Oakland Museum of California Celebrates Nation of Immigrants in Renovated Building

Text and photography by Emma Krasov
31 years in existence in a landmark mid-century modern building, now fully renovated and expanded, Oakland Museum of California opens its doors for 31 hours free to the public to celebrate the cultures and creativity of the 31st state. This weekend, May 1 and 2 the “museum for the people” reopens with Art and History Galleries fully reinstalled, and presenting a number of new acquisitions.

The most dynamic, diverse, multicultural, and therefore the most creative “California nation,” (go ahead, correct me if I am wrong) is presented in newly-installed displays on California’s land, its people, and their creativity.
The Gallery of California Art showcases more than 800 works from the permanent collection, including Gold Rush era daguerreotypes, photography by group f64, Dorothea Lange, Bay Area Figurative, California artists Richard Diebenkorn, Wayne Thiebaud, Ed Ruscha, Mel Ramos, and others, and the Nash Collection ceramics by Robert Arneson, Viola Frey, and Peter Voulkos.
Shaped and developed by consecutive waves of immigration, California history is reflected not only in its art, but also in OMCA’s innovative installations. An oil painting by Henry Raschen, California Miner with Pack Horse, from 1887 is displayed against a wall of gold.
High up on a white wall in the next gallery, there is a ticking and moving (in more than one sense) work by a Bay Area artist Paul Kos, made of 15 cuckoo clocks with hammers and sickles for weights, called Just a Matter of Time, and created in 1990 with a prophetic reference to 15 Soviet republics in the former USSR on the verge of its ultimate collapse.
A reinforced emphasis on visitor participation in the galleries includes visitor-generated content; first-person narrative labels; flexible displays that will change with current events and public feedback; and multilingual wall text that explains curatorial choices and decision-making.
The $62.2 million renovation project implemented by Mark Cavagnero Associates architectural firm also includes a transformed Natural Sciences Gallery to be open in 2012.
This weekend, 31 hours of continuous free public programs will officially launch the reopening of OMCA, beginning at 11 am on Saturday, and ending at 6 pm on Sunday. OMCA is located at 1000 Oak Street Oakland. More information: 510-238-2200 or at: museumca.org.

Chef Chevalier Respects Gifts of Nature As Any Gallant Knight Would

By Emma Krasov, photography by Yuri Krasov
Chevalier means knight, gallant nobleman, and Philippe Chevalier, chef/owner of the Chevalier Restaurant in Lafayette couldn’t have asked for a more glorious surname.
Even before I heard him explaining how he carefully selects his suppliers and puts enormous emphasis on quality ingredients, I knew that gallant attitude toward food was taken seriously in his domain.
While the chef is rethinking the menu at the turn of seasons, switching to produce-reach spring-summer cuisine, some of his meatier masterpieces never go out of style.
On a recent visit, an amuse bouche of Térrine du Chef duck liver house-made pâté was served on a toasted baguette slice – with its silky texture and unmistakably “ducky” flavor underlined by a delicate crispy bite of the toast.
To create classic French delicacies he used to enjoy and learned how to prepare in childhood in his native Vendee in the Pays-de-la-Loire region on the Western coast of France, Chef Philippe selects fresh-never-frozen ingredients from local farmers.
He buys a whole duck from Grimaud Farms in Stockton to use liver for a pate, breast for Canette a l’Orange, and legs and fat for a succulent confit that endures 6-hour cooking to reach perfection. Frog legs come fresh from Florida (not frozen from China, as the chef quipped).
Le Moules Marinieres are plump and flavorful in freshly-made shallots, garlic, parsley, white wine, and crème fraiche sauce.
Duo de Foie Gras main ingredient comes from France, therefore the fat content is lower and the consistency is rather substantial.
Le Cassoulet du Chef is a real showstopper. Giant amarago beans in rich satisfying sauce surround a duck confit, garlic sausage, pork belly and house made duck and foie gras sausage – every ingredient in its own right, and yet in harmony with others.
Same goes for a modest side dish of ratatouille with its extreme freshness of bell peppers, zucchini, and eggplant tiny chunks all coming together in a delicious forkful.
Spring season means not only more of those crispy bright vegetables on diners’ tables, but also more tables served outside, in a cozy little garden, illuminated at night and protected by sun umbrellas during the day. Yet another reason to come to Chevalier and get a fix of old-fashioned joie de vivre.
Opened on July 9, 2008 Chevalier approaches its second anniversary with an impressive array of awards and top10s from various restaurant authorities. On a Tuesday night, the place was packed with lucky Lafayette residents who didn’t have to make a long trip to enjoy the classics from the Atlantic coast of France.
Chevalier Restaurant, designed by Christophe Boucher sits 35 people, and the heated outdoor garden sits 47. On some Wednesday nights in summer, live French jazz plays there to round up the experience. The full bar serves French and California wines and signature cocktails.
Chevalier Restaurant is located at 960 Moraga Road near Mt. Diablo Boulevard in Lafayette. Open for dinner Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday from 5:00 PM to 9:30 PM and Thursday through Saturday from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM. Lunch on Friday from 11:00 AM to 2:30 PM. Free parking. Call for more info and reservations 925-385-0793 or visit ChevalierRestaurant.com.

Puccini’s La Rondine, or the Swallow Flies into Opera San Jose

By Emma Krasov
She is a courtesan, he is a hopeless romantic. She is Parisian to the core (of course, in a 1917 Italian, based on earlier German, libretto), he shies away from the temptations of La Ville-Lumiere. They build a love nest on the Riviera, but he depends on his parents’ financial support, and his mother would only take in an innocent bride. To make matters worse, her rich benefactor is willing to forgive and forget; her friends are numerous and witty, and they expect her back; and a sarcastic poet – the toast of the town – won’t let her enjoy her illusions of purity for long. However, it’s not the intrigue that keeps opera lovers seek thrills in outdated and simplistic plots. Opera San Jose, fully equipped with all the necessary means, consistently delivers high-end musical entertainment in the heart of Silicon Valley, where, as General Director Irene Dalis puts it, “many people don’t even know we exist!” Judging from the full house yesterday at the opening of La Rondine (music Giacomo Puccini, libretto Giuseppe Adami, based on A.M. Willner and H. Reichert) still more people know, and appreciate the existence of OSJ very much. A talented cast and a beautifully staged show in an opulent historic California Theatre, is something patrons usually expect from their favorite venue. The closing production of the 2009-2010 season held audience’s attention and prompted a standing ovation at the finale.
The premiere cast featured excellent performers Rebecca Davis as Magda and Christopher Bengochea as Ruggero. The lead couples’ comedic counterparts – poet Prunier and maid-come-actress-come-maid-again Lisette were superbly portrayed by Michael Dailey and Khori Dastoor, supported by the rest of well-skilled cast.
The opera was conducted by David Rohrbaugh. Stage director Jose Maria Condemi, set designer Larry Hancock, costume designer Elizabeth Poindexter, lighting designer Kent Dorsey. Through May 9. For tickets and performance information call 408-437-4450 or visit operasj.org.

Santa Clara Valley Wineries Celebrate Spring

By Emma Krasov, photography by Yuri Krasov
Mid-Spring, California Wine Country turns emerald green with yellow, purple, and orange wild flowers framing its vineyards and rural roads. It’s time for barrel tasting and new releases. 27 wineries of Santa Clara Valley presented their latest pride and joy at the annual Wine Celebration and BBQ at Casa de Fruta Country Park in the town of Hollister yesterday. The event picked this reporter’s interest for two reasons.
First, Cinnabar (cinnabarwine.com), Fortino (fortinowinery.com), Rapazzini (rapazzini.com), Guglielmo (guglielmowinery.com), Casa de Fruta (casadefruta.com) and other well-established and favorite names were among the participating wineries.
Secondly, Hollister, founded by farmers and ranchers in 1872 on Calaveras fault line, lately made the news in the scientific community with its curiously mild and non-destructive earthquakes. While the entire Golden State is mercilessly split and criss-crossed with threatening fault lines that produce major, sometimes devastating, shocks once in so many years, Hollister’s creeping fault is continuously widening, gently rocking the town in a cradle of its chalky soil.


While there were very few passers by on sun-drenched city streets mid-day Saturday, Casa de Fruta Park was bursting with life (and wine), accompanied by live music of The Houserockers.



The weather was cooperating, so romantic couples and groups of friends of drinking age from Gilroy, Morgan Hill, San Jose, Saratoga, San Martin, and Campbell were enjoying a steak-and-pasta lunch and dancing under the trees to show support for their favorite wineries.


Many visitors were wine club members or had special ties to local wineries, where they used to celebrate their weddings and events, or just had friends and relatives working there. In the upcoming summer months, there are many more exciting open-air events to come to the area: Morgan Hill Aquatics Center Mushroom Mardi Gras on May 29-30 (morganhill.ca.gov); Tourism Golf Tournament at Eagle Ridge Golf Course on June 18 (eagleridgegc.com); SBC Saddle Horse Show & Rodeo Parade in Hollister on June 24, and Annual Street Festival on July 17 (downtownhollister.org); Gilroy Garlic Festival on July 23-25 (gilroygarlicfestival.com), and Gilroy Gardens National Friendship Day on August 1 (gilroygardens.org).

Last Chance to See Bouquets to Art 2010

By Emma Krasov, photography by Yuri Krasov
Pick a painting or a sculpture, or even a black and white photograph that you like from an extensive de Young Museum collection; choose orchids, or carnations, or lotus leaves…



The rest is easy. You make a bouquet, an ikebana – a floral installation that would resemble, repeat or reflect the artwork. At least, it looks easy in the hands of savvy San Francisco florists who presented 150 live plant displays to the 26th annual Bouquets to Art at the de Young this week.
(Terry Calhoun, Nob Hill Florist, picked this reporter’s favorite Nathan Oliveira’s Walking Mime).
Local clothing design students participated in the opening night gala with their wearable leaf-and-flower creations (like tea, eucalyptus and red ginger leaves evening gown), worn by their favorite models. A spectacular benefit event organized and produced by the volunteer members of the San Francisco Auxiliary of the Fine Arts Museums opened Monday with wine and food pairings by McCall Associates, music by the Moodswing Orchestra, and Floral Fashions competition.
In anticipation of the two upcoming Impressionism exhibitions from the Musée d’Orsay, Bouquets to Art 2010 was dedicated to “French Impressions” visible in some designers’ gowns, like in Margaret Buxton’s rosy creation inspired by Edgar Degas.
Michael Daigian came up with a fragrant lily petal dress and a purse modeled after an emerald pendant by Cartier.
Tonight, the museum is open late for its regular Friday Nights at the de Young, with the exhibit and floral design viewing until 8:45 pm. Tomorrow, Benefit drawing prize winners will be announced at 2 pm at the Wilsey Court, and the galleries will stay open until 5:15 pm.
"Birth of Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Musée d’Orsay," will be on view at the de Young from May 22 to September 6, followed by "Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne, and Beyond: Post-Impressionist Masterpieces from the Musée d’Orsay," from September 25 to January 18, 2011. De Young Museum is located at 50 South Tea Garden Dr., SF. 415-750-2614. More information at famsf.org

Disposable Film Festival: A View from A Bike

Created in 2007 to acknowledge the artistic potential of disposable video, 2nd Annual Disposable Film Festival celebrates short films made on non-professional equipment such as one-time use video cameras, cell phones, point and shoot cameras, webcams, computer screen capture software, and other readily available video capture devices. The festival will host its outdoor bike-in screening on May 12 in partnership with Good Hotel and Globe Bikes. The screening supports San Francisco Bike Week on the eve of the 16th San Francisco Bay Area Bike To Work Day, set for May 13. There will be an encore presentation of the DFF’s 2010 competitive shorts from 8:00 PM-10:00 PM - a program sold out at the Roxie Theatre when it premiered there in March with two screenings. Special events include an underground market hosted by Forage SF at 4:00 PM and a raffle featuring a free two night stay gift certificate for the Good Hotel; Crumpler bags; and a limited addition Globe Bike among other prizes. Bike valet will be provided through the San Francisco Bike Coalition. The event will be held in the parking lot across the street from the Good Hotel, on 7th Street at Minna, San Francisco.
For more information, go to disposablefilmfest.com/events

Tell It Slant, Just Let Her Speak

By Emma Krasov
An ambitious musical drama by Sharmon J. Hilfinger (playwright) & Joan McMillen (composer), directed by Virginia Reed based on original direction by Rachel Anderson is dedicated to Emily Dickinson, her creative process, and her personal life. The premise is sure to attract attention of anyone familiar with Dickinson’s amazing poetry far exceeding the epoch in which it had been written. Chopped, elliptical, sounding at times like some kind of clairvoyant telegrams, and at times like riddled messages from a Victorian oracle, and often verging on pure craziness (or ESP), the poetry in question is so rich and powerful that just reading it out loud would be a challenge on one hand, and a self-containment on the other… However, the essence of literary material hardly calls for a cheerleading squad. In the new BootStrap Foundation production of Tell It Slant, now playing at Southside Theater at Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, the intimate intuitive poetry is mostly chanted and shouted, and nailed into the audience, with the exception of some poems/scenes, like “Victory comes late” that let a glimpse at what an accomplished staging it could’ve been under different circumstances… The pervading feeling in the audience is that of being watched by a healthy ensemble of nine youthful, energetic and enthusiastic actors [not that there is anything wrong with the latter], since most of them are present onstage at any time, dressed in horrid costumes, and intensely peering through the fourth wall. (If you are engaged in an episodic part of a "desk," must you have sparkling eyes and enormous grins?). The male team of the ensemble, while not without [comedic] talents, seems to unintentionally dominate and overshadow the female team, in which each actress performs rather beautifully – under pressure (Emily Dickinson – Caitlyn Louchard, Lavinia Dickinson – Juliet Strong, Demiurge – Paz Pardo, Susan Gilbert – Siobhan Doherty). [What if it were a female-only ensemble, just mentioning male participants and never letting them out – no, I’m not a feminist, far from it!] An overwhelming amount of “director’s finds” also hints at too many thespians on a small stage in a cozy little theatre, in a chamber play about a reclusive and deeply introverted poetess. Her inner conflict, caused by her two closest beloved people now forming a bond of their own where there is no place for her – a primary cause for ED’s genius poetry, while clearly outlined in the play, gets almost smothered by the robust layering of production development. Thankfully, the poetry perseveres. The show runs through May 16 at Southside Theater at Fort Mason Center, Building D, Marina Blvd., SF. Call for tickets 415-433-1235, or visit tixbayarea.com. More info at: bootstrap-foundation.org.

Berkeley Rep’s Girlfriend Sings like Spring Swallow

By Emma Krasov A small intimate Girlfriend directed by Les Waters – the latest production at Berkeley Rep has a great cast and a good script with well-written dialogs, but it’s a musical (music and lyrics by Matthew Sweet based on his 1991 album, and a book by Todd Almond). An overall enjoyable show on the eternal topic of coming of age is different in that coming of age coincides with the coming out of the closet, at least for one of the only two characters in the play. While Will (Ryder Bach) is content with having a childhood memory of wearing a T-shirt inscribed Daddy’s Little Princess, Michael (Jason Hite) needs to invent a girlfriend to feel in place among his peers on his sports team. The two are very much enamored with music of the epoch and tend to listen to the same song while talking on the phone with each other. The success of the play lies in its unforced lyricism and in its genuinely romantic feel. Real life, with all its negativity engulfs masculine Michael, but does not dare penetrate a dream world – the ultimate defense – created by Will, less confident, but innately more mature and wise. Behind a laconic set (scenic and costume designer David Zinn) in the depth of the stage resides a live all-female band – Julie Wolf (music director, rhythm guitar and keyboards), Shelley Doty (lead guitar), Jean DuSablon (bass), and ieela Grant (drums), helping the two boyfriends fully express themselves. Girlfriend runs through May 9 at the Thrust Stage, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. There will be 30-minute docent presentations about the show at 7:00 PM on April 20, April 22, April 27,
April 29, May 4, and May 6; post-play discussions moderated by theatre professionals follow the 8:00 PM shows on April 23 and April 27. On select evenings, free tastings one hour before curtain: Artesa Vineyards and Winery on April 24, April 30, and May 2; the Berkeley
Farmers Market on April 25; and Meridian on May 1.For tickets or information, call (510) 647-2949 or toll-free at (888) 4-BRT-Tix – or click berkeleyrep.org. Image: Ryder Bach and Jason Hite star in the world premiere of Girlfriend, a new musical at Berkeley Rep wound around the tender love songs of Matthew Sweet’s landmark album. Photo courtesy of kevinberne.com

A Seagull in the Hamptons Properly Stuffed the Old Chekhov’s Way

By Emma Krasov
However contemporary and americanized, it’s refreshing to find A Seagull in the Hamptons at Shotgun Players true to the original in terms of the author’s intentions and motivations. Let’s take a brief detour to explore Russia’s special attitude toward writers and the written word, so different from what we are blissfully used to here, shall we? A fiction writer in Russia, or a belletrist, like Chekhov himself or like his character Trigorin in Seagull is not just a story teller. In the country chronically devoid of free speech and free press, a writer is a public figure close to a prophet. A writer in Russia sets moral standards for the society and shows the way for an individual to conduct one’s life. However, no matter how high the writer is esteemed, he still writes about what he knows best. Chekhovian characters rarely differ from the author, his colleagues, relatives, and the surrounding reality up to his occupations and recognizable life events. A medical doctor and a writer, Chekhov often portrays cynical and irresponsible doctors, womanizing (and cynical) novelists, and shallow self-absorbed (and cynical) actors. In his own life, one of the best known Russian authors formed a co-dependent relationship with an actress who played leads in all his plays. The actress initiated an open marriage with the playwright; perennially fell in love with other men, and confessed to her husband her love sickness and her morning sickness (caused by another), too. In Seagull, an aspiring playwright Treplev is suffering from not one but two actresses. His mother, Arkadina-Trepleva is too busy being a diva in her prime and in love with Trigorin, while the love of his life, a young aspiring actress Nina Zarechnaya, is hopelessly in love with that same Trigorin who destroys her in-between his other affairs. Two writer characters in Seagull reflect the author’s real life situation and the one he perhaps secretly wishes for. Trigorin’s effortless womanizing, and his easy success with publishers and with comely maidens is on the one hand despicable, but on the other enviable for a hard-working writer and a faithful husband whose efforts are never enough. In Seagull, there are many other parallels with Chekhov’s circumstances and the people who surrounded him in real life, and A Seagull in the Hamptons successfully follows all of them. A comedy in four acts, “freely adapted” by Emily Mann and directed by Reid Davis, is performed in a beautiful set (Robert Broadfoot) by a well-fitted troupe, with a central part rightfully belonging to Maria [Arkadina-Trepleva of the original] played by Trish Mulholland. Her every word, every gesture, every grimace; her sparkling blue eyes, her body language, even her unruly curls electrify the stage and exude the vibrancy of great acting, shared by the rest of the cast (Andy Alabran, Liam Callister, Beth Deichtman, Anna Ishida, Richard Louis James, Mark Manske, John Mercer, Alex Moggridge, Kelsey Venter). A Seagull in the Hamptons runs through April 25 at the Ashby Stage at 1901 Ashby Ave., Berkeley. Call for tickets 510-841-6500 or visit shotgunplayers.org.

Ask Emma

Question: Years ago, we became friends with a family who used to live in our neighborhood. We spent many weekends together, and our kids were in the same school and played together. After these people moved out we corresponded with them and exchanged photos of our children, mostly around Christmas time. Lately, we haven’t heard from them at all, and I don’t know if they just don’t want to keep in touch anymore, or something happened to them. My emails have gone unanswered for a while now. The telephone number is outdated. How many times can one try to contact someone else without becoming a pest?
Answer: Since you don’t know if your friends have received your latest emails, you can’t be sure if they stopped being interested in corresponding with you or if something happened to them. Two unanswered emails are a good indication that something’s not working in your correspondence. Ask your children if they keep in touch with your former neighbors’ children. You’ll be surprised how much they can find out about their long lost playmates and schoolmates just by spending hours online taking breaks between study- or work-related activities. If that fails, take a road trip to see your friends. You are not becoming a pest until you have a definite answer that your friends are well, but not available for you anymore.

A Cure for Rainy Sunday – Brunch at Oola

By Emma Krasov, photography by Yuri Krasov
If you are like me you can live without necessities, but you can’t without luxuries. And if you know what I’m talking about, you can surely count Chef Ola Fendert’s classic bistro-inspired fare among the latter.
Oola Restaurant & Bar in San Francisco just extended its hours to include lunch and brunch, and I couldn’t miss an opportunity to start luxuriating in my favorite cuisine in broad daylight.
The weather was rather gloomy yesterday, so our Sunday brunch started with soul-warming cocktails. A deliciously spicy Bloody Mary with cumin and Tabasco, created by Oola’s bartender Steven McCormick, was garnished with his own pickled veggies – an asparagus spear and a baby carrot – a mini lunch for weight watchers, if you ask me.
Another knock out cocktail was Plum Blossom, conceived by Joseph Underwood, who works as a server but also does some bartending at Oola and who has a bartending background in The Big Easy. A distinct taste of a sweet and sour fresh plum came from a creative mix of apple brandy, vermouth, and an interesting Paso Robles 2007 blend, Red 4, also available by the glass on the wine list.
Sweet California Kumamotos and briny Washington Quilcenes, classically served with lemon wedges, mignonette and cocktail sauce, came as a great opening for Chef Ola’s stars of the show – succulent Asian-fusion baby back ribs with soy and ginger glaze; parmesan & truffle fries, and Creek Stone Farm hamburger on brioche bun.
I couldn’t resist another tater delight – mushroom stuffed pancake – chewy and slippery chunks of shiitake folded into a finely grated and golden-fried latke.
Brunch staples on the menu all bear Chef Ola’s creative touches. We tried his favorite - French toast made of brioche slices stuffed with hazelnut-chocolate Nutella spread and adorned with whipped cream, fresh berries and mint leaves.

“A tower of pleasure,” as my dining companion put it while hogging the dessert. Although I thought I wouldn’t be able to eat another bite, when it was my turn to try the chef’s favorite, I came very close to licking my plate.
Lunch at Oola is served Monday through Friday from 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM and Sunday brunch from 10:30 AM to 3:00 PM. Dinner nightly. The full bar is open until 2:00 AM nightly. Oola also offers a happy hour Monday through Friday from 5:00 to 7:00 PM with drink specials and $1.00 oysters. Located at 860 Folsom Street in San Francisco. Visit oola-sf.com or call for reservations (415) 995-2061.

Make it a Date Night with Carell and Fey

By Emma Krasov

I hope you have a date this Friday night, but even if you don’t, you won’t be disappointed by the action-packed Date Night directed by Shawn Levy with Steve Carell and Tina Fey – in theatres today. Two exemplary comedians come together here as a hard-working, routine-driven couple of New Jersey parents, Phil and Claire Foster, who find themselves fighting corrupt cops, a cynical mafia boss, and an immoral politician (redundancy, I know) after they unwittingly took other people’s reservation in a trendy Big Apple restaurant. Everyone else in the film – from gun-wielding criminals to NYPD detectives find this particular misdemeanor so appalling that we kind of expect a punishment of epic proportions… What follows is a non-stop hilarious adventure with neck-breaking speed, unexpected twists and turns, and plenty of well-written funny dialogs (screenwriter Josh Klausner). More info at datenight-move.com