Marc Ribot, guitar
Live solo guitar score for Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid
Saturday, March 7, 2026, 8pm
Zellerbach Playhouse
This evening’s performance will last approximately 70 minutes and be performed without intermission.
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Commissioned and premiered in 2010 by the New York Guitar Festival at Merkin Hall, Marc Ribot’s delicate and at times haunting solo guitar score contemporizes this classic Charlie Chaplin film as a story relevant to the economic and social conditions following the housing market crash of 2008 (which occurred shortly before the commissioning of this work).
“I did not use Chaplin’s score as a reference. I admire his score greatly, and his writing greatly, but I did not want to use it as a reference point, because my interest, as with everything else, comes from doing a particular reading. And my particular reading of this film is as a contemporary film. This is kind of striking to me. When I first saw the film as a kid, it seemed really old. It seemed ancient. It was kind of walled off in this ghetto of the past. So much so that the content of the film seemed funny even when the characters weren’t being intentionally funny. It seemed inherently funny for something to be that old. Whereas, when I watch it now, I don’t see old. I see a contemporary story about a single father in economically really hard conditions.”
—Marc Ribot in an interview
for Flavorpill 5/21/10
About the Artists
Cal Performances’ extraordinary 2025–26 season moves into the busy month of March with a schedule of offerings sure to appeal to a wide range of people and interests.
Acclaimed classical and early-music artists include the brilliant The English Concert and an impressive slate of guest vocalists under the direction of conductor Harry Bicket, performing a concert version of Handel’s 1744 vocal showcase Hercules (Mar 8, Zellerbach Hall [ZH]); the ever-adventurous JACK Quartet making its Cal Performances debut in an ambitious program of contemporary music (Mar 15, Hertz Hall [HH]); and highly anticipated chamber music concerts with violinist Théotime Langlois de Swarte and harpsichordist Justin Taylor (Mar 22, HH), and longtime friends of Cal Performances, cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han (Mar 29, HH).
We’ll also enjoy rousing jazz from the Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band (Mar 6, Zellerbach Playhouse [ZP]); ace guitarist Marc Ribot performing his score to special screening of Charlie Chaplin’s silent-film masterpiece The Kid (Mar 7, ZP); a brilliant production of La Belle et la Bête from Opera Parallèle that marries Philip Glass’ remarkable score with the classic 1946 Jean Cocteau film, under the direction of Nicole Paiement and Brian Staufenbiel (Mar 13–14, ZH); the phenomenally popular Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens (Mar 19–20, ZH); and masters of thunderous spectacle and jaw-dropping athleticism, the astounding drummers of Drum Tao (Mar 21–22, ZH).
Before the season draws to a close in May, we’ll continue to welcome a full spectrum of talent including Cal Performances’ 2025–26 Artist in Residence Víkingur Ólafsson; legendary soprano Renée Fleming; French piano virtuoso Alexandre Kantorow in his long-awaited Bay Area recital debut; early-music superstars Jordi Savall and The Tallis Scholars; and celebrated pianist, NPR host, and California native Lara Downes with an all-star cast of collaborators that includes the great Judy Collins. And our acclaimed dance series will conclude, distinguished by genre-defining artists and major new productions like the beloved Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in its annual Zellerbach Hall visit and The Joffrey Ballet in a bold new work set during Midsommar, the traditional Scandinavian summer solstice festival.
As you explore the calendar, I especially recommend the Illuminations “Exile & Sanctuary” events that inform the Julia Keefe, Jordi Savall, and Silkroad Ensemble/Rhiannon Giddens concerts, which focus on how issues of displacement can inform explorations of identity and community, and how artistic expression can offer safe harbor during times of unrest or upheaval.
Finally, I hope you’ll join us in late April, when we announce our thrilling 2026–27 season. One major detail has already been revealed—the Maria Manetti Shrem and Elizabeth Segerstrom California Orchestra Residency, when Cal Performances and the Philharmonic Society of Orange County will welcome the return of the world-renowned Vienna Philharmonic, conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and a truly impressive list of guest artists during spring 2027. And I can promise you many more welcome and exciting surprises when full season details are announced.
The opportunity to engage with diverse artistic perspectives and share the transformative power of the live performing arts is one of life’s greatest pleasures, and I look forward to encountering these profound and entertaining experiences with you in the months ahead.
Jeremy Geffen
Executive and Artistic Director, Cal Performances