Brave Southern lawyer Atticus Finch with his daughter
Photo by Robert Wilson
Alabama native Harper Lee won a Pulitzer Prize for her book To Kill a Mockingbird. It has been successfully made into a movie and a stage play. Ross Valley Players just opened their production of the play.
Set in rural Alabama in the 1930s, the story embraces deceit and nobility with love. Atticus Finch the lawyer dares to defend a wrongly accused black man.
Ross Valley Players’ To Kill a Mockingbird continues through December 11 at The Barn Theatre in the Marin Art and Garden Center, 30 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, Ross.
Tickets ($17.00 to $25.00) are available online at boxoffice@rossvalleyplayers.com or by phone at 415.456.9555 ext 3. _________________
Singer Emmylou Harris
Photo courtesy of Rocky Schenk
Thanks to the generosity of San Francisco donor and banjo player Warren Hellman, The Golden Gate Park music festival Hardly Strictly Bluegrass returns this weekend (Friday, September 30 through Sunday, October 2) for its eleventh annual season. The music acts will include bluegrass, country, rockabilly, and world music. By tradition, singer Emmylou Harris will close the festival at 5:45 p. m. Sunday on the Banjo Stage.
Six outdoor stages will be set up along John F. Kennedy Drive (closed to auto traffic) and Speedway Meadow. From west to east the stages will be the Towers of Gold, the Star, the Arrow, the Banjo near Lloyd Lake, the Porch near Transverse Drive, and the Rooster Stage across JFK Drive from the Arrow.
More than eighty performers are scheduled for the three-day event. They will be performing simultaneously on the different stages. The acts range from Robert Plant and Chris Isaak to Dr. John from Louisiana and The Blind Boys of Alabama. Mr. Hellman will perform with his own group the Wronglers with Jimmie Dale Gilmore (11:00 a. m. Saturday, Rooster). A complete schedule can be found at http://www.strictlybluegrass.com/2011/print-at-home/HSB11_Schedule.pdf and at http://www.strictlybluegrass.com/2011/artists.shtml#schedule.
At this year's educational program on Thursday, September 29 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Bay Area middle school students will be entertained by MC Hammer and Poor Man's Whiskey.
In this reviewer’s past experience – even given the proximity of the stages – sound interference is not a problem. As a neighbor half block away, I can say it is no more annoying than someone nearby with a moderately loud stereo during daylight hours.
Thousands of people are expected, so get there early. There might be some stadium seating, but bring a picnic and blanket. _______________________________
Compiled by Albert Goodwyn
Renee Fleming as Lucrezia Borgia.
Photo by Andrew Eccles
San Francisco Opera presents the Company premiere of Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia, a Nineteenth Century work set in Renaissance Italy. Femme fatale Lucrezia, sung by lyric soprano Renée Fleming, mistakenly condemns her estranged son to death. She saves him from the Duke’s wine but accidentally poisons him again in an act of revenge. This time he will not allow himself to be saved.
Washington National Opera created this production of Donizetti’s bel canto masterpiece for Renée Fleming. It also features tenor Michael Fabiano as Lucrezia’s son Gennaro, mezzo soprano Elizabeth Deshong as Maffio Orsini and bass Vitalij Kowaljow as Duke Alfonso d’Este, at whose palace the first poisoning takes place.
Production designer John Pascoe makes his San Francisco Opera directorial debut with this production, and conductor Riccardo Frizza makes his Company debut leading the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus.
Lucrezia Borgia opens September 23 and plays six more performances through October 11 at The War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco. Tickets ($30 to $389) are available online at sfopera.com or by phone at 415.864.3330 or through the San Francisco Opera Box Office,301 Van Ness Avenue (at Grove Street) Standing Room tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. on the day of each performance for $10 each, cash only.
Sung in Italian with English supertitles, the other six performances of Lucrezia Borgia are scheduled for September 26 (7:30 p.m.), September 29 (7:30 p.m.), October 2 (2 p.m.), October 5 (7:30 p.m.), October 8 (8 p.m.), and October 11 (8 p.m.), 2011.
Related Lucrezia Borgia Events
San Francisco Opera Guild will present an Insight Panel Discussion featuring members of the cast and production team from Lucrezia Borgia on Monday, September 19 at 6 p.m. in the second-floor Green Room at the War Memorial Veterans Building,401 Van Ness Avenue. Insight panels are free for Opera members and $5 for the general public, at the door 30 minutes prior to the discussion.
Renée Fleming will be signing copies of her CDs in the lobby of the War Memorial Opera House after the October 2 performance at approximately 5:15 p.m.
City Arts & Lectures presents "Renée Fleming in Conversation with Steve Winn" on October 6 at 8 p.m. in the Herbst Theater at the War Memorial Veterans Building. Tickets are priced from $17 to $27 and are available at cityarts.net.
All performances will feature an informative Opera Talk by Italian conductor, composer and educator, Giancarlo Aquilanti. Talks begin fifty-five minutes before each performance in the orchestra section of the War Memorial Opera House and are presented free of charge to patrons with tickets for the corresponding performance. _____________________
The San Francisco premiere of Becky Parker’s Joy with Wings: A Daughter’s Tale opens Wednesday at The Alcove Theater.
Her performance is about travel from a child’s worldview. Her pilgrimage tumbles her into the world of a grounded woman of today. Delights and occasional mishaps occur.
Joy with Wings: A Daughter’s Tale opens September 14 (through Oct. 6) at The Alcove Theater, 414 Mason Street (5th Floor), San Francisco (1 block from Union Square). __________________
Kirk Mills as Arnold
Photo courtesy of Steve Silver Productions
The irrepressible Beach Blanket Babylon is now picking on some new public figures. They spoof the Royal Couple of Kate and William and some of our trusted political representatives. Mr. Schwarzenegger joins Bill Clinton in a medley to their exploits. And Nancy Pelosi suggests that it's time for a Weiner roast.
Beach Nuts! Video Peeks Behind the Velvet Curtain
A videographer on their crew, Tom Schween, is a refugee from MTV. He has created a series of short, behind-the-scenes videos of cast, crew, band members, and fans. The vids are posted to their Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/BBBinSF) or you can go to the Gallery page on their website (www.beachblanketbabylon.com) and scroll down to the videos.
The SF Playhouse opens the west coast premiere of Tigers Be Still by Kimberly Rosenstock. This quirky and deliciously dark comedy was featured in SF Playhouse’s 2008 reading series and went on to become an off-Broadway hit.
After earning her degree in art therapy, Sherry expects the perfect career and life to fall into place. Instead, she is unemployed, overwhelmed and hiding out at home. All would be perfect if only her mother, sister, first therapy patient, new boss, and the tiger that escaped from the zoo would behave.
Directed by Amy Glazer, Tigers Be Still opens Saturday, June 25 and plays through July 30 at The SF Playhouse, 533 Sutter Street (btw. Powell & Mason Streets), San Francisco. Tickets ($30 to $50) are available online at www.sfplayhouse.org or by phone at 415.677.9596.
* * * *
Lex Ishimoto as Billy Elliot
Photo by Michael Brosilow
SHN, the pre-eminent touring theatrical entertainment company in San Francisco, will present Billy Elliot the Musical,
the story of a motherless boy in a mining town in North Eastern
England. Against the rage of his miner father during a strike, he trades
boxing gloves for ballet shoes. His personal struggle and fulfillment
are balanced against a counter-story of family and community strife. His
dance talent inspires his family and his whole community and changes
his life forever.
The play, features music by Elton John and is
based on the international smash-hit film taken from the A. J. Cronin
novel The Stars Look Down. It is the joyous celebration of one boy’s
journey to make his dreams come true. The won 10 Tony Awards on
Broadway.
The west coast premiere of Billy Elliot the Musical
opens Monday June 27 and runs through Saturday Sept. 17 at the Orpheum
Theatre, 1192 Market Street at 8th, San Francisco. Tickets start at $35 and are available online at http://shnsf.com/shows/billyelliot or by phone at 888.746.1799.
* * * *
Maestro's Enchantment
Joan Baez plays Madame Zinzanni
Photo courtesy of Teatro ZinZanni
Teatro ZinZanni brings anew show to the Spiegel tent. On The Embarcadero, Maestro's Enchantment
featuring a welcomed return by Joan Baez playing Madame ZinZanni.
Romance is reignited between her and master illusionist Voronin when he
returns with his mysterious 18th century circus troupe.
The entertainment is carefully choreographed to serve you a five-course dinner while you watch some spectacular acts and topical with audience participation.
Maestro's Enchantment
opens June 23 (through October 9, 2011) at Pier 29, The Embarcadero,
San Francisco. Tickets ($117 to $167) are available online at http://tzsf-tickets.zinzanni.org pr by phone at 415.438.2668.
Zinxanni dinnertime enter-tainment from CALIENTE
Photo Credit: Tracy Martin ____________________________
Singing actress Betty Buckley has been variously described as mesmerizing, sultry, captivating, soulful, powerful, diva, icon, etc. Just a girl from Texas with a big voice is the way she described herself in a ’06 interview (http://www.sfbaytimes.com/article_p.php?article_id=5525). She celebrates her return to Bay Area cabaret with a one-week-only run of her new performance of Broadway music. In this must-see show Ms. Buckley will perform theater songs she's always wanted to sing from shows like South Pacific, The Pajama Game, The King and I, Avenue Q and Nine. Award winner John McDaniel serves as musical consultant and has provided special material.
“I like good songs wherever they come from,” she said in my interview with her. Also see her at http://www.BettyBuckley.com. This new collection of Broadway songs will mark her debut at a premiere San Francisco nightclub The RRazz Room At Hotel Nikko, The title For The Love Of Broadway was chosen from a fan submission contest via Twitter. The winners are David Traub of Woodland Hills, California and Liana Morris of Burwick, Maine.
Her previous appearance in San Francisco was a one-night only performance of An Intimate Evening with Betty Buckley at the Herbst Theatre on Van Ness Avenue. That night she performed a variety of works from the Great American Songbook, contemporary compositions and show tunes. With her polished, professional voice, she always sings her signature song, “Memory” by Andrew Lloyd Webber. This is the most famous song from the musical Cats, which she opened on Broadway in 1982 as Grizabella, the Glamour Cat. Ms. Buckley has also performed in other musicals. She played in London as Norma Desmond in the musical Sunset Boulevard (“I’m ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille.”)
On Saturday April 23, Boxcar Theatre will bring to the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers the team behind their upcoming experiential production of Little Shop of Horrors for a fundraising event. The performers will sing catchy tunes from the seedier side of Broadway. There will be an open mike and wine reception included in the ticket price. You can go on stage and sing your own favorite show tune in support of the show.
Boxcar has re-imagined the black comedy favorite Little Shop of Horrors , set to open May 20 for the Theatre Playhouse on skid row at Natoma near 6th Street. In this site-specific production, Boxcar Theatre updates the Broadway classic from its kitschy 1950s fluff to represent the gritty nature of the down-and-out in today's modern world. The lonely flower shopkeeper Seymour finds a rare and exotic plant that has a thirst for human blood. Newly designed puppets represent the man-eating plant from outer space in this fast-paced musical.
The Darker Side of Broadway: A Cabaret Fundraiser will be held one night only Saturday April 23 at the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers, 100 John F. Kennedy Drive, Golden Gate Park. Tickets ($26 reserved table seating; $22 reserved row seating) are available online at https://www.ticketturtle.com/index.php?actions=3&p=1 or by phone at 415.776.1747.
Little Shop of Horrors opens May 20 (through June 26) at Boxcar Theatre, 505 Natoma Street, San Francisco. Tickets are available online at boxoffice@boxcartheatre.org and by phone at 415.776.1747. ____________________________________
3.0 The cast of Home Season 3.0
Photo courtesy of The Garage
AIRspace is featuring selected works from the FACT/SF repertory and a world premiere as part of their artistic residency program at The Garage. Home Season 3.0 presents smart dance numbers both humorous and thought provoking.
Works by the Artist In Residence will include Before this we weren't here (2009), excerpts from The Consumption Series (2010), ...is all that an(n)a sees.09 & .10 (2008 & 2010), Eine Kleine Kitschen, Nein? (2009), and Pretonically Oriented v.1 (2010). More information about the show can be found online at factsf.org.
The Garage is an art space in San Francisco, directed by Joe Landini in a South of Market building that has been an automotive garage. The performance area is well arranged on a professional floor and Landini’s programs present some scintillating modern dance.
The series runs for two weekends only April 8-10 & 13-15, 8:00 pm at The Garage, 975 Howard Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($20) are available online at brownpapertickets.com or by phone at 800.838.3006. _________________________
John unbuttons Alma's nightgown
\
Photo by David Allen
Aurora Theatre Company will celebrate the 100th birthday of Tennessee Williams with a presentation of his haunting drama The Eccentricities of a Nightingale starting April 1 (through May 8). Williams spent 25 years fine-tuning his poetry about the exalted themes and over-sized characters of this Broadway success.
Set in Mississippi, the creative drama is about a repressed young woman on her way to becoming a spinster until she hooks up with someone of whom her puritanical father disapproves. She eventually finds consolation in her own artistic temperament and her rebellious nature.
Aurora’s Artistic Director Tom Ross is staging a cast of some of the most talented and enthusiastic Bay Area actors at Aurora Theatre Company, 2081 Addison Street, Berkeley. Tickets ($10 to $55) and information are available online at auroratheatre.org or by phone at 510.843.4822. __________________________
In two weekends of special
events at Fort Mason Center,
San Francisco Dance Repertory will be presenting over 300 dancers from the
greater Bay Area. This unique annual Bay Area dance showcase owes its success
in part to popular reality television shows such as “So You Think You Can
Dance” and “Live to Dance.” Featured guests popularizing
the art form will be Alonzo King LINES Ballet Training Program, Kunst-Stoff
Dance Company and the new Dance Repertory Youth Ensemble.Dancers will come
from 38 different high schools, professional companies and college programs with
seven specially selected and curated high school dance groups.
The Vision Series Dance
Festival on Saturday, March 5 and 12 at 4:00 pm, will be a showcase of diverse
emerging talent from 12 Bay Area high schools and 12 professional companies or colleges
each day, plus special performances by Alonzo King LINES Ballet Training
Program and Dance Repertory Youth Ensemble.
Dance Repertory Review will
be a concert presentation of dance works by four professional emerging artists
and college dance programs selected by a committee of respected professionals.
It will also feature special performances by KUNST-STOFF Contemporary Dance
Company, Alonzo King LINES Ballet Training Program and the Dance Repertory
Youth Ensemble.
All performances will take
place at Cowell Theater, Fort Mason Center,
Marina & Buchanan Streets, San
Francisco March 4 - 5 and March 11 - 12. Tickets ($15 to
$20) are available at www.fortmason.org or by phone at 415.345.7575. More information
can be found at http://www.dancerepertory.org. ____________________________
Sarah Nealis who is playing Eliza
Photo courtesy of Magic Theatre
Magic Theatre presents the world premiere of Theresa Rebeck’s comedy What We’re Up Against. Rebeck returns to Magic after her hit show Mauritius, which gave her the idea about men, women, and survival in the workplace. A group of architects can’t figure out where to place the air ducts in the design of their new mall.
This cast of this bold, award-winning play by one of America’s master playwrights includes local favorite actors Rod Gnapp, Sarah Nealis, James Wagner, and Pamela Gaye Walker. Magic Artistic Director Loretta Greco directs.
“Working with Theresa Rebeck is a joy,” says Greco. “Theresa never stops trying to get to the bottom of things that truly matter. She's a wonderful combination of strength, passion and rage -- and she's funny ... wickedly and unabashedly funny -- so it goes without saying that she is a perfect conjurer of theater that pulses with life. We are thrilled to have her back home at Magic and look forward to celebrating her new work What We're Up Against …”
What We’re Up Against is associated with the National New Play Network, an alliance of leading nonprofit theaters that champion the development, production and continued life of new plays. It has also been awarded this year’s Rella Lossy Playwright Award. Magic shares the world premiere with Victory Gardens in Chicago and The Alley in Houston in 2012.
Opening night of What We’re Up Against is Wednesday February 9. It runs through March 6 at Magic Theatre, Building D, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco. Tickets ($44 to $60; Student & under 30: $20 with valid ID, side sections only; senior & educator Discount: $5) are available online at www.magictheatre.org or by phone at 415.441.8822. ________________________________
Jessica Coghill, Associate Member at Actors Theatre of San Francisco, will act in William Blake Sings the Blues.
Photo courtesy of Actors Theatre
The competition between two academics from widely different backgrounds leads to a deterioration of their friendship. Mid-fifties Sam has ten years seniority over the much younger Skylar, the “golden boy” of the small liberal arts college, educated in an Ivy League prep school and from a wealthy New England family. Sam comes from the turbulent streets of lower east side New York. When Sam is passed over in favor of Skylar for the position of chairman of the English department, Sam’s academic mentor-ship takes a decidedly dark turn.
Written and directed by Keith Phillips, the new work will feature actors Jason Coe, Jessica Coghill, Kevin Daniels, Duane Lawrence, Christian Phillips, Carole Lynn Robinson, Carole Swann, and Maureen Williams.
William Blake Sings the Blues plays Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8 pm, February 11 through March 5 at Actors Theatre of San Francisco, 855 Bush Street. Tickets ($26 to $40) are available online at www.TicketWeb.com or by phone at 415.345.1287. _____________________________
San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle
Graphic courtesy of SFBATCC
Celebrating Bay Area Theatre Excellence
On April 4, 2011, the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle will proudly host its 35th Annual Awards Ceremony, celebrating Bay Area theatre excellence during 2010. Awards will be given for touring productions as well as dramas and musicals in the following categories: Over 300 Seat Theatres; 100-300 Seat Theatres; and Under 99 Seat Theatres.
A complete listing of nominees will be available in mid-February at www.sfbatcc.org.
The public is invited to join the Critics Circle in recognizing and applauding the talented theatre artists who entertain and educate local audiences year round. The Awards Ceremony will be held at the beautiful Palace of Fine Arts Theatre Lobby, 3301 Lyon Street, SF (free parking). Doors open at 6 pm with the awards beginning at 7:30 pm. Dress is business casual to formal.
To purchase tickets in advance, call 800.838.3006 or go to www.BrownPaperTickets.com/event/145208. On the day of event, tickets may be purchased at the door (cash only). In addition to the awards’ ceremony, the evening includes refreshments and entertainment.
Representing print and electronic media, the 28 San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle members attended over 400 productions in 2010 in venues from San Jose to Santa Rosa and San Francisco to Martinez. On April 4, the group will present 37 Drama Awards and 38 Musical Awards to outstanding artists involved in these productions.
Again this year, Actors' Equity Association, representing over 1000 actors and stage managers in the Bay Area, will sponsor the awards. __________________________
Irene Theorin as Turandot
Photo by Johan Persson
San Francisco Opera, one of the world’s leading producers of grand opera since 1923, announces its 2011–12 season with a stunning selection of operas and performers. Seventy-four opera performances will be presented at the War Memorial Opera House beginning Friday, September 9 with a gala opening as Music Director Nicola Luisotti launches the 89th season with Giacomo Puccini’s Turandot.
The season repertory will include Heart of a Soldier, a world premiere commissioned on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center attacks, and the company premiere of Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia, about a femme fatale renowned for her ruthless pursuit of power.
Handel’s Xerxes, one of the greatest Baroque comic operas intertwines unrequited love and intrigue at a royal court with tender poignancy. Don Giovanni, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s dramatic comedy and drama, tells the tale of a proud, predatory nobleman and the women who are drawn to him. Nixon in China, John Adams’ rhythmically rich recreation of a presidential trip to Beijing, has established itself as a great American opera.
Mozart’s The Magic Flute will receive a new production premiere, while perennial favorites Jean-Pierre Ponnelle’s production of Bizet’s Carmen and David Hockney’s Turandot production will be presented in revival. Attila, about a ruthless barbarian who, to composer Giuseppe Verdi, was a complex and compelling figure, will be presented in a co-production with New Teatro alla Scala of Italy.
Many acclaimed singers will be returning to the War Memorial Opera House, including soprano Renée Fleming as Lucrezia Borgia, Susan Graham as Xerxes, countertenor David Daniels as Arsamenes in Xerxes, Ramón Vargas as Foresto in Attila, baritones Nathan Gunn as Papageno in The Magic Flute, Thomas Hampson as Rick Rescorla in Heart of a Soldier, and bass Samuel Ramey as Pope Leo I in Attila.
Many special events will be included in the season, including Nicola Luisotti conducting the San Francisco Opera Orchestra in a celebration of the career of local favorite Frederica von Stade, two orchestral concerts in co-presentations with Cal Performances at Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley on October 28, 2011 and June 3, 2012.
On Sunday, September 11, 2011 at 1:30 p.m., the Company’s annual free San Francisco Opera in the Park concert at Sharon Meadow in Golden Gate Park will be a special musical program commemorating the tenth anniversary of September 11, 2001.
In the Summer of 2011, San Francisco Opera’s season culminates with the presentation of Richard Wagner’s epic Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung). The four operas in this new production by director Francesca Zambello -- Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung -- will be presented for the first time as a complete cycle. Former Music Director Donald Runnicles will lead the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus.
For season ticket information: Call (415) 864-3330 or visit sfopera.com. ______________________________
Paige Rogers as Ariadne
Photo by Rob Melrose
San Francisco’s cutting-edge Cutting Ball Theater presents avant-garde works and new visions of ancient classics. They re-imagine Greek myth in their upcoming production of two plays, Bone to Pick and Diadem. These are playwright Eugenie Chan’s original works retelling the story of Princess Ariadne of Crete, her father the tyrant King Minos, the terrible Minotaur, and the brave young Theseus who slew the beast.
Paige Rogers, Associate Artistic Director, returns to the Cutting Ball stage as Ria in this remounting of the highly successful 2008 production of Bone to Pick, which tells of her love affair with heroic Theo. As a companion piece, Cutting Ball commissioned their resident playwright Eugenie Chan to create a new play Diadem to give Ria’s back story, of the days when she was Princess of Crete.
Bone to Pick is a postmodern exploration of love, war, and complicity. Ria betrays her cruel father by helping Theo escape an intricate Labyrinth so that he can kill her brother, the half-bull Minotaur. But then Theo leaves Ria stranded in a diner at the end of a war-torn world.
Diadem is a romantic re-telling of the earlier parts of Ariadne’s myth, when she was a giggling teenage Minoan princess in love. Together, these two original works convey the complete story of Ariadne’s epic romance. Rob Melrose, co-founder of the Cutting Ball Theater, directs.
“We initially commissioned Bone to Pick because of my obsession with the myths of Crete,” says Cutting Ball Artistic Director Rob Melrose. “The success of Bone to Pick during our 2008 Avant GardARAMA! made us wonder if it could stand on its own as a single evening of theater. At the same time, we realized that not everyone was familiar with the Minotaur myth. We wondered if there was a creative way of sharing the myth with our audience, which led to commissioning Eugenie Chan to write a companion piece, or prequel, which explored the earlier parts of the myth; the result is Diadem.”
Bone to Pick and the World Premiere of Diadem play through February 13 at the Cutting Ball Theater in residence at EXIT on Taylor, 277 Taylor Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($15 to $50) are available at www.cuttingball.com or by phone at 800.838.3006. ____________________
Mike Daisey earnestly makes his case
Photo courtesy of kevinberne.com
Master social critic Mike Daisey is back at Berkeley Rep
with two hilarious new adventure stories that cut deep. While he does admit
that, “The way I perceive reality is … uh … not so great,” his perceptions are
unique and give insight to many aspects of the world we might not ever be
acquainted with.
In The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs,
Daisey dives into an epic story about how the obsessions of Apple’s CEO
profoundly shape our everyday lives. Daisey travels to China to
investigate the factories where millions toil to make iPhones and iPods. This
dangerous journey shines a brilliant light on our love affair with our devices
and the human cost of creating them.
With The Last Cargo Cult, Daisey visits a
remote island in the South Pacific whose inhabitants worship at the base of an
erupting volcano, deifying American commercialism. He witnesses their rituals
as the world’s financial system collapses. He searches his soul for an assessment
of what money means and who is paying the price
Daisey presents an appealing presence on stage, and his
demeanor is self-effacing enough that we forget about him and concentrate on
what he is saying. When he does use his hands for emphasis and added
explications, they move like a ballet. His face is very motile and can move in
perfect synchrony to the ideas he is presenting.
Mike Daisey's two-hour monologues perform in repertory on differing
days and times. The last performance will be on February 27 at Berkeley
Repertory Theatre Thrust Stage, 2025
Addison Street, Berkeley.
Tickets ($39 to $59) are available on line at www.berkeleyrep.org or by phone
at (888) 4-BRT-tix.
Smuin Ballet presents its annual return with a perfect gift for audience members of all ages, a snow-filled extravaganza with everything from ballet, tap and swing to a wealth of other international dances. Michael Smuin’s elegant creation includes beautiful and charming traditional performances along with humorous and sexy dance pieces.
In two acts he blended classical with sexy. "The Classical Christmas" is dressed in white and danced to timeless seasonal music ranging from carols to Elvis to klezmer. "The Cool Christmas" is red hot and sassy, danced to new holiday favorites. As always, there is new choreography with surprises. This year’s edition includes new choreography from acclaimed Choreographer in Residence Amy Seiwert and Smuin Ballet Master Amy London in an always-changing feast of holiday fun.
The Christmas Ballet plays through December 24 at Novellus Theater in Yerba Buena Center, 701 Mission Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($20 to $62) are available online at http://www.ybca.org/tickets/production/view.aspx?id=11818 or by phone at 415.978.2787. Find the complete schedule at www.smuinballet.org. _____________________
Juan Paulo Horvath and Victoria Galoto tango
Photo courtesy of Charles Zukow Associates
This internationally celebrated dance spectacular by Luis Bravo took San Francisco by storm in 1994 where it played an unprecedented 92 weeks. In 1997 Forever Tango played on Broadway for over a year with rave reviews and multiple award nominations, becoming the longest-running tango show in Broadway history. The show has since toured world-wide, last visiting San Francisco in 2008.
The show is the dance
The production traces the colorful history of the sensual Argentine dance of passion, jealousy, misunderstanding, reconciliation, and violence. Sensuous and sophisticated, the tango that originated in early Buenos Aires bordellos inhabits a world where everything can be said with the flick of a leg, the tug of a hand, the tap of a foot or the arch of an eyebrow.
The cast includes fourteen world-class dancers, (starring Bay Area native and two-time “Dancing with the Stars” champion Cheryl Burke) a vocalist and an eleven-piece, on-stage orchestra. The music is anchored by the bandoneón, a concertina-like instrument that is the mainstay of tango music. The Forever Tango orchestra boasts four of only 200 bandoneón players known worldwide. The dances, performed to original and traditional music, are the result of collaboration between each dancing couple and director/creator Bravo.
This time at Marines’ Memorial
Major General Mike Myatt, President and CEO of San Francisco's Marines' Memorial Association, and Roxanne Goodfellow, Artistic & General Manager of the Marines' Memorial Theatre, are proud to bring this intoxicating excitement and passion to the stage
Forever Tango opens Tuesday, December 21 and will run through January 9, 2011 at Marines' Memorial Theatre, 609 Sutter Street (at Mason), San Francisco. Tickets ($45 to $100) are available online at www.marinesmemorialtheatre.com or by phone at 415.771.6900. _____________________
Cabaret singer Wesla Whitfield
Photo courtesy of The Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation
On Monday, November 15 at 7:30 pm, The Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation (REAF) presents a special one-time, one-night-only benefit to raise funds. The exciting evening will feature Erich Bergen, star of the national tour and San Francisco production of Jersey Boys, and jazz cabaret recording star Wesla Whitfield. Members from the cast of the locally touring West Side Story will perform song selections of their own choice in an evening of upbeat, high-energy music, dance and comedy at Marines Memorial Theater, 609 Sutter Street, San Francisco.
The Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS present an evening benefiting these important charity organizations. To date, REAF has distributed over $2.5 million to AIDS service agencies.
Tickets for One Night Only Cabaret range from $25 to $75 and are available by phone at 415.273.1620 or online at www.HelpIsOnTheWay.org. A limited number of tickets are also available for the dessert party with the cast following the show for an additional $20/person.
West Side Story will play the Orpheum Theatre October 27 to November 28. ______________________________
The Cast of Pearls
Left to right: Valentine, Corrine Levy, Lanny Baugniet, Kara Emry, Morningwood, Russell Blackwood
Photo by Daniel Nicoletta
Pearls Over Shanghai San Francisco’s longest-running Cockettes musical hit continues through Dec. 19 at Thrillpeddlers’ Hypnodrome Theatre. Now playing for a year and a half, Pearls has received rave reviews. Link Martin and Scrumbley Koldewyn’s comic mock-operetta about white slavery, opium dens and miscegenation is set in the colorful world of 1937 Shanghai. Link sets his story at the crossroads of good and evil with singing sailors, humorous whores, foolish immortals, handmaidens and henchmen, with a mix of foreign aristocrats, opium addicts and gangland slavers.
The luminous cast of the gender-bending theatrical troupe includes the original Cockette Rumi Missabu as the evil Madame Gin Sling, plus local divas Connie Champagne, Katya Smirnoff-Skyy, Veronica Klaus, and Leanne Borghesi, as well as Michale Soldier, Tom Orr, Flynn De Marco, and Leigh Crow. This show originally exerted a profound influence on the culture of our times. The costumed cast of more than 20, with 24 original songs at the Hypnodrome presents the scent of intoxicating perfume and poisonous flowers.
For more information visit http://thrillpeddlers.com. Tickets to Hypnodrome, 575 10th Street, (near Bryant & Division Sts.), San Francisco ($30 general admission; $35 per seat for “Shock Boxes” and “Turkish Lounges”) are available at Brown Paper Tickets or by calling 800.838-.3006. _____________________
Butte, Montana miners
Photo Courtesy of the Guidi Family
Pamela Roberts’ new film Butte, America tells the epic tale of a city in Montana, once the world’s largest producer of copper, and known as the “Pittsburgh of the West.” Butte was a world-class mining town where corporate capitalism battled organized labor. Ethnic groups came together to form an urban industrial dynamo. From braving the ups and downs of global markets to surviving death, injury, layoffs, and shutdowns, they forged a community whose toughness, tolerance, and solidarity embody the unique spirit of the place called “The Richest Hill on Earth.”
Narrated by Irish actor Gabriel Byrne, Butte, America brings to life these people, the heart of the Butte story: miners, their families and the working class neighborhoods they created. The saga of human appetite and a tragic environmental legacy for the people left behind speaks to what's increasingly missing in American life today. Butte shares with San Francisco the distinction of being one of the landmarks of the American labor movement. The San Francisco sponsors are some of the most prominent Irish and organized labor groups in The City.
Butte, America is a co-production of Pamela Roberts and the Independent Television & Video Service (ITVS), produced in association with KUSM-TV/Montana PBS with funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).
A Rattlesnake Productions release, 67-minute-long Butte, America is not MPAA rated. It plays one night only in San Francisco, 8:00 pm on Sat., Nov. 6 at the Victoria Theatre, 2961 16th Street (between Mission & Capp Streets, a half-block from the 16th Street BART Station). Tickets (Film only $10 to $15; pre-show reception at the Victoria Theatre from 5:30 pm $15 to $25) are available online at www.victoriatheatre.org or by phone at 415.863.7576. The reception features libations, appetizers and traditional Irish music by The Gas Men (http://gasmenmusic.com). _________________________
Vita the Zombie
Photo courtesy of Teatro ZinZanni
San Francisco's fabulous nightclub spectacle Teatro ZinZanni will present a special Halloween-only show recommended not for the faint of heart. Teatro Zin ZOMBIE! - A Macabre Ball will offer an evening of elegant decadence for all who dare attend. Their lobby will be diabolically decorated.and the bloody Halloween cocktails will be irresistible. The actors’ faces will be painted ghoulishly, and the acts are death defying, usually featuring acrobatics, ropes and silks, and tumbling. Special effects are always elaborate in the Spiegeltent. Their haunted cabaret includes live music, divas, madmen, and sensuality with a gourmet five-course dinner.
There will be a costume parade and a prize for the best costume, so dress up and be part of one of San Francisco's best traditions. The ever changing cast at Teatro ZinZanni features world-class practitioners of some of the oldest and most time-honored traditions in entertainment. It is a blend of interactive theater with fine arts and fine dining.
Teatro Zin ZOMBIE! - A Macabre Ball plays ONO at Teatro ZinZanni, Pier 29 along The Embarcadero, San Francisco. Tickets ($117 to $167; includes dinner) are available online at http://tzsf-tickets.zinzanni.org or by phone at 415.438.2668.
Teatro ZinZanni’s next show opens November 4. License To Kiss II, A Sweet Conspiracy features comedian Kevin Kent in his quest to create a delight confection. The Spiegeltent becomes a den for intrigue, espionage and the ultimate candy-coated collusion. In the end, merriment and chaos give a LICENSE TO KISS. ___________________________
Sketch comedy group BitterShow
Photo courtesy of Melinda Bailey
Road Trip to Pluto:
The Bitter Planet, a hit at this September’s annual San Francisco Fringe
Festival, returns for one night only, October 28.
What does a planet do when it becomes downgraded to merely
an orbiting pile of debris? Kidnap NPR “Fresh Air” interviewer Terry Gross of
course. The science-fiction style satire Road
Trip to Pluto takes on everything from heroic Flash Gordon to villain Boba
Fett. In a game of tit-for-tat, the disgruntled ex-planet gets a
triple-breasted alien prostitute to kidnap Glenn Beck.
Sketch comedy group Bitter Show will present at the movie
theater 4 Star in the outer Richmond District, the only venue in the city that
could contain this combination of humor, bad movies, filthy cartoons, audience
participation, big musical numbers, and live-action B-movies. For more see the
trailer at You Tube.
Road Trip to Pluto
will appear for just one night, 8:30 pm October 28 at 4 Star Theatre, 2200 Clement Street, San Francisco. Tickets are available at the
door on the day of the show for $12 or online at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/133712
for $9.99. Dress in costume for Halloween, bring poison candy and a defaced
pumpkin. For more, see the website: http://thebittershow.com.
Comedian Robin Williams is Going on the Road Down Under Recharging the Batteries.....Again
Photo Courtesy of Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Local favorite comedian Robin Williams will hold three special benefit performances at Berkeley Repertory Theatre Sunday October 10, Tuesday Oct. 12 and Wednesday Oct. 13, all at 8:00 pm. The evening is recommended for ages 16 and up. Berkeley Rep invites you to join them from 7 to 7:45 pm for a free tequila tasting with margaritas from the founders of Berkeley’s own Tres Agaves.
Artist's proceeds will be donated as follows: Sun. Oct. 10: Berkeley Rep Tue. Oct. 12: Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society Wed. Oct. 13: San Bruno Fire Fund
The shows will be at Berkeley Repertory Roda Theatre, 2025 Addison Street, Berkeley. Tickets ($50) are only available online at BerkeleyRep.org. No phone calls. ________________________
Thrillpeddlers presents their 11th annual signature
Halloween show Shocktoberfest!! 2010: KISS OF BLOOD. The program will feature
three one-act plays in the tradition of Grand Guignol terror plays and
titillating farces. They involve the aftermath of a botched brain surgery, a
love affair in a French museum of antique torture devices and pageant queens
scoring pharmaceutical drugs with hilarious, but disastrous, results.
The title piece KISS OF BLOOD by Jean Aragny and
Francis Neilson is a new English adaptation of a 1929 shocker from the
repertoire of Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol in Paris, the original French horror theatre. “The
11th Annual Pageant of Terror and Titillation” will also present Lips
of the Damned and The Empress of Colma, two original
plays in the Grand Guignol tradition commissioned by Thrillpeddlers from New York playwright Rob
Keefe.
Shocktoberfest!! 2010: KISS OF BLOODopens September 30 (through
Nov. 19, with a special Halloween performance on Sunday, Oct. 31) at
Thrillpeddlers’ Hypnodrome Theatre in San
Francisco, 575
10th Street, between Bryant & Division
Streets. Tickets ($25 general admission; $35 for premium “Shock Boxes” and
“Turkish Lounges” sold in pairs only) are available online at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/125107
or by calling 800.838.3006.
Shocktoberfest!! 2010: KISS OF BLOOD will be playing in
repertory with Thrillpeddlers’ runaway hit Pearls Over Shanghai, The Cockettes
Musical which plays on Saturdays at 8:00 pm in October, now extended through
Dec. 19. Tickets for Pearls Over Shanghai are $30 general
admission or $35 premium admission and are available at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/67716
or by calling 800/ 838- 3006. More information is available at http://thrillpeddlers.com. _______________________
Cast of Taste Better Wit (L to R) Rob Trinidad, Manny Cabrera, Yato Yoshida(front), Joe Cascasan (center), Dennis Rodis (back), Andrea Almario (front), Susanna Yu, Jamie Nallas, Tatianna Dayers, and Melvign Badiola (not pictured). Directed by A.S. Manalo & Yato Yoshida.
Photo courtesy of Joe Landini at The Garage
As part of The Central Market Arts Festival, The Garage and Bindlestiff Studio present sketch comedy with condiments. Originating from the bowels of Bindlestiff Studio on Sixth Street, Taste Better Wit is a collective of former Filipino American law enforcement officers who met each other by chance in a dingy alley off Sixth Street while breaking up a secret meth lab. After several rounds of celebratory beers and tearful confessions, a performance group was born to point out injustices in the corrupt sketch comedy hierarchy.
Taste Better Wit plays one night only 8:00 pm, October 6 at The Garage, 975 Howard Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($10) are available online at brownpapertickets.com, 975howard.com and at bindlestiffstudio.org, or by phone at 415.518.1517.
The three-week performing arts festival coming to San Francisco's Central Market district is aptly called 24 Days of Central Market Arts. It kicks off on Mint Plaza with a weekend of performances by acclaimed local companies on Friday, September 24 through Sunday, September 26.
The kick-off weekend includes dance, live music and family-friendly arts activities for all to enjoy the uniquely vibrant arts scene that the neighborhood offers. The festival continues through October 17 with performances in dance, music and theatre at a variety of satellite venues, ranging from nearby businesses to fully equipped theaters and studios.
The Garage and Alonzo King LINES Dance Center are some of the founding organizations of Central Market Arts. Supporting Organizations include Blick Art Materials, the San Francisco Arts Commission and the San Francisco Examiner. For information about other events and the festival, visit www.centralmarketarts.org.
Wily servant Scapin (Bill Irwin) is up to no good.
Photo by Kevin Berne.
Molière’s Les Fourberies de Scapin (The Tricks of Scapin) premiered at the Palais-Royale in Paris on May 24, 1671. Bill Irwin and Mark O’Donnell’s adaptation Scapin was first produced by Seattle Repertory Theatre in 1995 and premiered in New York at Roundabout Theatre Company in 1997. Both productions were directed by Irwin, who also starred as Scapin.
The French farce features the usual mistaken identities, scoundrels and love affairs. Bill Irwin as a comic servant uses disguises to trick wealthy fathers out of marriage dowries. Geoff Hoyle plays one father (sharing the role with Rod Gnapp) and Steven Anthony Jones the other. Core Company members Gregory Wallace and René Augeson also star.
Scapin has been extended through October 17 at American Conservatory Theater, 415 Geary Street, San Francisco. Tickets, starting from $10, are available online at www.act-sf.org or by phone at 415.749.2228. ____________________
Ab San Card
Graphic courtesy of Absolutely San Francisco
Absolutely San Francisco is a one-woman musical comedy by Anne Doherty. It was an East Bay hit in 2006. Now it comes to the city it is about. Former Second City actress Karen Hirst returns as our favorite ‘60s casualty “Sunshine the Homeless Lady.” Ab San takes a heartfelt musical "trip" through life, love and the San Francisco experience.
Ab San opens Friday, September 24 (through Saturday, October 23) at Phoenix Theatre, 414 Mason Street, Suite 601, San Francisco. Tickets ($25) are available online at http://www.absolutelysanfrancisco.com or by phone at the box office: 415.433.1235. ______________________
Mr. Peanut in his Holiday costume
Photo by Rick Markovich
Mr. Peanut celebrates the Holidays with Steve Silver's Beach Blanket BabylonSeasonal Extravaganza beginning November 17. The world's longest running musical revue, welcomes this holiday season with special performances featuring a chorus line of tap dancing Christmas trees, special parodies of traditional Christmas carols and a gigantic Yuletide hat. Tickets ($25 to $134) are available on Monday, September 27 at 10 a.m. at the Beach Blanket Babylon Box Office, 678 Green Street, San Francisco, online at www.beachblanketbabylon.com or by phone at 415.421.4222. _____________________
The 19th Annual San Francisco Fringe Festival will present more than 200 shows of more than 40 unique, unexpected, uncensored theatre pieces, most under one hour in length. Information about these plays can be found online at The EXIT
Paper Angels by San Francisco native Genny Lim will appear as a free part of The Fringe at Portsmouth Square, Kearney & Clay Streets, San Francisco on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, September 15, 16 & 17 at dusk, about 7:30 pm. The multimedia production addresses immigration politics with archival footage of Angel Island, a 2-piece traditional Chinese
music ensemble, Chinese Opera, and an ensemble of 12 multi-ethnic actors.
The19th Annual San Francisco Fringe Festival will present more than 200 shows of more than 40 unique, unexpected, uncensored theatre pieces, most under one hour in length. Information about these plays can be found at www.theexit.org: 32,700 Instants of Horror Angina Monologues AROUSAL Bad Day to be a Juggler Baggage: A Non-Musical Romp Through One Catholic Gay Man's Dating History Boys Together Clinging: The Gay Poetry of Walt Whitman The Burnings The Burroughs and Kookie Show: Late Night in the Interzone Cafe Lorraine The Dark Season DREAMA Eat Our Shorts - A Peek Behind San Francisco Neighborhoods Good Grief! Confessions of a Peanuts Junkie Graffiti Highway He/She and Me Holy Fuck Homeless Invisible Joe's Café Last Fare Levitate Little Tainted Blood Love & Sex in the Earth's Spin Cycle Magnum Opus Theatre Presents: "Star Crossed Love" Man on Sex OPM's Green Tea Party Paper Angels Phil the Void; The Great Brain Robbery Phone Whore Queer in the U.S.A. The Redhead Roadkill Hour Road Trip to Pluto: The Bitter Planet The Secret Language The Self Rose - A One Woman Show The Stories of Cesar Chavez Theme Park VITCH Slapped The V05 Experience Wegent & Page Give It Another Try The Weight Game What About the Couch? Zero to 90 in 90 Minutes Zinnia Rosenblatt
Performances run through September 19 at the EXIT, 156 Eddy Street, and at EXIT on Taylor, 277 Taylor Street, San Francisco. Tickets (no ticket more than $10; $12.99 online) are available online at www.theexit.org or at the at the Green Room at the EXIT where 50% of the tickets are available for $10 or less on a first-come, first-serve basis starting 30 minutes before the show. CASH ONLY/ limit 4 tickets per person. ______________________
Guy Writers will present a series of short plays at The Fringe
Relationship coach Lambeth Sterling will present her one-woman comedy show about dating, marriage and surviving both as part of the San Francisco Fringe Festival. This smart show is written and performed by Lambeth to save theatergoers thousands of dollars and years, perhaps decades, of confusion in their love lives. LA Theatre Review characterizes her show as “completely unsympathetic and unsentimental.”
Love & Sex in the Earth’s Spin Cycle plays September 11 at 4:00 PM, September 12 at 1:00 PM, September 18 at 10:00 PM and September 19 at 4:00 PM at Exit Studio, 156 Eddy Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($7) are available online at Brown Paper Tickets or by phone at 415.673.3847. More information can be found at SF Fringe, www.lambethsterling.com and on YouTube. ________________________
Darlene Popovic
Photo by Kent Taylor
As part of New Conservatory’s summer cabaret series, San Francisco stage veteran Darlene Popovic sings from works of the venerable writing team Kander & Ebb. In addition to popular numbers from the musical theatre productions Cabaret and Chicago, Darlene will also perform songs from Kander & Ebb’s lesser-known shows such as The Act, The Rink and The Happy Time. A long-time favorite with Bay Area audiences, Darlene brings her unique brand of comedy and song to the evening.
Darlene will perform How Lucky Can You Get? Through September 11 in Theatre Three at The New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco. Tickets ($20 to $28) are available at the NCTC Box Office 415. 861. 8972, or online at www.nctcsf.org. _____________________
Marvin Greene as Mark Antony and Marcia Pizzo as Cleopatra
Photo by Kim Taylor
Marin Shakespeare Company presents William Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, an adventure on the ancient Nile River. Marvin Greene as Mark Antony, an aging soldier and world leader, is enthralled by the legendary Egyptian queen's charms in this sweeping, passionate love story about a powerful man derailed by the enchantment of Cleopatra, an extraordinary woman, played by Marcia Pizzo. Some outstanding local talent – who have worked together previously – will play other parts, such as William Elsman as a Clown, Darren Bridgett (Don’t let him steal your wine.), and Cat Thompson. Lesley Schisgall Currier directs this outdoor event with free onsite parking and comfortable bench seating at Forest Meadows Amphitheatre, 1475 Grand Avenue, Dominican University of California, San Rafael. Warm clothing, jackets and blankets are recommended for evening performances.
Antony and Cleopatra opens August 28 (through September 25). Tickets ($20 to $35) are available online at www.marinshakespeare.org or by phone at 415.499.4488.
Stacy Ross and Jud Wiliford as the murderous Macbeths
Photo courtesy of California Shakespeare Festival
Lust for power, regicide and the prophecies of witches figure largely in William Shakespeare’s drama Macbeth. California Shakespeare Festival opens a new production of this supernatural tragedy that takes place in a dreamy world where witchcraft is part of everyday reality. Director Joel Sass with an ensemble of eight actors will make a vivid and highly charged interpretation of this epic tale of unbridled ambition.
DISCLAIMER from CalShakes’ press release: PLEASE NOTE: Macbeth is a play about the dark side of humanity, and this production does not shy away from the brutal, violent nature of the work. We recommend you use your discretion in bringing young children to this production.
Macbeth opens August 18 (through September 12) at 100 Gateway Boulevard, Orinda California. Tickets ($39 to $69) are available online at CalShakes tix or by phone at 510.548.9666. __________________________
Dreya Weber as Cleopatra in ZinZanni's risqué Hail Caesar!
Photo courtesy of Karen Ames
Teatro ZinZanni presents a colossal epic of music, laughter, romance, desire, and dinner when a resurrected Cleopatra sets her sights on a fast-talking, wise-cracking chef named Caesar. ZinZanni's risqué new romp through Egyptian history Hail Caesar! opens August 19 at Pier 29 in the Embarcadero.
The show features irrepressible impressionist Frank Ferrante as Caesar and introduces acclaimed actress, musician, aerialist, and choreographer Dreya Weber as Cleopatra. Martha Davis, chanteuse of The Motels will provide her original compositions.
The show is presented in a gorgeous antique setting the Spiegeltent, imported from Belgium and nicknamed the Palais Nostalgique, that boasts stained glass, hand-carved wooden interior columns, polished crystal and mirrors, for ten years a permanent fixture and an integral part of the lively entertainment and culinary scene in San Francisco. It offers a bewitching blend of European cabaret, cirque arts like a vertical tango, music, and comedy, combined with a five-course gourmet dinner. The performers are likely to come to your table.
Hail Caesar! plays August 19 (through October 31) at Pier 29 on the Embarcadero (at Battery Street), San Francisco. The regular schedule runs Wednesday through Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 5 p.m. Tickets ($117 to $145; includes dinner) are available at the on-site Box Office weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and weekends from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., online at www.lovezinzanni.org or by phone at 415/438-2668. _____________________
The ensemble performs three of Tennessee Williams' plays
Photo courtesy of David Perry
For "Tenn Will," Boxcar Theatre presents their biggest project to date: three sizzling Tennessee Williams plays running in repertory. Peter Matthews and Nick Olivera, Boxcar's Artistic Directors decided on this very ambitious festival in the Natoma Street black box theatre with three openings in successive weeks, then going into a traditional nightly rep schedule with Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Directed by Jeffrey Hoffman), A Streetcar Named Desire (Directed by Rebecca Longworth) and The Glass Menagerie (Directed by Jessica Holt). The Tenn Will Project, as it is being referred to by the artistic team, caps off a 13-play season and defines Boxcar's season of "Re-Imagining the Familiar." The ensemble cast will stage some of America's greatest dramatic literature beginning with Cat on July 23.
Performances of Tenn Will begin July 23 and continue through August 28 at 505 Natoma Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($15; $40 for a festival pass) are available online at Boxcar Theatre. _________________________
Maureen McVerry
Photo courtesy of David Allen
The brilliant and highly eccentric musical theatre singer and comedic cabaret artist Maureen McVerry will be making her solo debut for one night only Sunday, June 6 at the Eureka Theatre as part of the C.O.O.L. Cabaret Festival – Sunday Spotlight Series.
The critically acclaimed McVerry presents her ever-evolving cabaret show with a new salute to female lyricists, love and the pursuit of gratefulness. She is a zany performer with a strikingly expressive face, a warm pleasant voice and an irrepressible sense of humor. Her castaway lines while she is singing are a show in themselves. Her premeditated asides come across as genuine spur-of-the-moment improvisation, She has performed nationwide and locally at New Conservatory Theatre, Herbst Theatre, the Plush Room, the Venetian Room, and the Alcazar. Musical direction is by Dave Dobrusky. the stalwart pianist and Music Director of The City's own Broadway musical revivers 42nd Street Moon.
C.O.O.L. Cabaret Festival seeks to showcase up-and-coming cabaret singers, alongside well seasoned
entertainers. They present six diverse showcases and four open-mic evenings featuring professional performers from Bay Area musical theatres and groups including 42nd Street Moon, Lamplighters, The SF Gay Men’s Chorus, and vocal artists from the local cabaret and performance scene. The Festival runs throigh June 27 Eureka Theatre, 215 Jackson Street.
Verry McVerry plays at 7:00 pm, Sunday June 6 at the Eureka Theatre, 215 Jackson Street,San Francisco. Tickets ($17) are available online at http://brownpapertickets.com or by phone at 415.347.5625. _______________________
The San Francisco Skyline hat
Photo courtesy of Jo Schuman Silver Productions
The finalists will perform live at Club Fugazi in competition for a $10,000.00 "Scholarship for the Arts." Master of Ceremonies for the evening will be Star 101.3's Don Bleu. The celebrity panel of judges scheduled to appear include San Francisco's Mr. Nightlife Harry Denton, KGO Radio's critic Jerry Friedman, Smuin Ballet's Celia Fushille, composer Jake Heggie, actress Rita Moreno, California Shakespeare Theater's Artistic Director Jonathan Moscone, American Conservatory Theater's Artistic Director Carey Perloff, ABC7's Don Sanchez, Berkeley Repertory Theatre's Tony Taccone and KRON4/KCBS Radio's Jan Wahl. Jo Schuman Silver, producer of Steve Silver's Beach Blanket Babylon, announced the selection of the finalists who will compete in each category of BBB staples: acting, dancing and singing. One winner in each category will be presented with a check for $10,000 towards their college education. Students will come from schools as far away as San Jose and Novato. Only one San Francisco school will be represented. Tickets are available at www.beachblanketbabylon.com or by phone at 415.421.4222.
Evren Odcikin is a highly innovative San Francisco theatre director who involves the audience intimately in his productions. Boxcar Theatre continues their fourth season with Evren's take on the absurdist masterpiece Rhinoceros by Eugene Ionesco. When everyone else is turning into the creature with the rough skin, how can you resist joining the noisy herd? As with his company elastic future, Evren invites the audience to immerse themselves fully in the show. All the chairs are removed from the black-box theater and the audience can move about the stage. Don't you feel the pressure to change? RHINO plays through May 29 at Boxcar Theatre, 505 Natoma Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($14 to $25) are available online at www.boxcartheatre.org and by phone at 415.776.1747.
Photo courtesy of Boxcar Theatre _______________________
Reg
(Anthony Fusco, left) and his wife, Sarah (Marcia Pizzo), bring a drunk and
rowdy Norman (Manoel Felciano) into the garden for some fresh air.
Photo by Kevin Berne
We watch unhappy people get better in Alan Ayckbourn’s hilarious voyeuristic play about love and marriage, now at American Conservatory Theater. Librarian Norman and the other characters move through hysterical libidinous circumstances in the garden of the English middle-class house where the rest of the Norman Conquests trilogy takes place. John Rando directs Ayckbourn’s efficient stagecraft with comedy and attention to human details. Plays through May 23 at the American Conservatory Theater, 415 Geary Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($10 to $82) are available by calling A.C.T. Ticket Services at 415.749.2228 or by visiting www.act-sf.org
Scott Baker (L) as Doctor John Faustus and Valerie Fachman (R) as Mephistophele
Photo by Rick Razo
A welcome Bay Area transplant from Chicago, the troupe Performers Under Stress opens their season with the west-coast premiere of a lean, tragicomic version of the Faustus story, presenting Doctor Faustus in the last hour of his final night on earth -- irritated, whining, drunk, and unrepentant. Over the course of this hour, he rails against his silent servant Mephistopheles and tells the fantastic tale of a life filled with wonders and vast evil. An Apology … plays through May 22 at The Garage, 975 Howard Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($10 to $15) are available online at http://pustheatre.com or by phone at 415.585.1221. ____________________
May and Johnny Graham (Megan Hopp and Anil
Margsahayam) rehearse one of their father's old vaudeville routines in
42nd Street Moon’s musical Very Warm for May.
Photo by David Allen
42nd Street Moon presents the glorious 1939 Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein musical about an amiable screwball matron who sponsors an avant-garde musical theatre director and his troupe of performers on her estate, with wildly comic consequences. Songs include "All the Things You Are" and "That Lucky Fellow." Opens May 5 (through May 23) at Eureka Theatre, 215 Jackson Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($19 to $44) are available online at http://42ndStreetMoon.org/42newweb/boxoffice/tickets.htm or by phone at 415.255.8207. _________________________
Josh Kornbluth
Photo by Stan Barouh
The irreverent Marxist comedian Josh Kornbluth performs his monologue about his Jewification of Andy Warhol in response to his controversial 1980 screen print series, Ten Portraits of Jews. Kornbluth says, “I put a Jewish beard and side locks and a yarmulke on him." Working on the museum-commissioned piece, Kornbluth discovered his own suppressed religious identity and Warhol’s spiritual dimensions. Opens April 8 (through June 20) at The Jewish Theatre, 470 Florida Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($20 to $45) are available online at www.tjt-sf.org or by phone at 415.292.1233. _________________________
An aerialist performs with City Circus
Photo courtesy of City Circus
Tim Barsky of The Bright River is back with an urban fairy tale about a little girl named Echo who lives with a circus inside of a prison. Searching for freedom, she encounters a magical world populated by aerialists, contortionists and musicians. The show includes live music, break dancing, acrobatics, a stunt juggler, and beat boxing by Carlos Aguirre. Acrosports presents City Circus in Echo’s Reach opening April 30 (through May 30) at Brava Theater Center, 2781 24th Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($14 to $35) are available online at www.citycircus.org or by phone at 415.665.2275.
The Diary of Anne Frank By
popular demand, Custom Made adds 8 shows:
May 2, 6-9, 13-15
Thurs-Sat 8pm; Sun 7pmHit
show must close May 15th to make room for Durang Me!
Soprano Leslie Sandefur sings Magda
Photo Courtesy of Pocket Opera
In Giacomo Puccini's lyric three-act opera from 1917, charming Magda the swallow finds momentary ideal love, but flies back to Rambaldo, leaving Ruggero heart-broken. This Italian comic opera begins at a cocktail party in Magda's salon and moves through Mid-19th Century France. The lovely Leslie Sandefur sings Magda two performances only, Saturday April 24 and Sunday May 9, both at 2:00 pm. Donald Pippin's Pocket Opera will play in the Florence Gould Theatre at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor, 34th Avenue and Clement Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($20 to $34) are available online at Pocket Opera or by phone at 415.972.8930. ________________________
(l to r) Ryder Bach and Jason Hite star in a world-premiere musical
Photo courtesy of kevinberne.com
A Midwestern romance unfolds in a new musical wound around the love songs of the landmark 1991 rock album Girlfriend by Matthew Sweet. With a live band of top local musicians, the music and lyrics tell the eternal story of meeting in homeroom, holding hands, cheering from the stands, and that awkward first kiss, all turned upside down. In this world premiere at Berkeley Rep, boy meets boy. It’s an innocent, dual-Romeo duet. Rolling Stone called it a "breathless testimony of a fool for love, a rock ‘n’ roll valentine." Tickets ($13.50 to $71) are available online at www.berkeleyrep.org or by phone at 510.647.2949. ______________
The biggest Bay Area theatre gathering of the year will be on Monday, May 3. The Sam Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle proudly hosts their 34th Annual Awards Ceremony to celebrate theatre excellence during 2009. And tickets are on sale now! Awards will be given at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre Lobby for outstanding achievement in the following categories. Touring, Over 300 Seat Theatres (Drama and Musical), 100-300 Seat Theatres (Drama and Musical)m and Under 99 Seat Theatres (Drama and Musical). The complete list of Nominees is at www.theatrebayarea.org/programs.
Representing print and electronic media, the Critics Circle will announce the winners of 37 Drama awards and 38 Musical awards from more than 250 nominated actors, designers, productions, and more that were reviewed in 2009. The 23 critics in the Circle saw more than 400 productions from San Jose to Santa Rosa and San Francisco to Concord.
Following the economic disasters of 2002, the Circle’s corporate donations disappeared. And the theatre galas that had been an eagerly-anticipated annual event with 400-plus attendees became small invitation-only affairs for award-winners only. But this year with the generous support of the Actors Equity Association (sponsor of this year’s event), the Circle once again invites the public to gather and celebrate! These parties are tremendous fun and feature an electric atmosphere of award hopefuls and appreciative theatre-goers. For one fun night only, the fourth wall is stripped away, and those amazing actors are up close and personal for elbow-rubbing and/or admiring from afar.
The San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle is a wide-ranging bunch of strong personalities with strong opinions. We span about a 50-year age range with 15 male and 8 female critics. At meetings we discuss the wonderful theatre we’ve seen as well as complain about what we didn’t like. Like any family, we agree and disagree passionately. But we all concur that there’s an outstanding variety of theatre excellence throughout the Bay Area to be recognized and celebrated.
Actors Equity is the proud sponsor of the SFBATCC Awards. Actors' Equity, which represents over 1000 professional stage actors and stage managers in the Bay Area, shares with the Critics Circle a common goal to support professional Equity theatres in order to improve the livelihood of the artists who work in those theatres.
All are invited to join the Circle in recognizing and applauding the talented theatre folk who make magic on our local stages. In addition to presenting the Awards, there will be light refreshments and entertainment. Dress is business casual to formal. And, hey, there’s free parking.
Tickets are on sale now for the 34th Annual Awards Ceremony on May 3 (Monday, doors open at 6pm, awards begin at 7:30pm) at Palace of Fine Arts Theatre Lobby, 3301 Lyon Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($20) are available at www.brownpapertickets.com or may be purchased at the door the night of the event ($20 cash only). _____________________
San Francisco
Opera World Premiere Collaboration with Alonzo King LINES Ballet
The San Francisco Opera Adler Fellows, one of the most
prestigious vocal training programs in the country, and contemporary dance
company LINES Ballet performance work is rounded off by the hypnotic Rasa, a concept
fundamental to many Indian art forms,
including dance, music, musical theatre, cinema, and literature.
Tabla master Zakir Hussain provides the music. Opens April 16
(through April 25) at Yerba
Buena Center
for the Arts, 701 Mission Street,
San Francisco. Tickets ($15 to
$65) are available online at www.ybca.org or by
phone at 415.978.2787.
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This festival of new short plays by local playwrights presents eight cutting edge works based on a variety of true life events from the past year. The comedy and drama range from digs at Presidential appointments, swine flu, MUNI fiascoes, cults, and Bernie Madoff with such hilarious, edgy plays as "MUNI Aphrodite" and "Bernie & Ruth: A Love Story." Plays March 25, 26 and 27, 8:00 pm (reception each night 7:00 pm) at the Phoenix Theatre, 414 Mason Street, 6th Floor (handicap accessible), San Francisco. Tickets ($25) are available online at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/94337 or by phone at 415.885.8526 More information available at http://www.phoenixtheatresf.org. _____________________
Andrew Hurteau, Lance Gardner, Craig Marker and Andy Murray
Photo by Kevin Berne
Marin Theatre Company
goes behind the scenes of the Globe Theatre. King James commissions
William Shakespeare to write a play about the thwarted Gunpowder Plot
attempt on his life. In Bill Cain’s high-stakes political thriller, the
Bard must struggle to stage the truth. Opens March 30 (through April
25) at MTC, 397 Miller Avenue, Mill Valley. Tickets ($31 to $51) are
available online at www.marintheatre.org or by phone at 415.388.5208. _____________________
ACT presents the return to its stage of acclaimed artists Olympia Dukakis and Marco Barricelli in a macabre dark comedy written and directed by Morris Panych (The Overcoat). A selfish and embittered drudge arrives at his dying aunt's run-down apartment, and can't wait for her to kick off. But she is in no hurry, and their relationship takes an unexpected turn. Previews begin March 25; opens March 31 (through April 18) at American Conservatory Theater, 415 Geary Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($10 to $82) are available online at www.act-sf.org or by phone at 415.749.2228. ___________________________
Karen Mason
Photo courtesy of Bay Area Cabaret
Cabaret diva Karen Mason originated the rôle of Tanya in Broadway's Mamma Mia! and played Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard for three years. She returns to The City for the first time since her acclaimed 2007 show with a new program of showstoppers and pop originals with songs by Shelly Markham, Paul Rolnick, Jules Styne, Lennon & McCartney, and more. She plays one evening only Sunday, March 28 at the Empire Ballroom, Sir Francis Drake Hotel, 450 Powell St., San Francisco. Tickets ($40 to $45) are available online at www. bayareacabaret.org or by phone at 415.392.4400. ______________________
The stage at Brava Theater Center
Photo courtesy of Brava! for Women in the Arts
Brava! for Women in the Arts presents its first musical, Scalpel! This new rock musical, written (and directed) by D’Arcy Drollinger, cuts deep into two great American obsessions: beauty and conspiracy. Youth and perfection are commodities worth killing for. Opens Wednesday, March 31 (through April 17) at Brava Theater Center, 2781 24th Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($20 to $40) are available online at www.brava.org or by phone at 415.647.2822. _________________
A Darling girl flies in Peter Pan
Peter Pan shots From the smash London production courtesy of Three Sixty Entertainment Ltd.
Peter Pan flies over Edwardian London at the Ferry Plaza. Three Sixty Entertainment Ltd. presents the U. S. premiere of the hit show from J. M. Barrie's novel in the world's first 360-degree video projection for live theatre. A muscular Pan and the Darling children fly through the city and off to meet the Lost Boys and Captain Hook in a specially constructed tent with thousands of square feet of projection space. The circular performance venue focuses the energy of the show. Erected in the Ferry Park, the site will also feature a free "100 Years of Peter Pan" exhibit, Peter Pan merchandise and food and beverages. The show opens in preview April 27 and continues through May 7 at the threesixty Theatre at Ferry Park on the Embarcadero opposite the Ferry Building, foot of Market Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($30 to $125; backstage tours or picnics $15) are available online at http://peterpantheshow.com/#/tickets_and_info or by phone at 888.PPANTIX (888.772.6849); more information at http://www.shnsf.com. You can also Follow Peter Pan on Facebook. ______________________
(l - r) Vivan Kane as Desdaemona, Jeff Handy as Othello and Aimee McCrary as Iago
Photographer: David Allen
In an incendiary interpretation of one of the Bard’s greatest tragedies, African-American Shakespeare Company sets the action during a modern-day military tribunal in Iraq. Told from Othello, Desdemona and Iago’s perspectives, the production recounts Othello and Desdemona’s courtship, her later flirtation with another man and Othello’s sudden turn against her. Each testimony provides more details to make it clear that Iago has been the evil behind it all. Opens March 25 (through April 18) at African American Art & Culture Complex, 762 Fulton Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($20 to $30) are available online at www.African-AmericanShakes.org or by phone at 800.838.3006. ___________________
Four disabled men and their frustrated social worker
Photo courtesy of Ross Valley Players
Ross Valley Players produce Tom Griffin's poignant and charming play about four mentally disabled men who live in a group home. Their conditions vary from mildly retarded, retarded and profoundly retarded to schizophrenic, and there is only one burnt-out social worker for the four of them. Little things sometimes become momentous and often humorous. Opens Friday, March 19 (through April 18) at RVP’s Barn Theatre, Marin Art & Garden Center, 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Ross. Tickets ($20 to $25) are available online at www.rossvalleyplayers.com or by phone at 415.456.9555. ________________________
The 2010
Corpus Christi Spring Compassion Tour touches San Francisco for one night only at Grace
Cathedral. Terrence McNally's play about the life of Jesus as a young gay man
coming of age in 1950s Texas
is filled with passion. The setting in the magnificent Gothic Cathedral has
been successfully mounted before by 108 Productions. It gives the play more
impact. Plays Friday, March 19, 7:00 pm at Grace Cathedral,
1100 California Street,
San Francisco. For tickets phone
415.749.6355 or
email concerts@gracecathedral.org. _____________________
Sarah Kathleen Farrell portrays Lizzie in Ray of Light Theatre's production of BABY: A Musical
Photo courtesy of Ray of Light Theatre Company
Ray of Light Theatre presents this award-winning musical about impending parenthood for three expectant couples. On a university campus the six deal with painful, rewarding and agonizingly funny consequences. The college students are barely at the beginning of their adult lives. The thirty-somethings are determined to overcome their trouble conceiving. The middle-age empty-nest parents let a night of unexpected passion put them back where they started. Opens March 19 (April 18) at Off-Market Theaters, 965 Mission Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($25 to $36) are available online at www.roltheatre.com or by phone at 800.838.3006. _____________________
Martin F. Grizzelle, Jr. as Brer Bit in ...and Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi
Photo Courtesy of Cutting Ball Theater
Not only does Jesus moonwalk, but trees preach and rivers dance in Marcus Gardley's imaginative poetic work, produced by Cutting Ball. Set in Civil War Mississippi on the banks of the River, the play combines traditional storytelling, gospel music and humor to tell of a runaway slave Demeter who searches for her lost daughter. Opens March 12 (through April 25) at the Cutting Ball Theater in Residence at EXIT on Taylor, 277 Taylor Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($15 to $30) are available online at www.cuttingball.com or by phone at 800.838.3006. ____________________
(l-r) Matt Weimer, Beatrice Basso in We Won't Pay! We Won't Pay!
Photo by Suzan Kendall
Eastenders Repertory Company presents We Won’t Pay! We Won’t Pay! by Italian farcist Dario Fo. Working class housewives “liberate” some items from a store, then spin absurdly and hilariously out of control as they dodge their hotheaded spouses, the local police and even a gullible state trooper. Presented with premieres of short works Inspired by Fo. Opens Friday, March 5 (through March 21) at Eureka Theatre Company, 215 Jackson Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($15 to $25) are available online at www.brownpapertickets.com or by phone at 510.568.4118. _____________________
Den of Thieves The SF Playhouse presents an outrageous black comedy about a shoplifter looking to change her life, her sponsor in a twelve-step program, her drug-dealing ex-boyfriend, and a topless dancer who band together to steal drug money. They become prisoners in a mob boss' basement and have until sunrise to make a decision. Opens March 9 (through April 17) at The SF Playhouse, 533 Sutter Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($40) are available online at www.sfplayhouse.org or by phone at 415.677.9596. _____________________
A Birthday Celebration Concert
Linda Kosut will sing for her own birthday bash at the Rrazz Room on the 22nd. The award- winning jazz/cabaret vocalist sings Beatles, Berlin, Dylan, and others with a warm dark sound. Her show will include lively inter-song patter, strong acting and all new material in her unique style. Her Special Guest will be Arnaldo! Drag Chanteuse. The one-night-only party will be at 8:00 pm Monday, March 22 at The Rrazz Room in the Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($25 in advance; $30 at door; 2 - drink min) are available by phone at 866.468.3399.
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Kindra Scharich
Photo courtesy of Kindra Scharich
Donald Pippin's Pocket Opera presents Rossini's sparkling version of the classic Cinderella myth. Once upon a time, a very sweet, good-natured girl lived with her foolish stepfather and her two jealous half-sisters, who treated her badly. A handsome prince in search of a wife gave a ball to which only two of the three girls were invited. Kindra Scharich as Angelina is one of the best Rossini mezzo-sopranos in America. Tenor Jonathan Smucker as Prince Ramiro has a clear and brilliant voice for the part. Plays Saturday, February 27 and Sunday, Feb. 28 (2pm) at The Palace of the Legion of Honor, 100 34th Avenue, San Francisco. Then to the Napa Valley Opera House, Napa, on Sunday, March 7. Tickets ($20 to $37) are available online at www.pocketopera.org or by phone at 415.972.8934. ______________________
Amelia Mulkey, Kendra Owens and A.J. Davenport
Photo by Lois Tema Photography
In the dark swamp of Sugar Bean, Florida a family lives under an ancient curse. Then tragedy strikes when a mysterious and brutal murder places the family in grave danger. Annabelle, the last in a long-line of "Sugar Witches,” attempts to end the curse. New Conservatory presents Nathan Sanders' Southern Gothic play about dark family secrets, unusual passions, madness, truth, the destructive legacy of racism, and spirits of the dead haunting the hearts of all who reside there. Opens on Saturday, March 6 (through April 11; previews begin February 26) at The New Conservatory Theatre Center (Decker Theatre), 25 Van Ness Avenue near Market Street in San Francisco. Tickets ($22 to $40) are available online at www.nctcsf.org or by phone at 415.861.8972. _________________________
Ancient pulp novels come to life at Brava
Photo courtesy of Hetal Petal
Brava! for Women in the Arts presents a story about Laura who discovers love with her college roommate Beth, who is waging an internal war between her duty as a wife and mother and her true love for Laura. In 1961 Greenwich Village Laura befriends Jack, a flamboyant fop with caustic wit, crushes on her straight roommate Marcie, and falls into the bed of the title character, a lesbian who has slept with half the West Village. Adapted from award-winning pulp novels of the 1950s and '60s, this drama opens February 25 (through March 13) at Brava Theater Center, 2781 24th Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($25 to $30) are available online at www.brava.org or by phone at 415.641.7657. ___________________
Joanna Haigood,
Idris Ackamoor and Rhodessa Jones in The Breach
Photo courtesy of
Cultural Odyssey
Aerial
choreographer Joanna Haigood, with artist, writer
and activist Rhodessa Jones perform a
Cultural Odyssey production under the direction of
musician Idris Ackamoor. They weave theatre, aerial dance, music, and
multimedia into an ever-changing composition of redemption and reconciliation. This
drama opens February 18 (through Feb. 28) at African-American Art & Culture
Complex, 762 Fulton Street,
San Francisco. Tickets ($10 to
$50) are available online at www.culturalodyssey.org or by phone at 415.292.1850. _____________________
Mark Bird as Dr, Cukrowitz and Larissa Archer as Catharine in the Actors Theatre production of Tennessee Williams' Suddenly Last Summer
Photo courtesy of Actors Theatre of San Francisco
Actors Theatre presents Tennessee Williams' southern gothic drama about cannibalism, homosexuality and family pride. Williams set this poetic work in the Garden district of New Orleans on a summer evening. The cousin of a dead poet believes she has witnessed "something unspeakable." The poet's mother goes to extraordinary lengths to stop her from telling about the events of last summer and to "preserve the memory and reputation of her son." This production is directed by Christian Phillips and opens Friday February 19 (through March 27) at Actors Theatre of San Francisco, 855 Bush Street. Tickets ($15 to $35) are available online at www.ticketweb.com or by phone at 415.345.1287. _____________________
The critically acclaimed ATOS Trio
In concert Sunday
Photo by Gela Megrelidze
The Mill Valley Chamber Music Society features the prize-winning ATOS Trio with a program featuring Ludwig van Beethoven's Trio in G major, op.1 No.2; Gaspar Cassadó's Trio in C major; and Johannes Brahms' Trio No.1 in B major, op.8. The Trio has been praised for their warmth of sound, commitment to a wide-ranging repertoire and their uncomplicated approach to fine interpretations and engaging performances. They have rapidly developed a strong reputation as one of the finest young chamber ensembles performing today. Their tour plays once only 5:00 p.m. Sunday, February 21 at Mt. Tamalpais United Methodist Church, 410 Sycamore Avenue, Mill Valley. Tickets ($10 to $25) are available online at www.brownpapertickets.com or by phone at 800.838.3006. _____________________
Forever Broadway!
John Bisceglie's SF Follies
presents the ultimate all singing, all dancing salute to Broadway. Over
sixty Bay Area performers will take part in this celebration of 100
years of Broadway. This high energy cabaret consert combines Broadway
classics with songs from today's hottest shows. Such musicals as South
Pacific and Avenue Q are drawn from, and songs like "Matchmaker" and
"Anything Goes" are chosen. Opens February 27 at Herbst Theatre, 401
Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, moving to the South Side Theater at
Fort Mason Center (through March 28). Tickets ($25) are available
online at www.sffollies.com or by phone at 415.392.4400. ______________________
Caucasian Chalk Circle
Omozé Idehenre as Grusche, the servant girl that takes in baby Michael during wartime
Photo by Kevin Berne
ACT presents a new production of Bertolt Brecht's modernist parable. In
the drama, a peasant girl steals an abandoned baby and becomes a better
mother than the wealthy mother who returns to claim the boy. Their
fates lie in an unpredictable judge who is only concerned for his own
hide. This play-within-a-play finds a company of actors creating the
play from the rubble of war. Objects turn into set pieces, discarded
clothing becomes a costume and shrapnel is made into musical
instruments. This spectacular new interpretation, in a brand-new
translation by Domenique Lozano, is a masterpiece of romance, hope,
humor, and unexpected plot twists. Opens February 18 (through March 14)
at American Conservatory Theater, 415 Geary Street, San Francisco.
Tickets ($10 to $82) are available online at www.act-sf.org or by phone
at 415.749.2228 . -----------------------------------
9th Annual Bay One Acts Festival
BOA Playwrights (L-R) Megan Cohen, William Bivins, Jon Brooks, Stuart Bousel, Ben Fisher, and Crish Barth
photo by Marc Pâquette
Three Wise Monkeys Theatre Company produces a selection of short new plays by local playwrights. Ranging in length from 5 to 30 minutes, the spirited program includes innovative world premieres in two programs. Subjects range from a 5-minute story of domestic conflict to a parody of the perils of copyright infringement. Opens February 18 (through March 13; Program 2 opens February 25, and both programs run in repertory for the final two weeks of the festival.) at Boxcar Playhouse, 505 Natoma Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($16 to $24) are available online at www.threewisemonkeys.org or by phone at 415.776.7427. ______________________
Mahalia: A Gospel Musical
Jeanie
Tracy as Mahalia
Photo courtesy of Lorraine Hansberry Theatre
Lorraine Hansberry Theatre
celebrates the opening of their new home with a show about the life and
artistry of Mahalia Jackson, the world's greatest gospel singer of the
1950s and '60s, featuring nationally acclaimed recording artist Jeanie
Tracy. Opens February 18 (through March 7) at Lorraine Hansberry
Theatre, 450 Post Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($18 to $40) are
available online at www.lorrainehansberrytheatre.com or by phone at
415.474.8800. _______________________
Brian Herndon and Amy Resnick in The Safe House
Photos by Nina Ball
A stay-at-home mother raising a pair of profoundly different twins finds the outside world threatening. She goes to extremes so she and her children June and July can survive, but real disaster might strike. This will be the first in SF Playhouse's "The Sandbox" series featuring bare-bones productions of World Premieres, led by Jon Tracy, Director of Artistic Development. Nancy Carlin directs this PlayGround co-production. Opens February 13 (through March 6; previews February 10-12) on Stage 2 at the SF Playhouse, 533 Sutter Street @ Powell, second floor, San Francisco. Tickets ($20 to $40) are available online at www.sfplayhouse.org or by phone at 415.677.9596. _____________________
(l - r) Scott Gessford as Jonathan, Holly Nugent as Susan, and Brian Yates Sharber as Michael in Jonathan Larson's tick, tick... BOOM!
Photo by Kent Taylor
Theatre Rhinoceros presents Jonathan Larson’s autobiographical rock musical with songs and half-funny,half-bitter tales of bad script readings and waiting tables before he began work on what would be his award-winning musical known as Rent. Opens February 10 (previews through Feb. 12; plays through Feb. 28) at Eureka Theatre, 215 Jackson Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($15 to $30; $10 tickets held for all performances at the door between 7:00 and 7:30 pm) are available online at www.brownpapertickets.com or www.TheRhino.org and by phone at 800.838.3006. ____________________
This world premiere play by MacArthur genius grant winner Luis Alfaro transforms Sophocles’ ancient Greek mythical play into an epic journey down dusty California highways from the Golden Gate Bridge to the City of Angels. This production uses a chorus of prison inmates and a sly Chicano swagger to create a humorous myth for the current age. Plays through February 28 at Magic Theatre, Building D, Fort Mason Center (Marina Blvd. and Buchanan St.), San Francisco. Tickets ($40 to $55) are available online at www.magictheatre.org or by phone at 415.441.8822. On Friday, February 19 Alfaro will present his one-man show No Holds Barrio, an evening of poetry, performance and tequila slamming.
(L to R) Romi Dias, Joshua Torrez. Photo by Jennifer Reiley _____________________
Rita Moreno and others will star at the Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation presentation of A Help Is On The Way all-star Valentine benefit concert to raise funds for service providers in the Bay Area through the production of quality entertainment events. Currently REAF produces three primary events, "Help is on the Way," "All You Need is Love" and a "One Night Only" series of benefit performances with the touring casts of Broadway shows. This one will feature a number of stars including Leslie Jordan and Rita Moreno on Monday February 8, 7:30 pm at Marines Memorial Theatre, 609 Sutter Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($45 to $125 & up) are available online at www.helpisontheway.org or by phone at 415.273.1620. _____________________
Ensemble
Parallèle will present a multimedia, cinematic reorchestration of Alban
Berg's stark expressionist opera about a
Nineteenth Century murder. Their exploration of hardship and
exploitation of the poor will use projections of images inspired
by German silent films. Impressive Bay Area vocal talents appearing include tenor
John Duykers and bass-baritone Bojan Knezevic as Wozzeck. Others appearing will
include SF Opera stars Philip Skinner as the Doctor and baritone Mark Hernandez
as Second Apprentice. Berg's musical style suits the subject
matter. This ensemble from San Francisco Conservatory of Music plans to present
a challenging contemporary chamber opera. Wozzeck plays January 30
and 31 at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission Street, San
Francisco. Tickets ($25 to $85) are available online at http://www.ybca.org/tickets or by
phone at 415.978.2787. ____________________
Aly Mawji and Lorri Holt
Photo by Jessica Palopoli
The comedy about a hip-hopping origami prodigy and his teacher explores life, love and creases. Local origami artists will provide a 48" hawk, a 16" T-Rex, a "Hissing Cockroach," and an Amazonian toad for this West Coast Premiere of Rajiv Joseph's play. The story unfolds at The SF Playhouse, 533 Sutter Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($30 to $40) are available online at www.sfplayhouse.org or by phone at 415.677.9596. ____________________
Photo courtesy of Jerica Productions
RENT comes back, and this time it's a local show, not a touring production. The award-winning rock opera, based on Puccini's La Bohème, tells of young East Village artists and friends striving for success and acceptance in the face of poverty, illness and AIDS. Presented by The Royal Underground, the show opens January 22 (through February 21) at The Southside Theatre, Building D, Fort Mason Center, Bay and Laguna Streets, San Francisco. Tickets ($25 to $35) are available online at http://www.jericaproductions.com. ___________________
Christopher Kuckenbaker
photo by Ryan Wilkes
Two outcomes are possible in this dark two-act thriller. John makes the choice to reveal or conceal his extramarital affair with his wife's identical twin sister. With both women pregnant by him, both choices affect the lives of an entire family over 32 years. Twisting and turning parallel universes reveal what might lie beneath the surface of one person's actions. RIPE Theatre, EXIT Theatre's theater-in residence, brings back one of their most intriguing and thought-provoking plays January 21 (through February 6) at EXIT Stage Left, 156 Eddy Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($15 to $ 25) are available online at www.theexit.org or by phoning 415.673.3847. ______________________
Seana McKenna as Phèdre
Photo by David Hou. Courtesy Stratford
Shakespeare Festival
ACT brings to the stage the sensual poetry and heat of Timberlake Wertenbaker's modern translation. Racine's Seventeenth Century French tragedy, based on Greek mythology, will be presented in association with the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario Canada, and will star acclaimed Stratford actress Seana McKenna in the title role of Phèdre, the daughter of King Minos. While wife of King Theseus and the mother of two of his children, she falls in love with Hippolytus, her stepson.
This morbid love triangle -- as all Greek tragedy must be -- opens January20 (through February 7; in previews from Jan. 15) at American Conservatory Theater, 415 Geary Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($25 to $55) are available online at www.act-sf.org or by phone at 415.749.2ACT
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Ross Valley Players present Moliere's lively 17th-century French comedy of manners about sex, lies and greed. Rich, avaricious money-lender Harpagon doesn't want his family -- or anyone -- to have any of his fortune. Then he falls in love.
The Miser opens January 14 (through February 14) at The Barn Theatre in the Marin Art & Garden Center, 30 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, Ross. Tickets ($15 to $25) are available online at www.rossvalleyplayers.com or by phone at 415.456-9555.
The Chinese performing arts company presents classical dance and music in glorious color. Formerly called the "Chinese New Year Spectacular," this dynamic show presents an art form several millennia old. With leaps, spins and delicate gestures, against animated digital backdrops of blossoming landscapes and celestial palaces, the expressive performers conjure up ancient legends and heroic figures. This all-new show premieres over a dozen new dances and songs with live orchestra and original compositions using eminent vocalists backed by classical Western and Chinese instruments. The graceful routines and gorgeous costumes depict themes of kindness, compassion, and courage.
Presented by San Jose's New Tang Dynasty TV, Shen Yun opens 7:00 pm, January 2 (through Jan. 7) at the War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, then continues its tour at San Jose Center for the Performing Arts and at the Sacramento Community Center Theater. Tickets ($40 to $160) are available online at http://www.shenyunperformingarts.org/sf, by phone at 888.569.2009 or by email at sfgroup@ntdtv.com.
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Carly Ozard
Photo courtesy of www.rayrenati.com
Carly Ozard, a classically-trained mezzo-soprano, belts out a brassy encore presentation of her sold-out November cabaret show. At a larger venue she takes a new musical and comedic look at life's ups and downs. Backed by acoustic guitar and vocals, she will explore works by such artists as Leonard Bernstein, Rodgers & Hart, Alanis Morisette, and Queen. The show plays one night only 7:00 pm, Saturday January 9 at the Eureka Theatre, 215 Jackson Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($15) are available online at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/92574 or by phone at 415.374.5625.
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Florence Henderson, Broadway and "Brady Bunch" star, brings her new cabaret act to The Rrazz Room. She features songs from Oklahoma!, South Pacific, The Sound of Music and Annie Get Your Gun. The show retraces her life from her childhood as the 10th child of a sharecropper’s family where she both worked in the fields and sang for groceries. The singing actress also offers anecdotes about "a life on the boards of Broadway and the Brady set." She opens January 5 (through January 10) at The Rrazz Room, Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($40 to $47.50; special opening night price, $37.50) are available online at www.therrazzroom.com or by phone at 866.468.3399.
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InternationalTheaterEnsemble
begins a multi-art project to commemorate the two-century anniversary of the classic
Russian comedy author Nicolay Gogol. Their production of the famous comic
phantasmagoria is in an experimental avant-garde style presenting a collage of
live narration and modern technology. The piece was formed through
collaboration between software engineer and video artist Kevin Quennesson and
internationally renowned theatre director and performer Oleg Liptsin. With a
blend of interactive technology, live acting and Internet tools, they attempt
to create a modern interpretation of the classical myth.
Opens
at 8:00 pm, Thursday January 14 (through January 16) at Berkeley City
Club, 2315 Durant Avenue,
Berkeley. Tickets ($15 to $20)
are available online at www.brownpapertickets.com or by phone at 415.944.1555.
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Keith Hennessy’s Circo Zero presents a unique hybrid of circus performance and conceptual art with music and ritual. Keith gives his solo show Crotch (about the influential German artist Joseph Beuys). Collaborating with Jules Beckman and Seth Eisen, he also performs in How to Die, (a two-act about iconic, marginalized figures after 9/11: The Homeless and The Drug Addict). The season includes TOO MUCH! A Queer Marathon (10 continuous hours of performance featuring emerging and established LGBT artists).
How to Die opens 8:00 pm Friday January 15 (through January 17) at Dance Mission Theatre, 3316 24th Street, San Francisco. The West Coast premiere of Crotch opens Friday January 29 (through Jan. 31) also at Dance Mission. Tickets for either ($15 - $25) are available online at https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/82277 or by phone at 415.273.4633. TOO MUCH! a come-&-go-as-you-please party begins at 2:00 pm Sunday January 10 and runs until midnight at Mama Calizo’s Voice Factory, 1519 Mission Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($10) are available online at https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/82279. For more information call 415.401.9376.
The new touring production of Cirque de Soleil is currently playing Toronto Canada, but they will be bringing Ovo to San Francisco from the day after Thanksgiving to January 24, 2010. Then they will take their insects off to San Jose and then the rest of the world. The performers play insects inside the colorful tent in their loud display of stuning acrobatics and story telling. They live in an ecosystem teeming with insects working, eating, crawling, fluttering, playing, fighting, and looking for love.The insects' home of biodiversity and beauty is fillied with noisy action and moments of quiet emotion. But when a mysterious egg appears in their midst, the insects are awestruck and intensely curious about this iconic object that represents the cycles of their lives. Opening November 27 under the Grand Chapiteau tent to be set up at AT&T Park, tickets will range from $45.50 to $250, available at https://tickets.cirquedusoleil.com.
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The Cutting Ball Theater extends for the second time its 10th season opener, Eugène Ionesco’s hysterically funny comic masterpiece. Cutting Ball’s Director Rob Melrose produces his new translation of the 1950 French play. The Smiths are a traditional couple who have invited another couple, the Martins, over for a visit. Plans for a sedate evening soon give way to hilarious chaos as polite conversation turns to confusion and the two couples engage in an escalating battle of linguistic acrobatics with meaningless banter, stories and nonsensical poems. As one leaves, he mentions"the bald
soprano" in passing, which has a very unsettling effect on the others.
After his exit, the play becomes a series of non sequiturs that give
the impression that the characters are not even listening to each other
in their frantic efforts tomake their own voices heard. The production will add two weeks of performances January 7 to 24 at EXIT onTaylor, 277 Taylor Street, San Francisco.
Tickets ($15 to $30) are available at Brown Paper Tickets by phone at
800.838.3006 and online at http://www.cuttingball.com.
Brave Southern lawyer Atticus Finch with his daughter
Singer Emmylou Harris
Renee Fleming as Lucrezia Borgia.
Kirk Mills as Arnold
Joan Baez plays Madame Zinzanni
Zinxanni dinnertime enter-tainment from CALIENTE
Singing actress Betty Buckley has been variously described as mesmerizing, sultry, captivating, soulful, powerful, diva, icon, etc. Just a girl from Texas with a big voice is the way she described herself in a ’06 interview (
Graphic courtesy of Boxcar Theatre
3.0 The cast of Home Season 3.0
John unbuttons Alma's nightgown
Sarah Nealis who is playing Eliza
Jessica Coghill, Associate Member at Actors Theatre of San Francisco, will act in William Blake Sings the Blues.
San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle
Irene Theorin as Turandot
Paige Rogers as Ariadne
Mike Daisey earnestly makes his case
Smuin Ballet tappers
Juan Paulo Horvath and Victoria Galoto tango
Cabaret singer Wesla Whitfield
The Cast of Pearls
Butte, Montana miners
Vita the Zombie
Sketch comedy group Bitter Show 
Comedian Robin Williams is Going on the Road Down Under Recharging the Batteries.....Again
Flynn DeMarco and Bonni Suval in Kiss of Blood 
Wily servant Scapin (Bill Irwin) is up to no good.
Ab San Card
Mr. Peanut in his Holiday costume
The 19th Annual San Francisco Fringe Festival will present more than 200 shows of more than 40 unique, unexpected, uncensored theatre pieces, most under one hour in length. Information about these plays can be found online at 
Guy Writers will present a series of short plays at The Fringe
Lambeth Sterling
Darlene Popovic
Marvin Greene as Mark Antony and Marcia Pizzo as Cleopatra
Stacy Ross and Jud Wiliford as the murderous Macbeths
Dreya Weber as Cleopatra in ZinZanni's risqué Hail Caesar!
The ensemble performs three of Tennessee Williams' plays
Maureen McVerry
The San Francisco Skyline hat
Evren Odcikin is a highly innovative San Francisco theatre director who involves the audience intimately in his productions. Boxcar Theatre continues their fourth season with Evren's take on the absurdist masterpiece Rhinoceros by Eugene Ionesco. When everyone else is turning into the creature with the rough skin, how can you resist joining the noisy herd? As with his company elastic future, Evren invites the audience to immerse themselves fully in the show. All the chairs are removed from the black-box theater and the audience can move about the stage. Don't you feel the pressure to change? RHINO plays through May 29 at Boxcar Theatre, 505 Natoma Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($14 to $25) are available online at 
Reg
(Anthony Fusco, left) and his wife, Sarah (Marcia Pizzo), bring a drunk and
rowdy Norman (Manoel Felciano) into the garden for some fresh air.
Scott Baker (L) as Doctor John Faustus and Valerie Fachman (R) as Mephistophele
May and Johnny Graham (Megan Hopp and Anil
Margsahayam) rehearse one of their father's old vaudeville routines in
42nd Street Moon’s musical Very Warm for May.
Josh Kornbluth
An aerialist performs with City Circus
Soprano Leslie Sandefur sings Magda
Andrew Hurteau, Lance Gardner, Craig Marker and Andy Murray
ACT presents the return to its stage of acclaimed artists Olympia Dukakis and Marco Barricelli in a macabre dark comedy written and directed by Morris Panych (The Overcoat). A selfish and embittered drudge arrives at his dying aunt's run-down apartment, and can't wait for her to kick off. But she is in no hurry, and their relationship takes an unexpected turn. Previews begin March 25; opens March 31 (through April 18) at American Conservatory Theater, 415 Geary Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($10 to $82) are available online at www.act-sf.org or by phone at 415.749.2228.
Karen Mason
The stage at Brava Theater Center
A Darling girl flies in Peter Pan
Four disabled men and their frustrated social worker
Sarah Kathleen Farrell portrays Lizzie in Ray of Light Theatre's production of BABY: A Musical
(l-r) Matt Weimer, Beatrice Basso in We Won't Pay! We Won't Pay!
A Birthday Celebration Concert
Kindra Scharich
Amelia Mulkey, Kendra Owens and A.J. Davenport
Ancient pulp novels come to life at Brava
Joanna Haigood,
Idris Ackamoor and Rhodessa Jones in
Mark Bird as Dr, Cukrowitz and Larissa Archer as Catharine in the Actors Theatre production of Tennessee Williams' Suddenly Last Summer
Forever Broadway!
Caucasian Chalk Circle
9th Annual Bay One Acts Festival 
Mahalia: A Gospel Musical 
Brian Herndon and Amy Resnick in The Safe House
(l - r) Scott Gessford as Jonathan, Holly Nugent as Susan, and Brian Yates Sharber as Michael in Jonathan Larson's tick, tick... BOOM!
This world premiere play by MacArthur genius grant winner Luis Alfaro transforms Sophocles’ ancient Greek mythical play into an epic journey down dusty California highways from the Golden Gate Bridge to the City of Angels. This production uses a chorus of prison inmates and a sly Chicano swagger to create a humorous myth for the current age. Plays through February 28 at Magic Theatre, Building D, Fort Mason Center (Marina Blvd. and Buchanan St.), San Francisco. Tickets ($40 to $55) are available online at www.magictheatre.org or by phone at 415.441.8822. On Friday, February 19 Alfaro will present his one-man show No Holds Barrio, an evening of poetry, performance and tequila
Aly Mawji and Lorri Holt
Seana McKenna as Phèdre
Ross Valley Players present Moliere's lively 17th-century French comedy of manners about sex, lies and greed. Rich, avaricious money-lender Harpagon doesn't want his family -- or anyone -- to have any of his fortune. Then he falls in love.
Shen Yun performers
Carly Ozard
InternationalTheaterEnsemble
begins a multi-art project to commemorate the two-century anniversary of the classic
Russian comedy author Nicolay Gogol. Their production of the famous comic
phantasmagoria is in an experimental avant-garde style presenting a collage of
live narration and modern technology. The piece was formed through
collaboration between software engineer and video artist Kevin Quennesson and
internationally renowned theatre director and performer Oleg Liptsin. With a
blend of interactive technology, live acting and Internet tools, they attempt
to create a modern interpretation of the classical myth.
Keith Hennessy’s Circo Zero presents a unique hybrid of circus performance and conceptual art with music and ritual. Keith gives his solo show Crotch (about the influential German artist Joseph Beuys). Collaborating with Jules Beckman and Seth Eisen, he also performs in How to Die, (a two-act about iconic, marginalized figures after 9/11: The Homeless and The Drug Addict). The season includes TOO MUCH! A Queer Marathon (10 continuous hours of performance featuring emerging and established LGBT artists).
