Tabard Theatre will continue as a performance venue in downtown San Jose’s San Pedro Square, although it will cease to producing its own theatrical shows after April 2, 2023. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
It was a mad December dash for Tabard Theatre, which announced last week it had lost the lease on its San Pedro Square home and then scrambled to find new venues for the remaining lineup for the month.
Fortunately, the valley’s arts community was ready to help, and two groups, StageOne and San Jose Stage, picked up several of the remaining shows.
StageOne will host “Le Perez: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” on Friday at 8 p.m. and “Blues Is a Woman” on Saturday at 8 p.m. at its studio space at the Corinthian Event Center building at 196 N. Third St. San Jose Stage Company in downtown’s arty SoFA district picked up four other events: “Nineteen: Swing Into The Holidays,” on Dec. 19, “A Touch of Brass: Swing Into the Holidays” on Dec. 20, Jessica Johnson on Dec. 30 and the two New Year’s Eve shows featuring Gunhild Carling on Dec. 31. Tickets are still available for those events at www.tabardtheatre.org.
San Jose Stage Managing Director Cathleen King said it was “disheartening” to see another venue close its doors and that they were proud to support Tabard during this challenging time. “Our unwavering commitment is rooted in the belief that nurturing and preserving community arts is absolutely vital,” she said. “Tabard Theatre holds a special place as a longstanding community asset deserving of our wholehearted support, along with the incredibly talented artists already engaged for these shows.”
Tabard Marketing Manager Marilyn Watts said the loss of the theater, which Tabard had called home since 2008, was unexpected, though it came at the end of a tumultuous year. In February, Tabard Theatre announced it would be closing in April, but the following month amended that to just the shutdown of its live theater production. It continued to present concerts, poetry slams, comedy shows and other events, like the weekly “Off Nite” talk show with Ato Walker and Mighty Mike McGee. The last event held at the venue was a fundraiser for the Fountain Blues Festival on Dec. 3.
It’s unclear what’s next for the 120-seat theater on the second floor of the old Farmer’s Union building. The intimate space — known for its cabaret stage, brick walls and 35-foot mahogany bar — had been home to the Last Laugh comedy club in the 1980s but has primarily been a theater space for at least the past 25 years. Of course, there’s still one complication: In 2018, the former Theatre on San Pedro Square’s name was changed to Tabard Theatre.
HOLIDAY VOICES: It’s really exciting to see Symphony San Jose supersizing its annual holiday tradition, turning what was previously “Carols at the California” into “Christmas at the California.” Concerts on both Saturday night and Sunday afternoon will feature the Symphony San Jose Chorale — conducted by the incomparable Elena Sharkova — the Symphony San Jose orchestra, the New Ballet, Cantabile Youth Singers and tenor Ben Gulley.
So that means a bit more music — including a suite of John Williams’ music from “Home Alone” and selections from “The Nutcracker” — along with the traditional carols, sing-alongs and Sharkova’s perpetually evolving “Twelve Days of Silicon Valley.” Concertgoers will be able to meet Santa Claus before the shows at the California Theatre, and kids will get to decorate a gingerbread cookie with royal icing.
It’ll also be a special weekend for one San Jose couple, Carl and Marianne Salas. They bought an auction item at the symphony’s Cinderella Ball fundraiser in September that included the chance to be a guest conductor. Carl Salas will conduct the orchestra for “Sleigh Ride” on Saturday night, while Marianne Salas will take the baton for the song Sunday. Tickets are available at www.symphonysanjose.org/christmas-concert.
TOYS AND CARS: The VTA is partnering with the U.S. Marines Toys for Tots program for its annual Stuff the Bus toy drive at Christmas in the Park in San Jose on Saturday. You can help fill VTA buses with donations of new, unwrapped toys from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. They’ll also take books and stocking stuffers suitable for newborns to 14-year-olds with one exception: No plush toys, which are being disinvited from the party for sanitary reasons.
And if you’re looking to add lowriders to your holiday, look no further than the Creekside Socials event also taking place Saturday on Barack Obama Boulevard near SAP Center. It’s the official launch event for Ricardo Cortez’s new book, “The ABCs of Lowriding,” and will include a lowrider show, DJ music and food trucks from noon to 4 p.m. You can also donate toys to the Laying Low for the Holidays drive, benefitting kids from Sacred Heart Nativity Schools and Los Amigos de Guadalupe.
Originally published at Sal Pizarro