Stage listings are compiled by Guardian staff. Performance times may change; call venues to confirm. Reviewers are Robert Avila, Rita Felciano, and Nicole Gluckstern. Submit items for the listings at listings@sfbg.com.
THEATER
OPENING
Cock New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness, SF; www.nctcsf.org. $25-45. Previews Fri/5-Sat/6 and Sept 10-12, 8pm; Sun/7, 2pm. Opens Sept 13, 8pm. Runs Wed-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through Oct 12. New Conservatory Theatre Center performs Michael Bartlett’s comedy about a man who meets the woman of his dreams — while on a break from dating his boyfriend.
The Haze ACT Costume Shop, 1117 Market, SF; http://bit.ly/thehazeplayACT. $20. Opens Thu/4, 7pm. Runs Thu, 7pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm. Through Sept 27. Heather Marlowe performs her solo show, a sharp-witted, autobiographical play about recovering from rape — and the way rape cases are mishandled by the justice system.
King Fool Various locations TBA to reservation holders; www.weplayers.org. $30-50. Opens Fri/5, time TBA. Runs Fri-Sun, times TBA. Through Sept 28. We Players presents a new, intimate, site-specific work inspired by King Lear.
LongShotz: The Things That Separate Us Tides Theatre, 533 Sutter, Second Flr, SF; http://amios.wordpress.com. $25. Program B opens Wed/3, 8pm. Program A runs Sept 10 and 16, 8pm; Program B runs Sept 9 and 17 at 8pm. Amios presents two separate programs of three 30-minute plays, each written by a different author. Each play is inspired by the Radiohead lyric, “Just ’cause you feel it doesn’t mean it’s there.”
San Francisco Fringe Festival Exit Theatreplex, 156 Eddy, SF; www.sffringe.org. $10 or less at the door; $12.99 or less online (passes, $45-75). Opens Fri/5, 7pm. Runs Sept 5-20 (no shows Mon/8 or Sept 15). Unique, daring indie theater (murder mysteries! Tech tales! Dating dramas! Clowns!), with 35 shows and 150 performances over 14 days.
BAY AREA
An Audience with Meow Meow Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison, Berk; www.berkeleyrep.org. $29-89. Previews Fri/5-Sat/6, Tue/9, and Sept 11, 8pm; Sun/7 and Sept 10, 7pm. Opens Sept 12, 8pm. Runs Tue and Thu-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm but no matinee Sept 20; also Sept 19 and Oct 16, 2pm); Wed and Sun, 7pm (also Sun, 2pm). Through Oct 19. British singer-comedian Meow Meow world-premieres her new show at Berkeley Rep, under the direction of Kneehigh’s Emma Rice.
Flower Drum Song Woodminster Amphitheater, Joaquin Miller Park, 3300 Joaquin Miller, Oakl; www.woodminster.com. $18-59. Previews Thu/4, 8pm. Opens Fri/5, 8pm. Runs Thu and Sun, 7pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm. Through Sept 14. Woodminster Summer Musicals performs the “new” version of the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, with a fresh script by Tony-winning playwright David Henry Hwang.
The New Electric Ballroom Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby, Berk; www.shotgunplayers.org. $20-30. Previews Wed/3-Thu/4, 7pm; Fri/5, 8pm. Opens Sat/6, 8pm. Runs Wed-Thu, 7pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 5pm (Oct 5, show at 2pm). Through Oct 5. Shotgun Players perform Enda Walsh’s poetic nightmare about three sisters who are obsessed with their memories.
Year of the Rooster La Val’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid, Berk; http://impacttheatre.com. $10-25. Previews Thu/4-Fri/5, 8pm. Opens Sat/6, 8pm. Runs Thu-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 7pm. Through Oct 12. Impact Theatre performs Eric Dufault’s comedy, told from the point of view of a rooster that enters cockfights.
ONGOING
Each and Every Thing Marsh San Francisco Main Stage, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $20-50. Thu-Fri, 8pm; Sat, 5pm; Sun, 2pm. Extended through Oct 4. The latest solo show from celebrated writer-performer Dan Hoyle (Tings Dey Happen, The Real Americans) winds a more random course than usual across the country and abroad but then that’s the idea — or at least Hoyle warns us, right after an opening encounter with a touchy young white supremacist, that the trip he’s taking us on is a subtle one. Displaying again his exceptional gifts as a writer and protean performer, Hoyle deftly embodies a set of real-life encounters as a means of exploring the primacy and predicament of face-to-face communication in the age of Facebook. With the help of director Charlie Varon (who co-developed the piece with Hoyle and Maureen Towey), this comes across in an entertaining and swift-flowing 75-minute act that includes a witty rap about “phone zombies” and a Dylan-esque screed at a digital detox center. But the purported subject of connection, or lack there of, in our gadget-bound and atomized society is neither very original nor very deeply explored — nor is it necessarily very provocative in a theater, before an audience already primed for the live encounter. Far more interesting and central here is Hoyle’s relationship with his old college buddy Pratim, an Indian American in post-9/11 America whose words are filled with laid-back wisdom and wry humor. Also intriguing is the passing glimpse of early family life in the Hoyle household with Dan’s celebrated artist father, and working-class socialist, Geoff Hoyle. These relationships, rather than the sketches of strangers (albeit very graceful ones), seem the worthier subjects to mine for truth and meaning. Indeed, there’s a line spoken by Pratim that could sum up the essence of Hoyle’s particular art: “It’s so much better,” he says, “when you find yourself in other people than when you just find yourself.” Hoyle’s real frontier could end up being much more personal terrain, much closer to home. (Avila)
Foodies! The Musical Shelton Theater, 533 Sutter, SF; www.foodiesthemusical.com. $32-34. Fri-Sat, 8pm. Open-ended. AWAT Productions presents Morris Bobrow’s musical comedy revue all about food.
Into the Woods San Francisco Playhouse, 450 Post, SF; www.sfplayhouse.org. $20-120. Wed/3-Thu/4, 7pm; Fri/5-Sat/6, 8pm (also Sat/6, 3pm). SF Playhouse performs Stephen Sondheim’s fractured fairy-tale musical.
Motown the Musical Orpheum Theatre, 1192 Market, SF; www.shnsf.com. $45-210. Tue-Sat, 8pm (also Wed and Sat, 2pm); Sun, 2pm. Through Sept 28. Over 40 hits (“My Girl,” “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”) pack this tale of Motown founder Berry Gordy’s career in the music biz.
Noises Off! Shelton Theater, 533 Sutter, SF; www.sheltontheater.org. $38. Thu-Sat, 8pm. Through Oct 25. Shelton Theater performs Michael Frayn’s outrageous backstage comedy.
The Taming of the Shrew This week: Presidio, Marin Post Parade Grounds, between Graham and Keyes, SF; www.sfshakes.org. Free. Sat-Sun and Mon/1, 2pm. At this location through Sept 14; continues through Sept 21 at various Bay Area venues. Free Shakespeare in the Park presents this take on the Bard’s barb-filled romance.
Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind Boxcar Theatre, 505 Natoma, SF; www.sfneofuturists.com. $11-16. Fri-Sat, 9pm. Ongoing. The Neo-Futurists perform Greg Allen’s spontaneous, ever-changing show that crams 30 plays into 60 minutes.
BAY AREA
Berlin to Broadway with Kurt Weill Masquers Playhouse, 105 Park, Point Richmond; www.masquers.org. $22. Fri, 8pm; Sat, 7pm; Sept 7 and 14, 2pm. Through Sept 20. Masquers Playhouse performs a revue celebrating the life and work of Kurt Weill.
Cops and Robbers Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston, Berk; www.themarsh.org. $20-100. Fri, 8pm; Sat, 8:30pm. Through Sept 13. Hip-hop artist and law enforcement officer Jinho “The Piper” Ferreira performs his 17-character solo show.
Fetch Clay, Make Man Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller, Mill Valley; www.marintheatre.org. $35-58. Wed/3, 7:30pm; Thu/4-Sat/6, 8pm; Sun/7, 2 and 7pm. Marin Theatre Company performs the West Coast premiere of Will Power’s historical drama.
Funny Girl Hillbarn Theatre, 1285 East Hillsdale, Foster City; www.hillbarntheatre.org. $23-42. Thu-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through Sept 21. Hillbarn Theatre performs the classic romantic musical comedy, with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Bob Merrill, and book by Isobel Lennart.
An Ideal Husband Forest Meadows Amphitheater, 890 Belle, Dominican University of California, San Rafael; www.marinshakespeare.org. $12-35. Runs in repertory Fri-Sun through Sept 27; visit website for specific performance dates and times. Marin Shakespeare Company performs Oscar Wilde’s witty tale.
The Last Days of Judas Iscariot Flight Deck, 1540 Broadway, Oakl; brownpapertickets.com/event/780550. $15-25. Thu-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 7pm. Through Sept 21. Stephen Adly Guirgis’ courtroom drama takes on the fate of the New Testament turncoat.
Life Could Be a Dream Center REPertory Company, Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic, Walnut Creek; www.centerrep.org. $37-66. Wed, 7:30pm; Thu-Sat, 8pm (also Sept 20 and 27, 2:30pm); Sun, 2:30pm. Through Oct 5. CenterREPertory Company performs Roger Bean’s doo-wop musical.
Moonlight and Magnolias Dragon Theatre, 2120 Broadway, Redwood City; www.dragonproductions.net. $10-30. Thu/4-Sat/6, 8pm; Sun/7, 2pm. Dragon Productions presents Ron Hutchinson’s behind-the-scenes drama about the filming of Gone With the Wind.
O Best Beloved This week: Rotary Park, 1490 Don, Santa Clara; www.obestbeloved.org. Sat/6, 2pm. Free (donations accepted). Also Sun/7, 2pm, East Avenue Park, 3221 East, Hayward. Through Sept 13 at various NorCal venues. Idiot String’s Joan Howard and Rebecca Longworth bring their SF Fringe Festival hit, an adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s Just-So Stories, to local public spaces aboard a mobile stage.
Penthesilea — Queen of the Amazons John Hinkel Park, 41 Somerset, Berk; www.aeofberkeley.org. Free. Sat/6-Sun/7, 4pm. Inferno Theatre and Actors Ensemble of Berkeley perform Giulio Cesare Perrone’s adaptation of Heinrich Von Kleist’s Amazonian action fantasy.
Rapture, Blister, Burn Aurora Theatre, 2081 Addison, Berk; www.auroratheatre.org. $32-50. Opens Thu/4, 8pm. Runs Tue and Sun, 7pm (also Sun, 2pm); Wed-Sat, 8pm. Through Sept 28. Aurora Theatre Company opens its 23rd season with Gina Gionfriddo’s drama about three generations of women “struggling with feminism’s foibles.”
Romeo and Juliet Forest Meadows Amphitheater, 890 Belle, Dominican University of California, San Rafael; www.marinshakespeare.org. $12-35. Runs in repertory Fri-Sun through Sept 28; visit website for specific performance dates and times. Marin Shakespeare continues its 25th season with the Bard’s timeless tragedy.
Semi-Famous: Hollywood Hell Tales from the Middle Marsh Berkeley Main Stage, 2120 Allston, Berk; www.themarsh.org. $20-100. Sat/6, 5pm; Sun/7, 7pm. Don Reed’s new solo show shares tales from his career in entertainment.
The Tempest Old Mill Park Amphitheatre, behind the Mill Valley Public Library, 375 Throckmorton, Mill Valley; www.curtaintheatre.org. Free. Sat-Sun, 4pm. Through Sept 14. Curtain Theatre returns with the Bard’s magical romance for its 14th outdoor performance.
Water By the Spoonful Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro, Mtn View; www.theatreworks.org. $19-74. Tue-Wed, 7:30pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm); Sun, 2 and 7pm. Through Sept 14. TheatreWorks performs Quiara Alegría Hudes’ Pulitzer Prize-winning drama about strangers who meet in an online chat room.
Wonder of the World Douglas Morrisson Theatre, 22311 N. Third St, Hayward; www.dmtonline.org. $10-32. Fri-Sat and Sept 18, 8pm (also Sept 13, 2pm); Sun, 2pm. Through Sept 21. Douglas Morrison Theatre opens its 35th season with David Lindsay-Abaire’s comedy about self-fulfillment.
PERFORMANCE/DANCE
“BATS Summer Improv Festival” Bayfront Theater, B350 Fort Mason, SF; www.improv.org. Through Sept 20. $20. This week: “Pulp Playhouse,” Fri/5-Sat/6, 8pm.
“Best Male Crooner Contest” Martuni’s, 4 Valencia, SF; (415) 241-0205. Sun/7, 7pm. $7. Thing you have what it takes? Bring sheet music to enter the competition, with judges Russ Lorenson and hosts Katya Smirnoff-Skyy and Joe Wicht.
Caroline Lugo and Carolé Acuña’s Ballet Flamenco Peña Pachamama, 1630 Powell, SF; www.carolinalugo.com. Sat/6, Sept 13, 21, 28, Oct 4, 11, 18, 26, 6:30pm. $15-19. Flamenco performance by the mother-daughter dance company, featuring live musicians.
“Confide in Me” Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, 2868 Mission, SF; www.missionculturalcenter.org. Sat/6, 7:30pm. $5-10. Nicky’s LGBT Youth Theater presents this play about teenagers struggling to come to terms with their queer identities.
“Constants and Variables” Dance Mission Theater, 3316 24th St, SF; variables2014.eventbrite.com. Fri/5-Sat/6, 8pm; Sun/7, 7pm. $20. An eclectic evening of dance with Bay Area choreographers Slater Penney, Here Now Dance Collective, Mo Miner, Sarah Keeney, and more, plus special guests.
“Faux Queen Pageant 2014: Fashion Faux-ward!” SOMArts, 934 Brannan, SF; www.somarts.org. Sat/6, 10pm. $25-35. “The original pageant for drag queens trapped in women’s bodies” — kind of says it all.
Feinstein’s at the Nikko 222 Mason, SF; www.feinsteinssf.com. This week: Jason Brock, Wed/3, 7pm, $15; Pamela Rose, Sun/7, 7pm, $15.
“Kathy Mata Ballet Autumn Showcase” City College of SF’s Wellness Center, Third Flr, Ocean and Howth, SF; www.kathymataballet.org. Sat/6, 7:30pm. $15-30. Classical and contemporary ballet, plus work by guest artists Antoine Hunter, Frederick Gaudette, and others.
“Kingdom of Not” Emerald Tablet, 80 Fresno, SF; www.kingdomofnot.com. Sat/6, 8pm. $5-10. “Music, monologues, and Emergency Dispatches” with Andrew Goldfarb and Dan Carbone.
“Magic at the Rex” Hotel Rex, 562 Sutter, SF; www.magicattherex.com. Sat, 8pm. Ongoing. $25. Magic and mystery with Adam Sachs and mentalist Sebastian Boswell III.
“Misery Index Comedy” Rite Spot, 2099 Folsom, SF; www.miseryindexcomedy.com. Mon/8, 9pm. Free. Trevor Hill hosts stand-up with Kevin Munroe, Ronn Vigh, Irene Tu, Matt Gubser, Allison Mick, and Griffin Daley.
“Out of Line Improv” Stage Werx, 446 Valencia, SF; outoflineimprov.brownpapertickets.com. Sat, 10:30pm. Ongoing. $12. A new, completely improvised show every week.
“People in Plazas” Various locations, SF; www.peopleinplazas.org. Through Oct 3. Free. Lunchtime concerts in various downtown locations showcasing jazz, world, funk, and other styles of music.
“Room in a Pinhole” Joe Goode Annex, 401 Alabama, SF; www.room-in-a-pinhole.eventbrite.com. Fri/5-Sat/6, 8pm. $15-20. Multi-disciplinary dance performance by Marina Fukushima and Olivia Ting.
“Rotunda Dance Series: Garrett + Moulton Productions” SF City Hall, 1 Carlton B. Goodlett, SF; www.garrettmoulton.org. Fri/5, noon. Free. Performing excerpts from The Luminous Edge under the dome of City Hall.
“San Francisco Comedy College” Purple Onion at Kells, 530 Jackson, SF; www.purpleonionatkells.com. Ongoing. $5-15. “Weekly New Talent Shows,” Wed-Thu, 7pm. “Purple Onion All-Stars,” Wed-Thu, 8:15pm. “The Later Show,” Wed-Thu, 10pm. “The Cellar Dwellers,” Fri-Sat, 7:30pm.
“Searching for Diogenes” Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission, SF; www.ybca.org. Wed/3, noon-6pm. Free. Act three in Whitney Lynn’s three-part performance weaving together the life, myth, and legacy of Greek philosopher Diogenes of Sinope.
“Terminator Too: Judgment Play” and “Point Break LIVE!” DNA Lounge, 375 11th St, SF; www.dnalounge.com. Fri/5, Oct 3, Nov 7, and Dec 5, Terminator at 7:30pm; Break at 11pm. $20-50. The raucous, interactive staged recreations of two of 1991’s greatest action films return to the DNA Lounge.
“West Wave Dance Festival: Dancing Around the Bay” Z Space, 450 Florida, SF; www.zspace.org. Wed/3-Sat/7, 8pm. $10-20. SAFEhouse for the Performing Arts presents its 23rd annual festival, with choreography by SF and Bay Area artists. Participants include Leyya Mona Tawil (Dance Elixir), Stacey Printz (Printz Dance Project), Alyce Finwall, Christy Funsch, and others.
“Yerba Buena Gardens Festival” Yerba Buena Gardens, 760 Howard, SF; www.ybgfestival.org. Through Oct 26. Free. This week: Valerie Troutt and MoonCandy, Thu/4, 12:30pm; RAWdance, Fri/5, 7pm and Sat/6, 1pm; DakhaBrakha and Kitka, Sun/7, 1pm.
BAY AREA
“MarshJam Improv Comedy Show” Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston, Berk; www.themarsh.org. Fri, 8pm. Ongoing. $10. Improv comedy with local legends and drop-in guests. *