Performance
Theater Review | Jan 23, 2013
'Manic Pixie Dream Girl' Takes a Comic-Book Look at Romcom Tropes
Depressed graphic novelist meets free-spirited oddball at A.C.T.'s Costume Shop Theater. By Sam Hurwitt
Theater Review | Jan 12, 2013
Berkeley Rep's 'Troublemaker' Is a Rock-'Em, Sock-'Em Riot
Berkeley Repertory Theatre's world premiere of Troublemaker is pretty freakin' kick-A. The play features a superb cast, great direction and a striking overall design, but still Dan LeFranc's crisp, inventive and often hilarious dialogue is the star attraction. By Sam Hurwitt
Theater Review | Dec 12, 2012
German Social Commentary Meets Tom Waits Gloom And Grit in Shotgun Players' Woyzeck
Shotgun Players' director Mark Jackson has done a bang up job injecting a hipster grunge aesthetic into Georg Büchner's desolate, hope-dashing farce, which basks in Tom Waits' singular style of junkyard jazz. By Erika Milvy
Performance | Dec 05, 2012
For Misfit Toys in Search of Alterna-Holiday Happenings
Yes, you could get a quickie stab of yuletide botox to politely greet the upcoming holiday merriment, or you could check out a couple of these performances that celebrate the season with a little Bay Area bite. By Erika Milvy
Theater Review | Dec 04, 2012
A Play That Will Change Your Life, at the SHN Curran
Trey Parker and Matt Stone's The Book of Mormon succeeds first and foremost because it is just one hell of a show. The Broadway sensation by the creators of South Park continues the duo's tradition of equal-opportunity offense, skewering both the Mormon missionaries and the Ugandans they are attempting to convert. By Ben Marks
Theater Review | Nov 21, 2012
A Family Crucible At Summer Camp in Anna Ziegler's 'Another Way Home'
In Magic Theatre's world premiere of Anna Ziegler's new play, an Upper West Side family unravels at a sleep-away camp in Maine. By Erika Milvy
Theater Review | Nov 20, 2012
Performance Sorceress Mary Zimmerman Spins 'The White Snake'
An ancient legend is restaged as a radiant reminder of the magic of low-tech theater. By Erika Milvy
Event | Nov 07, 2012
Innovative Opera Takes Center Stage at S.F. World Music Festival
This year's San Francisco World Music Festival is fulfilling the dream of two opera titans, Murtuza Mammadov and Mei Lanfang, by staging The Opera Project: Voices From the Other Side . . ., which features singers and musicians from Azerbaijan, China, South Korea and Tibet. By Jonathan Curiel
Performance | Nov 06, 2012
God and Cell Phones Are Big Themes in the Humorous New Play '2012'
First-time local playwright Farzam Farrokhi's 2012, a short play depicting a religious meeting of minds, debuts at the annual ReOrient festival, a theatrical showcase featuring works from and about the Middle East. By Jonathan Curiel
Theater Review | Oct 23, 2012
The Trojan War: This Time It's Personal
In Berkeley Rep's An Iliad, the antiquated story of the Trojan War is dusted off and the ancient tradition of the storyteller is reanimated. By Erika Milvy
Performing Arts
-
At L.A.'s UnCabaret, 25 Years Of Letting It All Hang Out
Launched as an alternative to the stale stylings of the '80s stand-up circuit, Beth Lapides' event bills itself as a venue for "idiosyncratic, conversational comedy." It's helped establish careers for performers from Kathy Griffin to Randy and Jason Sklar.
-
Michigan LGBT Youth Center Does Outreach With A Dance 'Hook'
The Ruth Ellis Center in Highland Park, Mich., is making an effort to meet its clients where they are — on the dance floor, specifically with the dance form known as "vogue." From there, the center can connect them with counseling, health services, tutoring and clean clothes.
-
Giving It Away
You can give away almost anything — your time, money, food, your ideas. Giving helps define who we are and helps us connect with others. Thanks to the Internet and a rise in social consciousness, there's been a seismic shift not only in what we're giving, but how. In this hour, stories from TED speakers who are "giving it away" in new and surprising ways, and the things that happen in return.
-
How Do You Get People To Pay For Music?
Don't make people pay for music, says musician Amanda Palmer: Let them. In a passionate talk that begins in her days as a street performer, she examines the new relationship between artist and fan.












