Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

On the Cheap: November 20 – 26, 2013

Michael Redmond
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Listings are compiled by Guardian staff. Submit items for the listings at listings@sfbg.com. For further information on how to submit items for the listings, see Selector.

WEDNESDAY 20

“The Diversity of Habitable Zones and Their Planets” Randall Museum, 199 Museum Wy, SF; www.randallmuseum.org. 7:30pm, free. San Francisco State astrophysicist Dr. Stephen R. Kane discusses, among other things, advancements in knowledge about “planets in highly eccentric orbits” and “super-Earths.” Geared for adults but all ages are welcome.

“Lyrics and Dirges” Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck, Berk; (510) 649-1320. 7:30pm, free. Reading with a mix of prominent, emerging, and beginning writers, including Charles Kruger, Monica Wesolowska, Airial Clark, and others.

Michael McClure City Lights, 261 Columbus, SF; www.citylights.com. 7pm, free. The legendary Beat author reads from his recently reissued Ghost Tantras.

THURSDAY 21

Bay Street Tree Lighting Bay Street Emeryville, 5616 Bay, Emeryville; www.baystreetemeryville.com. 6-8pm, free. The shopping center ushers in the winter-holiday season with the lighting of its 34-foot tree, plus a light and sound show, photos with Santa, hot chocolate, and more.

Holiday Craft Fair Simple Family Health, One Rio Vista, Oakl; www.simplefamilyhealth.com. 6-9pm, free. Nine different craft artists — fleece hats, cute polka-dot items, fascinators and headbands, and more! — share their wares.

Paul Koudounaris Bone Room Presents, 1573 Solano, Berk; www.boneroompresents.com. 7pm, free. The author discusses and signs copies of his macabre, beautifully-photographed books The Empire of Death and Heavenly Bodies: Cult Treasures and Spectacular Saints from the Catacombs.

Karen Luk Cartoon Art Museum, 655 Mission, SF; thirdthursdaysf.wordpress.com. 5-8pm, free. The author and illustrator discusses her new release, Steampunk ABCs, at an appropriately steampunk-y event (hint: costumes encouraged!)

“Survival Not Extinction: A Fundraiser for Tribal Rights” Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, 2323 Mission, SF; (415) 503-1254. 6pm, free. A gallery, short film, raffle, photo booth, and other activities highlight this happy-hour fundraiser for Survival International, an international rights organization working to assist the Awá tribe of Brazil. The bar will donate 10 percent of its proceeds from the evening, so show up thirsty.

FRIDAY 22

“Pancakes and Booze Art Show” Minna Gallery, 111 Minna, SF; www.pancakesandbooze.com. 8pm, $5. Through Sat/23. Over 75 underground and emerging artists display their works — plus a performance by Xpander Xperience, a photo booth, body painting, and an all-you-can-eat pancake bar.

“Rude, Glued, and Screwed” Red Door Studios, 50-A Bannam Place, SF; www.collagemuseumsf.com. 7-10pm, free. Opening exhibition celebrating the launch of the Collage Museum of San Francisco, curated by Winston Smith.

SATURDAY 23

“Art and Ideas Day Festival” Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission, SF; www.ybca.org. Noon-9pm, free. In conjunction with its current “Dissident Futures” exhibit, YBCA hosts a festival aiming to inspire explorations of “possible futures,” with workshops, lectures, performances, interactive media and more presented by robotic experts, food activist, designers, environmentalists, and other experts.

“Magic Makers: The Bay Area’s Queer Art and Craft Fair” Temescal Arts Center, 511 48th Ave, Oakl; themagicmakers.wordpress.com. 1-8pm, free. A marketplace and showplace for Bay Area queer artists. Hey, the gift-giving season is approaching — and what better presents than jewelry, prints, body-care products, candles, and other items created by local makers?

“Operation: Fork 4!” Stork Club, 2330 Telegraph, Oakl; (510) 444-6174. 6pm-midnight, five cans of food or $10. Cobra 1st Legion hosts this costume party-dance party-food drive (with help from the Bay Area Ghostbusters). The Alameda County Community Food Bank benefits from donations, and Disastroid, Victoria and the Vaudevillians, MHA, and Maritime Wilderness provide the tunes. Costumes are encouraged.

“Ukranian Holodomer: Genocidal Famine of 1932-33 (80th Anniversary)” Koret Auditorium, San Francisco Main Library, 100 Larkin, SF; (650) 281-6927. 2pm, free. Speakers, including survivors and witness accounts; music; and a documentary screening highlight this historical commemoration of the Ukraine’s tragic famine.

SUNDAY 24

“Patchwork Indie Art and Craft Festival” Jack London Market Building, 55 Harrison, Oakl; www.jacklondonsquare.com. 11am-5pm. Over 140 local artists gather to sell handmade goods, including art, housewares, paper crafts, and clothing. Plus: food trucks, free DIY craft stations, a DIY gift-wrap booth, and more.

“Thangs Taken: Rethinking Thanksgiving” La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck, Berk; www.lapena.org. 7pm, $10-25 sliding scale. Artists and activists come together to explore Thanksgiving’s complex history through music, dance, spoken word, and other avenues. Produced by the Free Land Project and curated and hosted by Ariel Luckey. *

 

Rep Clock: November 20 – 26, 2013

Michael Redmond
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Schedules are for Wed/20-Tue/26 except where noted. Director and year are given when available. Double and triple features marked with a •. All times pm unless otherwise specified.

ATA GALLERY 992 Valencia, SF; www.atasite.org. $4-10. “Periwinkle Cinema: Smoke and Ruin,” short films, Wed, 8. “Double Feature,” two short films by Lawrence Rickford, Thu, 8. “GAZE #6: Luminous Impulse,” all-animation show, Fri, 8. “Other Cinema,” works about the “(no-zones) of the American West” by Jeanne Finley, Katherin McInnis, and others, Sat, 8:30.

BALBOA THEATRE 3630 Balboa, SF; cinemasf.com/balboa. $10. “Popcorn Palace:” The Iron Giant (Bird, 1999), Sat, 10am. Matinee for kids.

BERKELEY FELLOWSHIP OF UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISTS’ HALL 1924 Cedar, Berk; www.bfuu.org. $5-10 suggested donation. JFK: The Case for Conspiracy (Groden, 2003), Thu, 7.

CASTRO 429 Castro, SF; (415) 621-6120, www.castrotheatre.com. $8.50-12. Contempt (Godard, 1963), Wed, 4:45, 7, 9:15. •Rebel Without a Cause (Ray, 1955), Thu, 7, and Rumble Fish (Coppola, 1983), Thu, 9:05. “Happy 100th Birthday to Benjamin Britten,” Fri, 7:30. This event ($20) presented by the Asawa SOTA Instrumental Music Department; more info at sfsota.org/britten. “Peaches Christ Productions presents:” 9 to 5 (Higgins, 1980), with stage show premiere of Work!, starring Pandora Boxx, Heklina, and Peaches Christ, Sat, 8. More info for this event ($25-55) at www.peacheschrist.com. The Wizard of Oz (Fleming, 1939), presented in 3D, Sun, 1, 3:30, 5:45, 8.

CHRISTOPHER B. SMITH RAFAEL FILM CENTER 1118 Fourth St, San Rafael; (415) 454-1222, www.cafilm.org. $6.50-$10.75. The Armstrong Lie (Gibney, 2013), call for dates and times. Blue is the Warmest Color (Kechiche, 2013), call for dates and times. Running from Crazy (Kopple, 2013), call for dates and times. Persistence of Vision (Schreck, 2012), Thu, 7. The Singularity (Wolens, 2013), Sun, 7. Filmmaker Doug Wolens in person.

CLAY 2261 Fillmore, SF; www.landmarktheatres.com. $10. “Midnight Movies:” Oldboy (Park, 2003), Fri-Sat, midnight.

COPPOLA THEATER Fine Arts Building, SF State University, 1600 Holloway, SF; creativestate.sfsu.edu. Free. “Hungarian Film Festival,” documentary and narrative films, Fri, 4-10; Sat, 9am-10pm; Sun, 5-10.

MECHANICS’ INSTITUTE 57 Post, SF; milibrary.org/events. $10. “CinemaLit Film Series: Dark Star: The Films of Barbara Stanwyck:” Forty Guns (Fuller, 1957), Fri, 6.

PACIFIC FILM ARCHIVE 2575 Bancroft, Berk; (510) 642-5249, bampfa.berkeley.edu. $5.50-9.50. “Alternative Visions:” Your Day Is My Night (Sachs, 2013), Wed, 7. “Behind the Scenes: The Art and Craft of Cinema with Randy Thom, Sound Designer:” Wild at Heart (Lynch, 1990), Thu, 7; Colors (Hopper, 1988), Sat, 6; The Incredibles (Bird, 2004), Sun, 3. “Fassbinder’s Favorites:” Vivre sa vie (Godard, 1962), Fri, 7. “Afterimage: Agnès Varda on Filmmaking:” Cléo From 5 to 7 (1961), Fri, 8:45. “Love Is Colder Than Death: The Cinema of Rainer Werner Fassbinder:” Lola (1981), Sat, 8:45; Veronika Voss (1982), Sun, 6.

ROXIE 3117 and 3125 16th St, SF; (415) 863-1087, www.roxie.com. $6.50-11. American Promise (Brewster and Stephenson, 2013), Wed-Thu, 6:15, 9. The Counselor (Scott, 2013), Wed, 7, 9:15. City College of San Francisco’s Festival of the Moving Image, two different showcases of student films, Thu, 7, 8:45. “SF Film Society’s Cinema By the Bay Festival:” Holy Ghost People (Altieri, 2013), Fri, 7 and 9:30; The Genius of Marian (Fitch, 2013), Sat, noon; Redemption Trail (Sjogren, 2013), Sat, 2:15; American Vagabond (Helke, 2013), Sat, 4:30; Along the Roadside (Lisinac, 2013), Sat, 6:45; “Street Smarts: YAK Films’ Dance Then and Now,” Sat, 9:30; “The SF State of Cinema: Shorts from SFSU Alumni,” Sun, noon; The Other Side of the Mountain (Jang, 2012), Sun, 2:15; “Essential SF,” honoring the Bay Area film community, Sun, 5; The Illness and the Odyssey (Minott, 2013), Sun, 7; Dear Sidewalk (Oelman, 2013), Sun, 9:15.

SWEDISH AMERICAN HALL 2174 Market, SF; www.cafedunord.com. $30-60. “The Invisible Lighthouse,” live music and film with Thomas Dolby, Thu, 8.

TANNERY 708 Gilman, Berk; berkeleyundergroundfilms.blogspot.com. Donations accepted. “Berkeley Underground Film Society:” Holy Ghost People (Adair, 1967), Sun, 7:30.

VICTORIA 2961 16th, SF; www.savethewaves.org. $5-50. “Save the Waves Film Festival,” docs about ocean conservation and surfing, plus live music and speakers, Fri, 6.

YERBA BUENA CENTER FOR THE ARTS 701 Mission, SF; www.ybca.org. $8-10. “Films by Fassbinder:” Why Does Herr R. Run Amok? (1970), Thu, 7:30. *

 

Music Listings: Nov. 13-19

Tony Robles
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WEDNESDAY 13
ROCK
Brick & Mortar Music Hall: 1710 Mission, San Francisco. Hot Toddies, Kill Moi, Odd Owl, Blaus, 9 p.m., $6-$9.
Cafe Du Nord: 2170 Market, San Francisco. “Thanks But No Thanksgiving,” Benefit for KUSF in Exile and One Mama featuring The Sam Chase, Jesús & The Rabbis, M.O.M. DJs, 9 p.m., $10-$15.
The Chapel: 777 Valencia St., San Francisco. Those Darlins, Diane Coffee, Jesus Sons, 9 p.m., $12-$15.
Elbo Room: 647 Valencia, San Francisco. Buffalo Tooth, Commissure, Growwler, Popgang DJs, 9 p.m., free.
Hemlock Tavern: 1131 Polk, San Francisco. White Mystery, Dead Meat, 8:30 p.m., $10.
Hotel Utah: 500 Fourth St., San Francisco. Grex, Cash Pony, Inner Ear Brigade, Mark Clifford Quartet, 8 p.m., $8-$10.
Monarch: 101 6th St., San Francisco. Tall Fires, Mosaics, Unruly Things, Stomping Grounds, 8 p.m., $8.
Thee Parkside: 1600 17th St., San Francisco. The Deer Tracks, Low Leaf, Survival Guide, 8 p.m., $10.
DANCE
The Cafe: 2369 Market, San Francisco. “Sticky Wednesdays,” w/ DJ Mark Andrus, 8 p.m., free.
Cat Club: 1190 Folsom, San Francisco. “Bondage A Go Go,” w/ DJs Damon, Tomas Diablo, & guests, 9:30 p.m., $5-$10.
Clift Hotel, Redwood Room: 495 Geary, San Francisco. “Enigma: Sessions 003,” w/ Reckless in Vegas, Dean Samaras, Richard Habib, Marija Dunn, 6 p.m., free.
Club X: 715 Harrison, San Francisco. “Electro Pop Rocks,” 18+ dance party with Gummy & Dosvec, 9 p.m.
Edinburgh Castle: 950 Geary, San Francisco. “1964,” w/ DJ Matt B & guests, Second and Fourth Wednesday of every month, 10 p.m., $2.
The EndUp: 401 Sixth St., San Francisco. “Tainted Techno Trance,” 10 p.m.
F8: 1192 Folsom St., San Francisco. “Housepitality,” w/ Francesca Lombardo, Michael Tello, Paul Carey, Mike Bee, Joel Conway, 9 p.m., $5-$10.
Harlot: 46 Minna, San Francisco. “Qoöl,” 5 p.m.
The Independent: 628 Divisadero, San Francisco. Thundercat, Real Magic, The Seshen, 8 p.m., $15-$17.
Infusion Lounge: 124 Ellis, San Francisco. “Indulgence,” 10 p.m.
The Knockout: 3223 Mission, San Francisco. “Disorder,” w/ Detachments, Replicanti, DJ Nickie, 10 p.m., $5.
Lookout: 3600 16th St., San Francisco. “What?,” w/ resident DJ Tisdale and guests, 7 p.m., free.
Madrone Art Bar: 500 Divisadero, San Francisco. “Rock the Spot,” 9 p.m., free.
MatrixFillmore: 3138 Fillmore, San Francisco. “Reload,” w/ DJ Big Bad Bruce, 10 p.m., free.
Q Bar: 456 Castro, San Francisco. “Booty Call,” w/ Juanita More, Joshua J, guests, 9 p.m., $3.
HIP-HOP
Double Dutch: 3192 16th St., San Francisco. “Cash IV Gold,” w/ DJs Kool Karlo, Roost Uno, and Sean G, 10 p.m., free.
Skylark Bar: 3089 16th St., San Francisco. “Mixtape Wednesday,” w/ resident DJs Strategy, Junot, Herb Digs, & guests, 9 p.m., $5.
ACOUSTIC
Cafe Divine: 1600 Stockton, San Francisco. Craig Ventresco & Meredith Axelrod, 7 p.m., free.
Club Deluxe: 1511 Haight, San Francisco. Happy Hour Bluegrass, 6:30 p.m., free.
Dolores Park Cafe: 501 Dolores, San Francisco. Joe Marson & Roem Baur, 6:30 p.m.
Johnny Foley’s Irish House: 243 O’Farrell St., San Francisco. Terry Savastano, Every other Wednesday, 9 p.m., free.
The Lost Church: 65 Capp St., San Francisco. Tall Heights, Jeff Conley, 8 p.m., $10.
Plough & Stars: 116 Clement, San Francisco. Daniel Seidel, 9 p.m.
Rickshaw Stop: 155 Fell, San Francisco. Farallons, Michael Musika, From a Fountain, 8 p.m., $10.
Swedish American Hall: 2174 Market, San Francisco. Vanessa Carlton, Birdcloud, 7:30 p.m., $25.
JAZZ
Amnesia: 853 Valencia, San Francisco. Gaucho, Eric Garland’s Jazz Session, The Amnesiacs, 7 p.m., free.
Burritt Room: 417 Stockton St., San Francisco. Terry Disley’s Rocking Jazz Trio, 6 p.m., free.
Center for New Music: 55 Taylor St., San Francisco. Peter Brötzmann & Paal Nilssen-Love, 7:30 p.m., $18-$28.
Jazz Bistro At Les Joulins: 44 Ellis, San Francisco. Charles Unger Experience, 7:30 p.m., free.
Le Colonial: 20 Cosmo, San Francisco. The Cosmo Alleycats featuring Ms. Emily Wade Adams, 7 p.m., free.
Savanna Jazz Club: 2937 Mission, San Francisco. “Cat’s Corner,” 9 p.m., $10.
Sheba Piano Lounge: 1419 Fillmore, San Francisco. Jesse Foster, 8 p.m.
Top of the Mark: One Nob Hill, 999 California, San Francisco. Ricardo Scales, Wednesdays, 6:30-11:30 p.m., $5.
Tupelo: 1337 Green St., San Francisco. Kit Ruscoe, 9:30 p.m.
Zingari: 501 Post, San Francisco. Sherri Roberts, 7:30 p.m., free.
INTERNATIONAL
Bissap Baobab: 3372 19th St., San Francisco. Timba Dance Party, w/ DJ WaltDigz, 10 p.m., $5.
Cafe Cocomo: 650 Indiana, San Francisco. “Bachatalicious,” w/ DJs Good Sho & Rodney, 7 p.m., $5-$10.
First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco: 1187 Franklin, San Francisco. Kaoru Kakizakai with Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto, 7 p.m., $20.
Pachamama Restaurant: 1630 Powell, San Francisco. “Cafe LatinoAmericano,” 8 p.m., $5.
BLUES
Biscuits and Blues: 401 Mason, San Francisco. Alvon Johnson, 7:30 & 9:30 p.m., $15.
The Saloon: 1232 Grant, San Francisco. Leah Tysse, 9:30 p.m.
FUNK
Vertigo: 1160 Polk, San Francisco. “Full Tilt Boogie,” w/ KUSF-in-Exile DJs, Second Wednesday of every month, 8 p.m.-1:30 a.m., free.
SOUL
The Royal Cuckoo: 3202 Mission, San Francisco. Freddie Hughes & Chris Burns, 7:30 p.m., free.
THURSDAY 14
ROCK
Bottom of the Hill: 1233 17th St., San Francisco. 65daysofstatic, Caspian, The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die, 9 p.m., $15-$17.
Brick & Mortar Music Hall: 1710 Mission, San Francisco. The Besnard Lakes, Elephant Stone, 9 p.m., $13-$15.
S.F. Eagle: 398 12th St., San Francisco. Thursday Nite Live: Titan Ups, Bell Tower, The Hampton Wicks, 9 p.m., $8.
Hemlock Tavern: 1131 Polk, San Francisco. Slough Feg, Skeletor, Vulturegeist, 8:30 p.m., $10.
The Independent: 628 Divisadero, San Francisco. KMFDM, Chant, 8 p.m., $28-$30.
The Knockout: 3223 Mission, San Francisco. Vaz, Burmese, Donkee, 10 p.m., $8.
Thee Parkside: 1600 17th St., San Francisco. Alestorm, Trollfest, Gypsyhawk, Valensorow, 9 p.m., $20.
DANCE
1015 Folsom: 1015 Folsom St., San Francisco. “A Light in the Attic,” w/ Phutureprimitive, Unlimited Gravity, Soulular, Bedrockk, Evolutionista, Smash & Grab, 10 p.m., $5-$10 advance.
Abbey Tavern: 4100 Geary, San Francisco. DJ Schrobi-Girl, 10 p.m., free.
Audio Discotech: 316 11th St., San Francisco. “Phonic,” w/ Felix Cartal, Ron Reeser, more, 9:30 p.m., $10 advance.
Aunt Charlie’s Lounge: 133 Turk, San Francisco. “Tubesteak Connection,” w/ DJ Bus Station John, 9 p.m., $5-$7.
The Cafe: 2369 Market, San Francisco. “¡Pan Dulce!,” 9 p.m., $5.
Cat Club: 1190 Folsom, San Francisco. “Throwback Thursdays,” ‘80s night with DJs Damon, Steve Washington, Dangerous Dan, and guests, 9 p.m., $6 (free before 9:30 p.m.).
The Cellar: 685 Sutter, San Francisco. “XO,” w/ DJs Astro & Rose, 10 p.m., $5.
Club X: 715 Harrison, San Francisco. “The Crib,” 9:30 p.m., $10, 18+.
Danzhaus: 1275 Connecticut, San Francisco. “Alt.Dance,” Second Thursday of every month, 7 p.m., $7, 18+.
DNA Lounge: 375 11th St., San Francisco. “8bitSF,” w/ Crashfaster, Bit Shifter, Trash80, Unwoman, DJ Doctor Popular, 9 p.m., $10-$15.
Elbo Room: 647 Valencia, San Francisco. “Afrolicious,” w/ DJs Pleasuremaker, Señor Oz, and live guests, 9:30 p.m., $5-$8.
Harlot: 46 Minna, San Francisco. “Modular,” w/ Uner, JOill, Pedro Arbulu, MFYRS, 9 p.m., $7-$10.
Infusion Lounge: 124 Ellis, San Francisco. “I Love Thursdays,” 10 p.m., $10.
Madrone Art Bar: 500 Divisadero, San Francisco. “Night Fever,” 9 p.m., $5 after 10 p.m.
Public Works: 161 Erie, San Francisco. “Enigma,” w/ Butane, Stephanie, Marija Dunn, Amber Reyn, Richard Habib (in the OddJob Loft), 10 p.m., $10-$20 advance.
Q Bar: 456 Castro, San Francisco. “Throwback Thursday,” w/ DJ Jay-R, 9 p.m., free.
Raven: 1151 Folsom St., San Francisco. “1999,” w/ VJ Mark Andrus, 8 p.m., free.
Ruby Skye: 420 Mason, San Francisco. “Awakening,” w/ Danny Avila, Matisse Sadko, 9 p.m., $20-$25 advance.
The Tunnel Top: 601 Bush, San Francisco. “Tunneltop,” DJs Avalon and Derek ease you into the weekend with a cool and relaxed selection of tunes spun on vinyl, 10 p.m., free.
Underground SF: 424 Haight, San Francisco. “Bubble,” 10 p.m., free.
HIP-HOP
Eastside West: 3154 Fillmore, San Francisco. “Throwback Thursdays,” w/ DJ Madison, 9 p.m., free.
The EndUp: 401 Sixth St., San Francisco. “Cypher,” w/ resident DJ Big Von, 10 p.m., $5-$10.
John Colins: 138 Minna, San Francisco. “Party with Friends,” w/ resident DJs IllEfect, GeektotheBeat, Merrick, and Delrokz, Second Thursday of every month, 9 p.m., free.
Mezzanine: 444 Jessie, San Francisco. A$AP Ferg, A$AP Mob, Joey Fatts, Aston Matthews, 100s, DJ Sean G, 9 p.m., $20.
Milk Bar: 1840 Haight, San Francisco. Rime Force Most Illin’, Fatees, Al Lover, Height with Friends, DJ Brycon, 9 p.m., $5.
Park 77 Sports Bar: 77 Cambon, San Francisco. “Slap N Tite,” w/ resident Cali King Crab DJs Sabotage Beats & Jason Awesome, free.
Skylark Bar: 3089 16th St., San Francisco. “Peaches,” w/lady DJs DeeAndroid, Lady Fingaz, That Girl, Umami, Inkfat, and Andre, 10 p.m., free.
ACOUSTIC
Amnesia: 853 Valencia, San Francisco. Ghost & Gale, Lea Pruett, The Shants, 9 p.m., $7-$10.
Atlas Cafe: 3049 20th St., San Francisco. Gayle Lynn & The Hired Hands, 8 p.m., free.
Bazaar Cafe: 5927 California, San Francisco. Acoustic Open Mic, 7 p.m.
Boom Boom Room: 1601 Fillmore, San Francisco. Whitewater Ramble, Free Peoples, 9:30 p.m., $10.
Cafe Du Nord: 2170 Market, San Francisco. The Melodic, Steve Taylor Band, Sophia Knapp, 8:30 p.m., $12.
The Lost Church: 65 Capp St., San Francisco. Aireene & The Hobos, Deborah Crooks, 8 p.m., $10-$12.
Pa’ina: 1865 Post St., San Francisco. Ashley Lilinoe, 7 p.m., free.
Plough & Stars: 116 Clement, San Francisco. Emperor Norton Céilí Band, 9 p.m.
Yoshi’s San Francisco: 1330 Fillmore, San Francisco. An Evening with Graham Nash, 8 p.m., $89.
JAZZ
Blush! Wine Bar: 476 Castro, San Francisco. Doug Martin’s Avatar Ensemble, 7:30 p.m., free.
Bottle Cap: 1707 Powell, San Francisco. The North Beach Sound with Ned Boynton, Jordan Samuels, and Tom Vickers, 7 p.m., free.
Cafe Claude: 7 Claude, San Francisco. Mad & Eddie Duran Trio, 7:30 p.m., free.
Le Colonial: 20 Cosmo, San Francisco. Steve Lucky & The Rhumba Bums, 7:30 p.m.
The Royal Cuckoo: 3202 Mission, San Francisco. Charlie Siebert & Chris Burns, 7:30 p.m., free.
Savanna Jazz Club: 2937 Mission, San Francisco. Savanna Jazz Jam with Eddy Ramirez, 7:30 p.m., $5.
SFJAZZ Center: 205 Franklin St., San Francisco. “Hotplate,” w/ Tiffany Austin (playing Hoagy Carmichael), 8 & 9:30 p.m.
Top of the Mark: One Nob Hill, 999 California, San Francisco. Stompy Jones, 7:30 p.m., $10.
Zingari: 501 Post, San Francisco. Barbara Ochoa, 7:30 p.m., free.
INTERNATIONAL
Bissap Baobab: 3372 19th St., San Francisco. “Pa’Lante!,” w/ Juan G, El Kool Kyle, Mr. Lucky, 10 p.m., $5.
Cafe Cocomo: 650 Indiana, San Francisco. Danilo y Universal, DJ Good Sho, 8 p.m., $12.
Fort Mason, Southside Theater: Marina, San Francisco. Theatre Flamenco: Con Nombre y Apellido, The country’s oldest flamenco dance company celebrates its 47th home season., Nov. 14-16, 8 p.m.; Sun., Nov. 17, 2 p.m., $35-$75.
H Cafe: 3801 17th St., San Francisco. An Evening to Benefit the Duniya Center for Arts & Education, w/ Duniya Dance & Drum Company, Wontanara Revolution, Charlotte Nehm, Vanessa Sanchez, Naila, more, 6 p.m., $35-$80.
Pachamama Restaurant: 1630 Powell, San Francisco. “Jueves Flamencos,” 8 p.m., free.
Pier 23 Cafe: Pier 23, San Francisco. Armando Compean, 7 p.m., free.
Sheba Piano Lounge: 1419 Fillmore, San Francisco. Gary Flores & Descarga Caliente, 8 p.m.
Verdi Club: 2424 Mariposa, San Francisco. The Verdi Club Milonga, w/ Christy Coté, DJ Emilio Flores, guests, 9 p.m., $10-$15.
REGGAE
Make-Out Room: 3225 22nd St., San Francisco. “Festival ‘68,” w/ Revival Sound System, Second Thursday of every month, 10 p.m., free.
Pissed Off Pete’s: 4528 Mission St., San Francisco. Reggae Thursdays, w/ resident DJ Jah Yzer, 9 p.m., free.
BLUES
50 Mason Social House: 50 Mason, San Francisco. Bill Phillippe, 5:30 p.m., free.
Biscuits and Blues: 401 Mason, San Francisco. Nick Moss, 7:30 & 9:30 p.m., $20.
Jazz Bistro At Les Joulins: 44 Ellis, San Francisco. Bohemian Knuckleboogie, 7:30 p.m., free.
The Saloon: 1232 Grant, San Francisco. Tom Bowers, 4 p.m.; Steve Freund, 9:30 p.m.
COUNTRY
The Parlor: 2801 Leavenworth, San Francisco. “Twang Honky Tonk & Country Jamboree,” w/ DJ Little Red Rodeo, 7 p.m., free.
EXPERIMENTAL
The Luggage Store: 1007 Market, San Francisco. Capricious Forms Vol. 1, 8 p.m., $6-$10.
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts: 701 Mission, San Francisco. San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, 8 p.m., $12-$30.
FRIDAY 15
ROCK
Bottom of the Hill: 1233 17th St., San Francisco. Meat Puppets, The World Takes, 10 p.m., $17.
Brick & Mortar Music Hall: 1710 Mission, San Francisco. Golden Void, Hot Lunch, Harsh Toke, 9 p.m., $7-$10.
DNA Lounge: 375 11th St., San Francisco. Happy Fangs, Night Club, Everyone Is Dirty, Kat Haus, 8 p.m., $10.
El Rio: 3158 Mission, San Francisco. Friday Live: Down in Front, DJ Emotions, 10 p.m., free.
Hotel Utah: 500 Fourth St., San Francisco. The Bananas, Audacity, Hunters, Caldecott, 9 p.m., $10-$12.
Milk Bar: 1840 Haight, San Francisco. Part Time, Exray’s, Andy Human, Epicsauce DJs, 9 p.m., $10.
Rickshaw Stop: 155 Fell, San Francisco. Heroes and the Homo Superior: The Parables of Fancy Nancy, A “David Bowie superhero burlesque rock odyssey” featuring music by First Church of the Sacred Silversexual, burlesque routines by Hubba Hubba Revue, drag performances, and more., 9 p.m., $13.
Slim’s: 333 11th St., San Francisco. Alternative Tentacles 33 1/3 Anniversary Party, w/ Jello Biafra & The Guantanamo School of Medicine, Mojo Nixon, Death Hymn Number 9, Pins of Light., 8 p.m., $18.
Thee Parkside: 1600 17th St., San Francisco. That Ghost, FayRoy, Sons of Hippies, WAG, 9 p.m., $8.
DANCE
1015 Folsom: 1015 Folsom St., San Francisco. Rusko, Roni Size, Tonn Piper, Dynamite MC, Havoc, Ivry, Nebakaneza, Mr. Kitt, Johnny5, Danny Weird, Miss Haze, DJ Dials, Jays One, Audio-Troma, White Mike, Ryury., 10 p.m., $25 advance.
Audio Discotech: 316 11th St., San Francisco. Alex Sibley, Eelrack, Festiva, 9:30 p.m., $10 advance.
Cafe Flore: 2298 Market, San Francisco. “Kinky Beats,” w/ DJ Sergio, 10 p.m., free.
The Cafe: 2369 Market, San Francisco. “Boy Bar,” w/ DJ Matt Consola, 9 p.m., $5.
Cat Club: 1190 Folsom, San Francisco. “The Witching Hour,” w/ DJs Sage, Daniel Skellington, Joe Radio, and Nickie, 9:30 p.m., $7 ($3 before 10 p.m.).
The Cellar: 685 Sutter, San Francisco. “F.T.S.: For the Story,” 10 p.m.
The Chapel: 777 Valencia St., San Francisco. DJ Assault, Double Duchess, BadboE, Rapid Fire, 10 p.m., $10-$15.
DNA Lounge: 375 11th St., San Francisco. “So Stoked 13,” w/ Daniel Kandi, Ravine, Jimini Cricket, more, 7 p.m., $15-$25.
The EndUp: 401 Sixth St., San Francisco. “Fever,” 10 p.m., free before midnight.
The Grand Nightclub: 520 4th St., San Francisco. “We Rock Fridays,” 9:30 p.m.
Infusion Lounge: 124 Ellis, San Francisco. “Escape Fridays,” 10 p.m., $20.
Lookout: 3600 16th St., San Francisco. “HYSL,” 9 p.m., $3.
Madrone Art Bar: 500 Divisadero, San Francisco. “That ‘80s Show,” w/ DJs Dave Paul & Jeff Harris, Third Friday of every month, 9 p.m., $5.
Manor West: 750 Harrison, San Francisco. “Fortune Fridays,” 10 p.m., free before 11 p.m. with RSVP.
MatrixFillmore: 3138 Fillmore, San Francisco. “F-Style Fridays,” w/ DJ Jared-F, 9 p.m.
Mezzanine: 444 Jessie, San Francisco. “Fools in the Night,” w/ Ladyhawke (DJ set), American Royalty, Blackbird Blackbird, Aaron Axelsen, 9 p.m., $15.
Mighty: 119 Utah, San Francisco. “Masters at Work,” w/ Kenny Dope & Louie Vega, 9 p.m., $20-$50.
OMG: 43 6th St., San Francisco. “Release,” 9 p.m., free before 11 p.m.
Public Works: 161 Erie, San Francisco. “Odyssey,” w/ Rick Preston, Robin Simmons, Trevor Sigler (in the OddJob Loft), 9:30 p.m., $10.
Q Bar: 456 Castro, San Francisco. “Pump: Worq It Out Fridays,” w/ resident DJ Christopher B, 9 p.m., $3.
Ruby Skye: 420 Mason, San Francisco. Arnej, Bobina, Dirtyhertz, 9 p.m., $20 advance.
Slate Bar: 2925 16th St., San Francisco. “Darling Nikki,” w/ resident DJs Dr. Sleep, Justin Credible, and Durt, Third Friday of every month, 8 p.m., $5.
Sub-Mission Art Space (Balazo 18 Gallery): 2183 Mission, San Francisco. “Deathrock Night Terrors,” w/ The Frozen Autumn, V.E.X., Red Light, plus DJs Le Perv, Necromos, and Burning Skies, 8:30 p.m., $12-$15.
Temple: 540 Howard, San Francisco. “Refresh,” w/ Pedro Arbulu, Chemical Ali, David Gregory, DJ Tone, DJ Von, 10 p.m., $15.
Underground SF: 424 Haight, San Francisco. “Bionic,” 10 p.m., $5.
Vessel: 85 Campton, San Francisco. Dirty South, 10 p.m.
Wish: 1539 Folsom, San Francisco. “Bridge the Gap,” w/ resident DJ Don Kainoa, Fridays, 6-10 p.m., free; “Depth,” w/ resident DJs Sharon Buck & Greg Yuen, Third Friday of every month, 10 p.m., free.
HIP-HOP
EZ5: 682 Commercial, San Francisco. “Decompression,” Fridays, 5-9 p.m.
The Independent: 628 Divisadero, San Francisco. Big Freedia, 9 p.m., $20.
John Colins: 138 Minna, San Francisco. “Juicy,” w/ DJ Ry Toast, Third Friday of every month, 10 p.m., $5 (free before 11 p.m.).
Showdown: 10 Sixth St., San Francisco. BPos, Mo Classics, Monk McNizzle, 9 p.m., free.
Yoshi’s San Francisco: 1330 Fillmore, San Francisco. Sir Mix-A-Lot, 10:30 p.m., $18-$22.
ACOUSTIC
Amnesia: 853 Valencia, San Francisco. SnowApple, 7 p.m.
Bazaar Cafe: 5927 California, San Francisco. The Canon Band, 7 p.m.
Cafe Du Nord: 2170 Market, San Francisco. Megan Slankard, Tom Freund, Wafflebarrel, 9 p.m., $15.
Mercury Cafe: 201 Octavia, San Francisco. Toshio Hirano, Third Friday of every month, 7:30 p.m., free, all ages.
Plough & Stars: 116 Clement, San Francisco. “Bluegrass Bonanza,” w/ Travers Chandler & Avery County, Belle Monroe & Her Brewglass Boys, 9 p.m., $6-$10.
Red Poppy Art House: 2698 Folsom, San Francisco. Amy LaCour with Ross Hammond, 7:30 p.m., $10-$15.
The Sports Basement: 610 Old Mason, San Francisco. “Breakfast with Enzo,” w/ Enzo Garcia, 10 a.m., $5.
Yoshi’s San Francisco: 1330 Fillmore, San Francisco. An Evening with Mason Jennings, 8 p.m., $29.
JAZZ
Beach Chalet Brewery & Restaurant: 1000 Great Highway, San Francisco. Johnny Smith, 8 p.m., free.
Bird & Beckett: 653 Chenery, San Francisco. The Third Quartet, Third Friday of every month, 5:30 p.m., free.
Cafe Claude: 7 Claude, San Francisco. Nick Rossi Trio, 9:30 p.m., free.
City College: 50 Phelan, San Francisco. The Cartoon Jazz Band, 7:30 p.m., free.
Jazz Bistro At Les Joulins: 44 Ellis, San Francisco. Charles Unger Experience, 7:30 p.m., free.
The Palace Hotel: 2 New Montgomery, San Francisco. The Klipptones, 8 p.m., free.
Revolution Cafe: 3248 22nd St., San Francisco. Emily Anne’s Delights, Third Friday of every month, 8:45 p.m., free/donation.
Savanna Jazz Club: 2937 Mission, San Francisco. Jim Butler Group, 7:30 p.m., $8.
SFJAZZ Center: 205 Franklin St., San Francisco. Pamela Rose & Wayne De La Cruz, 7 & 8:30 p.m., $25.
Sheba Piano Lounge: 1419 Fillmore, San Francisco. Sam Caddy Quintet, 9 p.m.
Top of the Mark: One Nob Hill, 999 California, San Francisco. Black Market Jazz Orchestra, 9 p.m., $10.
Zingari: 501 Post, San Francisco. Joyce Grant, 8 p.m., free.
INTERNATIONAL
Bissap Baobab: 3372 19th St., San Francisco. Qumbia Qrew, Third Friday of every month, 8 p.m.; “Paris-Dakar African Mix Coupe Decale,” 10 p.m., $5.
Cafe Cocomo: 650 Indiana, San Francisco. Taste Fridays, featuring local cuisine tastings, salsa bands, dance lessons, and more, 7:30 p.m., $15 (free entry to patio).
Cigar Bar & Grill: 850 Montgomery, San Francisco. Orquesta La Clave, 8 p.m.
Fort Mason, Southside Theater: Marina, San Francisco. Theatre Flamenco: Con Nombre y Apellido, The country’s oldest flamenco dance company celebrates its 47th home season., Nov. 14-16, 8 p.m.; Sun., Nov. 17, 2 p.m., $35-$75.
Pachamama Restaurant: 1630 Powell, San Francisco. Cuban Night with Fito Reinoso, 7:30 & 9:15 p.m., $15-$18.
Pier 23 Cafe: Pier 23, San Francisco. Armando Compean, 8 p.m., free.
Public Works: 161 Erie, San Francisco. Afrolicious Band, J-Boogie, 10 p.m., $10.
REGGAE
Elbo Room: 647 Valencia, San Francisco. “The Social,” w/ Native Elements, Jah Yzer, 10 p.m., $10.
Gestalt Haus: 3159 16th St., San Francisco. “Music Like Dirt,” 7:30 p.m., free.
BLUES
Biscuits and Blues: 401 Mason, San Francisco. Kevin Selfe & The Tornadoes, 7:30 & 10 p.m., $20.
The Saloon: 1232 Grant, San Francisco. West Coast Blues Revue, 4 p.m.; Cathy Lemons, 9:30 p.m.
FUNK
Amnesia: 853 Valencia, San Francisco. “Hella Tight,” w/ resident DJs Vinnie Esparza, Jonny Deeper, & Asti Spumanti, Third Friday of every month, 10 p.m., $5.
Dolores Park Cafe: 501 Dolores, San Francisco. Shake It! Booty Band, 7:30 p.m.
Make-Out Room: 3225 22nd St., San Francisco. “Loose Joints,” w/ DJs Centipede, Damon Bell, & Tom Thump, 10 p.m., $5.
SOUL
Edinburgh Castle: 950 Geary, San Francisco. “Soul Crush,” w/ DJ Serious Leisure, 10 p.m., free.
The Knockout: 3223 Mission, San Francisco. “Oldies Night,” W/ DJs Primo, Daniel, Lost Cat, and friends, Third Friday of every month, 10 p.m., $5.
SATURDAY 16
ROCK
Bender’s: 806 S. Van Ness, San Francisco. Moses, Hornss, 10 p.m., $5.
Bottom of the Hill: 1233 17th St., San Francisco. Quasi, Blues Control, Street Eaters, 9:30 p.m., $15.
Brick & Mortar Music Hall: 1710 Mission, San Francisco. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Army Navy, 9 p.m., $12-$15.
Cafe Du Nord: 2170 Market, San Francisco. San Francisco Food Bank Benefit with Tommy Guerrero & Friends, El Diablitos, DJ Romanowski, 9:30 p.m., $10-$15.
The Chapel: 777 Valencia St., San Francisco. Cellar Doors, 9 p.m., $12.
El Rio: 3158 Mission, San Francisco. Benefit for Family Dog Rescue with The Shams, The Next, The Unfortunate Bastard, Psychokitty, 9 p.m.
Hemlock Tavern: 1131 Polk, San Francisco. Guantanamo Baywatch, Death Hymn Number 9, Buffalo Tooth, Pookie & The Poodlez, 8:30 p.m., $7.
Hotel Utah: 500 Fourth St., San Francisco. “Rocket Ship!,” w/ Starr Saunders, The Coffis Brothers, Exhausted Pipes, Katie Ekin, 9 p.m., $8-$12.
Rickshaw Stop: 155 Fell, San Francisco. Tera Melos, Zorch, Sister Crayon, Creepers, 9 p.m., $15.
Slim’s: 333 11th St., San Francisco. Born Ruffians, Grmln, 9 p.m., $17.
Thee Parkside: 1600 17th St., San Francisco. Fog of War, Nekrofilth, Burning Monk, Tomes, 9:30 p.m., $8.
DANCE
Amnesia: 853 Valencia, San Francisco. “Pance Darty,” w/ Jjaaxxnn & Duke, Third Saturday of every month, 9 p.m., $7.
Audio Discotech: 316 11th St., San Francisco. Miguel Migs, Andrew Phelan, 9:30 p.m., $10 advance.
Balancoire: 2565 Mission St., San Francisco. “Play It Cool,” w/ Boogie Nite, Avalon Emerson, Derek Opperman, Guillaume Galuz, Matthew Favorites, 9 p.m., $5.
BeatBox: 314 11th St., San Francisco. “I Just Wanna F*ckin Dance,” w/ DJs Hector Fonseca & Chi Chi LaRue, 10 p.m., $15-$25.
Cafe Flore: 2298 Market, San Francisco. “Bistrotheque,” w/ DJ Ken Vulsion, 8 p.m., free.
Cat Club: 1190 Folsom, San Francisco. “New Wave City: Duran Duran Video Night,” w/ DJs Shindog, Andy T, B.A.D. Reputation, and Girl Panic, 9 p.m., $7-$12.
DNA Lounge: 375 11th St., San Francisco. “Bootie S.F.,” w/ DJ Tripp, Entyme, Meikee Magnetic, Mixtress Shizaam, Dcnstrct, MyKill, Hubba Hubba Revue, more, 9 p.m., $10-$15.
The EndUp: 401 Sixth St., San Francisco. “The Show,” w/ Ben Seagren, Dean Samaras, and guests (starts 2 a.m. Sunday morning), Third Saturday of every month, $10-$20 (free before 11 p.m.).
F8: 1192 Folsom St., San Francisco. “Hegemoney,” w/ Mr. Carmack, Insightful, Mikos Da Gawd, Bobby Peru, Starter Kit, 9 p.m., $10-$15.
Infusion Lounge: 124 Ellis, San Francisco. “Social Addiction,” Third Saturday of every month, 10 p.m., $20.
Lookout: 3600 16th St., San Francisco. “Bounce!,” 9 p.m., $3.
Madrone Art Bar: 500 Divisadero, San Francisco. “Fringe,” w/ DJs Blondie K & subOctave, Third Saturday of every month, 9 p.m., $5 (free before 10 p.m.).
Mighty: 119 Utah, San Francisco. “Mighty Real,” w/ Tiga, Bells & Whistles, David Harness, 10 p.m., $15 advance.
Milk Bar: 1840 Haight, San Francisco. “The Queen Is Dead: A Tribute to the Music of Morrissey & The Smiths,” w/ DJ Mario Muse & guests, Third Saturday of every month, 9 p.m.
Monarch: 101 6th St., San Francisco. “Lights Down Low,” w/ MK, Richie Panic, Sleazemore, MPHD, 10 p.m., $15-$20.
Powerhouse: 1347 Folsom, San Francisco. “Beatpig,” Third Saturday of every month, 9 p.m.
Project One: 251 Rhode Island, San Francisco. “Familia vs. Friends and Family,” w/ Lee Coombs, Ethan Miller, Ding Dong, Tamo, Nugz, 9 p.m., $10-$15 advance.
Public Works: 161 Erie, San Francisco. “Isis,” w/ PBR Streetgang, Mountaincount (in the OddJob Loft), 9:30 p.m., $10-$15.
Ruby Skye: 420 Mason, San Francisco. “World Town,” w/ Deorro, Trevor Simpson, 9 p.m., $20 advance.
Slate Bar: 2925 16th St., San Francisco. “Smiths Night S.F.,” w/ The Certain People Crew, Third Saturday of every month, 10 p.m., $5.
Slide: 430 Mason, San Francisco. “Luminous,” w/ DJ Zhaldee, Third Saturday of every month, 9 p.m.
Supperclub San Francisco: 657 Harrison, San Francisco. “Scorpio’s Ball,” w/ El Papa Chango, Smasheltooth, Jocelyn, Portal, 9 p.m., $10-$20.
Vessel: 85 Campton, San Francisco. Tall Sasha, 10 p.m., $10-$30.
HIP-HOP
111 Minna Gallery: 111 Minna St., San Francisco. “Shine,” Third Saturday of every month, 10 p.m.
John Colins: 138 Minna, San Francisco. “The Bump,” w/ The Whooligan, Third Saturday of every month, 10 p.m., free.
The Knockout: 3223 Mission, San Francisco. “The Booty Bassment,” w/ DJs Dimitri Dickinson & Ryan Poulsen, Third Saturday of every month, 10 p.m., $5.
Mezzanine: 444 Jessie, San Francisco. Spawnbreezie, BigBody Cisco, Drew Deezy, 9 p.m., $20.
Showdown: 10 Sixth St., San Francisco. “Purple,” w/ resident DJs ChaunceyCC & Party Pablo, Third Saturday of every month, 10 p.m.
ACOUSTIC
Amoeba Music: 1855 Haight, San Francisco. Mason Jennings, 3 p.m., free.
Atlas Cafe: 3049 20th St., San Francisco. Craig Ventresco & Meredith Axelrod, Saturdays, 4-6 p.m., free.
Bazaar Cafe: 5927 California, San Francisco. Paul Griffiths, 7 p.m.
The Independent: 628 Divisadero, San Francisco. Vienna Teng, 6 & 9 p.m., $25.
The Lost Church: 65 Capp St., San Francisco. North Home, Jean Marie, 8 p.m., $10.
Plough & Stars: 116 Clement, San Francisco. John Haesemeyer, Jeff Hayward, RonDre., 8 p.m., $6.
The Riptide: 3639 Taraval, San Francisco. Chris James & The Showdowns, 9:30 p.m., free.
St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church: 2097 Turk, San Francisco. A Musical Tribute & Celebration of the Life & Songs of Phil Ochs, featuring Sonny Ochs, Kim & Reggie Harris, Carolyn Hester, James Lee Stanley, and Aileen Vance, 8 p.m., $17-$20.
Tupelo: 1337 Green St., San Francisco. Shantytown, 9 p.m.
Yoshi’s San Francisco: 1330 Fillmore, San Francisco. An Evening with Mason Jennings, 8 & 10 p.m., $24-$29.
JAZZ
Cafe Claude: 7 Claude, San Francisco. The Monroe Trio, 7:30 p.m., free.
Jazz Bistro At Les Joulins: 44 Ellis, San Francisco. Bill “Doc” Webster & Jazz Nostalgia, 7:30 p.m., free.
The Royal Cuckoo: 3202 Mission, San Francisco. Jules Broussard, Danny Armstrong, and Chris Siebert, 7:30 p.m., free.
Savanna Jazz Club: 2937 Mission, San Francisco. Lily Alunan, 7:30 p.m., $10.
SFJAZZ Center: 205 Franklin St., San Francisco. Wesla Whitfield, 7 & 8:30 p.m., $30.
Sheba Piano Lounge: 1419 Fillmore, San Francisco. The Robert Stewart Experience, 9 p.m.
Zingari: 501 Post, San Francisco. Brenda Reed, 8 p.m., free.
INTERNATIONAL
1015 Folsom: 1015 Folsom St., San Francisco. “Pura,” 9 p.m., $20.
Bissap Baobab: 3372 19th St., San Francisco. “Paris-Dakar African Mix Coupe Decale,” 10 p.m., $5.
Cafe Cocomo: 650 Indiana, San Francisco. Peruvian Salsa Showdown, w/ Pepe y Su Orquesta vs. Julio Bravo y Su Orquesta Salsabor, 8 p.m., $15.
Cigar Bar & Grill: 850 Montgomery, San Francisco. Conjunto Picante, 8 p.m.
Fort Mason, Southside Theater: Marina, San Francisco. Theatre Flamenco: Con Nombre y Apellido, The country’s oldest flamenco dance company celebrates its 47th home season., Nov. 14-16, 8 p.m.; Sun., Nov. 17, 2 p.m., $35-$75.
Make-Out Room: 3225 22nd St., San Francisco. “El SuperRitmo,” w/ DJs Roger Mas & El Kool Kyle, 10 p.m., $5.
OMG: 43 6th St., San Francisco. “Bollywood Blast,” Third Saturday of every month, 9 p.m., $5 (free before 10:30 p.m.).
Pachamama Restaurant: 1630 Powell, San Francisco. Peña Eddy Navia & Pachamama Band, 8 p.m., free.
Public Works: 161 Erie, San Francisco. “Non Stop Bhangra,” w/ Jimmy Love, Rav-E, Pavit, Mehul, Dholrhythms dance troupe, more (in the main room), 9 p.m., $10-$15.
Red Poppy Art House: 2698 Folsom, San Francisco. Makrú, 7:30 p.m., $10-$15.
Revolution Cafe: 3248 22nd St., San Francisco. Go Van Gogh, Third Saturday of every month, 9 p.m., free/donation.
Roccapulco Supper Club: 3140 Mission, San Francisco. Farruko, 8 p.m., $40 advance.
BLUES
Biscuits and Blues: 401 Mason, San Francisco. Paula Harris, 7:30 & 10 p.m., $20.
Pier 23 Cafe: Pier 23, San Francisco. Bobbie Webb, 8 p.m., free.
The Saloon: 1232 Grant, San Francisco. Tony Perez & Second Hand Smoke, Third Saturday of every month, 4 p.m.; Nick Gravenites, 9:30 p.m.
EXPERIMENTAL
Columbarium: One Loraine Court, San Francisco. Luciano Chessa: Lightest, 6 p.m., free.
FUNK
Boom Boom Room: 1601 Fillmore, San Francisco. Polyrhythmics, Ideateam, 9:30 p.m., $10-$15.
SOUL
Elbo Room: 647 Valencia, San Francisco. “Saturday Night Soul Party,” w/ DJs Lucky, Phengren Oswald, and Paul Paul, Third Saturday of every month, 10 p.m., $10 ($5 in formal attire).
SUNDAY 17
ROCK
Bottom of the Hill: 1233 17th St., San Francisco. The Grannies, Winter Teeth, Bar Fight, 7 p.m., $10.
Cafe Du Nord: 2170 Market, San Francisco. Grant Farm, Emily Yates, Misisipi Mike Wolf, 8 p.m., $12.
Hemlock Tavern: 1131 Polk, San Francisco. Pop. 1280, 8:30 p.m., $7.
The Independent: 628 Divisadero, San Francisco. Anna Calvi, Sandy’s, 8 p.m., $20.
Milk Bar: 1840 Haight, San Francisco. Corners, Froth, Adult Books, Bicycle Day, 8 p.m., $5.
Neck of the Woods: 406 Clement St., San Francisco. Cadaver Dogs, MoonFox, A Happy Death, 8 p.m., $5-$8.
Rickshaw Stop: 155 Fell, San Francisco. White Lung, Antwon, Tony Molina, 7 p.m., $10-$12.
Slim’s: 333 11th St., San Francisco. Tonight Alive, The Downtown Fiction, For the Foxes, Echosmith, 7 p.m., $14.
DANCE
BeatBox: 314 11th St., San Francisco. “Tea-Rex,” w/ DJ Corey Craig, 4-8 p.m., $5-$10.
The Cellar: 685 Sutter, San Francisco. “Replay Sundays,” 9 p.m., free.
The Edge: 4149 18th St., San Francisco. “’80s at 8,” w/ DJ MC2, 8 p.m.
Elbo Room: 647 Valencia, San Francisco. “Dub Mission,” w/ Roger Mas, DJ Sep, Vinnie Esparza, 9 p.m., $6 (free before 9:30 p.m.).
The EndUp: 401 Sixth St., San Francisco. “T.Dance,” 6 a.m.-6 p.m.; “Soul Affair,” Third Sunday of every month, 8 p.m.; “Sunday Sessions,” 8 p.m.
F8: 1192 Folsom St., San Francisco. “Stamina Sundays,” w/ DLR & Adept, 10 p.m., free.
The Knockout: 3223 Mission, San Francisco. “Sweater Funk,” 10 p.m., free.
Lookout: 3600 16th St., San Francisco. “Jock,” Sundays, 3-8 p.m., $2.
MatrixFillmore: 3138 Fillmore, San Francisco. “Bounce,” w/ DJ Just, 10 p.m.
Monarch: 101 6th St., San Francisco. “Reload,” 9:30 p.m., $5; “Reload,” 9:30 p.m., $5.
Otis: 25 Maiden, San Francisco. “What’s the Werd?,” w/ resident DJs Nick Williams, Kevin Knapp, Maxwell Dub, and guests, 9 p.m., $5 (free before 11 p.m.).
The Parlor: 2801 Leavenworth, San Francisco. DJ Marc deVasconcelos, 10 p.m., free.
Q Bar: 456 Castro, San Francisco. “Gigante,” 8 p.m., free.
Showdown: 10 Sixth St., San Francisco. “The Dark Wave Rises,” w/ DJ Xtine Noir & DJ From Full House, Third Sunday of every month, 10 p.m.
Slate Bar: 2925 16th St., San Francisco. “She Said…: A Queer Affair,” Third Sunday of every month, 4 p.m., $3-$5.
HIP-HOP
Boom Boom Room: 1601 Fillmore, San Francisco. “Return of the Cypher,” 9:30 p.m., free.
Brick & Mortar Music Hall: 1710 Mission, San Francisco. Chuck Inglish, Kings Dead, Sayknowledge, Young Gully, Nick Jame$, Symba, 9 p.m., $12-$15.
ACOUSTIC
Hotel Utah: 500 Fourth St., San Francisco. Donovan Plant Band, Ian Franklin & Infinite Frequency, Jeff Desira, Ray Vaughn, Benjamin Brown, 8 p.m., $8-$10.
The Lucky Horseshoe: 453 Cortland, San Francisco. Sunday Bluegrass Jam, 4 p.m., free.
Madrone Art Bar: 500 Divisadero, San Francisco. “Spike’s Mic Night,” Sundays, 4-8 p.m., free.
Neck of the Woods: 406 Clement St., San Francisco. “iPlay,” open mic with featured weekly artists, 6:30 p.m., free.
Plough & Stars: 116 Clement, San Francisco. Seisiún with Darcy Noonan, Richard Mandel, and Jack Gilder, 9 p.m.
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church: 1755 Clay, San Francisco. “Sunday Night Mic,” w/ Roem Baur, 5 p.m., free.
Tupelo: 1337 Green St., San Francisco. The West Nile Ramblers, 9 p.m.
JAZZ
Biscuits and Blues: 401 Mason, San Francisco. Macy Blackman, 7:30 & 9:30 p.m., $15.
Chez Hanny: 1300 Silver, San Francisco. Scott Amendola Quartet, 4 p.m., $20 suggested donation.
Jazz Bistro At Les Joulins: 44 Ellis, San Francisco. Bill “Doc” Webster & Jazz Nostalgia, 7:30 p.m., free.
Madrone Art Bar: 500 Divisadero, San Francisco. “Sunday Sessions,” 10 p.m., free.
Revolution Cafe: 3248 22nd St., San Francisco. Jazz Revolution, 4 p.m., free/donation.
The Riptide: 3639 Taraval, San Francisco. The Cottontails, Third Sunday of every month, 7:30 p.m., free.
The Royal Cuckoo: 3202 Mission, San Francisco. Lavay Smith & Chris Siebert, 7:30 p.m., free.
SFJAZZ Center: 205 Franklin St., San Francisco. Jackie Ryan, 5:30 & 7 p.m., $20.
Zingari: 501 Post, San Francisco. Amanda Addleman, 7:30 p.m., free.
INTERNATIONAL
Atmosphere: 447 Broadway, San Francisco. “Hot Bachata Nights,” w/ DJ El Guapo, 5:30 p.m., $10 ($18-$25 with dance lessons).
Bissap Baobab: 3372 19th St., San Francisco. “Brazil & Beyond,” 6:30 p.m., free.
Fort Mason, Southside Theater: Marina, San Francisco. Theatre Flamenco: Con Nombre y Apellido, The country’s oldest flamenco dance company celebrates its 47th home season., Nov. 14-16, 8 p.m.; Sun., Nov. 17, 2 p.m., $35-$75.
Old First Presbyterian Church: 1751 Sacramento, San Francisco. Shoko Hikage with Thomas Schultz & Narae Kwon, 4 p.m., $14-$17.
Thirsty Bear Brewing Company: 661 Howard, San Francisco. “The Flamenco Room,” 7:30 & 8:30 p.m.
REGGAE
Mezzanine: 444 Jessie, San Francisco. Shaggy, Rayvon, Thrive, DJ Green B, 9 p.m., $25.
Pa’ina: 1865 Post St., San Francisco. Siaosi, Kiwini Vaitai, Jasmine Lee, 7 p.m., $10.
BLUES
Amnesia: 853 Valencia, San Francisco. HowellDevine, Third Sunday of every month, 8:30 p.m., $7-$10.
Lou’s Fish Shack: 300 Jefferson St., San Francisco. Nat Bolden, 4 p.m.
Revolution Cafe: 3248 22nd St., San Francisco. HowellDevine, 8:30 p.m., free/donation.
The Saloon: 1232 Grant, San Francisco. Blues Power, 4 p.m.; Silvia C, 9:30 p.m.
Sheba Piano Lounge: 1419 Fillmore, San Francisco. Bohemian Knuckleboogie, 8 p.m., free.
Swig: 571 Geary, San Francisco. Sunday Blues Jam with Ed Ivey, 9 p.m.
EXPERIMENTAL
El Rio: 3158 Mission, San Francisco. Marielle Jakobsons, Tecumseh, Names, 8 p.m., $7.
The Lab: 2948 16th St., San Francisco. “Godwaffle Noise Pancakes,” w/ Medicine Cabinet, Dictionary of Ghosts, Beast Nest, Rent Romus, Moo Kau, noon, $5-$10.
Musicians Union Local 6: 116 Ninth St., San Francisco. The Reckoning Quartet, Skullkrusher, 7:30 p.m., $8-$10.
SOUL
Delirium Cocktails: 3139 16th St., San Francisco. “Heart & Soul,” w/ DJ Lovely Lesage, 10 p.m., free.
MONDAY 18
ROCK
Brick & Mortar Music Hall: 1710 Mission, San Francisco. Social Studies, Foli, The Tropics, 9 p.m., $6.
The Chapel: 777 Valencia St., San Francisco. Nightlands, 8 p.m., $12.
Slim’s: 333 11th St., San Francisco. Wire, Chastity Belt, 8 p.m., $25.
DANCE
DNA Lounge: 375 11th St., San Francisco. “Death Guild,” 18+ dance party with DJs Decay, Joe Radio, Melting Girl, & guests, 9:30 p.m., $3-$5.
Q Bar: 456 Castro, San Francisco. “Wanted,” w/ DJs Key&Kite and Richie Panic, 9 p.m., free.
Underground SF: 424 Haight, San Francisco. “Vienetta Discotheque,” w/ DJs Stanley Frank and Robert Jeffrey, 10 p.m., free.
HIP-HOP
Elbo Room: 647 Valencia, San Francisco. Travaille, Ickymack, Cozmost, 9 p.m.
ACOUSTIC
Amnesia: 853 Valencia, San Francisco. Windy Hill, Third Monday of every month, 9 p.m., free.
Bazaar Cafe: 5927 California, San Francisco. West Coast Songwriters Competition, 7 p.m.
Cafe Du Nord: 2170 Market, San Francisco. Lindi Ortega, Brett Detar, 8:30 p.m., $12.
The Chieftain: 198 Fifth St., San Francisco. The Wrenboys, 7 p.m., free.
Fiddler’s Green: 1333 Columbus, San Francisco. Terry Savastano, 9:30 p.m., free/donation.
Hotel Utah: 500 Fourth St., San Francisco. Open mic with Brendan Getzell, 8 p.m., free.
Make-Out Room: 3225 22nd St., San Francisco. “Sad Bastard Club,” Third Monday of every month, 7:30 p.m., free.
Osteria: 3277 Sacramento, San Francisco. “Acoustic Bistro,” 7 p.m., free.
The Saloon: 1232 Grant, San Francisco. Peter Lindman, 4 p.m.
JAZZ
Cafe Divine: 1600 Stockton, San Francisco. Rob Reich, First and Third Monday of every month, 7 p.m.
Le Colonial: 20 Cosmo, San Francisco. Le Jazz Hot, 7 p.m., free.
Sheba Piano Lounge: 1419 Fillmore, San Francisco. City Jazz Instrumental Jam Session, 8 p.m.
The Union Room at Biscuits and Blues: 401 Mason, San Francisco. The Session: A Monday Night Jazz Series, pro jazz jam with Mike Olmos, 7:30 p.m., $12.
Zingari: 501 Post, San Francisco. Nora Maki, 7:30 p.m., free.
REGGAE
Skylark Bar: 3089 16th St., San Francisco. “Skylarking,” w/ I&I Vibration, 10 p.m., free.
BLUES
Biscuits and Blues: 401 Mason, San Francisco. Craig Horton, 7:30 & 9:30 p.m., $15.
Jazz Bistro At Les Joulins: 44 Ellis, San Francisco. Bohemian Knuckleboogie, 7:30 p.m., free.
The Saloon: 1232 Grant, San Francisco. The Bachelors, 9:30 p.m.
SOUL
Madrone Art Bar: 500 Divisadero, San Francisco. “M.O.M. (Motown on Mondays),” w/ DJ Gordo Cabeza & Timoteo Gigante, 8 p.m., free.
TUESDAY 19
ROCK
Amnesia: 853 Valencia, San Francisco. French Cassettes, Black Cobra Vipers, Eagle, 9:15 p.m., $7.
Boom Boom Room: 1601 Fillmore, San Francisco. The Bennys, Big Sticky Mess, Glimpse Trio, 9:30 p.m., $5.
Bottom of the Hill: 1233 17th St., San Francisco. Obits, Rob Crow’s Gloomy Place, Pins of Light, 9 p.m., $12.
Cafe Du Nord: 2170 Market, San Francisco. Ezra Furman, Tristen, Fronds, 8:30 p.m., $10.
The Chapel: 777 Valencia St., San Francisco. The Reverend Horton Heat, Larry & His Flask, Deke Dickerson, 9 p.m., $25.
Hotel Utah: 500 Fourth St., San Francisco. The Melismatics, Goldenboy featuring The New Familiar, Laura Leighe, South Hero, 8 p.m., $8-$10.
The Knockout: 3223 Mission, San Francisco. Payoff, Great Apes, Jabber, DJ Jesse Luscious, 9:30 p.m., $7.
DANCE
Aunt Charlie’s Lounge: 133 Turk, San Francisco. “High Fantasy,” w/ DJ Viv, Myles Cooper, & guests, 10 p.m., $2.
Monarch: 101 6th St., San Francisco. “Soundpieces,” 10 p.m., free-$10.
Otis: 25 Maiden, San Francisco. “Vibe,” w/ Binkadink, Third Tuesday of every month, 6 p.m., free.
Q Bar: 456 Castro, San Francisco. “Switch,” w/ DJs Jenna Riot & Andre, 9 p.m., $3.
Underground SF: 424 Haight, San Francisco. “Shelter,” 10 p.m., free.
Wish: 1539 Folsom, San Francisco. “Tight,” w/ resident DJs Michael May & Lito, 8 p.m., free.
HIP-HOP
Skylark Bar: 3089 16th St., San Francisco. “True Skool Tuesdays,” w/ DJ Ren the Vinyl Archaeologist, 10 p.m., free.
ACOUSTIC
Bazaar Cafe: 5927 California, San Francisco. Andy Padlo, 7 p.m. continues through Nov. 26.
Plough & Stars: 116 Clement, San Francisco. Seisiún with Autumn Rhodes, 9 p.m.
Swedish American Hall: 2174 Market, San Francisco. Moonface, 8 p.m., $14-$16.
JAZZ
Beach Chalet Brewery & Restaurant: 1000 Great Highway, San Francisco. Gerry Grosz Jazz Jam, 7 p.m.
Blush! Wine Bar: 476 Castro, San Francisco. Kally Price & Rob Reich, 7 p.m., free.
Burritt Room: 417 Stockton St., San Francisco. Terry Disley’s Rocking Jazz Trio, 6 p.m., free.
Cafe Divine: 1600 Stockton, San Francisco. Chris Amberger, 7 p.m.
Jazz Bistro At Les Joulins: 44 Ellis, San Francisco. M.B. Hanif & The Sound Voyagers, 7:30 p.m., free.
Le Colonial: 20 Cosmo, San Francisco. Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers, 7 p.m.
Revolution Cafe: 3248 22nd St., San Francisco. West Side Jazz Club, 5 p.m., free; Panique, Third Tuesday of every month, 8:30 p.m., free/donation.
Sheba Piano Lounge: 1419 Fillmore, San Francisco. Michael Parsons, 8 p.m.
Tupelo: 1337 Green St., San Francisco. Mal Sharpe’s Big Money in Jazz Band, 6 p.m.
Verdi Club: 2424 Mariposa, San Francisco. “Tuesday Night Jump,” w/ Stompy Jones, Carl Sonny Leyland, 9 p.m., $15; “Tuesday Night Jump,” w/ Stompy Jones, 9 p.m., $10-$12.
Yoshi’s San Francisco: 1330 Fillmore, San Francisco. Tommy Igoe Big Band, 8 p.m., $22.
Zingari: 501 Post, San Francisco. Linda Kosut, 7:30 p.m., free.
INTERNATIONAL
Cafe Cocomo: 650 Indiana, San Francisco. “Descarga S.F.,” w/ DJs Hong & Good Sho, 8 p.m., $12.
The Cosmo Bar & Lounge: 440 Broadway, San Francisco. “Conga Tuesdays,” 8 p.m., $7-$10.
Elbo Room: 647 Valencia, San Francisco. “Porreta!,” all night forro party with DJs Carioca & Lucio K, Third Tuesday of every month, 9 p.m., $7.
F8: 1192 Folsom St., San Francisco. “Underground Nomads,” w/ rotating resident DJs Amar, Sep, and Dulce Vita, plus guests, 9 p.m., $5 (free before 9:30 p.m.).
Yoshi’s San Francisco: 1330 Fillmore, San Francisco. Jorge Ben Jor, 8 & 10 p.m., $35-$55.
REGGAE
Milk Bar: 1840 Haight, San Francisco. “Bless Up,” w/ Jah Warrior Shelter Hi-Fi, 10 p.m.
BLUES
Biscuits and Blues: 401 Mason, San Francisco. The Pulsators, 7:30 & 9:30 p.m., $18.
The Saloon: 1232 Grant, San Francisco. Lisa Kindred, Third Tuesday of every month, 9:30 p.m.
EXPERIMENTAL
Center for New Music: 55 Taylor St., San Francisco. sfSoundSalonSeries, 7:49 p.m., $7-$10.
FUNK
Madrone Art Bar: 500 Divisadero, San Francisco. “Boogaloo Tuesday,” w/ Oscar Myers & Steppin’, 9:30 p.m., free.
SOUL
Make-Out Room: 3225 22nd St., San Francisco. “Lost & Found,” w/ DJs Primo, Lucky, and guests, 9:30 p.m., free. 

Rep Clock: November 13 – 19, 2013

Michael Redmond
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Schedules are for Wed/13-Tue/19 except where noted. Director and year are given when available. Double and triple features marked with a •. All times pm unless otherwise specified.

ATA GALLERY 992 Valencia, SF; www.atasite.org. $6. “Other Cinema:” Your Day is My Night (Sachs, 2012), Sat, 8:30.

BALBOA THEATRE 3630 Balboa, SF; cinemasf.com/balboa. $10. “Popcorn Palace:” Back to the Future (Zemeckis, 1985), Sat, 10am. Matinee for kids.

CASTRO 429 Castro, SF; (415) 621-6120, www.castrotheatre.com. $8.50-12. •Weekend (Godard, 1967), Wed, 7, and Crash (Cronenberg, 1996), Wed, 9. •The Big Lebowski (Coen and Coen, 1998), Thu, 7, and The Long Goodbye (Altman, 1973), Thu, 9:15. Warren Miller’s Ticket to Ride (2013), Fri, 8. Advance tickets at www.warrenmiller.com. •Purple Rain (Magnoli, 1984), Sat, 2:30, 8, and Amadeus (Forman, 1984), Sat, 4:40. •Lawrence of Arabia (Lean, 1962), Sun, 1:30, and Doctor Zhivago (Lean, 1965), Sun, 6. Danish chef Rene Redzepi of Copenhagen’s top-rated Noma discusses A Work in Progress, Tue, 7. Tickets ($30-65) at www.brownpapertickets.com.

CHRISTOPHER B. SMITH RAFAEL FILM CENTER 1118 Fourth St, San Rafael; (415) 454-1222, www.cafilm.org. $6.50-$10.75. Blue is the Warmest Color (Kechiche, 2013), call for dates and times. Running from Crazy (Kopple, 2013), call for dates and times. The Armstrong Lie (Gibney, 2013), Nov 15-21, call for times. JFK: A President Betrayed (Taylor, 2013), Sun, 7. With director Cory Taylor and producer Darin Nellis in person.

CLAY 2261 Fillmore, SF; www.sffs.org. $10-25. “New Italian Cinema:” Garibaldi’s Lovers (Soldini, 2012), Wed, 6:15; Napoli 24 (Various directors, 2010), Wed, 9; Balancing Act (De Matteo, 2012), Thu, 6:30; There Will Come a Day (Diritti, 2013), Thu, 8:45; Steel (Mordini, 2012), Fri, 6:30; Cosimo and Nicole (Amato, 2013), Fri, 9; We Believed (Martone, 2010), Sat, 12:15; Ali Blue Eyes (Giovannesi, 2012), Sat, 4:15; Out of the Blue (Leo, 2013), Sat, 6:30; The Interval (di Costanzo, 2012), Sat, 9; Gorbaciof (Incerti, 2010), Sun, 1; The Ideal City (Lo Cascio, 2012), Sun, 3; The Great Beauty (Sorrentino, 2013), Sun, 6; One Man Up (Sorrentino, 2001), Sun, 9:30.

ELLEN DRISCOLL PLAYHOUSE 325 Highland, Piedmont; www.diversityfilmseries.org. Free. “Piedmont Diversity Film Series:” The Invisible War (Dick, 2012), Wed, 6:30.

EXPLORATORIUM 600 the Embarcadero, SF; www.sfcinematheque.org. $5-10. “Necrology and More: Films of Standish Lawder,” Wed, 7.

FOUR STAR 2200 Clement, SF; www.lntsf.com. $6-8. Chinese American Film Festival, with 14 new Chinese feature films, Wed-Tue.

MECHANICS’ INSTITUTE 57 Post, SF; milibrary.org/events. $10. “CinemaLit Film Series: Dark Star: The Films of Barbara Stanwyck:” Clash By Night (Lang, 1952), Fri, 6.

PACIFIC FILM ARCHIVE 2575 Bancroft, Berk; (510) 642-5249, bampfa.berkeley.edu. $5.50-9.50. “Alternative Visions” and “Arrested History: New Portuguese Cinema:” 48 (de Sousa Dias, 2009), Wed, 7. “Arrested History: New Portuguese Cinema:” No Man’s Land (Lamas, 2012), Thu, 7; Tabu (Gomes, 2012), Sat, 6; The Last Time I Saw Macao (Rodrigues and Guerra da mata, 2012), Sat, 8:30; Ruins (Mozos, 2009), Sun, 3:30; Still Life (de Sousa Dias, 2005), Sun, 5. “Fassbinder’s Favorites:” Pickpocket (Bresson, 1959), Fri, 7. “Love is Colder Than Death: The Cinema of Rainer Werner Fassbinder:” Fox and His Friends (1974), Fri, 8:35.

ROXIE 3117 and 3125 16th St, SF; (415) 863-1087, www.roxie.com. $6.50-11. God Loves Uganda (Williams, 2013), Wed-Thu, 9. The Motel Life (Polsky and Polsky, 2012), Wed-Thu, 7. “Live Projects 2: John Herschend and Alex Karpovsky in Conversation:” Red Flag (Karpovsky, 2012), with “Stories from the Evacuation” (Herschend, 2013), Thu, 7. American Promise (Brewster and Stephenson, 2013), Nov 15-22, 6:15, 9 (also Sat-Sun, 1, 3:30). “United Film Festival,” Fri-Sun. For schedule, visit www.theunitedfest.com. Medora (Cohn and Rothbart, 2013), Mon, 7:15 and 9:15.

TANNERY 708 Gilman, Berk; berkeleyundergroundfilms.blogspot.com. Donations accepted. “Berkeley Underground Film Society:” JFK (Stone, 1991), Sun, 7:30.

UPTOWN THEATRE 1350 Third St, Napa; www.uptowntheatrenapa.com. $35-50. “Napa Valley Film Festival Comes to the Uptown Theatre,” screenings with filmmakers in person, Sun, 10am-midnight.

YERBA BUENA CENTER FOR THE ARTS 701 Mission, SF; www.ybca.org. $8-10. “X: The History of a Film Rating:” Fritz the Cat (Bakshi, 1972), Thu, 7:30; Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (Meyer, 1970), Sun, 2 and 4:30. *

 

Stage Listings Oct. 30-Nov. 5, 2013

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks
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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

Driving Miss Daisy Buriel Clay Theater at the African American Art and Culture Complex, 762 Fulton, SF; www.african-americanshakes.org. $12.50-37.50. Opens Sat/2, 8pm. Runs Fri-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 3pm. Through Nov 17. African-American Shakespeare Company performs Alfred Uhry’s Pulitzer-winning drama.

I Married an Angel Eureka Theatre, 215 Jackson, SF; www.42ndstmoon.org. $25-75. Previews Wed/30-Thu/31, 7pm; Fri/1, 8pm. Opens Sat/2, 6pm. Runs Wed-Thu, 7pm; Fri, 8pm; Sat, 6pm (also Nov 9, 1pm), Sun, 3pm. Through Nov 17. 42nd Street Moon performs the Rodgers and Hart classic.

The Jewelry Box: A Genuine Christmas Story The Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $15-40. Opens Fri/1, 8pm. Runs Fri, 8pm; Sat, 5pm. Brian Copeland performs the world premiere of his new, holiday-themed work, an Oakland-set autobiographical tale that’s a prequel to his popular Not a Genuine Black Man.

Peter and the Starcatcher Curran Theatre, 445 Geary, SF; www.shnsf.com. $40-160. Opens Tue/5, 8pm. Runs Tue-Sat, 8pm (also Wed and Sat, 2pm; no show Nov 28); Sun, 2pm. Through Dec 1. Fanciful, Tony-winning prequel to Peter Pan.

BAY AREA

A King’s Legacy Pear Avenue Theatre, 1220 Pear, Mtn View; www.thepear.org. $10-35. Previews Thu/31, 8pm. Opens Fri/1, 8pm. Runs Thu-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through Nov 24. Pear Avenue Theatre performs Elyce Melmon’s world premiere, a drama about King James VI of Scotland.

A Little Princess Julia Morgan Theater, 2640 College, Berk; www.berkeleyplayhouse.org. $17-60. Previews Thu/30, 7pm and Sat/2, 1pm. Opens Sat/2, 6pm. Runs Thu-Fri, 7pm (Nov 28, shows at 1 and 6pm); Sat, 1 and 6pm; Sun, noon and 5pm (no 5pm show Dec 1). Through Dec 8. Berkeley Playhouse opens its sixth season with Brian Crawley and Andrew Lippa’s musical adaptation of the Frances Hodgson Burnett story.

Social Security Muriel Watkin Gallery, 1050 Crespi Drive, Pacifica; (650) 359-8002. $10-25. Opens Fri/1, 8pm. Runs Fri-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through Nov 24. Pacifica Spindrift Players performs Andrew Bergman’s classic comedy.

ONGOING

The Barbary Coast Revue Stud Bar, 399 Ninth St, SF; eventbrite.com/org/4730361353. $10-40. Wed, 9pm (no show Nov 27). Through Dec 18. Blake Wiers’ new “live history musical experience” features Mark Twain as a tour guide through San Francisco’s wild past.

Bengal Tiger at the Bagdad Zoo SF Playhouse, 450 Post, SF; www.sfplayhouse.org. $30-100. Tue-Thu, 7pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 3pm). Through Nov 16. In Rajiv Joseph’s Pulitzer-nominated Bengal Tiger at the Bagdad Zoo, the dead quickly outnumber the living, and soon the stage is littered with monologist ghosts lost in transition. In Joseph’s world, at least, death is but another phase of consciousness, a plane of existence where a man-eating tiger might experience a crisis of conscience, and a brash young soldier with a learning disability might suddenly find himself contemplating algebraic equations and speaking Arabic —knowledge that had eluded his comprehension in life. Will Marchetti’s portrayal of the titular tiger is on the static side, though his wry intelligence and philosophical awakening comes as a welcome contrast to the willfully obtuse world view of the American soldiers (Gabriel Marin and Craig Marker) guarding him. But it’s Musa (Kuros Charney), a translator for the Americans and a former gardener and topiary “artist,” who eventually emerges as the play’s most fully realized character and also the most tragic, becoming that which he dreads the most, a beast in a lawless land, egged on by the ghost of his former employer, the notoriously sadistic Uday Hussein (Pomme Koch). At times, director Bill English’s staging feels too understated and contained for a play that’s so muscular and expansive (an understatement not carried over into Steven Klems’ appropriately jarring sound design) focused less on its metaphysical implications than on its mundane surface, but however imperfect the production and daunting the script, it remains a fascinating response to an unwinnable war — the war against our own animal natures. (Gluckstern)

BoomerAging: From LSD to OMG Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $15-50. Tue, 8pm. Extended through Dec 17. Will Durst’s hit solo show looks at baby boomers grappling with life in the 21st century.

Carrie: The Musical Victoria Theatre, 2961 16th St, SF; www.rayoflighttheatre.com. $25-36. Wed/30-Sat/2, 8pm (also Sat/2, 2pm). Teen bullying is très topical at the moment, making Stephen King’s terrifying tale of a telekinetic girl pushed to the breaking point by her unsympathetic classmates ripe for revival. Although it flopped on Broadway in 1988, Carrie: The Musical has aged more gracefully than you might expect, thanks to the timeliness of its overarching theme and a judicious 2012 facelift of its script and score. In Ray of Light Theatre’s slam-dunk production, Carrie unfolds a bit like an after-school special on scapegoating, except with show tunes and, of course, the stratospheric consequences of the final, tragic revenge sequence. The songs themselves are mainly forgettable in terms of hooks and lyrics, but the vibrant young cast makes the most of them, with excellent harmonizing and powerful range. Amanda Folena’s tight choreography borrows the sinuous hip rolls and stomp of a Janet Jackson routine and just a touch of twerk, while Joe D’Emilio’s lighting and Erik Scanlon’s video design work in unholy symbiosis to create the supernaturally charged ambience of Carrie’s world. As Carrie, Cristina Ann Oeschger really shines, embodying the heartbreaking fragility of a lonely outcast whose optimism has not yet been entirely crushed, while Heather Orth as her frighteningly pious mother, Margaret White, reveals the vulnerability of her equally lonely character that many portrayals miss altogether. Standouts among the solid supporting cast include Jessica Coker as a compassionate gym teacher and Riley Krull as the ultimate mean girl. (Gluckstern)

Dirty Little Showtunes New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness, SF; www.nctcsf.org. $25-45. Wed-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through Nov 10. Lyricist-performer Tom Orr and director F. Allen Sawyer’s sassy but loving remix of iconic Broadway songs returns in another iteration, this one at the New Conservatory Theatre Center, complete with a willing and able cast of five (Rotimi Agbabiaka, David Bicha, Jesse Cortez, Randy Noak, Orr), piano accompaniment by musical director Scrumbly Koldewyn, and some rudimentary if evocative choreography by Jayne Zaban. Truly silly, sometimes inspired, the show mixes favorite parodies from past productions with some new ones. Orr’s wit shines throughout, even if it does not necessarily outshine every borrowed theme. Gilbert and Sullivan, for example, are hardly upstaged as much as celebrated with Bicha belting out, “I Am the Very Model of a Modern Homosexual.” More sentimental numbers about T cell counts or gay marriage, while an understandable part of the landscape of gay life explored here, can feel a little strained in the context of the generally ribald. But the high-spirited nature of this whimsical show makes pardonable even the less-dirty parts. (Avila)

Drowning Ophelia Mojo Theatre Space, 2940 16th St, #217, SF; www.repurposedtheatre.com. $20. Thu/31-Sat/2, 8pm. Jane (Katharine Otis) is a young woman teetering on the verge of a breakdown who plays period dress-up with would-be suitor Edmund (Will Trichon) but can’t avoid the character at her back: Hamlet‘s Ophelia (Kirsten Dwyer), chiding and chilling from her bathtub in the middle of the room. As Jane’s attention gets drawn back to her alter ego, scenes from the past with recently deceased brother Adam (Ryan Hayes) replay themselves with Ophelia as her stand-in. These go from innocent to menacing, as meanwhile Jane’s almost endlessly patient boyfriend finally seems to have had enough of the clash between their playful pretending and the unforeseen visitors in Jane’s head. While a promising gambit from newcomer Repurposed Theatre, the world premiere of Pennsylvania-based playwright Rachel Luann Strayer’s slightly unwieldy play makes less of this intriguing situation than one might hope. The literary and theatrical bent to Jane’s split personhood is apt on more than one level — she’s not only desperate to secure a sense of order for her disordered mind, but a scripted basis for a romantic ideal forever tarnished by her relationship with her brother (vaguely creepy in his boyish confidence in Hayes’s alert performance). But there’s little sense of a larger psychosocial reality — whether of patriarchal misogyny, or violence more generally — and, as a result, little to be gained from the too-obvious and too emphatic incest-madness theme, outside of an impressive performance from Otis, whose somewhat hampered character is nevertheless a powerful presence throughout. Capable supporting turns, including Dwyer’s intense and vital Ophelia, and director Ellery Schaar’s generally sharp staging (under Julien Elstob’s moody lighting) contribute to making a nicely atmospheric production. (Avila)

First Stage Werx, 446 Valencia, SF; www.firsttheplay.com. $25-35. Thu/31-Sat/2, 8pm; Sun/3, 2pm. Altair Productions, the Aluminous Collective, and PlayGround present the world premiere of Evelyn Jean Pine’s play, which imagines a 20-year-old Bill Gates’ experiences at a 1976 personal computer conference.

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.

444 Days Z Below, 470 Florida, SF; www.goldenthread.org. $10-45. Thu/31-Sat/2, 8pm (also Sat/2, 3pm); Sun/3, 3pm. Golden Thread Productions presents the world premiere of founding artistic director Torange Yeghiazarian’s drama about the reunion between a former Iranian revolutionary, Laleh (Jeri Lynn Cohen), and a former American diplomat from the American embassy in Tehran, Harry (Michael Shipley) — her captive in more ways than one during the 444 days of the 1979-81 Iran hostage crisis. Some 25 years after this international “affair,” Laleh and Harry meet again at the bedside of their critically ill and comatose daughter, Hadyeh (Olivia Rosaldo-Pratt), whose non-biological father Amin (an offstage character) is Laleh’s longtime comrade and another of the onetime hostage takers. If it sounds like a politically loaded situation, it is, which is as much a problem as a virtue in director Bella Warda’s production. Yeghiazarian laces her dialogue with light humor, irony, and romance throughout, but the play allows little room for its characters to really breathe — indeed, Laleh’s first words to Harry after 25 years are, unlikely enough, a well-rehearsed screed. In the contortions its characters must speak (to which a friendly nurse, played by Sheila Collins, adds something like the average American’s perspective), the play remains too intent on delivering a political message about the intractable relationship, then and now, between the US and Iran — and the unnatural sacrifice of the generation that has come up since the severing of US-Iranian diplomatic ties after the revolution of 1979. (Avila)

Gruesome Playground Injuries Tides Theatre, 533 Sutter, SF; www.tidestheatre.org. $20-40. Wed-Sat, 8pm. Through Nov 9. Tides Theatre performs Rajiv Joseph’s drama about two people who first meet as eight-year-olds in the school nurse’s office.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch Boxcar Theatre, 505 Natoma, SF; www.boxcartheatre.org. $27-43. Thu-Sat, 8pm. Open-ended. John Cameron Mitchell’s cult musical comes to life with director Nick A. Olivero’s ever-rotating cast.

Lovebirds Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $15-100. Thu-Fri, 8pm; Sat, 8:30pm. Through Nov 9. Workshop performances of Marga Gomez’s 10th solo show, about different characters seeking romance in the 1970s.

Randy Roberts Live! Alcove Theatre, 414 Mason, SF; www.randyroberts.net. $40. Thu/31-Sat/2, 9pm. The famed female impersonator performs.

Shakespeare Night at the Blackfriars (London Idol 1610) Phoenix Arts Association Annex Theatre, 414 Mason, SF; www.subshakes.com. $20-25. Fri-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 7pm. Through Nov 17. Subterranean Shakespeare performs George Crowe’s comedy about a playwriting contest between Ben Jonson, Thomas Middleton, Francis Beaumont, and the ghost of Christopher Marlowe.

“Shocktoberfest 14: Jack the Ripper” Hypnodrome, 575 10th St, SF; www.thrillpeddlers.com. $25-35. Thu-Sat and Wed/30, 8pm. Through Nov 23. It’s lucky 14 for the Thrillpeddlers’ annual Halloween-tide Shocktoberfest, and while there are few surprises in this year’s lineup, there’s plenty of reliable material to chew on. Opening with A Visit to Mrs. Birch and the Young Ladies of the Academy, a ribald Victorian-era “spanking drama,” the fare soon turns towards darker appetites with a joint Andre De Lorde-Pierre Chaine work, Jack the Ripper. Works by De Lorde — sometimes referred to as the “Prince of Fear” — have graced the Hypnodrome stage over the years, and this tense Victorian drama, though penned in the 30s, is suitably atmospheric. Although it becomes pretty evident early on who dunnit, it’s the why that lies at the heart of this grim drama, and in the course of that discovery, the play’s beleaguered lawmen reveal themselves to be no less ruthless than the titular Ripper (John Flaw) in pursuit of their quarry. Norman Macleod as Inspector Smithson particularly embodies this unwholesome dichotomy, and Bruna Palmeiro excels as his spirited yet doomed bait. Inspired by Oscar Wilde’s Salome, the Thrillpeddlers’ piece by the same name is perhaps the weak link in the program, despite being penned by the ever-clever Scrumbly Koldewyn, and danced with wanton abandon by Noah Haydon. Longtime Thrillpeddlers’ collaborator Rob Keefe ties together the evening’s disparate threads under one sprawling big top media circus of murder, sex, ghosts, and sensationalism with his somewhat tongue-in-cheek, San Francisco-centric The Wrong Ripper. (Gluckstern)

Sidewinders Exit on Taylor, 277 Taylor, SF; www.cuttingball.com. $10-50. Thu, 7:30pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm); Sun, 5pm. Through Nov 17. Cutting Ball opens its 15th season with the world premiere of Basil Kreimendahl’s absurdist romp through gender queerness. In a cartoonish, desolate wasteland (designed by Michael Locher), Dakota (Sara Moore), a bleached-blonde gunslinger in buckskin fringes, and Bailey (DavEnd), a possibly AWOL soldier rocking high-heeled boots and a single drop earring, wrestle with the conundrum of what to call their respective genitals. And more to the point, what to do with them after they figure it out. Or as Bailey bluntly puts it, “Who am I supposed to fuck?” But there’s more to being stranded in the uncharted wilderness at stake than “organ confusion,” and soon they must channel their uncommon alliance into finding a way back out. What they find instead include a regal figure of indeterminate gender possessed of extra limbs (Donald Currie), a suicidal servant with surgical skills (Norman Muñoz), and a growing realization that wilderness, like identity, is relative. Moore and DavEnd make a good comedic team, their endless banter, circular logic and exaggerated facial gymnastics giving them the philosophical gravitas of a Looney Tunes episode, while Currie’s turn as mutated muse is unexpectedly moving. Recent winner of the prestigious Rella Lossy award, this intriguing world premiere marks playwright Basil Kreimendahl’s first professional production, though it seems safe to say that it won’t be the last. (Gluckstern)

BAY AREA

Can You Dig It? Back Down East 14th — the 60s and Beyond Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston, Berk; www.themarsh.org. $15-50. Sat, 8:30pm; Sun, 7pm. Extended through Dec 15. Don Reed’s new show offers more stories from his colorful upbringing in East Oakland in the 1960s and ’70s. More hilarious and heartfelt depictions of his exceptional parents, independent siblings, and his mostly African American but ethnically mixed working-class community — punctuated with period pop, Motown, and funk classics, to which Reed shimmies and spins with effortless grace. And of course there’s more too of the expert physical comedy and charm that made long-running hits of Reed’s last two solo shows, East 14th and The Kipling Hotel (both launched, like this newest, at the Marsh). Can You Dig It? reaches, for the most part, into the “early” early years, Reed’s grammar-school days, before the events depicted in East 14th or Kipling Hotel came to pass. But in nearly two hours of material, not all of it of equal value or impact, there’s inevitably some overlap and indeed some recycling. Reed, who also directs the show, may start whittling it down as the run continues. But, as is, there are at least 20 unnecessary minutes diluting the overall impact of the piece, which is thin on plot already — much more a series of often very enjoyable vignettes and some painful but largely unexplored observations, wrapped up at the end in a sentimental moral that, while sincere, feels rushed and inadequate. (Avila)

Don’t Dress For Dinner Center REPertory Company, 1601 Civic, Walnut Creek; www.centerrep.org. $33-52. Wed, 7:30pm; Thu-Sat, 8pm (also Nov 23, 2:30pm); Sun, 2:30pm. Through Nov 23. Center REP performs Marc Camoletti’s sequel to his classic farce Boeing-Boeing.

I and You Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller, Mill Valley; www.marintheatre.org. $37-58. Wed/30, 7:30pm; Thu/31-Sat/2, 8pm (also Sat/2, 2pm); Sun/3, 2 and 7pm. Lauren Gunderson’s world premiere explores how Walt Whitman’s words affect the lives of two teenagers.

Lettice and Lovage Hillbarn Theatre, 1285 East Hillsdale, Foster City; www.hillbarntheatre.org. $23-38. Thu/31-Sat/2, 8pm; Sun/3, 2pm. Hillbarn Theatre, now in its 73rd season, performs Peter Shaffer’s raucous comedy.

Metamorphoses South Berkeley Community Church, 1802 Fairview, Berk; www.infernotheatre.org. $10-25. Thu and Sat-Sun, 8pm; Fri, 9pm (no show Nov 9). Through Nov 23. Additional performance Nov 9, 8pm, $5-20, Laney College, 900 Fallon, Oakl. Inferno Theatre performs a multimedia, contemporary adaptation of Ovid’s classic.

The Pianist of Willesden Lane Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Thrust Theatre, 2015 Addison, Berk; www.berkeleyrep.org. $29-89. Opens Wed/30, 8pm. Runs Tue and Thu-Sat, 8pm (also Nov 7, Dec 5, and Sat, 2pm; no matinee Nov 9; no show Nov 28); Wed and Sun, 7pm (also Sun, 2pm). Through Dec 8. Mona Golabek stars in this solo performance inspired by her mother, a Jewish pianist whose dreams and life were threatened by the Nazi regime.

Red Virgin, Louise Michel and the Paris Commune of 1871 Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant, Berk; www.centralworks.org. $15-28. Thu-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 5pm. Through Nov 24. Central Works presents a new play (with live music) by Gary Graves about the Paris Commune uprising.

Rich and Famous Dragon Theatre, 2120 Broadway, Redwood City; www.dragonproductions.net. $15-35. Thu/31-Sat/2, 8pm; Sun/3, 2pm. Dragon Theatre performs John Guare’s surreal musical comedy.

strangers, babies Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby, Berk; www.shotgunplayers.org. $20-35. Wed-Thu, 7pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 5pm. Through Nov 17. Shotgun Players present Linda McLean’s drama about a woman confronting her past.

Swing Shift Onboard the SS Red Oak Victory, 1337 Canal, Berth 6A, Richmond; www.galateanplayers.com. $18-20. Fri-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 3pm. Through Nov 10. Galatean Players Ensemble Theatre perform Kathryn G. McCarty’s adaptation of Joseph Fabry’s novel, performed aboard a ship in the yards where Fabry once worked.

Warrior Class Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro, Mtn View; www.theatreworks.org. $19-73. Wed/30, 7:30pm; Thu/31-Sat/2, 8pm (also Sat/2, 2pm); Sun/3, 2 and 7pm. TheatreWorks performs Kenneth Lin’s incisive political drama.

PERFORMANCE/DANCE

Alonzo King LINES Ballet Fall Home Season 2013 Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Lam Research Theater, 700 Howard, SF; www.linesballet.org. Wed/30-Thu/31, 7:30pm; Fri/1-Sat/2, 8pm; Sun/3, 5pm. $30-65. Featuring the SF premiere of Writing Ground, a collaboration with writer Colum McCann, and a world-premiere new work set to Bach.

“Best of the 2013 San Francisco Fringe Festival” Exit Studio, 156 Eddy, SF; www.theexit.org. Fri/1-Sat/2, 8pm. $15-25. This week: Genie and Audrey’s Dream Show! (“Best of” series continues through Nov. 23)

“Broadway Bingo” Feinstein’s at the Nikko, Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason, SF; www.feinsteinssf.com. Wed, 7-9pm. Ongoing. Free. Countess Katya Smirnoff-Skyy and Joe Wicht host this Broadway-flavored night of games and performance.

CounterPULSE 1310 Mission, SF; www.counterpulse.org. This week: “After the Tone,” performed by Cara Rose DeFabio, Sat/2-Sun/3, 8pm, $20. “Beware the Band of Lions (They’re Dandy Lions),” with Bandelion, Sun/3, Nov 10, and 17, 3pm, free (reservations required as space is extremely limited; to request an invitation, email info@dandeliondancetheater.org).

“Crones Meet Bride of Lesbostein” Garage, 715 Bryant, SF; www.crackpotcrones.com. Wed/30-Thu/31, 8pm. $18. Crackpot Crones perform.

“An Evening with Hal Holbrook” Jewish Community Center of SF, 3200 California, SF; www.jccsf.org. Thu/31, 7pm. $25-35. The veteran actor discusses his memoir, Harold: The Boy Who Became Mark Twain.

Feinstein’s at the Nikko Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason, SF; www.feinsteinssf.com. This week: “An Evening with Rita Wilson,” Thu/31-Fri/1, 8pm; Sat/2, 7pm, $40-60.

“Grand Guignol” Z Space, 450 Florida, SF; www.grandguignolsf.com. Wed/30-Sat/2, 7 and 10pm; Sun/3, 2pm. $15-195. Horror play inspired by Paris’ legendary splatterhouse Theatre du Grand Guignol.

“The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” Dance Mission Theater, 3316 24th St, SF; www.dancemission.com. Fri/1, 9pm; Sat/2, 9:30pm; Sun/3, 7pm. Free. SF State’s Rainbow Theatre performs a stage adaptation of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s short story.

“Layla Means Night” ODC Theater, 3153 17th St, SF; www.odctheater.org. Wed/30-Sun/3, 7 and 9pm. $35-50. Rosanna Gamson/World Wide’s dance theater work transforms the ODC building into a 1,001 Arabian Nights-inspired fantasyland.

“Mission Position Live” Cinecave, 1034 Valencia, SF; www.missionpositionlive.com. Thu, 8pm. Ongoing. $10. Stand-up comedy with rotating performers.

“Okeanos Intimate” Aquarium of the Bay, Pier 39, SF; www.capacitor.org. Sat, 4:30 and 7pm. $20-30 (free aquarium ticket with show ticket). Extended through Dec 28. Choreographer Jodi Lomask and her company, Capacitor, revive 2012’s Okeanos — a cirque-dance piece exploring the wonder and fragility of our innate connection to the world’s oceans — in a special “intimate” version designed for the mid-size theater at Pier 39’s Aquarium of the Bay. The show, developed in collaboration with scientists and engineers, comes preceded by a short talk by a guest expert — for a recent Saturday performance it was a down-to-earth and truly fascinating local ecological history lesson by the Bay Institute’s Marc Holmes. In addition to its Cirque du Soleil-like blend of quasi-representational modern dance and circus acrobatics — powered by a synth-heavy blend of atmospheric pop music — Okeanos makes use of some stunning underwater photography and an intermittent narrative that includes testimonials from the likes of marine biologist and filmmaker Dr. Tierney Thys. The performers, including contortionists, also interact with some original physical properties hanging from the flies — a swirling vortex and a spherical shell — as they wrap and warp their bodies in a kind of metamorphic homage to the capacity and resiliency of evolution, the varied ingenuity of all life forms. If the movement vocabulary can seem limited at times, and too derivative, the show also feels a little cramped on the Aquarium Theater stage, whose proscenium arrangement does the piece few favors aesthetically. Nevertheless, the family-oriented Okeanos Intimate spurs a conversation with the ocean that is nothing if not urgent. (Avila)

“Point Break Live!” DNA Lounge, 373 11th St, SF; www.dnalounge.com. Fri/1, Dec 6, and Jan 3, 7:30 and 11pm. $25-50. Interactive interpretation of Kathryn Bigelow’s 1991 classic. (Some tickets include meatball sandwiches!)

“Project Nunway V: Dissident Futures” Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission, SF; www.ybca.org. Sat/2, 8pm. $15-99.99. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence’s annual gala benefits local nonprofits and features high-fashion looks crafted from recycled materials. Related events (check website for details) include an altar project, “Angel of the Future Dead;” an after-party; and a screening of 1983’s Yentl.

“The Romane Event Comedy Show” Make-Out Room, 3225 22nd St, SF; www.pacoromane.com. Wed/30, 7:30pm. $10. Special Halloween edition of Paco Romane’s popular monthly stand-up showcase.

“San Francisco Magic Parlor” Chancellor Hotel Union Square, 433 Powell, SF; www.sfmagicparlor.com. Thu-Sat, 8pm. Ongoing. $40. Magic vignettes with conjurer and storyteller Walt Anthony. Seasonal alert: the show takes on a “spook-tacular” bent this week, with special shows Thu/31-Sat/2, 8pm.

13th Floor Dance Theater Studio B at ODC Dance Commons, 351 Shotwell, SF; www.13thfloordance.org. Sat/2, 8pm. $18-23. Jenny McAllister’s company performs the world premiere of Being Raymond Chandler.

Zaccho Dance Theatre Zaccho Studio, 1777 Yosemite, Studio 330, SF; www.zaccho.org. Fri/1-Sun/3, 1-5pm. Free. The company performs Joanna Haigood’s Between Me and the Other World, a performance installation exploring W.E.B. Dubois’ concept of double consciousness.

Zhukov Dance Theatre SFJazz Center, 201 Franklin, SF; www.zhukovdance.org. Wed/30, 8pm. $25-55. The company marks its sixth annual season, “Product 06,” with world premieres by Yuri Zhukov and guest choreographer Idan Sharabi.

“What Stays” Turquoise Yantra Grotto, 32 Turquoise Way, SF; www.performancelab.org. Fri/1-Sat/2, 8pm. $20-50. Home-theater performance by Right Brain Performancelab. Visit website for information on Nov 8-9 shows at a private home in Oakland.

BAY AREA

Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán Zellerbach Hall, Bancroft at Telegraph, UC Berkeley, Berk; www.calperfs.berkeley.edu. Sun/3, 7pm. $18-48. Celebrate Day of the Dead with the veteran Mexican folk ensemble’s traditional and popular tunes. Show up early (5-7pm) for free face painting and folkloric dance performances outside the venue, in Lower Sproul Plaza.

“Rapunzel” Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller, Mill Valley; www.marintheatre.org. Sat-Sun, 10am and 12:30pm. $15-20. Through Nov 10. Marin Theatre Company performs a fairy-tale play for all ages.

Shanghai Ballet Zellerbach Hall, Bancroft at Telegraph, UC Berkeley, Berk; www.calperfs.berkeley.edu. Fri/1-Sat/2, 8pm. $30-92. The company performs The Butterfly Lovers, choreographed by Xin Lili. *

 

Stage Listings

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks
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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 Stud Bar, 399 Ninth St, SF; eventbrite.com/org/4730361353. $10-40. Opens Wed/23, 9pm. Runs Wed, 9pm (no show Nov 27). Through Dec 18. Blake Wiers’ new “live history musical experience” features Mark Twain as a tour guide through San Francisco’s wild past.

BAY AREA

Don’t Dress For Dinner Center REPertory Company, 1601 Civic, Walnut Creek; www.centerrep.org. $33-52. Previews Fri/25-Sat/26, 8pm; Sun/27, 2:30pm. Opens Tue/29, 7:30pm. Runs Wed, 7:30pm; Thu-Sat, 8pm (also Nov 23, 2:30pm); Sun, 2:30pm. Through Nov 23. Center REP performs Marc Camoletti’s sequel to his classic farce Boeing-Boeing.

The Pianist of Willesden Lane Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Thrust Theatre, 2015 Addison, Berk; www.berkeleyrep.org. $29-89. Previews Fri/25-Sat/26 and Tue/29, 8pm; Sun/27, 7pm. Opens Oct 30, 8pm. Runs Tue and Thu-Sat, 8pm (also Nov 7, Dec 5, and Sat, 2pm; no matinee Nov 9; no show Nov 28); Wed and Sun, 7pm (also Sun, 2pm). Through Dec 8. Mona Golabek stars in this solo performance inspired by her mother, a Jewish pianist whose dreams and life were threatened by the Nazi regime.

ONGOING

Bengal Tiger at the Bagdad Zoo SF Playhouse, 450 Post, SF; www.sfplayhouse.org. $30-100. Tue-Thu, 7pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 3pm); Sun/27, 2pm. Through Nov 16. In Rajiv Joseph’s Pulitzer-nominated Bengal Tiger at the Bagdad Zoo, the dead quickly outnumber the living, and soon the stage is littered with monologist ghosts lost in transition. In Joseph’s world, at least, death is but another phase of consciousness, a plane of existence where a man-eating tiger might experience a crisis of conscience, and a brash young soldier with a learning disability might suddenly find himself contemplating algebraic equations and speaking Arabic —knowledge that had eluded his comprehension in life. Will Marchetti’s portrayal of the titular tiger is on the static side, though his wry intelligence and philosophical awakening comes as a welcome contrast to the willfully obtuse world view of the American soldiers (Gabriel Marin and Craig Marker) guarding him. But it’s Musa (Kuros Charney), a translator for the Americans and a former gardener and topiary “artist,” who eventually emerges as the play’s most fully realized character and also the most tragic, becoming that which he dreads the most, a beast in a lawless land, egged on by the ghost of his former employer, the notoriously sadistic Uday Hussein (Pomme Koch). At times, director Bill English’s staging feels too understated and contained for a play that’s so muscular and expansive (an understatement not carried over into Steven Klems’ appropriately jarring sound design) focused less on its metaphysical implications than on its mundane surface, but however imperfect the production and daunting the script, it remains a fascinating response to an unwinnable war — the war against our own animal natures. (Gluckstern)

BooKKeepers: A True Fiction Southside Theatre, Fort Mason Center, Marina at Laguna, SF; www.generationtheatre.com. $20-35. Thu/24-Sat/26, 8pm; Sun/27, 3pm. GenerationTheatre presents Roland David Valayre’s Kafka-inspired fantasy.

BoomerAging: From LSD to OMG Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $15-50. Tue/29, 8pm. Will Durst’s hit solo show looks at baby boomers grappling with life in the 21st century.

Carrie: The Musical Victoria Theatre, 2961 16th St, SF; www.rayoflighttheatre.com. $25-36. Wed-Sat, 8pm (also Sat/26, 11:30pm; Nov 2, 2pm). Through Nov 2. Teen bullying is très topical at the moment, making Stephen King’s terrifying tale of a telekinetic girl pushed to the breaking point by her unsympathetic classmates ripe for revival. Although it flopped on Broadway in 1988, Carrie: The Musical has aged more gracefully than you might expect, thanks to the relative timeliness of its overarching theme and a judicious 2012 facelift of its script and score. In Ray of Light Theatre’s slam-dunk production, Carrie unfolds a bit like an after-school special on scapegoating, except with show tunes and, of course, the stratospheric consequences of the final, tragic revenge sequence. The songs themselves are mainly forgettable in terms of hooks and lyrics, but the vibrant young cast makes the most of them, with excellent harmonizing and powerful range. Amanda Folena’s tight choreography borrows the sinuous hip rolls and stomp of a Janet Jackson routine and just a touch of twerk, while Joe D’Emilio’s lighting and Erik Scanlon’s video design work in unholy symbiosis to create the supernaturally charged ambience of Carrie’s world. As Carrie, Cristina Ann Oeschger really shines, embodying the heartbreaking fragility of a lonely outcast whose optimism has not yet been entirely crushed, while Heather Orth as her frighteningly pious mother, Margaret White, reveals the vulnerability of her equally lonely character that many portrayals miss altogether. Standouts among the solid supporting cast include Jessica Coker as a compassionate gym teacher and Riley Krull as the ultimate mean girl. (Gluckstern)

The Disappearance of Mary Rosemary Phoenix Theatre, 414 Mason, SF; secondwind.8m.com. $15-25. Thu/24-Sat/26, 8pm. Script-wise, Second Wind Production’s J.M. Barrie adaptation The Disappearance of Mary Rosemary might well be the unique ghost story of the season. But in contrast to their masterfully suspenseful The Woman in Black (staged in 2009), Disappearance fails to sustain that charged atmosphere of unease that defines the best terror tales. It begins promisingly enough in a purportedly haunted parlor being shown to a young soldier (Ryan Martin) by its taciturn caretaker (Juanita Wyles). After she leaves him alone in the room, lights flicker, his video camera spontaneously begins to play, and a mysterious light emerges from under a locked door, all evidence pointing to either a supernatural event, or to a PTSD-style mental breakdown. Cutting to the same parlor 29 years before, where domestic tranquility prevails, a lot of that initial tension gets lost, and even though the equally unexplainable events that ensue prove to be much bigger in actual scale, they don’t quite manage to scare so much as to puzzle. Of the performances, Gigi Benson’s matter-of-fact matriarch is by far the most nuanced, and her chemistry with her stage husband (Dave Sikula) is far more convincing than that of their daughter and son-in-law (Caroline Elizabeth Doyle and Brian Martin). Finally, a very unexpected twist turns this story of a young woman who never grows old into one who has grown perhaps too fast, uncomfortably invoking V.C. Andrews rather than J.M. Barrie, and not for the better. (Gluckstern)

Dirty Little Showtunes New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness, SF; www.nctcsf.org. $25-45. Wed-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through Nov 10. New Conservatory Theatre Center presents the return of Tom Orr’s bawdy Broadway parody.

First Stage Werx, 446 Valencia, SF; www.firsttheplay.com. $25-35. Thu-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through Nov 3. Altair Productions, the Aluminous Collective, and PlayGround present the world premiere of Evelyn Jean Pine’s play, which imagines a 20-year-old Bill Gates’ experiences at a 1976 personal computer conference.

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.

Forbidden Fruit Garage, 715 Bryant, SF; www.brownpapertickets.com. $25. Fri/25-Sat/26 and Mon/28, 8pm. Back Alley Theater and Footloose present the West Coast premiere of Jeff Bedillion’s stylized love story that takes on social and religious conformity.

444 Days Z Below, 470 Florida, SF; www.goldenthread.org. $10-45. Thu-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 3pm); Sun, 3pm. Through Nov 3. Golden Thread performs Torange Yeghiazarian’s drama about an Iranian revolutionary and an American diplomat who encounter each other 25 years after first meeting during the hostage crisis at the US Embassy in Tehran.

Geezer Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $25-50. Wed/23-Thu/24, 8pm; Sat/26, 5pm. Geoff Hoyle’s hit solo show, a comedic meditation on aging, returns to the Marsh.

Gruesome Playground Injuries Tides Theatre, 533 Sutter, SF; www.tidestheatre.org. $20-40. Wed-Sat, 8pm. Through Nov 9. Tides Theatre performs Rajiv Joseph’s drama about two people who first meet as eight-year-olds in the school nurse’s office.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch Boxcar Theatre, 505 Natoma, SF; www.boxcartheatre.org. $27-43. Thu-Sat, 8pm. Open-ended. John Cameron Mitchell’s cult musical comes to life with director Nick A. Olivero’s ever-rotating cast.

Lovebirds Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $15-100. Thu-Fri, 8pm; Sat, 8:30pm. Through Nov 9. Workshop performances of Marga Gomez’s 10th solo show, about different characters seeking romance in the 1970s.

Randy Roberts Live! Alcove Theatre, 414 Mason, SF; www.randyroberts.net. $40. Thu-Sat, 9pm. Through Nov 2. The famed female impersonator performs. He will also perform a different show with jazz pianist Tammy L. Hall: Mon/28, 7pm, $20, Martuni’s, 4 Valencia, SF.

The Scion Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $15-100. Fri/25, 8pm; Sat/26, 8:30pm. Popular solo performer Brian Copeland (Not a Genuine Black Man, The Waiting Period) performs a workshop production of his latest, “a tale of privilege, murder, and sausage.” The show has its official world premiere Jan 9, 2014.

Sex and the City: LIVE! Rebel, 1760 Market, SF; trannyshack.com/sexandthecity. $25. Wed, 7 and 9pm. Open-ended. It seems a no-brainer. Not just the HBO series itself — that’s definitely missing some gray matter — but putting it onstage as a drag show. Mais naturellement! Why was Sex and the City not conceived of as a drag show in the first place? Making the sordid not exactly palatable but somehow, I don’t know, friendlier (and the canned a little cannier), Velvet Rage Productions mounts two verbatim episodes from the widely adored cable show, with Trannyshack’s Heklina in a smashing portrayal of SJP’s Carrie; D’Arcy Drollinger stealing much of the show as ever-randy Samantha (already more or less a gay man trapped in a woman’s body); Lady Bear as an endearingly out-to-lunch Miranda; and ever assured, quick-witted Trixxie Carr as pent-up Charlotte. There’s also a solid and enjoyable supporting cast courtesy of Cookie Dough, Jordan Wheeler, and Leigh Crow (as Mr. Big). That’s some heavyweight talent trodding the straining boards of bar Rebel’s tiny stage. The show’s still two-dimensional, even in 3D, but noticeably bigger than your 50″ plasma flat panel. (Avila)

Shakespeare Night at the Blackfriars (London Idol 1610) Phoenix Arts Association Annex Theatre, 414 Mason, SF; www.subshakes.com. $20-25. Fri-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 7pm. Through Nov 17. Subterranean Shakespeare performs George Crowe’s comedy about a playwriting contest between Ben Jonson, Thomas Middleton, Frances Beaumont, and the ghost of Christopher Marlowe.

“Shocktoberfest 14: Jack the Ripper” Hypnodrome, 575 10th St, SF; www.thrillpeddlers.com. $25-35. Thu-Sat and Oct 29-30, 8pm. Through Nov 23. It’s lucky 14 for the Thrillpeddlers’ annual Halloween-tide Shocktoberfest, and while there are few surprises in this year’s lineup, there’s plenty of reliable material to chew on. Opening with A Visit to Mrs. Birch and the Young Ladies of the Academy, a ribald Victorian-era “spanking drama,” the fare soon turns towards darker appetites with a joint Andre De Lorde-Pierre Chaine work, Jack the Ripper. Works by De Lorde — sometimes referred to as the “Prince of Fear” — have graced the Hypnodrome stage over the years, and this tense Victorian drama, though penned in the 30s, is suitably atmospheric. Although it becomes pretty evident early on who dunnit, it’s the why that lies at the heart of this grim drama, and in the course of that discovery, the play’s beleaguered lawmen reveal themselves to be no less ruthless than the titular Ripper (John Flaw) in pursuit of their quarry. Norman Macleod as Inspector Smithson particularly embodies this unwholesome dichotomy, and Bruna Palmeiro excels as his spirited yet doomed bait. Inspired by Oscar Wilde’s Salome, the Thrillpeddlers’ piece by the same name is perhaps the weak link in the program, despite being penned by the ever-clever Scrumbly Koldewyn, and danced with wanton abandon by Noah Haydon. Longtime Thrillpeddlers’ collaborator Rob Keefe ties together the evening’s disparate threads under one sprawling big top media circus of murder, sex, ghosts, and sensationalism with his somewhat tongue-in-cheek, San Francisco-centric The Wrong Ripper. (Gluckstern)

Sidewinders Exit on Taylor, 277 Taylor, SF; www.cuttingball.com. $10-50. Thu, 7:30pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm); Sun, 5pm. Through Nov 17. Cutting Ball opens its 15th season with the world premiere of Basil Kreimendahl’s absurdist romp through gender queerness.

The Taming Thick House, 1695 18th St, SF; www.crowdedfire.org. $10-35. Wed/23-Sat/26, 8pm. Crowded Fire Theater presents the world premiere of Lauren Gunderson’s modern farce.

The Voice: One Man’s Journey into Sex Addiction and Recovery EXIT Theatre, 156 Eddy, SF; www.theexit.org. $15-25. Fri/25-Sat/26, 8pm. David Kleinberg performs his autobiographical solo show.

The Wizard of Oz Orpheum Theatre, 1192 Market, SF; www.shnsf.com. $45-210. Wed/23-Sat/26, 7pm (also Sat/26, 1pm); Sun/27, 1 and 6:30pm. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new stage adaptation of the classic, complete with a Dorothy (Danielle Wade) chosen through a Canadian reality-show competition.

The World’s Funniest Bubble Show Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $8-11. Sun/27, 11am. Soapy, kid-friendly antics with Louis Pearl, aka “The Amazing Bubble Man.”

BAY AREA

Can You Dig It? Back Down East 14th — the 60s and Beyond Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston, Berk; www.themarsh.org. $15-50. Sat/26, 8:30pm; Sun/27, 7pm. Don Reed’s new show offers more stories from his colorful upbringing in East Oakland in the 1960s and ’70s. More hilarious and heartfelt depictions of his exceptional parents, independent siblings, and his mostly African American but ethnically mixed working-class community — punctuated with period pop, Motown, and funk classics, to which Reed shimmies and spins with effortless grace. And of course there’s more too of the expert physical comedy and charm that made long-running hits of Reed’s last two solo shows, East 14th and The Kipling Hotel (both launched, like this newest, at the Marsh). Can You Dig It? reaches, for the most part, into the “early” early years, Reed’s grammar-school days, before the events depicted in East 14th or Kipling Hotel came to pass. But in nearly two hours of material, not all of it of equal value or impact, there’s inevitably some overlap and indeed some recycling. Reed, who also directs the show, may start whittling it down as the run continues. But, as is, there are at least 20 unnecessary minutes diluting the overall impact of the piece, which is thin on plot already — much more a series of often very enjoyable vignettes and some painful but largely unexplored observations, wrapped up at the end in a sentimental moral that, while sincere, feels rushed and inadequate. (Avila)

I and You Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller, Mill Valley; www.marintheatre.org. $37-58. Tue, Thu-Sat, 8pm (also Thu/24, 1pm; Nov 2, 2pm); Wed, 7:30pm; Sun, 2 and 7pm. Through Nov 3. Lauren Gunderson’s world premiere explores how Walt Whitman’s words affect the lives of two teenagers.

Lettice and Lovage Hillbarn Theatre, 1285 East Hillsdale, Foster City; www.hillbarntheatre.org. $23-38. Thu-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through Nov 3. Hillbarn Theatre, now in its 73rd season, performs Peter Shaffer’s raucous comedy.

Metamorphoses South Berkeley Community Church, 1802 Fairview, Berk; www.infernotheatre.org. $10-25. Thu and Sat-Sun, 8pm; Fri, 9pm (no show Nov 9). Through Nov 23. Additional performance Nov 9, 8pm, $5-20, Laney College, 900 Fallon, Oakl. Inferno Theatre performs a multimedia, contemporary adaptation of Ovid’s classic.

Red Virgin, Louise Michel and the Paris Commune of 1871 Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant, Berk; www.centralworks.org. $15-28. Thu-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 5pm. Through Nov 24. Central Works presents a new play (with live music) by Gary Graves about the Paris Commune uprising.

Rich and Famous Dragon Theatre, 2120 Broadway, Redwood City; www.dragonproductions.net. $15-35. Thu-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through Nov 3. Dragon Theatre performs John Guare’s surreal musical comedy.

strangers, babies Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby, Berk; www.shotgunplayers.org. $20-35. Wed-Thu, 7pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 5pm. Through Nov 17. Shotgun Players present Linda McLean’s drama about a woman confronting her past.

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison, Berk; www.berkeleyrep.org. $35-89. Wed/23, 7pm; Thu/24-Fri/25, 8pm. Berkeley Rep performs Christopher Durang’s comedy about a dysfunctional family in rural Pennsylvania.

Warrior Class Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro, Mtn View; www.theatreworks.org. $19-73. Tue-Wed, 7:30pm; Thu-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm); Sun, 2 and 7pm. Through Nov 3. TheatreWorks performs Kenneth Lin’s incisive political drama.

PERFORMANCE/DANCE

Alonzo King LINES Ballet Fall Home Season 2013 Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Lam Research Theater, 700 Howard, SF; www.linesballet.org. Fri/25-Sat/26 and Nov 1-2, 8pm; Sun/27 and Nov 3, 5pm; Oct 30-31, 7:30pm. $30-65. Featuring the SF premiere of Writing Ground, a collaboration with writer Colum McCann, and a world-premiere new work set to Bach.

Alonzo King LINES Ballet Training Program fall showcase Z Space, 450 Florida, SF; www.zspace.org. Wed/23, 7:30pm. $20. The company’s artists-in-training perform original and diverse works by Maurya Kerr, Dexandro Montalvo, and other choreographers.

BATS Improv Bayfront Theater, B350 Fort Mason Center, SF; www.improv.org. $20. “Horror Super Scene,” Fri/25, 8pm; “Improvised Farce,” Sat/26, 8pm.

“Broadway Bingo” Feinstein’s at the Nikko, Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason, SF; www.feinsteinssf.com. Wed, 7-9pm. Ongoing. Free. Countess Katya Smirnoff-Skyy and Joe Wicht host this Broadway-flavored night of games and performance.

Caroline Lugo and Carolé Acuña’s Ballet Flamenco Peña Pachamama, 1630 Powell, SF; www.carolinalugo.com. Sat/26, 6:15pm. $15-19. Flamenco performance by the mother-daughter dance company, featuring live musicians.

CounterPULSE 1310 Mission, SF; www.counterpulse.org. “Forest Fringe SF” with CounterPULSE and the University of Chichester, Thu/24-Sat/27, 8pm, $10-30; “Beware the Band of Lions (They’re Dandy Lions)” with Bandelion, Sun/27, Nov 3, 10, and 17, 3pm, free (reservations required as space is extremely limited; to request an invitation, email info@dandeliondancetheater.org).

“Crissy Broadcast” Crissy Field, SF; www.airfieldbroadcasts.org. Sat/26, 10am and 4pm; Sun/27, noon. Free. Composer Lisa Bielawa brings her “Airfield Broadcasts” series to Crissy Field. It’s a “massive, spatialized symphony involving more than 800 professional, student, and amateur musicians,” all performing live together.

Feinstein’s at the Nikko Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason, SF; www.feinsteinssf.com. “Lightning Strikes” with Joey Arias and Kristian Hoffman, Thu/24, 8pm. $25-35 (plus $20 food and beverage minimum). “My Generation: The Contemporary American Songbook” with Tony Desare, Fri/25, 8pm; Sat/26, 7pm, $40-50.

“The Hula Show 2013” Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, 3301 Lyon, SF; www.cityboxoffice.com. Fri/25-Sat/26, 8pm; Sun/27, 3pm (children’s matinee Sun/27, noon). $15-90. Patrick Makuakane and his Na Lei Hulu I Ka Wekiu dance troupe perform 20 world premieres, a blend of traditional hula and hula performed to modern music.

“The Kepler Story” Morrison Planetarium, California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Dr, SF; www.calacademy.org. Sun/27, 6:30pm. $15. Cal Academy and Motion Institute team up to produce this “immersive performance work” about astronomer Johannes Kepler.

“Long Story Short” Exit Studio Theatre, 156 Eddy, SF; www.arenhaun.com. Fri/25-Sat/26, 8pm. $15. Slacker Theater presents comic short plays by Aren Haun.

“Mission Position Live” Cinecave, 1034 Valencia, SF; www.missionpositionlive.com. Thu, 8pm. Ongoing. $10. Stand-up comedy with rotating performers.

“Okeanos Intimate” Aquarium of the Bay, Pier 39, SF; www.capacitor.org. Sat, 4:30 and 7pm. $20-30 (free aquarium ticket with show ticket). Extended through Dec 28. Choreographer Jodi Lomask and her company, Capacitor, revive 2012’s Okeanos — a cirque-dance piece exploring the wonder and fragility of our innate connection to the world’s oceans — in a special “intimate” version designed for the mid-size theater at Pier 39’s Aquarium of the Bay. The show, developed in collaboration with scientists and engineers, comes preceded by a short talk by a guest expert — for a recent Saturday performance it was a down-to-earth and truly fascinating local ecological history lesson by the Bay Institute’s Marc Holmes. In addition to its Cirque du Soleil-like blend of quasi-representational modern dance and circus acrobatics — powered by a synth-heavy blend of atmospheric pop music — Okeanos makes use of some stunning underwater photography and an intermittent narrative that includes testimonials from the likes of marine biologist and filmmaker Dr. Tierney Thys. The performers, including contortionists, also interact with some original physical properties hanging from the flies — a swirling vortex and a spherical shell — as they wrap and warp their bodies in a kind of metamorphic homage to the capacity and resiliency of evolution, the varied ingenuity of all life forms. If the movement vocabulary can seem limited at times, and too derivative, the show also feels a little cramped on the Aquarium Theater stage, whose proscenium arrangement does the piece few favors aesthetically. Nevertheless, the family-oriented Okeanos Intimate spurs a conversation with the ocean that is nothing if not urgent. (Avila)

“POR. TRAI. TURE” Kunst-Stoff Arts, 1 Grove, SF; www.linsdans.org. Sat/26-Sun/27, 8pm. $10-15. Lindsey Renee Derry presents an evening-length solo show with choreography by Derry as well as José Navas, Sidra Bell, Alex Ketley, and Iratxe Ansa.

“San Francisco Magic Parlor” Chancellor Hotel Union Square, 433 Powell, SF; www.sfmagicparlor.com. Thu-Sat, 8pm. Ongoing. $40. Magic vignettes with conjurer and storyteller Walt Anthony.

“SF Recovery Theatre Tours the Tenderloin” Various Tenderloin venues, SF; www.sfrecoverytheatre.org. Fri/25, 12:30pm, 4pm, and 6pm; Tue/29, 3pm; Oct 31, 2pm. Donations accepted. The company visits different Tenderloin hotels to perform versions of Porgy and Bess and Night at the Black Hawk.

“A Show of Hands” Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, 3200 California, SF; www.garrettmoulton.org. Thu/24 and Sat/26, 1pm; Fri/25, 3:30pm. Free. Garrett and Moulton Productions present a site-specific New Music USA commission that explores the powers and possibilities of human hands.

“Solo Sunday: Life Without the Dull Parts” Stage Werx Theatre, 446 Valencia, SF; www.brownpapertickets.com. Sun/27, 7pm. $12. With Christian Cagigal, Jonathan Ehrlich, Xiaojuan Shu, and Angela L. Neff.

13th Floor Dance Theater Studio B at ODC Dance Commons, 351 Shotwell, SF; www.13thfloordance.org. Sat-Sun, 8pm. Through Nov 2. $18-23. Jenny McAllister’s company performs the world premiere of Being Raymond Chandler.

“Tickled Pink! Comedy Showcase” Café Royale, 800 Post, SF; www.tpinkcomedy.com. Thu/24, 8pm. Free. With Ronn Vigh, David Gborie, Casey Ley, Gloria Magaña, and host Stefani Silverman.

Zhukov Dance Theatre SFJazz Center, 201 Franklin, SF; www.zhukovdance.org. Oct 29-30, 8pm. $25-55. The company marks its sixth annual season, “Product 06,” with world premieres by Yuri Zhukov and guest choreographer Idan Sharabi.

BAY AREA

Nederlands Dans Theater Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, Bancroft at Telegraph, Berk; calperfs.berkeley.edu. Wed/23-Thu/24, 8pm. $30-92. The Dutch dance masters perform Sehnsucht (2009) and Schmetterling (2010).

“Shine, Perishing Republic! Robinson Jeffers Speaks” Pegasus Books, 1855 Solano, Berk; www.1stpersonsingular.com. Wed/23, 7:30pm. Free. Dramatic reading.

“Stand Up! Women Write Resistance!” Rebound Bookstore, 1611 Fourth St, San Rafael; www.reboundbookstore.com. Sat/26, 4-6pm. Free. Spoken word with Gail Entrekin, Rebecca Foust, Susan Kelly DeWitt, and Dawn McGuire. *

 

Theater Listings: October 9 – 15, 2013

Michael Redmond
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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

BooKKeepers: A True Fiction Southside Theatre, Fort Mason Center, Marina at Laguna, SF; www.generationtheatre.com. $20-35. Opens Thu/10, 8pm. Runs Thu-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 3pm. Through Oct 27. GenerationTheatre presents Roland David Valayre’s Kafka-inspired fantasy.

Dirty Little Showtunes New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness, SF; www.nctcsf.org. $25-45. Opens Fri/11, 8pm. Runs Wed-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through Nov 10. New Conservatory Theatre Center presents the return of Tom Orr’s bawdy Broadway parody.

First Stage Werx, 446 Valencia, SF; www.firsttheplay.com. $25-35. Opens Sat/12, 8pm. Runs Thu-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through Nov 3. Altair Productions, the Aluminous Collective, and PlayGround present the world premiere of Evelyn Jean Pine’s play, which imagines a 20-year-old Bill Gates’ experiences at a 1976 personal computer conference.

Gruesome Playground Injuries Tides Theatre, 533 Sutter, SF; www.tidestheatre.org. $20-40. Previews Thu/10, 8pm. Opens Fri/11, 8pm. Runs Wed-Sat, 8pm. Through Nov 9. Tides Theatre performs Rajiv Joseph’s drama about two people who first meet as eight-year-olds in the school nurse’s office.

Randy Roberts Live! Alcove Theatre, 414 Mason, SF; www.randyroberts.net. $40. Opens Thu/10, 9pm. Runs Thu-Sat, 9pm. Through Nov 2. The famed female impersonator performs. He will also perform a different show with jazz pianist Tammy L. Hall: Mon/14, Oct 21, and 28, 7pm, $20, Martuni’s, 4 Valencia, SF.

BAY AREA

I and You Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller, Mill Valley; www.marintheatre.org. $37-58. Previews Thu/10-Sat/12, 8pm; Sun/13, 2pm. Opens Tue/15, 8pm. Runs Tue, Thu-Sat, 8pm (also Oct 19 and Nov 2, 2pm; Oct 24, 1pm); Wed, 7:30pm; Sun, 2 and 7pm. Through Nov 3. Lauren Gunderson’s world premiere explores how Walt Whitman’s words affect the lives of two teenagers.

Rich and Famous Dragon Theatre, 2120 Broadway, Redwood City; www.dragonproductions.net. $15-35. Previews Thu/10, 8pm. Opens Fri/11, 8pm. Runs Thu-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through Nov 3. Dragon Theatre performs John Guare’s surreal musical comedy.

strangers, babies Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby, Berk; www.shotgunplayers.org. $20-35. Previews Oct 15-17, 8pm. Opens Oct 18, 8pm. Runs Wed-Thu, 7pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 5pm. Through Nov 17. Shotgun Players present Linda McLean’s drama about a woman confronting her past.

Warrior Class Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro, Mtn View; www.theatreworks.org. $19-73. Previews Wed/9-Fri/11, 8pm. Opens Sat/12, 8pm. Runs Tue-Wed, 7:30pm; Thu-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm); Sun, 2 and 7pm. Through Nov 3. TheatreWorks performs Kenneth Lin’s incisive political drama.

ONGOING

Acid Test: The Many Incarnations of Ram Dass Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $15-50. Fri/11, 8pm; Sat/12, 8:30pm. Playwright Lynne Kaufman invites you to take a trip with Richard Alpert, aka Ram Dass (Warren David Keith) — one of the bigwigs of the psychedelic revolution and (with his classic book, Be Here Now) contemporary Eastern-looking spirituality — as he recounts times high and low in this thoughtful, funny, and sometimes unexpected biographical rumination on the quest for truth and meaning in a seemingly random life. Directed by Joel Mullennix, the narrative begins with Ram Dass today, in his Hawaiian home and partly paralyzed from a stroke, but Keith (one of the Bay Area’s best stage actors, who is predictably sure and engagingly multilayered in the role) soon shakes off the stiff arm and strained speech and springs to his feet to continue the narrative as the ideal self perhaps only transcendental consciousness and theater allow. Nevertheless, Kaufman’s fun-loving and extroverted Alpert is no saint and no model of perfection, which is the refreshing truth explored in the play. He’s a seeker still, ever imperfect and trying for perfection, or at least the wisdom of acceptance. As the privileged queer child of a wealthy Jewish lawyer and industrialist, Alpert was both insider and outsider from the get-go, and that tension and ambiguity make for an interesting angle on his life, including the complexities of his relationships with a homophobic Leary, for instance, and his conservative but ultimately loving father. Perfection aside, the beauty in the subject and the play is the subtle, shrewd cherishing of what remains unfinished. Note: review from an earlier run of this show. (Avila)

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical Curran Theatre, 445 Geary, SF; www.shnsf.com. $55-210. Tue-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, Wed/9, and Oct 16, 2pm); Sun, 2 and 7:30pm (no evening show Sun/13 or Oct 20). Through Oct 20. Pre-Broadway premiere of the musical about the legendary songwriter.

Band Fags! New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness, SF; www.nctcsf.org. $25-45. Wed/9-Sat/12, 8pm; Sun/13, 2pm. New Conservatory Theatre Center performs the West Coast premiere of Frank Anthony Polito’s coming-of-age tale, set in 1980s Detroit.

BoomerAging: From LSD to OMG Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $15-50. Tue, 8pm. Extended through Oct 29. Will Durst’s hit solo show looks at baby boomers grappling with life in the 21st century.

Buried Child Magic Theatre, Fort Mason Center, Bldg D, Third Flr, SF; www.magictheatre.org. $20-60. Wed/9-Sat/12, 8pm; Sun/13, 2:30. A rural family in slow free-fall finally sees the ground rushing up to meet it in Sam Shepard’s raucous, solemn, and spooky American gothic. The 1978 Pulitzer Prize-winner not only secured a place for Shepard in the upper echelons of American playwrights but helped remake the theatrical landscape when it first premiered, 35 years ago, at the Magic Theatre. The Magic’s current revival tends to show the ways in which the play has aged, however, rather than the ways in which it endures. Loretta Greco’s perfunctory direction inadvertently underscores what has since become formula in the resolutely surreal undercurrent beneath its surface naturalism. Meanwhile her cast —though it includes some normally dependable actors like Patrick Alparone, Rod Gnapp and James Wagner — never comes together as a cohesive ensemble, further distancing us from the still vital dynamism in the text (more of that was captured last year in Boxcar Theatre’s admittedly rocky but overall more persuasive production). Alparone (as long-lost son Vince) and Patrick Kelly Jones (as his belligerent one-legged brother Bradley) manage to infuse some momentary energy, but from the opening lines, delivered offstage by chattering matriarch Halie (Denise Balthrop Cassidy), the tension remains mostly slack, the acting haphazard, and the themes muted. (Avila)

Carrie: The Musical Victoria Theatre, 2961 16th St, SF; www.rayoflighttheatre.com. $25-36. Wed-Sat, 8pm (also Oct 26, 11:30pm; Nov 2, 2pm). Through Nov 2. Just in time to complement the Carrie film remake, Ray of Light Theatre performs the musical adaptation (initially a Broadway flop, then a re-tooled off-Broadway hit) of the Stephen King horror novel.

The Disappearance of Mary Rosemary Phoenix Theatre, 414 Mason, SF; secondwind.8m.com. $15-25. Thu-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through Oct 26. Script-wise, Second Wind Production’s J.M. Barrie adaptation The Disappearance of Mary Rosemary might well be the most unique ghost story of the season. But in contrast to their masterfully suspenseful The Woman in Black (staged in 2009), Disappearance falls to sustain that charged atmosphere of unease that defines the best terror tales. It begins promisingly enough in a purportedly haunted parlor being shown to a young soldier (Ryan Martin) by its taciturn caretaker (Juanita Wyles). After she leaves him alone in the room, lights flicker, his video camera spontaneously begins to play, and a mysterious light emerges from under a locked door, all evidence pointing to either a supernatural event, or to a PTSD-style mental breakdown. Cutting to the same parlor 29 years before, where domestic tranquility prevails, a lot of that initial tension gets lost, and even though the equally unexplainable events which ensue prove to be much bigger in actual scale, they don’t quite manage to scare so much as to puzzle. Of the performances, Gigi Benson’s matter-of-fact matriarch is by far the most nuanced, and her chemistry with her stage husband (Dave Sikula) is far more convincing than that of their daughter and son-in-law (Caroline Elizabeth Doyle and Brian Martin). Finally, a very unexpected twist turns this story of a young woman who never grows old into one who has grown perhaps too fast, uncomfortably invoking V.C. Andrews rather than J.M. Barrie, and not for the better. (Gluckstern)

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.

Forbidden Fruit Garage, 715 Bryant, SF; www.brownpapertickets.com. $25. Fri-Sat and Mon, 8pm. Through Oct 28. Back Alley Theater and Footloose present the West Coast premiere of Jeff Bedillion’s stylized love story that takes on social and religious conformity.

Geezer Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $25-50. Wed-Thu, 8pm; Sat, 5pm. Through Oct 26. Geoff Hoyle’s hit solo show, a comedic meditation on aging, returns to the Marsh.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch Boxcar Theatre, 505 Natoma, SF; www.boxcartheatre.org. $27-43. Thu-Sat, 8pm. Open-ended. John Cameron Mitchell’s cult musical comes to life with director Nick A. Olivero’s ever-rotating cast.

An Indian Summer Exit Theatre, 156 Eddy, SF; www.wehavemet.org. $20-40. Thu-Sat, 8pm. Through Oct 19. Multi Ethnic Theater performs Charles Johnson’s drama set in the 1980s Deep South.

It’s a Bird … It’s a Plane … It’s Superman Eureka Theatre, 215 Jackson, SF; www.42ndstmoon.org. $25-75. Wed-Thu, 7pm; Fri, 8pm; Sat, 6pm (also Sat/12, 1pm); Sun, 3pm. Through Oct 20. 42nd Street Moon kicks off its 21st season with this 1966 musical homage to the Man of Steel.

The Scion Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $15-100. Fri, 8pm; Sat, 8:30pm. Through Oct 26. Popular solo performer Brian Copeland (Not a Genuine Black Man, The Waiting Period) performs a workshop production of his latest, “a tale of privilege, murder, and sausage.” The show has its official world premiere Jan. 9, 2014.

Sex and the City: LIVE! Rebel, 1760 Market, SF; trannyshack.com/sexandthecity. $25. Wed, 7 and 9pm. Open-ended. It seems a no-brainer. Not just the HBO series itself — that’s definitely missing some gray matter — but putting it onstage as a drag show. Mais naturellement! Why was Sex and the City not conceived of as a drag show in the first place? Making the sordid not exactly palatable but somehow, I don’t know, friendlier (and the canned a little cannier), Velvet Rage Productions mounts two verbatim episodes from the widely adored cable show, with Trannyshack’s Heklina in a smashing portrayal of SJP’s Carrie; D’Arcy Drollinger stealing much of the show as ever-randy Samantha (already more or less a gay man trapped in a woman’s body); Lady Bear as an endearingly out-to-lunch Miranda; and ever assured, quick-witted Trixxie Carr as pent-up Charlotte. There’s also a solid and enjoyable supporting cast courtesy of Cookie Dough, Jordan Wheeler, and Leigh Crow (as Mr. Big). That’s some heavyweight talent trodding the straining boards of bar Rebel’s tiny stage. The show’s still two-dimensional, even in 3D, but noticeably bigger than your 50″ plasma flat panel. (Avila)

“Shocktoberfest 14: Jack the Ripper” Hypnodrome, 575 10th St, SF; www.thrillpeddlers.com. $25-35. Thu-Sat and Oct 29-30, 8pm. Through Nov 23. Thrillpeddlers presents their 14th annual Grand Guignol show, “a evening of horror, madness, spanking, and song.”

The Taming Thick House, 1695 18th St, SF; www.crowdedfire.org. $10-35. Wed-Sat, 8pm (no show Wed/9). Through Oct 26. Crowded Fire Theater presents the world premiere of Lauren Gunderson’s modern farce.

The Voice: One Man’s Journey into Sex Addiction and Recovery EXIT Theatre, 156 Eddy, SF; www.theexit.org. $15-25. Fri-Sat, 8pm. Through Oct 26. David Kleinberg performs his autobiographical solo show.

The World’s Funniest Bubble Show Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $8-11. Sun, 11am. Through Oct 27. Soapy, kid-friendly antics with Louis Pearl, aka “The Amazing Bubble Man.”

BAY AREA

Can You Dig It? Back Down East 14th — the 60s and Beyond Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston, Berk; www.themarsh.org. $15-50. Sat, 8:30pm; Sun, 7pm. Through Oct 27. Don Reed’s new show offers more stories from his colorful upbringing in East Oakland in the 1960s and ’70s. More hilarious and heartfelt depictions of his exceptional parents, independent siblings, and his mostly African American but ethnically mixed working-class community — punctuated with period pop, Motown, and funk classics, to which Reed shimmies and spins with effortless grace. And of course there’s more too of the expert physical comedy and charm that made long-running hits of Reed’s last two solo shows, East 14th and The Kipling Hotel (both launched, like this newest, at the Marsh). Can You Dig It? reaches, for the most part, into the “early” early years, Reed’s grammar-school days, before the events depicted in East 14th or Kipling Hotel came to pass. But in nearly two hours of material, not all of it of equal value or impact, there’s inevitably some overlap and indeed some recycling. Reed, who also directs the show, may start whittling it down as the run continues. But, as is, there are at least 20 unnecessary minutes diluting the overall impact of the piece, which is thin on plot already — much more a series of often very enjoyable vignettes and some painful but largely unexplored observations, wrapped up at the end in a sentimental moral that, while sincere, feels rushed and inadequate. (Avila)

Ella, the Musical Center REPertory Company, 1601 Civic, Walnut Creek; (925) 943-SHOW. $37-64. Wed/9, 7:30pm; Thu/10-Sat/12, 8pm (also Sat/12, 2:30pm). Yvette Cason portrays the legendary Ella Fitzgerald in this Center REP presentation.

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison, Berk; www.berkeleyrep.org. $35-89. Tue and Thu-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm); Wed, 7pm; Sun, 2 and 7pm. Extended through Oct 25. Berkeley Rep performs Christopher Durang’s comedy about a dysfunctional family in rural Pennsylvania.

A Winter’s Tale Bruns Amphitheater, 100 California Shakespeare Theater Way, Orinda; www.calshakes.org. $35-72. Tue-Thu, 7:30pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm (also Oct 19, 2pm); Sun, 4pm. Through Oct 20. Cal Shakes concludes its 2013 season with the Bard’s fairy tale, directed and choreographed by sister team Patricia and Paloma McGregor.

PERFORMANCE/DANCE

BATS Improv Bayfront Theater, B350 Fort Mason Center, SF; www.improv.org. $20. “Horror Super Scene,” Fri, 8. Through Oct 25. “Improvised Farce,” Sat, 8pm. Through Oct 26.

Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company CounterPULSE, 1310 Mission, SF; www.ybca.org. Wed/9, 8pm. $50. The company performs the world premiere of /Time: Study I. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Lam Research Theater, 700 Howard, SF; www.ybca.org. Fri/11-Sat/12, 8pm; Sun/13, 3pm. The company, with SITI Company, presents the West Coast premiere of A Rite.

“Broadway Bingo” Feinstein’s at the Nikko, Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason, SF; www.feinsteinssf.com. Wed, 7-9pm. Ongoing. Free. Countess Katya Smirnoff-Skyy and Joe Wicht host this Broadway-flavored night of games and performance.

Caroline Lugo and Carolé Acuña’s Ballet Flamenco Peña Pachamama, 1630 Powell, SF; www.carolinalugo.com. Sat/12, Oct 20, and 26, 6:15pm. $15-19. Flamenco performance by the mother-daughter dance company, featuring live musicians.

Margaret Cho Nob Hill Masonic Center, 1111 California, SF; www.livenation.com. Sat/12, 8pm. $41.50-74. The acclaimed comedian performs her new show, Mother.

“Comedy Returns to El Rio” El Rio, 3158 Mission, SF; www.brownpapertickets.com. Mon/14, 8pm. $7-20. With Jabari Davis, Eloisa Bravo, Stefani Silverman, Howard Stone, and Lisa Geduldig.

Dance Theatre of San Francisco ODC Theater, 3153 17th St, SF; www.odctheater.org. Fri/11-Sat/12, 8pm; Sun/13, 7pm. $25-27. The new contemporary dance company founded by Annabelle Henry presents “Debut,” with works by Erik Wagner, Sandrine Cassini, and others.

“The Kepler Story” Morrison Planetarium, California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Dr, SF; www.calacademy.org. Sun, 6:30pm. Through Oct 27. $15. Cal Academy and Motion Institute team up to produce this “immersive performance work” about astronomer Johannes Kepler.

“Mission Position Live” Cinecave, 1034 Valencia, SF; www.missionpositionlive.com. Thu, 8pm. Ongoing. $10. Stand-up comedy with rotating performers.

“Mongrels and Objects” CounterPULSE, 1310 Mission, SF; www.counterpulse.org. Fri/11-Sat/12, 8pm; Sun/13, 7pm. $20-30. Headmistress — Amara Tabor-Smith and Sherwood Chen — presents solo and duo dance work.

“Mortified” DNA Lounge, 375 11th St, SF; www.getmortified.com. Fri/11, 7:30pm. $21. Also Sat/12, 7:30pm, $20. Uptown, 1928 Telegraph, Oakl. Embarrassing tales told by those who lived them as teenagers.

“MythBusters: Behind the Myths Tour” Orpheum Theatre, 1192 Market, SF; www.shnsf.com. Sat/12, 2 and 8pm. $45-95. Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman bring their Discovery Channel show to the stage.

Davy Rothbart Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, 3200 California, SF; www.myheartisandidiotbook.com. Thu/10, 8pm. $12. The Found magazine editor and “This American Life” contributor shares his latest finds and reads from his new book, My Heart is an Idiot.

“San Francisco Magic Parlor” Chancellor Hotel Union Square, 433 Powell, SF; www.sfmagicparlor.com. Thu-Sat, 8pm. Ongoing. $40. Magic vignettes with conjurer and storyteller Walt Anthony.

Smuin Ballet Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, 3301 Lyon, SF; www.smuinballet.org. Thu/10-Sat/12, 8pm. $25-72. Smuin Ballet kicks off its 20th anniversary season with its “Xxtremes” fall program, including Jiri Kylian’s Return to a Strange Land and Amy Seiwert’s Dear Miss Cline.

BAY AREA

Paufve Dance Hillside Swedenborgian Community Church, 1422 Navallier, El Cerrito; www.brownpapertickets.com. Fri/11-Sat/12, 6pm. $15-20. Randee Paufve and company present Soil, a quintet of new and revised solo works.

“The Shout: Life’s True Stories” Grand Lake Coffee House, 440 Grand, Oakl; www.theshoutstorytelling.com. Mon/14, 7:30pm. $5-20. Amazing but true short storytelling. *

 

Legacy of rhythm

Michael Redmond
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Legacy of rhythm

arts@sfbg.com

DANCE Has there ever been a celebration at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts quite as exuberant, layered, and embracing of a people, a period, and a place as Dimensions Dance Theater’s 40th anniversary show? Not as far as I know. Despite a timing hitch at the end, probably due to the exigencies of costume changes, Dimensions offered a one of a kind evening of glorious dancing. It was a long program — but then, why can’t some events keep going so that they spill deep into the night and the dreams beyond?

The three-hour show opened on a ceremonial note with thank-yous — not to deep-pocketed donors, but to the ancestors both dead and those present who have made Dimensions possible. Poet Marvin White was the griot who poured libations and repeatedly returned to reset the company’s focus on a trajectory of kindness, strength, and love, ending with a promise of a state of being in which earthly limitations will have fallen by the wayside.

Artistic director and Dimensions founder Deborah Vaughan’s vision for the program was both intimate and grand. In the first section, the dancers revisited excerpts of works in the company’s repertoire. If there is one theme that travels through Dimensions’ history, it’s dancing that embodies strength, courage, and joy. In the excerpts of Fly and Catalyst: One by One, the very diverse bodies of Dimensions’ women took to the air with silken buoyancy. Breaking out of unisons, their individuality was still carried by a common impetus. Even the trio of youngsters from the Dimensions youth program danced with that kind of personalized discipline. Young Micaiah Bell’s initial solo just about burned itself into my mind.

In the excerpt from Project Panther, Dimensions’ trio of male dancers (Erik Lee, Justin Sharlman, and Noah James III) proved themselves fierce warriors and fierce dancers in the way they dived over each other and hurled themselves through space. Lee’s exquisitely nuanced solo from Garth Fagan’s Yesterday/Yesternow made you want to see the whole work again — as was, actually, the case with many of the glances in this retrospective, which closed with spitfire ensemble takes on South African boot and can dances.

For the world premiere of Rhythms of Life: Down the Congo Line, Vaughan invited choreographers from the Republic of Congo, Cuba, and Brazil to set works drawn from their traditions on her remarkable dancers. The piece opened with the evening’s pied pipers, MJ’s Brass Boppers, who had led the initial procession into the theater. Latanya d. Tigner choreographed a witty, yet not ironic The Last Dance/St. Ann and Rampart, inspired by New Orleans funeral traditions. With the dancers in brilliant white, they shook their hands, bowed their torsos, and stepped in and out of line, making sure that they were noticed. They were mourning but also celebrating because they were not about to be overcome.

In Palo, the Cuban section, backed by strong singer Sulkary Valverde, dancers used poles as a practice of self-defense but also to demonstrate precision ensemble work. Lovely to see how Sharlman moved through the group and slowly replaced the “weapons” with hooked drumming sticks.

From Brazil, choreographer Isaura Oliveira showcased the Dimensions men in low-to-the-ground feats, that constant shift of weight and direction that we recognize from capoeira. Despite their being filled with an inherent sense of danger, these dances also mesmerize. Danilo Portugal deserved all the applause he got for his chanting and haunting birimbau playing.

I wish the lovely, sexy, and sassy couple dances — inherited from a colonial past though they were — could have been extended before leading into a skirt-swirling, intoxicating carnival. The section ended with a celebration of the end of colonialism with a lilting King (Sharlman) and Queen (Laura Elaine Ellis), and Tigner as an Elder who deposited a totemic doll on the altar.

The after-intermission Vulkana squarely threw the spotlight on the drum, without which African dance — whether in the Congo or in the Diaspora — would not exist. To have these different traditions come together proved both exhilarating and a little messy. Yet it was one of the evening’s highlights to have Kiazi Malonga in a friendly competition with tiny Congolese firecracker Hervé Makaya and his cohort Teber Milandou. They set not only the makuta drums but also costume parts flying.

Vukana also paid tribute to these brave Dimensions performers who, whether chanting in a sitting circle or swiveling their hips so that the energy rose up through the torso and sailed through the arms, looked at home. Whatever the specifics of the wide-ranging demands made on them, Dimensions looked as if born into them. *

 

Theater Listings: October 2 – 8, 2013

Michael Redmond
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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

Carrie: The Musical Victoria Theatre, 2961 16th St, SF; www.rayoflighttheatre.com. $25-36. Opens Fri/4, 8pm. Runs Wed-Sat, 8pm (also Oct 26, 11:30pm; Nov 2, 2pm). Through Nov 2. Just in time to complement the Carrie film remake, Ray of Light Theatre performs the musical adaptation (initially a Broadway flop, then a re-tooled off-Broadway hit) of the Stephen King horror novel.

The Disappearance of Mary Rosemary Phoenix Theatre, 414 Mason, SF; secondwind.8m.com. $15-25. Opens Fri/4, 8pm. Runs Thu-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through Oct 26. Writer-director Ian Walker’s ghost story is adapted from J.M. Barrie’s Mary Rose.

Forbidden Fruit Garage, 715 Bryant, SF; www.brownpapertickets.com. $25. Previews Thu/3, 8pm. Opens Fri/4, 8pm. Runs Fri-Sat and Mon, 8pm. Through Oct 28. Back Alley Theater and Footloose present the West Coast premiere of Jeff Bedillion’s stylized love story that takes on social and religious conformity.

An Indian Summer Exit Theatre, 156 Eddy, SF; www.wehavemet.org. $20-40. Opens Fri/4, 8pm. Runs Thu-Sat, 8pm. Through Oct 19. Multi Ethnic Theater performs Charles Johnson’s drama set in the 1980s Deep South.

It’s a Bird … It’s a Plane … It’s Superman Eureka Theatre, 215 Jackson, SF; www.42ndstmoon.org. $25-75. Previews Wed/2-Thu/3, 7pm; Fri/4, 8pm. Opens Sat/5, 8pm. Runs Wed-Thu, 7pm; Fri, 8pm; Sat, 6pm (also Oct 12, 1pm); Sun, 3pm. Through Oct 20. 42nd Street Moon kicks off its 21st season with this 1966 musical homage to the Man of Steel.

The Scion Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $15-100. Opens Fri/4, 8pm. Runs Fri, 8pm; Sat, 8:30pm. Through Oct 26. Popular solo performer Brian Copeland (Not a Genuine Black Man, The Waiting Period) performs a workshop production of his latest, “a tale of privilege, murder, and sausage.” The show has its official world premiere Jan. 9, 2014.

The Taming Thick House, 1695 18th St, SF; www.crowdedfire.org. $10-35. Previews Thu/3-Sat/5, 8pm. Opens Mon/7, 8pm. Runs Wed-Sat, 8pm (no show Oct 9). Through Oct 26. Crowded Fire Theater presents the world premiere of Lauren Gunderson’s modern farce.

The Voice: One Man’s Journey into Sex Addiction and Recovery EXIT Theatre, 156 Eddy, SF; www.theexit.org. $15-25. Opens Fri/4, 8pm. Runs Fri-Sat, 8pm. Through Oct 26. David Kleinberg performs his autobiographical solo show.

ONGOING

Acid Test: The Many Incarnations of Ram Dass Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $15-50. Fri, 8pm; Sat, 8:30pm. Through Oct 12. Playwright Lynne Kaufman invites you to take a trip with Richard Alpert, aka Ram Dass (Warren David Keith) — one of the bigwigs of the psychedelic revolution and (with his classic book, Be Here Now) contemporary Eastern-looking spirituality — as he recounts times high and low in this thoughtful, funny, and sometimes unexpected biographical rumination on the quest for truth and meaning in a seemingly random life. Directed by Joel Mullennix, the narrative begins with Ram Dass today, in his Hawaiian home and partly paralyzed from a stroke, but Keith (one of the Bay Area’s best stage actors, who is predictably sure and engagingly multilayered in the role) soon shakes off the stiff arm and strained speech and springs to his feet to continue the narrative as the ideal self perhaps only transcendental consciousness and theater allow. Nevertheless, Kaufman’s fun-loving and extroverted Alpert is no saint and no model of perfection, which is the refreshing truth explored in the play. He’s a seeker still, ever imperfect and trying for perfection, or at least the wisdom of acceptance. As the privileged queer child of a wealthy Jewish lawyer and industrialist, Alpert was both insider and outsider from the get-go, and that tension and ambiguity make for an interesting angle on his life, including the complexities of his relationships with a homophobic Leary, for instance, and his conservative but ultimately loving father. Perfection aside, the beauty in the subject and the play is the subtle, shrewd cherishing of what remains unfinished. Note: review from an earlier run of this show. (Avila)

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical Curran Theatre, 445 Geary, SF; www.shnsf.com. $55-210. Tue-Sat, 8pm (also Sat and Oct 9 and 16, 2pm); Sun, 2 and 7:30pm (no evening show Oct 13 or 20). Through Oct 20. Pre-Broadway premiere of the musical about the legendary songwriter.

Band Fags! New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness, SF; www.nctcsf.org. $25-45. Wed-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through Oct 13. New Conservatory Theatre Center performs the West Coast premiere of Frank Anthony Polito’s coming-of-age tale, set in 1980s Detroit.

“Bay One Acts Festival” Tides Theatre, 533 Sutter, SF; www.bayoneacts.org. $20-40. Programs One and Two run in repertory Wed/2-Sat/5, 8pm. The 2013 BOA fest presents the world premieres of 13 short plays in partnership with 13 Bay Area theater companies.

BoomerAging: From LSD to OMG Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $15-50. Tue, 8pm. Extended through Oct 29. Will Durst’s hit solo show looks at baby boomers grappling with life in the 21st century.

Buried Child Magic Theatre, Fort Mason Center, Bldg D, Third Flr, SF; www.magictheatre.org. $20-60. Tue, 7pm; Wed-Sat, 8pm (also Wed/2, 2:30pm); Sun, 2:30. Extended through Oct 13. A rural family in slow free-fall finally sees the ground rushing up to meet it in Sam Shepard’s raucous, solemn, and spooky American gothic. The 1978 Pulitzer Prize-winner not only secured a place for Shepard in the upper echelons of American playwrights but helped remake the theatrical landscape when it first premiered, 35 years ago, at the Magic Theatre. The Magic’s current revival tends to show the ways in which the play has aged, however, rather than the ways in which it endures. Loretta Greco’s perfunctory direction inadvertently underscores what has since become formula in the resolutely surreal undercurrent beneath its surface naturalism. Meanwhile her cast —though it includes some normally dependable actors like Patrick Alparone, Rod Gnapp and James Wagner — never comes together as a cohesive ensemble, further distancing us from the still vital dynamism in the text (more of that was captured last year in Boxcar Theatre’s admittedly rocky but overall more persuasive production). Alparone (as long-lost son Vince) and Patrick Kelly Jones (as his belligerent one-legged brother Bradley) manage to infuse some momentary energy, but from the opening lines, delivered offstage by chattering matriarch Halie (Denise Balthrop Cassidy), the tension remains mostly slack, the acting haphazard, and the themes muted. (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.

Geezer Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $25-50. Wed-Thu, 8pm; Sat, 5pm. Through Oct 26. Geoff Hoyle’s hit solo show, a comedic meditation on aging, returns to the Marsh.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch Boxcar Theatre, 505 Natoma, SF; www.boxcartheatre.org. $27-43. Thu-Sat, 8pm. Open-ended. John Cameron Mitchell’s cult musical comes to life with director Nick A. Olivero’s ever-rotating cast.

Macbeth Fort Point, end of Marine Dr, Presidio of San Francisco, SF; www.weplayers.org. $30-60. Thu/3-Sun/6, 6pm. We Players perform the Shakespeare classic amid Fort Point’s Civil War-era fortress.

1776 ACT’s Geary Theater, 415 Geary, SF; www.act-sf.org. $20-160. Wed/2-Sat/5, 8pm (also Wed/2 and Sat/5, 2pm); Sun/6, 2pm. American Conservatory Theater performs the West Coast premiere of Frank Galati’s new staging of the patriotic musical.

Sex and the City: LIVE! Rebel, 1760 Market, SF; trannyshack.com/sexandthecity. $25. Wed, 7 and 9pm. Open-ended. It seems a no-brainer. Not just the HBO series itself — that’s definitely missing some gray matter — but putting it onstage as a drag show. Mais naturellement! Why was Sex and the City not conceived of as a drag show in the first place? Making the sordid not exactly palatable but somehow, I don’t know, friendlier (and the canned a little cannier), Velvet Rage Productions mounts two verbatim episodes from the widely adored cable show, with Trannyshack’s Heklina in a smashing portrayal of SJP’s Carrie; D’Arcy Drollinger stealing much of the show as ever-randy Samantha (already more or less a gay man trapped in a woman’s body); Lady Bear as an endearingly out-to-lunch Miranda; and ever assured, quick-witted Trixxie Carr as pent-up Charlotte. There’s also a solid and enjoyable supporting cast courtesy of Cookie Dough, Jordan Wheeler, and Leigh Crow (as Mr. Big). That’s some heavyweight talent trodding the straining boards of bar Rebel’s tiny stage. The show’s still two-dimensional, even in 3D, but noticeably bigger than your 50″ plasma flat panel. (Avila)

“Shocktoberfest 14: Jack the Ripper” Hypnodrome, 575 10th St, SF; www.thrillpeddlers.com. $25-35. Opens Thu/3, 8pm. Runs Thu-Sat and Oct 29-30, 8pm. Through Nov 23. Thrillpeddlers presents their 14th annual Grand Guignol show, “a evening of horror, madness, spanking, and song.”

To Sleep and Dream Z Below, 470 Florida, SF; www.therhino.org. $15-30. Wed/2-Sat/5, 8pm; Sun/6, 3pm. Theatre Rhinoceros performs writer-director John Fisher’s North Bay-set drama about the challenges of love.

The World’s Funniest Bubble Show Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $8-11. Sun, 11am. Through Oct 27. Soapy, kid-friendly antics with Louis Pearl, aka “The Amazing Bubble Man.”

BAY AREA

After the Revolution Aurora Theatre, 2081 Addison, Berk; www.auroratheatre.org. $32-60. Wed/2-Sat/5, 8pm; Sun/6, 2 and 7pm. Emma (Jessica Bates) is a left-wing lawyer from a lefty Jewish family of Communist Party members and fellow travelers who heads an important defense fund for incarcerated Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal. When Emma learns that a book is coming out that pins her revered late grandfather (a CP martyr to McCarthyism for whom the fund is named) as a spy for Stalin, she collapses into an incapacitating personal crisis exacerbated by the revelation that her adored father (an expansive Rolf Saxon) already knew and kept the secret from her. The crisis leads to Emma’s severing ties with her father and, eventually, alienating her boyfriend (Adrian Anchondo) as the rest of the family do their best to negotiate the new dynamic, including her uncle Leo (Victor Talmadge), her rehab habitué of a sister (Sarah Mitchell), and her mother (Pamela Gaye Walker). Meanwhile, Emma faces the fraught temptation of a large donation to the fund by a wealthy old lefty (a fine Peter Kybart). Almost above the fray, by virtue of her unwavering devotion to the political legacy she shared with her husband, is Emma’s unreconstructed Stalinist of a grandmother, Vera (a jarringly affected Ellen Ratner in fakey-fakey old-lady makeup). Aurora Theater’s production of Amy Herzog’s After the Revolution offers another look at the celebrated American playwright whose Obie Award-winning 4000 Miles recently premiered at ACT. But just as the ACT production left one wondering what all the fuss was about, After the Revolution disappoints in its promise of exploring political commitment through the complexities of modern history and familial bonds. Instead, director Joy Carlin marshals a mostly strong cast to little effect against an unconvincing and strained dramatic narrative that seems oddly out of touch with today’s political currents. (Avila)

Can You Dig It? Back Down East 14th — the 60s and Beyond Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston, Berk; www.themarsh.org. $15-50. Sat, 8:30pm; Sun, 7pm. Through Oct 27. Don Reed’s new show offers more stories from his colorful upbringing in East Oakland in the 1960s and ’70s. More hilarious and heartfelt depictions of his exceptional parents, independent siblings, and his mostly African American but ethnically mixed working-class community — punctuated with period pop, Motown, and funk classics, to which Reed shimmies and spins with effortless grace. And of course there’s more too of the expert physical comedy and charm that made long-running hits of Reed’s last two solo shows, East 14th and The Kipling Hotel (both launched, like this newest, at the Marsh). Can You Dig It? reaches, for the most part, into the “early” early years, Reed’s grammar-school days, before the events depicted in East 14th or Kipling Hotel came to pass. But in nearly two hours of material, not all of it of equal value or impact, there’s inevitably some overlap and indeed some recycling. Reed, who also directs the show, may start whittling it down as the run continues. But, as is, there are at least 20 unnecessary minutes diluting the overall impact of the piece, which is thin on plot already — much more a series of often very enjoyable vignettes and some painful but largely unexplored observations, wrapped up at the end in a sentimental moral that, while sincere, feels rushed and inadequate. (Avila)

Ella, the Musical Center REPertory Company, 1601 Civic, Walnut Creek; (925) 943-SHOW. $37-64. Wed, 7:30pm; Thu-Sat, 8pm (also Oct 12, 2:30pm); Sun, 2:30pm. Through Oct 12. Yvette Cason portrays the legendary Ella Fitzgerald in this Center REP presentation.

The Tempest Pear Avenue Theatre, 1220 Pear, Mtn View; www.thepear.org. $10-35. Thu/3-Sat/5, 8pm; Sun/6, 2pm. Pear Avenue Theatre performs Shakespeare’s play in a new staging by director Jeanie K. Smith.

A Winter’s Tale Bruns Amphitheater, 100 California Shakespeare Theater Way, Orinda; www.calshakes.org. $35-72. Tue-Thu, 7:30pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm (also Oct 19, 2pm); Sun, 4pm. Through Oct 20. Cal Shakes concludes its 2013 season with the Bard’s fairy tale, directed and choreographed by sister team Patricia and Paloma McGregor.

PERFORMANCE/DANCE

“Bay Area Flamenco Festival” Brava Theater, 2781 24th St, SF; www.bayareaflamencofestival.com. Fri/4, 8pm. $25-65. Also Sat/5, 8pm, $30-75, Thrust Stage, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, 2025 Addison, Berk. Spain’s Gema Moneo performs gypsy flamenco dance.

Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company CounterPULSE, 1310 Mission, SF; www.ybca.org. Oct 8-9, 8pm. $50. The company performs the world premiere of /Time: Study I.

“Broadway Bingo” Feinstein’s at the Nikko, Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason, SF; www.feinsteinssf.com. Wed, 7-9pm. Ongoing. Free. Countess Katya Smirnoff-Skyy and Joe Wicht host this Broadway-flavored night of games and performance.

“Brutal Sound Effects Festival #76” Lab, 2948 16th St, SF; www.thelab.org. Fri/4, 7:30-10pm. $7-40. Performances by Blue Sabbath, Black Cheer, Magnetic Stripper, Dental Work, and more.

Caroline Lugo and Carolé Acuña’s Ballet Flamenco Peña Pachamama, 1630 Powell, SF; www.carolinalugo.com. Sun/6, Oct 12, 20, and 26, 6:15pm. $15-19. Flamenco performance by the mother-daughter dance company, featuring live musicians.

Dimensions Dance Theater Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission, SF; www.ybca.org. Sat/5, 8pm. $25-30. The company celebrates its 40th anniversary with highlights from past years, as well as the world premiere of Rhythms of Life: Down the Congo Line.

“First Annual @endHIV SF Drag Ball” BeatBox SF, 314 11th St, SF; www.endhiv.com. Sat/5, 7-10pm. $50. Drag competitions (including an “animal fashion” category, in keeping with the event theme: “The Animal Inside”) to raise money for testing a new AIDS vaccine.

“HeART of Market: Dance, Create, Connect” Mint Plaza, 2 Mint Plaza, SF; www.mintplazasf.org. Sat/5, noon-3pm. Free. Alonzo King LINES Dance Center presents a free, participatory, family-friendly performance.

“The Kepler Story” Morrison Planetarium, California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Dr, SF; www.calacademy.org. Sun, 6:30pm. Through Oct 27. $15. Cal Academy and Motion Institute team up to produce this “immersive performance work” about astronomer Johannes Kepler.

“The King of Hearts is Off Again” Joe Goode Performance Annex, 401 Alabama, SF; www.sfiaf.org. Wed/2-Fri/4, 8pm. $18-25. Also Sat/5, 8pm, $18-25, University Theatre, CSU East Bay, 25800 Carlos Bee, Hayward. Poland’s Studium Teatralne performs the stage adaptation of Hannah Krall’s novel Chasing the King of Hearts, set in the Warsaw ghetto during World War II.

“Mission Position Live” Cinecave, 1034 Valencia, SF; www.missionpositionlive.com. Thu, 8pm. Ongoing. $10. Stand-up comedy with rotating performers.

“Rotunda Dance Series: Ballet Folklórico Costa de Oro” San Francisco City Hall, 1 Dr Carlton B Goodlett Pl, SF; www.dancersgroup.org. Fri/4, noon. Free. Traditional Mexican dances.

“San Francisco Magic Parlor” Chancellor Hotel Union Square, 433 Powell, SF; www.sfmagicparlor.com. Thu-Sat, 8pm. Ongoing. $40. Magic vignettes with conjurer and storyteller Walt Anthony.

Smuin Ballet Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, 3301 Lyon, SF; www.smuinballet.org. Fri/4-Sat/5 (also Sat/5, 2pm); Sun/6, 2pm; Oct 10-12, 8pm. $25-72. Smuin Ballet kicks off its 20th anniversary season with its “Xxtremes” fall program, including Jiri Kylian’s Return to a Strange Land and Amy Seiwert’s Dear Miss Cline.

“Union Square Live” Union Square, between Post, Geary, Powell, and Stockton, SF; www.unionsquarelive.org. Through Oct 9. Free. Music, dance, circus arts, film, and more; dates and times vary, so check website for the latest.

BAY AREA

“Angel Heart” Hertz Hall, UC Berkeley, Berk; calperfs.berkeley.edu. Sun/6, 5pm. $36. This family-friendly Cal Performances “musical storybook” is written by best-selling children’s author Cornelia Funke, with a score by Luna Pearl Woolf and narration by Malcolm McDowell.

Paufve Dance Hillside Swedenborgian Community Church, 1422 Navallier, El Cerrito; www.brownpapertickets.com. Fri-Sat and Oct 6, 6pm. Through Oct 12. $15-20. Randee Paufve and company present Soil, a quintet of new and revised solo works. *

 

Grown up stuff: themes of rejection and reclamation at Portland’s TBA Festival

Sue Vaughan
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Grown up stuff: themes of rejection and reclamation at Portland’s TBA Festival

Now in its 11th year, Portland, Ore.’s Time-Based Art Festival is fall’s major performance festival to the north (almost simultaneous with REDCAT’s Radar LA, the major festival to the south). Mounted annually by the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA), TBA has become something of a pilgrimage site for Bay Area artists and audiences, judging by the number of familiar faces onstage and off both this year and last.

PICA’s artistic director, Angela Mattox, has something to do with this. As the former performing arts programmer at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Mattox (now in her second year at PICA) retains strong ties to Bay Area artists. Other likely factors include the relative proximity and general cultural appeal of Portland (an increasing refuge to artists and others pushed out of San Francisco by gentrification), not to mention the scandalous lack of any Bay Area performance festival of comparable scope.

The first week’s worth of work sampled at TBA this year (the festival ran from September 12 to 22) included a wide-ranging and astute blend of local, national, and international work. Among the higher-profile events was an evening of haute-cabaret, featuring Meow Meow and Thomas M. Lauderdale (the latter of Portland’s Pink Martini) backed by the Oregon Symphony. Set in the rococo Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, it offered a crowd-pleasing balance of the high-class and ribald, a tightrope walk that Meow Meow (stage name of celebrated Australian actress and cabaret star Melissa Madden Gray) pulled off with consummate skill and unflappable, zany charm.

But the most impressive work featured far more modest production values. There was Still Standing You, for example, by Campo (i.e., Belgian artist-dancer Pieter Ampe and Portuguese artist-dancer Guilherme Garrido), a visceral and physically punishing duet exploring the fantasies, phantasms, and limits of masculinity and their own male heterosexual relationship, which enthralled a large audience for over an hour with little more than the clothes on, and subsequently off, their backs.

Ampe and Garrido, naked for most of the piece, square off in boyish and frankly hilarious postures of potency and aggression, brazenly manipulating each other’s genitals or folding their bodies into intimately abstract geometries. The latter moments, quiet and sure, were the most beautiful and thematically promising. But while the piece charms (especially through its teasing familiarity with the audience and the strength of the artists’ palpable bond), it ultimately remains a bit too comfortably within the gendered field it proposes to explore.

Two other standout pieces of a packed week both tackled time in the broadest and most intimate of senses. Nearly simultaneous with the 40th anniversary of September 11, 1973 — the date of the US-backed military coup that overthrew the country’s elected government and ushered in 17 years of bloody dictatorship under General Augusto Pinochet — TBA premiered Lola Arias‘ The Year I Was Born. Comprised of a motley cast of 11, mostly non-professional actors who were all children in the Pinochet era, this dynamic and rousing work of documentary theater (modeled on Arias’ earlier work with the children of the dictatorship in her native Argentina in the 1970s–80s) offers perspectives and opportunities that only time can bring — a generational assessment as family history and youthful rebellion.

On a protean set that makes choice use of the drab institutional furnishings of a public school class room, the performers conflate childhood memories (several of them as the children of families in exile) and the headlines of the day into an episodic narrative that frequently becomes a good-natured clash among peers of varying class and political backgrounds, half-invested and half-critical of their individual patrimonies and deeply skeptical of their collective one.

In its combination of distance and intimacy, and in its messy familial and social relationships, The Year I Was Born resists the grim binaries of the political crisis itself and its immediate aftermath, opening up a space for dialogue, humor, complexity, and conciliatory feeling, without the need for a simple moral or compromise. History rolls on, and the show — filled with laughter, surges of passion, and cool detachment — affirms both our agency and ambivalence about it all.

TBA also offered the world premiere of ADULT, a highly kinetic and wildly imaginative duet by well known San Francisco-based choreographers and performers Laura Arrington and Jesse Hewit. This complex, at times willfully obscure piece deserves a longer treatment elsewhere, but it was without doubt one of the more original and productively difficult, divisive pieces caught all week. Setting the audience in a corner of the cavernous Con Way warehouse (the hub of the festival this year) and looking outward into a vast, dimly lit and unadorned expanse, the first half of the piece plunges us into a viscerally dynamic exploration of fears around death and dying, only to turn things around in the second half — literally so, coaxing the audience with a tray of whiskey and breakfast cereals into helping reorder the seating to face a makeshift stage against the far wall.

The piece then proceeds in a gorgeously erratic and precise play with entropy and order, in which Arrington and Hewit alternately share space and cede ground to one another amid garish lighting and costumes and blurring lines in every direction — not least in the gendered dynamics of their intense, compassionate, and multifarious relationship. Through it all, a sideways glance at history and mortality (flagged at one point by canny evocation of W.H. Auden’s Musée des Beaux Arts) dissolves in halting, unexpected ways into a serene pause, a loving regard between two unstable bodies in ecstatic motion.

Theater Listings: September 18 – 24, 2013

Michael Redmond
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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

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical Curran Theatre, 445 Geary, SF; www.shnsf.com. $55-210. Opens Tue/24, 8pm. Runs Tue-Sat, 8pm (also Sat and Oct 9 and 16, 2pm); Sun, 2 and 7:30pm (no evening show Oct 13 or 20). Through Oct 20. Pre-Broadway premiere of the musical about the legendary songwriter.

Geezer Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $25-50. Opens Wed/18, 8pm. Runs Wed-Thu, 8pm; Sat, 8:30pm. Through Oct 26. Geoff Hoyle’s hit solo show, a comedic meditation on aging, returns to the Marsh.

To Sleep and Dream Z Below, 470 Florida, SF; www.therhino.org. $15-30. Previews Thu/19-Sat/21, 8pm; Sun/22, 7pm. Opens Sept 25, 8pm. Runs Wed-Sat, 8pm; Sept 29, 7pm; Oct 6, 3pm. Through Oct 6. Theatre Rhinoceros performs writer-director John Fisher’s North Bay-set drama about the challenges of love.

The World’s Funniest Bubble Show Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $8-11. Opens Sun/22, 11am. Runs Sun, 11am. Through Oct 27. Soapy, kid-friendly antics with Louis Pearl, aka “The Amazing Bubble Man.”

BAY AREA

The Tempest Pear Avenue Theatre, 1220 Pear, Mtn View; www.thepear.org. $10-35. Previews Thu/12, 8pm. Opens Sat/13, 8pm. Runs Thu-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through Oct 6. Pear Avenue Theatre performs Shakespeare’s play in a new staging by director Jeanie K. Smith.

ONGOING

Acid Test: The Many Incarnations of Ram Dass Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $15-50. Fri, 8pm; Sat, 8:30pm. Through Oct 12. Playwright Lynne Kaufman invites you to take a trip with Richard Alpert, a.k.a. Ram Dass (Warren David Keith)—one of the big wigs of the psychedelic revolution and (with his classic book, Be Here Now) contemporary Eastern-looking spirituality—as he recounts times high and low in this thoughtful, funny, and sometimes unexpected biographical rumination on the quest for truth and meaning in a seemingly random life. Directed by Joel Mullennix, the narrative begins with Ram Dass today, in his Hawaiian home and partly paralyzed from a stroke, but Keith (one of the Bay Area’s best stage actors, who is predictably sure and engagingly multilayered in the role) soon shakes off the stiff arm and strained speech and springs to his feet to continue the narrative as the ideal self perhaps only transcendental consciousness and theater allow. Nevertheless, Kaufman’s fun-loving and extroverted Alpert is no saint and no model of perfection, which is the refreshing truth explored in the play. He’s a seeker still, ever imperfect and trying for perfection, or at least the wisdom of acceptance. As the privileged queer child of a wealthy Jewish lawyer and industrialist, Alpert was both insider and outsider from the get-go, and that tension and ambiguity make for an interesting angle on his life, including the complexities of his relationships with a homophobic Leary, for instance, and his conservative but ultimately loving father. Perfection aside, the beauty in the subject and the play is the subtle, shrewd cherishing of what remains unfinished. Note: review from an earlier run of this show. (Avila)

Band Fags! New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness, SF; www.nctcsf.org. $25-45. Wed-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through Oct 13. New Conservatory Theatre Center performs the West Coast premiere of Frank Anthony Polito’s coming-of-age tale, set in 1980s Detroit.

“Bay One Acts Festival” Tides Theatre, 533 Sutter, SF; www.bayoneacts.org. $20-40. Programs One and Two run in repertory Wed-Sun, 8pm. Through Oct 5. The 2013 BOA fest presents the world premieres of 13 short plays in partnership with 13 Bay Area theater companies.

BoomerAging: From LSD to OMG Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $15-50. Tue, 8pm. Extended through Oct 29. Will Durst’s hit solo show looks at baby boomers grappling with life in the 21st century.

Buried Child Magic Theatre, Fort Mason Center, Bldg D, Third Flr, SF; www.magictheatre.org. $20-60. Tue, 7pm; Wed-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2:30. Through Oct 6. Magic Theatre performs a revival of Sam Shepard’s Pulitzer-winning classic.

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 Golden Dragon ACT’s Costume Shop, 1117 Market, SF; www.doitliveproductions.com. $15. Thu-Sat, 9:30pm. Through Sept 28. Do It Live! Productions presents Roland Schimmelpfennig’s tragicomic take on globalization, set in and around an Asian restaurant.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch Boxcar Theatre, 505 Natoma, SF; www.boxcartheatre.org. $27-43. Thu-Sat, 8pm. Open-ended. John Cameron Mitchell’s cult musical comes to life with director Nick A. Olivero’s ever-rotating cast.

Macbeth Fort Point, end of Marine Dr, Presidio of San Francisco, SF; www.weplayers.org. $30-60. Thu-Sun, 6pm. Through Oct 6. We Players perform the Shakespeare classic amid Fort Point’s Civil War-era fortress.

“San Francisco Fringe Festival” Exit Theatreplex, 156 Eddy, SF; www.sffringe.org. $12.99 or less (passes, $45-75). Through Sat/21. The 22nd SF Fringe presents 36 shows that explore the boundaries of theater and performance.

1776 ACT’s Geary Theater, 415 Geary, SF; www.act-sf.org. $20-160. Opens Thu/19, 8pm. Runs Tue-Sat, 8pm (also Wed and Sat, 2pm; Tue/24, show at 7pm); Sun, 2pm. Through Oct 6. American Conservatory Theater performs the West Coast premiere of Frank Galati’s new staging of the patriotic musical.

Sex and the City: LIVE! Rebel, 1760 Market, SF; trannyshack.com/sexandthecity. $25. Wed, 7 and 9pm. Open-ended. It seems a no-brainer. Not just the HBO series itself — that’s definitely missing some gray matter — but putting it onstage as a drag show. Mais naturellement! Why was Sex and the City not conceived of as a drag show in the first place? Making the sordid not exactly palatable but somehow, I don’t know, friendlier (and the canned a little cannier), Velvet Rage Productions mounts two verbatim episodes from the widely adored cable show, with Trannyshack’s Heklina in a smashing portrayal of SJP’s Carrie; D’Arcy Drollinger stealing much of the show as ever-randy Samantha (already more or less a gay man trapped in a woman’s body); Lady Bear as an endearingly out-to-lunch Miranda; and ever assured, quick-witted Trixxie Carr as pent-up Charlotte. There’s also a solid and enjoyable supporting cast courtesy of Cookie Dough, Jordan Wheeler, and Leigh Crow (as Mr. Big). That’s some heavyweight talent trodding the straining boards of bar Rebel’s tiny stage. The show’s still two-dimensional, even in 3D, but noticeably bigger than your 50″ plasma flat panel. (Avila)

The Shakespeare Bug Stage Werx Theatre, 446 Valencia, SF; www.killingmylobster.com. $15-30. Thu-Sun, 8pm. Through Sept 29. Killing My Lobster in association with PlayGround perform Ken Slattery’s world-premiere comedy.

BAY AREA

After the Revolution Aurora Theatre, 2081 Addison, Berk; www.auroratheatre.org. $32-60. Tue, 7pm; Wed-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2 and 7pm. Extended through Oct 6. Aurora Theatre opens its 22nd season with the Bay Area premiere of Amy Herzog’s family drama.

All’s Well That Ends Well Forest Meadows Amphitheater, 890 Bella, Dominican University of California, San Rafael; www.marinshakespeare.org. $20-37.50. Presented in repertory Fri-Sun through Sept 28; visit website for performance schedule. Marin Shakespeare Company continues its outdoor season with the Bard’s classic romance.

Bonnie and Clyde Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby, Berk; www.shotgunplayers.org. $20-35. Wed-Thu, 7pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 5pm. Through Sept 29. Amorous outlaws and Depression-era rebels Bonnie Parker (Megan Trout) and Clyde Barrow (Joe Estlack) remain compelling as heroes and tragic figures in playwright Adam Peck’s 2010 retelling, but it’s their quieter, frailer, more delicate moments in Mark Jackson’s robust, at times transcendent staging that prove most memorable in this Shotgun Players production. It’s a sign of Jackson’s sure intelligence as a director that he can let a moment happen here wordlessly, without recourse to cut-and-dry cues of one sort or another, as happens near the outset of the evening as Barrow and Parker arrive on the run at an abandoned barn. We study them in such moments, and they breathe, like nowhere else. It’s here in this barn that they rest, woo, tussle, and tease for the next 80 enthralling minutes — interrupted only by Barrow’s moment-by-moment delivery to us of their final violent moments alive, channeling a fate awaiting them just down the road. Embodying the play’s only characters, Trout and Estlack are outstanding, dynamic and utterly persuasive. They’d be worth seeing even if the play and production were half as good as they are. Having “chosen to live lives less ordinary,” it turns out to be their palpable vulnerability and wide-ranging yet ordinary yearnings that make them exceptional creatures. (Avila)

Can You Dig It? Back Down East 14th — the 60s and Beyond Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston, Berk; www.themarsh.org. $15-50. Sat, 8:30pm; Sun, 7pm. Through Oct 27. Don Reed’s new show offers more stories from his colorful upbringing in East Oakland in the 1960s and ’70s. More hilarious and heartfelt depictions of his exceptional parents, independent siblings, and his mostly African American but ethnically mixed working-class community — punctuated with period pop, Motown, and funk classics, to which Reed shimmies and spins with effortless grace. And of course there’s more too of the expert physical comedy and charm that made long-running hits of Reed’s last two solo shows, East 14th and The Kipling Hotel (both launched, like this newest, at the Marsh). Can You Dig It? reaches, for the most part, into the “early” early years, Reed’s grammar-school days, before the events depicted in East 14th or Kipling Hotel came to pass. But in nearly two hours of material, not all of it of equal value or impact, there’s inevitably some overlap and indeed some recycling. Reed, who also directs the show, may start whittling it down as the run continues. But, as is, there are at least 20 unnecessary minutes diluting the overall impact of the piece, which is thin on plot already — much more a series of often very enjoyable vignettes and some painful but largely unexplored observations, wrapped up at the end in a sentimental moral that, while sincere, feels rushed and inadequate. (Avila)

A Comedy of Errors Forest Meadows Amphitheater, 890 Bella, Dominican University of California, San Rafael; www.marinshakespeare.org. $20-37.50. Presented in repertory Fri-Sun through Sept 29; visit website for performance schedule. Marin Shakespeare Company presents a cowboy-themed spin on the Bard’s classic.

Ella, the Musical Center REPertory Company, 1601 Civic, Walnut Creek; (925) 943-SHOW. $37-64. Wed, 7:30pm; Thu-Sat, 8pm (also Sept 28 and Oct 12, 2:30pm); Sun, 2:30pm. Through Oct 12. Yvette Cason portrays the legendary Ella Fitzgerald in this Center REP presentation.

Woman in Black — A Ghost Play Douglas Morrison Theatre, 22311 N. Third St, Hayward; www.dmtonline.org. $10-29. Fri-Sat and Sept 26, 8pm (also Sat/21, 2pm); Sun, 2pm. Through Sept 29. Douglas Morrison Theatre performs Stephen Mallatratt’s adaptation of Susan Hill’s spooky story.

PERFORMANCE/DANCE

“Broadway Bingo” Feinstein’s at the Nikko, Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason, SF; www.feinsteinssf.com. Wed, 7-9pm. Ongoing. Free. Countess Katya Smirnoff-Skyy and Joe Wicht host this Broadway-flavored night of games and performance.

Caroline Lugo and Carolé Acuña’s Ballet Flamenco Peña Pachamama, 1630 Powell, SF; www.carolinalugo.com. Sat/21, Oct 6, 12, 20, and 26, 6:15pm. $15-19. Flamenco performance by the mother-daughter dance company, featuring live musicians.

Megan Hilty Venetian Room, Fairmont San Francisco, 950 Mason, SF; www.bayareacabaret.org. Sun/21, 8pm. $95. The Broadway and television (Smash) star headlines Bay Area Cabaret’s tenth anniversary season opening gala.

“Mission Position Live” Cinecave, 1034 Valencia, SF; www.missionpositionlive.com. Thu, 8pm. Ongoing. $10. Stand-up comedy with rotating performers.

“Monkey Gone to Heaven” CounterPULSE, 1310 Mission, SF; www.counterpulse.org. Thu/19-Sat/21, 8pm; Sun/22, 7pm. $20. EmSpace Dance performs the world premiere of a dance-theater work inspired by the relationship between primates and prayer.

“Okeanos Intimate” Aquarium of the Bay, Pier 39, SF; www.capacitor.org. Sat, 7pm. Through Sept 28. $20-30 (free aquarium ticket with show ticket). Choreographer Jodi Lomask and her company, Capacitor, revive 2012’s Okeanos — a cirque-dance piece exploring the wonder and fragility of our innate connection to the world’s oceans — in a special “intimate” version designed for the mid-size theater at Pier 39’s Aquarium of the Bay. The show, developed in collaboration with scientists and engineers, comes preceded by a short talk by a guest expert — for a recent Saturday performance it was a down-to-earth and truly fascinating local ecological history lesson by the Bay Institute’s Marc Holmes. In addition to its Cirque du Soleil-like blend of quasi-representational modern dance and circus acrobatics — powered by a synth-heavy blend of atmospheric pop music — Okeanos makes use of some stunning underwater photography and an intermittent narrative that includes testimonials from the likes of marine biologist and filmmaker Dr. Tierney Thys. The performers, including contortionists, also interact with some original physical properties hanging from the flies — a swirling vortex and a spherical shell — as they wrap and warp their bodies in a kind of metamorphic homage to the capacity and resiliency of evolution, the varied ingenuity of all life forms. If the movement vocabulary can seem limited at times, and too derivative, the show also feels a little cramped on the Aquarium Theater stage, whose proscenium arrangement does the piece few favors aesthetically. Nevertheless, the family-oriented Okeanos Intimate spurs a conversation with the ocean that is nothing if not urgent. (Avila)

“San Francisco Magic Parlor” Chancellor Hotel Union Square, 433 Powell, SF; www.sfmagicparlor.com. Thu-Sat, 8pm. Ongoing. $40. Magic vignettes with conjurer and storyteller Walt Anthony.

“San Francisco Stand-Up Comedy Competition: Preliminary Round” Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, 3200 California, SF; www.jccsf.org. Sat/21, 8pm. $25-35. Stand-up comedians battle it out.

“Union Square Live” Union Square, between Post, Geary, Powell, and Stockton, SF; www.unionsquarelive.org. Through Oct 9. Free. Music, dance, circus arts, film, and more; dates and times vary, so check website for the latest.

“Vak: Song of Becoming” Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission, SF; www.ybca.org. Fri/20-Sat/21, 8pm. $20-35. Composer and vocalist Ann Dyer performs a work inspired by Indian goddess Vak, “who creates the world through sound vibration.” The work features choreography by Erika Chong Shuch.

“The Video Game Monologues” Cartoon Art Museum, 655 Mission, SF; www.cartoonart.org. Thu/19, 5-8pm. $5 (suggested donation). Get a sneak preview of the show that’s drawn from real stories of gamers and game characters.

Xitlalli Danza Azteca San Francisco Botanical Gardens, Golden Gate Park (near Ninth Ave at Lincoln), SF; www.sfbotanicalgarden.org. Sat/21, noon-2pm. Free. The group performs traditional ritual Aztec dances to celebrate the blooming of the SF Botanical Garden’s Mesoamerican Cloud Forest Garden.

BAY AREA

“Bay Area Flamenco Festival” La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck, Berk; www.bayareaflamencofestival.com. Sun/21, 8pm. $30-50. Gypsy flamenco icon Concha Vargas headlines the first weekend of this eighth annual festival. *

 

On the Cheap: September 18 -24, 2013

Michael Redmond
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On the Cheap listings are compiled by Guardian staff. Submit items for the listings at listings@sfbg.com. For further information on how to submit items for the listings, see Selector.

WEDNESDAY 18

Robert Boswell Booksmith, 1644 Haight, SF; www.booksmith.com. 7:30pm, free. The author reads from Tumbledown, his first new novel in 10 years.

Tom Kizzia Books Inc., 301 Castro, Mtn. View; www.booksinc.net. 7pm, free. Also Thu/19, 7pm, free, Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista, Corte Madera; www.bookpassage.com. The Alaska-based author reads from true-crime frontier thriller Pilgrim’s Wilderness.

Antoine Laurain Book Passage, 1 Ferry Bldg, SF; www.bookpassage.com. 6pm, free. The Paris-born author reads from his French bestseller The President’s Hat, a fable set during the Mitterrand years.

Radar Reading Series SF Public Library, 100 Larkin, SF; www.radarproductions.org. 6pm, free. Michelle Tea hosts this series highlighting independent and underground writers and artists. This month: Imogene Binnie, Kevin Simmonds, Wendy C. Ortiz, and Katie Haegele.

THURSDAY 19

“ConVerge” Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission, SF; www.ybca.org. 4-8pm, free. This month’s program features Chris Treggiari and Peter Foucalt’s Mobile Arts Platform project — “an interactive, neighborhood-generated social sculpture” — and its Mobile Screen Print Cart, which explores the history of community posters and enables the creation of new ones.

Molly Haskell Booksmith, 1644 Haight, SF; www.booksmith.com. 7:30pm, free. The film critic discusses her new memoir, My Brother My Sister, which chronicles her younger brother’s transformation into a woman.

“Sights and Sounds of Bayview” Bayview Opera House, 4705 Third St, SF; www.sfartscommission.org. 5:30-9pm (program starts at 7pm), free. This live radio event features multi-media storytelling and music by Bayview residents and workers. Come early for a concert by Pat Wilder and Serious Business and to enjoy the monthly 3rd on Third neighborhood arts party.

“We Heart the Tamale Lady” Knockout, 3223 Mission, SF; indiegogo.com/projects/viva-la-tamale-lady. 9pm, $5-15 sliding scale. Help Virginia Ramos, aka the Tamale Lady, get into the brick-and-mortar biz at this fundraiser, featuring tamales (duh) and live music by Grandma’s Boyfriend, Scraper, Windham Flat, and Quite Polite.

FRIDAY 20

“Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company 30th Anniversary Exhibition” Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission, SF; www.ybca.org. Gallery hours Thu-Sat, noon-8pm, $8-10. Through Nov 3. Alongside a performance series featuring the dance company, YBCA hosts a survey exhibition compiling the sets, props, moving images, and other elements contributed over three decades by visual artists and designers (including Keith Haring, Huck Snyder, and Bjorn Amelan).

Hazel Reading Series 1564mrkt, 1564 Market, SF; www.hazelreadingseries.org. 7pm, $5 suggested donation. Local women writers read “daring and experimental” work.

Sukkot Shabbat Celebration Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, 3200 California, SF; www.jccsf.org. 4:30pm, free. As part of the JCCSF’s weeklong Sukkot celebration, “Outside In,” the organization hosts a free, all-are-welcome holiday Shabbat celebration in its atrium. Visit the web site for related events.

SATURDAY 21

Sarah Clark Cartoon Art Museum, 655 Mission, SF; www.cartoonart.org. 1-3pm, free. The museum’s current cartoonist-in-residence shows and discusses her work, including current project Season Ticket Diaries, based on her experiences as an Oakland A’s fan this season.

“An Evening of Poetry and Prose” San Francisco Buddhist Center, 37 Bartlett, SF; www.sfbuddhistcenter.org. 8pm, $5-30 suggested donation. Bay Area writers Pia Chatterjee, Genny Lim, Kenneth Wong, and Nellie Wong read to benefit Jai Bhim International, a group that provides English lessons and empowerment workshops for Indian youths of all economic backgrounds.

Friends of Duboce Park 16th annual tag sale Duboce Park, Duboce between Steiner and Scott, SF; www.friendsofdubocepark.org. 9am-2pm, free. Support Friends of Duboce Park, which funds improvements to the park — and pick up some sweet bargains! — at this popular annual neighborhood sale.

Mill Valley Fall Arts Festival #57 Old Mill Park, 325 Throckmorton, Mill Valley; www.mvfaf.org. 10am-5pm, $5-10. Also Sun/22. Over 140 artists from around the country showcase their works amid redwood trees. Plus: live music and children’s entertainment.

New Belgium’s Tour de Fat Lindley Meadow, Golden Gate Park, SF; sfbike.org/?fat. 10am-5pm, free. This annual “ballyhoo of bikes and beer” features a bike parade and a bike rodeo, live performances, fire-jumping bike acts, and more. Beer-sale proceeds benefit the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition.

SUNDAY 22

Grady Hendrix and Amanda Cohen Omnivore Books on Food, 3885a Cesar Chavez, SF; www.omnivorebooks.com. 3-4pm, free. The authors present Dirt Candy: A Cookbook, filled with vegetarian recipes from Cohen’s NYC restaurant, creatively illustrated like a graphic novel by artist Ryan Dunlavey. Added bonus: Cohen will be serving Dirt Candy’s famous “Portobello mousse.” *

 

The Selector: September 11-16, 2013

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks
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WEDNESDAY 11

Jimmy Cliff

At age 65, reggae legend Jimmy Cliff is experiencing perhaps one of the greatest bursts of artistic productivity in all of his five-decade-long and counting career. He’s inspired countless other musicians over the years, including Bay Area punk rocker Tim Armstrong of Rancid and Operation Ivy, who was brought aboard to produce and perform on Cliff’s newest album, last year’s excellent Rebirth. The record includes an outstanding cover of the Clash’s “Guns of Brixton,” which references Cliff’s movie and song “The Harder They Come” in its lyrics — bringing the music full circle, as it were. Don’t miss the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer when he hits the Fillmore stage tonight. (Sean McCourt)

8pm, $39.50

Fillmore

1805 Geary, SF

(415) 346-6000

www.thefillmore.com

 

Chris Hardwick

In addition to appearing in a vast array of television (hello, Singled Out), film, radio, and online productions over the past 20 or so years, Chris Hardwick helped found Nerdist Industries, which has grown from one podcast in 2010 into a vast cross-medium mecca for all that proudly embrace their inner geek. Hardwick comes to the city this weekend with his hilarious stand-up act, and based on his guest spots at recent Wootstock events, he’s sure to riff on both his Nerdist loves, as well other awkward yet uproariously comedic facets of life. (McCourt)

Wed/11-Thu/12, 8pm; Fri/13, 8 and 10:15pm; Sat/14, 7:30 and 9:45pm, $25

Cobb’s Comedy Club

915 Columbus, SF

(415) 928-4320

www.cobbscomedyclub.com

 

THURSDAY 12

Secrets like These

While Enrico Labayen is a respected choreographer on his own terms, he also has a curious and generous spirit, opening his Labayen Dance Company to other dance makers. For this program, jam-packed with two of his own world premieres in addition to rep work, he invited Anandha Ray to present her new Quimera Project for which she’ll bring a chorus of up to 30 tribal belly dancers. Additionally, two company members will debut pieces. Laura Bernasconi’s Nourishment and Hunger will draw on ballet, classical Indian Odissi, and acro-yoga. For his new Secrets Like These, Victor Talledos is creating a narrative to music by Diana Krall. Labayen’s small company also offers performance opportunities to dancers from around the world: Daiane Lopes da Silva (Brazil), Sandrine Cassini (France), Talledos (Mexico). (Rita Felciano)

Through Sat/14, 8pm; Sun/15, 3pm, $20–$25.

ODC Theater,

3153, 17th St, SF

(415) 853-9834

www.odctheater.org

 

The Singularity

Back in March, when San Francisco filmmaker Doug Wolens was promoting his DIY iTunes hit The Singularity, he explained the meaning of the title: “the point in time when computers become smarter than people.” Some, including futurist Ray Kurzweil (one of the experts interviewed here), say it’s an inevitability — a thought-provoking idea, to say the least. Chat with Wolens in person at tonight’s screening of The Singularity as part of the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts’ “Local Boy Makes Good: New Bay Area Film” series; he’ll also be in residence at the Castro Theatre next week with a trio of his films, rounded out by 2000 environmental-activist profile Butterfly and 1996’s toke-tastic doc Weed. (Cheryl Eddy)

7pm, $10

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

701 Mission, SF

Also Mon/16, screenings begin at noon, $11

Castro Theatre

429 Castro, SF

thesingularityfilm.com/screenings

 

FRIDAY 13

“Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind”

Thirty plays in 60 minutes — that might sound like too much even for the most attention span-challenged theatergoers among us. Fortunately, the raucous Neo-Futurists troupe has been putting on the surreal channel surf known as “Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind” for 25 years in its hometown Chicago, and for 10 in New York — where it’s won a celebrity cult following — so it’s got this thing down to an almost metaphysical science. A night of semi-improv performance (a timer is set and the audience yells out the titles of the plays to be performed from a “menu”) that whiplashes from affecting dramatic to absurdist comedy, with plenty of good-natured silliness thrown in, TMLMTBGB is like a strobe of emotions and situations — plates, buckets, ice cubes, wigs, and stuffed animals usually go flying, as do many preconceived notions of what theater ought to be. (Marke B.)

Through Sept. 29, 8pm, $15

Boxcar Theatre

505 Natoma, SF

(415) 967-2227

www.boxcartheatre.org

sfneofuturists.com

 

Death in June

Extremely depressing neofolk band Death in June is stopping by San Francisco for its long-awaited US tour. Initially starting as a post-punk, industrial project in the 1980s, the band shunned pretty-boy rock ideals, often donning ghoulish masks and costumes on stage. Death in June has given influence to plenty of contemporary bands such as metal band Agalloch and darkwave horde Faun, but the band isn’t without controversy of its own. It’s been known for using a skull, the totenkopf, synonymous with the Nazi movement. Often criticized for using SS insignia, the band has derided any and all accusations of fascism and white supremacy, being active in the British ’80s anti-fascist movement and playing in concerts such as “Rock Against Racism.” So back to the music: the group released Snow Bunker Tapes, guitar-backed versions of Peaceful Snow, on Neuropa this year. Get sad, get creepy, and slump over to the Mezzanine. (Erin Dage)

120 Minutes with oOoOO, DJ Omar, CHAUNCEY_CC

9pm, $30

Mezzanine

444 Jessie, SF

(415) 625-8880

www.mezzaninesf.com

 

SATURDAY 14

Autumn Moon Festival

This widely-attended cultural festival is the gold star of Chinatown events, filling its chaotic streets with even more buzz than normal and thousands of additional of people. A myriad of crafts, art, live music, dancers in costume, drumming groups, and curious attendees congregate for a fun and lively weekend each year. The Moon Festival, traditionally celebrated when the moon is said to be at its fullest and brightest of the year, gives families the opportunity to get together while enjoying great food and participating in the Lion and Dragon dances, both of which you don’t want to miss if you plan on attending. The whole weekend is an explosion of color and the perfect chance to learn a little more about Chinese culture. (Hillary Smith)

Through Sun/15, 11am-6pm, free

California and Grant, SF

www.moonfestival.org

 

Atheist Film Festival

The Atheist Film Festival, now in its fifth year, is cheeky enough to refer to itself as “a film festival you can believe in” — which bodes well for the sort of programming one can expect. The fest packs a lot into a single day, including a world premiere (doc Hug an Atheist, about what it means to be an atheist in America today) and acclaimed narratives The Magdalene Sisters (2002) and Creation (2009). Plus, a trio of docs: fake-guru experiment Kumaré (2011); fundamentalism-in-public-schools exposé Sophia Investigates the Good News Club; and The Revisionaries, which won the Best Doc jury prize at the 2013 SF IndieFest. The power of film compels you! (Eddy)

Noon, $12 (festival pass, $45)

Roxie Theater

3117 16th St, SF

www.sfatheistfilmfestival.org

 

Magic Trick

If there’s anything supernatural about the band Magic Trick, it’s in frontperson Tim Cohen’s seeming ability to be in several places at once. Between the Fresh & Onlys, solo projects, and work with other bands, his prolificacy makes you wonder. But more than witchcraft, magic tricks usually involve sleight of hand. With Cohen’s signature deep voice and romantic songwriting, Magic Trick at times directly echoes the Fresh & Onlys. Don’t be fooled: With three added band members and a minimalism that makes the music more contemplative and a little stranger, Magic Trick surprises. See what tricks lie up the record sleeve on the band’s new album, The Glad Birth of Love, which the Chapel will celebrate on Saturday. (Laura Kerry)

With the Range of Light Wilderness, Pure Bliss, Cool Ghouls

9pm, $12

Chapel

777 Valencia, SF

(415) 551-5157

www.thechapelsf.com

 

Rock The Bells

The country’s pre-eminent hip-hop festival will coming to the Bay Area this Saturday and Sunday, bringing a large and diverse crew of rap acts. There’s something for every kind of hip-hop head at this festival. For fans of weird rap, there’s Danny Brown, for fans of ratchet rap, there’s Juicy J, for the homers, there’s a E-40-Too $hort duet and IamSu!, and for fans of hologram rap there will be performances from hologram Eazy-E and ODB. For those you taking Caltrain from the city, remember that the train only runs once a hour and takes more than a hour to get to Mountain View. (George McIntire)

Also Sun/15, 11am, $65–$239

Shoreline Amphitheater

One Amphitheatre Pkwy, Mountain View

(800) 745-3000

www.rockthebells.net

 

SUNDAY 15

Darwin Deez

Darwin Deez is known for nutty antics like bringing a head of cabbage out onto the stage (as a “symbol of frugalness”) and chucking it at the crowd to eat. And his wriggly, emo-pop second album Songs for Imaginative People proved that he hasn’t forgotten about his equally nutty fanbase. His half-joking-totally-serious approach to songwriting garners a very unique brand of follower, the kind of person who likes things weird. The tracks on Songs aren’t as easy to swallow as those on his debut, self-titled album Darwin Deez. Tracks swing by in a cacophony of synthy beats and buzzing electric riffs and Deez’s frequently deadpan voice undeniably weaves through them in a disjointed way — adding a disheveled tone to the album. But from the silly and unpredictable misfit whose greatest obsession may be breakfast food, who’d expect anything else? (Smith)

With Caged Animals, the Soonest

$15, 9pm

Bottom of the Hill

1233 17th St., SF

(415) 626-4455

www.bottomofthehill.com

 

MONDAY 16

John Williams

Composer John Williams has written the scores for some of the most beloved films of all time — pieces of music that has become so interwoven with the onscreen narratives that it’s almost impossible to imagine the movies without them — Star Wars, JAWS, Indiana Jones, Superman, E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jurassic Park, and many, many more. Tonight is a rare chance to see the maestro live and in person, conducting the San Francisco Symphony and leading them through some of his greatest works. Friend and frequent collaborator director Steven Spielberg will also appear for part of the program as a special guest host. (McCourt)

8pm, $15–$152

Davies Symphony Hall

201 Van Ness Ave., SF

(415) 864-6000

www.sfsymphony.org

 

TUESDAY 17

The So So Glos

Did you want to spend a night pogo-ing around like the animal you are? The So So Glos, gritty DIY punks from Brooklyn, have just what the doctor ordered. Literally a band of brothers (the majority of the group is blood-related), the So So Glos lay testament to what hard work and determination can accomplish. Helping establish East Coast all-ages DIY venues such as Market Hotel and “Shea Stadium” (where the band also lives), the group is dedicated to keeping the proverbial DIY scene alive. Often compared to fellow Brooklynites Japanther, the So So Glos are hot off their newest release Blowout. The album has been described “in your face” and hi-fi! Also on the bill is unfortunately-named Diarrhea Planet, and Unstrung. Straight off Burger Records, the Tennessee-based Diarrhea Planet is Southern-fried Ramones worship while SF-based trio Unstrung goes for a more aggressive, punk route. (Dage)

9pm, $10

Brick and Mortar Music Hall

1710 Mission, SF

(415) 371-1631

www.brickandmortarmusic.com

The Selector

Sasha Cuttler
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WEDNESDAY 9/11

 

Jimmy Cliff

At age 65, reggae legend Jimmy Cliff is experiencing perhaps one of the greatest bursts of artistic productivity in all of his five-decade-long and counting career. He’s inspired countless other musicians over the years, including Bay Area punk rocker Tim Armstrong of Rancid and Operation Ivy, who was brought aboard to produce and perform on Cliff’s newest album, last year’s excellent Rebirth. The record includes an outstanding cover of the Clash’s “Guns of Brixton,” which references Cliff’s movie and song “The Harder They Come” in its lyrics — bringing the music full circle, as it were. Don’t miss the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer when he hits the Fillmore stage tonight. (Sean McCourt)

8pm, $39.50

Fillmore

1805 Geary, SF

(415) 346-6000

www.thefillmore.com

WEDNESDAY 9/11

 

Chris Hardwick

In addition to appearing in a vast array of television (hello, Singled Out), film, radio, and online productions over the past 20 or so years, Chris Hardwick helped found Nerdist Industries, which has grown from one podcast in 2010 into a vast cross-medium mecca for all that proudly embrace their inner geek. Hardwick comes to the city this weekend with his hilarious stand-up act, and based on his guest spots at recent Wootstock events, he’s sure to riff on both his Nerdist loves, as well other awkward yet uproariously comedic facets of life. (McCourt)

Wed/11-Thu/12, 8pm; Fri/13, 8 and 10:15pm; Sat/14, 7:30 and 9:45pm, $25

Cobb’s Comedy Club

915 Columbus, SF

(415) 928-4320

www.cobbscomedyclub.com

THURSDAY 9/12

 

Secrets like These

While Enrico Labayen is a respected choreographer on his own terms, he also has a curious and generous spirit, opening his Labayen Dance Company to other dance makers. For this program, jam-packed with two of his own world premieres in addition to rep work, he invited Anandha Ray to present her new Quimera Project for which she’ll bring a chorus of up to 30 tribal belly dancers. Additionally, two company members will debut pieces. Laura Bernasconi’s Nourishment and Hunger will draw on ballet, classical Indian Odissi, and acro-yoga. For his new Secrets Like These, Victor Talledos is creating a narrative to music by Diana Krall. Labayen’s small company also offers performance opportunities to dancers from around the world: Daiane Lopes da Silva (Brazil), Sandrine Cassini (France), Talledos (Mexico). (Rita Felciano)

Through Sat/14, 8pm; Sun/15, 3pm, $20–$25.

ODC Theater,

3153, 17th St, SF

(415) 853-9834

www.odctheater.org

THURSDAY 9/12

 

The Singularity

Back in March, when San Francisco filmmaker Doug Wolens was promoting his DIY iTunes hit The Singularity, he explained the meaning of the title: “the point in time when computers become smarter than people.” Some, including futurist Ray Kurzweil (one of the experts interviewed here), say it’s an inevitability — a thought-provoking idea, to say the least. Chat with Wolens in person at tonight’s screening of The Singularity as part of the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts’ “Local Boy Makes Good: New Bay Area Film” series; he’ll also be in residence at the Castro Theatre next week with a trio of his films, rounded out by 2000 environmental-activist profile Butterfly and 1996’s toke-tastic doc Weed. (Cheryl Eddy)

7pm, $10

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

701 Mission, SF

Also Mon/16, screenings begin at noon, $11

Castro Theatre

429 Castro, SF

thesingularityfilm.com/screenings

FRIDAY 9/13

 

“Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind”

Thirty plays in 60 minutes — that might sound like too much even for the most attention span-challenged theatergoers among us. Fortunately, the raucous Neo-Futurists troupe has been putting on the surreal channel surf known as “Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind” for 25 years in its hometown Chicago, and for 10 in New York — where it’s won a celebrity cult following — so it’s got this thing down to an almost metaphysical science. A night of semi-improv performance (a timer is set and the audience yells out the titles of the plays to be performed from a “menu”) that whiplashes from affecting dramatic to absurdist comedy, with plenty of good-natured silliness thrown in, TMLMTBGB is like a strobe of emotions and situations — plates, buckets, ice cubes, wigs, and stuffed animals usually go flying, as do many preconceived notions of what theater ought to be. (Marke B.)

Through Sept. 29, 8pm, $15

Boxcar Theatre

505 Natoma, SF

(415) 967-2227

www.boxcartheatre.org

sfneofuturists.com

FRIDAY 9/13

 

Death in June

Extremely depressing neofolk band Death in June is stopping by San Francisco for its long-awaited US tour. Initially starting as a post-punk, industrial project in the 1980s, the band shunned pretty-boy rock ideals, often donning ghoulish masks and costumes on stage. Death in June has given influence to plenty of contemporary bands such as metal band Agalloch and darkwave horde Faun, but the band isn’t without controversy of its own. It’s been known for using a skull, the totenkopf, synonymous with the Nazi movement. Often criticized for using SS insignia, the band has derided any and all accusations of fascism and white supremacy, being active in the British ’80s anti-fascist movement and playing in concerts such as “Rock Against Racism.” So back to the music: the group released Snow Bunker Tapes, guitar-backed versions of Peaceful Snow, on Neuropa this year. Get sad, get creepy, and slump over to the Mezzanine. (Erin Dage)

120 Minutes with oOoOO, DJ Omar, CHAUNCEY_CC

9pm, $30

Mezzanine

444 Jessie, SF

(415) 625-8880

www.mezzaninesf.com

SATURDAY 9/14

 

Autumn Moon Festival

This widely-attended cultural festival is the gold star of Chinatown events, filling its chaotic streets with even more buzz than normal and thousands of additional of people. A myriad of crafts, art, live music, dancers in costume, drumming groups, and curious attendees congregate for a fun and lively weekend each year. The Moon Festival, traditionally celebrated when the moon is said to be at its fullest and brightest of the year, gives families the opportunity to get together while enjoying great food and participating in the Lion and Dragon dances, both of which you don’t want to miss if you plan on attending. The whole weekend is an explosion of color and the perfect chance to learn a little more about Chinese culture. (Hillary Smith)

Through Sun/15, 11am-6pm, free

California and Grant, SF

www.moonfestival.org

SATURDAY 9/14

 

Atheist Film Festival

The Atheist Film Festival, now in its fifth year, is cheeky enough to refer to itself as “a film festival you can believe in” — which bodes well for the sort of programming one can expect. The fest packs a lot into a single day, including a world premiere (doc Hug an Atheist, about what it means to be an atheist in America today) and acclaimed narratives The Magdalene Sisters (2002) and Creation (2009). Plus, a trio of docs: fake-guru experiment Kumaré (2011); fundamentalism-in-public-schools exposé Sophia Investigates the Good News Club; and The Revisionaries, which won the Best Doc jury prize at the 2013 SF IndieFest. The power of film compels you! (Eddy)

Noon, $12 (festival pass, $45)

Roxie Theater

3117 16th St, SF

www.sfatheistfilmfestival.org

SATURDAY 9/14

 

Magic Trick

If there’s anything supernatural about the band Magic Trick, it’s in frontperson Tim Cohen’s seeming ability to be in several places at once. Between the Fresh & Onlys, solo projects, and work with other bands, his prolificacy makes you wonder. But more than witchcraft, magic tricks usually involve sleight of hand. With Cohen’s signature deep voice and romantic songwriting, Magic Trick at times directly echoes the Fresh & Onlys. Don’t be fooled: With three added band members and a minimalism that makes the music more contemplative and a little stranger, Magic Trick surprises. See what tricks lie up the record sleeve on the band’s new album, The Glad Birth of Love, which the Chapel will celebrate on Saturday. (Laura Kerry)

With the Range of Light Wilderness, Pure Bliss, Cool Ghouls

9pm, $12

Chapel

777 Valencia, SF

(415) 551-5157

www.thechapelsf.com

SATURDAY 9/14

 

Rock The Bells

The country’s pre-eminent hip-hop festival will coming to the Bay Area this Saturday and Sunday, bringing a large and diverse crew of rap acts. There’s something for every kind of hip-hop head at this festival. For fans of weird rap, there’s Danny Brown, for fans of ratchet rap, there’s Juicy J, for the homers, there’s a E-40-Too $hort duet and IamSu!, and for fans of hologram rap there will be performances from hologram Eazy-E and ODB. For those you taking Caltrain from the city, remember that the train only runs once a hour and takes more than a hour to get to Mountain View. (George McIntire)

Also Sun/15, 11am, $65–$239

Shoreline Amphitheater

One Amphitheatre Pkwy, Mountain View

(800) 745-3000

www.rockthebells.net

SUNDAY 9/15

 

Darwin Deez

Darwin Deez is known for nutty antics like bringing a head of cabbage out onto the stage (as a “symbol of frugalness”) and chucking it at the crowd to eat. And his wriggly, emo-pop second album Songs for Imaginative People proved that he hasn’t forgotten about his equally nutty fanbase. His half-joking-totally-serious approach to songwriting garners a very unique brand of follower, the kind of person who likes things weird. The tracks on Songs aren’t as easy to swallow as those on his debut, self-titled album Darwin Deez. Tracks swing by in a cacophony of synthy beats and buzzing electric riffs and Deez’s frequently deadpan voice undeniably weaves through them in a disjointed way — adding a disheveled tone to the album. But from the silly and unpredictable misfit whose greatest obsession may be breakfast food, who’d expect anything else? (Smith)

With Caged Animals, the Soonest

$15, 9pm

Bottom of the Hill

1233 17th St., SF

(415) 626-4455

www.bottomofthehill.com

MONDAY 9/16

 

John Williams

Composer John Williams has written the scores for some of the most beloved films of all time — pieces of music that has become so interwoven with the onscreen narratives that it’s almost impossible to imagine the movies without them — Star Wars, JAWS, Indiana Jones, Superman, E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jurassic Park, and many, many more. Tonight is a rare chance to see the maestro live and in person, conducting the San Francisco Symphony and leading them through some of his greatest works. Friend and frequent collaborator director Steven Spielberg will also appear for part of the program as a special guest host. (McCourt)

8pm, $15–$152

Davies Symphony Hall

201 Van Ness Ave., SF

(415) 864-6000

www.sfsymphony.org

TUESDAY 9/17

 

The So So Glos

Did you want to spend a night pogo-ing around like the animal you are? The So So Glos, gritty DIY punks from Brooklyn, have just what the doctor ordered. Literally a band of brothers (the majority of the group is blood-related), the So So Glos lay testament to what hard work and determination can accomplish. Helping establish East Coast all-ages DIY venues such as Market Hotel and “Shea Stadium” (where the band also lives), the group is dedicated to keeping the proverbial DIY scene alive. Often compared to fellow Brooklynites Japanther, the So So Glos are hot off their newest release Blowout. The album has been described “in your face” and hi-fi! Also on the bill is unfortunately-named Diarrhea Planet, and Unstrung. Straight off Burger Records, the Tennessee-based Diarrhea Planet is Southern-fried Ramones worship while SF-based trio Unstrung goes for a more aggressive, punk route. (Dage)

9pm, $10

Brick and Mortar Music Hall

1710 Mission, SF

(415) 371-1631

www.brickandmortarmusic.com

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