Thu, Jan 29

A Midsummer Night's Dream San Jose Repertory Theatre presents Shakespeare's romantic comedy reimagined by respected director Anne Bogart and the New York-based SITI Company. Preview night, 8pm. Opens: Fri Jan 30, 8pm. Also plays: Sat, Jan 31, 3pm and 8pm, Sun, Feb 1, 2pm and 7pm, Tue, Feb 3-Wed, Feb 4, 8pm. Thru Feb 22. $18-$52. San Jose Repertory Theatre, 101 Paseo de San Antonio, San Jose, 408.367.7255 or www.sjrep.com.

Fri, Jan 30

Chinese Dance Chinawind Dances & Arts presents an evening of Chinese dance solos, "The Joy and Sorrow of Chinese Women." 8pm. The Stage in San Jose, 490 S. First St, San Jose. $18 general admission/$15 for groups. For tickets, call 408.205.4967 or email shanyin@uclink.berkeley.edu.

Gallagher Comedian Gallagher, best known for his Sledge-O-Matic and showering the audience with food items, entertains the Bay Area with his original material and unique sense of humor. This show is not recommended for children under 16. 8pm. $20-$32. Flint Center, De Anza College, 21250 Stevens Creek Blvd, Cupertino. To purchase tickets, visit www.ticketmaster.com. For artist information, visit www.gallaghersmash.com.

Sat, Jan 31

Cultural Connections Africa in the Americas, an annual monthlong festival celebrating the influence of Africa in the Latino culture, takes place at the Mexican Heritage Plaza. Starts Sat, Jan 31, 10am-6pm with food booths, workshops and presentations, music and exhibits. Free. Thru Feb 26. For information, call 408.928.5563 or visit www.mhcviva.org.

Family Concert People of Note presents a concert featuring Grammy-winning family performer Tom Chapin. With Michael Mark. Part of a spring series of family concerts (series tickets available). 1pm and 3:30pm. $12. Spangenberg Theatre, 780 Arastradero Rd, Palo Alto, 408.255.8322 or
www.peopleofnote.org

Gypsy Saratoga Drama Group presents a musical based on the memoirs of stripper Gypsy Rose Lee. Opening night, 8pm. Also plays: Sun, Feb 1, 2:30pm. Thru Feb 21. $16-$20 (opening night $22). Saratoga Civic Theatre, 13777 Fruitvale Ave, Saratoga, 408.882.5099 or www.saratogadramagroup.com.

Inez Storer Workshop Renowned Bay Area artist Inez Storer leads a mixed media and collage workshop. Noon-4pm. Fee and preregistration required. Montalvo, 15400 Montalvo Rd, Saratoga, 408.961.5813 or
www.villamontalvo.org.

The Pearl Fishers Opera San José presents Bizet's 1863 piece about best friends who find themselves divided by their love for the same woman in Ceylon during ancient times. In French with English titles. Opening night, 8pm. Also plays Feb 1, 3pm, Feb 3, 8pm. Thru Feb 22. $43-$63. Montgomery Theater, Market St at San Carlos, San Jose. Call 408.437.4450 or visit www.operasj.org.

Sun, Feb 1

San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles Opening reception for "Capturing the Moment: The Art of Mary Merrill and Elizabeth Barton," an exhibit of weavings by the late New England textile artist Mary Merrill and quilt art by Elizabeth Barton of Athens, Ga, that evoke landscapes in a painterly fashion. 2pm-4pm (reception free with admission). Thru March 28. 110 Paseo de San Antonio, San Jose, 408.971.0323 or www.sjquiltmuseum.org.

Sunday Series The San Jose Jazz Society presents a series of jazz concerts through March. Featured this week: the San Jose Youth Orchestra (a group of young jazz students). 3pm. $10-$15. Palm Room, Hyatt Sainte Claire, Market and San Carlos streets, San Jose, 408.288.7557 or see www.sanjosejazz.org

Tue, Feb 3

Mission Valley Chorus The chorus, a chapter of the international music organization Sweet Adelines, is holding a special guest night. 7:30pm. Leigh Avenue and Los Gatos-Almaden Road, San Jose. For more information, see www.missionvalley.org.

Ongoing

A Shayna Maidel City Lights Theater Company presents a drama about two sisters separated by the Holocaust and reunited after World War II. Thu, Jan 29-Sat, Jan 31, 8pm, Sun, Feb 1, 7pm. Thru Feb 21. $15-$28. City Lights Theater, 529 S. Second St, San Jose, 408.295.4200 or www.cltc.org.

California Theatre Center Plays for the whole family. "Bremen Town Musicians," Sat, Jan 31, 11am. $11 advance/$12 at the door. Sunnyvale Community Center Theatre, 550 E. Remington Drive, Sunnyvale, 408.245.2978 or www.ctcinc.org.

The Dog Sitters The Tabard Theatre Company presents a comedy about dog fanciers written by the author of "Harvey." Fri, Jan 30, 8pm, Sat, Jan 31, 3pm and 8pm. Thru Feb 7. $10-$15. South Valley Christian Church, 590 Shawnee Lane, San Jose, 408.979.0231 or www.tabardtheatre.org.

Euphrat Museum of Art "Closing the Distance," an exhibit of works by five artists who explore migrations between one continent and another, the connections between those two locales and how those connectons might change over time. Thru Feb 5. Hours: Mon-Thu, 10am-4pm. De Anza College, 21250 Stevens Creek Blvd, Cupertino, 408.864.8836 or http://www.deanza.edu/euphrat/

A Fair Country Pear Avenue Theatre presents a play about an American family in South Africa in the 1980s. Directed by William Kenney. Jan 29-Jan 31, 8pm, Feb 1, 2pm. $10-$20. Thru Feb 8. Pear Avenue Theatre, 1220 Pear Ave, Unit K, Mountain View. Call 650.254.1148 or visit www.thepear.org.

Japanese American Museum "1942: Luggage From Home to Camp." Thru June 2004. Tue-Fri, 11am-3pm, Sun, 11am-2pm. 535 N. Fifth St, San Jose, 408.294.3138 or www.jamsj.org.

The Listening Hour The San Jose State school of music and dance hosts a regular music series featuring a variety of performances: classical, jazz and world music. Every Tue and Thu, 12:30pm-1:15pm. Concert Hall, San Jose State University, 408.924.4631.

Memphis TheatreWorks and North Shore Music Theatre presents the world premiere of a new musical about the birth of rock & roll. Thu, Jan, 29-Fri, Jan 30, 8pm, Sat, Jan 31, 8pm, Sun, Feb 1, 2pm and 7pm, Tue, Feb 3, 7:30pm, Wed, Feb 4, 8pm. Thru Feb 15. $20-$48. Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St, Mountain View, 650.903.6000 or www.theatreworks.org.

Montalvo Gallery "Inez Storer: Encore Narratives," recent works by Inez Storer. Part of a collaborative exhibit of Storer's works, also at the de Saisset Museum and the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art. Thru March 7. Also: "Sculpture on the Grounds," a new installation piece created by sculptor Herb Parker during his residency at Montalvo. Thru May 3, 2004. Montalvo Gallery, Villa Montalvo, 15400 Montalvo Rd, Saratoga, 408.961.5813.

San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art "Hard Candy," a group show which explores the dark side of sweet in contemporary art. Thru March 13. "Sextablos: Works on Metals," a group show curated by Michael Hernandez de Luna that explores sexuality and taboos. Thru April 3. Also on display as part of the Night Moves series (on display nightly in the gallery windows): "192:291" by Claudia X. Valdes, thru March 13, and "Oppenheimer's Sink" by Judy Hiramoto, thru April 10, two multmedia installations which explore aspects of nuclear weapons. San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, 451 S. First St, San Jose, 408.283.8155.

WORKS/San Jose California Society of Printmakers 90th Annual Members' Exhibition, featuring works by more than 100 printmakers. Thru Jan 31. 30 N. Third St, San Jose, 408.295.8378 or www.workssanjose.org.

San Jose Museum of Art "Hidden Lives: Eleanor Prager and Don Martin," works from the museum's permanent collection thru Jan. "The Not-So-Still Life: A Century of California Painting and Sculpture." Thru Feb 15. "Jack Fulton: the Origins of Everything, an exhibit of black-and-white photography. Thru Sep 12. "Keeping Company: A Painter and Three Poets," art inspired by poets . Thru March 14. "Hortus Contemplatonis Nature Morte," an installation by Shirley Alexandra Watts. Thru March 28. "Beyond Tradition: Permanent Collection Photographs," a survey of new and less-recent acquisitions from the museum's permanent collection. Thru Aug 22. Tue-Sun, 11am-5pm, Fri, 11am-10pm, closed Mon. 110 S. Market St, San Jose, 408.271.6840 or www.sjmusart.org.

Stanford's Cantor Arts Center "Hudson River School Masterworks," an exhibition of 55 paintings that include works by Thomas Cole, Frederic Church and others. "Print Matters: Explorations With Paper in Contemporary Prints." Ongoing thru Oct. ""Portraits by a Victorian Photographer," photos by Julia Margaret Cameron, which include portraits of Tennyson and Darwin. Thru Feb. "The Artist Observed: Portraits and Self-Portraits," more than 60 art works that feature images of artists. Included are works by Rembrandt, Whistler, Rodin and Ansel Adams. Thru May 2. Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University, Museum Way (off Palm Dr), Stanford, 650.723.4177 or www.stanford.edu/dept/ccva.

Triton Museum of Art "Winter Work," the second exhibition in an ongoing series that highlights the works of artists who teach. Thru Feb 15. "New Works by California Artists," oils on linen and pastels on paper by Bay Area artist Bob Gerbracht. Thru Jan. Works by Theodore Wores. Thru Feb 2004. 1505 Warburton Ave, Santa Clara, 408.247.3754 or www.tritonmuseum.org.

You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown Theatre on San Pedro Square presents a musical based on Charles Schulz's "Peanuts" comic strip. Jan 29-Jan 30, 8pm, Jan 31, 3pm and 8pm, Feb 1, 3pm. $15-$30. Extended thru Feb 28. Theatre on San Pedro Square, 29 N. San Pedro St, San Jose, 408.283.0200 or www.tosps.com.

Upcoming

Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir The renowned choir kicks of a new season of performances at Immanuel Lutheran Church. The event will also feature a meet the artists reception following the concert. Sat, Feb 7, 7:30pm. $25-$35 ($15 children under 12). Immanuel Lutheran Church, 14103 Saratoga Ave, Saratoga, 408.253.4773 or www.ilcsaratoga.org.