Prime – all eight seasons of them. If you’re looking for Tucker, he first appears in the initial episode of Season 2.
Film/dance
Beginning Friday, the California Center for the Arts Museum in Escondido will be screening every half-hour during museum hours a legacy film that merged the art of dance and digital technology. What’s astounding about the dance film created by choreography legend Merce Cunningham is that it was produced back in the early ‘90s, long before digital tech would conquer the world.
The film’s titled “CRWDSPCR,” and though that reads like a license plate, the movement it captures is not on wheels but that of performers from the Merce Cunningham Dance Company at the time. Filmmaker Charles Atlas, who collaborated with Cunningham, utilized the digital technology of that era to create an experience that’s both abstract and immersive.
“CRWDSPCR” will screen at the museum through June 1.
Jazz
If I’m not mistaken, Sunday is Easter. So what’s with the San Diego Symphony celebrating Mardi Gras on Saturday night?
But it is, with a program of New Orleans jazz conducted by trumpeter and vocalist Byron Stripling. A former member of the Count Basie Orchestra, Stripling has also performed in the studio with artists as diverse as Elvis Costello and George Michael.
The focus on Saturday, though, is on the jazz that’s embedded in New Orleans’ arts and cultural history. ing Stripling and the San Diego Symphony Orchestra will be keyboardist Bobby Floyd, drummer Jim Rupp and vocalist Sydney McSweeney.
Theater
Fourteen new plays, including six by San Diego writers, will get staged readings beginning Wednesday and running through April 27 as part of Trinity Theatre Company’s Third Annual New Works Festival.
The 14 were chosen from among more than 500 submissions. Readings will take place in Trinity’s performance space in the Mission Valley Mall. The plays from San Diego writers: “Craftsmen” by Wesley Preis, “Hamlet – Act V, Scene II, Take 2” by Roger Henry, “Cringe” by Melissa Jordan Grey, “Dragonsbreath: The Video Game” by Austin Steinmetz, “Road Buddy” by Sashank Kanchustambam and “The Art of Tolerance and Forgiveness” by Lisa Balderston.
All tickets are pay-what-you-can. Here’s the screening schedule for this year’s festival. For details, visit trinityttc.org.
Hip-hop
These are heady times for West Coast rapper Too Short, who performs Wednesday night at the Belly Up in Solana Beach. His first album in five years, titled “Sir Too Short, Vol. 1,” is being released this week. Snoop Dogg is among the collaborators.
Already this month in theaters is the film “Freaky Tales,” which Too Short narrates. Composed of four connected stories, it’s set in Oakland, where the L.A.-born Too Short began his recording career back in the 1980s. The film starring Pedro Pascal (“Game of Thrones”) also features Tom Hanks as a video store owner.
U-T stories you may have missed this week
- The ultimate guide to La Jolla Playhouse’s 2025 Without Walls Festival
- America’s No. 1 ice cream maker, An’s Gelato, sticks to its funky formula for newest shop in O.B.
- Review: Old Globe’s ‘Regency Girls’ a smart, funny and naughty girl power romp. Is it ready for Broadway?
- Heart reschedules San Diego concert following Ann Wilson’s cancer recovery
- In the Curator’s Words: SDMA’s ‘american minimal’ celebrates Minimalist movement
- Review: Cygnet Theatre’s ‘Hot Wing King’ brings on the spice
- Art show assembles ‘a team of creative superheroes’ in new works by San Diego-based Black artists
- He’d asked someone to draw him a picture. Then, they taught him how.
- Review: OnStage Playhouse’s ‘Knock Loudly’ is stylish but unfocused
- Review: Scripps Ranch Theatre’s ‘Wedding’ is haunting, well-staged
