Bay Area getting much a-Bliged

Get ready for Mary J. Blige.

The reigning Queen of Hip-Hop Soul — who has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Awards, 12 NAACP Image Awards and 12 Billboard Music Awards while selling millions upon millions of records during her phenomenal career — has two shows scheduled for Northern California.

Mary J. Blige hits San Francisco first, bringing her For My Fans Tour with Ne-Yo and Mario to Chase Center on Friday. One night later, she sets up shop at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.

And we’d totally understand why fans might be tempted to actually see both shows, given that Mary J. Blige has long ranked as one of the genre’s most powerful performers.

Plus, we expect great setlists on both nights, filled with such classic Mary J. Blige cuts as “Family Affair,” “Real Love,” “You Remind Me,” “Not Gon’ Cry,” “Just Fine,” “Everything,” “Be Without You” and, best of all, “No More Drama.”

And, of course, we fully expect the biggest crowd sing-alongs to occur when Blige steps up for “I’m Goin’ Down.”

Details: Showtime is 7 p.m. for both concerts; tickets start at $94 (subject to change); ticketmaster.com.

— Jim Harrington, Staff

Classical picks: Opera Parallele, ‘Don Giovanni’

A world premiere opera in San Francisco and a classic work in Livermore highlight our classical music selections for the week.

Opera Parallele’s world premiere: The opera world continues to add new works to the repertoire, and Bay Area-based Opera Parallele is bringing one to the stage this weekend. “The Pigeon Keeper,” composed by David Hanlon with a libretto by Stephanie Fleischmann, begins when young Orsia and her fisherman father find a refugee boy adrift at sea. Aid comes from the mysterious title character; as the three navigate the way home and discover the transformative power of the kindness of strangers. The production stars soprano Angela Yam as Orsia and tenor Bernard Holcomb as The Pigeon Keeper. Details: 7:30 p.m. March 7-8; 3 p.m. March 9; Fort Mason, San Francisco; 415-345-7575; $40-$160; operaparallele.org

The return of ‘Don G’: Livermore Valley Opera returns to the music of Mozart with its latest production, a new production of “Don Giovanni.” Sung in Italian with English supertitles, it stars Titus Muzi III in the title role. Come one hour early for the company’s pre-opera talk. The production plays through the weekend. Details: 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Bankhead Theater, Livermore; $25-$110; 925-373-6800; Livermorearts.org.

Vienna Philharmonic’s run: the acclaimed Vienna Philharmonic’s mini-run at UC Berkeley continues tonight, featuring Dvorák’s Symphony No. 9, “From the New World,” and Schubert’s Symphony No. 4, “Tragic.” Pianist Yefim Bronfman joins Nézet-Séguin and the orchestra on Friday to play Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3; Richard Strauss’s “Ein Heldenleben” completes the program. Details: 7:30 p.m. today, 7 p.m. Friday; $120-$275; calperformances.org.

— Georgia Rowe, Correspondent

Hudson sparkles in ‘Point’ position

Netflix’s new sports-themed sitcom “Running Point” isn’t in the same league as Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso,” but it’s a minor-league winner regardless and that’s because of its MVP — Kate Hudson. The “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” actor has a natural gift for comedy and she also has some serious acting chops. She flexes both as Isla Gordon, the new president of the Los Angeles Waves basketball team. Hudson makes a self-involved character genuinely likable and relatable.

She gets bounced into the head position after its revealed that her older brother Cam (Justin Theroux) has a serious drug addiction. He bows out of the job and moves her in, a decision that doesn’t initially sit well with other members in this dysfunctional Gordon clan, Isla’s often inappropriate brother Ness (a very funny Scott MacArthur), the team’s general manager; and her gay, rather cutthroat half-brother Sandy (Drew Tarver), the team’s numbers cruncher. The setup is said to be inspired by real-life L.A. Lakers owner Jeanie Buss and creates some sitcomish scenarios that sometime work and other times fail to the sink the basket.

The best exchanges in this series created by Mindy Kaling, Ike Barinholtz and Elaine Ko involve the players — their demands, their problems, even their families (especially a mom played by hysterical scene-stealer Nicole Sullivan). That along with the interplay between Isla and her new assistant Jackie Moreno (Fabrizio Guido, who’s the rookie of the year here), make up for the stumbles and some way undercooked storylines. “Running Point” is far from perfect but it still has Hudson and she’s sinking three pointers every time.

Details: All 10 episodes now available on Netflix.

— Randy Myers, Correspondent

Dinosaurs on the prowl at Cal Academy

If you’ve ever watched that scene in “Jurassic Park” where the T-Rex surprises a guy in a porta-potty and chomps him like a Tic Tac, and thought: “I need more of THAT” — well, here’s the exhibit for you. “Dino Days,” running until Sept. 1, brings 13 animatronic dinosaurs to the outdoor gardens of San Francisco’s California Academy of Sciences. Tyrannosaurus rex, Deinonychus, Parasaurolophus and Pachyrhinosaurus — all your best scaly buddies are here. Heck, there are even dino eggs with cute little babies hatching from them, as if they won’t grow up to be frightening 5-ton beasts.

These replica reptiles move and roar, and children are encouraged to climb atop some of them. There’s a sand-filled fossil pit where kids can dig for cast dinosaur bones. But aside from all that, there is special programming going on through the exhibit’s run, including paleontologist seminars and an evening where you sip cocktails while hearing a live performance of John Williams’ “Jurassic Park” score. Plus, scavenger hunts, dino-trivia showdowns, a meet-and-greet with the T-Rex from the PBS show “Dinosaur Train,” and much roar — er, “more.”

Details: Show runs daily until Sept. 1; 55 Music Concourse Drive, San Francisco; www.calacademy.org.

— John Metcalfe, staff

Feinstein tackles Bennett

Tony Bennett, who died in 2023, was the kind of singer and entertainer that comes along maybe once a century. HIs singing voice, one of the most instantly recognizable tones in music history, was buoyed by his knack for impeccable interpretations of jazz and pop standards. His gentlemanly, self-deprecating demeanor only added to his overall sense of class.

Particularly loved in San Francisco because of that song, Bennett’s passing left a giant hole in music world — so much so that even paying tribute to the legend seems a daunting challenge that most singers should tackle with caution.

Michael Feinstein, however, is the kind of revered Great American Songbook singer and interpreter who could seemingly take a crack at it. And that’s just what he is doing with his touring concert “Because of You: My Tribute to Tony Bennett.” Backed by the Carnegie Hall Ensemble, Feinstein’s tribute features such songs as “Because of You,” “The Best is Yet to Come” and, of course, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.”

Feinstein brings his concert to the Bankhead Theater in Livermore on Friday.

Details: 8 p.m.; $95-$130; livermorearts.org.

— Randy McMullen, Staff