The latest incarnation of Frankie Navarro’s band 2 Zmooth features his 14-year-old son Christian on trumpet. “I like the way he plays, except when he goofs up,” jokes Frankie, a few days before a busy performance schedule — including gigs at the Cannery and Union Square — the duo kicks off this month. But the resident of San Francisco’s Ingleside neighborhood is quite serious about having his offspring play with him. Read More

Arthur Miller’s classic “All My Sons” is onstage at Actors Theatre of San Francisco in an insightful production that builds, and illuminates, the playwright’s primary theme of the importance of taking personal responsibility in the face of social and family pressure. The show represents a terrific opportunity to see a work by a great American dramatist whose every word rings true throughout a straightforward and elegant presentation. Read More

The chairwoman of the San Francisco Symphony’s Black and White Ball organizing committee is preparing for this year’s bash Saturday. The event benefits Adventures in Music education programs for schoolchildren. Have you held this position before? Yes, in 2005 and 2008. What does the job involve? I oversee about 100 volunteers — for about two years — as we lead up to the event. Read More

Pamela Z says the fact that she’s been lugging odd pieces of luggage around for years was among the first notions that led to her new show “Baggage Allowance,” opening at Theater Artaud today. Read More

Kasey Anderson’s new, critically acclaimed album “Nowhere Nights” is filled with deeply personal songs describing his own life — except one. “It’s not about me,” says Anderson, referring to “I Was a Photograph,” a tune he wrote after seeing a graphic photo and reading an article in Rolling Stone magazine about James Blake Miller, a U.S. soldier in Iraq who suffered from post traumatic stress disorder and was dishonorably discharged. Read More

Every so often, it’s worth taking a moment to recognize the good things in life: “Beach Blanket Babylon” is one of those things. Something simply must be right in the 21st century, with San Francisco’s most fun institution not just alive and well, but still kicking booty in the best of all ways. Happily ensconced on its very own boulevard in the heart of North Beach, “BBB,” about to celebrate its 36th birthday in June, is somehow more than a musical revue with goofy costumes — it’s a living, breathing organism. Creator Steve Silver, who died in 1995, must be tic Read More

Singer Klea Blackhurst has somewhat of an unusual claim to fame: a lifelong relationship with Ethel Merman. “My mom’s a performer. It was always there,” says Blackhurst, describing the record albums in her home. “Access to Merman’s voice makes you captive. I’d also like to point out that she became famous in 1930 for being heard in the last row of the balcony — without a mike.” Read More