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.
_______________________________
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.
____________________
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.
____________________
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.
____________________
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.
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).
