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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Debra “Beaver” Bauer had never really considered exhibiting her work as a costume designer. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I’ve just always been so busy,” she says. “I just have always gone from one thing to the next, like we freelancers do.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Bauer, there was also the issue of humility, and a tendency to subsume her own ego into a collective craft, picked up from her time as a member of the Angels of Light. Bauer joined \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/110836/stage_left_salutes_the_risky_daring_of_local_theater_artists\">the radical theater troupe\u003c/a> in San Francisco in 1970, and for the next 14 years put on gender-bending, spectacular productions in parks, community centers and the streets — anywhere the public could see them for free. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those early years, full of resourceful costume-making and intense collaboration, prepared Bauer for a long and fruitful career backstage with Bay Area theater companies. In the decades since, she’s worked with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/act\">A.C.T.\u003c/a>, San José’s American Musical Theater, Teatro ZinZanni and ice skater Brian Boitano, among many others.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/101926-BEAVERBAUERATSFPL-07-MC-KQED-01d6499f.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13995045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/101926-BEAVERBAUERATSFPL-07-MC-KQED-01d6499f.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/101926-BEAVERBAUERATSFPL-07-MC-KQED-01d6499f-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/101926-BEAVERBAUERATSFPL-07-MC-KQED-01d6499f-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/101926-BEAVERBAUERATSFPL-07-MC-KQED-01d6499f-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Beaver Bauer’s sketches line the walls of her San Francisco home. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I’m better at fantasy than I am at reality, but I’ve done every kind of show,” Bauer, now 76, says. “I’ve done Sam Shepard, I’ve done a lot of Shakespeare, but I try to bring a little ‘Angel’ into all of it.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Evidence of all this creative work will soon be on display in \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://sfpl.org/exhibits/2026/11/05/street-stage-beaver-bauer\">From Street to Stage\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, a retrospective exhibition opening Nov. 5 in the San Francisco Public Library’s Jewett Gallery. Co-curated by Mark Johnson, Trisha Lagaso Goldberg and Theo B. Lau, the show includes full costumes, elaborate headdresses, Bauer’s design sketches, and photos and videos from various productions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The exhibition is also one of the first to open as part of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13965626/further-triennial-northern-california-visual-art-2027\">Further Triennial\u003c/a>, a slate of over 100 exhibitions and events that tell a broader, deeper story of Northern California’s artistic past and present. The triennial officially launches in March 2027.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For fans of Bauer’s work, and for Johnson as a curator, it’s important to see the craft of costume design honored as an art form — specifically a regional one. “This is a tribute to this experimental theater that crosses the line between visual art and classical theater,” Johnson says. “It’s one of the great legacies of San Francisco’s cultural heritage.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most crucial to Bauer is that the exhibition is free to visit. She wants anyone who wanders in to know they too can dress up, just as she did as a young person in 1970s San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“When you put something on that maybe you usually wouldn’t wear,” she says, “chances are you might discover or free something in yourself that you didn’t know was hiding in there.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1808\" height=\"1552\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/beaver-rod-7018e817.jpg\" alt=\"two young people in robes dance barefoot in front of crowd\" class=\"wp-image-13995259\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/beaver-rod-7018e817.jpg 1808w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/beaver-rod-7018e817-160x137.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/beaver-rod-7018e817-768x659.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/beaver-rod-7018e817-1536x1319.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1808px) 100vw, 1808px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rodney Price and Beaver Bauer at San Francisco’s Civic Center in 1970 or ’71. (Courtesy of Beaver Bauer)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Living outside ‘the money system’\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Born in Ohio, Bauer felt herself pulled west from an early age. When she met Rodney Price, another future Angel, at Woodstock (“God, it’s such a movie script sometimes,” she says), the two decided to head to San Francisco. Price took a plane; Bauer rode a hippie school bus and hitchhiked her way across the country.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once in the city, she encountered Hibiscus, founder of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13910612/the-cockettes-san-francisco-public-library-fayette-hauser-scrumbly\">the Cockettes\u003c/a> and its offshoot, the Angels of Light, in all his bearded, be-robed glory.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“He was like a sun,” Bauer says, “like, in terms of people he could pull into his orbit, because he was just so amazing looking.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bauer describes spending hours getting ready to go to the thrift store, or simply to walk down the street. “Anywhere we could get people to look at us was satisfying to us,” she says. “It was like trying on personalities for a day.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Angels lived together in San Francisco as part of the Free Food Family — a network of communal houses that pooled resources to offer up food, newsletters, medical care and adamantly free theater. “We believed in this principle of trying to avoid as much as possible the money system of the United States of America,” Bauer says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The group performed together until 1984. “We lost like 75% of the men during AIDS,” Bauer says. Hibiscus died in 1982 at the age of 32; Rodney Price died in 1988.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/101926-BEAVERBAUERATSFPL-09-MC-KQED-60cc3a50.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13995046\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/101926-BEAVERBAUERATSFPL-09-MC-KQED-60cc3a50.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/101926-BEAVERBAUERATSFPL-09-MC-KQED-60cc3a50-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/101926-BEAVERBAUERATSFPL-09-MC-KQED-60cc3a50-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/101926-BEAVERBAUERATSFPL-09-MC-KQED-60cc3a50-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Beaver Bauer poses for a portrait with a doll named ‘Her’ that she made for a friend. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Just outside the Jewett Gallery, Bauer has designed a wall to memorialize the late members of the Angels of Light, their photographs framed by lockets hanging from a drawing of a willow tree. Bauer identifies with the willow’s flexibility.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We are resilient people after making it through the AIDS crisis, making it through all we have, my friends and I, through our lives,” she says. “We have been able to live on next to nothing.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Invention and imagination\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Making something out of nothing is a trademark of Bauer’s work. In an image from the 1978 Angels of Light production \u003cem>Sci-Clones\u003c/em>, Bauer and Jessica Copen wear diaphanous garments made of shower curtains, their sparkly headpieces covered in glitter-encrusted stemware. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A 1985 \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em> profile called Bauer “the hottest costume designer in the Bay Area,” reveling in the paradox of how someone so good at reflecting and parodying high-end fashion could be living on such a meager budget.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Johnson says the countercultural roots of Bauer’s work are never far away, even in her designs for more mainstream productions. “She has brought that same kind of extravagant generosity to her work for all these other companies,” he says. Part of that generosity is her time, and her ability to truly see the person in front of her and make a costume that works for them.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1424\" height=\"2000\" data-id=\"13995261\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/lead-beaver_2000-5cd05ad5.jpg\" alt=\"two performers in see-through robes with headdresses made of stemware\" class=\"wp-image-13995261\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/lead-beaver_2000-5cd05ad5.jpg 1424w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/lead-beaver_2000-5cd05ad5-160x225.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/lead-beaver_2000-5cd05ad5-768x1079.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/lead-beaver_2000-5cd05ad5-1094x1536.jpg 1094w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1424px) 100vw, 1424px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Beaver Bauer and Jessica Copen in the Angels of Light production ‘Sci-Clones,’ 1978. (Photo by Daniel Nicoletta)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"2000\" data-id=\"13995260\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/dalmacio-celine-joseph_2000-d258d17f.jpg\" alt=\"three performers in red sea creature costumes\" class=\"wp-image-13995260\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/dalmacio-celine-joseph_2000-d258d17f.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/dalmacio-celine-joseph_2000-d258d17f-160x200.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/dalmacio-celine-joseph_2000-d258d17f-768x960.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/dalmacio-celine-joseph_2000-d258d17f-1229x1536.jpg 1229w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">D. Payomo, C. Alwyn-Parker and J. Hernandez, The Red Tipped Worms from ‘MU,’ First Voice, 2012. (Photo by Mark Shinegaga)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Costume-fitting is one of Bauer’s favorite parts of the process. She loves watching an actor transform into their character. “You have this time with this person where you can kind of sink into their head a little bit,” she says of the fitting room. “Can we take this to the level that will be perfect for this particular person, like \u003cem>their\u003c/em> Masha in \u003cem>Three Sisters\u003c/em> and not somebody else’s? And that relationship has always been a particular delight to me.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most of Bauer’s costumes are witty, maximalist concoctions. Several process boards in the exhibition demonstrate how she pulls from vastly disparate inspirations to create a single costume. For an iconic look from Brenda Wong Aoki and Mark Izu’s \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://cargocollective.com/aokizu/MU\">MU\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, for example, Bauer cited red-tipped sea worms, Motown group the Supremes and wedding kimonos. Always materially inventive, Bauer made a seahorse costume in that same production with the help of red boba straws.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It’s difficult, Johnson and Bauer both admit, to present the physicality of theater in a static exhibition. But Bauer has encouraged her friends to come to the Nov. 5 opening dressed in their finest. “I deeply, deeply desire to have something kinetic,” she says. (To that end, a parade will mark the exhibition’s closing in April 2027.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“My hope with this show is to stimulate people’s imagination, to reinvest people in theater,” Bauer says, calling the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13978734/how-to-save-bay-area-theater-from-collapse-and-closures\">trend of local theater closures\u003c/a> “alarming.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“But what’s better than seeing somebody up there moving?” she adds. “I just want to say ‘Hey, everybody, look at this valuable art form. And let’s go see a show.’”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">‘\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://sfpl.org/exhibits/2026/11/05/street-stage-beaver-bauer\">Beaver Bauer: From Street to Stage\u003c/a>’ is on view at the Jewett Gallery in the San Francisco Public Library (100 Larkin St.) from Nov. 5, 2026–April 11, 2027.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I’ve just always been so busy,” she says. “I just have always gone from one thing to the next, like we freelancers do.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For Bauer, there was also the issue of humility, and a tendency to subsume her own ego into a collective craft, picked up from her time as a member of the Angels of Light. Bauer joined \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/110836/stage_left_salutes_the_risky_daring_of_local_theater_artists\">the radical theater troupe\u003c/a> in San Francisco in 1970, and for the next 14 years put on gender-bending, spectacular productions in parks, community centers and the streets — anywhere the public could see them for free. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Those early years, full of resourceful costume-making and intense collaboration, prepared Bauer for a long and fruitful career backstage with Bay Area theater companies. In the decades since, she’s worked with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/act\">A.C.T.\u003c/a>, San José’s American Musical Theater, Teatro ZinZanni and ice skater Brian Boitano, among many others.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/101926-BEAVERBAUERATSFPL-07-MC-KQED-01d6499f.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13995045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/101926-BEAVERBAUERATSFPL-07-MC-KQED-01d6499f.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/101926-BEAVERBAUERATSFPL-07-MC-KQED-01d6499f-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/101926-BEAVERBAUERATSFPL-07-MC-KQED-01d6499f-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/101926-BEAVERBAUERATSFPL-07-MC-KQED-01d6499f-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Beaver Bauer’s sketches line the walls of her San Francisco home.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I’m better at fantasy than I am at reality, but I’ve done every kind of show,” Bauer, now 76, says. “I’ve done Sam Shepard, I’ve done a lot of Shakespeare, but I try to bring a little ‘Angel’ into all of it.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Evidence of all this creative work will soon be on display in \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://sfpl.org/exhibits/2026/11/05/street-stage-beaver-bauer\">From Street to Stage\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, a retrospective exhibition opening Nov. 5 in the San Francisco Public Library’s Jewett Gallery. Co-curated by Mark Johnson, Trisha Lagaso Goldberg and Theo B. Lau, the show includes full costumes, elaborate headdresses, Bauer’s design sketches, and photos and videos from various productions. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Evidence of all this creative work will soon be on display in \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://sfpl.org/exhibits/2026/11/05/street-stage-beaver-bauer\">From Street to Stage\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, a retrospective exhibition opening Nov. 5 in the San Francisco Public Library’s Jewett Gallery. Co-curated by Mark Johnson, Trisha Lagaso Goldberg and Theo B. Lau, the show includes full costumes, elaborate headdresses, Bauer’s design sketches, and photos and videos from various productions. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The exhibition is also one of the first to open as part of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13965626/further-triennial-northern-california-visual-art-2027\">Further Triennial\u003c/a>, a slate of over 100 exhibitions and events that tell a broader, deeper story of Northern California’s artistic past and present. The triennial officially launches in March 2027.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The exhibition is also one of the first to open as part of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13965626/further-triennial-northern-california-visual-art-2027\">Further Triennial\u003c/a>, a slate of over 100 exhibitions and events that tell a broader, deeper story of Northern California’s artistic past and present. The triennial officially launches in March 2027.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For fans of Bauer’s work, and for Johnson as a curator, it’s important to see the craft of costume design honored as an art form — specifically a regional one. “This is a tribute to this experimental theater that crosses the line between visual art and classical theater,” Johnson says. “It’s one of the great legacies of San Francisco’s cultural heritage.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For fans of Bauer’s work, and for Johnson as a curator, it’s important to see the craft of costume design honored as an art form — specifically a regional one. “This is a tribute to this experimental theater that crosses the line between visual art and classical theater,” Johnson says. “It’s one of the great legacies of San Francisco’s cultural heritage.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Most crucial to Bauer is that the exhibition is free to visit. She wants anyone who wanders in to know they too can dress up, just as she did as a young person in 1970s San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Most crucial to Bauer is that the exhibition is free to visit. She wants anyone who wanders in to know they too can dress up, just as she did as a young person in 1970s San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“When you put something on that maybe you usually wouldn’t wear,” she says, “chances are you might discover or free something in yourself that you didn’t know was hiding in there.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“When you put something on that maybe you usually wouldn’t wear,” she says, “chances are you might discover or free something in yourself that you didn’t know was hiding in there.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/beaver-rod-7018e817.jpg\" alt=\"two young people in robes dance barefoot in front of crowd\" class=\"wp-image-13995259\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/beaver-rod-7018e817.jpg 1808w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/beaver-rod-7018e817-160x137.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/beaver-rod-7018e817-768x659.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/beaver-rod-7018e817-1536x1319.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rodney Price and Beaver Bauer at San Francisco’s Civic Center in 1970 or ’71.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of Beaver Bauer)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/beaver-rod-7018e817.jpg\" alt=\"two young people in robes dance barefoot in front of crowd\" class=\"wp-image-13995259\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rodney Price and Beaver Bauer at San Francisco’s Civic Center in 1970 or ’71.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of Beaver Bauer)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Born in Ohio, Bauer felt herself pulled west from an early age. When she met Rodney Price, another future Angel, at Woodstock (“God, it’s such a movie script sometimes,” she says), the two decided to head to San Francisco. Price took a plane; Bauer rode a hippie school bus and hitchhiked her way across the country.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Born in Ohio, Bauer felt herself pulled west from an early age. When she met Rodney Price, another future Angel, at Woodstock (“God, it’s such a movie script sometimes,” she says), the two decided to head to San Francisco. Price took a plane; Bauer rode a hippie school bus and hitchhiked her way across the country.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Once in the city, she encountered Hibiscus, founder of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13910612/the-cockettes-san-francisco-public-library-fayette-hauser-scrumbly\">the Cockettes\u003c/a> and its offshoot, the Angels of Light, in all his bearded, be-robed glory.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“He was like a sun,” Bauer says, “like, in terms of people he could pull into his orbit, because he was just so amazing looking.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Bauer describes spending hours getting ready to go to the thrift store, or simply to walk down the street. “Anywhere we could get people to look at us was satisfying to us,” she says. “It was like trying on personalities for a day.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Angels lived together in San Francisco as part of the Free Food Family — a network of communal houses that pooled resources to offer up food, newsletters, medical care and adamantly free theater. “We believed in this principle of trying to avoid as much as possible the money system of the United States of America,” Bauer says.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Angels lived together in San Francisco as part of the Free Food Family — a network of communal houses that pooled resources to offer up food, newsletters, medical care and adamantly free theater. “We believed in this principle of trying to avoid as much as possible the money system of the United States of America,” Bauer says.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The group performed together until 1984. “We lost like 75% of the men during AIDS,” Bauer says. Hibiscus died in 1982 at the age of 32; Rodney Price died in 1988.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The group performed together until 1984. “We lost like 75% of the men during AIDS,” Bauer says. Hibiscus died in 1982 at the age of 32; Rodney Price died in 1988.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Just outside the Jewett Gallery, Bauer has designed a wall to memorialize the late members of the Angels of Light, their photographs framed by lockets hanging from a drawing of a willow tree. Bauer identifies with the willow’s flexibility.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We are resilient people after making it through the AIDS crisis, making it through all we have, my friends and I, through our lives,” she says. “We have been able to live on next to nothing.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Making something out of nothing is a trademark of Bauer’s work. In an image from the 1978 Angels of Light production \u003cem>Sci-Clones\u003c/em>, Bauer and Jessica Copen wear diaphanous garments made of shower curtains, their sparkly headpieces covered in glitter-encrusted stemware. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A 1985 \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em> profile called Bauer “the hottest costume designer in the Bay Area,” reveling in the paradox of how someone so good at reflecting and parodying high-end fashion could be living on such a meager budget.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Johnson says the countercultural roots of Bauer’s work are never far away, even in her designs for more mainstream productions. “She has brought that same kind of extravagant generosity to her work for all these other companies,” he says. Part of that generosity is her time, and her ability to truly see the person in front of her and make a costume that works for them.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/dalmacio-celine-joseph_2000-d258d17f.jpg\" alt=\"three performers in red sea creature costumes\" class=\"wp-image-13995260\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">D. Payomo, C. Alwyn-Parker and J. Hernandez, The Red Tipped Worms from ‘MU,’ First Voice, 2012.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Costume-fitting is one of Bauer’s favorite parts of the process. She loves watching an actor transform into their character. “You have this time with this person where you can kind of sink into their head a little bit,” she says of the fitting room. “Can we take this to the level that will be perfect for this particular person, like \u003cem>their\u003c/em> Masha in \u003cem>Three Sisters\u003c/em> and not somebody else’s? And that relationship has always been a particular delight to me.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Most of Bauer’s costumes are witty, maximalist concoctions. Several process boards in the exhibition demonstrate how she pulls from vastly disparate inspirations to create a single costume. For an iconic look from Brenda Wong Aoki and Mark Izu’s \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://cargocollective.com/aokizu/MU\">MU\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, for example, Bauer cited red-tipped sea worms, Motown group the Supremes and wedding kimonos. Always materially inventive, Bauer made a seahorse costume in that same production with the help of red boba straws.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Most of Bauer’s costumes are witty, maximalist concoctions. Several process boards in the exhibition demonstrate how she pulls from vastly disparate inspirations to create a single costume. For an iconic look from Brenda Wong Aoki and Mark Izu’s \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://cargocollective.com/aokizu/MU\">MU\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, for example, Bauer cited red-tipped sea worms, Motown group the Supremes and wedding kimonos. Always materially inventive, Bauer made a seahorse costume in that same production with the help of red boba straws.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s difficult, Johnson and Bauer both admit, to present the physicality of theater in a static exhibition. But Bauer has encouraged her friends to come to the Nov. 5 opening dressed in their finest. “I deeply, deeply desire to have something kinetic,” she says. (To that end, a parade will mark the exhibition’s closing in April 2027.)\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It’s difficult, Johnson and Bauer both admit, to present the physicality of theater in a static exhibition. But Bauer has encouraged her friends to come to the Nov. 5 opening dressed in their finest. “I deeply, deeply desire to have something kinetic,” she says. (To that end, a parade will mark the exhibition’s closing in April 2027.)\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“My hope with this show is to stimulate people’s imagination, to reinvest people in theater,” Bauer says, calling the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13978734/how-to-save-bay-area-theater-from-collapse-and-closures\">trend of local theater closures\u003c/a> “alarming.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“My hope with this show is to stimulate people’s imagination, to reinvest people in theater,” Bauer says, calling the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13978734/how-to-save-bay-area-theater-from-collapse-and-closures\">trend of local theater closures\u003c/a> “alarming.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“But what’s better than seeing somebody up there moving?” she adds. “I just want to say ‘Hey, everybody, look at this valuable art form. And let’s go see a show.’”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“But what’s better than seeing somebody up there moving?” she adds. “I just want to say ‘Hey, everybody, look at this valuable art form. And let’s go see a show.’”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>‘\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://sfpl.org/exhibits/2026/11/05/street-stage-beaver-bauer\">Beaver Bauer: From Street to Stage\u003c/a>’ is on view at the Jewett Gallery in the San Francisco Public Library (100 Larkin St.) from Nov. 5, 2026–April 11, 2027.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Beaver Bauer, who got her start in SF theater with the Angels of Light, is the focus of a new exhibition.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Debra “Beaver” Bauer had never really considered exhibiting her work as a costume designer. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I’ve just always been so busy,” she says. “I just have always gone from one thing to the next, like we freelancers do.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Bauer, there was also the issue of humility, and a tendency to subsume her own ego into a collective craft, picked up from her time as a member of the Angels of Light. Bauer joined \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/110836/stage_left_salutes_the_risky_daring_of_local_theater_artists\">the radical theater troupe\u003c/a> in San Francisco in 1970, and for the next 14 years put on gender-bending, spectacular productions in parks, community centers and the streets — anywhere the public could see them for free. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those early years, full of resourceful costume-making and intense collaboration, prepared Bauer for a long and fruitful career backstage with Bay Area theater companies. In the decades since, she’s worked with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/act\">A.C.T.\u003c/a>, San José’s American Musical Theater, Teatro ZinZanni and ice skater Brian Boitano, among many others.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/101926-BEAVERBAUERATSFPL-07-MC-KQED-01d6499f.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13995045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/101926-BEAVERBAUERATSFPL-07-MC-KQED-01d6499f.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/101926-BEAVERBAUERATSFPL-07-MC-KQED-01d6499f-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/101926-BEAVERBAUERATSFPL-07-MC-KQED-01d6499f-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/101926-BEAVERBAUERATSFPL-07-MC-KQED-01d6499f-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Beaver Bauer’s sketches line the walls of her San Francisco home. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I’m better at fantasy than I am at reality, but I’ve done every kind of show,” Bauer, now 76, says. “I’ve done Sam Shepard, I’ve done a lot of Shakespeare, but I try to bring a little ‘Angel’ into all of it.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Evidence of all this creative work will soon be on display in \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://sfpl.org/exhibits/2026/11/05/street-stage-beaver-bauer\">From Street to Stage\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, a retrospective exhibition opening Nov. 5 in the San Francisco Public Library’s Jewett Gallery. Co-curated by Mark Johnson, Trisha Lagaso Goldberg and Theo B. Lau, the show includes full costumes, elaborate headdresses, Bauer’s design sketches, and photos and videos from various productions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The exhibition is also one of the first to open as part of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13965626/further-triennial-northern-california-visual-art-2027\">Further Triennial\u003c/a>, a slate of over 100 exhibitions and events that tell a broader, deeper story of Northern California’s artistic past and present. The triennial officially launches in March 2027.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For fans of Bauer’s work, and for Johnson as a curator, it’s important to see the craft of costume design honored as an art form — specifically a regional one. “This is a tribute to this experimental theater that crosses the line between visual art and classical theater,” Johnson says. “It’s one of the great legacies of San Francisco’s cultural heritage.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most crucial to Bauer is that the exhibition is free to visit. She wants anyone who wanders in to know they too can dress up, just as she did as a young person in 1970s San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“When you put something on that maybe you usually wouldn’t wear,” she says, “chances are you might discover or free something in yourself that you didn’t know was hiding in there.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1808\" height=\"1552\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/beaver-rod-7018e817.jpg\" alt=\"two young people in robes dance barefoot in front of crowd\" class=\"wp-image-13995259\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/beaver-rod-7018e817.jpg 1808w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/beaver-rod-7018e817-160x137.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/beaver-rod-7018e817-768x659.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/beaver-rod-7018e817-1536x1319.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1808px) 100vw, 1808px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rodney Price and Beaver Bauer at San Francisco’s Civic Center in 1970 or ’71. (Courtesy of Beaver Bauer)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Living outside ‘the money system’\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Born in Ohio, Bauer felt herself pulled west from an early age. When she met Rodney Price, another future Angel, at Woodstock (“God, it’s such a movie script sometimes,” she says), the two decided to head to San Francisco. Price took a plane; Bauer rode a hippie school bus and hitchhiked her way across the country.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once in the city, she encountered Hibiscus, founder of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13910612/the-cockettes-san-francisco-public-library-fayette-hauser-scrumbly\">the Cockettes\u003c/a> and its offshoot, the Angels of Light, in all his bearded, be-robed glory.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“He was like a sun,” Bauer says, “like, in terms of people he could pull into his orbit, because he was just so amazing looking.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bauer describes spending hours getting ready to go to the thrift store, or simply to walk down the street. “Anywhere we could get people to look at us was satisfying to us,” she says. “It was like trying on personalities for a day.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Angels lived together in San Francisco as part of the Free Food Family — a network of communal houses that pooled resources to offer up food, newsletters, medical care and adamantly free theater. “We believed in this principle of trying to avoid as much as possible the money system of the United States of America,” Bauer says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The group performed together until 1984. “We lost like 75% of the men during AIDS,” Bauer says. Hibiscus died in 1982 at the age of 32; Rodney Price died in 1988.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/101926-BEAVERBAUERATSFPL-09-MC-KQED-60cc3a50.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13995046\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/101926-BEAVERBAUERATSFPL-09-MC-KQED-60cc3a50.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/101926-BEAVERBAUERATSFPL-09-MC-KQED-60cc3a50-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/101926-BEAVERBAUERATSFPL-09-MC-KQED-60cc3a50-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/101926-BEAVERBAUERATSFPL-09-MC-KQED-60cc3a50-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Beaver Bauer poses for a portrait with a doll named ‘Her’ that she made for a friend. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Just outside the Jewett Gallery, Bauer has designed a wall to memorialize the late members of the Angels of Light, their photographs framed by lockets hanging from a drawing of a willow tree. Bauer identifies with the willow’s flexibility.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We are resilient people after making it through the AIDS crisis, making it through all we have, my friends and I, through our lives,” she says. “We have been able to live on next to nothing.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Invention and imagination\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Making something out of nothing is a trademark of Bauer’s work. In an image from the 1978 Angels of Light production \u003cem>Sci-Clones\u003c/em>, Bauer and Jessica Copen wear diaphanous garments made of shower curtains, their sparkly headpieces covered in glitter-encrusted stemware. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A 1985 \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em> profile called Bauer “the hottest costume designer in the Bay Area,” reveling in the paradox of how someone so good at reflecting and parodying high-end fashion could be living on such a meager budget.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Johnson says the countercultural roots of Bauer’s work are never far away, even in her designs for more mainstream productions. “She has brought that same kind of extravagant generosity to her work for all these other companies,” he says. Part of that generosity is her time, and her ability to truly see the person in front of her and make a costume that works for them.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1424\" height=\"2000\" data-id=\"13995261\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/lead-beaver_2000-5cd05ad5.jpg\" alt=\"two performers in see-through robes with headdresses made of stemware\" class=\"wp-image-13995261\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/lead-beaver_2000-5cd05ad5.jpg 1424w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/lead-beaver_2000-5cd05ad5-160x225.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/lead-beaver_2000-5cd05ad5-768x1079.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/lead-beaver_2000-5cd05ad5-1094x1536.jpg 1094w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1424px) 100vw, 1424px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Beaver Bauer and Jessica Copen in the Angels of Light production ‘Sci-Clones,’ 1978. (Photo by Daniel Nicoletta)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"2000\" data-id=\"13995260\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/dalmacio-celine-joseph_2000-d258d17f.jpg\" alt=\"three performers in red sea creature costumes\" class=\"wp-image-13995260\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/dalmacio-celine-joseph_2000-d258d17f.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/dalmacio-celine-joseph_2000-d258d17f-160x200.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/dalmacio-celine-joseph_2000-d258d17f-768x960.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/dalmacio-celine-joseph_2000-d258d17f-1229x1536.jpg 1229w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">D. Payomo, C. Alwyn-Parker and J. Hernandez, The Red Tipped Worms from ‘MU,’ First Voice, 2012. (Photo by Mark Shinegaga)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Costume-fitting is one of Bauer’s favorite parts of the process. She loves watching an actor transform into their character. “You have this time with this person where you can kind of sink into their head a little bit,” she says of the fitting room. “Can we take this to the level that will be perfect for this particular person, like \u003cem>their\u003c/em> Masha in \u003cem>Three Sisters\u003c/em> and not somebody else’s? And that relationship has always been a particular delight to me.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most of Bauer’s costumes are witty, maximalist concoctions. Several process boards in the exhibition demonstrate how she pulls from vastly disparate inspirations to create a single costume. For an iconic look from Brenda Wong Aoki and Mark Izu’s \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://cargocollective.com/aokizu/MU\">MU\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, for example, Bauer cited red-tipped sea worms, Motown group the Supremes and wedding kimonos. Always materially inventive, Bauer made a seahorse costume in that same production with the help of red boba straws.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It’s difficult, Johnson and Bauer both admit, to present the physicality of theater in a static exhibition. But Bauer has encouraged her friends to come to the Nov. 5 opening dressed in their finest. “I deeply, deeply desire to have something kinetic,” she says. (To that end, a parade will mark the exhibition’s closing in April 2027.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“My hope with this show is to stimulate people’s imagination, to reinvest people in theater,” Bauer says, calling the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13978734/how-to-save-bay-area-theater-from-collapse-and-closures\">trend of local theater closures\u003c/a> “alarming.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“But what’s better than seeing somebody up there moving?” she adds. “I just want to say ‘Hey, everybody, look at this valuable art form. And let’s go see a show.’”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">‘\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://sfpl.org/exhibits/2026/11/05/street-stage-beaver-bauer\">Beaver Bauer: From Street to Stage\u003c/a>’ is on view at the Jewett Gallery in the San Francisco Public Library (100 Larkin St.) from Nov. 5, 2026–April 11, 2027.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "netta-brielle-one-shot",
"title": "This R&B Singer’s Next Act: A One-Woman Show",
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"headTitle": "This R&B Singer’s Next Act: A One-Woman Show | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a singer, R&B artist \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13864299/after-leaving-behind-a-record-deal-netta-brielle-rediscovers-her-motivation\">Netta Brielle\u003c/a> has told her story through music for over a decade. With lyrics inspired by lived experiences, she’s cloaked it all in clever poetry, soothing harmonies and electric vocal runs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, she’s bringing her life story to the theater with a new one-woman show, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://givebutter.com/untitled-campaign-g0023l\">One Shot\u003c/a>\u003c/em>. With intimate aspects of her career and personal life, she says, the stage play contains details that even people who’ve known her for years aren’t going to believe.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“You really rapped for Tupac?” I blurt out during a recent phone call. “Yes!” she responds, “Crazy, right?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Netta was just a 6th grader when her sister took her to a studio in East Oakland to kick some rhymes for the late thug poet. “I never talk about it,” Netta concedes, “because I don’t have the picture. It almost feels like it never happened.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2369\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/IMG_3390-02e1b7a6-edited-b3bedc81.jpeg\" alt=\"An African-American woman and a young girl pose for photo while sitting on wooden stairs.\" class=\"wp-image-13995235\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/IMG_3390-02e1b7a6-edited-b3bedc81.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/IMG_3390-02e1b7a6-edited-b3bedc81-160x190.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/IMG_3390-02e1b7a6-edited-b3bedc81-768x910.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/IMG_3390-02e1b7a6-edited-b3bedc81-1297x1536.jpeg 1297w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/IMG_3390-02e1b7a6-edited-b3bedc81-1729x2048.jpeg 1729w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In Netta Brielle’s ‘One Shot,’ stage play, Crystal Corcuchia briefly portrays a young version of Netta Brielle. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tired of belittling the biggest moments of her life, she’s now sharing the tales that she’s glossed over or tucked away. “I’m trying to embrace that in this story,” she says of the show. A multitalented artist who’s seen highs and lows, Netta is the amalgamation of these anecdotes. “It is a big part of who I am, and why I see things the way I do,” she tells me. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Netta will perform the “musical memoir” in front of a small studio audience in the Bay Area in November. She’ll also film it, and release it later this year.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The production charts Netta’s path as a lifelong entertainer. As a kid, she performed at Oakland’s Fruitvale Playhouse, Berkeley’s Black Repertory Group Theater and San Francisco’s ACT. She later studied art at San Jose State, where she earned her degree after taking a break to pursue music. During that hiatus, she was singed to Atlantic Records, where she worked directly with music mogul Andre Harrell and \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5JQ3KKIW5g\">made songs with stars like T.I.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That all seems like a lifetime ago to Netta now. She’s currently in her final semester of a graduate program at Cal State Los Angeles, where she’s focused on the theater arts and retracing her love of storytelling in all its forms.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I used to be into Shakespeare really deeply,” Netta reflects. But “every time I tried to go back to it, it always felt like the Bible. I wanted to understand, but a lot of the language was a little confusing for me.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lately she’s had to revisit Shakespeare, specifically \u003cem>The Winter’s Tale\u003c/em>. “It was one of the pieces that I performed in one of my classes,” says Netta, “and it went over really well.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The story of a queen who needs to convince her romantic partner that she’s worthy of love resonated with Netta’s own experiences.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I’m always having to plead and show why I’m deserving, why I am committed and loyal,” she laments, noting that this time around, Shakespeare’s language spoke to her. Netta even references Queen Hermione’s monologue in her own play. “I figured I would add that in,” Netta says, of her writing process, “just to show that \u003cem>I do this for real.\u003c/em>“\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1492\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/IMG_3360-e5794bfc-edited-7788c79e.jpeg\" alt=\"A girl and a woman in a studio, rehearing for a play.\" class=\"wp-image-13995237\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/IMG_3360-e5794bfc-edited-7788c79e.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/IMG_3360-e5794bfc-edited-7788c79e-160x119.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/IMG_3360-e5794bfc-edited-7788c79e-768x573.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/IMG_3360-e5794bfc-edited-7788c79e-1536x1146.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Crystal Corcuchia and Netta Brielle rehearsing for the stage play, ‘One Shot.’ \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over the course of Netta’s monologue, there’s humorous observations alongside the trauma of losing multiple family members and seeing loved ones subjected to domestic violence. “There’s a lot of people from the Bay Area,” says Netta, “who have shared a lot of similarities with my story.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The title of the play, \u003cem>One Shot\u003c/em>, is born from the misleading idea that artists, and humans in general, only have one shot to achieve their dream.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But “everybody’s journey doesn’t look the same,” Netta attests. “Just because this works for me this way, doesn’t mean that it could for someone else, or vice versa.” What’s actually important in life, she says, is “taking a chance at something that terrifies you. And if it doesn’t work, it’s okay.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unlearning that notion, of there being one and one chance only to reach a goal, has been an exercise in real time for the entertainer. “But the truth of the matter is,” she says, “there’s so many opportunities and shots you can take.” Pivoting is necessary for success, she says — it’s just not often talked about broadly. “And I think that we need to see more of \u003cem>those\u003c/em> stories.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the end of the play, Netta is joined on stage by a young actress, Crystal Corcuchia, who plays a young version of the R&B singer and playwright. On stage, the child asks Netta questions about success. “Are we famous?” the girl asks.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Sometimes,” Netta responds. “We learned to stop waiting for the applause … We are everything we want to be, just not exactly how you imagined it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>Netta Brielle’s ‘One Shot’ performance will be filmed in front of a small Bay Area audience in November. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/nettabrielle/?hl=en\">More information here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Now, she’s bringing her life story to the theater with a new one-woman show, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://givebutter.com/untitled-campaign-g0023l\">One Shot\u003c/a>\u003c/em>. With intimate aspects of her career and personal life, she says, the stage play contains details that even people who’ve known her for years aren’t going to believe.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“You really rapped for Tupac?” I blurt out during a recent phone call. “Yes!” she responds, “Crazy, right?”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Netta was just a 6th grader when her sister took her to a studio in East Oakland to kick some rhymes for the late thug poet. “I never talk about it,” Netta concedes, “because I don’t have the picture. It almost feels like it never happened.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/IMG_3390-02e1b7a6-edited-b3bedc81.jpeg\" alt=\"An African-American woman and a young girl pose for photo while sitting on wooden stairs.\" class=\"wp-image-13995235\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/IMG_3390-02e1b7a6-edited-b3bedc81.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/IMG_3390-02e1b7a6-edited-b3bedc81-160x190.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/IMG_3390-02e1b7a6-edited-b3bedc81-768x910.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/IMG_3390-02e1b7a6-edited-b3bedc81-1297x1536.jpeg 1297w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/IMG_3390-02e1b7a6-edited-b3bedc81-1729x2048.jpeg 1729w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In Netta Brielle’s ‘One Shot,’ stage play, Crystal Corcuchia briefly portrays a young version of Netta Brielle. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Tired of belittling the biggest moments of her life, she’s now sharing the tales that she’s glossed over or tucked away. “I’m trying to embrace that in this story,” she says of the show. A multitalented artist who’s seen highs and lows, Netta is the amalgamation of these anecdotes. “It is a big part of who I am, and why I see things the way I do,” she tells me. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Netta will perform the “musical memoir” in front of a small studio audience in the Bay Area in November. She’ll also film it, and release it later this year.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The production charts Netta’s path as a lifelong entertainer. As a kid, she performed at Oakland’s Fruitvale Playhouse, Berkeley’s Black Repertory Group Theater and San Francisco’s ACT. She later studied art at San Jose State, where she earned her degree after taking a break to pursue music. During that hiatus, she was singed to Atlantic Records, where she worked directly with music mogul Andre Harrell and \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5JQ3KKIW5g\">made songs with stars like T.I.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That all seems like a lifetime ago to Netta now. She’s currently in her final semester of a graduate program at Cal State Los Angeles, where she’s focused on the theater arts and retracing her love of storytelling in all its forms.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That all seems like a lifetime ago to Netta now. She’s currently in her final semester of a graduate program at Cal State Los Angeles, where she’s focused on the theater arts and retracing her love of storytelling in all its forms.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I used to be into Shakespeare really deeply,” Netta reflects. But “every time I tried to go back to it, it always felt like the Bible. I wanted to understand, but a lot of the language was a little confusing for me.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I used to be into Shakespeare really deeply,” Netta reflects. But “every time I tried to go back to it, it always felt like the Bible. I wanted to understand, but a lot of the language was a little confusing for me.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Lately she’s had to revisit Shakespeare, specifically \u003cem>The Winter’s Tale\u003c/em>. “It was one of the pieces that I performed in one of my classes,” says Netta, “and it went over really well.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Lately she’s had to revisit Shakespeare, specifically \u003cem>The Winter’s Tale\u003c/em>. “It was one of the pieces that I performed in one of my classes,” says Netta, “and it went over really well.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The story of a queen who needs to convince her romantic partner that she’s worthy of love resonated with Netta’s own experiences.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I’m always having to plead and show why I’m deserving, why I am committed and loyal,” she laments, noting that this time around, Shakespeare’s language spoke to her. Netta even references Queen Hermione’s monologue in her own play. “I figured I would add that in,” Netta says, of her writing process, “just to show that \u003cem>I do this for real.\u003c/em>“\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I’m always having to plead and show why I’m deserving, why I am committed and loyal,” she laments, noting that this time around, Shakespeare’s language spoke to her. Netta even references Queen Hermione’s monologue in her own play. “I figured I would add that in,” Netta says, of her writing process, “just to show that \u003cem>I do this for real.\u003c/em>“\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/IMG_3360-e5794bfc-edited-7788c79e.jpeg\" alt=\"A girl and a woman in a studio, rehearing for a play.\" class=\"wp-image-13995237\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/IMG_3360-e5794bfc-edited-7788c79e.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/IMG_3360-e5794bfc-edited-7788c79e-160x119.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/IMG_3360-e5794bfc-edited-7788c79e-768x573.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/IMG_3360-e5794bfc-edited-7788c79e-1536x1146.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Crystal Corcuchia and Netta Brielle rehearsing for the stage play, ‘One Shot.’ \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Over the course of Netta’s monologue, there’s humorous observations alongside the trauma of losing multiple family members and seeing loved ones subjected to domestic violence. “There’s a lot of people from the Bay Area,” says Netta, “who have shared a lot of similarities with my story.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The title of the play, \u003cem>One Shot\u003c/em>, is born from the misleading idea that artists, and humans in general, only have one shot to achieve their dream.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But “everybody’s journey doesn’t look the same,” Netta attests. “Just because this works for me this way, doesn’t mean that it could for someone else, or vice versa.” What’s actually important in life, she says, is “taking a chance at something that terrifies you. And if it doesn’t work, it’s okay.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Unlearning that notion, of there being one and one chance only to reach a goal, has been an exercise in real time for the entertainer. “But the truth of the matter is,” she says, “there’s so many opportunities and shots you can take.” Pivoting is necessary for success, she says — it’s just not often talked about broadly. “And I think that we need to see more of \u003cem>those\u003c/em> stories.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At the end of the play, Netta is joined on stage by a young actress, Crystal Corcuchia, who plays a young version of the R&B singer and playwright. On stage, the child asks Netta questions about success. “Are we famous?” the girl asks.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Sometimes,” Netta responds. “We learned to stop waiting for the applause … We are everything we want to be, just not exactly how you imagined it.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Netta Brielle’s ‘One Shot’ performance will be filmed in front of a small Bay Area audience in November. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/nettabrielle/?hl=en\">More information here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Netta Brielle’s ‘One Shot’ performance will be filmed in front of a small Bay Area audience in November. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/nettabrielle/?hl=en\">More information here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "Netta Brielle tells her life story in a new, intimate stage play about pursuing one's dreams.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a singer, R&B artist \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13864299/after-leaving-behind-a-record-deal-netta-brielle-rediscovers-her-motivation\">Netta Brielle\u003c/a> has told her story through music for over a decade. With lyrics inspired by lived experiences, she’s cloaked it all in clever poetry, soothing harmonies and electric vocal runs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, she’s bringing her life story to the theater with a new one-woman show, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://givebutter.com/untitled-campaign-g0023l\">One Shot\u003c/a>\u003c/em>. With intimate aspects of her career and personal life, she says, the stage play contains details that even people who’ve known her for years aren’t going to believe.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“You really rapped for Tupac?” I blurt out during a recent phone call. “Yes!” she responds, “Crazy, right?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Netta was just a 6th grader when her sister took her to a studio in East Oakland to kick some rhymes for the late thug poet. “I never talk about it,” Netta concedes, “because I don’t have the picture. It almost feels like it never happened.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2369\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/IMG_3390-02e1b7a6-edited-b3bedc81.jpeg\" alt=\"An African-American woman and a young girl pose for photo while sitting on wooden stairs.\" class=\"wp-image-13995235\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/IMG_3390-02e1b7a6-edited-b3bedc81.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/IMG_3390-02e1b7a6-edited-b3bedc81-160x190.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/IMG_3390-02e1b7a6-edited-b3bedc81-768x910.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/IMG_3390-02e1b7a6-edited-b3bedc81-1297x1536.jpeg 1297w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/IMG_3390-02e1b7a6-edited-b3bedc81-1729x2048.jpeg 1729w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In Netta Brielle’s ‘One Shot,’ stage play, Crystal Corcuchia briefly portrays a young version of Netta Brielle. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tired of belittling the biggest moments of her life, she’s now sharing the tales that she’s glossed over or tucked away. “I’m trying to embrace that in this story,” she says of the show. A multitalented artist who’s seen highs and lows, Netta is the amalgamation of these anecdotes. “It is a big part of who I am, and why I see things the way I do,” she tells me. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Netta will perform the “musical memoir” in front of a small studio audience in the Bay Area in November. She’ll also film it, and release it later this year.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The production charts Netta’s path as a lifelong entertainer. As a kid, she performed at Oakland’s Fruitvale Playhouse, Berkeley’s Black Repertory Group Theater and San Francisco’s ACT. She later studied art at San Jose State, where she earned her degree after taking a break to pursue music. During that hiatus, she was singed to Atlantic Records, where she worked directly with music mogul Andre Harrell and \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5JQ3KKIW5g\">made songs with stars like T.I.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That all seems like a lifetime ago to Netta now. She’s currently in her final semester of a graduate program at Cal State Los Angeles, where she’s focused on the theater arts and retracing her love of storytelling in all its forms.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I used to be into Shakespeare really deeply,” Netta reflects. But “every time I tried to go back to it, it always felt like the Bible. I wanted to understand, but a lot of the language was a little confusing for me.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lately she’s had to revisit Shakespeare, specifically \u003cem>The Winter’s Tale\u003c/em>. “It was one of the pieces that I performed in one of my classes,” says Netta, “and it went over really well.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The story of a queen who needs to convince her romantic partner that she’s worthy of love resonated with Netta’s own experiences.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I’m always having to plead and show why I’m deserving, why I am committed and loyal,” she laments, noting that this time around, Shakespeare’s language spoke to her. Netta even references Queen Hermione’s monologue in her own play. “I figured I would add that in,” Netta says, of her writing process, “just to show that \u003cem>I do this for real.\u003c/em>“\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1492\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/IMG_3360-e5794bfc-edited-7788c79e.jpeg\" alt=\"A girl and a woman in a studio, rehearing for a play.\" class=\"wp-image-13995237\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/IMG_3360-e5794bfc-edited-7788c79e.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/IMG_3360-e5794bfc-edited-7788c79e-160x119.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/IMG_3360-e5794bfc-edited-7788c79e-768x573.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/IMG_3360-e5794bfc-edited-7788c79e-1536x1146.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Crystal Corcuchia and Netta Brielle rehearsing for the stage play, ‘One Shot.’ \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over the course of Netta’s monologue, there’s humorous observations alongside the trauma of losing multiple family members and seeing loved ones subjected to domestic violence. “There’s a lot of people from the Bay Area,” says Netta, “who have shared a lot of similarities with my story.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The title of the play, \u003cem>One Shot\u003c/em>, is born from the misleading idea that artists, and humans in general, only have one shot to achieve their dream.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But “everybody’s journey doesn’t look the same,” Netta attests. “Just because this works for me this way, doesn’t mean that it could for someone else, or vice versa.” What’s actually important in life, she says, is “taking a chance at something that terrifies you. And if it doesn’t work, it’s okay.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unlearning that notion, of there being one and one chance only to reach a goal, has been an exercise in real time for the entertainer. “But the truth of the matter is,” she says, “there’s so many opportunities and shots you can take.” Pivoting is necessary for success, she says — it’s just not often talked about broadly. “And I think that we need to see more of \u003cem>those\u003c/em> stories.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the end of the play, Netta is joined on stage by a young actress, Crystal Corcuchia, who plays a young version of the R&B singer and playwright. On stage, the child asks Netta questions about success. “Are we famous?” the girl asks.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Sometimes,” Netta responds. “We learned to stop waiting for the applause … We are everything we want to be, just not exactly how you imagined it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>Netta Brielle’s ‘One Shot’ performance will be filmed in front of a small Bay Area audience in November. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/nettabrielle/?hl=en\">More information here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "patrick-stewart-dies-star-trek-captain-picard-dead-at-86",
"title": "Patrick Stewart, Legend of ‘Star Trek,’ ‘X-Men’ and the Theater, Dies at 86",
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"headTitle": "Patrick Stewart, Legend of ‘Star Trek,’ ‘X-Men’ and the Theater, Dies at 86 | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/patrick-stewart-make-so-book-9938aa027c9f6ac0c059417a6e69b9a4\">Patrick Stewart\u003c/a>, the classically trained stage actor who scaled the Shakespearean canon and added gravitas to a \u003cem>Star Trek\u003c/em> franchise and the \u003cem>X-Men\u003c/em> films, has died. He was 86.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stewart died Wednesday in Los Angeles, following “a brief and poignant journey” with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy Body Dementia, spokesperson Kelly Bush Novak said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While best known as Professor Charles Xavier and Captain Jean-Luc Picard from the \u003cem>X-Men\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Star Trek: The Next Generation\u003c/em> series and films, respectively, Stewart spent more of his career onstage than in the X-Mansion or on the USS Enterprise.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Besides playing everyone from Claudius to Macbeth, he often performed a one-man rendition of \u003cem>A Christmas Carol\u003c/em> and did West End and Broadway runs of Harold Pinter’s \u003cem>No Man’s Land\u003c/em> and Samuel Beckett’s \u003cem>Waiting for Godot\u003c/em> in repertoire with buddy Ian McKellen.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1313\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-103151538-86eaa433.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13995164\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-103151538-86eaa433.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-103151538-86eaa433-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-103151538-86eaa433-768x504.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-103151538-86eaa433-1536x1008.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Patrick Stewart as Launce, with his dog Crab, during rehearsals for Robin Phillips’ production of ‘Two Gentlemen Of Verona’ for the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1970. (Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He achieved some of the best reviews of his career when he finally tackled Macbeth for the first time. The production, under the direction of Rupert Goold, debuted in May 2007 at England’s Chichester Festival Theatre, switched to London’s West End and then moved to the Brooklyn Academy of Music before transferring to Broadway in 2008.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stewart’s performance earned him his sole Tony Award nomination. The Times of London said his Macbeth was “an enthralling creation of frailty, appetite, egotism and grim humor.” The Daily Telegraph said he had turned in “a truly great performance” and The New York Times said it was “a must-see.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Nearly 50 years I’ve waited,” Stewart told The Associated Press in 2008. “I learned it when I was 14. I memorized all the soliloquies just because I thought they were great. And they stuck, so I didn’t have to learn those bits of the play, which is a blessing, because learning lines has now become the one curse of this job.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Starship commander grew up without a toilet\u003c/h4>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Raised in Mirfield in Yorkshire, a working class corner of northern England, the future 24th century commander of a starship grew up without a bathroom in his house.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stewart joined an amateur drama group at 12 and memorized Shakespeare for fun as a teen. He won a scholarship to the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, launching a career as a character actor.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He was bald since he was 19 — alopecia runs in his family.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1299\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-483538038-559ef5ff.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13995165\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-483538038-559ef5ff.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-483538038-559ef5ff-160x104.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-483538038-559ef5ff-768x499.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-483538038-559ef5ff-1536x998.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Patrick Stewart at the 14th annual official Star Trek convention at the Rio Hotel and Casino on Aug. 9, 2015 in Las Vegas. (Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His father, a former regimental sergeant major in the British Army, was prone to outbursts of “repeated violence against my mother,” as Stewart wrote in a newspaper piece. “Violence is always a choice a man makes and he alone is responsible for it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In his memoir, \u003cem>Making It So\u003c/em>, Stewart wrote about how he and his older brother Trevor braced for the nights when their dad came home drunk and angry, and attacked their mother. “Sometimes it was with an open hand, other times a closed fist. Always he aimed for her head.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The son would later became a patron for Refuge, an organization that provides shelter for domestic abuse victims.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Loving Shakespeare proved fruitful as Capt. Picard\u003c/h4>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“The stage would prove to be a safe space, a refuge from real life in which I could inhabit another person, living in another place and time,” he would write.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stewart was accepted into the Royal Shakespeare Company and stayed for 14 years, playing everything from Mark Anthony to Henry IV to Shylock to Oberon. “People who were not in the company would say to me, ‘Give it a break. Why don’t you go somewhere else?’ And I would say, ‘To do what?‘” he told the AP. “Telly?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stewart eventually left to look for more varied work, including the 1981 film \u003cem>Excalibur\u003c/em>. He had just done a production of \u003cem>Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?\u003c/em> in 1987 when an interesting offer came along. “I found myself in Hollywood shooting a syndicated science fiction series, which I was assured would fail.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It didn’t, of course. Thanks to Stewart’s rich baritone and noble bearing, the \u003cem>Star Trek\u003c/em> franchise ran for seven years, 178 episodes and produced four feature films. He was known for his slogan “Make it so.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His adoration for Shakespeare would serve him well when he began to play Jean-Luc Picard, a 24th century starship commander.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“There is a formality to the way they speak and comport themselves that remind me of numerous Shakespearean situations I’d been in onstage. I should play Jean Luc, I realized, as if he were a character in \u003cem>Henry IV\u003c/em>, which is about brave men,” Stewart wrote in his memoir.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite the Borg and Klingons, Stewart still managed to make room for blank verse. He established the Paramount Shakespeare Company, a workshop on Saturday and Sunday mornings for any actor interested. (Stewart revisited Picard in the TV series \u003cem>Star Trek: Picard\u003c/em>.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The show gave him a higher visibility, which led to more work, including roles in the films \u003cem>Conspiracy Theory\u003c/em>, \u003cem>L.A. Story\u003c/em> and on Broadway, where he starred in \u003cem>The Tempest\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Caretaker\u003c/em> and David Mamet’s \u003cem>A Life in the Theater\u003c/em>. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in June 2010. Stewart was also an ambassador for the International Rescue Committee.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A brave and commanding persona. But sexy?\u003c/h4>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In July 1992, he and supermodel Cindy Crawford were on the cover of TV Guide’s “Top Turn-Ons,” based on a readers’ poll. In his memoir, Stewart wrote: “Absurd.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stewart was first introduced as the character Xavier in the original X-Men trilogy, appearing in three films from 2000 to 2006. He later returned in four more movies before Professor X’s death in 2017’s \u003cem>Logan\u003c/em>. He reappeared in \u003cem>Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness\u003c/em> in 2022.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1957\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Patrick.Stewart.Outside.Lands_-ad9e8c89.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13995167\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Patrick.Stewart.Outside.Lands_-ad9e8c89.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Patrick.Stewart.Outside.Lands_-ad9e8c89-160x157.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Patrick.Stewart.Outside.Lands_-ad9e8c89-768x751.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Patrick.Stewart.Outside.Lands_-ad9e8c89-1536x1503.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Patrick Stewart joined the Improvised Shakespeare Company for a performance at the San Francisco music festival Outisde Lands in 2014. (Twitter/SirPatStew)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also showed off his comedic chops aboard Seth MacFarlane’s Starz show \u003cem>Blunt Talk\u003c/em> for two series and voiced Poop in \u003cem>The Emoji Movie\u003c/em>. He made appearances on \u003cem>Robot Chicken\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Futurama\u003c/em> and \u003cem>The Simpsons\u003c/em> (in one episode, Homer loses his hair, and Stewart tells him it’s great to be bald.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Later in life, he proved Internet-savvy and found new fans with his humor, posing in a bath in a lobster suit and triggering memes when he posted a photo of him picking apples. When he was mistakenly outed as gay by a British newspaper, he said it was a nice change. “At least I didn’t wake up to the internet telling me I was dead again,” he tweeted.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He married Brooklyn songwriter and singer Sunny Ozell in 2013, with the actor’s \u003cem>X-Men\u003c/em> co-star McKellen officiating. Stewart later tweeted a photo of the newlyweds in a ball pit.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also is survived by two children, a daughter, Sophia, and a son, Daniel.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Nearly 50 years I’ve waited,” Stewart told The Associated Press in 2008. “I learned it when I was 14. I memorized all the soliloquies just because I thought they were great. And they stuck, so I didn’t have to learn those bits of the play, which is a blessing, because learning lines has now become the one curse of this job.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-483538038-559ef5ff.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13995165\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-483538038-559ef5ff.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-483538038-559ef5ff-160x104.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-483538038-559ef5ff-768x499.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-483538038-559ef5ff-1536x998.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Patrick Stewart at the 14th annual official Star Trek convention at the Rio Hotel and Casino on Aug. 9, 2015 in Las Vegas.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>His father, a former regimental sergeant major in the British Army, was prone to outbursts of “repeated violence against my mother,” as Stewart wrote in a newspaper piece. “Violence is always a choice a man makes and he alone is responsible for it.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In his memoir, \u003cem>Making It So\u003c/em>, Stewart wrote about how he and his older brother Trevor braced for the nights when their dad came home drunk and angry, and attacked their mother. “Sometimes it was with an open hand, other times a closed fist. Always he aimed for her head.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The stage would prove to be a safe space, a refuge from real life in which I could inhabit another person, living in another place and time,” he would write.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Stewart was accepted into the Royal Shakespeare Company and stayed for 14 years, playing everything from Mark Anthony to Henry IV to Shylock to Oberon. “People who were not in the company would say to me, ‘Give it a break. Why don’t you go somewhere else?’ And I would say, ‘To do what?‘” he told the AP. “Telly?”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Stewart eventually left to look for more varied work, including the 1981 film \u003cem>Excalibur\u003c/em>. He had just done a production of \u003cem>Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?\u003c/em> in 1987 when an interesting offer came along. “I found myself in Hollywood shooting a syndicated science fiction series, which I was assured would fail.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It didn’t, of course. Thanks to Stewart’s rich baritone and noble bearing, the \u003cem>Star Trek\u003c/em> franchise ran for seven years, 178 episodes and produced four feature films. He was known for his slogan “Make it so.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>His adoration for Shakespeare would serve him well when he began to play Jean-Luc Picard, a 24th century starship commander.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“There is a formality to the way they speak and comport themselves that remind me of numerous Shakespearean situations I’d been in onstage. I should play Jean Luc, I realized, as if he were a character in \u003cem>Henry IV\u003c/em>, which is about brave men,” Stewart wrote in his memoir.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Despite the Borg and Klingons, Stewart still managed to make room for blank verse. He established the Paramount Shakespeare Company, a workshop on Saturday and Sunday mornings for any actor interested. (Stewart revisited Picard in the TV series \u003cem>Star Trek: Picard\u003c/em>.)\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The show gave him a higher visibility, which led to more work, including roles in the films \u003cem>Conspiracy Theory\u003c/em>, \u003cem>L.A. Story\u003c/em> and on Broadway, where he starred in \u003cem>The Tempest\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Caretaker\u003c/em> and David Mamet’s \u003cem>A Life in the Theater\u003c/em>. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in June 2010. Stewart was also an ambassador for the International Rescue Committee.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In July 1992, he and supermodel Cindy Crawford were on the cover of TV Guide’s “Top Turn-Ons,” based on a readers’ poll. In his memoir, Stewart wrote: “Absurd.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Stewart was first introduced as the character Xavier in the original X-Men trilogy, appearing in three films from 2000 to 2006. He later returned in four more movies before Professor X’s death in 2017’s \u003cem>Logan\u003c/em>. He reappeared in \u003cem>Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness\u003c/em> in 2022.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Patrick.Stewart.Outside.Lands_-ad9e8c89.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13995167\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Patrick.Stewart.Outside.Lands_-ad9e8c89.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Patrick.Stewart.Outside.Lands_-ad9e8c89-160x157.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Patrick.Stewart.Outside.Lands_-ad9e8c89-768x751.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Patrick.Stewart.Outside.Lands_-ad9e8c89-1536x1503.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Patrick Stewart joined the Improvised Shakespeare Company for a performance at the San Francisco music festival Outisde Lands in 2014. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Twitter/SirPatStew)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He also showed off his comedic chops aboard Seth MacFarlane’s Starz show \u003cem>Blunt Talk\u003c/em> for two series and voiced Poop in \u003cem>The Emoji Movie\u003c/em>. He made appearances on \u003cem>Robot Chicken\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Futurama\u003c/em> and \u003cem>The Simpsons\u003c/em> (in one episode, Homer loses his hair, and Stewart tells him it’s great to be bald.)\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Later in life, he proved Internet-savvy and found new fans with his humor, posing in a bath in a lobster suit and triggering memes when he posted a photo of him picking apples. When he was mistakenly outed as gay by a British newspaper, he said it was a nice change. “At least I didn’t wake up to the internet telling me I was dead again,” he tweeted.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He married Brooklyn songwriter and singer Sunny Ozell in 2013, with the actor’s \u003cem>X-Men\u003c/em> co-star McKellen officiating. Stewart later tweeted a photo of the newlyweds in a ball pit.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The actor died Wednesday in Los Angeles of Alzheimer's disease and Lewy Body Dementia.",
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"title": "Patrick Stewart, Legend of ‘Star Trek,’ ‘X-Men’ and the Theater, Dies at 86 | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/patrick-stewart-make-so-book-9938aa027c9f6ac0c059417a6e69b9a4\">Patrick Stewart\u003c/a>, the classically trained stage actor who scaled the Shakespearean canon and added gravitas to a \u003cem>Star Trek\u003c/em> franchise and the \u003cem>X-Men\u003c/em> films, has died. He was 86.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stewart died Wednesday in Los Angeles, following “a brief and poignant journey” with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy Body Dementia, spokesperson Kelly Bush Novak said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While best known as Professor Charles Xavier and Captain Jean-Luc Picard from the \u003cem>X-Men\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Star Trek: The Next Generation\u003c/em> series and films, respectively, Stewart spent more of his career onstage than in the X-Mansion or on the USS Enterprise.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Besides playing everyone from Claudius to Macbeth, he often performed a one-man rendition of \u003cem>A Christmas Carol\u003c/em> and did West End and Broadway runs of Harold Pinter’s \u003cem>No Man’s Land\u003c/em> and Samuel Beckett’s \u003cem>Waiting for Godot\u003c/em> in repertoire with buddy Ian McKellen.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1313\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-103151538-86eaa433.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13995164\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-103151538-86eaa433.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-103151538-86eaa433-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-103151538-86eaa433-768x504.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-103151538-86eaa433-1536x1008.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Patrick Stewart as Launce, with his dog Crab, during rehearsals for Robin Phillips’ production of ‘Two Gentlemen Of Verona’ for the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1970. (Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He achieved some of the best reviews of his career when he finally tackled Macbeth for the first time. The production, under the direction of Rupert Goold, debuted in May 2007 at England’s Chichester Festival Theatre, switched to London’s West End and then moved to the Brooklyn Academy of Music before transferring to Broadway in 2008.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stewart’s performance earned him his sole Tony Award nomination. The Times of London said his Macbeth was “an enthralling creation of frailty, appetite, egotism and grim humor.” The Daily Telegraph said he had turned in “a truly great performance” and The New York Times said it was “a must-see.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Nearly 50 years I’ve waited,” Stewart told The Associated Press in 2008. “I learned it when I was 14. I memorized all the soliloquies just because I thought they were great. And they stuck, so I didn’t have to learn those bits of the play, which is a blessing, because learning lines has now become the one curse of this job.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Starship commander grew up without a toilet\u003c/h4>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Raised in Mirfield in Yorkshire, a working class corner of northern England, the future 24th century commander of a starship grew up without a bathroom in his house.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stewart joined an amateur drama group at 12 and memorized Shakespeare for fun as a teen. He won a scholarship to the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, launching a career as a character actor.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He was bald since he was 19 — alopecia runs in his family.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1299\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-483538038-559ef5ff.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13995165\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-483538038-559ef5ff.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-483538038-559ef5ff-160x104.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-483538038-559ef5ff-768x499.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/GettyImages-483538038-559ef5ff-1536x998.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Patrick Stewart at the 14th annual official Star Trek convention at the Rio Hotel and Casino on Aug. 9, 2015 in Las Vegas. (Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His father, a former regimental sergeant major in the British Army, was prone to outbursts of “repeated violence against my mother,” as Stewart wrote in a newspaper piece. “Violence is always a choice a man makes and he alone is responsible for it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In his memoir, \u003cem>Making It So\u003c/em>, Stewart wrote about how he and his older brother Trevor braced for the nights when their dad came home drunk and angry, and attacked their mother. “Sometimes it was with an open hand, other times a closed fist. Always he aimed for her head.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The son would later became a patron for Refuge, an organization that provides shelter for domestic abuse victims.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Loving Shakespeare proved fruitful as Capt. Picard\u003c/h4>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“The stage would prove to be a safe space, a refuge from real life in which I could inhabit another person, living in another place and time,” he would write.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stewart was accepted into the Royal Shakespeare Company and stayed for 14 years, playing everything from Mark Anthony to Henry IV to Shylock to Oberon. “People who were not in the company would say to me, ‘Give it a break. Why don’t you go somewhere else?’ And I would say, ‘To do what?‘” he told the AP. “Telly?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stewart eventually left to look for more varied work, including the 1981 film \u003cem>Excalibur\u003c/em>. He had just done a production of \u003cem>Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?\u003c/em> in 1987 when an interesting offer came along. “I found myself in Hollywood shooting a syndicated science fiction series, which I was assured would fail.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It didn’t, of course. Thanks to Stewart’s rich baritone and noble bearing, the \u003cem>Star Trek\u003c/em> franchise ran for seven years, 178 episodes and produced four feature films. He was known for his slogan “Make it so.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His adoration for Shakespeare would serve him well when he began to play Jean-Luc Picard, a 24th century starship commander.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“There is a formality to the way they speak and comport themselves that remind me of numerous Shakespearean situations I’d been in onstage. I should play Jean Luc, I realized, as if he were a character in \u003cem>Henry IV\u003c/em>, which is about brave men,” Stewart wrote in his memoir.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite the Borg and Klingons, Stewart still managed to make room for blank verse. He established the Paramount Shakespeare Company, a workshop on Saturday and Sunday mornings for any actor interested. (Stewart revisited Picard in the TV series \u003cem>Star Trek: Picard\u003c/em>.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The show gave him a higher visibility, which led to more work, including roles in the films \u003cem>Conspiracy Theory\u003c/em>, \u003cem>L.A. Story\u003c/em> and on Broadway, where he starred in \u003cem>The Tempest\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Caretaker\u003c/em> and David Mamet’s \u003cem>A Life in the Theater\u003c/em>. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in June 2010. Stewart was also an ambassador for the International Rescue Committee.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A brave and commanding persona. But sexy?\u003c/h4>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In July 1992, he and supermodel Cindy Crawford were on the cover of TV Guide’s “Top Turn-Ons,” based on a readers’ poll. In his memoir, Stewart wrote: “Absurd.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stewart was first introduced as the character Xavier in the original X-Men trilogy, appearing in three films from 2000 to 2006. He later returned in four more movies before Professor X’s death in 2017’s \u003cem>Logan\u003c/em>. He reappeared in \u003cem>Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness\u003c/em> in 2022.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1957\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Patrick.Stewart.Outside.Lands_-ad9e8c89.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13995167\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Patrick.Stewart.Outside.Lands_-ad9e8c89.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Patrick.Stewart.Outside.Lands_-ad9e8c89-160x157.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Patrick.Stewart.Outside.Lands_-ad9e8c89-768x751.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Patrick.Stewart.Outside.Lands_-ad9e8c89-1536x1503.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Patrick Stewart joined the Improvised Shakespeare Company for a performance at the San Francisco music festival Outisde Lands in 2014. (Twitter/SirPatStew)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also showed off his comedic chops aboard Seth MacFarlane’s Starz show \u003cem>Blunt Talk\u003c/em> for two series and voiced Poop in \u003cem>The Emoji Movie\u003c/em>. He made appearances on \u003cem>Robot Chicken\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Futurama\u003c/em> and \u003cem>The Simpsons\u003c/em> (in one episode, Homer loses his hair, and Stewart tells him it’s great to be bald.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Later in life, he proved Internet-savvy and found new fans with his humor, posing in a bath in a lobster suit and triggering memes when he posted a photo of him picking apples. When he was mistakenly outed as gay by a British newspaper, he said it was a nice change. “At least I didn’t wake up to the internet telling me I was dead again,” he tweeted.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He married Brooklyn songwriter and singer Sunny Ozell in 2013, with the actor’s \u003cem>X-Men\u003c/em> co-star McKellen officiating. Stewart later tweeted a photo of the newlyweds in a ball pit.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also is survived by two children, a daughter, Sophia, and a son, Daniel.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Oakland Theater Project to Turn the New Parish Into a Performing Arts Center",
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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Music fans who worried about the New Parish’s closure late last year can rest assured that the Oakland venue won’t be turning into condos. On Oct. 22, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/oakland-theater-project\">Oakland Theater Project\u003c/a> announced that it will take over the San Pablo Avenue space and convert it into a hub for theater, music and performing arts. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Oakland is just a mecca of resilience — a passionate, incredible, diverse community — and it’s full of creatives and artists,” Oakland Theater Project Managing Director Colin Mandlin tells KQED. “So to be able to have people to share and present their work in their hometown … it’s going to be this kind of common-sense but also really celebratory and wonderful accomplishment.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The theater company has signed a 10-year lease on the 13,000-square-foot building, with the option to buy it in the future. Oakland Theater Project’s vision is to create a 200-seat main theater, a second smaller theater, backstage areas and an expanded marquee lobby, bar and outdoor courtyard. Their goal is to have the space ready for audiences in the late spring of 2027.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition to the \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandtheaterproject.org/\">Oakland Theater Project’s own productions\u003c/a>, the new performing arts center will host concerts, talks, screenings and classes. Given the building’s long history as a music venue — first as Sweet Jimmie’s, then the New Parish — Oakland Theater Project is partnering with a concert presenter that they plan to announce in the coming days. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over the years, the New Parish hosted shows by musical greats, including The Jacka and Nipsey Hussle before both of their untimely passings. In its final year of operation, Oakland rap star Mistah F.A.B., R&B legend Teedra Moses, Chilean rapper Ana Tijoux and local, experimental techno outfit Cel Genesis all had events there.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the building’s new incarnation, Mandlin says the musical programming will include an eclectic array of local and touring artists. “We very much value the history of a space, both in terms of its cultural significance, as well as the physical building and attributes itself,” he says. “And the fact that this space has hosted musical events for decades is definitely something that we want to honor and continue.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The new performing arts center comes at a time of expansion for Oakland Theater Project, whose next play \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandtheaterproject.org/she\">\u003cem>She Se Puede (A Chorus of Huertas)\u003c/em>\u003c/a> premieres at their current, smaller Downtown Oakland location on Nov. 20. Mandlin says they regularly sell out performances in their 80-seat space without much advertising, and have had to take productions to larger venues, often outside of Oakland, to accommodate their growing audience. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We have a really passionate and powerful community that supports us and that follows us,” Mandlin says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though the Oakland Theater Project lost tens of thousands of dollars due to National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities funding cuts, Mandlin says donors and foundations have rallied around the theater company. The organization’s budget has quadrupled since 2021. He’s also hopeful about former arts nonprofit leader Lyz Luke’s appointment as the Oakland’s Cultural Affairs Manager at the start of the year, and says she’s working behind the scenes to secure more funding for the performing arts. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It’s great timing for us to now take on this new venue and growth opportunity,” he says.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Oakland is just a mecca of resilience — a passionate, incredible, diverse community — and it’s full of creatives and artists,” Oakland Theater Project Managing Director Colin Mandlin tells KQED. “So to be able to have people to share and present their work in their hometown … it’s going to be this kind of common-sense but also really celebratory and wonderful accomplishment.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The theater company has signed a 10-year lease on the 13,000-square-foot building, with the option to buy it in the future. Oakland Theater Project’s vision is to create a 200-seat main theater, a second smaller theater, backstage areas and an expanded marquee lobby, bar and outdoor courtyard. Their goal is to have the space ready for audiences in the late spring of 2027.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In addition to the \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandtheaterproject.org/\">Oakland Theater Project’s own productions\u003c/a>, the new performing arts center will host concerts, talks, screenings and classes. Given the building’s long history as a music venue — first as Sweet Jimmie’s, then the New Parish — Oakland Theater Project is partnering with a concert presenter that they plan to announce in the coming days. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In the building’s new incarnation, Mandlin says the musical programming will include an eclectic array of local and touring artists. “We very much value the history of a space, both in terms of its cultural significance, as well as the physical building and attributes itself,” he says. “And the fact that this space has hosted musical events for decades is definitely something that we want to honor and continue.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Though the Oakland Theater Project lost tens of thousands of dollars due to National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities funding cuts, Mandlin says donors and foundations have rallied around the theater company. The organization’s budget has quadrupled since 2021. He’s also hopeful about former arts nonprofit leader Lyz Luke’s appointment as the Oakland’s Cultural Affairs Manager at the start of the year, and says she’s working behind the scenes to secure more funding for the performing arts. \u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The theater company wants to revamp the venue with a 200-seat theater and space for music, screenings and more.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Music fans who worried about the New Parish’s closure late last year can rest assured that the Oakland venue won’t be turning into condos. On Oct. 22, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/oakland-theater-project\">Oakland Theater Project\u003c/a> announced that it will take over the San Pablo Avenue space and convert it into a hub for theater, music and performing arts. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Oakland is just a mecca of resilience — a passionate, incredible, diverse community — and it’s full of creatives and artists,” Oakland Theater Project Managing Director Colin Mandlin tells KQED. “So to be able to have people to share and present their work in their hometown … it’s going to be this kind of common-sense but also really celebratory and wonderful accomplishment.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The theater company has signed a 10-year lease on the 13,000-square-foot building, with the option to buy it in the future. Oakland Theater Project’s vision is to create a 200-seat main theater, a second smaller theater, backstage areas and an expanded marquee lobby, bar and outdoor courtyard. Their goal is to have the space ready for audiences in the late spring of 2027.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition to the \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandtheaterproject.org/\">Oakland Theater Project’s own productions\u003c/a>, the new performing arts center will host concerts, talks, screenings and classes. Given the building’s long history as a music venue — first as Sweet Jimmie’s, then the New Parish — Oakland Theater Project is partnering with a concert presenter that they plan to announce in the coming days. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over the years, the New Parish hosted shows by musical greats, including The Jacka and Nipsey Hussle before both of their untimely passings. In its final year of operation, Oakland rap star Mistah F.A.B., R&B legend Teedra Moses, Chilean rapper Ana Tijoux and local, experimental techno outfit Cel Genesis all had events there.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the building’s new incarnation, Mandlin says the musical programming will include an eclectic array of local and touring artists. “We very much value the history of a space, both in terms of its cultural significance, as well as the physical building and attributes itself,” he says. “And the fact that this space has hosted musical events for decades is definitely something that we want to honor and continue.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The new performing arts center comes at a time of expansion for Oakland Theater Project, whose next play \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandtheaterproject.org/she\">\u003cem>She Se Puede (A Chorus of Huertas)\u003c/em>\u003c/a> premieres at their current, smaller Downtown Oakland location on Nov. 20. Mandlin says they regularly sell out performances in their 80-seat space without much advertising, and have had to take productions to larger venues, often outside of Oakland, to accommodate their growing audience. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We have a really passionate and powerful community that supports us and that follows us,” Mandlin says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though the Oakland Theater Project lost tens of thousands of dollars due to National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities funding cuts, Mandlin says donors and foundations have rallied around the theater company. The organization’s budget has quadrupled since 2021. He’s also hopeful about former arts nonprofit leader Lyz Luke’s appointment as the Oakland’s Cultural Affairs Manager at the start of the year, and says she’s working behind the scenes to secure more funding for the performing arts. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It’s great timing for us to now take on this new venue and growth opportunity,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>What’s more interesting, the Civil War or singing in a cabaret club?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For the lovely and limber Mary Todd Lincoln, it’s no contest, considering the war with the South prompts her to ask an important question: the South of what?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While at least 620,000 soldiers died in a conflict that still carries ramifications for the United States today, Mary isn’t thinking about that history and legacy mumbo jumbo. On her mind is much more critical business at hand, mostly involving her dream of climbing all over a piano crooning classic cabaret hits, tickling the ivories \u003cem>and\u003c/em> the audience.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/MichaelLeporeandJohn-AndrewMorrisoninOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-cb3fd56c.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994803\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/MichaelLeporeandJohn-AndrewMorrisoninOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-cb3fd56c.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/MichaelLeporeandJohn-AndrewMorrisoninOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-cb3fd56c-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/MichaelLeporeandJohn-AndrewMorrisoninOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-cb3fd56c-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/MichaelLeporeandJohn-AndrewMorrisoninOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-cb3fd56c-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Michael Lepore and John-Andrew Morrison in ‘Oh, Mary!’ (Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>In ATG San Francisco’s production of Cole Escola’s \u003cem>Oh, Mary! \u003c/em>at the Curran Theatre, chaos and conflict rule the day, and secrets are revealed in wild, wacky ways. It’s a show clearly not for everyone, with some seriously low-hanging fruit that the audience can snatch up immediately. Yet the play, a 2025 Pulitzer Prize in Drama finalist, is mighty bold and wonderfully irreverent, following a fictional, highly inaccurate version of the first lady in the weeks leading up to Abraham Lincoln’s assassination.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Mary (Alaska Thunderfuck) is more than bored. She’s living a suffocating and banal life while spending way too much time with some guy named Jack Daniels, prancing all over the house in a gargantuan black hoop dress and curls that scream bratty (and a strange, perfectly coiffed bun that’s the centerpiece of her hair game). Her frustration with her top-hat hubby (John-Andrew Morrison) is that he just can’t lay off this Civil War stuff for an evening to ravage her with steamy passion. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Turns out the Civil War is kind of important, and since Mary yearns for a stage, her husband decides to pay for acting lessons with a wonderful but maybe not-so-talented teacher (Wesley Taylor). While Mary is distracted, things get steamy in secret between her husband and his assistant (Michael Lepore).\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/PooyaMohseniandAlaskaThunderfuckinOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-9d644c33.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994802\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/PooyaMohseniandAlaskaThunderfuckinOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-9d644c33.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/PooyaMohseniandAlaskaThunderfuckinOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-9d644c33-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/PooyaMohseniandAlaskaThunderfuckinOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-9d644c33-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/PooyaMohseniandAlaskaThunderfuckinOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-9d644c33-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pooya Mohseni and Alaska Thunderfuck in ‘Oh, Mary!’ (Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Does the husband want Mary to become the next Dame Ellen Terry? That would be a hard no, considering he could care less about what she does, as long as it’s far away from him. Acting lessons, though, are a dissatisfying consolation prize for what Mary truly wants: a return as a singular sensation in cabaret, the greatest art form known to civilization. After all, theater is where cabaret stars go to die. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There are a few others who catch strays from Mary’s razor-sharp tongue. Her chaperone Louise (Pooya Mohseni) has one job and even fails at that. The play’s pace is outstanding within its tight run time of 75 minutes. Sam Pinkleton’s direction lands each closing scene with sharpness, providing the audience ample opportunities to cackle in the dark. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>These opportunities are built around Thunderfuck’s scintillating set of skills, a star vehicle that Escola himself crushed in my 2024 Broadway viewing. The role hinges on the performer’s nuance. For Thunderfuck, it’s the pensive teeth-sucking and dropping perfectly timed one-liners as Mary processes her new reality in each discovered moment. Notice the quick thinking when Mary realizes she doesn’t have her handy Shakespeare script and hilariously improvises the nurse in \u003cem>Romeo and Juliet\u003c/em> at a critical audition. This new nurse is less Shakespearean and more like a Dickensian villain. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Thunderfuck possesses an uncanny ability to move through space with sleek sheen and maximum slitherance. Her physical prowess as a highly regarded drag star, in complete control of her body and its every gesture, is a constant delight.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Thunderfuck’s co-stars tee her up early and often, while being superb in their own right. Mary’s husband and his rough-and-tumble bouts with her are all about his never-ending frustration. Morrison marvels with his chaotic, closeted inner monologue. As Louise, Mohseni delivers balcony-reaching reactions that hit perfect notes within this irreverent and campy style. And Taylor’s turn as the tempestuous teacher is all riot, bounding all over the stage while leading with his booty. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/AlaskaThunderfuckandWesleyTaylorinOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-a1ef18fa.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994805\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/AlaskaThunderfuckandWesleyTaylorinOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-a1ef18fa.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/AlaskaThunderfuckandWesleyTaylorinOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-a1ef18fa-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/AlaskaThunderfuckandWesleyTaylorinOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-a1ef18fa-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/AlaskaThunderfuckandWesleyTaylorinOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-a1ef18fa-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Alaska Thunderfuck and Wesley Taylor in ‘Oh, Mary!’ (Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>There are strict regulations about spoiling the ending, which shall not be done here. However, what does come in the play’s final scene is a real hoot. The denouement is not just a commitment to camp, but a love letter to the art of drag and all its magic. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>To borrow from Gen Z, this play and that ending are just \u003cem>stupid\u003c/em>, which is one heckuva compliment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Oh, Mary!’ runs through Nov. 1 at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://us.atgtickets.com/events/oh-mary/curran-theater/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23938240759&gbraid=0AAAAA9-vlNTk2Ub91rE6b0iTSiPscugu3&gclid=Cj0KCQjwlsfWBhD4ARIsACL7p1FrrhFP7_pPKMTlAKAJ-8Os5rV_vXUF8QIHvCt9AO7UdGfVULDlPCsaAj9ZEALw_wcB\">\u003cem>Tickets and more information here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Mary (Alaska Thunderfuck) is more than bored. She’s living a suffocating and banal life while spending way too much time with some guy named Jack Daniels, prancing all over the house in a gargantuan black hoop dress and curls that scream bratty (and a strange, perfectly coiffed bun that’s the centerpiece of her hair game). Her frustration with her top-hat hubby (John-Andrew Morrison) is that he just can’t lay off this Civil War stuff for an evening to ravage her with steamy passion. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Turns out the Civil War is kind of important, and since Mary yearns for a stage, her husband decides to pay for acting lessons with a wonderful but maybe not-so-talented teacher (Wesley Taylor). While Mary is distracted, things get steamy in secret between her husband and his assistant (Michael Lepore).\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Turns out the Civil War is kind of important, and since Mary yearns for a stage, her husband decides to pay for acting lessons with a wonderful but maybe not-so-talented teacher (Wesley Taylor). While Mary is distracted, things get steamy in secret between her husband and his assistant (Michael Lepore).\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/PooyaMohseniandAlaskaThunderfuckinOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-9d644c33.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994802\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/PooyaMohseniandAlaskaThunderfuckinOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-9d644c33.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/PooyaMohseniandAlaskaThunderfuckinOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-9d644c33-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/PooyaMohseniandAlaskaThunderfuckinOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-9d644c33-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/PooyaMohseniandAlaskaThunderfuckinOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-9d644c33-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pooya Mohseni and Alaska Thunderfuck in ‘Oh, Mary!’\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Does the husband want Mary to become the next Dame Ellen Terry? That would be a hard no, considering he could care less about what she does, as long as it’s far away from him. Acting lessons, though, are a dissatisfying consolation prize for what Mary truly wants: a return as a singular sensation in cabaret, the greatest art form known to civilization. After all, theater is where cabaret stars go to die. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>There are a few others who catch strays from Mary’s razor-sharp tongue. Her chaperone Louise (Pooya Mohseni) has one job and even fails at that. The play’s pace is outstanding within its tight run time of 75 minutes. Sam Pinkleton’s direction lands each closing scene with sharpness, providing the audience ample opportunities to cackle in the dark. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>There are a few others who catch strays from Mary’s razor-sharp tongue. Her chaperone Louise (Pooya Mohseni) has one job and even fails at that. The play’s pace is outstanding within its tight run time of 75 minutes. Sam Pinkleton’s direction lands each closing scene with sharpness, providing the audience ample opportunities to cackle in the dark. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>These opportunities are built around Thunderfuck’s scintillating set of skills, a star vehicle that Escola himself crushed in my 2024 Broadway viewing. The role hinges on the performer’s nuance. For Thunderfuck, it’s the pensive teeth-sucking and dropping perfectly timed one-liners as Mary processes her new reality in each discovered moment. Notice the quick thinking when Mary realizes she doesn’t have her handy Shakespeare script and hilariously improvises the nurse in \u003cem>Romeo and Juliet\u003c/em> at a critical audition. This new nurse is less Shakespearean and more like a Dickensian villain. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>These opportunities are built around Thunderfuck’s scintillating set of skills, a star vehicle that Escola himself crushed in my 2024 Broadway viewing. The role hinges on the performer’s nuance. For Thunderfuck, it’s the pensive teeth-sucking and dropping perfectly timed one-liners as Mary processes her new reality in each discovered moment. Notice the quick thinking when Mary realizes she doesn’t have her handy Shakespeare script and hilariously improvises the nurse in \u003cem>Romeo and Juliet\u003c/em> at a critical audition. This new nurse is less Shakespearean and more like a Dickensian villain. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Thunderfuck possesses an uncanny ability to move through space with sleek sheen and maximum slitherance. Her physical prowess as a highly regarded drag star, in complete control of her body and its every gesture, is a constant delight.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Thunderfuck possesses an uncanny ability to move through space with sleek sheen and maximum slitherance. Her physical prowess as a highly regarded drag star, in complete control of her body and its every gesture, is a constant delight.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Thunderfuck’s co-stars tee her up early and often, while being superb in their own right. Mary’s husband and his rough-and-tumble bouts with her are all about his never-ending frustration. Morrison marvels with his chaotic, closeted inner monologue. As Louise, Mohseni delivers balcony-reaching reactions that hit perfect notes within this irreverent and campy style. And Taylor’s turn as the tempestuous teacher is all riot, bounding all over the stage while leading with his booty. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Thunderfuck’s co-stars tee her up early and often, while being superb in their own right. Mary’s husband and his rough-and-tumble bouts with her are all about his never-ending frustration. Morrison marvels with his chaotic, closeted inner monologue. As Louise, Mohseni delivers balcony-reaching reactions that hit perfect notes within this irreverent and campy style. And Taylor’s turn as the tempestuous teacher is all riot, bounding all over the stage while leading with his booty. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>There are strict regulations about spoiling the ending, which shall not be done here. However, what does come in the play’s final scene is a real hoot. The denouement is not just a commitment to camp, but a love letter to the art of drag and all its magic. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>There are strict regulations about spoiling the ending, which shall not be done here. However, what does come in the play’s final scene is a real hoot. The denouement is not just a commitment to camp, but a love letter to the art of drag and all its magic. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>To borrow from Gen Z, this play and that ending are just \u003cem>stupid\u003c/em>, which is one heckuva compliment.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>To borrow from Gen Z, this play and that ending are just \u003cem>stupid\u003c/em>, which is one heckuva compliment.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Oh, Mary!’ runs through Nov. 1 at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://us.atgtickets.com/events/oh-mary/curran-theater/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23938240759&gbraid=0AAAAA9-vlNTk2Ub91rE6b0iTSiPscugu3&gclid=Cj0KCQjwlsfWBhD4ARIsACL7p1FrrhFP7_pPKMTlAKAJ-8Os5rV_vXUF8QIHvCt9AO7UdGfVULDlPCsaAj9ZEALw_wcB\">\u003cem>Tickets and more information here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Oh, Mary!’ runs through Nov. 1 at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://us.atgtickets.com/events/oh-mary/curran-theater/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23938240759&gbraid=0AAAAA9-vlNTk2Ub91rE6b0iTSiPscugu3&gclid=Cj0KCQjwlsfWBhD4ARIsACL7p1FrrhFP7_pPKMTlAKAJ-8Os5rV_vXUF8QIHvCt9AO7UdGfVULDlPCsaAj9ZEALw_wcB\">\u003cem>Tickets and more information here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "The Pulitzer-nominated musical has opened in San Francisco, with drag star Alaska as Mary Todd Lincoln.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>What’s more interesting, the Civil War or singing in a cabaret club?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For the lovely and limber Mary Todd Lincoln, it’s no contest, considering the war with the South prompts her to ask an important question: the South of what?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While at least 620,000 soldiers died in a conflict that still carries ramifications for the United States today, Mary isn’t thinking about that history and legacy mumbo jumbo. On her mind is much more critical business at hand, mostly involving her dream of climbing all over a piano crooning classic cabaret hits, tickling the ivories \u003cem>and\u003c/em> the audience.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/MichaelLeporeandJohn-AndrewMorrisoninOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-cb3fd56c.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994803\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/MichaelLeporeandJohn-AndrewMorrisoninOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-cb3fd56c.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/MichaelLeporeandJohn-AndrewMorrisoninOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-cb3fd56c-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/MichaelLeporeandJohn-AndrewMorrisoninOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-cb3fd56c-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/MichaelLeporeandJohn-AndrewMorrisoninOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-cb3fd56c-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Michael Lepore and John-Andrew Morrison in ‘Oh, Mary!’ (Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>In ATG San Francisco’s production of Cole Escola’s \u003cem>Oh, Mary! \u003c/em>at the Curran Theatre, chaos and conflict rule the day, and secrets are revealed in wild, wacky ways. It’s a show clearly not for everyone, with some seriously low-hanging fruit that the audience can snatch up immediately. Yet the play, a 2025 Pulitzer Prize in Drama finalist, is mighty bold and wonderfully irreverent, following a fictional, highly inaccurate version of the first lady in the weeks leading up to Abraham Lincoln’s assassination.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Mary (Alaska Thunderfuck) is more than bored. She’s living a suffocating and banal life while spending way too much time with some guy named Jack Daniels, prancing all over the house in a gargantuan black hoop dress and curls that scream bratty (and a strange, perfectly coiffed bun that’s the centerpiece of her hair game). Her frustration with her top-hat hubby (John-Andrew Morrison) is that he just can’t lay off this Civil War stuff for an evening to ravage her with steamy passion. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Turns out the Civil War is kind of important, and since Mary yearns for a stage, her husband decides to pay for acting lessons with a wonderful but maybe not-so-talented teacher (Wesley Taylor). While Mary is distracted, things get steamy in secret between her husband and his assistant (Michael Lepore).\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/PooyaMohseniandAlaskaThunderfuckinOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-9d644c33.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994802\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/PooyaMohseniandAlaskaThunderfuckinOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-9d644c33.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/PooyaMohseniandAlaskaThunderfuckinOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-9d644c33-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/PooyaMohseniandAlaskaThunderfuckinOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-9d644c33-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/PooyaMohseniandAlaskaThunderfuckinOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-9d644c33-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pooya Mohseni and Alaska Thunderfuck in ‘Oh, Mary!’ (Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Does the husband want Mary to become the next Dame Ellen Terry? That would be a hard no, considering he could care less about what she does, as long as it’s far away from him. Acting lessons, though, are a dissatisfying consolation prize for what Mary truly wants: a return as a singular sensation in cabaret, the greatest art form known to civilization. After all, theater is where cabaret stars go to die. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There are a few others who catch strays from Mary’s razor-sharp tongue. Her chaperone Louise (Pooya Mohseni) has one job and even fails at that. The play’s pace is outstanding within its tight run time of 75 minutes. Sam Pinkleton’s direction lands each closing scene with sharpness, providing the audience ample opportunities to cackle in the dark. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>These opportunities are built around Thunderfuck’s scintillating set of skills, a star vehicle that Escola himself crushed in my 2024 Broadway viewing. The role hinges on the performer’s nuance. For Thunderfuck, it’s the pensive teeth-sucking and dropping perfectly timed one-liners as Mary processes her new reality in each discovered moment. Notice the quick thinking when Mary realizes she doesn’t have her handy Shakespeare script and hilariously improvises the nurse in \u003cem>Romeo and Juliet\u003c/em> at a critical audition. This new nurse is less Shakespearean and more like a Dickensian villain. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Thunderfuck possesses an uncanny ability to move through space with sleek sheen and maximum slitherance. Her physical prowess as a highly regarded drag star, in complete control of her body and its every gesture, is a constant delight.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Thunderfuck’s co-stars tee her up early and often, while being superb in their own right. Mary’s husband and his rough-and-tumble bouts with her are all about his never-ending frustration. Morrison marvels with his chaotic, closeted inner monologue. As Louise, Mohseni delivers balcony-reaching reactions that hit perfect notes within this irreverent and campy style. And Taylor’s turn as the tempestuous teacher is all riot, bounding all over the stage while leading with his booty. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/AlaskaThunderfuckandWesleyTaylorinOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-a1ef18fa.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994805\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/AlaskaThunderfuckandWesleyTaylorinOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-a1ef18fa.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/AlaskaThunderfuckandWesleyTaylorinOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-a1ef18fa-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/AlaskaThunderfuckandWesleyTaylorinOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-a1ef18fa-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/AlaskaThunderfuckandWesleyTaylorinOHMARYFirstNationalTour_photobyEvanZimmermanforMurphyMade-a1ef18fa-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Alaska Thunderfuck and Wesley Taylor in ‘Oh, Mary!’ (Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>There are strict regulations about spoiling the ending, which shall not be done here. However, what does come in the play’s final scene is a real hoot. The denouement is not just a commitment to camp, but a love letter to the art of drag and all its magic. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>To borrow from Gen Z, this play and that ending are just \u003cem>stupid\u003c/em>, which is one heckuva compliment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Oh, Mary!’ runs through Nov. 1 at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://us.atgtickets.com/events/oh-mary/curran-theater/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23938240759&gbraid=0AAAAA9-vlNTk2Ub91rE6b0iTSiPscugu3&gclid=Cj0KCQjwlsfWBhD4ARIsACL7p1FrrhFP7_pPKMTlAKAJ-8Os5rV_vXUF8QIHvCt9AO7UdGfVULDlPCsaAj9ZEALw_wcB\">\u003cem>Tickets and more information here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "every-saturday-night-fillmore-district-sfbatco-review",
"title": "‘Every Saturday Night’ Captures a Fight for the Fillmore’s Soul",
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"headTitle": "‘Every Saturday Night’ Captures a Fight for the Fillmore’s Soul | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>In \u003cem>Every Saturday Night\u003c/em>, a world-premiere musical that opened Thursday in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>, a single mother living in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/fillmore\">Fillmore District\u003c/a> opens her old Victorian home to the Black community each week to keep the party going well after the clubs close. It’s the story of a time when the Fillmore was filled with jazz music, prosperous businesses and community.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Today, after so-called urban renewal in the 1970s decimated the cultural fabric of the neighborhood, and various attempts to recapture its “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11957757/why-san-franciscos-fillmore-district-is-no-longer-the-harlem-of-the-west\">Harlem of the West\u003c/a>” vibrancy, that same area tells a very different story. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994799\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec-2000x1334.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Donte (Darryl V. Jones), left, tells Adarè (Trevor Miller) about growing up in the Fillmore in SFBATCO’s ‘Every Saturday Night.’ (Alexa LexMex Treviño)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Cowritten by Michael Gene Sullivan and Danny Duncan and produced by SFBATCO, \u003cem>Every Saturday Night\u003c/em> casts the Fillmore itself as the show’s main character. Donte Coleman (Darryl V. Jones), tells stories of his childhood in the Fillmore to the teenage son of a new family looking to buy his home and move in. Having learned the history of the neighborhood, the family is shocked to see that it’s not what they expected. Samuel (Jon-David Randle), the new homebuyer, puts it plainly: “There aren’t as many Black people as I thought there would be.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Across its 70-year timeline, from the 1950s to present day, the script is constant in its message, if a little hard to follow at times. The production comes alive when it reenacts the different parties hosted by Donte’s mother Ardella (Cathleen Riddley), providing a “nice place where colored folks can rest” at the end of a busy work week. Between these lively parties with loud jazz and busy dance numbers (with music by Othello Jefferson and choreography by the director, AeJay Antonis Marquis), there’s also a fight to save the district from encroaching redevelopment, and to protect Black residents from the removal that its Japanese residents had faced a few years earlier. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-82-d59f5932.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-82-d59f5932.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-82-d59f5932-2000x1334.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-82-d59f5932-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-82-d59f5932-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-82-d59f5932-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-82-d59f5932-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Doris (Imri Tate) speaks out against urban renewal and the displacement of the Fillmore’s Black community in SFBATCO’s ‘Every Saturday Night.’ (Alexa LexMex Treviño)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Doris (Imri M. Tate) is crusader for this cause, and convinces Ardella to join her. (“I don’t want to be moved out of my home because somebody wants to bleach the Fillmoe like a damn shirt,” Doris says.) In the original song “For the Greater Good of the Neighborhood,” Doris pleads for Ardella to keep her home, and the audience gets immersed into an anti-redevelopment protest. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Back to the present day, as Donte bonds with the new family’s teenage son, Adarè (Trevor Miller), similar efforts are underway. A “Western Addition Heritage Association” knocks on the door trying to purchase and flip the house, under the guise of keeping it in the community. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-51-44c859bd.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994801\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-51-44c859bd.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-51-44c859bd-2000x1334.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-51-44c859bd-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-51-44c859bd-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-51-44c859bd-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-51-44c859bd-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Young Donte (Jacob Henrie-Naffaa), center, and others dance the night away at Ardella’s after-hours joint in SFBATCO’s ‘Every Saturday Night.’ (Alexa LexMex Treviño)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>San Francisco is an ever-changing city, for better or for worse. In \u003cem>Every Saturday Night\u003c/em>, emotional and comedic performances bring the city’s history into the present day. “There’s still efforts to disappear and erase the Fillmoe,” Marquis said during a pre-show discussion on opening night. “We are trying to keep it alive.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Every Saturday Night’ runs through Nov. 1 at The Strand (1127 Market St., San Francisco). \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/activate/every-saturday-night\">\u003cem>Tickets and more information here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Back to the present day, as Donte bonds with the new family’s teenage son, Adarè (Trevor Miller), similar efforts are underway. A “Western Addition Heritage Association” knocks on the door trying to purchase and flip the house, under the guise of keeping it in the community. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>San Francisco is an ever-changing city, for better or for worse. In \u003cem>Every Saturday Night\u003c/em>, emotional and comedic performances bring the city’s history into the present day. “There’s still efforts to disappear and erase the Fillmoe,” Marquis said during a pre-show discussion on opening night. “We are trying to keep it alive.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>San Francisco is an ever-changing city, for better or for worse. In \u003cem>Every Saturday Night\u003c/em>, emotional and comedic performances bring the city’s history into the present day. “There’s still efforts to disappear and erase the Fillmoe,” Marquis said during a pre-show discussion on opening night. “We are trying to keep it alive.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Every Saturday Night’ runs through Nov. 1 at The Strand (1127 Market St., San Francisco). \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/activate/every-saturday-night\">\u003cem>Tickets and more information here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Every Saturday Night’ runs through Nov. 1 at The Strand (1127 Market St., San Francisco). \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/activate/every-saturday-night\">\u003cem>Tickets and more information here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"title": "Review: ‘Every Saturday Night’ Captures a Fight for the Fillmore’s Soul | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>In \u003cem>Every Saturday Night\u003c/em>, a world-premiere musical that opened Thursday in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>, a single mother living in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/fillmore\">Fillmore District\u003c/a> opens her old Victorian home to the Black community each week to keep the party going well after the clubs close. It’s the story of a time when the Fillmore was filled with jazz music, prosperous businesses and community.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Today, after so-called urban renewal in the 1970s decimated the cultural fabric of the neighborhood, and various attempts to recapture its “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11957757/why-san-franciscos-fillmore-district-is-no-longer-the-harlem-of-the-west\">Harlem of the West\u003c/a>” vibrancy, that same area tells a very different story. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994799\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec-2000x1334.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-29-1e9387ec-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Donte (Darryl V. Jones), left, tells Adarè (Trevor Miller) about growing up in the Fillmore in SFBATCO’s ‘Every Saturday Night.’ (Alexa LexMex Treviño)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Cowritten by Michael Gene Sullivan and Danny Duncan and produced by SFBATCO, \u003cem>Every Saturday Night\u003c/em> casts the Fillmore itself as the show’s main character. Donte Coleman (Darryl V. Jones), tells stories of his childhood in the Fillmore to the teenage son of a new family looking to buy his home and move in. Having learned the history of the neighborhood, the family is shocked to see that it’s not what they expected. Samuel (Jon-David Randle), the new homebuyer, puts it plainly: “There aren’t as many Black people as I thought there would be.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Across its 70-year timeline, from the 1950s to present day, the script is constant in its message, if a little hard to follow at times. The production comes alive when it reenacts the different parties hosted by Donte’s mother Ardella (Cathleen Riddley), providing a “nice place where colored folks can rest” at the end of a busy work week. Between these lively parties with loud jazz and busy dance numbers (with music by Othello Jefferson and choreography by the director, AeJay Antonis Marquis), there’s also a fight to save the district from encroaching redevelopment, and to protect Black residents from the removal that its Japanese residents had faced a few years earlier. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-82-d59f5932.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-82-d59f5932.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-82-d59f5932-2000x1334.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-82-d59f5932-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-82-d59f5932-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-82-d59f5932-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-82-d59f5932-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Doris (Imri Tate) speaks out against urban renewal and the displacement of the Fillmore’s Black community in SFBATCO’s ‘Every Saturday Night.’ (Alexa LexMex Treviño)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Doris (Imri M. Tate) is crusader for this cause, and convinces Ardella to join her. (“I don’t want to be moved out of my home because somebody wants to bleach the Fillmoe like a damn shirt,” Doris says.) In the original song “For the Greater Good of the Neighborhood,” Doris pleads for Ardella to keep her home, and the audience gets immersed into an anti-redevelopment protest. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Back to the present day, as Donte bonds with the new family’s teenage son, Adarè (Trevor Miller), similar efforts are underway. A “Western Addition Heritage Association” knocks on the door trying to purchase and flip the house, under the guise of keeping it in the community. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-51-44c859bd.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994801\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-51-44c859bd.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-51-44c859bd-2000x1334.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-51-44c859bd-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-51-44c859bd-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-51-44c859bd-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/EverySaturdayNightcAlexaLexMexTreviño-51-44c859bd-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Young Donte (Jacob Henrie-Naffaa), center, and others dance the night away at Ardella’s after-hours joint in SFBATCO’s ‘Every Saturday Night.’ (Alexa LexMex Treviño)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>San Francisco is an ever-changing city, for better or for worse. In \u003cem>Every Saturday Night\u003c/em>, emotional and comedic performances bring the city’s history into the present day. “There’s still efforts to disappear and erase the Fillmoe,” Marquis said during a pre-show discussion on opening night. “We are trying to keep it alive.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Every Saturday Night’ runs through Nov. 1 at The Strand (1127 Market St., San Francisco). \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/activate/every-saturday-night\">\u003cem>Tickets and more information here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "north-by-northwest-review-act-san-francisco-insult-to-source-material-hitchcock",
"title": "At ACT, ‘North By Northwest’ Is an Insult to Hitchcock",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>I cannot tell you how much I hated \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em>, which opened this week at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/act\">ACT\u003c/a> in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>. It is an insult to the source material of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1959 film, and an insult to the audience’s intelligence. I ran from it as soon as I could, muttering obscenities to anyone within earshot.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This production’s first abomination is a shift in tone from a sophisticated, understated thriller to an over-the-top comedy, rife with insipid stereotypes and cheap gags. The second is the near-constant presence onstage of a narrator, who sucks the life out of any scene by overexplaining the action. The third is regular interruptions from songs by 1950s female pop vocalists like Peggy Lee and Betty Hutton, which turn into lip-synced dance numbers by whichever actor has the misfortune to be on stage.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The fourth is the production’s reliance on a surface-level 1950s nostalgia. The fifth is a finger-wagging for anyone who might problematically harbor any similar nostalgia. The sixth is the absurd plot coda and forced social commentary it tacks on at the end, in a sudden and jarring switch from slapstick to earnestness, with an entreaty to the audience that we “never again” return to the tactics of the Cold War, and have hope, or something.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>You get the idea. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1333\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot9RichSoubletII.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994167\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot9RichSoubletII.jpg 1333w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot9RichSoubletII-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot9RichSoubletII-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot9RichSoubletII-1024x1536.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1333px) 100vw, 1333px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(L–R) Bryony Pennington, Simon Oskarsson, Katy Owen, Danny Collins, Karl Queensborough and Patrycja Kujawska in ‘North by Northwest.’ (Rich Soublet II)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Adapted and directed by Emma Rice, the play is a complete misreading of Hitchcock’s original film, and its central theme of a mistaken identity that compounds upon itself. Roger Thornhill, who works in advertising, is misapprehended as a CIA operative and abducted by foreign agents. He soon finds that nobody trusts or believes him — not his captors, nor the police, the courts and even his own mother. In Hitchcock’s version, this is illustrated by a disturbing moment as an elevator of strangers breaks into laughter at Thornhill’s notion that someone could be out to murder him. Onstage at ACT, the scene is played as a joke, the punchline of which is Ella Fitzgerald singing “Get Happy” over the P.A. and everyone breaking into a hip-wagging go-go dance party.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>What is this play trying to do? Why does it turn Cary Grant’s distinguished Thornhill into an uber-\u003ca href=\"https://x.com/JillFilipovic/status/2054240710795370892\">chalant\u003c/a> bro? Why does it expect we’ll think a man in women’s clothing is funny? Why do Thornhill (Danny Collins) and love interest Eve Kendall (Patrycja Kujawska), who in Ernest Lehman’s original screenplay bounce beautifully around each other, have such little chemistry onstage despite reciting the same lines? Why is the play obsessed with the phrase “global security,” mocking it repeatedly, as if staving off World War III was not a worthy goal? Why is a play set in 1959 using so many songs — Wayne Newton’s “Heart,” Nina Simone’s “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” a knockoff of Isaac Hayes’ “Shaft” — from the 1960s and ’70s? Why does it treat the plot like fluff but then have the narrator turn somber and wonder, out loud, “When will the killings stop?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot8RichSoubletII.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994166\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot8RichSoubletII.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot8RichSoubletII-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot8RichSoubletII-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot8RichSoubletII-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Simon Oskarsson, Danny Collins and Bryony Pennington in ‘North by Northwest.’ (Rich Soublet II)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>I have a guess for some of this, and that’s the successful nine-year run in London of \u003cem>The 39 Steps\u003c/em>, a stage play adapted from the Hitchcock film that’s closest, thematically, to \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em>. Like this production, \u003cem>The 39 Steps\u003c/em> utilized a small cast playing many characters, and a sparse but modular set, with quick pacing. But \u003cem>The 39 Steps\u003c/em>, on stage, was well-crafted and trusted the audience. This \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em> assumes the audience isn’t smart enough to follow the plot, so the narrator (Katy Owen) leads call-and-response sessions with us to remember who’s who.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s also just focused on the wrong thing. The core of \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em> is one man’s need for identity and trust after he’s been stripped of it. At ACT, it’s spies, both onstage and off. A prompt in the lobby asks patrons for their favorite conspiracy. Walking tours associated with the production visit sites of “Cold War paranoia and espionage” near Union Square. Even Hitchcock himself, speaking with François Truffaut, called the inclusion of government secrets in the film “my best MacGuffin, and by that I mean the emptiest, the most nonexistent, and the most absurd.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As for the play’s awkward new ending, and retconning the sexism of the 1950s: why pick on \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em>? Why not undertake that with dim-witted pap like \u003cem>Kiss Me Stupid\u003c/em>, or \u003cem>Under the Yum-Yum Tree\u003c/em>? Or why not adapt a Hitchcock screenplay with more complex gender dynamics to explore, like \u003cem>Marnie\u003c/em>?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot11RichSoubletII.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994169\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot11RichSoubletII.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot11RichSoubletII-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot11RichSoubletII-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot11RichSoubletII-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Danny Collins as Roger Thornhill in ‘North by Northwest.’ (Rich Soublet II)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>I feel compelled here to note some of the good. The set — a rack of suits, four revolving doors and a parade of suitcases — gets repurposed in semi-interesting ways. The actors’ quick changes and choreography can be impressive. The famous cropduster and Mount Rushmore scenes have some inventive stage adaptation. Bryony Pennington (as Anna and others) is a standout, and an effervescent Owen makes the best with what she’s given.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But these are crowded out by the rest of it all, which is just plain disrespectful to one of history’s best films. If, five years from now, we see a zany \u003cem>Gong Show\u003c/em>-style staging of \u003cem>On the Waterfront\u003c/em> with disco interludes, I’ll know which play to blame.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘North By Northwest’ runs through Oct. 18 at the Toni Rembe Theater (415 Geary St.) in San Francisco. \u003ca href=\"https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/2026-27-season/north-by-northwest\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>I cannot tell you how much I hated \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em>, which opened this week at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/act\">ACT\u003c/a> in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>. It is an insult to the source material of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1959 film, and an insult to the audience’s intelligence. I ran from it as soon as I could, muttering obscenities to anyone within earshot.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This production’s first abomination is a shift in tone from a sophisticated, understated thriller to an over-the-top comedy, rife with insipid stereotypes and cheap gags. The second is the near-constant presence onstage of a narrator, who sucks the life out of any scene by overexplaining the action. The third is regular interruptions from songs by 1950s female pop vocalists like Peggy Lee and Betty Hutton, which turn into lip-synced dance numbers by whichever actor has the misfortune to be on stage.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>This production’s first abomination is a shift in tone from a sophisticated, understated thriller to an over-the-top comedy, rife with insipid stereotypes and cheap gags. The second is the near-constant presence onstage of a narrator, who sucks the life out of any scene by overexplaining the action. The third is regular interruptions from songs by 1950s female pop vocalists like Peggy Lee and Betty Hutton, which turn into lip-synced dance numbers by whichever actor has the misfortune to be on stage.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The fourth is the production’s reliance on a surface-level 1950s nostalgia. The fifth is a finger-wagging for anyone who might problematically harbor any similar nostalgia. The sixth is the absurd plot coda and forced social commentary it tacks on at the end, in a sudden and jarring switch from slapstick to earnestness, with an entreaty to the audience that we “never again” return to the tactics of the Cold War, and have hope, or something.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The fourth is the production’s reliance on a surface-level 1950s nostalgia. The fifth is a finger-wagging for anyone who might problematically harbor any similar nostalgia. The sixth is the absurd plot coda and forced social commentary it tacks on at the end, in a sudden and jarring switch from slapstick to earnestness, with an entreaty to the audience that we “never again” return to the tactics of the Cold War, and have hope, or something.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot9RichSoubletII.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994167\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot9RichSoubletII.jpg 1333w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot9RichSoubletII-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot9RichSoubletII-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot9RichSoubletII-1024x1536.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(L–R) Bryony Pennington, Simon Oskarsson, Katy Owen, Danny Collins, Karl Queensborough and Patrycja Kujawska in ‘North by Northwest.’\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Rich Soublet II)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot9RichSoubletII.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994167\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(L–R) Bryony Pennington, Simon Oskarsson, Katy Owen, Danny Collins, Karl Queensborough and Patrycja Kujawska in ‘North by Northwest.’\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Rich Soublet II)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Adapted and directed by Emma Rice, the play is a complete misreading of Hitchcock’s original film, and its central theme of a mistaken identity that compounds upon itself. Roger Thornhill, who works in advertising, is misapprehended as a CIA operative and abducted by foreign agents. He soon finds that nobody trusts or believes him — not his captors, nor the police, the courts and even his own mother. In Hitchcock’s version, this is illustrated by a disturbing moment as an elevator of strangers breaks into laughter at Thornhill’s notion that someone could be out to murder him. Onstage at ACT, the scene is played as a joke, the punchline of which is Ella Fitzgerald singing “Get Happy” over the P.A. and everyone breaking into a hip-wagging go-go dance party.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Adapted and directed by Emma Rice, the play is a complete misreading of Hitchcock’s original film, and its central theme of a mistaken identity that compounds upon itself. Roger Thornhill, who works in advertising, is misapprehended as a CIA operative and abducted by foreign agents. He soon finds that nobody trusts or believes him — not his captors, nor the police, the courts and even his own mother. In Hitchcock’s version, this is illustrated by a disturbing moment as an elevator of strangers breaks into laughter at Thornhill’s notion that someone could be out to murder him. Onstage at ACT, the scene is played as a joke, the punchline of which is Ella Fitzgerald singing “Get Happy” over the P.A. and everyone breaking into a hip-wagging go-go dance party.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>What is this play trying to do? Why does it turn Cary Grant’s distinguished Thornhill into an uber-\u003ca href=\"https://x.com/JillFilipovic/status/2054240710795370892\">chalant\u003c/a> bro? Why does it expect we’ll think a man in women’s clothing is funny? Why do Thornhill (Danny Collins) and love interest Eve Kendall (Patrycja Kujawska), who in Ernest Lehman’s original screenplay bounce beautifully around each other, have such little chemistry onstage despite reciting the same lines? Why is the play obsessed with the phrase “global security,” mocking it repeatedly, as if staving off World War III was not a worthy goal? Why is a play set in 1959 using so many songs — Wayne Newton’s “Heart,” Nina Simone’s “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” a knockoff of Isaac Hayes’ “Shaft” — from the 1960s and ’70s? Why does it treat the plot like fluff but then have the narrator turn somber and wonder, out loud, “When will the killings stop?”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>What is this play trying to do? Why does it turn Cary Grant’s distinguished Thornhill into an uber-\u003ca href=\"https://x.com/JillFilipovic/status/2054240710795370892\">chalant\u003c/a> bro? Why does it expect we’ll think a man in women’s clothing is funny? Why do Thornhill (Danny Collins) and love interest Eve Kendall (Patrycja Kujawska), who in Ernest Lehman’s original screenplay bounce beautifully around each other, have such little chemistry onstage despite reciting the same lines? Why is the play obsessed with the phrase “global security,” mocking it repeatedly, as if staving off World War III was not a worthy goal? Why is a play set in 1959 using so many songs — Wayne Newton’s “Heart,” Nina Simone’s “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” a knockoff of Isaac Hayes’ “Shaft” — from the 1960s and ’70s? Why does it treat the plot like fluff but then have the narrator turn somber and wonder, out loud, “When will the killings stop?”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot8RichSoubletII.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994166\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot8RichSoubletII.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot8RichSoubletII-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot8RichSoubletII-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot8RichSoubletII-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Simon Oskarsson, Danny Collins and Bryony Pennington in ‘North by Northwest.’\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Rich Soublet II)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>I have a guess for some of this, and that’s the successful nine-year run in London of \u003cem>The 39 Steps\u003c/em>, a stage play adapted from the Hitchcock film that’s closest, thematically, to \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em>. Like this production, \u003cem>The 39 Steps\u003c/em> utilized a small cast playing many characters, and a sparse but modular set, with quick pacing. But \u003cem>The 39 Steps\u003c/em>, on stage, was well-crafted and trusted the audience. This \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em> assumes the audience isn’t smart enough to follow the plot, so the narrator (Katy Owen) leads call-and-response sessions with us to remember who’s who.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>I have a guess for some of this, and that’s the successful nine-year run in London of \u003cem>The 39 Steps\u003c/em>, a stage play adapted from the Hitchcock film that’s closest, thematically, to \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em>. Like this production, \u003cem>The 39 Steps\u003c/em> utilized a small cast playing many characters, and a sparse but modular set, with quick pacing. But \u003cem>The 39 Steps\u003c/em>, on stage, was well-crafted and trusted the audience. This \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em> assumes the audience isn’t smart enough to follow the plot, so the narrator (Katy Owen) leads call-and-response sessions with us to remember who’s who.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s also just focused on the wrong thing. The core of \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em> is one man’s need for identity and trust after he’s been stripped of it. At ACT, it’s spies, both onstage and off. A prompt in the lobby asks patrons for their favorite conspiracy. Walking tours associated with the production visit sites of “Cold War paranoia and espionage” near Union Square. Even Hitchcock himself, speaking with François Truffaut, called the inclusion of government secrets in the film “my best MacGuffin, and by that I mean the emptiest, the most nonexistent, and the most absurd.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It’s also just focused on the wrong thing. The core of \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em> is one man’s need for identity and trust after he’s been stripped of it. At ACT, it’s spies, both onstage and off. A prompt in the lobby asks patrons for their favorite conspiracy. Walking tours associated with the production visit sites of “Cold War paranoia and espionage” near Union Square. Even Hitchcock himself, speaking with François Truffaut, called the inclusion of government secrets in the film “my best MacGuffin, and by that I mean the emptiest, the most nonexistent, and the most absurd.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As for the play’s awkward new ending, and retconning the sexism of the 1950s: why pick on \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em>? Why not undertake that with dim-witted pap like \u003cem>Kiss Me Stupid\u003c/em>, or \u003cem>Under the Yum-Yum Tree\u003c/em>? Or why not adapt a Hitchcock screenplay with more complex gender dynamics to explore, like \u003cem>Marnie\u003c/em>?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>As for the play’s awkward new ending, and retconning the sexism of the 1950s: why pick on \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em>? Why not undertake that with dim-witted pap like \u003cem>Kiss Me Stupid\u003c/em>, or \u003cem>Under the Yum-Yum Tree\u003c/em>? Or why not adapt a Hitchcock screenplay with more complex gender dynamics to explore, like \u003cem>Marnie\u003c/em>?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot11RichSoubletII.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994169\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot11RichSoubletII.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot11RichSoubletII-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot11RichSoubletII-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot11RichSoubletII-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Danny Collins as Roger Thornhill in ‘North by Northwest.’\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Rich Soublet II)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>I feel compelled here to note some of the good. The set — a rack of suits, four revolving doors and a parade of suitcases — gets repurposed in semi-interesting ways. The actors’ quick changes and choreography can be impressive. The famous cropduster and Mount Rushmore scenes have some inventive stage adaptation. Bryony Pennington (as Anna and others) is a standout, and an effervescent Owen makes the best with what she’s given.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>I feel compelled here to note some of the good. The set — a rack of suits, four revolving doors and a parade of suitcases — gets repurposed in semi-interesting ways. The actors’ quick changes and choreography can be impressive. The famous cropduster and Mount Rushmore scenes have some inventive stage adaptation. Bryony Pennington (as Anna and others) is a standout, and an effervescent Owen makes the best with what she’s given.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But these are crowded out by the rest of it all, which is just plain disrespectful to one of history’s best films. If, five years from now, we see a zany \u003cem>Gong Show\u003c/em>-style staging of \u003cem>On the Waterfront\u003c/em> with disco interludes, I’ll know which play to blame.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But these are crowded out by the rest of it all, which is just plain disrespectful to one of history’s best films. If, five years from now, we see a zany \u003cem>Gong Show\u003c/em>-style staging of \u003cem>On the Waterfront\u003c/em> with disco interludes, I’ll know which play to blame.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘North By Northwest’ runs through Oct. 18 at the Toni Rembe Theater (415 Geary St.) in San Francisco. \u003ca href=\"https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/2026-27-season/north-by-northwest\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘North By Northwest’ runs through Oct. 18 at the Toni Rembe Theater (415 Geary St.) in San Francisco. \u003ca href=\"https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/2026-27-season/north-by-northwest\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"title": "Review: ‘North By Northwest’ Is an Insult to Hitchcock at ACT in San Francisco | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>I cannot tell you how much I hated \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em>, which opened this week at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/act\">ACT\u003c/a> in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>. It is an insult to the source material of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1959 film, and an insult to the audience’s intelligence. I ran from it as soon as I could, muttering obscenities to anyone within earshot.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This production’s first abomination is a shift in tone from a sophisticated, understated thriller to an over-the-top comedy, rife with insipid stereotypes and cheap gags. The second is the near-constant presence onstage of a narrator, who sucks the life out of any scene by overexplaining the action. The third is regular interruptions from songs by 1950s female pop vocalists like Peggy Lee and Betty Hutton, which turn into lip-synced dance numbers by whichever actor has the misfortune to be on stage.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The fourth is the production’s reliance on a surface-level 1950s nostalgia. The fifth is a finger-wagging for anyone who might problematically harbor any similar nostalgia. The sixth is the absurd plot coda and forced social commentary it tacks on at the end, in a sudden and jarring switch from slapstick to earnestness, with an entreaty to the audience that we “never again” return to the tactics of the Cold War, and have hope, or something.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>You get the idea. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1333\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot9RichSoubletII.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994167\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot9RichSoubletII.jpg 1333w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot9RichSoubletII-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot9RichSoubletII-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot9RichSoubletII-1024x1536.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1333px) 100vw, 1333px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(L–R) Bryony Pennington, Simon Oskarsson, Katy Owen, Danny Collins, Karl Queensborough and Patrycja Kujawska in ‘North by Northwest.’ (Rich Soublet II)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Adapted and directed by Emma Rice, the play is a complete misreading of Hitchcock’s original film, and its central theme of a mistaken identity that compounds upon itself. Roger Thornhill, who works in advertising, is misapprehended as a CIA operative and abducted by foreign agents. He soon finds that nobody trusts or believes him — not his captors, nor the police, the courts and even his own mother. In Hitchcock’s version, this is illustrated by a disturbing moment as an elevator of strangers breaks into laughter at Thornhill’s notion that someone could be out to murder him. Onstage at ACT, the scene is played as a joke, the punchline of which is Ella Fitzgerald singing “Get Happy” over the P.A. and everyone breaking into a hip-wagging go-go dance party.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>What is this play trying to do? Why does it turn Cary Grant’s distinguished Thornhill into an uber-\u003ca href=\"https://x.com/JillFilipovic/status/2054240710795370892\">chalant\u003c/a> bro? Why does it expect we’ll think a man in women’s clothing is funny? Why do Thornhill (Danny Collins) and love interest Eve Kendall (Patrycja Kujawska), who in Ernest Lehman’s original screenplay bounce beautifully around each other, have such little chemistry onstage despite reciting the same lines? Why is the play obsessed with the phrase “global security,” mocking it repeatedly, as if staving off World War III was not a worthy goal? Why is a play set in 1959 using so many songs — Wayne Newton’s “Heart,” Nina Simone’s “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” a knockoff of Isaac Hayes’ “Shaft” — from the 1960s and ’70s? Why does it treat the plot like fluff but then have the narrator turn somber and wonder, out loud, “When will the killings stop?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot8RichSoubletII.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994166\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot8RichSoubletII.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot8RichSoubletII-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot8RichSoubletII-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot8RichSoubletII-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Simon Oskarsson, Danny Collins and Bryony Pennington in ‘North by Northwest.’ (Rich Soublet II)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>I have a guess for some of this, and that’s the successful nine-year run in London of \u003cem>The 39 Steps\u003c/em>, a stage play adapted from the Hitchcock film that’s closest, thematically, to \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em>. Like this production, \u003cem>The 39 Steps\u003c/em> utilized a small cast playing many characters, and a sparse but modular set, with quick pacing. But \u003cem>The 39 Steps\u003c/em>, on stage, was well-crafted and trusted the audience. This \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em> assumes the audience isn’t smart enough to follow the plot, so the narrator (Katy Owen) leads call-and-response sessions with us to remember who’s who.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s also just focused on the wrong thing. The core of \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em> is one man’s need for identity and trust after he’s been stripped of it. At ACT, it’s spies, both onstage and off. A prompt in the lobby asks patrons for their favorite conspiracy. Walking tours associated with the production visit sites of “Cold War paranoia and espionage” near Union Square. Even Hitchcock himself, speaking with François Truffaut, called the inclusion of government secrets in the film “my best MacGuffin, and by that I mean the emptiest, the most nonexistent, and the most absurd.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As for the play’s awkward new ending, and retconning the sexism of the 1950s: why pick on \u003cem>North By Northwest\u003c/em>? Why not undertake that with dim-witted pap like \u003cem>Kiss Me Stupid\u003c/em>, or \u003cem>Under the Yum-Yum Tree\u003c/em>? Or why not adapt a Hitchcock screenplay with more complex gender dynamics to explore, like \u003cem>Marnie\u003c/em>?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot11RichSoubletII.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994169\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot11RichSoubletII.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot11RichSoubletII-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot11RichSoubletII-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ProductionShot11RichSoubletII-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Danny Collins as Roger Thornhill in ‘North by Northwest.’ (Rich Soublet II)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>I feel compelled here to note some of the good. The set — a rack of suits, four revolving doors and a parade of suitcases — gets repurposed in semi-interesting ways. The actors’ quick changes and choreography can be impressive. The famous cropduster and Mount Rushmore scenes have some inventive stage adaptation. Bryony Pennington (as Anna and others) is a standout, and an effervescent Owen makes the best with what she’s given.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But these are crowded out by the rest of it all, which is just plain disrespectful to one of history’s best films. If, five years from now, we see a zany \u003cem>Gong Show\u003c/em>-style staging of \u003cem>On the Waterfront\u003c/em> with disco interludes, I’ll know which play to blame.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘North By Northwest’ runs through Oct. 18 at the Toni Rembe Theater (415 Geary St.) in San Francisco. \u003ca href=\"https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/2026-27-season/north-by-northwest\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "the-cook-berkeley-rep-theater-review",
"title": "In ‘The Cook’ at Berkeley Rep, Revolution Is in the Air — and the Kitchen",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>Of all the scents that permeate Gladys’ kitchen in Havana on the cusp of 1959, it’s the aroma of revolution that lies thickest.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In Eduardo Machado’s spellbinding play \u003cem>The Cook\u003c/em>, now running through Oct. 11 at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, tension hangs among the pots and pans. Since age 13, Gladys (Yesenia Iglesias) has spent her days preparing meals for Cuba’s upper crust. In \u003cem>The Cook\u003c/em>, that means working for a wealthy family which includes mistress Adria (Gisela Chípe). \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At the action’s onset, Adria’s priority is to ensure everyone sets their watch back an hour to keep 1958 just a hint longer. The fleeing of Cuban president Fulgencio Batista means that the start of 1959 will see Fidel Castro taking over Havana, forcing the rich family to vacate their home and start life anew in Miami.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2287\" height=\"1521\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1409.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993796\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1409.jpg 2287w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1409-2000x1330.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1409-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1409-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1409-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1409-2048x1362.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2287px) 100vw, 2287px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Yesenia Iglesias and Daniel Duque-Estrada in Eduardo Machado’s ‘The Cook’ at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. (Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Yet before her Florida life begins with a million other Cuban exiles, Adria wants to be sure Gladys will care for the house until she returns, a promise Gladys accepts without reservation. Later, over the course of three powerful scenes that take place in the early 1970s and late 1990s, we see Gladys shed her servant’s uniform for the period clothing stemming from Adria’s bougie closet, sharply designed by Toni-Leslie James.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On a typically magnificent set from scenic designer Tanya Orellana, director David Mendizabal’s tight and focused direction utilizes plenty of tension. Machado’s writing, while bold, can also feel thinly staccato and uneven, undercutting some of the bigger payoffs the play requires. Still, there’s a quiet power in his words, which never feel overwhelming despite the volume of exposition and Cuban history that Machado includes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Much of the tension is set up beautifully at the onset, with three dark-skinned Cubans tasked with preparing food for a massive celebration (the ways that light and dark-skinned Cubans engage and interact fuels the narrative further). Helping in the kitchen is Elena (Georgina Morillo, who plays Gladys’s daughter Rosa in Act Two), barrelling through to express grunty consternation, and Julio (Ashton Muñiz), a dutiful helper hiding a secret about his sexuality that threatens “re-education” at one of Cuba’s forced labor camps — the government’s preferred way of building a more masculine society.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1428\" height=\"2147\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_0666.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993795\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_0666.jpg 1428w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_0666-160x241.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_0666-768x1155.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_0666-1022x1536.jpg 1022w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_0666-1362x2048.jpg 1362w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1428px) 100vw, 1428px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Gisela Chípe in Eduardo Machado’s ‘The Cook’ at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. (Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Gladys’ husband Carlos (Daniel Duque-Estrada) falls toward the gleeful side of revolution, and as the 1970s roll around, it is clear why. Carlos, a lowly chauffeur, is promoted to Minister of Transportation, and he makes it extremely clear he is now a Communist bureaucrat. The transition puts him among the elites, untouchable to many, albeit extremely touchable to his mistress, who bears a love child.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A highlight of \u003cem>The Cook\u003c/em> is how each character leans into any power they possess, a necessity of consolidation inside Communist Cuba, where the United States’ bruising blockade comes into direct conflict with Russia’s sizable funding of the island. While Carlos can save the lives of Gladys’ family members, he chooses not to, being much more willing to put his thumb on the scale of Marxism to get what he needs and defend Castro’s revolution to the hilt. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That revolution was never intended for Julio’s participation, which leads to a scorching scene towards the end of the first act. There is sad poetry in Julio’s belief that he be allowed to live and love as he desires, while flying too close to the sun by dating an 18-year-old son of a diplomat. The utter cruelty of Carlos and the stoic resolve of Gladys, in the hands of Duque-Estrada and Iglesias, especially in a critical moment like this, is majestic. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2084\" height=\"1387\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1783.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993794\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1783.jpg 2084w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1783-2000x1331.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1783-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1783-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1783-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1783-2048x1363.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2084px) 100vw, 2084px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Gisela Chípe and Yesenia Iglesias in Eduardo Machado’s ‘The Cook’ at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. (Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That majesty leads to some powerful payoffs in the play’s final frame. While the action of the entire play remains in the expansive kitchen, the quarters have now transitioned into a paladar, a home restaurant which the Cuban government caps to 12 seats, with only family members eligible for employment. Chípe as Adria’s daughter Lourdes, chronicling her mother’s history with a simple camera, witnesses the decay of a once regal home. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Despite Gladys’ loyalty, 40 years of living outside Castro’s Cuba has turned Lourdes’s mother into an enraged expat, and Lourdes uses a racial epithet to express the consternation built from the unspoken tension that existed many years ago. In both roles, Chípe is a marvel, with a searing vapidity that leads to some of the play’s funnier moments, while later employing a strategy that advocates for her mother’s legacy of bitterness. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the play belongs to Iglesias in the title role, who smartly stays away from clichés while playing each iteration of Gladys across a 40-year span. As the affirmation of the house and its proprietorship have shifted, Iglesias’s journey from dutiful to dominant is a wonderful showcase of range. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2223\" height=\"1479\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993793\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614.jpg 2223w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614-2000x1331.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614-2048x1363.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2223px) 100vw, 2223px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Yesenia Iglesias and Georgina Morillo in Eduardo Machado’s ‘The Cook’ at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. (Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Cook\u003c/em> speaks of a different kind of dictator, one who rules her kitchen with loving dominance while serving hearty portions of moros y cristianos. Although a certain type of Cuban life was denied those closest to this simple cook, her eyes rest on what she believes is a more certain future — an uncompromising belief that Rosa will see food she crafts on the world’s finest plates, far beyond the surrounding waters within Gladys’s Cuban heart. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" />\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘The Cook’ runs through Oct. 11 at Berkeley Rep’s Peet’s Theatre in Berkeley. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyrep.org/\">\u003cem>Tickets and more information here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In Eduardo Machado’s spellbinding play \u003cem>The Cook\u003c/em>, now running through Oct. 11 at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, tension hangs among the pots and pans. Since age 13, Gladys (Yesenia Iglesias) has spent her days preparing meals for Cuba’s upper crust. In \u003cem>The Cook\u003c/em>, that means working for a wealthy family which includes mistress Adria (Gisela Chípe). \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At the action’s onset, Adria’s priority is to ensure everyone sets their watch back an hour to keep 1958 just a hint longer. The fleeing of Cuban president Fulgencio Batista means that the start of 1959 will see Fidel Castro taking over Havana, forcing the rich family to vacate their home and start life anew in Miami.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>At the action’s onset, Adria’s priority is to ensure everyone sets their watch back an hour to keep 1958 just a hint longer. The fleeing of Cuban president Fulgencio Batista means that the start of 1959 will see Fidel Castro taking over Havana, forcing the rich family to vacate their home and start life anew in Miami.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Yet before her Florida life begins with a million other Cuban exiles, Adria wants to be sure Gladys will care for the house until she returns, a promise Gladys accepts without reservation. Later, over the course of three powerful scenes that take place in the early 1970s and late 1990s, we see Gladys shed her servant’s uniform for the period clothing stemming from Adria’s bougie closet, sharply designed by Toni-Leslie James.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Yet before her Florida life begins with a million other Cuban exiles, Adria wants to be sure Gladys will care for the house until she returns, a promise Gladys accepts without reservation. Later, over the course of three powerful scenes that take place in the early 1970s and late 1990s, we see Gladys shed her servant’s uniform for the period clothing stemming from Adria’s bougie closet, sharply designed by Toni-Leslie James.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On a typically magnificent set from scenic designer Tanya Orellana, director David Mendizabal’s tight and focused direction utilizes plenty of tension. Machado’s writing, while bold, can also feel thinly staccato and uneven, undercutting some of the bigger payoffs the play requires. Still, there’s a quiet power in his words, which never feel overwhelming despite the volume of exposition and Cuban history that Machado includes. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>On a typically magnificent set from scenic designer Tanya Orellana, director David Mendizabal’s tight and focused direction utilizes plenty of tension. Machado’s writing, while bold, can also feel thinly staccato and uneven, undercutting some of the bigger payoffs the play requires. Still, there’s a quiet power in his words, which never feel overwhelming despite the volume of exposition and Cuban history that Machado includes. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Much of the tension is set up beautifully at the onset, with three dark-skinned Cubans tasked with preparing food for a massive celebration (the ways that light and dark-skinned Cubans engage and interact fuels the narrative further). Helping in the kitchen is Elena (Georgina Morillo, who plays Gladys’s daughter Rosa in Act Two), barrelling through to express grunty consternation, and Julio (Ashton Muñiz), a dutiful helper hiding a secret about his sexuality that threatens “re-education” at one of Cuba’s forced labor camps — the government’s preferred way of building a more masculine society.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Much of the tension is set up beautifully at the onset, with three dark-skinned Cubans tasked with preparing food for a massive celebration (the ways that light and dark-skinned Cubans engage and interact fuels the narrative further). Helping in the kitchen is Elena (Georgina Morillo, who plays Gladys’s daughter Rosa in Act Two), barrelling through to express grunty consternation, and Julio (Ashton Muñiz), a dutiful helper hiding a secret about his sexuality that threatens “re-education” at one of Cuba’s forced labor camps — the government’s preferred way of building a more masculine society.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_0666.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993795\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_0666.jpg 1428w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_0666-160x241.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_0666-768x1155.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_0666-1022x1536.jpg 1022w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_0666-1362x2048.jpg 1362w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Gisela Chípe in Eduardo Machado’s ‘The Cook’ at Berkeley Repertory Theatre.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Gladys’ husband Carlos (Daniel Duque-Estrada) falls toward the gleeful side of revolution, and as the 1970s roll around, it is clear why. Carlos, a lowly chauffeur, is promoted to Minister of Transportation, and he makes it extremely clear he is now a Communist bureaucrat. The transition puts him among the elites, untouchable to many, albeit extremely touchable to his mistress, who bears a love child.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Gladys’ husband Carlos (Daniel Duque-Estrada) falls toward the gleeful side of revolution, and as the 1970s roll around, it is clear why. Carlos, a lowly chauffeur, is promoted to Minister of Transportation, and he makes it extremely clear he is now a Communist bureaucrat. The transition puts him among the elites, untouchable to many, albeit extremely touchable to his mistress, who bears a love child.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A highlight of \u003cem>The Cook\u003c/em> is how each character leans into any power they possess, a necessity of consolidation inside Communist Cuba, where the United States’ bruising blockade comes into direct conflict with Russia’s sizable funding of the island. While Carlos can save the lives of Gladys’ family members, he chooses not to, being much more willing to put his thumb on the scale of Marxism to get what he needs and defend Castro’s revolution to the hilt. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A highlight of \u003cem>The Cook\u003c/em> is how each character leans into any power they possess, a necessity of consolidation inside Communist Cuba, where the United States’ bruising blockade comes into direct conflict with Russia’s sizable funding of the island. While Carlos can save the lives of Gladys’ family members, he chooses not to, being much more willing to put his thumb on the scale of Marxism to get what he needs and defend Castro’s revolution to the hilt. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That revolution was never intended for Julio’s participation, which leads to a scorching scene towards the end of the first act. There is sad poetry in Julio’s belief that he be allowed to live and love as he desires, while flying too close to the sun by dating an 18-year-old son of a diplomat. The utter cruelty of Carlos and the stoic resolve of Gladys, in the hands of Duque-Estrada and Iglesias, especially in a critical moment like this, is majestic. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That revolution was never intended for Julio’s participation, which leads to a scorching scene towards the end of the first act. There is sad poetry in Julio’s belief that he be allowed to live and love as he desires, while flying too close to the sun by dating an 18-year-old son of a diplomat. The utter cruelty of Carlos and the stoic resolve of Gladys, in the hands of Duque-Estrada and Iglesias, especially in a critical moment like this, is majestic. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That majesty leads to some powerful payoffs in the play’s final frame. While the action of the entire play remains in the expansive kitchen, the quarters have now transitioned into a paladar, a home restaurant which the Cuban government caps to 12 seats, with only family members eligible for employment. Chípe as Adria’s daughter Lourdes, chronicling her mother’s history with a simple camera, witnesses the decay of a once regal home. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That majesty leads to some powerful payoffs in the play’s final frame. While the action of the entire play remains in the expansive kitchen, the quarters have now transitioned into a paladar, a home restaurant which the Cuban government caps to 12 seats, with only family members eligible for employment. Chípe as Adria’s daughter Lourdes, chronicling her mother’s history with a simple camera, witnesses the decay of a once regal home. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Despite Gladys’ loyalty, 40 years of living outside Castro’s Cuba has turned Lourdes’s mother into an enraged expat, and Lourdes uses a racial epithet to express the consternation built from the unspoken tension that existed many years ago. In both roles, Chípe is a marvel, with a searing vapidity that leads to some of the play’s funnier moments, while later employing a strategy that advocates for her mother’s legacy of bitterness. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Despite Gladys’ loyalty, 40 years of living outside Castro’s Cuba has turned Lourdes’s mother into an enraged expat, and Lourdes uses a racial epithet to express the consternation built from the unspoken tension that existed many years ago. In both roles, Chípe is a marvel, with a searing vapidity that leads to some of the play’s funnier moments, while later employing a strategy that advocates for her mother’s legacy of bitterness. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But the play belongs to Iglesias in the title role, who smartly stays away from clichés while playing each iteration of Gladys across a 40-year span. As the affirmation of the house and its proprietorship have shifted, Iglesias’s journey from dutiful to dominant is a wonderful showcase of range. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But the play belongs to Iglesias in the title role, who smartly stays away from clichés while playing each iteration of Gladys across a 40-year span. As the affirmation of the house and its proprietorship have shifted, Iglesias’s journey from dutiful to dominant is a wonderful showcase of range. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993793\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614.jpg 2223w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614-2000x1331.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614-2048x1363.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Yesenia Iglesias and Georgina Morillo in Eduardo Machado’s ‘The Cook’ at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Cook\u003c/em> speaks of a different kind of dictator, one who rules her kitchen with loving dominance while serving hearty portions of moros y cristianos. Although a certain type of Cuban life was denied those closest to this simple cook, her eyes rest on what she believes is a more certain future — an uncompromising belief that Rosa will see food she crafts on the world’s finest plates, far beyond the surrounding waters within Gladys’s Cuban heart. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘The Cook’ runs through Oct. 11 at Berkeley Rep’s Peet’s Theatre in Berkeley. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyrep.org/\">\u003cem>Tickets and more information here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Eduardo Machado’s spellbinding play of political drama and family scandal spans four decades in Cuba.",
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"title": "In ‘The Cook’ at Berkeley Rep, Revolution Is in the Air — and the Kitchen | KQED",
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"headline": "In ‘The Cook’ at Berkeley Rep, Revolution Is in the Air — and the Kitchen",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Of all the scents that permeate Gladys’ kitchen in Havana on the cusp of 1959, it’s the aroma of revolution that lies thickest.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In Eduardo Machado’s spellbinding play \u003cem>The Cook\u003c/em>, now running through Oct. 11 at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, tension hangs among the pots and pans. Since age 13, Gladys (Yesenia Iglesias) has spent her days preparing meals for Cuba’s upper crust. In \u003cem>The Cook\u003c/em>, that means working for a wealthy family which includes mistress Adria (Gisela Chípe). \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At the action’s onset, Adria’s priority is to ensure everyone sets their watch back an hour to keep 1958 just a hint longer. The fleeing of Cuban president Fulgencio Batista means that the start of 1959 will see Fidel Castro taking over Havana, forcing the rich family to vacate their home and start life anew in Miami.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2287\" height=\"1521\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1409.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993796\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1409.jpg 2287w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1409-2000x1330.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1409-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1409-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1409-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1409-2048x1362.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2287px) 100vw, 2287px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Yesenia Iglesias and Daniel Duque-Estrada in Eduardo Machado’s ‘The Cook’ at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. (Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Yet before her Florida life begins with a million other Cuban exiles, Adria wants to be sure Gladys will care for the house until she returns, a promise Gladys accepts without reservation. Later, over the course of three powerful scenes that take place in the early 1970s and late 1990s, we see Gladys shed her servant’s uniform for the period clothing stemming from Adria’s bougie closet, sharply designed by Toni-Leslie James.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On a typically magnificent set from scenic designer Tanya Orellana, director David Mendizabal’s tight and focused direction utilizes plenty of tension. Machado’s writing, while bold, can also feel thinly staccato and uneven, undercutting some of the bigger payoffs the play requires. Still, there’s a quiet power in his words, which never feel overwhelming despite the volume of exposition and Cuban history that Machado includes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Much of the tension is set up beautifully at the onset, with three dark-skinned Cubans tasked with preparing food for a massive celebration (the ways that light and dark-skinned Cubans engage and interact fuels the narrative further). Helping in the kitchen is Elena (Georgina Morillo, who plays Gladys’s daughter Rosa in Act Two), barrelling through to express grunty consternation, and Julio (Ashton Muñiz), a dutiful helper hiding a secret about his sexuality that threatens “re-education” at one of Cuba’s forced labor camps — the government’s preferred way of building a more masculine society.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1428\" height=\"2147\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_0666.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993795\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_0666.jpg 1428w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_0666-160x241.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_0666-768x1155.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_0666-1022x1536.jpg 1022w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_0666-1362x2048.jpg 1362w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1428px) 100vw, 1428px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Gisela Chípe in Eduardo Machado’s ‘The Cook’ at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. (Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Gladys’ husband Carlos (Daniel Duque-Estrada) falls toward the gleeful side of revolution, and as the 1970s roll around, it is clear why. Carlos, a lowly chauffeur, is promoted to Minister of Transportation, and he makes it extremely clear he is now a Communist bureaucrat. The transition puts him among the elites, untouchable to many, albeit extremely touchable to his mistress, who bears a love child.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A highlight of \u003cem>The Cook\u003c/em> is how each character leans into any power they possess, a necessity of consolidation inside Communist Cuba, where the United States’ bruising blockade comes into direct conflict with Russia’s sizable funding of the island. While Carlos can save the lives of Gladys’ family members, he chooses not to, being much more willing to put his thumb on the scale of Marxism to get what he needs and defend Castro’s revolution to the hilt. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That revolution was never intended for Julio’s participation, which leads to a scorching scene towards the end of the first act. There is sad poetry in Julio’s belief that he be allowed to live and love as he desires, while flying too close to the sun by dating an 18-year-old son of a diplomat. The utter cruelty of Carlos and the stoic resolve of Gladys, in the hands of Duque-Estrada and Iglesias, especially in a critical moment like this, is majestic. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2084\" height=\"1387\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1783.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993794\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1783.jpg 2084w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1783-2000x1331.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1783-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1783-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1783-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1783-2048x1363.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2084px) 100vw, 2084px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Gisela Chípe and Yesenia Iglesias in Eduardo Machado’s ‘The Cook’ at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. (Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That majesty leads to some powerful payoffs in the play’s final frame. While the action of the entire play remains in the expansive kitchen, the quarters have now transitioned into a paladar, a home restaurant which the Cuban government caps to 12 seats, with only family members eligible for employment. Chípe as Adria’s daughter Lourdes, chronicling her mother’s history with a simple camera, witnesses the decay of a once regal home. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Despite Gladys’ loyalty, 40 years of living outside Castro’s Cuba has turned Lourdes’s mother into an enraged expat, and Lourdes uses a racial epithet to express the consternation built from the unspoken tension that existed many years ago. In both roles, Chípe is a marvel, with a searing vapidity that leads to some of the play’s funnier moments, while later employing a strategy that advocates for her mother’s legacy of bitterness. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the play belongs to Iglesias in the title role, who smartly stays away from clichés while playing each iteration of Gladys across a 40-year span. As the affirmation of the house and its proprietorship have shifted, Iglesias’s journey from dutiful to dominant is a wonderful showcase of range. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2223\" height=\"1479\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993793\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614.jpg 2223w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614-2000x1331.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/The_Cook_2026_1614-2048x1363.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2223px) 100vw, 2223px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Yesenia Iglesias and Georgina Morillo in Eduardo Machado’s ‘The Cook’ at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. (Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Cook\u003c/em> speaks of a different kind of dictator, one who rules her kitchen with loving dominance while serving hearty portions of moros y cristianos. Although a certain type of Cuban life was denied those closest to this simple cook, her eyes rest on what she believes is a more certain future — an uncompromising belief that Rosa will see food she crafts on the world’s finest plates, far beyond the surrounding waters within Gladys’s Cuban heart. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" />\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘The Cook’ runs through Oct. 11 at Berkeley Rep’s Peet’s Theatre in Berkeley. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyrep.org/\">\u003cem>Tickets and more information here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "african-stew-lisa-b-thompson-oakland",
"title": "‘African Stew,’ Set In Oakland, Reflects Playwright’s Own Bay Area Roots",
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"headTitle": "‘African Stew,’ Set In Oakland, Reflects Playwright’s Own Bay Area Roots | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>Lisa B. Thompson sets her plays in cities that are personally meaningful. \u003cem>Monroe\u003c/em>, a Great Migration story, was inspired by her mother’s hometown in Louisiana. Her son was born in Albany, New York, which became the setting for \u003cem>Underground\u003c/em>, a political thriller about the movement for civil rights in the United States.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I’ve just picked different cities that I love,” Thompson said. “I want to make sure that I give them certain love letters.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Thompson returns to her Bay Area roots for her latest play, \u003cem>African Stew\u003c/em>, which makes its world premiere on Thursday, Sept. 10. Presented by \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/lorraine-hansberry-theatre\">Lorraine Hansberry Theatre\u003c/a> (which also put on Thompson’s 2024 play \u003cem>The Black Feminist Guide to the Human Body\u003c/em>) and directed by Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe, \u003cem>African Stew \u003c/em>explores intergenerational and cultural tensions that arise when the families of a newly engaged African American woman and a Nigerian man get together for a meal in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00096_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993474\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00096_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00096_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00096_TV-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00096_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lisa B. Thompson, the playwright of ‘African Stew,’ poses for a portrait at Fort Mason in San Francisco on August 29, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A running theme in Thompson’s work is the lives of of Black middle-class people. Her hit play \u003cem>Single Black Female\u003c/em>, which premiered in her hometown of San Francisco and enjoyed a successful off-Broadway run (directed by a then-unknown Colman Domingo), is a two-woman show of comic vignettes about thirtysomething, educated African American women.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“In that play, it was a way for me to kind of unpack things that I was exploring in my dissertation, which is about Black middle-class women and how they move in the world as women,” said Thompson, also a professor in the Department of African and African Diaspora Studies at the University of Texas at Austin.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Thompson recently talked with KQED’s Brian Watt about growing up in the Bay Area, the genesis of \u003cem>African Stew\u003c/em> and the current state of theater.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00199_TV-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993478\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00199_TV-KQED-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00199_TV-KQED-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00199_TV-KQED-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00199_TV-KQED-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sundiata Ayinde (left), who plays Julie Lawson, and Titus VanHook (right), who plays Akintunde Ogunde, rehearse for ‘African Stew’ at Fort Mason in San Francisco on August 29, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Brian Watt: Families meeting and sizing each other up — that’s fodder for comedy and drama. Tell us more about this story.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lisa B. Thompson: I thought it was time for an in-house conversation about the fact that there are broad differences and some deep similarities between Africans who grew up in the continent and African Americans who grew in the diaspora, particularly those in the U.S. It’s a fun play to see how the dads are measuring each other. Also, the moms, figuring out who’s going to be the one pushing the wedding and helping the daughter direct the wedding. Is it going to be mom or the mother-in-law? These kinds of conventional things, but adding that extra African diaspora twist that I think is going to make people fall out of their seats.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>So how did the idea come to you?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This is a love letter to my son, who has an African American mother and a father who is Yoruba from Nigeria. I think about the world that he’s encountering and how he’s perceived. In many spaces, he’s perceived as royalty and assumed to be brilliant because the name we gave him is a Yoruba name. So what does it mean for all of us, including myself, to carry a legacy of a continent that you aren’t unfamiliar with? The reason why is a historic tragedy, a breach of humanity, and it is still unresolved. For me, to think about something that’s complex and difficult, sometimes it’s easier to get through using comedy.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00050_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993473\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00050_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00050_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00050_TV-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00050_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe, the director of ‘African Stew,’ poses for a portrait at Fort Mason in San Francisco on August 29, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Since I live in Oakland, I have to ask: Why is Oakland the setting?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Oakland is very special to me. I grew up in San Francisco, but I lived in Oakland while I was a graduate student, and my grandmother lived there when I was child. She was the grand lady.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>You have talked about the blessings of a strong Black family, and elders, and growing old. Have you maybe drawn on that for \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>African Stew\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For me, I’ve never understood this whole generational tension, because I’m obsessed with people in my family, from the infants to the elders. I loved spending time with my grandmother, helping her with sewing. We’re incomplete if we don’t spend time during the week with somebody who’s somewhere between zero and 10 years old and somebody who’s over 70. Otherwise, you’re not in touch with full humanity.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00136_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993475\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00136_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00136_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00136_TV-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00136_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sundiata Ayinde ,who plays Julie Lawson, rehearses for ‘African Stew’ at Fort Mason in San Francisco on August 29, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Let me ask you about this moment in theater. When you’re looking at the landscape of the kinds of stories that make it to the stage, outside Broadway, even off-Broadway, what do you make of it?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>We’re losing developmental opportunities for new playwrights, so less people are going to grad school for it. I’m so proud of the playwrights that continue to persevere in this shrinking environment. I am happy to see what’s being produced despite all of that, because the actual theaters are closing, as well. So I feel like art’s going to art. We cannot suppress this stuff. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>I should also note that a lot of playwrights that are doing work, who are first-generation or African immigrants, are part of the reason why I wrote this play. [It’s] because I want to be in conversation with them, and have this conversation across the diaspora.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘African Stew’\u003c/em> \u003cem>runs Sept. 10–27 in the Magic Theatre space at the Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture in San Francisco. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.lhtsf.org/african-stew\">\u003cem>Tickets and more information here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Thompson returns to her Bay Area roots for her latest play, \u003cem>African Stew\u003c/em>, which makes its world premiere on Thursday, Sept. 10. Presented by \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/lorraine-hansberry-theatre\">Lorraine Hansberry Theatre\u003c/a> (which also put on Thompson’s 2024 play \u003cem>The Black Feminist Guide to the Human Body\u003c/em>) and directed by Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe, \u003cem>African Stew \u003c/em>explores intergenerational and cultural tensions that arise when the families of a newly engaged African American woman and a Nigerian man get together for a meal in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Thompson returns to her Bay Area roots for her latest play, \u003cem>African Stew\u003c/em>, which makes its world premiere on Thursday, Sept. 10. Presented by \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/lorraine-hansberry-theatre\">Lorraine Hansberry Theatre\u003c/a> (which also put on Thompson’s 2024 play \u003cem>The Black Feminist Guide to the Human Body\u003c/em>) and directed by Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe, \u003cem>African Stew \u003c/em>explores intergenerational and cultural tensions that arise when the families of a newly engaged African American woman and a Nigerian man get together for a meal in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00096_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993474\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00096_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00096_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00096_TV-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00096_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lisa B. Thompson, the playwright of ‘African Stew,’ poses for a portrait at Fort Mason in San Francisco on August 29, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00096_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993474\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lisa B. Thompson, the playwright of ‘African Stew,’ poses for a portrait at Fort Mason in San Francisco on August 29, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A running theme in Thompson’s work is the lives of of Black middle-class people. Her hit play \u003cem>Single Black Female\u003c/em>, which premiered in her hometown of San Francisco and enjoyed a successful off-Broadway run (directed by a then-unknown Colman Domingo), is a two-woman show of comic vignettes about thirtysomething, educated African American women.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A running theme in Thompson’s work is the lives of of Black middle-class people. Her hit play \u003cem>Single Black Female\u003c/em>, which premiered in her hometown of San Francisco and enjoyed a successful off-Broadway run (directed by a then-unknown Colman Domingo), is a two-woman show of comic vignettes about thirtysomething, educated African American women.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“In that play, it was a way for me to kind of unpack things that I was exploring in my dissertation, which is about Black middle-class women and how they move in the world as women,” said Thompson, also a professor in the Department of African and African Diaspora Studies at the University of Texas at Austin.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“In that play, it was a way for me to kind of unpack things that I was exploring in my dissertation, which is about Black middle-class women and how they move in the world as women,” said Thompson, also a professor in the Department of African and African Diaspora Studies at the University of Texas at Austin.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Thompson recently talked with KQED’s Brian Watt about growing up in the Bay Area, the genesis of \u003cem>African Stew\u003c/em> and the current state of theater.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Thompson recently talked with KQED’s Brian Watt about growing up in the Bay Area, the genesis of \u003cem>African Stew\u003c/em> and the current state of theater.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00199_TV-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993478\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00199_TV-KQED-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00199_TV-KQED-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00199_TV-KQED-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00199_TV-KQED-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sundiata Ayinde (left), who plays Julie Lawson, and Titus VanHook (right), who plays Akintunde Ogunde, rehearse for ‘African Stew’ at Fort Mason in San Francisco on August 29, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00199_TV-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993478\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sundiata Ayinde (left), who plays Julie Lawson, and Titus VanHook (right), who plays Akintunde Ogunde, rehearse for ‘African Stew’ at Fort Mason in San Francisco on August 29, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Brian Watt: Families meeting and sizing each other up — that’s fodder for comedy and drama. Tell us more about this story.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Brian Watt: Families meeting and sizing each other up — that’s fodder for comedy and drama. Tell us more about this story.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Lisa B. Thompson: I thought it was time for an in-house conversation about the fact that there are broad differences and some deep similarities between Africans who grew up in the continent and African Americans who grew in the diaspora, particularly those in the U.S. It’s a fun play to see how the dads are measuring each other. Also, the moms, figuring out who’s going to be the one pushing the wedding and helping the daughter direct the wedding. Is it going to be mom or the mother-in-law? These kinds of conventional things, but adding that extra African diaspora twist that I think is going to make people fall out of their seats.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Lisa B. Thompson: I thought it was time for an in-house conversation about the fact that there are broad differences and some deep similarities between Africans who grew up in the continent and African Americans who grew in the diaspora, particularly those in the U.S. It’s a fun play to see how the dads are measuring each other. Also, the moms, figuring out who’s going to be the one pushing the wedding and helping the daughter direct the wedding. Is it going to be mom or the mother-in-law? These kinds of conventional things, but adding that extra African diaspora twist that I think is going to make people fall out of their seats.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>So how did the idea come to you?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>So how did the idea come to you?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This is a love letter to my son, who has an African American mother and a father who is Yoruba from Nigeria. I think about the world that he’s encountering and how he’s perceived. In many spaces, he’s perceived as royalty and assumed to be brilliant because the name we gave him is a Yoruba name. So what does it mean for all of us, including myself, to carry a legacy of a continent that you aren’t unfamiliar with? The reason why is a historic tragedy, a breach of humanity, and it is still unresolved. For me, to think about something that’s complex and difficult, sometimes it’s easier to get through using comedy.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>This is a love letter to my son, who has an African American mother and a father who is Yoruba from Nigeria. I think about the world that he’s encountering and how he’s perceived. In many spaces, he’s perceived as royalty and assumed to be brilliant because the name we gave him is a Yoruba name. So what does it mean for all of us, including myself, to carry a legacy of a continent that you aren’t unfamiliar with? The reason why is a historic tragedy, a breach of humanity, and it is still unresolved. For me, to think about something that’s complex and difficult, sometimes it’s easier to get through using comedy.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00050_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993473\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00050_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00050_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00050_TV-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00050_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe, the director of ‘African Stew,’ poses for a portrait at Fort Mason in San Francisco on August 29, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00050_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993473\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe, the director of ‘African Stew,’ poses for a portrait at Fort Mason in San Francisco on August 29, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Since I live in Oakland, I have to ask: Why is Oakland the setting?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Since I live in Oakland, I have to ask: Why is Oakland the setting?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Oakland is very special to me. I grew up in San Francisco, but I lived in Oakland while I was a graduate student, and my grandmother lived there when I was child. She was the grand lady.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Oakland is very special to me. I grew up in San Francisco, but I lived in Oakland while I was a graduate student, and my grandmother lived there when I was child. She was the grand lady.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>You have talked about the blessings of a strong Black family, and elders, and growing old. Have you maybe drawn on that for \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>African Stew\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>You have talked about the blessings of a strong Black family, and elders, and growing old. Have you maybe drawn on that for \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>African Stew\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For me, I’ve never understood this whole generational tension, because I’m obsessed with people in my family, from the infants to the elders. I loved spending time with my grandmother, helping her with sewing. We’re incomplete if we don’t spend time during the week with somebody who’s somewhere between zero and 10 years old and somebody who’s over 70. Otherwise, you’re not in touch with full humanity.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For me, I’ve never understood this whole generational tension, because I’m obsessed with people in my family, from the infants to the elders. I loved spending time with my grandmother, helping her with sewing. We’re incomplete if we don’t spend time during the week with somebody who’s somewhere between zero and 10 years old and somebody who’s over 70. Otherwise, you’re not in touch with full humanity.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00136_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993475\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00136_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00136_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00136_TV-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00136_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sundiata Ayinde ,who plays Julie Lawson, rehearses for ‘African Stew’ at Fort Mason in San Francisco on August 29, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00136_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993475\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sundiata Ayinde ,who plays Julie Lawson, rehearses for ‘African Stew’ at Fort Mason in San Francisco on August 29, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Let me ask you about this moment in theater. When you’re looking at the landscape of the kinds of stories that make it to the stage, outside Broadway, even off-Broadway, what do you make of it?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Let me ask you about this moment in theater. When you’re looking at the landscape of the kinds of stories that make it to the stage, outside Broadway, even off-Broadway, what do you make of it?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>We’re losing developmental opportunities for new playwrights, so less people are going to grad school for it. I’m so proud of the playwrights that continue to persevere in this shrinking environment. I am happy to see what’s being produced despite all of that, because the actual theaters are closing, as well. So I feel like art’s going to art. We cannot suppress this stuff. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>We’re losing developmental opportunities for new playwrights, so less people are going to grad school for it. I’m so proud of the playwrights that continue to persevere in this shrinking environment. I am happy to see what’s being produced despite all of that, because the actual theaters are closing, as well. So I feel like art’s going to art. We cannot suppress this stuff. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>I should also note that a lot of playwrights that are doing work, who are first-generation or African immigrants, are part of the reason why I wrote this play. [It’s] because I want to be in conversation with them, and have this conversation across the diaspora.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>I should also note that a lot of playwrights that are doing work, who are first-generation or African immigrants, are part of the reason why I wrote this play. [It’s] because I want to be in conversation with them, and have this conversation across the diaspora.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘African Stew’\u003c/em> \u003cem>runs Sept. 10–27 in the Magic Theatre space at the Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture in San Francisco. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.lhtsf.org/african-stew\">\u003cem>Tickets and more information here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘African Stew’\u003c/em> \u003cem>runs Sept. 10–27 in the Magic Theatre space at the Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture in San Francisco. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.lhtsf.org/african-stew\">\u003cem>Tickets and more information here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "Lisa B. Thompson’s new play explores tensions between the African American and Nigerian families of an engaged couple.\n",
"status": "publish",
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"title": "‘African Stew,’ Set In Oakland, Reflects Lisa B. Thompson’s Bay Area Roots | KQED",
"description": "Lisa B. Thompson’s new play explores tensions between the African American and Nigerian families of an engaged couple.\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Lisa B. Thompson sets her plays in cities that are personally meaningful. \u003cem>Monroe\u003c/em>, a Great Migration story, was inspired by her mother’s hometown in Louisiana. Her son was born in Albany, New York, which became the setting for \u003cem>Underground\u003c/em>, a political thriller about the movement for civil rights in the United States.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I’ve just picked different cities that I love,” Thompson said. “I want to make sure that I give them certain love letters.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Thompson returns to her Bay Area roots for her latest play, \u003cem>African Stew\u003c/em>, which makes its world premiere on Thursday, Sept. 10. Presented by \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/lorraine-hansberry-theatre\">Lorraine Hansberry Theatre\u003c/a> (which also put on Thompson’s 2024 play \u003cem>The Black Feminist Guide to the Human Body\u003c/em>) and directed by Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe, \u003cem>African Stew \u003c/em>explores intergenerational and cultural tensions that arise when the families of a newly engaged African American woman and a Nigerian man get together for a meal in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00096_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993474\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00096_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00096_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00096_TV-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00096_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lisa B. Thompson, the playwright of ‘African Stew,’ poses for a portrait at Fort Mason in San Francisco on August 29, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A running theme in Thompson’s work is the lives of of Black middle-class people. Her hit play \u003cem>Single Black Female\u003c/em>, which premiered in her hometown of San Francisco and enjoyed a successful off-Broadway run (directed by a then-unknown Colman Domingo), is a two-woman show of comic vignettes about thirtysomething, educated African American women.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“In that play, it was a way for me to kind of unpack things that I was exploring in my dissertation, which is about Black middle-class women and how they move in the world as women,” said Thompson, also a professor in the Department of African and African Diaspora Studies at the University of Texas at Austin.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Thompson recently talked with KQED’s Brian Watt about growing up in the Bay Area, the genesis of \u003cem>African Stew\u003c/em> and the current state of theater.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00199_TV-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993478\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00199_TV-KQED-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00199_TV-KQED-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00199_TV-KQED-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00199_TV-KQED-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sundiata Ayinde (left), who plays Julie Lawson, and Titus VanHook (right), who plays Akintunde Ogunde, rehearse for ‘African Stew’ at Fort Mason in San Francisco on August 29, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Brian Watt: Families meeting and sizing each other up — that’s fodder for comedy and drama. Tell us more about this story.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lisa B. Thompson: I thought it was time for an in-house conversation about the fact that there are broad differences and some deep similarities between Africans who grew up in the continent and African Americans who grew in the diaspora, particularly those in the U.S. It’s a fun play to see how the dads are measuring each other. Also, the moms, figuring out who’s going to be the one pushing the wedding and helping the daughter direct the wedding. Is it going to be mom or the mother-in-law? These kinds of conventional things, but adding that extra African diaspora twist that I think is going to make people fall out of their seats.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>So how did the idea come to you?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This is a love letter to my son, who has an African American mother and a father who is Yoruba from Nigeria. I think about the world that he’s encountering and how he’s perceived. In many spaces, he’s perceived as royalty and assumed to be brilliant because the name we gave him is a Yoruba name. So what does it mean for all of us, including myself, to carry a legacy of a continent that you aren’t unfamiliar with? The reason why is a historic tragedy, a breach of humanity, and it is still unresolved. For me, to think about something that’s complex and difficult, sometimes it’s easier to get through using comedy.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00050_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993473\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00050_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00050_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00050_TV-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00050_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe, the director of ‘African Stew,’ poses for a portrait at Fort Mason in San Francisco on August 29, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Since I live in Oakland, I have to ask: Why is Oakland the setting?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Oakland is very special to me. I grew up in San Francisco, but I lived in Oakland while I was a graduate student, and my grandmother lived there when I was child. She was the grand lady.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>You have talked about the blessings of a strong Black family, and elders, and growing old. Have you maybe drawn on that for \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>African Stew\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For me, I’ve never understood this whole generational tension, because I’m obsessed with people in my family, from the infants to the elders. I loved spending time with my grandmother, helping her with sewing. We’re incomplete if we don’t spend time during the week with somebody who’s somewhere between zero and 10 years old and somebody who’s over 70. Otherwise, you’re not in touch with full humanity.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00136_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993475\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00136_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00136_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00136_TV-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260829-africanstew-00136_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sundiata Ayinde ,who plays Julie Lawson, rehearses for ‘African Stew’ at Fort Mason in San Francisco on August 29, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Let me ask you about this moment in theater. When you’re looking at the landscape of the kinds of stories that make it to the stage, outside Broadway, even off-Broadway, what do you make of it?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>We’re losing developmental opportunities for new playwrights, so less people are going to grad school for it. I’m so proud of the playwrights that continue to persevere in this shrinking environment. I am happy to see what’s being produced despite all of that, because the actual theaters are closing, as well. So I feel like art’s going to art. We cannot suppress this stuff. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>I should also note that a lot of playwrights that are doing work, who are first-generation or African immigrants, are part of the reason why I wrote this play. [It’s] because I want to be in conversation with them, and have this conversation across the diaspora.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘African Stew’\u003c/em> \u003cem>runs Sept. 10–27 in the Magic Theatre space at the Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture in San Francisco. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.lhtsf.org/african-stew\">\u003cem>Tickets and more information here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "best-plays-musicals-fall-2026-sf-berkeley-oakland-mill-valley-san-jose",
"title": "10 of the Best Plays and Musicals to See This Fall in the Bay Area",
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"headTitle": "10 of the Best Plays and Musicals to See This Fall in the Bay Area | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Be sure to check out our full \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/fall-guide-2026\">2026 Fall Arts Guide\u003c/a> to live music, movies, art, theater, festivals and more in the Bay Area.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A certain type of magic comes with fall in the Bay Area. As T-shirts and shorts turn to long sleeves and jeans, rich browns and oranges overtake each leaf. Apart from the weather, seeing theater companies kick off their seasons is always thrilling, with world premieres and big hits ready to land all over the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While darkness may fall faster with each passing day, let the stage lights of these 10 fantastic theater productions brighten your life for the next three months.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1516\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MT_TheWhiteChip_ChrisHardy4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993464\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MT_TheWhiteChip_ChrisHardy4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MT_TheWhiteChip_ChrisHardy4-160x121.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MT_TheWhiteChip_ChrisHardy4-768x582.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MT_TheWhiteChip_ChrisHardy4-1536x1164.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Danny Scheie, Benjamin Clark and Lyndsy Kail are featured in Marin Theatre’s ‘The White Chip,’ running Aug. 27–Sept. 20. (Chris Hardy)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.marintheatre.org/\">The White Chip\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Aug. 27–Sept. 20\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Marin Theatre, Mill Valley\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Sean Daniels has been one of the most visible figures in the American theatre to discuss his challenges as a recovering alcoholic while working to soften the stigma of addiction. In his semi-autobiographical play, \u003cem>The White Chip\u003c/em>, Steven is a theatrical director whose career spirals out fo control due to drinking. His journey through sobriety includes reckoning with self-acceptance and finding his community. Daniels’ play has seen significant productions nationwide, inspiring those on their own sobriety journeys. Artistic director Lance Gardner directs. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/manningpr-0138.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993044\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/manningpr-0138.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/manningpr-0138-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/manningpr-0138-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/manningpr-0138-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(L–R) Caleb Andrew Cabrera, Michael Torres and Alonso Melgoza star in ‘Manning,’ a play about grief and healing. (Cheshire Isaacs)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.crowdedfire.org/\">Manning\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sept. 5–26\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Potrero Stage, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The death of a wife and mother. Spreading ashes around the backyard. What results is the growth of a mysterious, giant zucchini overnight, and the discovery of a unique language for grief. Benjamin Benne penned this West Coast premiere in part to imagine a world where patriarchal supremacy is replaced by healthy and whole masculinity. Crowded Fire Theater’s newest production is another in their quest toward daring work that both entertains and challenges. Adin Walker directs. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.lhtsf.org/african-stew\">African Stew\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sept. 10–27\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>An African American woman and a Nigerian man announce their quick engagement, which leads to a family dinner in Oakland. Things aren’t exactly smooth, however, as the two very different cultures gather, and as identity, cultural differences and familial expectations all prove to be heated topics of conversation. Lorraine Hansberry Theatre’s rolling world premiere features the triumphant return of frequent collaborator Lisa B. Thompson, with the show stewarded by longtime Bay Area director and artist Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/IMG_0433-copy-smaller.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993048\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/IMG_0433-copy-smaller.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/IMG_0433-copy-smaller-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/IMG_0433-copy-smaller-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/IMG_0433-copy-smaller-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(L to R) Linda Amayo-Hassan, Megan Calfas, Aidaa Peerzada and Julius Ernesto Rea make up Playwright’s Foundation residents for 2026-2027. (Playwrights Foundation)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://playwrightsfoundation.org/2026-bay-area-playwrights-festival/\">Bay Area Playwrights Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sept. 18–27\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Strand Theater, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Play development has taken a hit around the country in the past 10 years, but the need for new work in American theater continues. Fortunately, consequential developers in the Bay Area still showcase new voices which may just write the next great American play. The Bay Area Playwrights Festival is coming up on its 47th year, and has seen more than 80 percent of its works go on to successful productions. This year’s festival features four new plays from diverse storytellers, giving audiences a sneak peek of the future. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1428\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/KING-LEAR-landscape.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993046\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/KING-LEAR-landscape.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/KING-LEAR-landscape-160x114.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/KING-LEAR-landscape-768x548.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/KING-LEAR-landscape-1536x1097.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">J. Jha stars as the title character in William Shakespeare’s ‘King Lear’ as Oakland Theater Project jumps across the Bay to Z Space in San Francisco. (Adam Montanaro)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘\u003ca href=\"https://oaklandtheaterproject.org/\">King Lear\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sept. 25–Oct. 11\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Z Space, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While twilight sets on the rule of King Lear, dividing his kingdom among his three daughters becomes another ploy in his quest for flattery. As his power dissipates, the king is proven to be a fool, one whose demise is entirely of his own making. Sound timely? Oakland Theater Project continues their daring season of rethinking classics and putting visceral new razors on stories of brutality. Lear is the model for many of theater’s greatest characters, and an embodiment of self-inflected wounds. Executive Artistic Director Michael Socrates Moran directs one of William Shakespeare’s most devastating tales. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘\u003ca href=\"http://teatrovision.org\">Alebrijes: A Dia De Los Muertos Tale\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 8–18\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Mexican Heritage Plaza Theater, San José\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the 1930s, papier-mâché artist Pedro Linares created the earliest alebrijes – a form of Mexican folk art depicting mythical hybrid animals. In Teatro Vision’s production of \u003cem>Alebrijes: A Dia De Los Muertos Tale\u003c/em>, playwright Georgina Escobar presents a mythological tale of Linares being chased by “La Muerte” through the colorful celebration of the Day of the Dead. The 42-year-old company and the production are both under the artistic hand of Rodrigo Garcia, and showcase all of the emotional pageantry of the festive holiday, with traditional Mexican music, comedy and community on full display in East San Jose. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-1409168059.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993059\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-1409168059.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-1409168059-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-1409168059-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-1409168059-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Golden Thread Productions founder Torange Yeghiazarian. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez / San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"http://goldenthread.org\">ReOrient Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 9–Nov. 1\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Potrero Stage, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Founded by Torange Yeghiazarian, Golden Thread celebrates its 30th anniversary this year as a company that interrogates and celebrates Middle Eastern culture and identity. There’s never a shortage of candidates for Golden Thread’s signature festival, and this year is no different: of the 83 plays submitted, only five were selected. This year’s lineup focuses on Iran and Palestine, with rich diversity among the titles, one of which, \u003cem>Homing Pigeons & Co\u003c/em>, is directed by Yeghiazarian herself.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfbatco.org/\">Every Saturday Night\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 10–Nov. 1\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>The Strand, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Harlem of the West” is a famous description of San Francisco’s Fillmore District in the ‘40s and ‘50s — and now, it’s the subject of a major world premiere for \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfbatco.org/\">SFBATCO\u003c/a>. \u003cem>Every Saturday Night\u003c/em> has been in development for four years, and it explores a San Francisco once filled with Black excellence and soul-stirring jazz. Those good times came to a halt when urban renewal’s displacement and gentrification robbed the world of a thriving Black community. Bay Area playwright, composer and director Danny Duncan joins forces with acclaimed playwright Michael Gene Sullivan for this anticipated production.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Alaska-Thunderfuck_Photo-Credit-Daniel-Rampulla.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993047\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Alaska-Thunderfuck_Photo-Credit-Daniel-Rampulla.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Alaska-Thunderfuck_Photo-Credit-Daniel-Rampulla-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Alaska-Thunderfuck_Photo-Credit-Daniel-Rampulla-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Alaska-Thunderfuck_Photo-Credit-Daniel-Rampulla-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Drag queen Alaska Thunderfuck will star as Mary Todd Lincoln in the San Francisco run of Cole Escola’s ‘Oh, Mary!’ (Daniel Rampulla)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/2026-27-season/oh-mary\">Oh, Mary!\u003c/a>’ and ‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/2026-27-season/john-proctor-is-the-villain\">John Proctor is the Villain\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Oh, Mary!,’ \u003cem>\u003cem>Oct. 13–Nov. 1\u003c/em>\u003c/em>; Curran Theater, San Francisco \u003cbr>‘John Proctor is the Villain,’ \u003cem>\u003cem>Nov. 12–Dec. 6\u003c/em>\u003c/em>; Toni Rembe Theater, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Picking between \u003cem>Oh, Mary!\u003c/em> or \u003cem>John Proctor is the Villain\u003c/em> when both are being produced at A.C.T. is like picking a favorite child — you might have one, but you don’t say it out loud. \u003cem>Oh, Mary!\u003c/em> is a riotous, side-splitting show (and 2026 Pulitzer finalist) by Cole Escola, while \u003cem>Proctor \u003c/em>is a Broadway hit that inspired the \u003cem>New York Times\u003c/em> headline “Why Women are Leaving This Broadway Show in Tears.” The two shows couldn’t be more different in tone and temperament, but they’re firmly in the can’t-miss category. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Liberation_0115r-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993050\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Liberation_0115r-1.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Liberation_0115r-1-2000x1334.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Liberation_0115r-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Liberation_0115r-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Liberation_0115r-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Liberation_0115r-1-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The New York cast of Bess Wohl’s ‘Liberation’ at the Laura Pels Theatre in 2025. (Joan Marcus)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘\u003ca href=\"http://berkeleyrep.org\">Liberation\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 23–Nov. 29\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Roda Theatre, Berkeley\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bess Wohl’s \u003cem>Liberation\u003c/em>, a piercing memory play about a group of women who strategize in a 1970s recreation center basement about how to change the world, won a Pulitzer and Tony during its Broadway run. Whitney White, who directed, returns in the same role for this West Coast premiere, a co-production with the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles and Washington D.C.’s Studio Theatre. (And if you’re looking for more Wohl in the Bay, \u003ca href=\"https://www.thestage.org/production-history/barcelona\">San Jose Stage produces her 2012 play \u003cem>Barcelona\u003c/em> from Sept. 30–Oct. 18\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Be sure to check out our full \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/fall-guide-2026\">2026 Fall Arts Guide\u003c/a> to live music, movies, art, theater, festivals and more in the Bay Area.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Be sure to check out our full \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/fall-guide-2026\">2026 Fall Arts Guide\u003c/a> to live music, movies, art, theater, festivals and more in the Bay Area.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A certain type of magic comes with fall in the Bay Area. As T-shirts and shorts turn to long sleeves and jeans, rich browns and oranges overtake each leaf. Apart from the weather, seeing theater companies kick off their seasons is always thrilling, with world premieres and big hits ready to land all over the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A certain type of magic comes with fall in the Bay Area. As T-shirts and shorts turn to long sleeves and jeans, rich browns and oranges overtake each leaf. Apart from the weather, seeing theater companies kick off their seasons is always thrilling, with world premieres and big hits ready to land all over the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While darkness may fall faster with each passing day, let the stage lights of these 10 fantastic theater productions brighten your life for the next three months.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>While darkness may fall faster with each passing day, let the stage lights of these 10 fantastic theater productions brighten your life for the next three months.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MT_TheWhiteChip_ChrisHardy4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993464\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MT_TheWhiteChip_ChrisHardy4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MT_TheWhiteChip_ChrisHardy4-160x121.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MT_TheWhiteChip_ChrisHardy4-768x582.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MT_TheWhiteChip_ChrisHardy4-1536x1164.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Danny Scheie, Benjamin Clark and Lyndsy Kail are featured in Marin Theatre’s ‘The White Chip,’ running Aug. 27–Sept. 20.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Chris Hardy)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MT_TheWhiteChip_ChrisHardy4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993464\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Danny Scheie, Benjamin Clark and Lyndsy Kail are featured in Marin Theatre’s ‘The White Chip,’ running Aug. 27–Sept. 20.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Chris Hardy)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.marintheatre.org/\">The White Chip\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.marintheatre.org/\">The White Chip\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Aug. 27–Sept. 20\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Marin Theatre, Mill Valley\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Sean Daniels has been one of the most visible figures in the American theatre to discuss his challenges as a recovering alcoholic while working to soften the stigma of addiction. In his semi-autobiographical play, \u003cem>The White Chip\u003c/em>, Steven is a theatrical director whose career spirals out fo control due to drinking. His journey through sobriety includes reckoning with self-acceptance and finding his community. Daniels’ play has seen significant productions nationwide, inspiring those on their own sobriety journeys. Artistic director Lance Gardner directs. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Aug. 27–Sept. 20\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Marin Theatre, Mill Valley\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Sean Daniels has been one of the most visible figures in the American theatre to discuss his challenges as a recovering alcoholic while working to soften the stigma of addiction. In his semi-autobiographical play, \u003cem>The White Chip\u003c/em>, Steven is a theatrical director whose career spirals out fo control due to drinking. His journey through sobriety includes reckoning with self-acceptance and finding his community. Daniels’ play has seen significant productions nationwide, inspiring those on their own sobriety journeys. Artistic director Lance Gardner directs. \u003c/p>\n"
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/manningpr-0138.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/manningpr-0138-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/manningpr-0138-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/manningpr-0138-1536x1025.jpg 1536w",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/manningpr-0138.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993044\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/manningpr-0138.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/manningpr-0138-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/manningpr-0138-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/manningpr-0138-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(L–R) Caleb Andrew Cabrera, Michael Torres and Alonso Melgoza star in ‘Manning,’ a play about grief and healing.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Cheshire Isaacs)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/manningpr-0138.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993044\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(L–R) Caleb Andrew Cabrera, Michael Torres and Alonso Melgoza star in ‘Manning,’ a play about grief and healing.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Cheshire Isaacs)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.crowdedfire.org/\">Manning\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.crowdedfire.org/\">Manning\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sept. 5–26\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Potrero Stage, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sept. 5–26\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Potrero Stage, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The death of a wife and mother. Spreading ashes around the backyard. What results is the growth of a mysterious, giant zucchini overnight, and the discovery of a unique language for grief. Benjamin Benne penned this West Coast premiere in part to imagine a world where patriarchal supremacy is replaced by healthy and whole masculinity. Crowded Fire Theater’s newest production is another in their quest toward daring work that both entertains and challenges. Adin Walker directs. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The death of a wife and mother. Spreading ashes around the backyard. What results is the growth of a mysterious, giant zucchini overnight, and the discovery of a unique language for grief. Benjamin Benne penned this West Coast premiere in part to imagine a world where patriarchal supremacy is replaced by healthy and whole masculinity. Crowded Fire Theater’s newest production is another in their quest toward daring work that both entertains and challenges. Adin Walker directs. \u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.lhtsf.org/african-stew\">African Stew\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.lhtsf.org/african-stew\">African Stew\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sept. 10–27\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sept. 10–27\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>An African American woman and a Nigerian man announce their quick engagement, which leads to a family dinner in Oakland. Things aren’t exactly smooth, however, as the two very different cultures gather, and as identity, cultural differences and familial expectations all prove to be heated topics of conversation. Lorraine Hansberry Theatre’s rolling world premiere features the triumphant return of frequent collaborator Lisa B. Thompson, with the show stewarded by longtime Bay Area director and artist Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>An African American woman and a Nigerian man announce their quick engagement, which leads to a family dinner in Oakland. Things aren’t exactly smooth, however, as the two very different cultures gather, and as identity, cultural differences and familial expectations all prove to be heated topics of conversation. Lorraine Hansberry Theatre’s rolling world premiere features the triumphant return of frequent collaborator Lisa B. Thompson, with the show stewarded by longtime Bay Area director and artist Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe.\u003c/p>\n"
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/IMG_0433-copy-smaller.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/IMG_0433-copy-smaller-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/IMG_0433-copy-smaller-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/IMG_0433-copy-smaller-1536x1152.jpg 1536w",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/IMG_0433-copy-smaller.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993048\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/IMG_0433-copy-smaller.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/IMG_0433-copy-smaller-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/IMG_0433-copy-smaller-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/IMG_0433-copy-smaller-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(L to R) Linda Amayo-Hassan, Megan Calfas, Aidaa Peerzada and Julius Ernesto Rea make up Playwright’s Foundation residents for 2026-2027. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Playwrights Foundation)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/IMG_0433-copy-smaller.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993048\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(L to R) Linda Amayo-Hassan, Megan Calfas, Aidaa Peerzada and Julius Ernesto Rea make up Playwright’s Foundation residents for 2026-2027. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Playwrights Foundation)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"text": "Bay Area Playwrights Festival",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://playwrightsfoundation.org/2026-bay-area-playwrights-festival/\">Bay Area Playwrights Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://playwrightsfoundation.org/2026-bay-area-playwrights-festival/\">Bay Area Playwrights Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sept. 18–27\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Strand Theater, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Play development has taken a hit around the country in the past 10 years, but the need for new work in American theater continues. Fortunately, consequential developers in the Bay Area still showcase new voices which may just write the next great American play. The Bay Area Playwrights Festival is coming up on its 47th year, and has seen more than 80 percent of its works go on to successful productions. This year’s festival features four new plays from diverse storytellers, giving audiences a sneak peek of the future. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Play development has taken a hit around the country in the past 10 years, but the need for new work in American theater continues. Fortunately, consequential developers in the Bay Area still showcase new voices which may just write the next great American play. The Bay Area Playwrights Festival is coming up on its 47th year, and has seen more than 80 percent of its works go on to successful productions. This year’s festival features four new plays from diverse storytellers, giving audiences a sneak peek of the future. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/KING-LEAR-landscape.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993046\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/KING-LEAR-landscape.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/KING-LEAR-landscape-160x114.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/KING-LEAR-landscape-768x548.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/KING-LEAR-landscape-1536x1097.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">J. Jha stars as the title character in William Shakespeare’s ‘King Lear’ as Oakland Theater Project jumps across the Bay to Z Space in San Francisco. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Adam Montanaro)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/KING-LEAR-landscape.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993046\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">J. Jha stars as the title character in William Shakespeare’s ‘King Lear’ as Oakland Theater Project jumps across the Bay to Z Space in San Francisco. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Adam Montanaro)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"text": "‘King Lear’",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘\u003ca href=\"https://oaklandtheaterproject.org/\">King Lear\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sept. 25–Oct. 11\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Z Space, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While twilight sets on the rule of King Lear, dividing his kingdom among his three daughters becomes another ploy in his quest for flattery. As his power dissipates, the king is proven to be a fool, one whose demise is entirely of his own making. Sound timely? Oakland Theater Project continues their daring season of rethinking classics and putting visceral new razors on stories of brutality. Lear is the model for many of theater’s greatest characters, and an embodiment of self-inflected wounds. Executive Artistic Director Michael Socrates Moran directs one of William Shakespeare’s most devastating tales. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>While twilight sets on the rule of King Lear, dividing his kingdom among his three daughters becomes another ploy in his quest for flattery. As his power dissipates, the king is proven to be a fool, one whose demise is entirely of his own making. Sound timely? Oakland Theater Project continues their daring season of rethinking classics and putting visceral new razors on stories of brutality. Lear is the model for many of theater’s greatest characters, and an embodiment of self-inflected wounds. Executive Artistic Director Michael Socrates Moran directs one of William Shakespeare’s most devastating tales. \u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "‘Alebrijes: A Dia De Los Muertos Tale’",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘\u003ca href=\"http://teatrovision.org\">Alebrijes: A Dia De Los Muertos Tale\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘\u003ca href=\"http://teatrovision.org\">Alebrijes: A Dia De Los Muertos Tale\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 8–18\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Mexican Heritage Plaza Theater, San José\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In the 1930s, papier-mâché artist Pedro Linares created the earliest alebrijes – a form of Mexican folk art depicting mythical hybrid animals. In Teatro Vision’s production of \u003cem>Alebrijes: A Dia De Los Muertos Tale\u003c/em>, playwright Georgina Escobar presents a mythological tale of Linares being chased by “La Muerte” through the colorful celebration of the Day of the Dead. The 42-year-old company and the production are both under the artistic hand of Rodrigo Garcia, and showcase all of the emotional pageantry of the festive holiday, with traditional Mexican music, comedy and community on full display in East San Jose. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In the 1930s, papier-mâché artist Pedro Linares created the earliest alebrijes – a form of Mexican folk art depicting mythical hybrid animals. In Teatro Vision’s production of \u003cem>Alebrijes: A Dia De Los Muertos Tale\u003c/em>, playwright Georgina Escobar presents a mythological tale of Linares being chased by “La Muerte” through the colorful celebration of the Day of the Dead. The 42-year-old company and the production are both under the artistic hand of Rodrigo Garcia, and showcase all of the emotional pageantry of the festive holiday, with traditional Mexican music, comedy and community on full display in East San Jose. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-1409168059.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993059\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-1409168059.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-1409168059-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-1409168059-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-1409168059-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Golden Thread Productions founder Torange Yeghiazarian.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Carlos Avila Gonzalez / San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-1409168059.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993059\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Golden Thread Productions founder Torange Yeghiazarian.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Carlos Avila Gonzalez / San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"text": "ReOrient Festival",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"http://goldenthread.org\">ReOrient Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"http://goldenthread.org\">ReOrient Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 9–Nov. 1\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Potrero Stage, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Founded by Torange Yeghiazarian, Golden Thread celebrates its 30th anniversary this year as a company that interrogates and celebrates Middle Eastern culture and identity. There’s never a shortage of candidates for Golden Thread’s signature festival, and this year is no different: of the 83 plays submitted, only five were selected. This year’s lineup focuses on Iran and Palestine, with rich diversity among the titles, one of which, \u003cem>Homing Pigeons & Co\u003c/em>, is directed by Yeghiazarian herself.\u003c/p>\n",
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"text": "‘Every Saturday Night’",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfbatco.org/\">Every Saturday Night\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfbatco.org/\">Every Saturday Night\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 10–Nov. 1\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>The Strand, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Harlem of the West” is a famous description of San Francisco’s Fillmore District in the ‘40s and ‘50s — and now, it’s the subject of a major world premiere for \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfbatco.org/\">SFBATCO\u003c/a>. \u003cem>Every Saturday Night\u003c/em> has been in development for four years, and it explores a San Francisco once filled with Black excellence and soul-stirring jazz. Those good times came to a halt when urban renewal’s displacement and gentrification robbed the world of a thriving Black community. Bay Area playwright, composer and director Danny Duncan joins forces with acclaimed playwright Michael Gene Sullivan for this anticipated production.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Harlem of the West” is a famous description of San Francisco’s Fillmore District in the ‘40s and ‘50s — and now, it’s the subject of a major world premiere for \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfbatco.org/\">SFBATCO\u003c/a>. \u003cem>Every Saturday Night\u003c/em> has been in development for four years, and it explores a San Francisco once filled with Black excellence and soul-stirring jazz. Those good times came to a halt when urban renewal’s displacement and gentrification robbed the world of a thriving Black community. Bay Area playwright, composer and director Danny Duncan joins forces with acclaimed playwright Michael Gene Sullivan for this anticipated production.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Alaska-Thunderfuck_Photo-Credit-Daniel-Rampulla.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993047\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Alaska-Thunderfuck_Photo-Credit-Daniel-Rampulla.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Alaska-Thunderfuck_Photo-Credit-Daniel-Rampulla-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Alaska-Thunderfuck_Photo-Credit-Daniel-Rampulla-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Alaska-Thunderfuck_Photo-Credit-Daniel-Rampulla-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Drag queen Alaska Thunderfuck will star as Mary Todd Lincoln in the San Francisco run of Cole Escola’s ‘Oh, Mary!’\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Daniel Rampulla)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Alaska-Thunderfuck_Photo-Credit-Daniel-Rampulla.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993047\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Drag queen Alaska Thunderfuck will star as Mary Todd Lincoln in the San Francisco run of Cole Escola’s ‘Oh, Mary!’\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Daniel Rampulla)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"text": "‘Oh, Mary!’ and ‘John Proctor is the Villain’",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/2026-27-season/oh-mary\">Oh, Mary!\u003c/a>’ and ‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/2026-27-season/john-proctor-is-the-villain\">John Proctor is the Villain\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/2026-27-season/oh-mary\">Oh, Mary!\u003c/a>’ and ‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/2026-27-season/john-proctor-is-the-villain\">John Proctor is the Villain\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Oh, Mary!,’ \u003cem>\u003cem>Oct. 13–Nov. 1\u003c/em>\u003c/em>; Curran Theater, San Francisco \u003cbr>‘John Proctor is the Villain,’ \u003cem>\u003cem>Nov. 12–Dec. 6\u003c/em>\u003c/em>; Toni Rembe Theater, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Oh, Mary!,’ \u003cem>\u003cem>Oct. 13–Nov. 1\u003c/em>\u003c/em>; Curran Theater, San Francisco \u003cbr>‘John Proctor is the Villain,’ \u003cem>\u003cem>Nov. 12–Dec. 6\u003c/em>\u003c/em>; Toni Rembe Theater, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Picking between \u003cem>Oh, Mary!\u003c/em> or \u003cem>John Proctor is the Villain\u003c/em> when both are being produced at A.C.T. is like picking a favorite child — you might have one, but you don’t say it out loud. \u003cem>Oh, Mary!\u003c/em> is a riotous, side-splitting show (and 2026 Pulitzer finalist) by Cole Escola, while \u003cem>Proctor \u003c/em>is a Broadway hit that inspired the \u003cem>New York Times\u003c/em> headline “Why Women are Leaving This Broadway Show in Tears.” The two shows couldn’t be more different in tone and temperament, but they’re firmly in the can’t-miss category. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Bess Wohl’s \u003cem>Liberation\u003c/em>, a piercing memory play about a group of women who strategize in a 1970s recreation center basement about how to change the world, won a Pulitzer and Tony during its Broadway run. Whitney White, who directed, returns in the same role for this West Coast premiere, a co-production with the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles and Washington D.C.’s Studio Theatre. (And if you’re looking for more Wohl in the Bay, \u003ca href=\"https://www.thestage.org/production-history/barcelona\">San Jose Stage produces her 2012 play \u003cem>Barcelona\u003c/em> from Sept. 30–Oct. 18\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Including shows about a lost jazz neighborhood, a women’s revolution and Abraham Lincoln’s wife run amok.",
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"title": "10 of the Best Plays and Musicals to See This Fall in the Bay Area | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Be sure to check out our full \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/fall-guide-2026\">2026 Fall Arts Guide\u003c/a> to live music, movies, art, theater, festivals and more in the Bay Area.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A certain type of magic comes with fall in the Bay Area. As T-shirts and shorts turn to long sleeves and jeans, rich browns and oranges overtake each leaf. Apart from the weather, seeing theater companies kick off their seasons is always thrilling, with world premieres and big hits ready to land all over the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While darkness may fall faster with each passing day, let the stage lights of these 10 fantastic theater productions brighten your life for the next three months.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1516\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MT_TheWhiteChip_ChrisHardy4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993464\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MT_TheWhiteChip_ChrisHardy4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MT_TheWhiteChip_ChrisHardy4-160x121.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MT_TheWhiteChip_ChrisHardy4-768x582.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/MT_TheWhiteChip_ChrisHardy4-1536x1164.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Danny Scheie, Benjamin Clark and Lyndsy Kail are featured in Marin Theatre’s ‘The White Chip,’ running Aug. 27–Sept. 20. (Chris Hardy)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.marintheatre.org/\">The White Chip\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Aug. 27–Sept. 20\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Marin Theatre, Mill Valley\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Sean Daniels has been one of the most visible figures in the American theatre to discuss his challenges as a recovering alcoholic while working to soften the stigma of addiction. In his semi-autobiographical play, \u003cem>The White Chip\u003c/em>, Steven is a theatrical director whose career spirals out fo control due to drinking. His journey through sobriety includes reckoning with self-acceptance and finding his community. Daniels’ play has seen significant productions nationwide, inspiring those on their own sobriety journeys. Artistic director Lance Gardner directs. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/manningpr-0138.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993044\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/manningpr-0138.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/manningpr-0138-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/manningpr-0138-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/manningpr-0138-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(L–R) Caleb Andrew Cabrera, Michael Torres and Alonso Melgoza star in ‘Manning,’ a play about grief and healing. (Cheshire Isaacs)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.crowdedfire.org/\">Manning\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sept. 5–26\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Potrero Stage, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The death of a wife and mother. Spreading ashes around the backyard. What results is the growth of a mysterious, giant zucchini overnight, and the discovery of a unique language for grief. Benjamin Benne penned this West Coast premiere in part to imagine a world where patriarchal supremacy is replaced by healthy and whole masculinity. Crowded Fire Theater’s newest production is another in their quest toward daring work that both entertains and challenges. Adin Walker directs. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.lhtsf.org/african-stew\">African Stew\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sept. 10–27\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>An African American woman and a Nigerian man announce their quick engagement, which leads to a family dinner in Oakland. Things aren’t exactly smooth, however, as the two very different cultures gather, and as identity, cultural differences and familial expectations all prove to be heated topics of conversation. Lorraine Hansberry Theatre’s rolling world premiere features the triumphant return of frequent collaborator Lisa B. Thompson, with the show stewarded by longtime Bay Area director and artist Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/IMG_0433-copy-smaller.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993048\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/IMG_0433-copy-smaller.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/IMG_0433-copy-smaller-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/IMG_0433-copy-smaller-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/IMG_0433-copy-smaller-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(L to R) Linda Amayo-Hassan, Megan Calfas, Aidaa Peerzada and Julius Ernesto Rea make up Playwright’s Foundation residents for 2026-2027. (Playwrights Foundation)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"https://playwrightsfoundation.org/2026-bay-area-playwrights-festival/\">Bay Area Playwrights Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sept. 18–27\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Strand Theater, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Play development has taken a hit around the country in the past 10 years, but the need for new work in American theater continues. Fortunately, consequential developers in the Bay Area still showcase new voices which may just write the next great American play. The Bay Area Playwrights Festival is coming up on its 47th year, and has seen more than 80 percent of its works go on to successful productions. This year’s festival features four new plays from diverse storytellers, giving audiences a sneak peek of the future. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1428\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/KING-LEAR-landscape.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993046\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/KING-LEAR-landscape.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/KING-LEAR-landscape-160x114.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/KING-LEAR-landscape-768x548.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/KING-LEAR-landscape-1536x1097.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">J. Jha stars as the title character in William Shakespeare’s ‘King Lear’ as Oakland Theater Project jumps across the Bay to Z Space in San Francisco. (Adam Montanaro)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘\u003ca href=\"https://oaklandtheaterproject.org/\">King Lear\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sept. 25–Oct. 11\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Z Space, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While twilight sets on the rule of King Lear, dividing his kingdom among his three daughters becomes another ploy in his quest for flattery. As his power dissipates, the king is proven to be a fool, one whose demise is entirely of his own making. Sound timely? Oakland Theater Project continues their daring season of rethinking classics and putting visceral new razors on stories of brutality. Lear is the model for many of theater’s greatest characters, and an embodiment of self-inflected wounds. Executive Artistic Director Michael Socrates Moran directs one of William Shakespeare’s most devastating tales. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘\u003ca href=\"http://teatrovision.org\">Alebrijes: A Dia De Los Muertos Tale\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 8–18\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Mexican Heritage Plaza Theater, San José\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the 1930s, papier-mâché artist Pedro Linares created the earliest alebrijes – a form of Mexican folk art depicting mythical hybrid animals. In Teatro Vision’s production of \u003cem>Alebrijes: A Dia De Los Muertos Tale\u003c/em>, playwright Georgina Escobar presents a mythological tale of Linares being chased by “La Muerte” through the colorful celebration of the Day of the Dead. The 42-year-old company and the production are both under the artistic hand of Rodrigo Garcia, and showcase all of the emotional pageantry of the festive holiday, with traditional Mexican music, comedy and community on full display in East San Jose. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-1409168059.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993059\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-1409168059.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-1409168059-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-1409168059-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/GettyImages-1409168059-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Golden Thread Productions founder Torange Yeghiazarian. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez / San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003ca href=\"http://goldenthread.org\">ReOrient Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 9–Nov. 1\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Potrero Stage, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Founded by Torange Yeghiazarian, Golden Thread celebrates its 30th anniversary this year as a company that interrogates and celebrates Middle Eastern culture and identity. There’s never a shortage of candidates for Golden Thread’s signature festival, and this year is no different: of the 83 plays submitted, only five were selected. This year’s lineup focuses on Iran and Palestine, with rich diversity among the titles, one of which, \u003cem>Homing Pigeons & Co\u003c/em>, is directed by Yeghiazarian herself.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfbatco.org/\">Every Saturday Night\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 10–Nov. 1\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>The Strand, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Harlem of the West” is a famous description of San Francisco’s Fillmore District in the ‘40s and ‘50s — and now, it’s the subject of a major world premiere for \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfbatco.org/\">SFBATCO\u003c/a>. \u003cem>Every Saturday Night\u003c/em> has been in development for four years, and it explores a San Francisco once filled with Black excellence and soul-stirring jazz. Those good times came to a halt when urban renewal’s displacement and gentrification robbed the world of a thriving Black community. Bay Area playwright, composer and director Danny Duncan joins forces with acclaimed playwright Michael Gene Sullivan for this anticipated production.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Alaska-Thunderfuck_Photo-Credit-Daniel-Rampulla.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993047\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Alaska-Thunderfuck_Photo-Credit-Daniel-Rampulla.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Alaska-Thunderfuck_Photo-Credit-Daniel-Rampulla-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Alaska-Thunderfuck_Photo-Credit-Daniel-Rampulla-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Alaska-Thunderfuck_Photo-Credit-Daniel-Rampulla-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Drag queen Alaska Thunderfuck will star as Mary Todd Lincoln in the San Francisco run of Cole Escola’s ‘Oh, Mary!’ (Daniel Rampulla)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/2026-27-season/oh-mary\">Oh, Mary!\u003c/a>’ and ‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/2026-27-season/john-proctor-is-the-villain\">John Proctor is the Villain\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Oh, Mary!,’ \u003cem>\u003cem>Oct. 13–Nov. 1\u003c/em>\u003c/em>; Curran Theater, San Francisco \u003cbr>‘John Proctor is the Villain,’ \u003cem>\u003cem>Nov. 12–Dec. 6\u003c/em>\u003c/em>; Toni Rembe Theater, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Picking between \u003cem>Oh, Mary!\u003c/em> or \u003cem>John Proctor is the Villain\u003c/em> when both are being produced at A.C.T. is like picking a favorite child — you might have one, but you don’t say it out loud. \u003cem>Oh, Mary!\u003c/em> is a riotous, side-splitting show (and 2026 Pulitzer finalist) by Cole Escola, while \u003cem>Proctor \u003c/em>is a Broadway hit that inspired the \u003cem>New York Times\u003c/em> headline “Why Women are Leaving This Broadway Show in Tears.” The two shows couldn’t be more different in tone and temperament, but they’re firmly in the can’t-miss category. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Liberation_0115r-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993050\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Liberation_0115r-1.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Liberation_0115r-1-2000x1334.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Liberation_0115r-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Liberation_0115r-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Liberation_0115r-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Liberation_0115r-1-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The New York cast of Bess Wohl’s ‘Liberation’ at the Laura Pels Theatre in 2025. (Joan Marcus)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘\u003ca href=\"http://berkeleyrep.org\">Liberation\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 23–Nov. 29\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Roda Theatre, Berkeley\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bess Wohl’s \u003cem>Liberation\u003c/em>, a piercing memory play about a group of women who strategize in a 1970s recreation center basement about how to change the world, won a Pulitzer and Tony during its Broadway run. Whitney White, who directed, returns in the same role for this West Coast premiere, a co-production with the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles and Washington D.C.’s Studio Theatre. (And if you’re looking for more Wohl in the Bay, \u003ca href=\"https://www.thestage.org/production-history/barcelona\">San Jose Stage produces her 2012 play \u003cem>Barcelona\u003c/em> from Sept. 30–Oct. 18\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "oasis-san-francisco-drag-club-reopens-grand-reveal",
"title": "Oasis, San Francisco’s Premier Drag Destination, Is Ready for Its Second Act",
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"content": "\u003cp>Near the end of 2025, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11950030/san-francisco-names-the-nations-first-drag-laureate\">D’Arcy Drollinger\u003c/a> thought she’d have to close her nightclub for good. Despite an 11-year run as one of San Francisco’s top \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/drag\">drag\u003c/a> venues, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfoasis.com/\">Oasis\u003c/a> was barely scraping by, forcing Drollinger to dip into her personal retirement savings to keep the club afloat. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Grief swept through the Bay Area’s queer community when Drollinger announced the impending closure last summer. But a surprise multi-million-dollar donation saved Oasis at the 11th hour. Silicon Valley philanthropists Mark and Mary Stevens, whose son, Sky, is an Oasis regular, stepped in to help secure Oasis’ future just days before its final show on New Year’s Eve.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, after seven months of renovations and long-term financial planning, Oasis will reopen its doors on July 17. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“[We] get to not only survive, but build something that I hope becomes a legacy,” Drollinger tells KQED on a recent visit to the club.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Less than 36 hours before Oasis’ grand reopening, all hands are on deck. Drollinger and Greg Sottolano, the new executive director of the club’s nonprofit arm, give interviews. Production manager Justin Denburg polishes disco balls. Designer Evan Favela applies final touch-ups to the black and gold murals on the walls. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-02_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991741\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-02_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-02_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-02_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-02_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Production manager Justin Denburg polishes a disco ball at Oasis in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, July 16, 2026. Oasis is set to reopen on July 17 after months of renovation. (Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Yes, Oasis has gotten a facelift. Gold tiles now sparkle around the ticketbooth, and pink ruffled stage curtains exude the allure of a Broadway diva’s boudoir. Upstairs, faux crocodile wallpaper completes this 8,000-square-foot shrine to all things camp and glamor. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Such attention to detail is fitting for the only American nightclub of its size created for drag artists, by drag artists. It shows not only in the decor, but in Oasis’ spacious, well-lit dressing rooms (a luxury for queens who’ve had to apply wig glue in electrical closets). Its technical capabilities — including a light-up runway, 4K video wall and Steinway baby grand piano — allow artists to create the “wow” moments that send audiences’ jaws to the floor and dollar bills flying through the air. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“From cabaret to drag shows to theater, there is no limit,” Drollinger says. “I’ve seen some people make some really incredible work here, and more than anything, it’s the team to support them that really counts.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Beyond its cosmetic makeover, Oasis has also done some internal restructuring. Sottolano now handles business administration so Drollinger can focus on her role as artistic director. She’s already firing off ambitious ideas, including a film incubator program, an oral-history project for elders and rotating murals by queer visual artists. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The truth is that we have a responsibility, and it’s also an opportunity to create the world we want to live in,” Drollinger says. “And if we want to live in a world full of arts, then you have to support the artists.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-03_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991739\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-03_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-03_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-03_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-03_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">D’Arcy Drollinger and Greg Sottolano pose for a portrait at Oasis in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, July 16, 2026. (Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sottolano has hired a director of development to beef up fundraising efforts, and the nonprofit is in the process of purchasing its building. “Truthfully we’re one of the lucky ones. There’s a lot of venues in San Francisco and, frankly, across the country who haven’t had the same opportunity that we’ve gotten,” Sottolano says. “We take that responsibility really seriously, not just for the community that we serve here in San Francisco and the artists themselves, but also to hopefully be a beacon, a beacon of inspiration and a beacon of knowledge for other organizations.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Oasis had hosted its share of celebrities, including countless \u003cem>RuPaul’s Drag Race\u003c/em> winners and pop stars like Doja Cat, who threw a surprise album release party at the club last year. It’s also nurtured local artists who’ve ascended to bigger stages at Outside Lands and the Pink Block pride party.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think it’s a hub for people who have initiative and talent, and want to be on stage or behind the camera or making props,” says Favela, who in addition to upgrading the club’s interior also performs there regularly as Evian. “I started six years ago as a waiter and now I’m a full-time designer.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-12_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991738\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-12_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-12_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-12_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-12_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Evan Favela, also known as Evian, touches up a mural at Oasis in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, July 16, 2026. Favela is the club’s interior designer. (Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Oasis’ calendar is already filling up with programming after its sold-out \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-grand-reveal-tickets-1992034519873?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Grand Reveal \u003c/a>party on July 17. \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/princess-homecoming-w-julie-j-tickets-1992034859890?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Princess\u003c/a>, the ultra-popular Saturday-night drag show, returns on July 18 with New York drag star Julie J, San Francisco collective Clutch the Pearls and more. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/out-abt-a-queer-dance-party-tickets-1993210277596?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Out & Abt\u003c/a>, a lesbian-forward dance party, is back on July 24. On July 26, kinksters have a place to go for drinks during the leather and fetish celebration \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dore-2026-tickets-1993210518316?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Dore Alley\u003c/a>. And on July 30, Drollinger will screen her film, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/shit-champagne-tickets-1993179732234?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Shit & Champagne\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, based on the inaugural stage show she put on at Oasis when it opened in 2014. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Tito Soto, a drag artist and the producer of Princess, says he’s excited for his party to return to its home venue.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s a very special venue to the whole city,” Soto says. “And the whole city was mourning its closure, and we get a second chance at this. I think it’s a good reminder to everybody that we all need to pitch in to keep our queer spaces alive.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oasis (298 11th Street, San Francisco) celebrates its Grand Reveal on July 17.\u003c/em> \u003cem>For the club’s full schedule of events, visit its\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfoasis.com/events\"> calendar\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Grief swept through the Bay Area’s queer community when Drollinger announced the impending closure last summer. But a surprise multi-million-dollar donation saved Oasis at the 11th hour. Silicon Valley philanthropists Mark and Mary Stevens, whose son, Sky, is an Oasis regular, stepped in to help secure Oasis’ future just days before its final show on New Year’s Eve.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“[We] get to not only survive, but build something that I hope becomes a legacy,” Drollinger tells KQED on a recent visit to the club.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Less than 36 hours before Oasis’ grand reopening, all hands are on deck. Drollinger and Greg Sottolano, the new executive director of the club’s nonprofit arm, give interviews. Production manager Justin Denburg polishes disco balls. Designer Evan Favela applies final touch-ups to the black and gold murals on the walls. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-02_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991741\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-02_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-02_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-02_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-02_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Production manager Justin Denburg polishes a disco ball at Oasis in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, July 16, 2026. Oasis is set to reopen on July 17 after months of renovation.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Such attention to detail is fitting for the only American nightclub of its size created for drag artists, by drag artists. It shows not only in the decor, but in Oasis’ spacious, well-lit dressing rooms (a luxury for queens who’ve had to apply wig glue in electrical closets). Its technical capabilities — including a light-up runway, 4K video wall and Steinway baby grand piano — allow artists to create the “wow” moments that send audiences’ jaws to the floor and dollar bills flying through the air. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“From cabaret to drag shows to theater, there is no limit,” Drollinger says. “I’ve seen some people make some really incredible work here, and more than anything, it’s the team to support them that really counts.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Beyond its cosmetic makeover, Oasis has also done some internal restructuring. Sottolano now handles business administration so Drollinger can focus on her role as artistic director. She’s already firing off ambitious ideas, including a film incubator program, an oral-history project for elders and rotating murals by queer visual artists. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Beyond its cosmetic makeover, Oasis has also done some internal restructuring. Sottolano now handles business administration so Drollinger can focus on her role as artistic director. She’s already firing off ambitious ideas, including a film incubator program, an oral-history project for elders and rotating murals by queer visual artists. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The truth is that we have a responsibility, and it’s also an opportunity to create the world we want to live in,” Drollinger says. “And if we want to live in a world full of arts, then you have to support the artists.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The truth is that we have a responsibility, and it’s also an opportunity to create the world we want to live in,” Drollinger says. “And if we want to live in a world full of arts, then you have to support the artists.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-03_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991739\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-03_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-03_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-03_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-03_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">D’Arcy Drollinger and Greg Sottolano pose for a portrait at Oasis in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, July 16, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Sottolano has hired a director of development to beef up fundraising efforts, and the nonprofit is in the process of purchasing its building. “Truthfully we’re one of the lucky ones. There’s a lot of venues in San Francisco and, frankly, across the country who haven’t had the same opportunity that we’ve gotten,” Sottolano says. “We take that responsibility really seriously, not just for the community that we serve here in San Francisco and the artists themselves, but also to hopefully be a beacon, a beacon of inspiration and a beacon of knowledge for other organizations.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Oasis had hosted its share of celebrities, including countless \u003cem>RuPaul’s Drag Race\u003c/em> winners and pop stars like Doja Cat, who threw a surprise album release party at the club last year. It’s also nurtured local artists who’ve ascended to bigger stages at Outside Lands and the Pink Block pride party.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I think it’s a hub for people who have initiative and talent, and want to be on stage or behind the camera or making props,” says Favela, who in addition to upgrading the club’s interior also performs there regularly as Evian. “I started six years ago as a waiter and now I’m a full-time designer.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Oasis’ calendar is already filling up with programming after its sold-out \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-grand-reveal-tickets-1992034519873?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Grand Reveal \u003c/a>party on July 17. \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/princess-homecoming-w-julie-j-tickets-1992034859890?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Princess\u003c/a>, the ultra-popular Saturday-night drag show, returns on July 18 with New York drag star Julie J, San Francisco collective Clutch the Pearls and more. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Oasis’ calendar is already filling up with programming after its sold-out \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-grand-reveal-tickets-1992034519873?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Grand Reveal \u003c/a>party on July 17. \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/princess-homecoming-w-julie-j-tickets-1992034859890?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Princess\u003c/a>, the ultra-popular Saturday-night drag show, returns on July 18 with New York drag star Julie J, San Francisco collective Clutch the Pearls and more. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/out-abt-a-queer-dance-party-tickets-1993210277596?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Out & Abt\u003c/a>, a lesbian-forward dance party, is back on July 24. On July 26, kinksters have a place to go for drinks during the leather and fetish celebration \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dore-2026-tickets-1993210518316?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Dore Alley\u003c/a>. And on July 30, Drollinger will screen her film, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/shit-champagne-tickets-1993179732234?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Shit & Champagne\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, based on the inaugural stage show she put on at Oasis when it opened in 2014. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Tito Soto, a drag artist and the producer of Princess, says he’s excited for his party to return to its home venue.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s a very special venue to the whole city,” Soto says. “And the whole city was mourning its closure, and we get a second chance at this. I think it’s a good reminder to everybody that we all need to pitch in to keep our queer spaces alive.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It’s a very special venue to the whole city,” Soto says. “And the whole city was mourning its closure, and we get a second chance at this. I think it’s a good reminder to everybody that we all need to pitch in to keep our queer spaces alive.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oasis (298 11th Street, San Francisco) celebrates its Grand Reveal on July 17.\u003c/em> \u003cem>For the club’s full schedule of events, visit its\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfoasis.com/events\"> calendar\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oasis (298 11th Street, San Francisco) celebrates its Grand Reveal on July 17.\u003c/em> \u003cem>For the club’s full schedule of events, visit its\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfoasis.com/events\"> calendar\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "A massive donation saved the club from closing. Now it wants to build a legacy. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Near the end of 2025, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11950030/san-francisco-names-the-nations-first-drag-laureate\">D’Arcy Drollinger\u003c/a> thought she’d have to close her nightclub for good. Despite an 11-year run as one of San Francisco’s top \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/drag\">drag\u003c/a> venues, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfoasis.com/\">Oasis\u003c/a> was barely scraping by, forcing Drollinger to dip into her personal retirement savings to keep the club afloat. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Grief swept through the Bay Area’s queer community when Drollinger announced the impending closure last summer. But a surprise multi-million-dollar donation saved Oasis at the 11th hour. Silicon Valley philanthropists Mark and Mary Stevens, whose son, Sky, is an Oasis regular, stepped in to help secure Oasis’ future just days before its final show on New Year’s Eve.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, after seven months of renovations and long-term financial planning, Oasis will reopen its doors on July 17. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“[We] get to not only survive, but build something that I hope becomes a legacy,” Drollinger tells KQED on a recent visit to the club.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Less than 36 hours before Oasis’ grand reopening, all hands are on deck. Drollinger and Greg Sottolano, the new executive director of the club’s nonprofit arm, give interviews. Production manager Justin Denburg polishes disco balls. Designer Evan Favela applies final touch-ups to the black and gold murals on the walls. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-02_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991741\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-02_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-02_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-02_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-02_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Production manager Justin Denburg polishes a disco ball at Oasis in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, July 16, 2026. Oasis is set to reopen on July 17 after months of renovation. (Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Yes, Oasis has gotten a facelift. Gold tiles now sparkle around the ticketbooth, and pink ruffled stage curtains exude the allure of a Broadway diva’s boudoir. Upstairs, faux crocodile wallpaper completes this 8,000-square-foot shrine to all things camp and glamor. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Such attention to detail is fitting for the only American nightclub of its size created for drag artists, by drag artists. It shows not only in the decor, but in Oasis’ spacious, well-lit dressing rooms (a luxury for queens who’ve had to apply wig glue in electrical closets). Its technical capabilities — including a light-up runway, 4K video wall and Steinway baby grand piano — allow artists to create the “wow” moments that send audiences’ jaws to the floor and dollar bills flying through the air. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“From cabaret to drag shows to theater, there is no limit,” Drollinger says. “I’ve seen some people make some really incredible work here, and more than anything, it’s the team to support them that really counts.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Beyond its cosmetic makeover, Oasis has also done some internal restructuring. Sottolano now handles business administration so Drollinger can focus on her role as artistic director. She’s already firing off ambitious ideas, including a film incubator program, an oral-history project for elders and rotating murals by queer visual artists. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The truth is that we have a responsibility, and it’s also an opportunity to create the world we want to live in,” Drollinger says. “And if we want to live in a world full of arts, then you have to support the artists.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-03_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991739\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-03_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-03_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-03_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-03_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">D’Arcy Drollinger and Greg Sottolano pose for a portrait at Oasis in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, July 16, 2026. (Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sottolano has hired a director of development to beef up fundraising efforts, and the nonprofit is in the process of purchasing its building. “Truthfully we’re one of the lucky ones. There’s a lot of venues in San Francisco and, frankly, across the country who haven’t had the same opportunity that we’ve gotten,” Sottolano says. “We take that responsibility really seriously, not just for the community that we serve here in San Francisco and the artists themselves, but also to hopefully be a beacon, a beacon of inspiration and a beacon of knowledge for other organizations.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Oasis had hosted its share of celebrities, including countless \u003cem>RuPaul’s Drag Race\u003c/em> winners and pop stars like Doja Cat, who threw a surprise album release party at the club last year. It’s also nurtured local artists who’ve ascended to bigger stages at Outside Lands and the Pink Block pride party.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think it’s a hub for people who have initiative and talent, and want to be on stage or behind the camera or making props,” says Favela, who in addition to upgrading the club’s interior also performs there regularly as Evian. “I started six years ago as a waiter and now I’m a full-time designer.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-12_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991738\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-12_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-12_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-12_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-12_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Evan Favela, also known as Evian, touches up a mural at Oasis in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, July 16, 2026. Favela is the club’s interior designer. (Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Oasis’ calendar is already filling up with programming after its sold-out \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-grand-reveal-tickets-1992034519873?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Grand Reveal \u003c/a>party on July 17. \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/princess-homecoming-w-julie-j-tickets-1992034859890?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Princess\u003c/a>, the ultra-popular Saturday-night drag show, returns on July 18 with New York drag star Julie J, San Francisco collective Clutch the Pearls and more. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/out-abt-a-queer-dance-party-tickets-1993210277596?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Out & Abt\u003c/a>, a lesbian-forward dance party, is back on July 24. On July 26, kinksters have a place to go for drinks during the leather and fetish celebration \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dore-2026-tickets-1993210518316?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Dore Alley\u003c/a>. And on July 30, Drollinger will screen her film, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/shit-champagne-tickets-1993179732234?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Shit & Champagne\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, based on the inaugural stage show she put on at Oasis when it opened in 2014. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Tito Soto, a drag artist and the producer of Princess, says he’s excited for his party to return to its home venue.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s a very special venue to the whole city,” Soto says. “And the whole city was mourning its closure, and we get a second chance at this. I think it’s a good reminder to everybody that we all need to pitch in to keep our queer spaces alive.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oasis (298 11th Street, San Francisco) celebrates its Grand Reveal on July 17.\u003c/em> \u003cem>For the club’s full schedule of events, visit its\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfoasis.com/events\"> calendar\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"headTitle": "It’s No Secret: ‘The Lunchbox’ Continues to Pack ’Em in for a Reason | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Since it opened in May at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/berkeley-rep\">Berkeley Rep\u003c/a>, the world-premiere musical \u003cem>The Lunchbox\u003c/em> has sold out night after night. Based on and hewing closely to \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2350496/\">the well-loved 2013 film\u003c/a>, the show’s been extended twice already, and is, in plain terms, a bona fide hit.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That much was plain during a mid-run visit, where the crowd — roughly half South Asian, half older white Berkeleyite — treated it like it was still opening night: excited chatter in the packed lobby, a standing ovation, flower bouquets at the ready.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Directed by Rachel Chavkin, the show is a warm, sweet, sensory delight. It starts with a magnificent four-story set (design by Mimi Lien), full of wrought iron, concrete, clotheslines and a 20-foot Bollywood movie billboard. Stairs, balconies and fire escapes recall a Mumbai version of \u003cem>West Side Story\u003c/em>; streetcars and deliverymen soon add to the crowded cityscape.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/178_TLB.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991120\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/178_TLB.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/178_TLB-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/178_TLB-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/178_TLB-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The cast of ‘The Lunchbox’ perform in a dream sequence about Bhutan. (Kevin Berne)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sequestered in her apartment, Ila (Kuhoo Verma, in a starmaking role) is a thirtysomething wife and mother trying to cook her way back into her distant husband’s heart. She takes advice for recipes and life from her upstairs neighbor, whom she calls “auntie” (Anisha Nagarajan), and is clearly in need of a shakeup.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She gets one when the lunch Ila cooks for her husband is delivered to the wrong address: a defeated widower, Fernandes (Manu Narayan), who’s pushed papers at a desk for 30 years. The two strike up a correspondence of handwritten notes tucked inside the delivered lunchbox, each more revealing than the last. After a flirty battle of the sexes over the correct amount of salt, a charming, late-in-life puppy love takes root, one folded-up piece of paper at a time. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You may think you know where this is going, and you’re half-right. But as any handcart operator in a big city can tell you, the fun is in the journey, bumps and all. It’s a joy to see just how completely smitten Ila and Fernandes are with one another. The script by Ritesh Batra, who wrote and directed the original film, nails with precision the feeling of being infatuated with someone distant and possibly unattainable.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1331\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/119_TLB.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991123\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/119_TLB.jpg 1331w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/119_TLB-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/119_TLB-768x1154.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/119_TLB-1022x1536.jpg 1022w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1331px) 100vw, 1331px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kuhoo Verma in ‘The Lunchbox’ at Berkeley Rep. (Kevin Berne)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Verma is just plain radiant in the lead role, on down to how Ila overthinks every detail in advance of a possible first meeting. She’s an excellent singer, emoting and hitting every trill, and she perfectly conveys both the coyness and frustration of Ila’s predicament, from introspective belters like “Courage” to the tiniest coquettishly raised eyebrow.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The play has many side quests, some more relevant than others. Fernandes’ coworker Shaikh (Aathaven Tharmarajah) helps open up Fernandes’ heart not just to love but to friendship. Nagarajan pulls all the humanity imaginable out of Mrs. Deshpande, the upstairs auntie whose lonely home life serves as a warning to what Ila’s life could become in the face of inaction. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Other numbers are less important, if not complete speedbumps. Twenty minutes in, Fernandes happens to tell a restaurant that its food was good, and its employees commence a hammy song-and-dance about \u003ca href=\"https://archive.nytimes.com/india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/13/indias-middle-class-growth-engine-or-loose-wheel/\">the Bird of Gold\u003c/a>. It’s somewhat cute, but this early in the show, we want more Ila and Fernandes, and it stifles the plot’s momentum. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/063_TLB.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991122\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/063_TLB.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/063_TLB-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/063_TLB-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/063_TLB-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Manu Narayan (as Fernandes) and Savidu Geevaratne in ‘The Lunchbox’ at Berkeley Rep. (Kevin Berne)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The orchestra performing the songs, however, could not be finer, and the music by Daniel and Patrick Lazour straddles traditional Indian rhythms and melodies (opening number “No Wrong Mistake,” sung by the lunchbox deliverymen known as dabbawallahs) and the accessible veneer of Broadway (a colorful, serene dream sequence about Bhutan). The choreography by Reshma Gajjar, particularly during a crowded train car scene, is inventive and captivating. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Much of \u003cem>The Lunchbox\u003c/em> is a very traditional love story, with nearly conservative themes. The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach; the way to flirt with a woman is by negging. Then there’s the age gap, and the notion of women being attracted to decades-older men, who appear more mature, deep and emotionally present. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>These are usually viewed as hindrances by your typical lefty Berkeley audience, but the rapturous crowd on Wednesday night certainly didn’t seem to mind. After the ups and downs of Ila and Fernandes’ yearning for each other, and an indelible final onstage image before the lights go out, who could really argue?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘The Lunchbox’ runs through Sunday, July 12 at Berkeley Rep. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyrep.org/shows/the-lunchbox-nkft\">\u003cem>Tickets and more information here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Since it opened in May at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/berkeley-rep\">Berkeley Rep\u003c/a>, the world-premiere musical \u003cem>The Lunchbox\u003c/em> has sold out night after night. Based on and hewing closely to \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2350496/\">the well-loved 2013 film\u003c/a>, the show’s been extended twice already, and is, in plain terms, a bona fide hit.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That much was plain during a mid-run visit, where the crowd — roughly half South Asian, half older white Berkeleyite — treated it like it was still opening night: excited chatter in the packed lobby, a standing ovation, flower bouquets at the ready.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That much was plain during a mid-run visit, where the crowd — roughly half South Asian, half older white Berkeleyite — treated it like it was still opening night: excited chatter in the packed lobby, a standing ovation, flower bouquets at the ready.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Directed by Rachel Chavkin, the show is a warm, sweet, sensory delight. It starts with a magnificent four-story set (design by Mimi Lien), full of wrought iron, concrete, clotheslines and a 20-foot Bollywood movie billboard. Stairs, balconies and fire escapes recall a Mumbai version of \u003cem>West Side Story\u003c/em>; streetcars and deliverymen soon add to the crowded cityscape.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Directed by Rachel Chavkin, the show is a warm, sweet, sensory delight. It starts with a magnificent four-story set (design by Mimi Lien), full of wrought iron, concrete, clotheslines and a 20-foot Bollywood movie billboard. Stairs, balconies and fire escapes recall a Mumbai version of \u003cem>West Side Story\u003c/em>; streetcars and deliverymen soon add to the crowded cityscape.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/178_TLB.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991120\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/178_TLB.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/178_TLB-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/178_TLB-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/178_TLB-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The cast of ‘The Lunchbox’ perform in a dream sequence about Bhutan.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Sequestered in her apartment, Ila (Kuhoo Verma, in a starmaking role) is a thirtysomething wife and mother trying to cook her way back into her distant husband’s heart. She takes advice for recipes and life from her upstairs neighbor, whom she calls “auntie” (Anisha Nagarajan), and is clearly in need of a shakeup.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She gets one when the lunch Ila cooks for her husband is delivered to the wrong address: a defeated widower, Fernandes (Manu Narayan), who’s pushed papers at a desk for 30 years. The two strike up a correspondence of handwritten notes tucked inside the delivered lunchbox, each more revealing than the last. After a flirty battle of the sexes over the correct amount of salt, a charming, late-in-life puppy love takes root, one folded-up piece of paper at a time. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>She gets one when the lunch Ila cooks for her husband is delivered to the wrong address: a defeated widower, Fernandes (Manu Narayan), who’s pushed papers at a desk for 30 years. The two strike up a correspondence of handwritten notes tucked inside the delivered lunchbox, each more revealing than the last. After a flirty battle of the sexes over the correct amount of salt, a charming, late-in-life puppy love takes root, one folded-up piece of paper at a time. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>You may think you know where this is going, and you’re half-right. But as any handcart operator in a big city can tell you, the fun is in the journey, bumps and all. It’s a joy to see just how completely smitten Ila and Fernandes are with one another. The script by Ritesh Batra, who wrote and directed the original film, nails with precision the feeling of being infatuated with someone distant and possibly unattainable.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Verma is just plain radiant in the lead role, on down to how Ila overthinks every detail in advance of a possible first meeting. She’s an excellent singer, emoting and hitting every trill, and she perfectly conveys both the coyness and frustration of Ila’s predicament, from introspective belters like “Courage” to the tiniest coquettishly raised eyebrow.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The play has many side quests, some more relevant than others. Fernandes’ coworker Shaikh (Aathaven Tharmarajah) helps open up Fernandes’ heart not just to love but to friendship. Nagarajan pulls all the humanity imaginable out of Mrs. Deshpande, the upstairs auntie whose lonely home life serves as a warning to what Ila’s life could become in the face of inaction. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The play has many side quests, some more relevant than others. Fernandes’ coworker Shaikh (Aathaven Tharmarajah) helps open up Fernandes’ heart not just to love but to friendship. Nagarajan pulls all the humanity imaginable out of Mrs. Deshpande, the upstairs auntie whose lonely home life serves as a warning to what Ila’s life could become in the face of inaction. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Other numbers are less important, if not complete speedbumps. Twenty minutes in, Fernandes happens to tell a restaurant that its food was good, and its employees commence a hammy song-and-dance about \u003ca href=\"https://archive.nytimes.com/india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/13/indias-middle-class-growth-engine-or-loose-wheel/\">the Bird of Gold\u003c/a>. It’s somewhat cute, but this early in the show, we want more Ila and Fernandes, and it stifles the plot’s momentum. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Other numbers are less important, if not complete speedbumps. Twenty minutes in, Fernandes happens to tell a restaurant that its food was good, and its employees commence a hammy song-and-dance about \u003ca href=\"https://archive.nytimes.com/india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/13/indias-middle-class-growth-engine-or-loose-wheel/\">the Bird of Gold\u003c/a>. It’s somewhat cute, but this early in the show, we want more Ila and Fernandes, and it stifles the plot’s momentum. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The orchestra performing the songs, however, could not be finer, and the music by Daniel and Patrick Lazour straddles traditional Indian rhythms and melodies (opening number “No Wrong Mistake,” sung by the lunchbox deliverymen known as dabbawallahs) and the accessible veneer of Broadway (a colorful, serene dream sequence about Bhutan). The choreography by Reshma Gajjar, particularly during a crowded train car scene, is inventive and captivating. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Much of \u003cem>The Lunchbox\u003c/em> is a very traditional love story, with nearly conservative themes. The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach; the way to flirt with a woman is by negging. Then there’s the age gap, and the notion of women being attracted to decades-older men, who appear more mature, deep and emotionally present. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>These are usually viewed as hindrances by your typical lefty Berkeley audience, but the rapturous crowd on Wednesday night certainly didn’t seem to mind. After the ups and downs of Ila and Fernandes’ yearning for each other, and an indelible final onstage image before the lights go out, who could really argue?\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘The Lunchbox’ runs through Sunday, July 12 at Berkeley Rep. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyrep.org/shows/the-lunchbox-nkft\">\u003cem>Tickets and more information here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Delightful and sweet, the world-premiere musical at Berkeley Rep seems destined for larger stages. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Since it opened in May at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/berkeley-rep\">Berkeley Rep\u003c/a>, the world-premiere musical \u003cem>The Lunchbox\u003c/em> has sold out night after night. Based on and hewing closely to \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2350496/\">the well-loved 2013 film\u003c/a>, the show’s been extended twice already, and is, in plain terms, a bona fide hit.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That much was plain during a mid-run visit, where the crowd — roughly half South Asian, half older white Berkeleyite — treated it like it was still opening night: excited chatter in the packed lobby, a standing ovation, flower bouquets at the ready.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Directed by Rachel Chavkin, the show is a warm, sweet, sensory delight. It starts with a magnificent four-story set (design by Mimi Lien), full of wrought iron, concrete, clotheslines and a 20-foot Bollywood movie billboard. Stairs, balconies and fire escapes recall a Mumbai version of \u003cem>West Side Story\u003c/em>; streetcars and deliverymen soon add to the crowded cityscape.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/178_TLB.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991120\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/178_TLB.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/178_TLB-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/178_TLB-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/178_TLB-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The cast of ‘The Lunchbox’ perform in a dream sequence about Bhutan. (Kevin Berne)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sequestered in her apartment, Ila (Kuhoo Verma, in a starmaking role) is a thirtysomething wife and mother trying to cook her way back into her distant husband’s heart. She takes advice for recipes and life from her upstairs neighbor, whom she calls “auntie” (Anisha Nagarajan), and is clearly in need of a shakeup.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She gets one when the lunch Ila cooks for her husband is delivered to the wrong address: a defeated widower, Fernandes (Manu Narayan), who’s pushed papers at a desk for 30 years. The two strike up a correspondence of handwritten notes tucked inside the delivered lunchbox, each more revealing than the last. After a flirty battle of the sexes over the correct amount of salt, a charming, late-in-life puppy love takes root, one folded-up piece of paper at a time. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You may think you know where this is going, and you’re half-right. But as any handcart operator in a big city can tell you, the fun is in the journey, bumps and all. It’s a joy to see just how completely smitten Ila and Fernandes are with one another. The script by Ritesh Batra, who wrote and directed the original film, nails with precision the feeling of being infatuated with someone distant and possibly unattainable.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1331\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/119_TLB.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991123\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/119_TLB.jpg 1331w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/119_TLB-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/119_TLB-768x1154.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/119_TLB-1022x1536.jpg 1022w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1331px) 100vw, 1331px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kuhoo Verma in ‘The Lunchbox’ at Berkeley Rep. (Kevin Berne)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Verma is just plain radiant in the lead role, on down to how Ila overthinks every detail in advance of a possible first meeting. She’s an excellent singer, emoting and hitting every trill, and she perfectly conveys both the coyness and frustration of Ila’s predicament, from introspective belters like “Courage” to the tiniest coquettishly raised eyebrow.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The play has many side quests, some more relevant than others. Fernandes’ coworker Shaikh (Aathaven Tharmarajah) helps open up Fernandes’ heart not just to love but to friendship. Nagarajan pulls all the humanity imaginable out of Mrs. Deshpande, the upstairs auntie whose lonely home life serves as a warning to what Ila’s life could become in the face of inaction. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Other numbers are less important, if not complete speedbumps. Twenty minutes in, Fernandes happens to tell a restaurant that its food was good, and its employees commence a hammy song-and-dance about \u003ca href=\"https://archive.nytimes.com/india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/13/indias-middle-class-growth-engine-or-loose-wheel/\">the Bird of Gold\u003c/a>. It’s somewhat cute, but this early in the show, we want more Ila and Fernandes, and it stifles the plot’s momentum. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/063_TLB.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991122\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/063_TLB.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/063_TLB-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/063_TLB-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/063_TLB-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Manu Narayan (as Fernandes) and Savidu Geevaratne in ‘The Lunchbox’ at Berkeley Rep. (Kevin Berne)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The orchestra performing the songs, however, could not be finer, and the music by Daniel and Patrick Lazour straddles traditional Indian rhythms and melodies (opening number “No Wrong Mistake,” sung by the lunchbox deliverymen known as dabbawallahs) and the accessible veneer of Broadway (a colorful, serene dream sequence about Bhutan). The choreography by Reshma Gajjar, particularly during a crowded train car scene, is inventive and captivating. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Much of \u003cem>The Lunchbox\u003c/em> is a very traditional love story, with nearly conservative themes. The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach; the way to flirt with a woman is by negging. Then there’s the age gap, and the notion of women being attracted to decades-older men, who appear more mature, deep and emotionally present. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>These are usually viewed as hindrances by your typical lefty Berkeley audience, but the rapturous crowd on Wednesday night certainly didn’t seem to mind. After the ups and downs of Ila and Fernandes’ yearning for each other, and an indelible final onstage image before the lights go out, who could really argue?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘The Lunchbox’ runs through Sunday, July 12 at Berkeley Rep. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyrep.org/shows/the-lunchbox-nkft\">\u003cem>Tickets and more information here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
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"mindshift": {
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"order": 12
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"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
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},
"perspectives": {
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"info": "The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy. Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.",
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"politicalbreakdown": {
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"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
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"possible": {
"id": "possible",
"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Possible-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.possible.fm/",
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"source": "Possible"
},
"link": "/radio/program/possible",
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/730YpdUSNlMyPQwNnyjp4k"
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},
"pri-the-world": {
"id": "pri-the-world",
"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
"title": "Radiolab",
"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
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