thursday 6|19

Jesus and Romans

GODSPELL AND FUNNY THING HAPPENED Summer's here, and the musicals are out in full force. Over at Monterey Peninsula College tonight they're opening Godspell, the upbeat 1971 hippie songfest that casts Jesus as a flower child on the city streets, dispensing parables to a ragtag band of homeless disciples to the tune of hit songs such as "Day By Day" and "All Good Gifts." Meanwhile, in Salinas on Saturday night, the Western Stage presents the classic farce of Old Rome in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, a play popularized by the slapstick Zero Mostel movie. It's filled with togas, courtesans, bunches of grapes, chase scenes, and stars Reg Huston (who played the quintessential Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof at the Outdoor Forest Theater) as Miles Gloriosus. [SF]

Tonight through Sunday, in Monterey and Salinas. Check theater listings, pg. 38 for details.

**friday 6|20

Soul Man

MARVIN BANKS What kind of music does Bay Area singer Marvin Banks perform? Here is a hint: He was in a vocal group called The Love Men during the '70s. If you still don't get it, Banks is a soul singer with gospel roots who loves to perform the classic soul hits from the '70s and '80s. His band took third place in this year's Monterey Bay Blues Festival Battle of the Bands, and now he's ready to croon at Sly's. [ST]

9pm. Sly McFly's, 700 Cannery Row, Monterey. Cover Charge. 649-8050.

saturday 6|21

For the Love of Lenore

IL TROVATORE Monterey Bay Opera and Monterey Bay Symphony present Verdi's popular masterpiece Il Trovatore, the second opera (including Rigoletto and La Traviata) in his "trilogia popolare." Composed of four acts, "The Duel," "the Gypsy," "The Gypsy's Son," and "The Execution," the opera Verdi created twists the motivations of two brothers (unbeknownst to them) while they compete for the love of the beguiling Lenore, presenting a story of depth and power. The opera, performed "Opera Monterey Style" (a concert form), is sung in its original Italian by Elise Rotchford as Inez, Norma Mayer as Lenore, Scott Bearden as Count di Luna, and Jonathan Hodel as Azucena, and features onstage narration in English. A benefit performance on Thursday, 6/19 at 6pm, raises funds for the Salvation Army. Call 899-4911 for $40 benefit tickets. [AW]

7:30pm and Sunday at 2pm. Santa Catalina School Performing Arts Center, 1500 Mark Thomas Dr., Monterey. $32. 646-4213.

Pagan Love Rituals With Music and Rejoicing

SUMMER SOLSTICE AT CAMELOT Tonight is the solstice, the end of the longest day of the sun cycle (the year, to you non-pagans), and it will be marked way out in the wilds of Carmel Valley by all-night feasting, dancing, singing, and music by Two Live Crews: D & A with Wild Wild West Show, and The Undercover Band, as well as The Big Sur Natives. The party takes place at Camelot, a plot of land owned cooperatively by about 30 local folks who are, according to one of the crew, "a loose-knit group that is semi-spiritual and New Age, based on Arthur's Roundtable." The Camelot bunch celebrate the eight solar holidays of the Celtic calendar with parties open to the public, so all can share the joy. Special guest speaker Charlie Moore, as "Merlyn" the magician. [SF]

3pm until sunrise. Valley of the Kings, 34.5 miles out Carmel Valley Road. Donation "from the heart" to raise funds for a community center the group plans to build. 402-3633 for information.

Rock the Kasbah

MUSIC FROM THE ARAB WORLD Master percussionist Souhail Kaspar and his Ensemble perform in our quiet corner of the world, putting a new beat to what you might think of Middle Eastern music. Kaspar was born in Lebanon, and trained at the Conservatory of Arabic Traditional Music in Aleppo, Syria where he received a degree in classical Arabic performance. Kaspar is proficient on the Egyptian drum known as tablah, on tar (a large frame drum), large and small tambourines known as mashar and riqq, and is an expert in various Persian and Turkish instruments. Come prepared for exotic melodies, inspired by a tumultuous region of the globe. Kaspar and his Ensemble will be joined by Oriental dancers Janette and Jamaica, with pre-show entertainment by the Park Avenue Studio dancers. Ticket price includes Indian buffet dinner and performance. [AW]

6:30pm. Indian Summer Restaurant, 220 Olivier St., Monterey. $35. 372-4744.

Wine Time

ART & WINE FESTIVAL It's hard to think of a better combination than art and wine-except for maybe art, wine, music, food and shopping in Carmel. Today, at the 14th Annual Art & Wine Festival, it's possible to do all of the above-and feel good about oneself. Hey, it's for a cause. Taste local wineries. Stroll though the Barnyard Gardens and shops, visit with local artists. Listen to music and taste delicious food from Barnyard restaurants. A silent auction with items donated by Barnyard merchants, participating wineries and artists will benefit the Monterey County AIDS Project. [JL]

1-4pm. The Barnyard Gardens, Highway 1 at Carmel Valley Road, Carmel. $20. 624-8886.

Visions of Light and Wonder

SOLSTICE MOVIE FEST The Henry Miller Library celebrates the summer solstice tonight with a visual concert of 15 short experimental films, projected against the night sky, accompanied by live music from Bay Area band Mobius Operandi, an assemblage of what is described as "sculptural instruments and voices." Liz Keim, San Francisco Exploratorium's director of film programs, will introduce the collection of art-house films, all made over the past 40 years, including such little-seen gems as Ikarus, a two-minute film showing a slow-motion dive at 3,000 frames per second; Sunstone, a three-minute animated rendition of the sun's aura; and MothLight, a five-minute film made without a camera by pasting moth wings and flowers onto a clear strip of film. We told you it was experimental. [SF]

7pm. Henry Miller Library lawn, Highway 1 just south of Nepenthe, Big Sur. $5-20, sliding scale. Food and drink for sale. 667-2574.

Deep Space

GALILEO SPACE MISSION TALK Last week NASA launched the Mars probe called Spirit. It is supposed to spend the next seven months crossing 311 million miles of space so it can land on Mars and explore. In 1995 the space program sent the Galileo satellite to Jupiter. Like a sea explorer charting an undiscovered globe hundreds of years ago, Galileo returned with trunks of space loot; in this case, information. Hear a talk by Dr. Torrence Johnson, the project scientist, about what it found. [AS]

7:30pm. Monterey Peninsula College, Lecture Forum #102, 980 Fremont St., Monterey. Free. Hosted by the Monterey Institute for Research in Astronomy. 883-1000.

And Be Merry

BLIND WINE TASTING Which local winery will be named as having Monterey County's tastiest Merlot? Monterey County-ites decide-at tonight's A Taste of Monterey People's Choice Awards. Almost 20 local wineries are participating. Attendees can swirl, sip, and taste every single one of 'em, and select their top three favorites. Here's the twist: Tasting will be blind. Once the scorecards are collected, judges will reveal the wines, but only announce the top three winners based on weighted averages. Hmmm, after 18 tastes, we're guessing even serious eonophiles-that's wine lovers to non-eonophiles-will have some difficulty distinguishing between cherry and blackberry or an oak finish. [JL]

6pm. A Taste of Monterey-Wine Visitor's Center, 127 Main St., Oldtown Salinas. $20/members; $25/non-members. 751-1980 x10.

Behind the Green Wall

HIDDEN GARDENS BIG SUR 2003 They've already hidden 'most everything in Big Sur, except the ocean of course. Even the gardens are hidden. Now is a chance to check them out, from "intimate cottage gardens to grand estates." Have a look at what grows in one of the most beautiful places in America. All proceeds benefit the Big Sur Arts Initiative and the Children's Garden at Big Sur's Captain Cooper School. (See story, p. 27) [AS]

10am-4pm. $45 garden tour ticket. Order online at www.hiddengardens.org or send a check to Box 459, Big Sur, 93920. Meet at Country Home and Garden Market at Ripplewood Resort on Highway 1. 667-1530.

sunday 6|22

Tremendous Trumpeter

GREG ADAMS, SUNNIE PAXSON To kick off the ninth and final season of Sandy Shore's Summer Concerts by the Bay, she's got a winning lineup. Trumpeter Greg Adams' jazzy version of The Police's "Wrapped Around Your Finger" sounds like something Sting could have recorded during his solo career. It is smooth jazz that goes down really easy. Adams, a former member of Oakland's Tower of Power, is touring with a nine-piece band behind his new album, Midnight Morning, a follow-up to his solo debut, Hidden Agenda, that climbed to the top of the smooth jazz charts. Opening for Adams is Sunnie Paxson, a keyboardist who has toured with jazz great Stanley Clarke. [ST]

7pm. Hyatt Regency Monterey Ballroom, 1 Old Golf Course Rd., Monterey. $75/premium, $55/reserved, $35/general. 649-1223.