Freebie of the week: Some may not know who Debra “Beaver” Bauer is, but live theater fans have likely enjoyed some of her work. The longtime and beloved Bay Area (back)stage icon has been designing costumes for theater companies and other performers for some five decades now. On Thursday, a free exhibit covering her career opens at the San Francisco Main Public Library. Bauer’s career began as a member of the experimental stage company Angels of Light Free Theater, known for its wild and colorful performances that ran for about a decade until the AIDS epidemic decimated its membership. But Bauer has carried on the company’s commitment to uninhibited performance as a much-heralded designer for companies such as American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Teatro ZinZanni and Theater of Yugen. “Beaver Bauer: From Street to Stage” focuses on scores of examples of her work, from costumes to original renderings, performance photos, videos and more. The exhibit runs from Thursday through April 2027 at the library’s Jewett Gallery and Koret Library, lower level, 100 Larkin St., San Francisco. Admission is free. There’s an opening night gala at the library from 5-7:30 p.m. More information is at beaverbauer.com or sfpl.org/exhibits.
Working it: Amir Kamyab (aka Amir K) is described as an up-and-coming comedian based in Los Angeles. Those in the Bay Area who haven’t caught his act yet are getting several chances to do so in upcoming shows at several venues in the region. The Iranian-born entertainer has been performing and touring tirelessly in recent years, appearing with such comedians as Maz Jobrani and Theo Von in venues ranging from cozy clubs to sizable arenas. If it seems like he’s passionately pursuing comedy as a profession, one could hardly blame him. He was previously a real estate appraiser who saw his job, livelihood and career dreams vanish when the housing bubble burst in Southern California, prompting him to jump into standup comedy. He’s also appeared on the MTV prank show “Jerks With Cameras” and had a small appearance in Ben Affleck’s 2012 political thriller “Argo.” But comedy is his main bag now, and Kamyab is bringing his standup show to Tommy T’s Comedy Club in Pleasanton for shows at 7:30 p.m. Friday, and 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $31-$41; go to https://tommyts.com. Kamyab also performs Nov. 12 at Punch Line Sacramento (www.punchlinesac.com) and Nov. 13-14 at Cobb’s Comedy Club in San Francisco (www.cobbscomedy.com).
‘Chloe’ comes calling: Mary Lynn Rajskub, a versatile actor/performer is coming to Stanford University Friday to perform her popular standup comedy routine. But most probably remember her best for playing Chloe, the extremely loyal assistant to anti-terrorist agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) on the long-running drama “24,” which was about as funny as a plane crash. But Rajskub has more on her resume than “24”; she’s also appeared as Gail the Snail in “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” and in such shows as “Mr. Show with Bob and David,” “The Larry Sanders Show,” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” and films including “Dude, Where’s My Car?” “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Punch-Drunk Love,” among others. She’s also worked as a stand-up comedian for more than 20 years, often weaving in anecdotes about her life with observations about a host of contemporary issues. Rajskub performs 7 and 9 p.m. Friday at Stanford’s The Studio, as part of the Stanford Live performance series. Tickets are $50.76-$62.92 and going fast. Go to live.stanford.edu.
A long time coming: A one-act chamber opera based on an ancient Greek myth that hasn’t seen the light of day since it was first performed in 1714 at the Hapsburg Court in Vienna is making its modern world premiere this weekend courtesy of Ars Minerva, a rare little company in San Francisco that is devoted to dusting off and polishing up forgotten works from the Baroque era. “Andromeda,” written for the imperial court by Italian composer Marc’ Antonio Ziani with a libretto by Pietro Pariati, tells the story of the Princess Andromeda, beloved by Perseus but pledged to another by her father King Cepheus. Our heroine faces human sacrifice to appease the god Poseidon, who is threatening to send a sea monster to devour the kingdom until our hero Perseus sets in to save the day, using a magic shield given to him by the goddess Minerva to turn the monster to stone. The production stars soprano Aura Veruni as Andromeda and contralto Sara Couden as Perseus, with Sidney Ragland as the king and mezzo-soprano Kindra Scharich as Cassiopeia. Performances take place at 7 p.m. Friday, Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at Creativity Theater, 221 Fourth St., San Francisco. Find tickets, $25-$125, at arsminerva.org.
Making musical connections: Walnut Creek-based California Symphony has an especially appealing program lined up for this weekend’s concert series. Dubbed “From Tchaikovsky to Copland – Classical Contemporaries,” the concert is designed to illuminate the profound influences composers have had upon one another. Thus, Russian composer Anton Arensky’s 1894 “Variations on a Theme by Tchaikovsky” pays homage, in seven succeeding iterations, to his teacher and mentor Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, whose beautiful “Serenade for Strings” from 14 years earlier closes out the concerts. In between, conductor Donato Cabrera leads the orchestra in two works by 20th-century contemporaries whose output came to define the sound of American classical music – Aaron Copland’s Clarinet Concerto, written in 1948 for the great Benny Goodman, and Samuel Barber’s gorgeous “Adagio for Strings,” from 1936. California Symphony’s new principal clarinetist, Cory Tiffin, takes the spotlight for the Copland piece. Performance times are 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday at the Lesher Center for the Arts’ Hofmann Theater. Tickets, $25-$110, are available at californiasymphony.org or by calling 925-280-2490.