‘Agnes of God’
Written by John Pielmeier and directed by Paul Kloegman, “Agnes of God” is Lakeside Little Theatre’s next stage production, set to run January 12-21.
Riveting and provocative, this drama about faith, spirituality and science raises old and new questions, and tests our thinking. A young nun is accused of murdering an infant she gave birth to in a cloistered convent. The psychiatrist assigned to her case meets opposition in the convent’s Mother Superior, and all three women explore questions of Faith, Memory, and the meaning of Sainthood.
Deborah Spitz, Jacinta Springer and Johanna Labadie comprise the cast.
The first Saturday and both Sundays are matinees, 3 p.m. and the evening shows begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets, 250 pesos, are available at LLT’s box office, 10 a.m. to noon, every Wednesday and Thursday and one hour before curtain. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call (376) 766-0954.
Bravisimo!
Amaranta Santos will perform with her concert “Storytellers,” Sunday, January 14, with works by Kander and Ebb, Randy Newman and José María Cano, as part of the Bravissimo! concert series, which features singers from Guadalajara, Mexico City and Lakeside.
Santos, who will sing pop in English and Spanish, some boleros and spirituals, tells how each of the songs relate to her.
February 5 brings tenor David de la Mora with “Canciones del Mundo” – “Songs of the World.”
Finally, on March 18, tenor Ricardo Calderon, winner of several national awards, showcases a selection of composers from Spain.
Timothy G. Ruff Welch is the collaborative pianist for all the concerts.
Welch is the director of the Zapopan Municipal Choir, Los Cantantes del Lago and the Minister of Music at St. Andrew’s Anglican Church. He has performed around the world as a pianist, chorister and director.
Tickets for these concerts may be purchased individually for 300 pesos, or as a series at 1,000 pesos for four concerts, at Diane Pearl, Mia’s Boutique or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
All the concerts will be presented at St. Andrew’s Anglican Church.
Viva La Musica
Viva’s annual general meeting is on Sunday, January 14, 3 p.m. followed by a membership party and concert featuring pianist Daniel Flores at 4 p.m. The event takes place at Nicolas Bravo 35 in Ajijic.
Champagne and canapes will be served at no cost to paid-up members and to guests for 150 pesos. Viva membership is 300 pesos, which funds scholarships for promising young Mexican musicians. In 2017, Viva paid out over 100,000 pesos in scholarships.
Flores, a 19-year-old Viva Scholarship winner, is in the third year of his performance degree program at the University of Guadalajara. For more information, call Rosemary Keeling at 766-1801.
Pottery classes
Master potter Frank Howell offers pottery classes for beginners and intermediate students, with one two-hour class per week for six weeks on Tuesdays, beginning January 16. Call (376) 765-5221 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.
Art on the block
Looking for great deals on original art? Don’t miss the auction to be held Wednesday, January 17, 4 p.m., on the Ajijic Plaza esplanade outside the Centro Cultural.
More than 15 local artists will be putting a selection of oils, watercolors, pastels, photographs and sculptures on the block at the fund-raiser for the Marcos Castellanos primary school. Efren González will ably handle the gavel.
Guitar/Sitar
A concert for guitar and sitar titled “Classical music from both worlds” will be featured at the Centro Cultural Gonzalez Gallo in Chapala Thursday, January 18, 7 p.m. Cost is 100 pesos.
Ballet Photography
Jill Flyer will show the results of various sessions with the dance companies Joven Ballet Hernandez and the Jalisco Ballet, as well as a children’s ballet class, at an exhibit of 19 photos at Galeria Sol Mexicano on Friday, January 19.
The candid photos of dancers taking classes, relaxing and rehearsing were taken with natural light augmented with some added fluorescent light. Also showing at Sol Mexicano are fabric artists Gethyn Sodermann, Andrea Steell and Betsy Maier. The gallery is located at Colon 13 in Ajijic.
Naked Stage
“The Lyons,” written by Nicky Silver and directed by Pierre Blackburn, is the next production of The Naked Stage Readers Theatre. The show runs from January 26-28.
The play is a black comedy about a standard-issue dysfunctional, middle class, Jewish, suburban family. The basic joke of Silver’s savage comedy is that the characters are given license to speak their private thoughts out loud. The characters in Silver’s plays tend to be laugh-out-loud funny but also not very likeable people. Ever fond of dysfunctional families, Silver dreams up a doozy here.
While the head of the family lies dying in hospital, family members humorously come and go purging themselves of all thoughts and ideas that they would never have said otherwise to their father, husband and employer, causing havoc and humor.
Cost is 100 pesos. The box office and bar open 3 p.m.; all shows are at 4 p.m. Reservations at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The Naked Stage is on the Carretera in Riberas del Pilar, across from the Catholic church and in front of the Baptist church. Parking is available in the parking lot of the Baptist church.
Angels
Lakeside Little Theatre presents a National Theatre telecast of the two-part theatrical production of Tony Kushner’s “Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes.”
Set in the United States during the 1980s, “Angels in America” is presented in two parts. Part I: “Millennium Approaches” and Part II: “Perestroika” combine to present a complex, compelling look at AIDS and homosexuality in America in the midst of the epidemic.
This Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning epic contains a stellar cast, including Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge), Denise Gough (People, Places and Things), Nathan Lane (The Producers) and James McArdle (Star Wars: The Force Awakens).
Proceeds from both performances will benefit Ajijic Cares, an organization dedicated to generating a culture of respect and inclusion against the social reality of HIV.
Part I: “Millennium Approaches” will be presented Saturday, January 27, 3 p.m. Part II: “Perestroika” will be shown Sunday, January 28, 3 p.m. Tickets are 300 pesos per performance, or 500 pesos for both performances when purchased together. Tickets area available at the LLT box office Wednesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m. to noon.
For more information, call Christopher Wessel, (332) 212-7080, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Viva Classical concert
Viva La Musica presents a harpsichord and piano concert Thursday, January 25 at the Haus der Musik in Ajijic, featuring Dutch-Israeli pianist Michael Tsalka playing Baroque and Romantic music. A champagne and canape reception begins 6 p.m. followed by the concert at 7 p.m. The concert will be a musical tour of Europe with harpsichord interpretations of works by Rameau, J.S. Bach, Domenico Scarlatti, Antonio Soler, W.F. Bach and Gyorgy Ligeti, followed by more modern piano pieces by Ferdinand Ries, Frederic Chopin, Pauline Viardot-Garcia, Isaac Albeniz and Franz Liszt.
Tsalka has recorded 20 CDs for a variety of labels and has been the artistic director of festivals in China, Sweden and Finland. Since 2014 he has been artistic director of the Geelvinck Fortepiano Festival in the Netherlands, in addition to the Across Bridges International Piano Festival in Shanghai.
Tickets, 500 pesos, are available at the Lake Chapala Society (LCS) Thursday and Friday 10 a.m. to noon or by calling Rosemary Keeling, 766-1801.
Trips to the opera
Viva La Musica continues bus trips to see live opera telecasts from the New York Met at the Teatro Diana in Guadalajara.
Trips to the opera are 450 pesos (550 for non-members), available at LCS ticket booth Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to noon, or by calling Rosemary Keeling 766-1801.
Saturday, January 27: “Tosca” by Puccini. A story of tragic love with Sonya Yoncheva as Tosca, Vittorio Griogolo as Cavaradossi and Bryn Terfel as Scarpia. The show runs three hours. The bus departs at 10:30 a.m. for the noon show.
Saturday, February 10: “Elixir of Love” by Donizetti. A comedy of love with Pretty Yende as Adina, Matthew Polenzani as Nemorino, and Devide Luciano as Belcore. The show runs three hours. The bus departs at 9:30 a.m. for the 11 a.m. show
Saturday, February 24: “La Boheme” by Puccini: this popular opera features some of the most ravishing opera arias and stars Sonya Yoncheva as Mimi and Michael Fabiano as Rodolfo. The show runs three hours. The bus departs at 10 a.m. for the 11:30 a.m. show
Saturday, March 10: “Semiramide” by Rossini. This masterpiece of dazzling vocal fireworks stars Angela Meade as Semiramide, Elizabeth DeShong as Arsace, and acclaimed Mexican tenor Javier Camarena. The show runs four hours. The bus departs at 10:30 a.m. for the noon show.
Saturday, March 31: “Cosi Fan Tutte” by Mozart. This satirical tale of love features Kelli O´Hara as Despina and Christopher Maltman as Don Alphonso. The show runs three hours. The bus departs at 9:30 a.m. for 11 a.m. show.
Ballet
Viva La Musica presents a Ballet Gala featuring solo pieces, pas-de-deux, and ensemble pieces with the acclaimed Ballet de Jalisco under the direction of Dariusz Blajer, Friday, February 2, 7 p.m., at the Auditorio de la Ribera in La Floresta. Tickets, 300 pesos, are available at Diane Pearl, Mia’s Boutique and LCS, Thursday and Friday 10 a.m. to noon.
Singers wanted
Los Cantantes del Lago are looking for singers for their Musical Madness concert in March. Rehearsals under Director Timothy G. Ruff Welch start soon. Those interested should see www.losantatesdellago.com and click on “Come Sing With Us.”