Most “Star Wars” fans take their love for George Lucas’ film canon very seriously. But Mel Brooks tickled the film series’ funny bone with his 1987 film comedy “Spaceballs.”
Now comes “High Moon, An Improvised Space Western,” an all-new, jazz-infused comedic twist on the space opera genre produced by San Diego-based Mockingbird Improv. Director Josh Rowland describes the new improvisational show as set in a place where bounty hunters with empty pockets chase high-stakes outlaws through a gritty solar system trying to make a big score.
He said the inspiration for “High Moon” wasn’t Star Wars, but the futuristic animated series “Cowboy Bebop.” In addition to live performance, “High Moon” will have live musical accompaniment. The show premieres at 8:30 p.m. Friday, June 5, with weekly performances every Friday through June 26 in Arts District Liberty Station, San Diego. Tickets at mockingbirdimprov.org/tickets.
Jack Johnson, the Hawaiian pro surfer turned musician is now starring in his own documentary film, “Jack Johnson SURFILMUSIC,” which traces his life and career. (Jack Johnson)
Movies
Jack Johnson, the pioneering Hawaiian pro surfer who transitioned into making surf films and then became a singer-songwriter, is now the subject of a new documentary that will premiere tonight, June 4, in San Diego.
Directed by Emmett Malloy, “Jack Johnson SURFILMUSIC” traces Johnson’s life and career from his early days as a surfer and filmmaker and focuses on how his life and out of the water has influenced his songwriting. The film will screen at 7 p.m. today at the Regal Mira Mesa Cinema, then it opens a weeklong run Friday, June 5, at the La Paloma Theatre in Encinitas. Future local screenings are planned in Carmel Mountain Ranch, Mission Valley and Bonsall. Details at jackjohnsonmusic.com.
Elijah Rock will perform on stage at North Coast Repertory Theatre June 8 and 9.
(Courtesy of Elijah Rock)
Music
At 7:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, June 8-9, touring jazz and Great American Songbook artist Elijah Rock will perform songs from his new album “Memories Unleashed: Impulse 1” at North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach.
The new album and concerts are part of Rock’s mission to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s disease.
After Rock’s father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, he created the nonprofit Elijah Rock Foundation which has the three-pronged goal of avancing research on the disease through music, expanding brain health awareness and providing financial assistance for long-term dementia care for those in need.
After the concerts on Monday and Tuesday, there will be an audience talkback with Rock and neurologist Dee Silver. Tickets are $42.50-$47.50. northcoastrep.org/variety/memories-unleashed
Paul Maley, left, Rhianna Basore, Todd Blakesley and Steve Smith will perform in Write Out Loud’s “American Literary Heroes.”(Frank Rogozienski)
Storytelling
This month, San Diego’s Write Out Loud will present a series of three different storytelling/theater events celebrating this nation’s 250th birthday.
“We the People: Life and Liberty” will feature readings of letters, poetry and music by famous and little-known heroes of the U.S. at 7 p.m. Monday, June 8, at the Dottie Studio Theatre in Liberty Station.
“Dear Doc: WWI Letters Home” will be a reading of letters sent home by San Diego State University students who were serving in the military during World War II. The letters were selected from more than 5,000 letters archived in the SDSU library’s Special Collections. The event takes place at 2 p.m. June 14 at Scripps Ranch Theatre.
And the ongoing “American Literary Heroes” series continuse this week with a solo show by actor Paul Maley as beloved novelist Mark Twain, titled “Of Sound Heart and Deformed Conscience,” at 4 p.m. today at the San Marcos Library and at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Balboa Branch Library on Abernathy Drive in San Diego.
Maley is one of four local actors performing “Literary Heroes” shows each week through Sept. 19 at area libraries. Also featured are Rhianna Basore, second from left, as Emily Dickinson; Todd Blakesley, second from right, as Walt Whitman; and Steve Smith, right, as Henry David Thoreau.
For tickets and details, visit writeoutloudsd.com.