Get an early look at Little Italy San Jose’s newest venues

The two newest additions to Little Italy San Jose are getting close to completion and the nonprofit foundation behind the business district will give visitors an early peek at a preview event June 22.

Poor House Bistro and the Little Italy Museum and Cultural Center have been undergoing renovations, and anticipation has been building for both venues, which are connected by a 5,000 square foot piazza. The museum, by the way, will include the Italian Cellar — a  bar that pays tribute to the old venue of the same name (later known more famously as Manny’s Cellar) at the Fallon House.

Little Italy San Jose President Joshua DeVincenzi Melander said the new Italian Cellar’s liquor license makes it a private club and not a public establishment. “You have to be a Little Italy member to go there, so it’ll really have a speakeasy vibe,” he said.

Of course, there are no such problems at the Poor House Bistro, which was moved to Little Italy in January 2022, as it prepares to re-open to the public. In the meantime, Jay Meduri and his team have been providing cajun menu favorites and live music at Mimosa’s of Willow Glen and Narrative Fermentations brewery and taproom on Alma Avenue.

The June 22 event, which starts at 5 p.m., will include food from Poor House Bistro, Paesano’s, Palermo’s and Bibo’s Pizza. Tickets are $30 for dinner ($15 for kids ages 3-9) and can be purchased at www.littleitalysj.com.

SHAKING UP SHAKESPEARE: Renee Billingslea just couldn’t watch her husband kill Saturday night. “I’ve seen it before,” she said. If you’re confused, it might help to know that the murder in question took place on opening night of San Jose Stage’s “Othello,” and her husband, actor Aldo Billingslea, was in the tragic title role — one the Santa Clara University professor has played multiple times over the past few decades.

Director Kenneth Kelleher has transported the action for San Jose Stage’s production to a 1950s noir setting complete with a jazz underscore. And while Billingslea’s powerful performance grabs the audience’s attention, the opening night crowd couldn’t stop talking about Johnny Moreno’s turn as the scheming Iago, whose monologues become spoken work beat poetry in this production. The show runs through June 25, and you can get tickets at www.thestage.org.

And for another interesting take on the Bard, you can also check out Silicon Valley Shakespeare’s production of “Twelfth Night,” which opened last Friday night at Willow Street/Frank Bramhall Park in San Jose and re-stages the comedy in modern-day Mexico with a telenovela sensibility. It also runs through June 25, and more details are available at www.svshakespeare.org.

REMEMBERING LOCKHEED: The Sunnyvale Heritage Museum is looking back at Lockheed, one of the key companies that transformed the Valley of Heart’s Delight when it moved to the city in the mid-1950s. The museum is putting the finishing touches on a new display of memorabilia — later Lockheed-Martin — in its rotating exhibit room and is planning two receptions for the public, as well as current and former Lockheed employees, on June 25 and June 29 at 570 E. Remington Dr.

Museum director Laura Babcock hopes the receptions will provide an opportunity to collect memories from former employees about their time with the defense contractor. The exhibition, which will open June 25, will be on display for the rest of the summer. Get more information at heritageparkmuseum.org.