Hammer Theatre Announces Fall Season of Dance, Theatre, More

The Hammer Theatre Center in downtown San Jose has unveiled a sensational line-up for its fall 2018 season, featuring appearances by acclaimed dancers and musicians, world-class theatre, and family-friendly events. The stellar season kicks off with the Hammer Plaza Celebration, a free event featuring live performances by innovative aerial dance troupe BANDALOOP and the innovative Bridgman|Packer Dance company performing "Truck." Later in the fall, Hammer's iconic bright blue theatre will host cultural phenomena The New Chinese Acrobats and Ballet Folklórico de Mexico, both bringing diverse displays of traditional folk art combined with modern staging. For Bay Area residents seeking a top flight London theatre experience, the best of the West End's hit plays will light up the Hammer's big screen courtesy of National Theatre Live. Internationally famed actors such as Benedict Cumberbatch and Ian McKellen will appear in upcoming screenings including Follies, Julie, Frankenstein, King Lear, and Macbeth. Families will enjoy Erth's Prehistoric Aquarium, a thrilling immersive underwater experience for all ages, and holiday highlights will include An Unforgettable Nat King Cole Christmas, Irish and jazz-inspired yuletide celebrations, and the much anticipated return of Tandy Beal's joyous holiday show. For tickets and more information, the public may visit www.hammertheatre.com or call (408) 924-8501.

In chronological order, the Hammer Theatre Center's 2018/19 season is as follows:

FOLLIES - National Theatre Live Screening
7:00pm Thursday, August 23 & 2:00pm Sunday, August 26

Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake, Harry Potter) stars alongside Tracie Bennett and Janie Dee in this showbiz stunner set in New York of 1971. Thirty years after their final performance, Follies showgirls reunite to sing a few songs and tell lies about themselves on the iconic stage of the Weismann Theatre, set to be demolished the following day. This dazzling new production of Stephen Sondheim's legendary musical was hailed as "Jaw-droppingly great" (The Independent), "Unforgettable" (The Guardian), and "A perfect production" (Metro).

JULIE - National Theatre Live Screening
7:00pm Thursday, September 20

Vanessa Kirby (The Crown, NT Live: A Streetcar Named Desire) and Eric Kofi Abrefa (The Amen Corner) are featured in Polly Stenham's shocking new version of August Strindberg's Miss Julie. Reset in contemporary London, the play finds Julie, the wild and newly single daughter of a rich tycoon, throwing a late night party. Her father's chauffeur and his fiancée clean up in the kitchen as the celebration heaves above them. Crossing the threshold, Julie initiates a power game with the ambitious chauffeur-a decision that rapidly descends into a savage fight for survival with catastrophic implications.

Hammer Plaza Celebration
7:00pm Friday, September 28 & Saturday, September 29

Hammer Plaza Celebration offers a FREE fun, family-friendly event in downtown San Jose. Celebrating art, innovation, and community, the thrilling lineup includes awe-inspiring aerial dance performed live on the façade of Hammer Theatre Center by Oakland-based vertical dance troupe BANDALOOP. Bridgman|Packer Dance joins the festivities with "Truck," its innovative performance piece designed to take place inside of a 17-foot U-Haul, bringing performance to nontraditional and unexpected locations. Local food trucks and a beer garden will be available on-site to provide refreshments.

Hamlet by Actors from the London Stage
7:30pm Friday, October 5 & 2:00pm Saturday, October 6

Hammer Theatre Center presents Actors from the London Stage in Hamlet, a fast-paced, gender-bending performance of Shakespeare's drama with five accomplished performers filling all the roles. The cast includes stars of London's top theatres including the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain, and Shakespeare's Globe, performing in the intimate Hammer 4 black box space. As one of the oldest touring Shakespeare theatre companies in the world, Actors from the London Stage is acclaimed for staging masterful performances of Shakespearean dramas. This performance culminates a week-long intensive residency program for San Jose State University students and faculty featuring in-depth and dynamic workshops taught by leading actors, offering an inclusive, interactive gateway to experiencing the richness of Shakespeare's writing.

SFJAZZ Collective Presented by San Jose Jazz
7:00pm Sunday, October 7

The SFJAZZ Collective is an award-winning ensemble featuring eight of the finest performers and composers in jazz today. One of the most exciting and acclaimed groups on the jazz scene, the octet is an international group whose members hail from Ohio, Baltimore, Miami, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and New Zealand. Each year, the SFJAZZ Collective creates and performs eight new works from each of its members, in addition to eight new arrangements of tunes by an honored artist. Its appearance at Hammer will celebrate the music of Brazilian composer, songwriter, and musician Antônio Carlos Jobim, whose hits "The Girl from Ipanema" and "Desafinado" launched the bossa nova craze of the 1960s. The group's pioneering leaderless format and approach to repertoire have been praised for honoring the history of jazz while championing the music's up-to-the-minute directions and innovations around the globe.

KING LEAR - National Theatre Live Screening
7:00pm Thursday, October 11 & 2:00pm Saturday, October 27

Ian McKellen (The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, X-Men), widely regarded as one of the greatest stage and screen actors both in his native Great Britain and worldwide, leads the cast of the five-star Chichester Festival Theatre production. Filmed during its limited run in the West End, this contemporary retelling of Shakespeare's tender, violent, moving and shocking play sees two aging fathers-one a King, one his courtier-reject the children who truly love them. Their blindness unleashes a tornado of pitiless ambition and treachery, as family and state are plunged into a violent power struggle with bitter ends. Critical praise was unanimous, with reviewers calling it "Extraordinarily moving" (The Independent), "Nuanced and powerful" (The Times), and "A triumph" (Evening Standard).

The New Chinese Acrobats
7:00pm Monday, October 15

Hammer Theatre Center presents The New Chinese Acrobats in a performance combining breathtaking new aerobatic techniques and innovative staging with the best of China's traditional folk art and ancient traditions. Featuring performers selected from across China for their outstanding athleticism and high-level acrobatic skills, this exhilarating performance will showcase stunning feats of strength, balance, and agility. Created in association with the world-famous Cirque Eloize, the show will include award-winning acts from the prestigious Monte Carlo Circus Festival and World Circus Festival of Paris.

FRANKENSTEIN - National Theatre Live Screening
2:00pm & 6:00pm Sunday, October 21

Captured live in 2011 from the National Theatre stage, this thrilling, sold-out production of Frankenstein returns to international screens to mark the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley's most famous novel. Directed by Academy Award-winner Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire), Frankenstein features Benedict Cumberbatch (Hamlet, BBC's Sherlock, The Imitation Game, Doctor Strange) and Jonny Lee Miller (Elementary, Trainspotting) alternating between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and his creation. Childlike in his innocence but grotesque in form, Frankenstein's bewildered creature is cast out into a hostile universe by his horror-struck maker. Meeting with cruelty wherever he goes, the increasingly desperate and vengeful Creature determines to track down his creator and strike a terrifying deal. The thrilling and deeply disturbing classic tale was hailed as "Brilliant" (The New York Times), "Sensational" (The Guardian), and "The most viscerally exciting and visually stunning show" (The Telegraph). The 2:00pm screening will feature Miller as Victor Frankenstein and Cumberbatch as Creature, with the roles switched in the 6:00pm screening.

MACBETH - National Theatre Live Screening
7:00pm Thursday, October 25

Macbeth stars Rory Kinnear (The Imitation Game, James Bond, Black Mirror) and Anne-Marie Duff in a chilly retelling of Shakespeare's most intense and terrifying tragedy set in the post-apocalyptic ruined aftermath of a bloody civil war. Ruthlessly fighting to survive, the Macbeths are propelled towards the crown by forces of elemental darkness. Featuring stunning visual scenery and lighting, this production was hailed as "Supernatural" (The Independent) and "Darkly hectic, beautifully executed...truly worth seeing" (The Guardian).

Erth's Prehistoric Aquarium Adventure
7:00pm Friday, October 26

Hammer Theatre Center presents Erth's Prehistoric Aquarium, a thrilling deep sea experience inviting families to dive in and explore the mysterious ocean depths that were once home to mystifying prehistoric creatures from bygone eras. At the forefront of family entertainment, this mesmerizing show uses giant puppets, talented actors, technology, science, and imagination to create a fantastical underwater experience for all ages. Selected "young divers" from the audience will have the opportunity to join the performers on the interactive adventure to the bottom of the ocean, "swimming" and engaging with an amazing array of friendly aquatic critters and creatures. Created by the team behind "Dinosaur Zoo Live," Erth's unique, humorous, and beautifully staged productions are in demand across the world for their brilliant educational value and highly immersive theatre experiences.

Ballet Folklorico de Mexico
7:00pm Sunday, October 28

Hammer Theatre Center presents Ballet Folklórico de México in a brilliantly colorful performance that offers a snapshot of the beautiful diversity within the Mexican culture. In its multi-city return to the United States, the troupe brings the craftily blended costumes, music, and dances of Mexican folklore to life on stage. "The gorgeous costumes and breathtaking formations keep coming, dance after dance," says The New York Times. The Stage calls its performances, "a vibrant, joyous celebration of the folk dances and music of Mexico, with the sophisticated kick of a Las Vegas show."

An Unforgettable Nat King Cole Christmas
8:00pm Friday, November 30; 4:00pm & 8:00pm Saturday, December 1

Chicago sensation Evan Tyrone Martin (Jesus Christ Superstar, Side Show, Oklahoma) warmly resonates the velvety vocal style of musical legend Nat King Cole. Chicago Tribune calls the Award-nominated Martin "Destined for Stardom: One of the Hot New Faces of Chicago Theatre," and BCR News praises, "Martin's vocal ease would have done Nat King Cole proud." Martin intimately relates Cole's personal journey, while presenting a festive cocktail of hits including "L-O-V-E," "Mona Lisa," "The Christmas Song," and "All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth."

An Irish Christmas
4:00pm Sunday, December 2

Hammer Theatre Center presents a spirited international celebration of Christmas with superb dancing, singing, and traditional Irish music. An Irish Christmas offers an evening of joy, hope, and laughter featuring an award-winning cast of Irish dancers led by Caterina Coyne (principal dancer Riverdance), Connor Reider (principal dancer Celtic Fyre, St. Patrick's Day in Ireland, The Chieftains), and world champion Tyler Schwartz. This unforgettable family event sparkles with charm and magic as dancers take audiences on a journey through the generations over brooms, on half doors, around butter churns, into the world of mythology and out again.

Cool Yule: SJSU Jazz Orchestra
7:30pm Tuesday, December 4

The San Jose State University Jazz Orchestra brings holiday cheer with Cool Yule, a contemporary jazz concert featuring the familiar sounds of Bing Crosby, Vince Guaraldi, Frank Sinatra, and more. Directed by Grammy Award-winning baritone saxophonist and composer Aaron Lington, this diverse group of SJSU music majors' unique spin on holiday classics is sure to put audiences in the festive holiday mood.

Tandy Beal & Company
December 6-9

Tandy Beal & Company return to the Hammer with another exciting holiday extravaganza for the entire family. Featuring stunning acrobatics, colorful costumes, international music, and clever circus acts, this decidedly quirky yuletide celebration is a joyous way to kick off the holidays. More information will be available later this fall.

The San Jose Nutcracker
December 14-24

The New Ballet reprises its sold-out production of The San Jose Nutcracker, the classic holiday ballet with a charming local twist. Presented in partnership with History San Jose, it tells the well-loved story of Clara and the Nutcracker, while featuring historical references to the heritage that has made Santa Clara Valley the center of innovation it is today. In addition to the full ballet, the Hammer will offer five performances of My Very First Nutcracker, a special one-hour classical ballet presentation of the first act of The San Jose Nutcracker suitable for the youngest audiences, including toddlers and children of all ages.

The Hammer Theatre Center is a distinctive, state-of-the-art performance venue in the heart of downtown San Jose. Owned by the City of San Jose and operated by San Jose State University (SJSU) since 2016, the Hammer Theatre's mission is to serve the community through artistically and educationally excellent programming that is expressive of the unique characteristics and diverse cultures that comprise Silicon Valley. The broader vision of the Hammer includes arts, innovation, and technology programming on the Paseo de San Antonio, creating a vibrant pathway between SJSU and the Tech Museum and bridging the urban spaces from Saint James Park down to the South of First Avenue cultural district. The Hammer also aims to connect SJSU's more than 37,000 faculty, students, and staff within the downtown cultural and economic corridors.

Photo credit: Courtesy of The New Chinese Acrobats

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