Pilobolus dancers to perform at Irvine Barclay Theatre

Pilobolus dancers will perform at Irvine Barclay Theatre. (Courtesy Irvine Barclay website)

How many human bodies does it take to make an elephant? For a team of Pilobolus dancers, the answer — five — lies within their collective improvisation.

At 8 p.m. on May 17 through 19, Pilobolus will perform a mixed repertory at the Irvine Barclay Theatre as part of the venue’s contemporary dance series.

To date, Pilobolus has produced more than 100 choreographic works. The troupe’s Barclay program will consist of five pieces that span 11 years: “Gnomen” (1997), “All Is Not Lost” (2011), “Megawatt” (2004), Sweet Purgatory (1991) and Duet (1992).

“All is Not Lost” is the live companion to Pilobolus’ video collaboration with the Grammy-winning band OK Go. Together, the team earned a nomination for a Best Short Form Music Video Grammy Award in 2012.

The piece was choreographed by associate artistic director Renee Jaworski, who began performing with Pilobolus in 2000.

“We decided it was pretty much the way we made the video and we wanted to show people that,” Jaworski said in a phone interview. “So, what you are seeing on the stage is a behind-the-scenes look at our video.”

–Heather Youmans, Special to the Daily Pilot

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Campaign rally for VP candidate Gray is Saturday

Retired Orange County Superior Court Judge Jim Gray, the Libertarian nominee for vice president, will participate in a campaign rally at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Bowers Museum, 2002 North Main St., Santa Ana.

A question-and-answer session will follow.

Gray, a Newport Beach resident and Daily Pilot columnist, is running with Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico. Gray’s Pilot column has been suspended for the duration of the campaign.

“I am proud. I am invigorated. I am excited,” Gray said, according to a prepared statement. “With Gov. Gary Johnson, I am determined to bring back prosperity and liberty to the United States of America. And I am so grateful to all my friends, family and colleagues who have had a hand in this effort. And this was truly a team effort. It’s great to be home, but it probably won’t be for long.”

Libertarian delegates named Gray the vice presidential nominee last weekend in Las Vegas. Organizers of Saturday’s event are billing it as a “welcome home party.”

Gray is perhaps best known for his advocacy to decriminalize marijuana and the end the war on drugs, two Libertarian precepts.

–Daily Pilot staff reports, @TheDailyPilot

Moms, this is your weekend

Regardless of whether your mother would rather imbibe a Bellini or inlay a bracelet, ourMother’s Dayguide has you covered. Read on for lots of area options:

Gimme Shelter

If your mother would rather spend time in a Home Goods store than in her own home, this is the option for you. The 13th annual Huntington Beach Home and Garden Tour will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. The day includes a tour of several picturesque local homes, a gourmet buffet lunch and dessert, and a Mother’s Day boutique at the Huntington Beach Art Center, 538 Main St.

The cost is $50. Proceeds benefit students and teachers of the Huntington Beach City School District. For more information, call (714) 378-1512 or hbef4kids.org.

Walk the talk

Moms who are more set on saving the world than salivating over brunch would love to walk with their loved ones in the annual Orange County Walk Like MADD 5K.

Once again starting at Huntington City Beach at Pacific Coast Highway and Beach Boulevard, the day’s opening ceremonies begin at 8:30 a.m. The paved walk begins at 9 a.m., with closing ceremonies at 11:30 a.m.

The family health and safety fair runs from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. It includes booths and activities, prizes and tributes to DUI victims. For more information, call (714) 838-6199 or walklikemadd.org.

–Candice Baker

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H.B. Relay for Life represents hope

Supporters of Proposition 29, the tobacco tax initiative, hold signs of support during a rally that was part of the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life at the Huntington Central Park. (STEVEN GEORGES)

Some came to Huntington Central Park from other parts of Orange County. Some drove for hours from places like Bakersfield. Some even came from out of state.

But they all came with a common goal in mind: beating cancer.

The American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life in Huntington Beach lasted from 11 a.m. Saturday to 11 a.m. Sunday.

By noon Saturday, teams of participants sporting matching shirts filled the park, walking to raise funds for loved ones who either beat or are fighting cancer, or those who lost their lives to the disease.

There were also activities like dancing and singing, and a handful of tents were set up for those who planned on spending the night.

Kerrie Cabral, 34, joined her family and friends from Seattle. The family members, all wearing T-shirts that read “Anna’s Angels,” had planned on staying the night.

Cabral said this was her and her family’s way of supporting her aunt, who lost her battle with cancer, and supporting all those who are fighting or have fought the disease.

“This is our dedication to them,” she said. “Being tired, hot … is a small price to pay for those who are battling cancer.”

–Mona Shadia, @MonaShadia, HB Independent

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OCMA extends Diebenkorn show hours for closing weekend

The popularity and acclaim of its exhibition of paintings from Richard Diebenkorn’s “Ocean Park Series” will keep the Orange County Museum of Art open late for the show’s closing weekend.

Because the exhibit has broken daily attendance records and received widespread critical acclaim, on Tuesday OCMA officials announced that they will extend the museum’s public hours till 7 p.m. and add more tours for the Diebenkorn show on the weekend of May 25 to 27.

The museum at 850 San Clemente Drive, Newport Beach, normally stays open till 5 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. OCMA also has a policy of closing to the public on Mondays and Tuesdays, and will be closed on May 28, which is Memorial Day, said OCMA spokeswoman Kirsten Schmidt.

—Imran Vittachi, @ImranVittachi, Daily Pilot

‘Cabaret’ a solid musical drama at Golden West College

Tony Graham as the Emcee and the rest of the cast of "Cabaret." (Courtesy Lara Farhadi)

The musical drama “Cabaret” has undergone more surgery than Joan Rivers since it first hit the Broadway stage in 1966, including an emasculated movie version that somehow won the best picture Oscar.

At Golden West College, director-choreographer Martie Ramm has returned to the original concept by Joe Masteroff (book), John Kander (music) and Fred Ebb (lyrics), and the results are impressive indeed. This chronicle of a decadent pre-Hitler Berlin told through both the antics at a seedy night club and an ill-fated love story features some strong voices and noticeably fervent portrayals.

“Cabaret” centers on an American novelist searching for inspiration in the German capital in 1931, but instead finding the repellent rising tide of Nazism. Aware of the horrors to come, he endeavors vainly to pluck his singer-sweetheart out of the political cesspool.

Character development is particularly effective in the Golden West production, with some solid individual accomplishments projected. Both Gavin Hall as the writer and Angele Lathrop as the singer score highly, although it’s Shirley Anne Hatton as the hotel proprietor who delivers the most mesmerizing performance, both dramatically and vocally.

–Tom Titus, HB Independent

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Meeting to review Eastside improvements is Wednesday

Costa Mesa residents will soon get a peek at major infrastructure projects scheduled for the Eastside.

Residents will hear from city officials on $6.3 million in improvements slated for an area between east 15th and 21st streets, and Irvine Avenue and Newport Boulevard.

The work will include redoing pavement, fixing damaged curbs, gutters and sidewalks, and replacing some asphalt sidewalks and driveways with concrete. The construction is funded by the city’s Measure M and gas tax revenues.

The meeting will take place at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Kaiser Elementary School, 2130 Santa Ana Ave.

For more information, call Fariba Fazeli at (714) 754-5378.

—Joseph Serna, @JosephSerna, Daily Pilot

Beach Boys tour hits Irvine on June 3

The Beach Boys at their Malibu beach house in February. (Courtesy Guy Webster)

Touring together for the first time in more than two decades, the reunited members of the Beach Boys will catch a new wave into Orange County.

The Beach Boys’ 50th Anniversary Tour kicked off last month to enthusiastic crowds. As part of their tour of more than 40 cities in the U.S., Europe and Japan, Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David Marks are to play at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine on June 3.

The band recently announced that it soon will come out with a new studio-recorded album of hit-inspired originals, the Beach Boys’ first album in decades featuring all of its surviving original members. Capitol Records is to release the album on June 5.

Fans who have followed the band throughout its years of family feuds, legal turmoil, health problems — as and the loss of Carl and Dennis Wilson — had deemed a reunion tour as unlikely.

But when the public glimpsed the reunited Beach Boys performing together at this year’s 54th annual Grammy Awards, good vibrations for a possible tour with this brand-new configuration of members pulsated.

–Heather Youmans, Special to the Daily Pilot

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Ayieni repeats at OC Marathon

Peter Omae Ayieni crosses the finish line for first place in the OC Marathon with a time of 2:31:18. (Steven Georges)

As he turned the corner and ran toward the finish-line tape, Peter Omae Ayieni knew he would become the men’s champion of the eighth annual OC Marathon.

Ayieni, a 34-year-old from Kenya, believed he could win the race since the sixth-mile mark, when he said he felt comfortable. He went on to win his second straight men’s overall title in 2 hours, 31 minutes, 18 seconds Sunday morning. He finished more than three minutes ahead of runner-up Nate Clayson, a 26-year-old from Murray, Utah, who came across in 2:34:50.

Ayieni wasn’t the only repeat winner. Maika Carlsen, a 31-year-old exercise physiologist from Providence, Utah, won the women’s title for the third straight year, this time in 2:53:13. Stephanie Kato, 23, of San Jose was second in 2:55:05.

A race record 18,000 runners were registered for the marathon, half-marathon, 5K and Kids Run the OC races. The marathoners began at Fashion Island and ran through Newport Beach, Irvine, Santa Ana and ended at the OC Fair & Events Center in Costa Mesa.

For more photos from the OC Marathon, click here.

–Cesar Gonzalez, Special to the Daily Pilot

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H.B. school officials get ‘Stuffed’ at new restaurant

D'Liese Melendrez, the principal of Edison High School, left, and Shelley Morris, the assistant principal of activities of Huntington Beach High School, right, compete in a burrito eating contest as part of the grand opening of Stuffed, a new burrito restaurant in Huntington Beach on Friday. (SCOTT SMELTZER)

When the referee called time Friday afternoon outside the new Stuffed restaurant, Shelley Morris had probably never looked less dignified in front of students.

The assistant principal of activities at Huntington Beach High School had sour cream smeared across her face, dotted with stray bits of lettuce. Her hands were similarly caked as the remains of a nearly finished burrito lay haphazardly on the plate in front of her.

But thanks to her voracious appetite, her school was now $500 richer.

Morris had conquered Edison High School Principal D’Liese Melendrez in the downtown Huntington Beach restaurant’s burrito-eating contest, which it hosted as part of its grand opening celebration. The two women were each given a large burrito packed with meat, cheese, vegetables, rice and sour cream and given five minutes to eat as much as they could.

The prize: $500, not to mention school pride, as students from both campuses crowded the outdoor patio by Main Street and Pacific Coast Highway to cheer on their administrators.

–Michael Miller, @MichaelMillerHB, HB Independent

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