Leslie Katz

Ron Herbst to talk about new reference book

The Bodega Bay-based co-author of “The Deluxe Food Lover’s Companion” will talk about the new reference book at 2 p.m. Saturday at Borders-Union Square, 400 Post St., San Francisco. How is this “Deluxe” book different from the definitive “The New Food Lover’s Companion,” co-written by your wife, Sharon Tyler Herbst? It’s based on the earlier book, which has been such a bible in the industry, but it’s filled with even more information. There are fast facts, 40 different glossaries and a lot of illustrations, for instance. Who’s the audience for the volume? Both experts and novices — and also for people who want a...

Continued...

 

A mother’s secret finally revealed

Ann Kirschner says she felt like she was “struck by lightning” when, as an adult, she first learned of her mother’s stash of Holocaust-era photographs and letters. “She kept them secret until she thought she was going to die,” Kirschner says, in a phone interview from New York. “Out of nowhere, she hands me this box. I thought it was going to be jewelry.” The box was full of memorabilia that her mom saved during years spent in Nazi labor camps from 1940-45. The historic documents are on view at the Jewish Community Center in San Francisco in an exhibit called “Letters to Sala: A Young Woman’s Life in Nazi Labor Camps” and...

Continued...

 

Rick Reynolds still seeking happiness

Rick Reynolds has gone glitzy. The California comic, known for his one-man confessionals “Only the Truth Is Funny” and “All Grown Up and No Place to Go,” is back with a new, similarly themed show, “Love God Sex (and other stuff I don’t have).” This time, instead of playing at The Marsh — the small theater in San Francisco’s Mission district known for experimental and works-in-development (it did present Brian Copeland’s wildly popular “Not a Genuine Black Man”) — Reynolds is at the Union Square-area Marines’ Memorial Theatre. And the show is directed by Jason Alexander, George of “Seinfeld”...

Continued...

 

Ray of Light rocks ‘Tommy’

Ray of Light Theatre opened its ninth season of San Francisco community musicals with “The Who’s Tommy,” presenting the groundbreaking rock opera in all its glorious wackiness. Nearly four decades after the tale of the fall and rise of a deaf, dumb and blind pinball player premiered, the show is as outrageous, puzzling and compelling as it was in rock ’n’ roll’s younger days. Pete Townshend’s score (book by Des McAnuff), while uneven, has some great tunes: “Pinball Wizard,” “See Me, Feel Me,” “I’m Free” and “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” The cast and hard-working musicians do them justice....

Continued...

 

Be there for Michael Jackson’s ‘This Is It’

"Wacko Jacko" is not in the building in "This Is It." The documentary, compiled from hundreds of hours of footage shot during rehearsals for Michael Jackson's final concert engagement, shows the performer at the peak of professionalism. His fans, or anyone interested in pop music of the late 20th century, won't be disappointed by Kenny Ortega's enthralling film, which puts the spotlight where it belongs: on the artist working at his craft. Ortega was in a unique position to make the film, released today in a limited two-week engagement. As director of Jackson's comeback tour that never happened -- it was slated to begin in London in the summer -- he was Jackson's...

Continued...

 

All about motherhood

“Motherhood” is something of a rarity — an appealing contemporary drama, with some laughs too, about everyday life. Uma Thurman delightfully goes against Quentin Tarantino-action-adventure type, playing Eliza, a beleaguered Greenwich Village mom trying to make it through a single day. Frustration mounts as she gets the family up and out of the apartment (while her bemused husband, played by Anthony Edwards, doesn’t help), prepares for her 6-year-old daughter’s birthday party and checks in with her best friend Sheila (Minnie Driver). A once promising young fiction writer approaching middle age, she stays in practice with her mom-themed blog; on this busy...

Continued...

 

Chris Rock’s good hair day

In his new documentary, Chris Rock’s attempt to answer his young daughters’ query “Why don’t I have good hair?” takes him on a thoroughly entertaining, often educational, journey. “Good Hair” follows the comedian in his travels from Atlanta to New York to North Carolina, and even to India, as he talks with providers and consumers in the lucrative black hair industry. The movie’s primary point — which, sadly, is too briefly challenged near the end — is that natural, nappy black hair is inherently bad, while straight, sleek, chic hair is good. The congenial Rock queries makers of harsh chemical hair relaxers (he shows how one...

Continued...

 

Comic Loni Love stays real

We’re not too daunted to inform comic Loni Love that she’s in for a letdown if she’s expecting cable cars or residents whistling the theme from the Rice-A-Roni ad on her first visit to San Francisco. The regular "Chelsea Lately" panelist — who appears Friday on a bill with Nene Leakes from "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence at the first Comedy in the Castro — will likely get a good reception. That’s because Love enjoys "open-minded" audiences of all types of people — women, gays and Republicans, among others. "You’ll even see gangsters in the back," she...

Continued...

 

High marks for ‘First Day’

For a sampling of not-quite-clean good fun, try SF Playhouse’s world premiere, “First Day of School.” The comedy by New Yorker Billy Aronson, whose credits include “Beavis & Butt-head,” goes down quite easily, serving up of lots of laughs and a sweet outrageousness. The title is misleading, for the main characters aren’t schoolchildren, but five parents who decide to engage in some extracurricular sexual activity the day they send the kids off to class. The fun starts when husband-and-wife David (Bill English) and Susan (Zehra Berkman), finding they have a surplus of free time that day, matter-of-factly agree they want to sleep with other people...

Continued...

 

All read together now

Doug Dorst’s fascination with the dead falls short of compulsion. “I’m not a ghost hunter — it just seemed like a great idea,” says the author of “Alive in Necropolis,” a novel in which residents of Colma’s cemeteries magically come to life. The book is the centerpiece of the fifth “One City One Book: San Francisco Reads,” a multipronged community event this month that’s sponsored by the San Francisco Public Library. Dorst, formerly a resident of The City and now living in Austin, Texas, is in town to appear at several gatherings in connection with his critically acclaimed debut novel, which also is a coming-of-age tale...

Continued...

 

Novel brings Civil War to life

Those who aren’t scholars or Civil War experts may have a tough time separating truth from fiction when reading “Seen the Glory: A Novel of the Battle of Gettysburg.” John Hough Jr.’s new, engaging book, however, isn’t a cold look at the brutality of war or a faceless summation of statistics and strategy from the field. It’s the story of two abolitionist brothers from Martha’s Vineyard who grow into men when they volunteer for the Union Army. Their service culminates in their participation in the war’s bloodiest battle. Hough clearly spent time researching details of soldiers’ lives during the period. Readers feel like they’re...

Continued...

 

Jo Ann Hattner advises going with your 'Gut Insight'

Jo Ann Hattner's new book, “Gut Insight,” explains the importance of eating probiotics (i.e., “good” bacteria in yogurt) and prebiotics (substances that complement the bacteria, such as whole grains and legumes). The San Francisco nutritionist’s book, co-written with Susan Anderes, is available at www.gutinsight.com. Why did you write the book? I felt the consumer was being constantly bombarded by a vast array of new products. I really wrote it as a guide for them. Who’s your audience? The book is for anyone who wants to learn about digestive health and to give the message that when you improve your gut health, you improve your overall health. Is the...

Continued...

 

In love with a wonderful, classic ‘South Pacific’

“Classy” and “classic” best describe the national tour of the revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “South Pacific.” A pitch-perfect production of the multiple Tony Award-winning musical (both the 1949 original and this 21st century version were honored) is onstage at the Golden Gate Theatre, presented by Best of Broadway. Fans of musical theater, or those who want to learn about the art form’s history, shouldn’t miss this show, directed by San Francisco native Bartlett Sher. Of course, emphasis is on the incredible score of songs everyone knows — “Some Enchanted Evening,” “Younger Than Springtime,”...

Continued...

 

In love with a wonderful “South Pacific’

“Classy” and “classic” best describe the national tour of the revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “South Pacific.” A pitch-perfect production of the multiple Tony Award-winning musical (both the 1949 original and this 21st century version were honored) is onstage at the Golden Gate Theatre, presented by Best of Broadway. Fans of musical theater, or those who want to learn about the art form’s history, shouldn’t miss this show, directed by San Francisco native Bartlett Sher. Of course, emphasis is on the incredible score of songs everyone knows -- “Some Enchanted Evening,” “Younger Than Springtime,”...

Continued...

 

Capacitor merges movement and science

San Francisco artist Jodi Lomask describes her work as “feasts for the audience.” If she had to define it, she’d call it modern performance which “fuses dance with abstract designs inspired by scientific concepts.” Lomask is the artistic director of Capacitor, a troupe presenting the local premiere of “The Perfect Flower” this weekend at Fort Mason’s Cowell Theater. The initial idea for the piece, in which dancers perform on and with abstract 7-foot steel sculptures, came from the plant life on the rooftop garden of the California Academy of Sciences. From there, Lomask entertained the notion of a perfect flower, a term for plants that...

Continued...

 

Green Day goes to the theater

What happened offstage at Wednesday’s opening of “American Idiot” was just as exciting as what happened onstage: Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s sold-out auditorium was packed with people well under 30 -- clearly, a good thing. That attendance, and the fact that the show’s run already has been extended, isn’t entirely surprising, given Green Day’s international popularity as well as its hometown appeal. But will the world-premiere rock opera based on the East Bay band’s monster 2004 album be the savior of live theater for generations to come? Not necessarily. The show has lots going for it: Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tre...

Continued...

 

‘Exited Door’ pays tribute to The City

San Francisco musician Kirk Hamilton isn’t shy about sharing credit for the work that went into his debut album, “The Exited Door,” a cool, stylistically varied collection of chamber- pop songs about The City. “A lot are friends, a lot donated their time — they were willing to come in and do it,” Hamilton, 28, says of the couple dozen folks who contributed to the project, which took him about a year to complete. The string section, the marimba player and the jazz band at the Urban School of San Francisco, where he teaches, participated. Then, there are his co-vocalists Dan Apczynski (his former mate in the rock band Squaretape) and Lindsay Garfield...

Continued...

 

Kentridge an artist of many media

Contemporary South African artist William Kentridge could be called a man of all trades. "William Kentridge: Five Themes," a comprehensive view of his work on display at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art through May 31, reveals the artist’s attraction to all kinds of media. Some 75 pieces, including films, drawings, prints, theater models, sculptures and books, make up the five-section exhibit, which also touches on live performance, in the form of opera. The most successful section is "Parcours d’Atelier: Artist in the Studio," a large-scale projection on seven screens of a film called "7 Fragments for Georges Melies." The film, a...

Continued...

 

Huge ‘Elemental’ burst of flowers at de Young

Natasha Lisitsa’s floral work at the de Young Museum’s 25th "Bouquets to Art" show is both figuratively and literally big. "I am known for large-scale designs," says Lisitsa, who, along with a team of dedicated volunteers, created the 800-pound, 15-foot-high "Elemental" for this year’s event, which runs through Saturday in San Francisco. The remarkable piece, which is suspended in the air, represents life, says Lisitsa, owner of Waterlily Pond, a design studio in Twin Peaks that creates floral artwork for special events. "It has many levels of meaning," says Lisitsa, noting that yellow manzanita branches signify the sun and...

Continued...

 

Goofy glitz from ‘SF Follies’

There are moments of inspired lunacy in the new homegrown musical revue “SF Follies”: a maniacal sea lion and a crazed combination of ubiquitous movie critic Jan Wahl and historic Playland character Laughing Sal. While writer-director-producer John Bisceglie doesn’t necessarily invite comparisons with The City’s higher-rent granddaddy of the genre, “Beach Blanket Babylon,” his “Follies” does have a few big hats, glittering costumes and songs in which lyrics of pop tunes are switched out to funny local effect. You’ve got to admire a show that boasts a lengthy “hit list” and dares to denigrate sacred cows from the...

Continued...

 

Berkeley Rep condenses ‘Crime’

Before “Columbo” and “Law & Order” there was Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment.” A satisfying stage adaptation of the literary classic at Berkeley Repertory Theatre captures the 19th-century-set Russian novel’s suspense, along with its psychological and philosophical depth. Performed without intermission in one brisk, engaging act, the play serves as a great refresher for those who may have forgotten the book, or a cool nudge to fans of world literature who have not read it. Writers Marilyn Campbell and Curt Columbus cleverly crafted an intense piece, carefully extracting the drama’s main themes and emotional impact in a...

Continued...

 

Bohler a bloomin’ R&B survivor

Singer-songwriter Kaye Bohler is going to have a great time Friday night. Not only is the longtime R&B artist celebrating her birthday, she’s also going to party during a CD-release show at the Little Fox in Redwood City. “I’m really stepping out with a really big show,” says the Sunnyvale resident, whose new recording, “Like a Flower,” features all original material and an all-star roster of Bay Area musicians, including guitarists Robben Ford and Tommy Castro. “I’ve got a 12-piece band — I want to replicate what I have on the CD,” she says. “I’m trying to capture the Bay Area rhythm-and-blues...

Continued...

 

Author talks love and personality

Helen Fisher, an author and anthropology professor, was recently in The City to talk about her latest book, “Why Him? Why Her? Finding Real Love by Understanding Your Personality Type.” Can you describe the basis of your research? It’s about the role that body chemistry plays in feelings of attraction, and looking at how chemicals in the brain are associated with personality traits. How did you go about making the associations? I came to see that we’ve evolved four biological types associated with brain systems. I designed a questionnaire — given to participants on Chemistry.com — that measure the expression of these traits in the systems. I found...

Continued...

 

Hometown skater basks in ‘HSM’ glory

Though Steven Smith has got a top job — playing Chad in “Disney’s High School Musical: The Ice Tour,” which is in the Bay Area this week — he admits the pace can be daunting. Yet the longtime skater, an Oakland native who first hit the ice at Southland Arena in Hayward when he was 10, couldn’t be happier about the gig. “I do get tired,” says Smith, a former national figure skating competitor who calls Union City home when he’s not on the road. He quickly adds, “But I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in my life.” Although he didn’t quite know what he was getting into before he auditioned for the role,...

Continued...

 

3-Minute Interview: Film society's Leggat discusses grant program

Graham Leggat, executive director of the San Francisco Film Society offers insight into the organization’s partnership with the Kenneth Rainin Foundation. The groups recently announced a five-year, $3 million grant program for filmmakers. Can you talk a bit about the funders? The Kenneth Rainin Foundation is a new family foundation. Jennifer Rainin is an actress, and film is among her many personal interests. Who should apply for the grants? Anyone who is making a feature narrative film with some kind of social-justice element — ideally a Bay Area resident. How is the funding being distributed? In 2009, two $35,000 grants will be awarded. The rest will be distributed in...

Continued...

 

Iraq veteran brings his words to the stage

George Packer based his first play, “Betrayed,” on his experiences in Iraq, which he also described in a New Yorker magazine essay about translators who risked their lives to help American soldiers. “Betrayed” will make its West Coast premiere at Berkeley’s Aurora Theatre Co., running till March 1. How did you come to write “Betrayed”? After the essay was published in March 2007, I felt I hadn’t quite done all I wanted to with the material. The stories were too intense. Even a 16,000-word New Yorker piece didn’t quite get them out of my system. Is the play fiction? Yes, the characters are based on people I met; they’re...

Continued...

 

Asian women artists find their 'Place'

Local Asian-American women are exploring their identities as artists and promoting their work and visibility in an exhibit on view at the Kimball Education Gallery at the de Young Museum in The City. The Asian American Women Artists Association’s “A Place of Your Own” is the result of a five-year project inspired by Virginia Woolf’s famous statement (and book) that creative women need a room of their own to practice their craft. “This project explores an array of intimate themes that are universal to the human condition but ultimately personal in its approach,” the show’s curator, Cynthia Tom says. “It is especially vital that women...

Continued...

 

One man’s sins are another’s laughs

It’s actually difficult to keep track of the “7 Sins” James Judd covers in his wild and crazy solo show. But it doesn’t matter. The guy is so vibrant and funny telling what he says are true stories from his life, the need to count the infractions described in the title melts away as the laugh-out loud evening progresses. Back by popular demand — the show was staged last year in San Francisco’s Mission, and conceived and performed in a different configuration back in 2002 — “7 Sins” is now at The Exit Theatre in the Tenderloin through Feb. 21. In one of many hilarious asides, Judd compares the neighborhoods of the venues, which boast...

Continued...

 

Palo Alto author takes aim

Geri Spieler, the Palo Alto-based author of “Taking Aim at the President: The Remarkable Story of the Woman Who Shot at Gerald Ford” will sign books at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Books Inc. in Mountain View and 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Booksmith in San Francisco. You knew Sara Jane Moore before you began this book. How? I was working at a small paper in Los Angeles. She happened to see an article I wrote about women in jail and she wanted to meet me. Then you stayed in touch for decades. Would you say you were friends? She had a son, and as mom, too, my heart went out to her son. We would talk. She’s bright. There were a lot of letters. If I was in the neighborhood,...

Continued...

 

Songwriter-producer still making hits

The Grammy-winning songwriter-producer, Rick Nowels, who grew up in Los Altos, has had dozens of hit singles and his songs have appeared on some 200 million records. Recently, he worked on “Green Light” with John Legend, who plays at the Paramount in Oakland today. What’s John Legend like? He’s fantastic, a real natural. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to work with him. What notable musicians have you collaborated with? Madonna [“The Power of Goodbye”], Dido [“White Flag”], New Radicals [“You Get What You Give”], Santana [“The Game of Love”], Nellie Furtado [“In God’s Hands”] and Jewel...

Continued...

 

Free beer equals art at SFMoMA exhibit

San Francisco’s Tom Marioni, a pioneering conceptual artist, has been doing site-specific work all over the world for decades. For several months, he’s been hosting a free beer salon Thursday evenings at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; the installation is part of the exhibit “The Art of Participation: 1950 to Now,” which runs through Feb. 8. Marioni, 71, calls the salon — titled “The Act of Drinking Beer with Friends Is the Highest Form of Art” — an extension of the artists’ club that meets in his studio on a weekly basis. For the duration of the SFMoMA show, he says, “I’ve moved the club over there and invited...

Continued...

 

Local critic shares highlights of Bay Area theater

Longtime Bay Area theater critic Chad Jones — best known for his Web site www.theaterdogs.net and his work for the Oakland Tribune and Bay Area Reporter — will be leaving San Francisco to continue his newspaper career at the Sacramento Bee. Can you name a few highlights of your 17 years covering Bay Area theater? Honestly, there are highlights on a weekly basis. Most recently, two new plays: “Abraham Lincoln’s Big Gay Dance Party” at SF Playhouse and “Angry Black White Boy” from Campo Santo and Intersection for the Arts. All-time favorites are “Nicholas Nickleby” at California Shakespeare Theater and “Angels in America”...

Continued...

 

Smuin’s effervescent ‘Christmas Ballet’

Judging from the bright smiles and all-around cheery demeanor of the crowd over the weekend at “The Christmas Ballet,” Michael Smuin’s legacy lives happily on. The show, onstage at Yerba Center for the Arts through Sunday, is delightfully frothy holiday entertainment; it provides the perfect antidote to the stress and hustle and bustle of the season experienced by many. As the company celebrates its 15th season, the show retains its lighthearted appeal. Members of the troupe, now dancing under Celia Fushille (who took the reins after Smuin died in 2007), get to show off their vigor and versatility. As always, the show is divided into two parts. The more successful Act...

Continued...

 

David Brenner, comic marathoner

David Brenner calls his headlining engagement at San Francisco’s Kung Pao Kosher Comedy one of the “weirdest” gigs he’ll likely do. The appearance at Chinatown’s New Asia Restaurant this week may provide some challenges for the stand-up comedian, who is going on his 40th year in show business. “I’m geared up for long distance,” Brenner said on the phone from his Las Vegas home. For the 16th annual Kung Pao, the Jewish comedy event held on Christmas in a Chinese restaurant, Brenner will get 30 minutes onstage, which could be tricky for the marathoner. “I’m a builder — it’s like a big mosaic” is how Brenner...

Continued...

 

Metallica back on the attack

THE LIST 1 Metallica Throughout its lengthy tenure, Metallica has been known to retool its sound. These days, the iconic metal heads have ditched the need for flashy reinvention and once again are embracing the speedy aggression of the days of yore. “Death Magnetic” marks a return to endless riffs and double-bass assaults. The new effort, which is nominated for Grammy awards in the Best Rock Album and Best Recording Package categories, marks the influence of producer Rick Rubin; the band recently ditched producer Bob Rock who had been on board since the early 1990s. On Saturday, Metallica teams up with Lamb of God and retro-rockers the Sword at the Oracle Arena. When: 7:30 p....

Continued...

 

Joy to the world

For a holiday explosion of song, you can’t go wrong with Lorraine Hansberry Theatre’s “Black Nativity.” Now in its 10th year, the rousing “gospel celebration of Christmas” is a joyous musical presentation boasting vocal talents that blow the roof off. This year, the show is being presented in downtown San Francisco in the PG&E building’s auditorium, while Lorraine Hansberry, which lost its Sutter Street home, searches for a new permanent residence. Never mind what might have seemed a sterile setting; for this performance, the room is transformed into a rock ‘n’ soul church. Overseeing proceedings are director Stanley Williams...

Continued...

 

Bay Area singer has it covered

The Three-Minute Interview: Darby Gould The longtime Bay Area vocalist, along with Katie Guthorn and Carol Bozzio Littleton, stars in “The Coverlettes Cover Christmas” from Tuesday to Dec. 23 at Aurora Theatre Co. in Berkeley. What is “The Coverlettes Cover Christmas”? It’s sort of a cabaret act with a plot. Girl groups from the ’60s and Phil Spector songs provide the inspiration. How did you become part of the show? I had collaborated before with Tom Ross of Aurora and with Katie Guthorn, who was in “A Karen Carpenter Christmas.” You sing with Jefferson Starship. How are you enjoying the acting part of “The Coverlettes”? I...

Continued...

 

Interview with an ex-president

In 1977, a post-Watergate Richard Nixon tried to achieve salvation by telling his story to America via a series of TV talks conducted by a presumably lightweight interviewer, David Frost. The TV-savvy Frost hoped to experience glory by obtaining an admission of guilt from the man who had blotted the presidency. “Frost/Nixon,” director Ron Howard's soft-hitting but novel dip into the Nixon warp, revisits this near-forgotten face-off. This being a Howard (“Cinderella Man”) film, you can expect competence but a connect-the-dots feel. Fortunately, that's sufficient for presenting the fact-and-fancy mix created by above-par screenwriter Peter Morgan (expanding on his...

Continued...

 

Rock star cellist rolls into The City

Cello virtuoso Alisa Weilerstein is thrilled when she’s called a rock star. “I love it,” she says. “I love to get away from the image that classical music is staid and for old people.” The 26-year-old musician, who plays a concert Thursday night presented by San Francisco Performances, has been doing her best for more than a decade to change that impression, to make her offerings relevant for young listeners. Having begun playing professionally at 13, the New Yorker never seriously considered another career, although she was slightly drawn to acting. These days, she’s busy with a rigorous international touring schedule of some 100 concerts per...

Continued...

 

Colette Lafia will help you find 'Comfort and Joy'

Just in time for the holiday season, the author of “Comfort and Joy: Simple Ways to Care for Ourselves and Others” leads a workshop at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Mercy Center, 2300 Adeline Drive, in Burlingame. For more information, visit www.colettelafia.com. Why do people have a hard time finding comfort? We seem to stop looking for it as we get older. It’s the way our society is. We look for solutions with things, not each other. You offer tips for holiday comfort, such as listening, taking breaks and practicing a daily routine. How did you come up with them? They’re ones I’ve used myself. What if you don’t get along well with your family? It’s the...

Continued...

 

Holiday bakers come "out of the woodwork" for class

Three-minute interview: Allison Furbish The King Arthur Flour representative talks about holiday baking, and the free classes the Vermont-based company is offering at noon and 7 p.m. Dec. 3 at the Embassy Suites Hotel San Francisco Airport, 250 Gateway Blvd., South San Francisco. Who are your classes for? For home bakers. We teach so that you should be able to leave the session with all of the knowledge you need. What are the classes? For the first time we have two. For over 25 years, we've taught sweet and savory yeast breads; now we're also covering cookies and pies. Do you have any tips for making a good pie crust? It's ideal to start with cold butter and water. Is there a fast...

Continued...

 

The Eye: A work of art meant to house artwork

Today’s artwork chosen by Joe Fitzgerald AGE: 44 OCCUPATION: First-grade teacher CITY: Richmond THE PIECE OF ARTWORK THAT I LOVE: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art designed by Mario Botta (1995) WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS PIECE? Out of nowhere — it seemed to me — this real cool structure landed in San Francisco. HOW DID YOU DISCOVER IT? I moved back to the Bay Area in the fall of 1994 and every time I drove into downtown from West Portal, I would look out for this new building. WHAT STANDS OUT MOST TO YOU ABOUT IT? Stripes, man! Stripes are cool. I don’t know if that is a vent or what, but it looks groovilicious and reminds me of a ship’s funnel....

Continued...

 

Edna never a drag

Dame Edna in San Francisco at holiday time: Could there be a more perfect gift to The City? The self-proclaimed Aussie-Brit “gigastar” recently kicked off her month-plus gig at the Post Street Theatre in fine style, charming her fans — possums, she calls them — with familiar material, and some new stuff, too. She waved to the folks in the balcony — paupers, or “les miserables” — and thrilled the people sitting up close with her inimitable one-on-one repartee in her latest show, “Live and Intimate in her First Last Tour.” No one knows how to toss a barb like the old Dame. On opening night, she had fun chatting with people...

Continued...

 

'Phantom' singer brings it home

Los Gatos native Kyle Barisich returns to the Bay Area, appearing as Raoul in the touring company of “The Phantom of the Opera” at San Francisco’s Orpheum Theatre Nov. 26 through Jan. 4. What’s it like playing a lead in what has been called the most successful entertainment venture of the 20th century? Wow, I guess dollar for dollar, it is. The touring company alone can take in a million per week. It’s crazy. It’s every performer’s dream to be in something that people want to see. I feel blessed. What do you think makes it so popular? It’s got to be the music. People want to hear the songs. Some of the people on the tour have been with...

Continued...

 

The eye: Modern piece exudes calm and balance

Today’s artwork chosen by Linda Eislund AGE: 46 OCCUPATION: Psychologist NEIGHBORHOOD: Noe Valley THE PIECE OF ARTWORK I LOVE: “Mistral,” by Elbert Weinberg (1972) WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS PIECE? It’s graceful and strong, and feminine and fluid. HOW DID YOU DISCOVER IT? As a teenager, I used to love to go tea dancing at the Hyatt. When I was walking up to the hotel, I would always notice it. WHAT STANDS OUT MOST TO YOU ABOUT IT? I love modern art — this caught my eye because of the patina, and the balance and the form, and because it is strong and calming all at the same time. WHERE: Four Embarcadero Center, Drumm and Sacramento streets, San...

Continued...

 

Madge still into the groove at Oracle Arena

Aerobics, anyone? The initial reaction to Madonna's "Sticky & Sweet" tour, onstage at the capacity-filled Oracle Arena in Oakland on Saturday (and Sunday) is: Wow, that woman can work out! Jump-roping to a throbbing version of “Into the Groove” — in which the singer was attired in gym shorts — she didn't miss a lyric, nor did she seem to need an extra breath. The tune came about one-quarter of the way through the stimuli-packed, two-hour show, which drew heavily from the buff singer's latest album, "Hard Candy," but also, thankfully, managed to include some old favorites, most of which were reworked for the new century. Perhaps the most...

Continued...

 

'Forever Tango' dancer returns to The City

Jorge Torres, the dance captain and longtime performer in “Luis Bravo’s Forever Tango,” returns to San Francisco, where the show runs at the Post Street Theatre from Nov. 5 to 16. How long have you been doing tango? I started 38 years ago in Argentina, where I grew up. How did you start? My mother saw that when the TV was on with music, I started to jump. She thought, “Maybe he likes to dance.” What’s the key to tango? It’s very personal. You’re dancing for yourself. You can’t fake it. Can anybody tango? Yes, anybody can try. But one thing about Argentine tango that sometimes doesn’t cross cultures is that the dancers have...

Continued...

 

Michelin Guide celebrates third S.F. edition

The worldwide director of Le Guide Michelin was recently in The City to celebrate the release of the third edition of The Michelin Guide San Francisco, Bay Area & Wine Country. You seem to have the best job ever, no? Yes, I do. I get to stay in the best resorts around the world and go to the best restaurants. On an international scale, how does San Francisco rate as a food town? It’s a fantastic city, really one of the more beautiful places in terms of gastronomy. Can you elaborate on that? There is a very good selection of restaurants serving fresh products and using organic produce. And celebrities in San Francisco aren’t movie stars, the chefs are stars. What is...

Continued...

 

At last, the story of Sly & the Family Stone

San Francisco writer Jeff Kaliss is the author of the newly released biography “I Want to Take You Higher: The Life and Times of Sly & the Family Stone.” He’ll be on hand at a rare Family Stone concert on Friday at Wells Fargo Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa and signing books Wednesday at Booksmith on Haight Street, the first of many local public appearances. How did you come to write the book, one of only a few on the subject? The pitch came to me in a cold call from a literary agency. I said yes partly because of nostalgia, and an affection for the good times of the late 1960s. Stone has been known to be a recluse — how did you get an interview? It was...

Continued...

 

Artistic director heads 'Into the Woods'

Brooke Knight, the artistic director of Broadway by the Bay, is at the helm of the theater’s current production of Stephen Sondheim’s “Into the Woods.” The musical is onstage through Sunday at the San Mateo Performing Arts Center. What’s it like being artistic director of the Peninsula’s largest theater organization? Nobody knows exactly what the artistic director does, but everything you see on stage, I’m responsible for. What are the challenges of selecting shows to produce? I have to find the sets and costumes; we don’t build our shows here. I have to appeal to the audience with tried-and-true musicals, but I also try to get a new...

Continued...

 

Stage veteran offers unique short-story interpretations

Bay Area thespian Joel Mullennix is directing “More Stories by Tobias Wolff,” running Friday through Oct. 5 at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco. The show is a production by Word for Word, a theater troupe that presents short stories exactly as they are written. What types of works lend themselves to Word for Word’s distinctive style? The short-story form really has incredible language going for it, particularly when you choose a writer you admire greatly. What are the challenges of such a process? Trying to bring to the stage a long, descriptive passage about the environment can be challenging — to the point where we ask, for example, “How do we make a...

Continued...

 

Vegetarian delight: An interview with Lacey Sher

The Oakland chef, caterer and restaurateur is the author of the recently published “You Won’t Believe It’s Vegan!: 200 Recipes for Simple and Delicious Animal-Free Cuisine.” What’s the origin of the book? I had a restaurant, Down to Earth, in New Jersey. My partner and I decided to put together the recipes of all of the food we served there. Are you a vegan? I’ve been a vegetarian for 13 years, about nine of them, vegan. Does the book offer a particular philosophy? We promote whole foods and eating close to the foods’ source — and far from the package. Are there misconceptions about the vegetarian diet? People think you need a lot of...

Continued...

 

3-Minute Interview: Steven Sater

The playwright and lyricist co-wrote with Duncan Sheik the Tony Award-winning musical “Spring Awakening.” The show opens at San Francisco’s Curran Theatre in a Best of Broadway presentation Sept. 4. You’re on the phone from Kennedy Airport, where are you going? I’m going to the south of France; it will be a great time for writing. How do you feel about “Spring Awakening” coming to San Francisco? I love San Francisco. I’m thrilled that the national tour of the show is opening there. People there are remarkable; really interested in the arts. You’ve worked at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco, how was that? I had a great experience...

Continued...

 

3-Minute Interview: Gail Mirabella

The performer’s Dynamo Flying Dogs act is part of the 138th edition of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus, onstage at Oracle Arena in Oakland through Sunday and HP Pavilion in San Jose from Wednesday through Aug. 24. What exactly is your title? I’m a dog trainer. I have a dog act. What inspired you to get into get into this line of work? It started in the 1990s, when I first I became aware of Canine Frisbee Freestyle competition. I was blown away; it just moved me. Have you ever done anything besides work with dogs? I worked in quality assurance for a pharmaceutical company; I decided I couldn’t take the corporate world anymore because I was missing out on...

Continued...

 

3-Minute Interview: Lisa Lambert

The Tony Award winner co-wrote the score to the Broadway hit "The Drowsy Chaperone," playing at San Francisco’s Orpheum Theatre through Aug. 17.Where did you get your love of theater? Mostly from my parents’ record collection; they had everything: "My Fair Lady," "Guys and Dolls," "Damn Yankees," "Fiddler on the Roof."How did you start out in theater? I originally was in a Toronto group......

Continued...

 

3-Minute Interview: Roger Rees

The Welsh-born, Tony Award-winning actor brings his one-man show, "What You Will," to the American Conservatory Theater. The show, a survey all about William Shakespeare, runs Friday through Aug. 9 at 415 Geary St., San Francisco. Why is there so much bad Shakespeare out there? You need to take out the pretentiousness. There's no reason for all of the shouting and spitting.What's in your show? A little bit of everything —......

Continued...

 

Review: Still doing it for love

It looked like a lot of teens were in the audience on opening night of "A Chorus Line" in San Francisco, and that’s good news. Now a new generation can enjoy the spirit and power of the 33-year-old Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner, which still holds a Broadway record for longevity.While the touring production onstage at the Curran Theatre isn’t without problems, it nonetheless reveals why the musical won’t quit. It’s the perfect combination of heart, soul, realism, humor, agility and melody. Of course, the show is about dancers......

Continued...

 

The grit behind the music and the mirror

For Nikki Snelson, playing Cassie in the new tour of "A Chorus Line" is an achievement in more ways than one."It’s special ... my mom can really see how all those dance lessons paid off," says the Broadway thespian, recently on the phone from Los Angeles. Beginning this week, she’ll be in San Francisco, where the show runs through July 27 at the Curran Theatre in a Best of Broadway presentation.Getting the part in the Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning show, she says, was one of the most intense and......

Continued...

 

3-Minute Interview: Dan Gordon

This month, the San Jose-based brewer and his partner, Dean Biersch, are celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Gordon Biersch Brewing Co., famous for its German lager, garlic fries and upscale but casual restaurants.What are you doing to honor 20 years in the business? We're having a slew of events, beginning with special dinners this week and ending Saturday with a huge bash from noon to 7 p.m. at the......

Continued...

 

3-Minute Interview: Jon Peter Lewis

The season three "American Idol" contestant appears at The City’s Rrazz Room in concert today and next week with fellow alumni Anwar Robinson and Lakisha Jones. Tuesday through July 12, Lewis appears with Robinson and Gina Glocksen. What was the best thing about "American Idol"? The 60 million viewers. What was the worst thing?......

Continued...

 

3-Minute Interview: Michelle Richmond

The San Francisco writer’s second novel set in The City, "No One You Know," is being released this week. She will appear in book readings at 7:30 p.m. July 9 at Kepler’s in Menlo Park and 7:30 p.m. July 15 at the Booksmith in San Francisco. Your previous book set in San Francisco was a page turner, but "No One You Know" is even more. Did you plan that? I don’t think......

Continued...

 

Review: A cute S.F. fairy tale

"Oh My Godmother" — it’s a San Francisco treat!The timing, Gay Pride weekend, couldn’t have been more appropriate for the San Francisco premiere of a new musical based on the Cinderella tale; only this time, "Cinder" isn’t Ella, he’s Albert, and his fairy godmother is a fella who runs a clothes shop in what’s got to be the Castro.The clever show, written, directed and staged by Ron Lytle, already found success in......

Continued...

 

3-Minute Interview: Andrea McArdle

The performer best known as Broadway’s original "Annie" in 1977, now 44, brings her cabaret act to the Rrazz Room today through Saturday. She’ll also appear in "You’ve Got Possibilities," a fundraiser gala and tribute to "Annie" composer Charles Strouse on Monday at the Alcazar Theatre in San Francisco. What are you doing in your cabaret show? It’s a brand-new act with a whole bunch of new stuff. It also has some......

Continued...

 

3-Minute Interview: Dorothy Hearst

The Berkeley resident's new novel is "Promise of the Wolves." She'll read from and sign copies today at 6 p.m. at Book Passage in San Francisco’s Ferry Building and Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Kepler’s in Menlo Park. Why did you decide to have a wolf be the "first-person" narrator of your book? I didn't have much choice in the matter. The voice was......

Continued...

 

Review: Tasty ‘Tuna’ in Las Vegas

Good news for "Greater Tuna" fans: When the crazy characters of Tuna venture outside of their beloved third-smallest town in Texas for Las Vegas, they’re as just sassy, sweet and funny as they are at home."Tuna Does Vegas," the fourth installment in the "Greater Tuna" comedies, onstage at San Francisco’s Curran Theatre, finds busy actors Joe Sears and Continued...

 

3-Minute Interview: Clara Byrd Taylor

The sister of James Byrd Jr. — the man killed in Jasper, Texas, in 1998 by three white men who chained him to a truck and dragged him — will appear at 2 p.m. Sunday at Herbst Theatre in a program titled "Working Together to Reduce Racism." For tickets, call (415) 392-4400. How are you doing 10 years after the tragedy? Over time,......

Continued...

 

Review: George Michael live is 'Flawless'

George Michael, in excellent voice and good spirit, thanked his San Francisco and San Jose fans for being patient with him."Lord knows, it's not always been easy being a George Michael fan," he told the capacity crowd at HP Pavilion in San Jose on Thursday night at his first Bay Area appearance in 17 years.He promised he'd do everything he could to make up for his long absence, and by the end of the 90-minute set, sending the crowd home with the anthem "Freedom 90" as the encore, by jove,......

Continued...

 

SFMoMA gets up close with ‘Frida Kahlo’

"Frida Kahlo" at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art reveals the personal side of the Mexican artist whose life has taken on mythical proportions.On display through Sept. 28, the exhibit’s 50 paintings from throughout the artist’s career are accompanied by portraits of Kahlo taken by leading photographers of the era. Family snapshots andimages of Kahlo and her husband, muralist Diego Rivera, taken with luminaries the likes of Leon Trotsky also are on display.The show’s centerpiece, however, is Kahlo’s illuminating, haunting, surrealistic self-portraits — painted between 1926 and her death......

Continued...

 

Review: When magic and music mix

Magic tricks and show tunes ... for Darren Romeo, aka "The Voice of Magic," the combo, somehow — amazingly — works.Romeo has brought his kitschy Siegfried & Roy-sanctioned Las Vegas act to San Francisco’s comparatively intimate Post Street Theatre for a run scheduled through July.While the show couldn’t be cheesier — Romeo’s the first to admit it — it does represent 90 minutes of pure, goofy, "how’d-he-do-that?-type" fun of the kind not regularly seen in The City.It’s not Tom Stoppard, Tony Kushner or even Michael Feinstein, but the show does......

Continued...

 

John Cusack speaks out against war

John Cusack thinks his new movie "War, Inc." could be the most political one he’s made in his three-decade career — even though he’s not thrilled with the word."Political — what does it mean, anyway?" he asked during a recent phone interview.Yet he doesn’t mince words when describing what the filmmakers behind the "punk rock" effort are trying to do: "Be as obscene, absurd and tasteless as the war profiteers are."Cusack, who co-wrote and co-produced the satire, stars as a hit man sent into a Middle Eastern war zone to......

Continued...

 

Experience the utmost in glass art

Dale Chihuly, America’s premiere glass artist who was in San Francisco leading a preview tour of his new exhibition at the de Young Museum, has a simple explanation for why his work is so popular: "People like to look at glass; it’s like you’re looking at light."The 11-room show, opening Saturday in a......

Continued...

 

3-Minute Interview: Joe Sears

The actor and co-star Jaston Williams play about 20 characters in "Greater Tuna," the hit series of comedies about the "third smallest town in Texas" that began in 1981. The new fourth show, "Tuna Does Vegas," runs at the Curran Theatre from Tuesday through June 28. Haven’t the "Greater Tuna" shows played in San Francisco a lot? Yes, we’ve been here many different times.......

Continued...

 

Review: A Goode journey of wonder

Joe Goode’s "Wonderboy" isn’t any old puppet show. Yes, the title character in the San Francisco dance-theater innovator’s world premiere onstage at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts is a puppet created by Basil Twist (whose work was scene at the Magic Theatre in Paula Vogel’s "Long Christmas Ride Home.")......

Continued...

 

3-Minute Interview: Josh Fix

The San Francisco-based singer-songwriter, who abandoned a career in banking after music-industry insiders admired his demo EP "Steinway the Hard Way," has just released his debut full-length CD, "Free at Last." You canceled a gig scheduled for this week in San Francisco. Why? It has to do with scheduling with the guys in the band. We’ll try to get another one going in San Francisco soon.You play all of the instruments on your CD; how do you like playing live with......

Continued...

 

Review: When positive thinking goes awry

"The Group" is one of those parodies that's so good, you almost don't know it's a fake.The hilarious takeoff of myriad self-actualization programs is presented by Dodeska Performance Ensemble in an upstairs room at South of Market's Climate Theater.Upon entering the theater, patrons are invited to have as much coffee as they like and fill out a name tag that reads, "Hello, my sickness is…" Handy stickers listing various maladies — from cancer to HIV to loneliness and weight issues — are provided.Next comes a clip board with a funny......

Continued...

 

Review: The girls are back in town

"Sex and the City" the movie is like one big, fat juicy episode of the hit HBO TV show — racy, silly, clever, poignant and thought-provoking. The groundbreaking sitcom’s millions of fans — make that most of the adult female population and a fair number of sensitive gay men — will be anything but disappointed by what writer-director Michael Patrick King, who also helmed the small-screen version, has come up with for America’s favorite New York, cosmopolitan-drinking women.The film, starring the excellent familiar cast all seemingly happy to be back......

Continued...

 

3-Minute Interview: Neal Levy

The executive director of Israel Center for the San Francisco Jewish Community Federation is among the organizers of Israel in the Gardens. This year, the event celebrates the 60th anniversary of Israel’s independence. The outdoor gathering runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday in Yerba Buena Gardens. What’s the purpose of Israel in the Gardens? It’s to honor and celebrate the whole mosaic of the Jewish community. Can you generalize about the character of the local Jewish community? It’s very much like the general population here: progressive, liberal, diverse......

Continued...

 

Andy Garcia doesn’t mind playing a mobster

Andy Garcia appears in "The Air That I Breathe," the feature debut by Korean-American writer-director Jieho Lee. The movie, which also stars Brendan Frasier, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Forest Whitaker and Kevin Bacon, comes to DVD......

Continued...

 

3-Minute Interview: Ledisi

The R&B singer, a Grammy Award nominee, got her start in show business playing Bay Area clubs and appearing in "Beach Blanket Babylon" for years. She lives in New Orleans, but calls Oakland home, too. She appears Monday at the KBLX Stone Soul Concert at Sleep Train Pavilion on a bill with Maze, Chaka Khan and the Whispers.You’re a soul singer, but your album "Lost & Found" is on Verve, a jazz label. What’s that about? My path has never gone the way I thought it would; it’s the same......

Continued...

 

Review: Cher smokin’ at Caesars

A few years ago, when Cher brought her infamous "Farewell" tour through the Bay Area — a couple of times, actually — one critic wrote that when she opened with a version of U2’s "I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For," she was referring to her wardrobe.That remains the case with her new show in Caesars Palace’s 4,300-seat Colosseum, where she recently opened a 200-gig, three-year engagement.As with her touring concert, Cher’s Las Vegas set is packed with phenomenal costume changes; I lost count of her outfits at 12.She......

Continued...

 

3-Minute Interview: Henry Winkler

The actor best known as the Fonz on "Happy Days" is co-author with Lin Oliver of the children’s book series "Hank Zipzer: The World’s Greatest Underachiever." He’ll be at the Menlo Park Library, 800 Alma St., at 7 p.m. Friday signing copies of the 14th installment, "The Life of Me: Enter at Your Own Risk."Why are we doing this interview at 7:45 a.m.?......

Continued...

 

Review: Shakespeare’s ‘Night’s Dream’ goes on wild ride

An extraordinary Indian version of "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" onstage at San Francisco’s Curran Theatre might just be the most fun you’ll ever have not quite understanding Shakespeare.That statement may be taken both figuratively and literally; the actors in this Dash Arts production presented by Best of Broadway speak not only English, but Hindi, Bengali, Sinhalese, Marathi and a few other Indian languages in a literal translation of Shakespeare’s comedy.Yet, under the colorful, funny, musical direction by Tim Supple, the famous story of lovers, fairies and actors comes thrillingly alive.Theatergoers......

Continued...

 

3-Minute Interview: Stacy London

The star of TLC’s hit show "What Not To Wear" and co-host Clinton Kelly are in town this week taping the program. What brings you to the Bay Area? Makeovers for three women, including Olympic swimmer Tara Kirk, a hair stylist named Kandiss and a textile designer who looks like an upholstered sofa. With Mother’s Day, do you have any special fashion advice for moms? It depends on what your mom does,......

Continued...

 

Review: Ashford & Simpson -- don't miss the real thing

To hear some old-school soul like only the pros can do, check out Ashford & Simpson at the Rrazz Room.Backed by a groovin’ five-piece band, the appropriately named "love couple" — they’ve been married for decades — took an excellent, extensive tour down memory lane and into the future Tuesday night in the first show of a two-week engagement in the new club in San Francisco’s Continued...

 

3-Minute Interview: Rupa

The San Francisco singer-songwriter leads Rupa & the April Fishes in a 1 p.m. concert today that kicks off the 2008 Yerba Buena Gardens Festival. The downtown arts festival offers hundreds of free performances, including classical, jazz and world music, theater, traditional and contemporary dance, children’s and family programs. Weekly events continue through October. How would you describe your music? It’s the sound of a person trying to find her place in a world across different cultures. It’s global agitpop — popular music to agitate people to wake up on......

Continued...

 

Review: Williams’ ‘Out Cry’ is simply out there

The Next Stage, nestled in a Pacific Heights church on Gough Street, is home to a new production of Tennessee Williams’ "Out Cry: The Two-Character Play."Although program notes indicate that the storied playwright himself once called it "my most beautiful play since ‘Streetcar,’" this production instead reveals why the theater-going public is intimately familiar with "A Streetcar Named Desire" and not at all with "Out Cry." "Out Cry" is simply out there. There’s not much of a discernible plot. The surrealistic......

Continued...

 

Asian Art Museum partners up with Target to offer no-cost admission on Sundays

Officials at the Asian Art Museum are happily bracing themselves for big crowds Sunday, when the institution kicks off its Target First Free Sunday program.From 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., the museum will open its doors for free to host a day packed with dance and musical performances — many by children — along with workshops, artist demonstrations, hands-on activities and author readings."I’m looking forward to seeing the museum full of people," says Deborah Clearwaters, the museum’s director of education and......

Continued...

 

3-Minute Interview: Maryles Casto

A native of the Philippines, the founder and owner of Silicon Valley-based Casto Travel is among the honorees at the Commonwealth Club of California’s 20th annual Distinguished Citizens Award Dinner, being held Wednesday in San Francisco. Individuals recognized this year are "immigrants who embody the American dream."......

Continued...

 

Hunters Point activist enlivens spirited short

Kevin Gordon has hit pay dirt with his first film.The 11-minute short, "Tellin’ It Like It Is: The Work of Eloise Westbrook," was accepted into the San Francisco Film Festival.Given the film’s subject — a long-overdue portrait of the colorful, tenacious San Francisco activist known nationally for her work on Hunters Point housing and on health issues — its appearance in the lineup......

Continued...

 

Smaller in scale but not in scope

Marking its 51st anniversary this year, the San Francisco International Film Festival has gone back to its "standard" fare of dozens of offerings of all kinds of films from around the world.While last year’s 50th celebration warranted a program that was slightly bigger, this year’s presentation nonetheless remains wide in scope. Its sponsor, the San Francisco Film Society, has gone through the same exhaustive preparation as it does......

Continued...

 

Aerial dance fueled by ‘Lies’

San Francisco aerial choreographer Jo Kreiter is taking on some heavy issues in her contribution to ODC Theater’s three-weekend festival exploring the politics of dancing."I felt compelled to do something that responded to the war," Kreiter says of her piece, "Lies You Can Dance To."The dance, on a bill with Burmese-American Butoh artist Ledoh’s "Color Me America," is being presented today through Saturday in the first program of "For the Record: Dancers......

Continued...

 

Review: In defense of 'Caveman'

"Defending the Caveman" — Rob Becker’s hit one-man comedy exploring the differences between the sexes that originated in 1991 in San Francisco — is back in The City.Having gone on to become the longest-running solo show on Broadway, "Caveman" also has become a branded franchise. The good news is that the current version here, starring Portland, Ore.-raised actor Isaac Lamb — not Becker — is as amusing as ever.While there’s nothing particularly earth-shattering or revelatory about Becker’s observations about men, women and men and women together, they remain funny —......

Continued...

 

3-Minute Interview: Jeanne Birdsall

The National Book Award for Young People’s Literature winner will promote her new book, "The Penderwicks on Gardam Street," at 6 p.m. today at Kepler’s in Menlo Park and at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Books Inc. in Laurel Village in San Francisco.Your book is a sequel, but can kids read it without having read the first one? Yes; I worked very hard at making it OK for someone to pick up this......

Continued...

 

Melancholy music and more

Tim Hockenberry, still near the beginning of his Monday night residency in the new Rrazz Room in San Francisco’s Nikko Hotel, is that rare kind of performer whose style is difficult to define — in a good way.A singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Hockenberry has been known to appear in a cabaret setting, but his current show-tuneless act really doesn’t fit that bill.On April 14, to an audience that included Bonnie Riatt and other hometown friends, the Mill Valley-based musician and his superb band — guitarist Gowain Matthews, bassist Terry Miller......

Continued...

 

Review: 'High School Musical' sticks to the status quo

Did someone say good, clean fun? That’s the order of the day with the national tour of Disney’s "High School Musical," which rolled into San Francisco’s Orpheum Theatre for a two-week run, and moves to San Jose in June.Although it’s not Sondheim or Rodgers and Hammerstein, this pop-culture juggernaut’s biggest value is that it may likely be a catalyst for many youngsters’ further interest in theater.There weren’t many huge surprises for kids and their parents in Tuesday’s opening-night audience. The show’s songs and plot stick closely to the original, a......

Continued...

 

S.F. school students experience adventures in music

San Francisco elementary schoolchildren in attendance at Davies Hall today won’t be playing hooky — they’ll be listening to a symphonic concert.The performance is part of Adventures in Music, a remarkably successful San Francisco Symphony-sponsored education project celebrating its 20th anniversary in partnership with San Francisco schools this year.The program — which combines interdisciplinary classroom instruction, specialized curriculum at different grade levels and live presentations from professional musicians — reaches every child in first through fifth grade in San Francisco Unified District School, as well as students at some parochial......

Continued...

 

Phil Donahue speaks out against the war

Phil Donahue is on a mission to show Americans a view of what’s going on in Iraq that they’re not seeing."This is a sanitized war," says the iconic TV talk show host, in San Francisco this week promoting "Body of War," a documentary he co-directed with Ellen Spiro.The film, Donahue’s first foray into directing, tells the story of Tomas Young, who was paralyzed at age 22 from a bullet wound he sustained to his spinal cord after serving less than a week in Iraq.Getting up close and personal, the movie......

Continued...

 

Thriving Ivory heads for the big-time

Clayton Stroope, vocalist of the Bay Area-based Thriving Ivory, isn’t worried about the death of the rock star."Why would you ever want to be drunk, playing sloppily, looking like you don’t care?" says Stroope, 25, whose band celebrates its first major release, a self-titled CD, Friday at the Great American Music Hall.Best known for the Live 105 hit "Angels on the Moon," the group is ready for its close-up: "For the last couple of years, we’ve been in limbo, but in the last couple of months, it’s become what we’ve......

Continued...

 

Winner goes to Footstock

The spotlight will be on The City’s local music scene tonight at the Independent at the ING Bay to Breakers Battle of the Bands. Four groups are vying for the honor to open ING Footstock, the concert/party that follows this year’s May 18 running of San Francisco’s favorite race.About 50,000 people are expected to attend Footstock, according to event manager George Ridgely. This year’s headliner is The Last Goodnight, which sings "Pictures......

Continued...

 

Senior singers stayin’ alive

Dora Morrow and Jack Schnepp are pleased with the way their chorus is portrayed in the new movie "Young@Heart" "It’s great! Nice," says the 85-year-old Morrow, about the documentary, which opens Friday. "It’s the unvarnished truth," adds Schnepp, 78, who, with Morrow, was recently in San Francisco to promote the film, which depicts the weeks in the life of singers in a Continued...

 

Review: Nick Lowe's pure pop

Decades into a career boasting proto-punk roots and characterized by pop songs often too smart for the general public, Nick Lowe's got a gorgeous new, quiet album, "At My Age," on which he philosophizes about life as a grown-up.On a second swing through San Francisco in less than a year, the 59-year-old songwriter played evocative tunes from that CD in concert Saturday at the Fillmore featuring fellow Brit Robyn Hitchcock as the opener.Dressed in a white button-down shirt, dark slacks and playing only acoustic guitar as accompaniment, he said he......

Continued...

 

3-Minute Interview: John Nelson

According to the National Confectioners Association, today is National Licorice Day. Nelson is the former chief manufacturing officer of American Licorice Co., which has a plant in Union City. The company makes Red Vines, a brand that turns 50 this year. First off, how do you pronounce it: licor-iss or licor-ish? Licor-ish.How are you celebrating National......

Continued...

 

Review: ‘Hotshot’ not a play for the faint of heart

"Hotshot" offers an inside view of life with crystal methamphetamine, and it looks pretty realistic.The show, the first production presented by Guerilla Rep, a nonprofit troupe focusing on works by new, local playwrights, is onstage through April 26 at Mama Carlizo’s Voice Factory, a space dedicated to nurturing gay performers.Not for youngsters or for the socially conservative, "Hotshot" — described by the author as a "tragicomedy" — tells a graphic yet claustrophobic tale of three gay men whose lives are torn apart by their addiction and destructive behavior. Christian (Greg......

Continued...

 

3-Minute Interview: Arielle Jacobs

The actress, who grew up in Half Moon Bay, stars as Gabriella in the national tour of Disney’s "High School Musical," which opens Tuesday and runs through April 27 at San Francisco’s Orpheum Theatre and appears June 10-15 at the San Jose Center for Performing Arts. What’s it like to play an iconic character in such a popular show? It’s great for me. I love playing a role-model character that’s such a positive influence on all of the girls who come to the show. What are you looking forward to,......

Continued...

 

3-Minute Interview: David L. Brown

The Brisbane-based director is making a series of documentaries about the Bay Bridge sponsored by Professional Engineers in California Government. The newest, "Amazing: The Rebuilding of the MacArthur Maze," follows the fiery collapse in 2007 and how it was reconstructed in just 26 days. It airs on KQED Channel 9 at 7:30 p.m. Monday, at 2:30 a.m. Friday......

Continued...

 

Blink and you might miss this mockumentary

"The joke’s over," admits San Francisco independent filmmaker Mark Decena.Yet "Unflinching Triumph: The Philip Rockhammer Story," his spot-on mockumentary about the competitive sport of staredown, is getting a boost with, appropriately, an April Fool’s Day DVD release.The 80-minute movie, which was filmed in 2006 and released only on the Internet that year, generated more than half a million hits on Continued...

 

KQED begins second season of ‘QUEST’

Today at 7:30 p.m. on Channel 9 in San Francisco, KQED launches the second season of its ultra-cool, Northern California-based multimedia science and environment show, "QUEST."Those who can’t be in front of a TV on Tuesday evenings can see the show online at www.kqed.org/quest or hear it on the radio at 6:30 and 8:30 a.m. Mondays on KQED FM 88.5 beginning April 7.The half-hour segment starts off with an exploration of the age-old question "Is anyone out there?" Working for......

Continued...

 

Review: ‘Inspector’ is sadly clueless

Some of the Bay Area’s best comic actors appear in American Conservatory Theater’s new production of Nikolai Gogol’s "The Government Inspector," and, unfortunately, they’re not all that funny. Although the translation and adaptation by Britain’s Alistair Beaton give the language in the play a slightly contemporary feel (words such as "slut" are included), the story of a 19th-century Russian town whose officials take extreme measures to please a visiting government inspector remains static in this two-hour, 45-minute show.Program notes reveal that Gogol himself didn’t write the piece as a satire......

Continued...

 

Review: Bette takes tacky to supreme

Starting up again in June, Bette Midler is putting on a really big show at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.The Divine Miss M, calling herself "the people’s diva," has smoothly taken the reins from Celine Dion as mistress of the massive 4,200-seat Colosseum theater with "The Showgirl Must Go On."Midler......

Continued...

 

Review: Lorraine Hansberry Theatre builds strong 'Fences'

Lorraine Hansberry Theatre is closing out its 27th season, its last in its downtown Sutter Street location, in grand style with August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning "Fences." Under the helm of company artistic director Stanley E. Williams, the moving, always engaging production reveals why this drama about a black family......

Continued...

 

Traveling down ‘The Desire Line’

Several years ago, Marin-based choreographer Deborah Slater saw an untitled painting of three women between two bathrooms at Delancey Street restaurant in San Francisco and decided she wanted to make a dance based on it."Something about it just struck me," she says. "The women have balls in their hands; they sort of looked like circus people."When she contacted the artist, Continued...

 

Come to the cabaret

The Rrazz Room celebrated its grand opening Monday night in San Francisco’s Hotel Nikko with a lineup of giddy singers who reveled in their art — the art of cabaret. Perhaps Andrea Marcovicci, who appeared not quite halfway through the two-hour show, put it best when she toasted, "To all the disenfranchised performers who were wondering where their bookings were......

Continued...

 

Review: Mexican boy journeys ‘Under the Same Moon’

"Under the Same Moon" is extraordinarily sentimental and exciting at the same time.The independent, Spanish-language film directed by Patricia Riggen tells the story of 9-year-old Carlitos, a resourceful Mexican boy who crosses the U.S./Mexican border — by himself on a search for his mother. Seemingly tragic circumstances set him up for his journey. His grandmother, with whom he’s been living since his mother went to California to work illegally as a maid for money to send home, dies, and he’s not willing to accept the advances of his slimy uncle,......

Continued...

 

Director aims for ‘love we’re rooting for’

"Under the Same Moon," a film about a 9-year-old Mexican boy who faces grave danger crossing the border into the United States in an attempt to reunite with his mother, is a touching family drama and an exciting thriller at the same time.Yet director Patricia Riggen, who was born and raised in Guadalajara and studied film at Continued...

 

Review: Judy, Judy, Judy

You don't necessarily have to be Jewish to enjoy "25 Questions for a Jewish Mother." Tall people, homosexuals, and yes, children of all ages will relate to at least some elements of Judy Gold's often funny, sometimes poignant, one-woman show that's been years in the works. The longtime standup comic (she's been on all the TV shows and also co-wrote and produced "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" for a couple of years) covers a lot of ground in the 80-minute performance, which is onstage at San Francisco's Marines Memorial Theatre. At......

Continued...

 

‘Sleepwalking’ suits Theron

For Charlize Theron and Nick Stahl, the movie "Sleepwalking" is clearly a labor of love."We did it for the box-office potential," Stahl jokes during a recent visit to San Francisco to promote the film, which opens Friday."Actors look for movies like this," he says, more seriously. "It’s a simple, character-driven story." Stahl noted that his character is quiet, introspective and......

Continued...

 

3-Minute Interview: Adriano Paganini

The chef — a native of Milan, Italy, and current San Francisco resident — owns Pomodoro. Formerly called Pasta Pomodoro, the chain of neighborhood Italian eateries — many in the Bay Area — is also boasting a new and improved menu and wine list, and updated décor.Why are you changing the name of your restaurant? There always was confusion about whether we only do pasta.To what do you attribute your success, particularly in providing good food at reasonable prices? I’m a chef. I’m a survivor. I’ve learned a lot of......

Continued...

 

Remembering Jerome Robbins

Amanda Vaill at first didn't set out to write a book about Jerome Robbins. The great choreographer, who didn't often give interviews, granted her one for a magazine article she was going to write, but before they got the chance to meet, he died. "Then I reared forward," says Vaill, who ended up taking seven years to complete "Somewhere in Time: The Life of Jerome Robbins," a 675-page tome that some have called the definitive biography of the legendary Broadway and ballet innovator, The New York-based Vaill is in town......

Continued...

 

Bluesman John Németh has a 'Magic Touch'

Bluesman John Németh moved from his hometown of Boise, Idaho, to San Francisco not to be a part of the thriving Bay Area blues scene — but for a woman. "There was this lovely girl across the street," he says. When she decided to move, he told her, "You can't go down there all by yourself." Things worked out, he adds: "I'm still with her, so that's good." Though Boise admittedly wasn't a hotbed for the blues, he found success there as a musician. The same thing was true of......

Continued...

 

Chrisette Michele has her way

Chrisette Michele is unlike a lot of  "American Idol" rejects. The versatile singer-songwriter, who tried out but didn’t get picked to be on the show, has a Def Jam recording contract.Her soulful album "I Am," released last year, boasts the Grammy-nominated tune "If I Have My Way" and features Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, a not-too-shabby collaborator, on a couple of tunes.The confident 25-year-old, who headlines San Francisco’s Independent on Thursday, doesn’t seem too upset that she didn’t make it past the first round of "Idol." During a recent phone interview, she......

Continued...

 

Show not quite a whole new world

No doubt the multitudes of little lasses decked out in pink will enjoy "Princess Wishes," a not-quite extravaganza presented by Disney On Ice. Moving from San Jose to Oakland’s Oracle Arena this week, the show is spotty in concept and sometimes in execution, particularly to the adult eye. Nevertheless, it delivers on all counts to those for whom it matters — the pint-sized cuties simply thrilled to see their heroines Jasmine, Ariel, Cinderella, Belle, Mulan, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White in the flesh. Oh, and Tinker Bell, too. The show......

Continued...

 

A life in pictures

Annie Leibovitz admits that her weakness is that she likes people."My pictures are always going to be gushy and soft and nice on some level," said the woman who might be the world’s most famous living photographer.The affable artist was in San Francisco Friday leading a press tour of "Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer’s Life, 1990-2005," which runs through May 25 at the Legion of Honor."I’d love to be Diane Arbus," she said, "but I’m not going to be making those edgy photos."She pointed to an image of Mikhail Baryshnikov and......

Continued...

 

Review: ‘Monster’ is masterful

An Orwellian-like future world where humanity has been called into question is the setting of "Monster in the Dark," an invigorating, creative world premiere presented by the San Francisco-based foolsFURY Theater Company.The show, written by Doug Dorst and directed by Ben Yalom, marks the first play to be conceived and produced by the 10-year-old troupe, which is known not only for experimentation, but for staging productions characterized by extensive physicaland highly choreographed movement. "Monster in the Dark," which moves this week to San Francisco’s CounterPULSE after a successful East Bay......

Continued...

 

3-Minute Interview: Toni Fricke

The Oakland resident, who grew up in Burlingame, is a member of the elite club of leap day babies. According to the Honor Society of Leap Year Day Babies Web site, the chance of being born on leap year day is about 1 in 1,461. Leapers make up only 0.0684 percent of the world’s population.If you count the number of birthdays you've celebrated on Feb. 29, how old does that make you this year? I'm 13. I was born in 1956 at Mills Hospital in San Mateo.Do you feel special......

Continued...

 

Review: Terese Genecco swings S.F. like it’s Las Vegas

Terese Genecco doesn’t mess around, boy.She and her "little big band" are playing most Saturdays through May at San Francisco’s Hotel Nikko in a rollicking retro show titled "Last Call," but it might as well be named "Party Time."Genecco’s sheer personality lights up the stage as much as her vocals in a Las Vegas-style performance that amusingly has a two-ballad limit.More is more with Genecco, who reprises some tunes from "Drunk With Love: A Tribute to Frances Faye," her 2005 cabaret act at the New Conservatory Theatre Center. Between fun......

Continued...

 

An animated view of 1968 in ‘Chicago’

Director Brett Morgen is adamant about the way he wants people to view his new movie, "Chicago 10" — and it’s not as a history lesson."I would never suggest that anyone see this movie and write a thesis," he says about the events surrounding the conspiracy trial in Chicago that resulted after anti-war riots broke out at the 1968 Democratic......

Continued...

 

Review: Let’s go ‘Drinking’ with Carrie

Many details of Carrie Fisher’s life already have been exposed, but not as gleefully as in "Wishful Drinking."Onstage at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, the lifelong celebrity’s solo show serves up plenty of wonderful tidbits about the best-selling author and actress who has been in the spotlight since she was a child.For what must have been a scattered few in the audience who know little about her show-biz lineage, she provided a handy chart titled "Hollywood Inbreeding 101" toward the beginning of her two-hour (the time sped by!) talk.She pointed to a......

Continued...

 

Sean Costello's playin' the blues again

At 28, Georgia-based bluesman Sean Costello is feeling like he’s undergoing a rebirth of sorts. After a foray into the New York scene and a recording that blended blues with rock, funk and soul, the singer-songwriter-guitarist has returned to his roots with his new CD "We Can Get Together," being released this week. Costello, who plays at Biscuits and Blues in San Francisco today, describes the new recording, on Delta Groove, as "more raw, more direct and less slick" than 2005’s "Sean Costello," a big-budget effort on the prestigious indie......

Continued...

 

Review: Even now, Barry Manilow makes musical magic

Barry Manilow was great. He always is.Friday night’s rare Bay Area concert at the HP Pavilion in San Jose (he was there in 1998 when it was the San Jose Arena)  found the superstar at his usual, show-bizzy best.Decades after his breakout hit "Mandy," Manilow is still singing the sappy ballads and simple Top 40 hits that simply haven’t worn over the years, particularly for the unapologetic diehard fans comprising the capacity crowd. (Note: Average concertgoer age looked about  the same as that of the last Rolling Stones tour.)But this......

Continued...

 

Paula West is back

Only Paula West could make a hotel conference room feel like the Copacabana on opening night. But that’s just what San Francisco’s premier jazz-cabaret singer did Tuesday in the Carmel Room at Hotel Nikko, where she began her 2008 residency with the George Mesterhazy Quartet. It simply didn’t matter that the highly anticipated opening of the Rrazz Room, which is taking the place of the defunct beloved Plush Room at the York Hotel, has been delayed. West never disappoints, whether singing from a glitzy stage or from an inauspicious platform......

Continued...

 

3-Minute Interview: Carole Shattil

In time for Valentine's Day, the founder and president of CheckMates Inc, a Bay Area matchmaking service, talks about her work.How and why did you start CheckMates Inc? This is my 16th year. I saw there was a need for busy business professionals to connect. No one had time. For me, it was a good transition from working in executive search, and it went well with my background in psychology. It’s more gratifying to help people in their personal lives......

Continued...

 

Review: 'Taking Over' vividly explores a changing neighborhood

It’s not quite a beautiful day in Danny Hoch’s neighborhood, but it’s certainly fascinating, and often riveting. Hoch is the one-man band behind "Taking Over," a 100-minute solo show enjoying an extended run at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Playing the part of nine characters whose lives are being affected — and who are affecting change — in the gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg, Hoch follows in the illustrious footsteps of Berkeley Rep veterans Anna Devere Smith and Sarah Jones. These performers enlighten and reveal complex truths by exemplifying, rather than describing,......

Continued...

 

Directing classic ‘Sonny’s Blues’ — word for word

To take the opportunity to direct a production of James Baldwin’s "Sonny’s Blues" was a no-brainer for Margo Hall."I know this story," says Hall, recently speaking on the phone during a break from rehearsal. "I love James Baldwin and Langston Hughes and a lot of writers of the period," she says. As an African-American child growing up in Detroit, and a girl whose father was a jazz musician, Hall felt intimately familiar with the material in the story."Sonny’s Blues," which opens this week in San Francisco, is presented by the......

Continued...

 

3-Minute Interview: Alicia Boccellari

The director of the Division of Psychosocial Medicine at San Francisco General Hospital is among the recipients of the 2008 Heroes & Hearts Award. Presented by the San Francisco General Hospital Foundation, the honor goes to San Francisco workers who demonstrate exceptional and inspirational behavior in the community. Boccellari will join this year’s four other......

Continued...

 

Jovelyn Richards premieres ‘Come Home’

The Marsh, San Francisco’s prime location for solo performance, presents the world premiere of "Come Home." Jovelyn Richards’ one-woman play is about 26 black soldiers who leave their home in lynch-torn rural Arkansas to fight against Germany in World War II; 13 of them survive. In the show, which is set in......

Continued...

 

Sisters Morales sing for a cause

Roberta and Lisa Morales enjoy hearing that they’ve been described as "the female Los Lobos.""We’ll take it," they say during a recent phone interview, commenting on that observation as well as the fact they also have been compared to the Dixie Chicks."They’re both talented, both successful," says Lisa, a member of the San Antonio, Texas-based Sisters Morales. The group appears at Bimbo’s in San Francisco on Thursday in "A Tribute to Ritchie Valens" — which also will feature a special surprise guest — and at the Fox Theatre Saturday with......

Continued...

 

3-Minute Interview: Sarah Ferguson

The Duchess of York and spokeswoman for Weight Watchers has written the forward to a new Weight Watchers book, "Start Living, Start Losing," a compilation of sometimes poignant, sometimes funny stories about members’ experiences of slimming down. During a recent visit to the United States, she took a few minutes to chat on the phone about healthy living and eating.How long have you been on Weight Watchers? Eleven years. Why do you think the program works? It’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle. You can eat foods you want. I......

Continued...

 

3-Minute Interview: Donna Grant

The author and her writing partner Virginia DeBerry wrote "Gotta Keep On Tryin’," a new novel about two New York women who are best friends and run a successful business together. The book is the highly anticipated sequel to "Tryin’ to Sleep in the Bed You Made," which introduced the characters Pat and Gayle 10 years ago. Grant and DeBerry will sign books at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Continued...

 

Review: Here’s one funny ‘Dead Mother’

It seems a shame that a play as funny, offbeat, smart and provocative as David Greenspan’s "Dead Mother, Or Shirley Not All in Vain" is only seeing its second time in production in its West Coast premiere. The good news is that San Francisco’s Traveling Jewish Theatre and Thick Description, both known for their dedication to new and adventurous material, have created a co-production that runs, proudly, with the show’s wacky themes and tones. It also manages to present a simultaneously outrageous and realistic portrait of a dysfunctional Jewish-American family.......

Continued...

 

3-Minute Interview: Cesar Millan

The acclaimed dog-behavior expert and star of TV’s "Dog Whisperer" is in San Francisco this week filming new episodes. The show airs at 8 p.m. Fridays on the National Geographic Channel. What cases are you working on in The City? Yesterday we did a bulldog-Lab mix. It brought me back to just before 9/11, when I was coming to SanFrancisco [before the TV show] to work on a similar case. It’s pretty hard. The dog is biting its owner and lunging at people on the streets. Any other cases? I......

Continued...

 

Feinstein swings with the symphony

Michael Feinstein isn’t simply paying lip service when he says The City is a special place. "San Francisco is where I had my first major success," said the country’s most prominent interpreter of standards during a recent phone conversation. The Los Angeles-based musician (who also has a club in New......

Continued...

 

The 3-minute interview with Ryan Schwartz

The 22-year-old Mission district resident is a semifinalist in the Simply Manischewitz Live Cook-Off, which starts at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Hilton Hotel, 750 Kearny St., San Francisco. Two winners from the round will go to the finals in New York City, where they will compete for a $25,000 grand prize.What recipe earned you a......

Continued...

 

The 3-minute interview with Joyce Keil

The co-founder and artistic director of Ragazzi Boys Choir is celebrating the Peninsula group’s 20th anniversary. The boys’ final holiday concert is at 5 p.m. Sunday at the First Congregational Church, 1985 Louis Road, Palo Alto.How did Ragazzi start? I had been an assistant with the San Francisco Boys Chorus for two years, and had been teaching at a Crystal Springs school [in San Mateo County]. A parent, Continued...

 

The 3-minute interview with Tommy Dunbar

Published: Dec 05, 2007

Along with Jon Rubin, Dunbar is a founding member of the Rubinoos, a 1970s Berkeley-based band best known for the cult hit "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend," which sounds a lot like Avril Lavigne’s more recent "Girlfriend." The songs are at the center of a copyright infringement lawsuit now in arbitration. The Rubinoos open for their former Beserkley label-mate Continued...

 

Boitano psychs up for superstar event

Published: Dec 03, 2007

About his upcoming appearance this week at AT&T Park, skating to live music by Barry Manilow and a full orchestra, Brian Boitano says, "God, I hope it doesn’t rain."The outdoor show, the first of its type at the San Francisco baseball field — which is being outfitted with a custom ice rink — actually opens with the number "It Never Rains in Southern California," says Boitano, who has been staging television specials with his company White Canvas Productions for more than a decade.The 1988 Olympic gold medalist has lined up......

Continued...

 

The 3-minute interview with Dana Ullman

Published: Nov 30, 2007

The Berkeley-based writer and researcher is a national spokesman for homeopathic medicine whose latest book is "The Homeopathic Revolution: Why Famous People and Cultural Heroes Choose Homeopathy." He will speak at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Garden Room of Building 10 at UC Berkeley’s Clark Kerr Campus,2601 Warring St.What is homeopathy? It’s a type of natural medicine that works to stimulate the body’s own defense systems. How is it different from conventional medicine? It doesn’t suppress symptoms, which are defenses of the body and mind. Homeopathic medicines use symptoms to......

Continued...

 

Asian Museum celebrates grant

Published: Nov 27, 2007

On Saturday, the Asian Art Museum hosts a free family community day to celebrate a $1 million grant that will go toward broadening the museum’s education programs for schoolchildren and the community. Announced earlier this month, the grant from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation will help launch the Bridge Program, which will expand access to high-quality teaching materials about Asia, with an emphasis on middle-school curriculum. The funds, which are expected to be distributed over a five-year period, will go toward online learning as well as teacher training and......

Continued...

 

Robert LePage is all about progress

Published: Nov 24, 2007

Robert LePage, director of San Francisco Opera’s upcoming U.S. premiere of Stravinsky’s "The Rake’s Progress," equates performance with play. "I believe in playing," says the acclaimed French Canadian director, actor, writer and founder of the multidisciplinary production company Ex Machina. "Actors bore me, but players are interesting." A hot commodity in the world of contemporary theater known for his innovative use of technology, LePage’s packed resume also includes film ("The Far Side of the Moon"), concerts (Peter Gabriel’s 1993 "Secret World" Tour), and even circus; he created Cirque du Soleil’s......

Continued...

 

Robert LePage is all about progress

Published: Nov 21, 2007

Robert LePage, director of San Francisco Opera's upcoming U.S. premiere of Stravinsky's "The Rake's Progress," equates performance with play. "I believe in playing," says the acclaimed French Canadian director, actor, writer and founder of the multidisciplinary production company Ex Machina. "Actors bore me, but players are interesting." A hot commodity in the world of contemporary theater known for his innovative use of technology, LePage's packed resume also includes film ("The Far Side of the Moon"), concerts (Peter Gabriel's 1993 "Secret World" Tour), and even circus; he created Cirque du Soleil's......

Continued...

 

The 3-minute interview: Andrea Bocelli

Published: Nov 21, 2007

The acclaimed Italian tenor, who graces both the opera and classical crossover worlds, has recently released "The Best of Andrea Bocelli: Vivere." The singing superstar plays the HP Pavilion in San Jose on Dec. 2. Why have you just now made your greatest hits album? Until now, I preferred to present new songs. But I realized it was time. It’s been 15 years into my career, and this is my first true collection. You often perform duets. Is there a particular person with whom you like to sing? The world......

Continued...

 

’Tis the season for arts and crafts

Published: Nov 20, 2007

Arts and crafts — for sale and for show — are in abundance for the holidays. Here’s a quick look at some Bay Area offerings: BERKELEY ARTISANS HOLIDAY OPEN STUDIOS It’s the 17th annual free self-guided tour of 100 professional artisan workshops, featuring blown glass, ceramics, ornaments, custom furniture, garden art, floor cloths, one-of-a-kind clothing, textiles, jewelry, leather bags, recycled art, sculpture, photography, paintings, original prints and more. Where: Various locations in Berkeley When: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, Dec. 1-2, Dec. 8-9, Dec. 15-16, Contact: (510) 845-2612; www.berkeleyartisans.com ......

Continued...

 

Cirque du Soleil deftly premieres

Published: Nov 19, 2007

Cirque du Soleil’s "Kooza," making its U.S. premiere in San Francisco, exemplifies why the French Canadian super troupe is simply the brand in boutique circuses. "Kooza" comes from the Sanskrit word koza, which means box or treasure; the delightful show under the big top near AT&T Park serves up plenty of charm and thrills. Writer-director David Shiner says the company has returned to the basics for this installment, and it works. Not overly packed with high concepts, the show’s focus is on awe-inspiring stunts and classic-type clowning in the stylish......

Continued...

 

Billy Joel, the prime ‘Piano Man’

Published: Nov 12, 2007

Billy Joel may be in a New York state of mind, but he had the heart of the Bay Area on Saturday at the Oracle Arena."Isn’t this the Oakland Coliseum?" he joked to the capacity, surprisingly multigenerational crowd on his first solo local appearance in years. Throughout the show, he sprinkled in fun musical San Francisco references, including the famed "open your Golden Gate" theme, the Scott McKenzie song, Jefferson Airplane’s "White Rabbit" and, of course, a beautiful Tony Bennett-like version of "I Left My Heart in San Francisco." Having......

Continued...

 

An interview of Seinfeldian proportions

Published: Oct 30, 2007

Jerry Seinfeld, in a San Francisco hotel suite last month on a major publicity blitz for his new, animated "Bee Movie" — which opens Friday — isn't exactly pleased when he sees I'm about to interview him using a pad, pen and no tape recorder. He says a recent article made up something he said; I assured him that in my 18 years of reporting without taping, I'd never misquoted anyone, and that for my story, I wouldn't need long commentary. He said he’d answer the questions with that in......

Continued...

 

Sony Holland’s tones a refreshing sound

Published: Oct 29, 2007

Bay Area jazz singer Sony Holland has a style that goes down easy. Her Plush Room engagement over the weekend featured a pleasantly appealing lineup of standards, pop songs and originals. On Friday night, her band — the excellent Benny Watson on piano, Seward McCain on bass, David Rokeach on drums and Charles McNeal on saxophone, perfectly complemented her vocal performance, her last at the wonderfully intimate venue in the York Hotel, which is closing at the end of the year. (The room’s bookers, Rrazz Entertainment, are opening a new......

Continued...

 

Review: Tom Waits elevates Bridge School Benefit

Published: Oct 29, 2007

As always, the 21st annual Bridge School Benefit over the weekend in Mountain View was a feel-good time for all. Neil and Pegi Young's star-packed event routinely has appeal in that it's more about the beneficiaries — kids with severe learning disabilities who are Bridge School students — than it is about rock-star posturing. Despite the fact that some 20,000 attend the show at the Shoreline Ampitheatre, there's something nicely intimate about big-time pop musicians doing acoustic sets for a good cause. Yet there was little in the way of......

Continued...

 

Review: Springsteen, E Street Band make 'Magic' in Oakland

Published: Oct 26, 2007

Bruce Springsteen for president … perhaps the savior of ‘n’ roll wouldn’t want the job, but if he were to take it (no question he’d be elected), America would likely be in better shape than it is now. But wouldn’t it be amazing if the country ran as smoothly, and as passionately, as a Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band show? For fans who have been following The Boss for decades, the opening Bay Area show Thursday night at the Oracle Arena in Oakland might not have been the......

Continued...

 

The 3-minute interview with Nick Hornby

Published: Oct 22, 2007

The British soccer nut and music fan is the author of the best-selling novels "High Fidelity" and "About a Boy." His new book, "Slam," his first for young adults, is about a 15-year-old boy who undergoes major life changes after he hooks up with his girlfriend. Hornby will be at Books Inc., 601 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco, at 7 tonight to talk about "Slam."After reading "Slam," it isn’t obvious that the book is strictly for young people. Is it? I don’t know if it is or it isn’t. I......

Continued...

 

The 3-minute interview with Terry George

Published: Oct 19, 2007

The director-screenwriter received a best original screenplay Oscar nomination for 2004’s "Hotel Rwanda," which he also directed and produced. Born in Belfast, and now living in New York, George has written or directed other classy, meaty films, including "In the Name of the Father," "The Boxer," "Some Mother’s Son" and "Hart’s War." His new movie, "Reservation Road," starring Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Ruffalo, opens today.You’re best known for making political films. Is "Reservation Road" political? I think it is, in its subtext. It’s about revenge and creating a monster.How would......

Continued...

 

Find good vibes in ‘The Key of G’

Published: Oct 19, 2007

The topic of Robert Arnold’s movie — that of a severely disabled San Francisco man who, at 22, moves out of his mother’s house for the first time to live under the supervision of ‘round-the-clock paid caregivers — isn’t easy. The tough subject in and of itself was one of the reasons why Arnold made "The Key of G," which airs at 6 p.m. Sunday on Channel 9 as part of the PBS "Truly California" series. "I started to make the film because I didn’t know how to relate to......

Continued...

 

Review: Chill with ‘High School Musical’

Published: Oct 19, 2007

Could anything be sweeter than "High School Musical"? Possibly "High School Musical: The Ice Tour," which closes its Oakland engagement today and moves to San Jose’s HP Pavilion next week. The show is a happy fest for all. At Thursday’s Bay Area opening, kids of all colors, their parents — and, seemingly inexplicably, some young adults without children — were thrilled to be in attendance, singing along to the incredibly generic pop tunes, waving to their favorite characters and simply celebrating being themselves and all the good things in life.......

Continued...

 

3-minute interview with Jordan Brauninger

Published: Oct 18, 2007

The Ludlow, Ky., native has been skating since he was 5, when he played hockey. At 8, he became a figure skater. He competed for 10 years, ranking among the top 15 in North America and the top 10 in the U.S. He stars as Troy in "Disney’s High School Musical: The Ice Tour," which plays at Oracle Arena in Oakland today through Saturday and at HP Pavilion Wednesday through Oct. 28.What are the differences between skating in competition and performing? Both are equally difficult. The physical demands of this......

Continued...

 

Review: Lady luck is with AMTSJ's 'Guys and Dolls'

Published: Oct 13, 2007

For musical lovers in particular or anyone in the market for a rock-solid show, it's worth a trip to the South Bay to see the American Musical Theatre of San Jose's production of the Frank Loesser, Joe Swerling and Abe Burrows classic "Guys and Dolls." The professional not-for-profit theater, now entering its 73rd year, has rounded up a cast of Broadway veterans who bring to life Damon Runyan's quintessential New York characters: gamblers Nathan Detroit (Rick Hilsabeck) and Sky Masterson (Burke Moses), show girl Miss Adelaide (Michele Ragusa) and missionary......

Continued...

 

‘Book of Longing’ leaves feeling of longing

Published: Oct 10, 2007

Stanford Lively Arts kicked off its 2007-08 season Tuesday night in Memorial Auditorium with the West Coast premiere of "Book of Longing," a composition by Philip Glass based on poetry by Leonard Cohen. Both artists attended the highly anticipated program. The 100-minute performance offered up a sometimes funny, sometimes profound, sometimes perplexing mix of music, singing, spoken word and imagery focusing on Cohen’s themes of love, lust, disappointment and reflections on life. Glass conducted and played keyboards; his ensemble of musicians playing saxophone, oboe, cello, bass and keyboards created some......

Continued...

 

The 3-minute interview with London

Published: Oct 09, 2007

Simply call her by the one name, says the San Francisco-born, Oakland-bred singer who reaped international fame as LaToya London on the third season of "American Idol." She’s back in town, appearing as Nettie in the Best of Broadway touring company of Oprah Winfrey’s "The Color Purple." The show opens today at San Francisco’s Orpheum Theatre and runs through Dec. 9.Why are you going by the name London? Everyone knows me as London; I’ve got it tattooed on my back. I got on "Idol" as LaToya London, and that’s how......

Continued...

 

Review: Smuin Ballet alive and well

Published: Oct 08, 2007

As Managing Director Dwight Hutton recently announced, "Smuin Ballet is alive and thriving." The company founded by Michael Smuin, who died suddenly in April, is indeed carrying on in its creator’s spirit, as clearly seen in the opening concert of the troupe’s 2007-08 season at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre in San Francisco. Sunday evening’s show revealed at least one element for which the sometimes controversial choreographer was known: his ability to combine classic and show biz styles into sincerely crowd-pleasing performances. The fall program, its four pieces swiftly......

Continued...

 

Review: 'Annie' gets audiences rolling

Published: Oct 01, 2007

Irving Berlin’s great "Annie Get Your Gun," chock full of show-tune hits, is a musical that hasn’t been staged particularly often, or recently, in the Bay Area. Perhaps that’s because, even today, the person in the title role has a big job to do, following the footsteps of Ethel Merman, for whom the role was created way back in the 1940s. But Broadway By the Bay in San Mateo has found an excellent Annie in Virginia Wilcox, who belts the songs not at all like Merman, but with the natural......

Continued...

 

Manilow, Boitano to play AT&T Park

Published: Sep 28, 2007

Barry Manilow and Brian Boitano — it’s a miracle. That’s what the San Francisco Giants are saying in anticipation of a first-time, one-night-only show at 8 p.m. Dec. 5 at AT&T Park featuring live music by Manilow accompanying skating by world-class athletes, including the South Bay’s Boitano and Olympic gold-medalists Dorothy Hamill, David Pelletier and Viktor Petrenko. In a telephone news conference announcing the event today, Boitano said, "I have been a fan of Barry’s for years. Every figure skater either has skated to a Barry song — or wanted......

Continued...

 

Review: Soulful songs propel 'Blues in the Night'

Published: Sep 28, 2007

Carol Woods has got the blues. So do Freda Payne, Paulette Ivory and Maurice Hines. But Woods has them more. The singers, appearing in "Blues in the Night" onstage at San Francisco’s Post Street Theatre, are all radiant, but Woods somehow goes the extra distance. When she belts "Got a moon above me, but no one to love me/Lover man, oh, where can you be?" she’s absolutely forlorn. Later in the show, singing Bessie Smith’s "Wasted Life Blues," she wails, "No one seems to care enough for poor me, to......

Continued...

 

The 3-minute interview with Judy Collins

Published: Sep 28, 2007

The crystalline-voiced folk singer, known for her versions of "Both Sides Now" and "Send in the Clowns," has been performing in the spotlight for more than 40 years. She’ll appear in concert at 7 p.m. Sunday in Kanbar Hall at the Jewish Community Center, 3200 California St., San Francisco. For ticket information, call (415) 292-1233 or visit www.jccsf.org/arts.Have you ever stopped singing? I’ve performed from the time I could talk — I did school shows, for the PTA, for the Lions’ Club in Denver. I’ve been at this for......

Continued...

 

The 3-minute interview with Matt Harding

Published: Sep 26, 2007

The 30-year-old Seattle resident became an Internet celebrity when he posted videos of himself dancing at famous places around the globe. He’s now on his third world tour, which is sponsored by Stride Gum, and he’s asking locals to join him. He’ll be at Alamo Square in San Francisco at 5:30 p.m. today. For details, visit www.wherethehellismatt.com. Where have you been recently? September has been clockwise around North America. I’m from Seattle; I started in Vancouver and have been to Toronto, Montreal, the East Coast, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Miami.......

Continued...

 

The 3-minute interview with Carol Woods

Published: Sep 19, 2007

The singer-actress brings down the house playing the world-weary, funny, roll-with-the-punches Lady from the Road in the musical "Blues in the Night." The show is enjoying an extended run onstage at the Post Street Theatre in San Francisco through Oct. 28. Where did you learn to sing the blues? Life. Just life. My background is from the Pentecostal church, from singing gospel in church.How did you get your start in show business? This is atrue story. I was working as a nurse at Queens General for $66 a week when......

Continued...

 

The 3-minute interview with David Lubar

Published: Sep 11, 2007

The award-winning author of creepy, odd — and fun — short stories for kids has recently released a third volume in his famed "Weenie" series: "The Curse of the Campfire Weenies." Living in Nazareth, Penn., Lubar is in the Bay Area signing books at Hicklebees’s bookstore in San Jose today and talking to kids at Woodside Elementary on Wednesday.Why "Weenies"? A weenie is worth mocking, but sort of likable in a way.Is there a reason why you write for young people? Well, my mom was a children’s librarian. Also, that’s......

Continued...

 

Review: 'Mamma Mia' -- it's back!

Published: Sep 07, 2007

Although a simple DNA test would solve Sophie Sheridan’s dilemma, it’s much more fun to watch the 20-year-old as she tries to determine just who is her dad in the musical phenomenon known as "Mamma Mia." Currently there are 10 productions of the show running worldwide. Now back in San Francisco for the fourth time (the 1999 London hit had its celebrated pre-Broadway tryout at the Orpheum in 2000), the show remains thoroughly fun and satisfying — on a number of levels.Of course, there are the catchy songs by the......

Continued...

 

‘Married’ no longer, Sagal reclaims her true voice

Published: Sep 06, 2007

Not too far into her set at the Plush Room in San Francisco Tuesday, Katey Sagal told the audience, "My secret passion is for songwriting … but my life kind of took a different turn."That offhand, unspecific remark was the only reference to the fact that she’s probably best known as Peg Bundy from TV’s "Married With Children." In real life, she’s nothing like the character. And judging from her spirited singing performance, it looks like she’s taking a solid turn back on a journey she was meant to follow,......

Continued...

 

Get ready for a wild theatrical ride

Published: Aug 30, 2007

It’s that time of year again — for the San Francisco Fringe Festival. The 16th annual event brings some 250 performances to eight stages in 12 days. The shows, featuring artists from all over the country (and England and Canada, too), range from the funny to dramatic to the just plain weird. In the spirit of the wide-open appeal of the festival,here’s an extremely random sampling of what’s being offered this year. Adventures of a Substitute TeacherVeteran substitute teacher Steven Karwoski trades slinging hash for dodging spitballs. In a high-energy......

Continued...

 

The 3-minute interview with Joan Rivers

Published: Aug 27, 2007

Iconic comedian Joan Rivers, 74, is in The City, presenting workshop performances of her new autobiographical play "The Joan Rivers Theatre Project" at the Magic Theatre as well as performing her stand-up act at the Plush Room. She chatted on the phone with The Examiner recently while having her nails done.Why did you bring your show to San Francisco? I think the audiences here are so smart. There are straight smarties, and gay smarties.Where are you hanging out during your stay? At the Magic, rehearsing. What are you wearing? A......

Continued...

 

Review: Summer concert a Wonder

Published: Aug 27, 2007

At the outset of Sunday night’s show at Concord’s Sleep Train Pavilion, Stevie Wonder introduced his lovely daughter (and backup singer) Aisha Morris, telling the hyped-up audience that spreading joy, to honor a request by his late mother, was primary among his reasons for returning to the concert stage for the first time in a decade. In the third gig of his "Wonder Summer’s Night" tour, Wonder, who’s scheduled appear Sept. 4 in a sold-out show at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga, fulfilled that promise — and then some. Opening......

Continued...

 

Julie Delpy: On film, feminism and war

Published: Aug 25, 2007

In real life, Julie Delpy seems a lot like the sexy, chatty, smart, meandering philosophical character she plays in "Before Sunrise," "Before Sunset" and in her new movie, "2 Days in Paris," which she also produced, wrote and directed. "There is a little bit of me, somewhat," she says, in Celine, from the "Before" films, and Marion, in the recent release. "I’m similar in that I’m a New York woman in the 21st century raised by a feminist mother and a feminist father." She’s pleased when people tell her that......

Continued...

 

Circus review: Amazing feats under the Big Top

Published: Aug 23, 2007

During Thursday’s opening night of the 137th edition of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Oakland, a big video screen at the side of the floor (a new feature) flashed with a phrase that said the circus is older than baseball, Disney and Coca-Cola. It’s a sobering fact; what’s equally interesting is that traditional elements of the most recent version of The Greatest Show on Earth are by far its most fascinating parts. Take the dog-act — something even the persistent animal rights activists won’t protest. The acrobatic......

Continued...

 

Amateurs light up 2007 Bay Area Rhythm Exch.

Published: Aug 21, 2007

Before the 2007 Bay Area Rhythm Exchange — the big performance component of this year’s Bay Area Tap Festival — began Saturday night at San Francisco’s Herbst Theatre, it wasn’t necessarily easy to generalize about the kind of people in the audience.But after the terrific "shim sham finale," it became clear that the folks at the show were tap dancers themselves, and mighty fine ones.At least a few dozen dancers of all ages, shapes and sizes from the crowd joined the professionals onstage for several group routines. A bunch pulled......

Continued...

 

‘Blues in the Night’ gives old songs new life

Published: Aug 20, 2007

Carol Woods has got the blues. So do Freda Payne, Paulette Ivory and Maurice Hines. But Woods has them more. The singers, appearing in "Blues in the Night" onstage at San Francisco’s Post Street Theatre, are all radiant, but Woods somehow goes the extra distance.When she belts "Got a moon above me, but no one to love me/Lover man, oh, where can you be?" she’s absolutely forlorn. Later in the show, singing Bessie Smith’s "Wasted Life Blues," she wails, "No one seems to care enough for poor me, to give......

Continued...

 

Diana Krall swings into town

Published: Aug 17, 2007

Jazz queen Diana Krall seemed to thoroughly enjoy her show Wednesday night at San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall.She’s liked frequent recent visits to the Bay Area, she said, also mentioning that she’s been on tour for "nearly three years" and that her two baby boys are fine.Ever so cool, tossing her silky long hair and tapping her deliciously high-heeled feet while enlightening the audience with just enough witty banter, Krall and her superb trio played an impeccable set of straight-ahead jazz, mostly swinging standards. Although Krall, one of the few......

Continued...

 

The 3-minute interview with Dr. Adrianne Ahern

Published: Aug 15, 2007

A performance psychologist who treats athletes, Ahern is author of "Snap Out of it NOW!," a book that outlines concrete ways people can overcome mental obstacles to perform at the peak level in every area of their lives. Ahern will sign books at 12:30 p.m. Thursday at Alexander’s Book Co., 50 Second St., San Francisco.Why did you write the book? I had to. I couldn’t move on without it. If I did, I’d be missing the next half of my life.What’s the basic premise of "Snap Out of it NOW!"......

Continued...

 

Wallenda flies through the air with the greatest ease

Published: Aug 13, 2007

It really was never a question that Nik Wallenda would do anything but walk on wires. Coming from seven generations of circus performers — his great-grandfather was Karl Wallenda, who introduced the high wire to America in the 1920s with Ringling Bros. — Nik never was trained in any pursuits of a more mundane nature.He started clowning at 2 ("I’d come out in a pillow case," he says), but by the time he turned 13, after practicing "for his whole life" and proving himself to his family, he began performing......

Continued...

 

‘Golden Road’ of self-discovery

Published: Aug 07, 2007

Caille Millner’s memoir isn’t warm and cozy, and after completing its 245 pages, readers won’t necessarily feel particularly close to her. Yet at the same time, the journey the extraordinary young woman describes with razor-sharp prose and insight in "The Golden Road: Notes on My Gentrification" (Penguin Press, $22.95) is thoroughly unique, engaging, and, most of all, thought-provoking.Millner, though an extremely successful student (she went to Harvard) and professional (today she’s an editorial writer in San Francisco), has never felt like she fit in. Her story, basically, is about what......

Continued...

 

Puppet party on ‘Avenue Q’

Published: Aug 06, 2007

"Avenue Q," the Tony Award-winning show coming to San Francisco this week, grew out of a project for a musical theater class. Bobby Lopez and Jeff Marx wrote something called "Kermit, Prince of Denmark," in which they proved the power of combining puppets and the Bard."It did get us a lot of attention," Lopez says during a recent phone interview from his office in New York. They based their idea on two facts: 1) Everyone knows and loves Muppets, and 2) It wouldn’t be too big of a stretch to......

Continued...

 

A starry night at Rufus Wainwright performance

Published: Aug 06, 2007

Rufus Wainwright brought his inimitable, international show to San Francisco’s Masonic Auditorium on Saturday, playing songs from his new album "Release the Stars."That title tune, which opened the show, didn’t seem like just a metaphor. In the course of a couple of hours, the stylish, sassy, musically diverse performer touched — or rather, dazzled — the audience with light and dark musical colors.Wearing a white suit studded with sparkles, changing into lederhosen for the second half of the show, and, for the finale, donning Judy Garland’s "Get Happy" get-up for......

Continued...

 

Hall, Oates and a string quartet

Published: Aug 03, 2007

In the local press and elsewhere, much has been written recently about John Oates’ quintessentially 1980s mustache (it’s actually long-gone), but if you ask one longtime fan, his colleague Daryl Hall has it all over him when it comes to hair.Here in 2007, Hall’s shampoo-commercial worthy blond mane is as lustrous as it was when he first sang "Sara Smile" in the 1970s. He’s still singing "Sara Smile," by the way. He did it distinctly and soulfully Wednesday at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, where he and......

Continued...

 

Celine approaches her final ‘Day’ show

Published: Jul 31, 2007

Time is running out to see Celine Dion’s "A New Day" at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. Admirers of the vocal superstar may want to note that the show, which opened in March 2003 and has played to some 2 million people, is onstage only through Dec. 15; fewer than 50 performances remain. "A New Day" is housed in its own nifty 4,000-seat state-of-the-art theater, the "Colosseum," created specifically the show, which is anything but your typical concert experience. It’s no wonder; the man behind the production is Franco Dragone,......

Continued...

 

No, it’s not called ‘Juliet and Juliet’

Published: Jul 30, 2007

Woman’s Will, the Bay Area’s scrappy all-female Shakespeare company, has finally got around to doing "Romeo & Juliet." Now celebrating its 10th year of free summer shows outdoors, the troupe has tackled lesser-known offerings such as "Coriolanus" and "Pericles" with great success. It has even dabbled with Bertolt Brecht ("Happy End") and Oscar Wilde ("Importance of Being Earnest"). So it’s no surprise that these women, including many new troupe members, would do well going back to basics, as a performance earlier this month in Berkeley’s John Hinckel Park attests. (The......

Continued...

 

Review: ‘Hairspray’ is a great new movie musical

Published: Jul 20, 2007

If the 2007 rendition of "Hairspray" doesn’t bring back the movie musical, nothing will. Not only does it have deliriously catchy songs, glamorous costumes and a cool retro setting, its actors, old favorites and youthful newcomers, are truly committed to the form, belting out show tunes with no apology or irony.It’s truly funny, too; the clever script by Leslie Dixon is packed with charm and enough visual gags to rival an episode of "The Simpsons." Director/choreographer Adam Shankman succeeds in what intuitively seems a difficult — if not silly, —......

Continued...

 

‘Gravedigger’s Tango’ delves

Published: Jul 16, 2007

A fierce champion of the San Francisco theater scene, playwright, director and actor Ian Walker is keeping it invigorated with the premiere of "The Gravedigger’s Tango," running at Traveling Jewish Theatre through the end of the month.It’s easy to understand why Walker has won awards for his work. A cool literary mystery, "The Gravedigger’s Tango" cleverly tells the intersecting stories of a couple of cemetery workers and the people responsible for an undated grave with the epitaph: "Not one but two hearts lie below/ Beyond the reach of all we......

Continued...

 

Cal Shakes’ Shaw is super

Published: Jul 12, 2007

With its production of George Bernard Shaw’s "Man and Superman" in Orinda, California Shakespeare Theater has once again lived up to its mission of keeping the classics alive, and very well.Under swift direction by Jonathan Moscone, the lengthy show — pushing 3½ hours — is a philosophy lesson wrapped in a sassy romantic comedy, and it works all the way around.The meat of the play is in Act 3, in Shaw’s show-within-a-show, the Don Juan in Hell dream sequence. Here the writer takes on Nietzsche’s theory of the ideal man,......

Continued...

 

Holland sings jazz; Koppy an innovator

Published: Jul 11, 2007

San Francisco’s Sony Holland says it’s "a challenge" to be a jazz singer in a town that’s home base for Wesla Whitfield and Paula West. While she agrees that they’re "two of the great things about living in San Francisco," they’re also a little like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in the way they draw media attention.It’s a situation that ought to be remedied; now’s your chance to hear Holland live, at 8 and 10 p.m. Friday through Sunday at Jazz at Pearl’s, 256 Columbus Ave., San Francisco, (415) 291-8255.On......

Continued...

 

Call her Foul-Mouthed Madame

Published: Jul 04, 2007

Madame, the saucy puppet who enjoyed TV fame on "Hollywood Squares" and "Solid Gold" — if you remember — is back.Perhaps she’d be better off in storage in the costume shop, where she apparently has rested for more than a decade. These days, the man behind the woman isn’t Wayland Flowers, who died in 1988. The guy responsible for her unceremonious return is Joe Kovacs, who’s appearing in "Come Back from Abroad" at San Francisco’s Plush Room. The curious who may have enjoyed her television sassiness should beware that......

Continued...

 

Catskills humorremains classic

Published: Jul 03, 2007

Comedians in Saturday night’s performance of "Catskills on Broadway" in San Francisco were faced with the half-filled Kanbar Hall at the Jewish Community Center on opening weekend.They didn’t seem too concerned. Host/co-headliner Freddie Roman told the "crowd": "If I don’t do good, who’s gonna know?"But when he said the show has been a hit in New York and on tour — "everywhere until here" — it wasn’t too hard to believe him. The amiable 90-minute show pretty much delivers the promise of its title, serving up the familiar Jewish humor......

Continued...

 

Review: ‘Spamalot’ a perfect fit for Vegas

Published: Jun 30, 2007

"Always Look on the Bright Side of Life," among the many chipper songs in "Monty Python’s Spamalot," represents the show’s infectious, positive attitude. It’s just one reason why the Tony (and Grammy) Award-winning musical, onstage since March in its own special Grail Theater at Wynn Las Vegas, is bound to thrill audiences for a long while. Sheer silliness, a trademark of Python humor, is another reason for the success of the show, which is based on (or as creators say, "lovingly ripped off from") the low-budget film favorite "Monty Python......

Continued...

 

Review: Steve Solomon's comedy is ‘Therapy’

Published: Jun 30, 2007

Steve Solomon is no Eddie Izzard, or Sacha Baron Cohen, or even Woody Allen, for that matter … maybe a low-rent Billy Crystal? OK, so he’s not edgy. That doesn’t take away from the fact that his one-man show, "My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish & I’m in Therapy" packs some laughs. Even the name of the show suggests he’ll be serving up jokes as old as the sun. But he delivers them with such nice comic timing and low-key good nature, you can’t help but like the guy. A......

Continued...

 

Review: There’s life in ‘Colma’

Published: Jun 22, 2007

"Colma: The Musical" opens with a bang, eliciting the kind of response similar to what you might have felt watching John Travolta strut down the street to the strains of "Stayin’ Alive" when you first saw "Saturday Night Fever." Only here the song is the catchy "Colma Stays," which pulsates to a rolling series of images of all Colma has offer — from BART to Serramonte to hillsides dotted with houses, and the city’s most famous icons, the cemeteries. But people are alive and well in Colma, most notably recent......

Continued...

 

The story behind ‘Colma: The Musical’

Published: Jun 21, 2007

San Francisco filmmakers Richard Wong and H.P. Mendoza show tons of heart and soul in their movie "Colma: The Musical." Surprisingly, neither spent his entire childhood there.But the movie, which opens Friday at the Embarcadero in San Francisco, does tell a personal story. It’s based on teen years the two spent living in the town before they went separate ways — Wong to Los Angeles, where he became a video engineer and worked on major TV shows including "Arrested Development," and Mendoza to the East Coast, where he pursued music.Yet......

Continued...

 

San Francisco author ‘Hooked’

Published: Jun 18, 2007

Nat Idle is hanging around in a Marina district coffeehouse one day when a mysterious stranger walks by his table and slips him a note, warning him to leave the premises immediately. She heads off before he has a chance to talk to her.As he makes his way toward the cafe door hoping to make contact with her, there’s a huge explosion that kills several people; Nat survives with some superficial injuries. Exactly who is the woman who saved his life? In his attempt to find out, he finds himself......

Continued...

 

Review: Soulful Police back in action

Published: Jun 15, 2007

The Police — a soul act? The notion may be a stretch, but not by much, judging by the reunited band’s performance Wednesday at the sold-out McAfee Coliseum in Oakland.Fans expecting the rough-edged, punky, jazzy rock that characterized the group’s early years may have been disappointed; others, particularly those who enjoy Sting’s solo career, found the show completely satisfying from start to finish. (I’m one of the latter.) For nearly two hours, the biggest band of the early ’80s served up shaded and warm — yes, bordering on soulful —......

Continued...

 

The Police are back in action

Published: Jun 15, 2007

The Police — a soul act? The notion may be a stretch, but not by much, judging by the reunited band’s performance Wednesday at the sold-out McAfee Coliseum in Oakland.Fans expecting the rough-edged, punky, jazzy rock that characterized the group’s early years may have been disappointed; others, particularly those who enjoy Sting’s solo career, found the show completely satisfying from start to finish. (I’m one of the latter.)For nearly two hours, the biggest band of the early ’80s served up shaded and warm — yes, bordering on soulful — renditions......

Continued...

 

Dickens alive and well at Berkeley Rep

Published: May 22, 2007

The words and world of Charles Dickens come alive in Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s current production of "Oliver Twist," a show that clearly does justice to the literary master’s intentions. Yet while it captures the viewers’ intellect and imagination, it doesn’t quite fill the heart.Not only does this adaptation by Neil Bartlett stay true to the Dickensian spirit of social satire, it also features musical interludes that aren’t pop songs, but whimsical narration featuring Dickens’ own words sung by a versatile, likable cast fully capable of many-part harmony. (Music is by......

Continued...

 

Review: Prince’s 'intimate' Orpheum dance party

Published: May 21, 2007

"Cozy" isn’t a term typically used to describe Prince, but that’s the feel the musical great brought to his show at the Orpheum Theatre on Saturday.It was somewhat of a Bay Area family affair, too. He shared the stage with the Latin jazzy Escovedo family, with a special emphasis on Sheila E., one of his longtime musical associates.His fantastic band, featuring Maceo Parker and Mike Phillips on sax, Larry Coryell on guitar, Renato Neto on keys and Shelby Johnson on vocals, among other pros, played Sly and the Family Stone’s......

Continued...

 

Meet Ryan Shaw — an ‘old soul’ singer

Published: May 15, 2007

The songs on R&B singer Ryan Shaw’s first album are, by design, different from what’s on mainstream radio. Shaw, 26, says he doesn’t often watch videos of contemporary songs. For one thing, they aren’t very musical. For another, he doesn’t "get" the theme of most popular music."It creates this whole self-hatred thing," he says, talking about tunes where the singer declares "I’m hot — and you’re not." Playing tonight, opening for Joss Stone at the Warfield in San Francisco, Shaw says, "People can be judgmental. My job is to show......

Continued...

 

Bay Area, say hello to Bob

Published: May 14, 2007

"Hi, Bob." With glee and a few giggles, I greet Bob Newhart over the phone, thrilled to be talking to the veteran comic, known not only for his great TV sitcoms, but also for comedy routines in which he’s talking on the phone."I’m used to nobody being on the other end," he laughs, ready to talk about his career and his upcoming gigs in Northern California, including a date Saturday night at the Marin Center in San Rafael.In a career that spans more than four decades, he’s never stopped doing......

Continued...

 

Comedians depict true-to-life scenes

Published: May 10, 2007

Comedians Renee Taylor and Joseph Bologna have a one-of-a-kind, odd little show at the Empire Plush Room that’s got a lot of heart and good for at least a few laughs. Now celebrating more than 40 years of marriage — they wed in 1965 — the couple has put together a low-key, 70-minute hodge-podge of an act, with standup bits, snippets of home video, clips from their movies, and live re-enactment of scenes from their stage plays.Although the cobbled-together material is hardly spanking fresh, it indeed is fueled by the......

Continued...

 

‘Jersey Boys’ — oh what a night

Published: May 08, 2007

Note: This review was written when the show first opened in December. A local favorite, "Jersey Boys" now has a new cast and the run has been extended through September.Toward the end of the Tony Award-winning musical "Jersey Boys," as Frankie Valli sums up his life with the Four Seasons, the good times and the bad, he says, "All there was, was the music — that was the best."The quote nicely applies to the actual show, an enjoyable history lesson telling the story of how some kids from a rough......

Continued...

 

'Year of Fog’ is intense, emotional

Published: Apr 28, 2007

It’s a good thing that Michelle Richmond’s book is titled "The Year of Fog," for it gives readers a hint that the anguish and frustration experienced by Abby, the appealing protagonist, may not last much longer than that. Involving, heart-rending and immediately readable, "The Year of Fog" (Delacorte Press, $20), Richmond’s second novel — her first was "Dream of the Blue Room" — is a story about what happens when a 6-year-old girl literally disappears. In the opening scene, little Emma Balfour, under the care of her dad’s fiancée, Abby......

Continued...

 

A star for Bay to Breakers

Published: Apr 23, 2007

Victoria Recaño is thrilled to be grand marshal of the 2007 ING Bay to Breakers race."It’s a great celebration. It’s for a cause," says the bubbly TV reporter, best known for interviewing Hollywood A-listers on "The Insider" and "Entertainment Tonight."The West Los Angeles resident, who grew up in St. Louis and spent some five years in the Bay Area working for TechTV and KNTV, admits that, up till now, she only has been a bystander to San Francisco’s biggest party, which is May 20 this year. But she’s no stranger......

Continued...

 

‘Hairspray’ looks like it’ll stick

Published: Apr 21, 2007

Director Adam Shankman cruised into San Francisco to sneak-preview scenes from the highly anticipated new movie musical "Hairspray," set for a July release. "I call it my Frankentrailer," he said, introducing the 20-minute reel at a screening and reception Thursday for invited guests at Dolby Laboratories. Describing the movie as "total insane asylum" and "a massive labor of love," Shankman profusely thanked its stars, particularly Michelle Pfeiffer ("She calls herself Dr. No, because she doesn’t take jobs anymore") and director John Waters, the man behind 1988’s original "Hairspray." He said......

Continued...

 

Thrilling ‘Turn’

Published: Apr 19, 2007

For those who missed the works of Henry James in their high school or college literature classes, foolsFURY theater company may just well provide an enticing, if unorthodox, introduction to the writer, with its compact, invigorating interpretation of the novella "The Turn of the Screw."The show is onstage at Theatre Artaud this weekend as only one production in "FURY Factory 2007," a three-week festival of performances at various venues by some 14 contemporary ensembles dedicated to presenting new, experimental works. (Promoters of the event say it differs from other fringe......

Continued...

 

Actor easily goes from South Bay to Hollywood

Published: Apr 17, 2007

Twenty-two-year-old Sunkrish Bala’s acting career has gotten off to a good start, and he’s the first to say so."It’s very lucky and serendipitous that it happened so soon," the well-spoken, great-looking Bala says, talking about his co-starring role on the new ABC series "Notes From the Underbelly," which moves to its new time slot, 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, this week.Bala, who grew up in San Jose, plays a guy who’s embarking on parenthood. Being a 2006 graduate of UCLA, Bala isn’t much like his character Eric, an obsessive-compulsive husband and......

Continued...

 

Review: 'Journey From the Fall' vivid and authentic

Published: Apr 13, 2007

"Journey From the Fall" has an air of authenticity about it, and for good reason. Writer-director Ham Tran meticulously spent years gathering the long-untold stories of what happened to millions of Vietnamese people after the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975. For many, it was just the beginning of their problems. "Journey From the Fall" reveals, in sumptuous, often horrifying detail, the lives of people forced into difficult futures — in re-education camps, where they suffered abuse and indignities, or fleeing on boats, where the terror of the unknown......

Continued...

 

Yes, he did know George and Martha

Published: Apr 12, 2007

Pulitzer Prize-winner Edward Albee takesa minute to talk about his most famous work, 1962’s "Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?":"It’s not a bad play, it’s an OK play," he says on the phone from New York, in a tone that’s as wry as his words.He admits it falls into the category of "famous for being famous." As the 2005 Tony-nominated Broadway tour of the show, which stars Kathleen Turner and Bill Irwin (who won a Tony Award for Best Actor) opens in San Francisco this week, Albee, 79, says......

Continued...

 

Review: 'The Cop, the Criminal and the Clown'

Published: Apr 06, 2007

"The Cop, the Criminal and the Clown" is a fun, charming mistaken-identity comedy that’s got the perfect light touch and the kind of whimsy that isn’t seen in mainstream Hollywood movies.There’s nothing too complicated, yet it’s not vapid, either. There’s even a teeny lesson about doing the right thing that goes down easy.Filmed in Montreal and in French with English subtitles, the movie tells the story of Vincent (Roy Dupuis), a good-natured, bearded, bushy-haired petty thief who goes to a job only to find that the residents have moved out.......

Continued...

 

Review: 'Chemical Imbalance' an original comedy

Published: Mar 20, 2007

While the horror spoof has become its own successful movie genre, it’s really a treat to see similar antics onstage at the theater. There’s nothing like live actors, gushing, gloriously red fake blood and real laughs to make for an evening of exhilarating entertainment.Such is the case with "Chemical Imbalance," an inventive, original comedy of horrors by Lauren Wilson presented by Precarious Theatre. Directed with panache by Matthew Graham Smith, the show is at the cozy Exit Theatre on Eddy Street through April 7.As in Robert Louis Stevenson’s "The Strange......

Continued...

 

Review: ‘Altar Boyz’ a slice of pop heaven

Published: Mar 16, 2007

There’s nothing not to like about "Altar Boyz." They have a much better sense of humor than their real-life counterparts (’NSync or the Backstreet Boys) and sing just as harmoniously. They’re just as cute, too.The five characters — Matthew, Mark, Luke, Juan and Abraham — comprise the cast of the hit off-Broadway musical onstage at San Francisco’s Orpheum Theatre. The revue, in a fashion similar to that of "Forever Plaid," sweetly spoofs boy bands, with lots of laughs that go down easy and a huge heart. That the......

Continued...

 

‘Altar Boyz’ saving mission comes to S.F.

Published: Mar 12, 2007

Stage producer Ken Davenport has come up with a winning formula: cute guys in tight clothes singing tight harmonies.He admits it’s not really his idea. His hit off-Broadway show, "Altar Boyz," which opens at San Francisco’s Orpheum Theatre this week, is just a new variation on an old theme."The boy band craze started with the Beatles," he said in a recent phone interview from his New York office. "The ‘Altar Boyz’ story is similar to ‘Jersey Boys.’"(Both shows are being presented in The City now by SHN’s "Best......

Continued...

 

‘Shopping! The Musical’ charges ahead

Published: Mar 05, 2007

The revue "Shopping! The Musical" is about to celebrate a year running in the cozy Shelton Theater off Union Square, and it’s not a surprise. Billed as the "the show for everyone who has ever shopped," the fun, minimalist production is the perfect salve for a tourist tired after a busy day on his or her feet, or even for an office worker easing into the weekend. Writer-director Morris Bobrow shows just how far a simple, clever, universal idea can go. The theme is backed up with four good singers,......

Continued...

 

Petula Clark heads ‘Downtown’

Published: Feb 14, 2007

Petula Clark is coming to San Francisco this weekend to sing her big hit songs, and it’s a pretty big deal."This will be the first time, as far as I can remember," she said in a recent phone interview from Wales, a stop on her current concert tour.Although she clearly remembers being in the Bay Area, appearing in productions of the musicals "Blood Brothers" and "Sunset Boulevard," she admits she doesn’t always recall where she has performed. It’s not that surprising. Her varied career began when she was a child......

Continued...

 

Paula West is better than ever

Published: Feb 09, 2007

Who is Paula West going to cover next — Kurt Cobain? George Clinton? Prince? Enya?She could, and she’d be good. And it wouldn’t come as a total surprise from the sultry, inimitable San Francisco jazz-cabaret singer known for her eclectic taste in song selection.In concert Wednesday on the second night of her annual residency at the Plush Room, West was only half-joking when she admitted she had attention deficit disorder when it comes to music.She doesn’t often dip into rock, but her version of Bob Dylan’s "Like a Rolling Stone"......

Continued...

 

Omigod — it’s 'Legally Blonde' the musical

Published: Feb 08, 2007

"Legally Blonde," the new musical, begins with a song called "Omigod You Guys" — and it’s one of the two best tunes in the show. Rodgers and Hammerstein (or their estates) don’t have much to worry about. Still, the joie de vivre spirit of that tune remains throughout the show’s two and a half hours, and it’s that tone that makes this lightweight story of a not-so-dumb sorority girl who "finds herself," by way of Harvard Law School, so appealing.  Based closely on the 2001 movie......

Continued...

 

Whitfield shines, coughs and all

Published: Jan 29, 2007

About midway through her performance Friday night at San Francisco’s Plush Room, singer Wesla Whitfield jauntily pulled out a bottle of Robitussin and set it on the piano.Not too long afterward, between tunes, she took a swig, and later, another, remarking that it was the kind without alcohol, which "makes you feel even weirder" than the kind with alcohol.But what’s weird for Whitfield wasn’t for the audience.The fact that she couldn’t suppress a cough during the moments when she wasn’t singing simply made her all the more magical and enchanting......

Continued...

 

Dionne Warwick shines in déjà vu concert

Published: Jan 22, 2007

Dionne Warwick is celebrating her 46th year in show business in fine manner.Looking radiant Saturday night at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco, the singer at the top of the show warmly told the audience "welcome to your concert." Sounding more mature, but every bit as smooth and sultry as in her chart-hitting days of the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, the vocalist indeed took her fans on trip down memory lane in a succinct 85-minute show. Wasting not a moment and focusing on the Burt Bacharach-Hal David songbook, Warwick, attired......

Continued...

 

Wesla’s back at the Plush Room

Published: Jan 18, 2007

Singer Wesla Whitfield always likes returning to San Francisco’s Plush Room.This year’s engagement, which began Tuesday and runs through Feb. 4, marks the 26th year she’s appeared in the cozy cabaret in the York Hotel. "It’s still the most wonderful room to work in," says Whitfield, who has noticed many changes over time, including the audiences."They’ve gotten younger," she said during a recent phone interview from the hotel. They’re also no longer filled mostly with gay men interested in hearing show tunes.Whitfield’s new show is a smorgasbord. It won’t necessarily......

Continued...

 

For ladies night, the feelin’s right

Published: Jan 16, 2007

Comic cowgirl Karen Quest wisecracked — and cracked her whip — to highlight the opening of the Women on the Way Festival, a three-week Mission district event putting the spotlight on a wide of variety female performers. The seventh annual event began over the weekend with circus arts as the theme for the first four shows; this week’s upcoming performances are dedicated to dance, theater and music, while the closing weekend, from Jan. 25 to Jan. 28, focuses on "guided" installations.Sunday night’s presentation, a special family night show on the......

Continued...

 

He’s a one-man Nigerian band

Published: Jan 12, 2007

Dan Hoyle’s work as a Fulbright scholar took him to Nigeria, and he came back to his home in San Francisco to put on a show about his wild experiences there."Tings Dey Happen," Hoyle’s dynamic one-man show, is continuing an extended run at The Marsh in San Francisco, the site of two of his previous pieces, "Circumnavigator," about his trip around the world, and "Florida 2004: The Big Bummer," about campaigning for John Kerry.Unlike many solo performances at The Marsh, which are told from a first-person perspective, Hoyle, who is......

Continued...

 

Photographs smash stereotypes

Published: Jan 09, 2007

Photographs on display at the Contemporary Jewish Museum ask the question, "What is Jewish?"The answer is wider and more varied than one might expect in "The Jewish Identity Project: New American Photography," extended through April 29 at the San Francisco museum.New York photographer Nikki S. Lee, who is of South Korean descent, dresses herself as a bride at what appears to be a Jewish wedding in a series of provocative images called "The Wedding" at the front of the exhibit. (The image of Lee is also around town on billboards......

Continued...

 

A glass act

Published: Jan 09, 2007

Sculpturesite Gallery presents "Markings," a solo exhibition by Mary Shaffer, who is recognized internationally for her work in the American studio glass movement.Shaffer uses a process she calls "mid-air slumping," in which glass forms itself as it becomes malleable, and gravity pulls it through a structural form she has placed in a kiln. "It’s like playing with the wind," she says. The show runs through Feb. 27; Sculpturesite Gallery is at the Convention Center Plaza, 201 Third St., Suite 102, San Francisco. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesdays......

Continued...

 

Let the good times roll

Published: Jan 04, 2007

Bay Area harmonica/bluesman Phil Berkowitz has got a jumpin’ project going: the music of Louis Jordan. He spent about three years working on a tribute album to the great sax man and bandleader, a real pioneer in the world of swinging rhythm and blues. Among the personnel on the album are guitarist Danny Caron, former bandleader for the late Charles Brown, along with local musicians from the swing sextet Stompy Jones. Including Jordan staples such as "Caledonia," "Saturday Night Fish Fry" and "Choo Choo Ch’ Boogie" as well as some......

Continued...

 

S.F. historical society hosts Be-In reunion

Published: Jan 03, 2007

The San Francisco Museum and Historical Society’s next meeting is about sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll. The occasion is the 40th anniversary of the "The Gathering of the Tribes for the Human Be-In." The event on Jan. 14, 1967, attended by about 20,000 people, is considered a pivotal precursor to San Francisco’s famous Summer of Love.At 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dave Getz of Big Brother and the Holding Company will reminisce with others who made their way to the "Be-In" in a lecture-discussion at the Jewish Community Center, 3200 California......

Continued...

 

Brit has Scrooge in his blood

Published: Dec 19, 2006

Martin Harris lives by the motto, "Christmas Day is every day." It comes from the mouth of Scrooge. Or, at least, the Scrooge who appears annually at the Great Dickens Christmas Fair at the Cow Palace. Since 2000, Harris, a British actor from Gravesend, Kent, has been flown in to appear at the fair, which, with more than 500 actors, is among the most extravagant examples of environmental theater. According to Harris, it’s also the biggest indoor Victorian gathering anywhere, and that includes England.He got the gig through old friends......

Continued...

 

Thrilling stunts, lots of heart in ‘Traces’

Published: Dec 19, 2006

Imagine five sexy young people dancing, swaggering, swinging, swaying and skateboarding. Oh, and tumbling, climbing poles, jumping through hoops, spinning in rings, and doing handstands — on each other’s heads. That’s what goes on in "Traces," a perfectly thrilling, high concept theatrical event onstage at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. The holiday show, great for families, is presented by Circus Center, home of Pickle Circus. The performers in "Traces" are members of a Montreal-based troupe called Les 7 doigts de la main, or "seven fingers of......

Continued...

 

Some movie!

Published: Dec 15, 2006

Thank you, director, producer and screenwriters, for getting the point of E.B. White’s brilliant "Charlotte’s Web."The new movie version of the children’s classic — it’s reportedly the best-selling kids’ book of all time — beautifully tells White’s touching 1952 tale of an unlikely friendship between a humble pig and a savvy spider. Like the book, the movie also is about the miracle of everyday life (and death) and the power of the word.When Charlotte the spider saves Wilbur the pig’s life by weaving clever descriptions of him into her web,......

Continued...

 

‘King of the Waltz’ — and much more

Published: Dec 01, 2006

Classical crossover star André Rieu wants to clear up one thing: Even though he’s been nicknamed "King of the Waltz," the musician doesn’t want audiences to take the title too literally.Commenting that Americans gave him the moniker, the Dutch violinist/conductor said, " I like it. I’m proud of it, but, of course, I don’t just play waltzes."On Saturday, Rieu and his Johann Srauss Orchestra come to the HP Pavilion in San Jose, where they’ll likely wow fans with their unique brand of show — a classical music performance accompanied by......

Continued...

 

Surf’s still up for big wave pioneer

Published: Nov 30, 2006

At 94, surf legend Woody Brown has had his share of ups and downs. The sometimes thrilling, often inspirational film "Of Wind and Waves: The Life of Woody Brown" smartly and succinctly tells his story. Written and directed by David L. Brown (no relation) of Brisbane, the hourlong documentary starts from Woody’s privileged birth in New York and follows the iconoclast, who piloted gliders and sailed cataramarans as well as surfed, through his present-day life in Hawaii. Happily, though with fewer teeth than in earlier days, he’s still going strong.The......

Continued...