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
The Barbary Coast Revue Sub/Mission Gallery, 2183 Mission, SF; www.barbarycoastrevue.com. $28. Opens Sat/13, 8pm. Runs Sat, 8pm. Through Nov 29. Join Mark Twain on an interactive musical tour of Gold Rush-era San Francisco.
Old Hats ACT’s Geary Theater, 415 Geary, SF; www.act-sf.org. $20-120. Previews Wed/10-Sat/13 and Tue/16, 8pm (also Sat/13, 2pm); Sun/14, 7pm. Opens Sept 17, 8pm. Runs Wed-Sat, 8pm and Sept 30 (also Sat, 2pm); Sun, 2pm; Sept 23, 7pm. Through Oct 5. American Conservatory Theater presents Tony winners Bill Irwin and David Shiner in the West Coast premiere of Signature Theatre’s story of “clowns getting older — and even crazier.”
BAY AREA
House and Garden Pear Avenue Theatre, 1220 Pear, Mtn View; www.thepear.org. $10-35. Previews Thu/11, 8pm. Opens Fri/12, 8pm. Runs Thu-Sat, 8pm (check website for Sat matinee dates); Sun, 2pm. Through Oct 5. Pear Avenue Theatre performs Alan Ayckbourn’s two interlocking but separate comedies, a unique theatrical experience in which the audience stays put and the actors travel between adjacent theaters, performing each play at the same time.
ONGOING
Cock New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness, SF; www.nctcsf.org. $25-45. Previews Wed/10-Fri/12, 8pm. Opens Sat/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.
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.
The Haze ACT Costume Shop, 1117 Market, SF; http://bit.ly/thehazeplayACT. $20. 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. 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 A: Wed/10 and Tue/16, 8pm; Program B: Sept 17, 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.”
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.
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). Daily through Sept 20 (no shows Mon/15). Unique, daring indie theater (murder mysteries! Tech tales! Dating dramas! Clowns!), with 35 shows and 150 performances over 14 days.
Semi-Famous: Hollywood Hell Tales from the Middle New venue: Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $20-100. Sat, 8:30pm; Sun, 7pm. Through Oct 19. Don Reed’s latest solo show shares tales from his career in entertainment.
The Taming of the Shrew This week: Presidio, Marin Post Parade Grounds, between Graham and Keyes, SF; www.sfshakes.org. Free. Sat/13-Sun/14, 2pm. 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
An Audience with Meow Meow Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison, Berk; www.berkeleyrep.org. $29-89. Previews Wed/10, 7pm; Thu/11, 8pm. Opens Fri/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.
Berlin to Broadway with Kurt Weill Masquers Playhouse, 105 Park, Point Richmond; www.masquers.org. $22. Fri, 8pm; Sat, 7pm; Sun/14, 2pm. Through Sept 20. Masquers Playhouse performs a revue celebrating the life and work of Kurt Weill.
“Breaking Chains Festival” Various venues, Oakl (one venue in SF); www.ubuntutheaterproject.com. $15-25. Through Sept 27. New company Ubuntu Theater Project presents this festival of six site-specific works. Authors include Marcus Gardley, Tim Price, Clifford Odets, George Brant, Bennet Fisher, and N’Jameh Camera.
Cops and Robbers Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston, Berk; www.themarsh.org. $20-100. Fri/12, 8pm; Sat/13, 8:30pm. Hip-hop artist and law enforcement officer Jinho “The Piper” Ferreira performs his 17-character solo show.
Flower Drum Song Woodminster Amphitheater, Joaquin Miller Park, 3300 Joaquin Miller, Oakl; www.woodminster.com. $18-59. Thu/11 and Sun/14, 7pm; Fri/12-Sat/13, 8pm. 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.
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.
The New Electric Ballroom Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby, Berk; www.shotgunplayers.org. $20-30. 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.
O Best Beloved Parker Street Odditorium, 2310 Parker, Berk; www.obestbeloved.org. Free (donations accepted). Sat/13, 2pm. Also Sun/14, 2pm, location TBA; check website for updates. 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.
Rapture, Blister, Burn Aurora Theatre, 2081 Addison, Berk; www.auroratheatre.org. $32-50. 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.
The Tempest Old Mill Park Amphitheatre, behind the Mill Valley Public Library, 375 Throckmorton, Mill Valley; www.curtaintheatre.org. Free. Sat/13-Sun/14, 4pm. 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. Wed/10, 7:30pm; Fri/12-Sat/13, 8pm (also Sat/13, 2pm); Sun/14, 2 and 7pm. 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 Sat/13, 2pm); Sun, 2pm. Through Sept 21. Douglas Morrison Theatre opens its 35th season with David Lindsay-Abaire’s comedy about self-fulfillment.
Year of the Rooster La Val’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid, Berk; http://impacttheatre.com. $10-25. 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.
PERFORMANCE/DANCE
Aura Fischbeck + Deborah Karp Dance Projects Home Season 2014 Joe Goode Annex, 401 Alabama, SF; www.brownpapertickets.com. Fri/12-Sat/13, 8pm; Sun/14, 2pm. $15. New dance works from Aura Fischbeck Dance (Time Studies) and Deborah Karp Dance Projects (Standing On One Leg).
“BATS Summer Improv Festival” Bayfront Theater, B350 Fort Mason, SF; www.improv.org. Through Sept 20. $20. This week: “San Francisco Streets,” Fri/12-Sat/13, 8pm.
“Blush Comedy Night” Blush! Wine Bar, 476 Castro, SF; www.blushwinebar.com. Wed/10, 8pm. Stefani Silverman hosts comedians Clara Bijl, Kevin Munroe, Ronn Vigh, Johan Miranda, and more.
Caroline Lugo and Carolé Acuña’s Ballet Flamenco Peña Pachamama, 1630 Powell, SF; www.carolinalugo.com. Sat/13, Sept 21, 28, Oct 4, 11, 18, 26, 6:30pm. $15-19. Flamenco performance by the mother-daughter dance company, featuring live musicians.
“Cinema Sirens: A Jazz and Film Cabaret” La Salle Pianos and Events, 1632 Market, SF; www.shannonmariewolfe.com. Thu/11, 7:30pm. $5-10. Celebrate Hollywood from the Jazz Age through the Art Deco era at this performance, featuring vocalist Shannon Wolfe and bassist Dean Riley with Grant Levin playing an antique piano.
Comedy Day Sharon Meadow, Golden Gate Park, SF; www.comedyday.com. Sun/14, noon-5pm. Free. This year’s incarnation of the free, all-day comedy festival is dedicated to the memory of supporter (and frequent surprise performer) Robin Williams.
“Dances of the Sacred and Profane” Cowell Theater, Fort Mason Center, Marina at Buchanan, SF; www.mfdpsf.org. Sat/13 and Sept 18-20, 8pm; Sun/14 and Sept 21, 3pm. $18.50-28.50. Mark Foehringer Dance ProjectSF presents an ambitious world premiere as the Cowell Theater re-opens following an extended closure for seismic retrofitting.
Doc’s Lab 124 Columbus, SF; www.docslabsf.com. This week: Opening Night with Eric McFadden and the Clowns in Orbit with Andrew St. James, Scott Capurro, Joe Klocek, and Bunny Pistol, Sat/13, 8pm, $30-35; Doc’s Comedy open mic, Mon/15, 8pm, free.
“Dream Queens Revue” Aunt Charlie’s Lounge, 133 Turk, SF; www.dreamqueensrevue.com. Wed/10, 9:30pm. Free. Drag with Collette LeGrande, Ruby Slippers, Sophilya Leggz, Bobby Ashton, and more.
Feinstein’s at the Nikko 222 Mason, SF; www.feinsteinssf.com. This week: “Broadway Bingo,” Wed/10, 7pm, $15. Seth Rudetsky, Sat/13-Sun/14, 7pm, $35-50.
“Hubba Hubba Revue’s 8th Anniversary Burlesque Spectacular” DNA Lounge, 375 11th St, SF; www.dnalounge.com. Fri/12, 9:30pm. $15-30. The burlesque and variety show marks eight years with special guests Queen of the Quake, Kitten DeVille, Stormy Gayle, and others.
“The Imperfect Is Our Paradise” ODC Theater, 3153 17th St, SF; www.odcdance.org. Thu/11-Sat/13, 8pm; Sun/14, 2pm. $15-35. Liss Fain Dance presents a world premiere, an exploration of the stream-of-consciousness technique that uses text from William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury.
“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.
“Mortified” DNA Lounge, 375 11th St, SF; www.getmortified.com. Fri/12, 7:30pm. $20. Also Sat/13, 7:30pm, $20, Uptown, 1928 Telegraph, Oakl. Brave adults read from their own teenage diaries, letters, poems, and other hilarious and outrageous documents of their younger, more naïve selves.
“Multiple Mary and Invisible Jane” US Hastings College of the Law, 333 Golden Gate, SF; www.flyawayproductions.com. Fri/12-Sat/13 and Sept 19-20, 8 and 9pm; Sept 17-18, noon and 8pm. Free. Choreographer Jo Kreiter’s Flyaway Productions presents a world premiere aerial dance work exploring the experiences of homeless women in the Tenderloin.
“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.
“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.
San Francisco Improv Festival Eureka Theatre, 215 Jackson, SF; www.sfimprovfestival.com. Sept 10-20. $5-35. An array of comedy talent takes the stage at this all-improv festival.
“SF Stand-Up Comedy Competition” Second Act Marketplace and Events, 1727 Haight, SF; www.secondactsf.com. Thu/11, 8:30pm. $10. Sixteen comedians compete in this first show in the annual contest.
“Terminator Too: Judgment Play” and “Point Break LIVE!” DNA Lounge, 375 11th St, SF; www.dnalounge.com. 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.
“This is the Girl” Dance Mission Theater, 3316 24th St, SF; www.brownpapertickets.com. Fri/12-Sat/13, 8pm; Sun/14, 7pm. $15-25. Christy Funsch’s Funsch Dance Experience presents a new full-length work, with accompaniment by the Grrrl Brigade Taiko Drummers, guitarist Dory Ellis, and a chorus singing PJ Harvey songs.
“Yerba Buena Gardens Festival” Yerba Buena Gardens, 760 Howard, SF; www.ybgfestival.org. Through Oct 26. Free. This week: The Gonifs, Thu/11, 12:30-1:30pm; Shotgun Wedding Quintet and associates, Sat/13, 1-2:30pm; “Poetic Tuesday,” Tue/16, 12:30-1:30pm.
BAY AREA
“First Person Singular’s Open to Interpretation: Beck’s Song Reader‘ Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck, Berk; www.1stpersonsingular.com. Thu/11, 7:30pm. Free. The dramatic reading series takes on Beck’s book of unrecorded sheet music as part of Downtown Berkeley MusicFest.
“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.
“Monsieur Chopin” Berkeley Repertory Theatre, 2025 Addison, Berk; www.berkeleyrep.org. Tue/16 and Sept 18-20, 8pm (also Sept 18 and 20, 2pm); Sept 17 and 21, 2 and 7pm. $29-87. Hershey Felder returns for the farewell presentation of his acclaimed solo show. *