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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>This week, we’re looking back on the best art, music, food, movies and more from the year. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/best-of-2025\">See our entire Best of 2025 guide here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2025, Bay Area theater was loaded with innovative artists producing great shows, coupled with a hope that the local scene will soon see healthier days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During a spate of theater closures, funding challenges and diminished audiences, there’s been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13978734/how-to-save-bay-area-theater-from-collapse-and-closures\">no shortage of ideas\u003c/a> from the Bay Area’s top theater brass as to how Bay Area theater can survive. There were also plenty of victories to be had on our region’s stages in 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Below, theater critics and regular KQED contributors Nicole Gluckstern and David John Chávez share their most significant Bay Area theater happenings of 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984280\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1047\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-768x503.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-1536x1005.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Syrian-Armenian-American artist Sona Tatoyan talks about her friend, Turkish political activist Osman Kavala, as renowned oud player Ara Dinkjian accompanies her in ‘AZAD,’ at Golden Thread.\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(David Allen Studio)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The beautiful spectacle of ‘AZAD’ at Golden Thread\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Written and performed by Sona Tatoyan, a Syrian Armenian American theatre-maker and Storyteller, \u003ci>AZAD\u003c/i> defied categorization in its April premiere at Golden Thread. With its compelling personal narrative, it presented like a solo show but relied on a taut ensemble of puppeteers, centenarian Karagöz puppets and a live musician to create an expansive, visionary performance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>AZAD\u003c/em> excavated painful, rigorously researched histories that rarely see the spotlight, putting the audience and performer through an intense emotional wringer that never relied on cliché or manipulation to elicit a response. With atmospheric projections designed by Camilla Tassi, and meticulous scenic design by Marcelo Martínez García, this Jared Mezzocchi-directed piece was a visual and virtuosic standout. —\u003ci>Nicole Gluckstern\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984283\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 960px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-6.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984283\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-6.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-6-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-6-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mona (Lauren Marcus, left) and waitress Edna Louise (Ashley Cowl, center) get reacquainted with Joanne (Shakina) in the musical ‘Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean: A New Musical’ at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley.\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Kevin Berne)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Jimmy Dean’ came back to Mountain View\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>It is insanely hard to write a new hit musical. Just take a peek at the constant stream of revivals that have hit theaters in recent years. That’s what made TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s \u003ci>Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean: A New Musical\u003c/i> such an achievement. A darling of the company’s 2024 New Works Festival, the show premiered this past summer, featuring every component of what makes a musical unforgettable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Start with the insightful book from Ashley Robinson, the playful, fierce music from Dan Gillespie Sells and unbeatable lyrics by Shakina. Add a terrific creative team led by director Giovanna Sardelli, and you’ve got a magical show. As an added bonus, it was thrilling to see an unapologetic transgender narrative, with Shakina stunning as a vision in white. —\u003cem>David John Chávez\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984276\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1065\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984276\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-2.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-2-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-2-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Juicy (Devin A. Cunningham) stares down the ghost of Pap (Ron Chapman) in ‘Fat Ham’ at SF Playhouse.\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Jessica Palopoli)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The Pulitzer-winning ‘Fat Ham’ astounded at SF Playhouse\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>A singular upside of the COVID lockdown was the rare chance to stream innovative performances from around the world. One such toothsome treat was the world premiere of the Pulitzer-winning \u003ci>Fat Ham\u003c/i>, by James Ijames, staged as a digital production by Philadelphia’s Wilma Theater. This first taste whetted my appetite for more. At SF Playhouse, \u003ci>Fat Ham\u003c/i> brought a deeply humorous, deeply human reimagining of \u003ci>Hamlet\u003c/i>, in which a grieving Juicy (Devin Cunningham) contemplated mortality and morality as his mother (Jenn Stephens) and new stepfather-uncle (Ron Chapman) celebrated their hasty nuptials with a backyard barbeque.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Deftly directed by Margo Hall, the actors pushed each punchline and outrageous misfortune to its absolute limit, flipping the existential dread of Denmark’s saddest prince into a flamboyant embrace of life’s possibilities. —\u003ci>Nicole Gluckstern\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984278\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"560\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984278\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-3.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-3-160x112.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-3-768x538.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tshembe (Jeuneé Simon) faces guard Eric (Monique Crawford) as Madame Nielsen (Jacinta Kaumbulu) sits and looks on in Oakland Theater Project’s production of ‘Les Blancs.’\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>A powerful Lorraine Hansberry revival in Oakland\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>If there’s any Bay Area company outgrowing their britches faster than a teenager on a growth spurt, it’s Oakland Theater Project. In their charming space at the Flax Art & Design building, their current production of \u003ci>Cabaret\u003c/i> is sold out for the entire run weeks before closing. Ideally, they’d be able to move into a permanent space worthy of their fierce, bold reputation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Take their fantastic production of \u003ci>Les Blancs\u003c/i>. Though it lacks the name recognition of \u003ci>A Raisin in the Sun\u003c/i>, it carries major weight in the theater world as Lorraine Hansberry’s final work, adapted by her ex-husband Robert Nemiroff. The story is also the only one of Hansberry’s to be set in Africa, using beats, rhythms and dance to signify Black and African cultures. Presenting a clash between white colonialism and Black liberation, the story and production were both memorable and explosive. —\u003ci>David John Chávez\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984281\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1065\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984281\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-4.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-4-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-4-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marga Gomez in ‘The Search for Signs\u003cbr>of Intelligent Life in the Universe,’ the last production at famed Berkeley institution Aurora Theatre before the company ceased operations.\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Kevin Berne)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Marga Gomez helped bid goodnight to Aurora Theatre\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The first play I bought as a teenage theatre nerd, Jane Wagner’s inventive \u003ci>The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life In the Universe\u003c/i> was written to showcase the versatile talents of her wife, Lily Tomlin — a tough act to follow in any era. Thankfully, Aurora Theatre made the inspired move to cast Bay Area powerhouse Marga Gomez in its 2025 revival.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A comedian, MC, actor and seasoned solo show creator/performer, Gomez switches seamlessly between characters, scenarios and timelines without elaborate props or costume changes — making her a stellar choice to fill Tomlin’s cosmic shoes. Adding to the pressure of the performance was the concurrent announcement that Aurora Theatre would cease operations for the foreseeable future. At least Gomez ensured they went out with a (big) bang. \u003ci>—Nicole Gluckstern\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984279\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1116px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1116\" height=\"735\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984279\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-5.jpg 1116w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-5-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-5-768x506.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1116px) 100vw, 1116px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Theoretical physicist Marianne (Vivienne Truong) and beekeeper Roland (George Alexander K.), one of three couples with the same names and dialogue in ‘Constellations’ at the Pear Theatre in Mountain View.\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Reed Flores)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Constellations’ offered a terrific way forward\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>On the surface, there was nothing terribly flashy about Nick Payne’s \u003ci>Constellations\u003c/i> at the Pear Theatre in Palo Alto. A group of actors — George Alexander K., Raven Douglas, Thomas Nguyen, Sahil Singh, Elana Swartz and Vivienne Truong — enter an open space, pair off and begin spilling their guts. The pairings were different at each performance, and at the end of the show, the audience got to make decisions for the next audience coming in the following night. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You’d be forgiven in thinking this sounds gimmicky. But under the direction of Reed Flores, it proved that theater need not have bells and whistles, just a great story and fantastic performances that grip the audience. If Bay Area theater is going to survive, phenomenal shows like this one will need to be at its forefront. —\u003ci>David John Chávez\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984284\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1066\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984284\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-1.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-1-1536x1023.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Katherine Park, Elana Swartz, Carl Lucania and Alejandra Wahl took their ‘Tempest’ to the ocean with Berkeley Shakespeare Company.\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Sara Nicole Mindful)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Fabulous backdrops that reinvigorated the classics\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Theatre-makers love a copyright-free classic, but some productions really push their source material to exciting extremes. This year, standouts included Nate Currier’s first-time adaptation of \u003ci>The Epic of Gilgamesh\u003c/i> at Marin Shakespeare Company, and a site-expansive production of \u003ci>The Tempest\u003c/i> at the windswept Point Montara Lighthouse and Hostel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currier’s \u003ci>Gilgamesh\u003c/i> combined action-hero vigor with bare-bones physical staging, honoring the poetry of the 4,000-year-old original with a modern vernacular — somewhat reminiscent of Maria Dahvana Headley’s “bro”-tinged \u003ci>Beowulf\u003c/i>. Meanwhile, Stuart Bousel’s \u003ci>Tempest\u003c/i>, produced by Berkeley Shakespeare Company, utilized its proximity to the ocean and uniquely intimate interiors to create a truly magical realm for its artists and audiences alike. —\u003ci>Nicole Gluckstern\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984282\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1452px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/24sanfrancisco1-superJumbo.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1452\" height=\"1040\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984282\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/24sanfrancisco1-superJumbo.jpg 1452w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/24sanfrancisco1-superJumbo-160x115.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/24sanfrancisco1-superJumbo-768x550.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1452px) 100vw, 1452px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L–R) Outgoing American Conservatory Theater artistic director Pam MacKinnon and incoming Golden Thread Productions artistic director Nabra Nelson. \u003ccite>(ACT / Golden Thread)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Seismic comings and goings in San Francisco\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Two theater companies are going into the new year with big shifts at the top. Sahar Assaf, who’s made Golden Thread Productions her artistic home for the past four years, is turning over the reins as artistic director to Nabra Nelson, who has a wealth of experience in arts administration. Nelson is a multi-hyphenate artist, having delved into playwriting, dramaturgy, consultant, director and community engagement, among other roles. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Pam MacKinnon concludes her eight years leading American Conservatory Theater at the end of the 2025-2026 season. Soon returning to New York City, she plans to rekindle her freelance directing career. Succeeding longtime A.C.T. leader Carey Perloff, MacKinnon dove deeply into commissions with big names, and oversaw some tough times for the company, including the COVID shutdown and the closure of A.C.T.’s highly regarded MFA program. —\u003ci>David John Chávez\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984293\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1060px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/113301VdVSD-Opening-Night2025-09-05-21_59_03Philip-Pavliger_Web_654x390.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1060\" height=\"632\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984293\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/113301VdVSD-Opening-Night2025-09-05-21_59_03Philip-Pavliger_Web_654x390.jpg 1060w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/113301VdVSD-Opening-Night2025-09-05-21_59_03Philip-Pavliger_Web_654x390-160x95.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/113301VdVSD-Opening-Night2025-09-05-21_59_03Philip-Pavliger_Web_654x390-768x458.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1060px) 100vw, 1060px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Joan Baez joined the circus and starred in ‘The Soiled Dove’ in Alameda. \u003ccite>(Philip Pavliger / Vau de Vire Society)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘The Soiled Dove’ flew high in Alameda\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Is there anything more synonymous with the Bay Area performing arts than circuses and sin? I hope not, because I’m here for all of it. The Vau de Vire Society’s wicked and wonderful Barbary Coast dinner theatre extravaganza, \u003ci>The Soiled Dove\u003c/i>, has been a perennial crowd-pleaser for over 10 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year’s Alameda revival prominently featured legendary singer-songwriter and social activist Joan Baez — whose six-decade career continues to flourish — while the seasoned circus and cabaret performers who make up Vau de Vire’s core company soared. Viva, Vau de Vire! —\u003ci>Nicole Gluckstern\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984277\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 803px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-7.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"803\" height=\"630\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984277\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-7.jpg 803w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-7-160x126.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-7-768x603.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 803px) 100vw, 803px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Magic Theatre’s artistic director Sean San José made a return to the Fort Mason stage in ‘Aztlan’ by Luis Alfaro.\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Jay Yamada)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Life after prison in the poetic ‘Aztlán’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Anytime transcendent poet and playwright Luis Alfaro collaborates with the Magic Theatre, it’s a massive win. This past summer, their pairing yielded the powerful \u003ci>Aztlán\u003c/i>, rooted in Alfaro’s intimate knowledge of the Central Valley. With imagery from Mayan and Mexica folklore, the story of a parolee trying to reinvent his life outside of prison walls was aided by David Arevalo’s costume design, Alejandro Acosta’s sharp lighting design, and dazzling scenic design by Tanya Orellana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beautifully directed by El Teatro Campesino’s Kinan Valdez, Alfaro’s story featured a great cast of Magic regulars. An added bonus? Sean San José’s thrilling return to the stage as an evil-minded deity. —\u003ci>David John Chávez\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This week, we’re looking back on the best art, music, food, movies and more from the year. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/best-of-2025\">See our entire Best of 2025 guide here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2025, Bay Area theater was loaded with innovative artists producing great shows, coupled with a hope that the local scene will soon see healthier days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During a spate of theater closures, funding challenges and diminished audiences, there’s been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13978734/how-to-save-bay-area-theater-from-collapse-and-closures\">no shortage of ideas\u003c/a> from the Bay Area’s top theater brass as to how Bay Area theater can survive. There were also plenty of victories to be had on our region’s stages in 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Below, theater critics and regular KQED contributors Nicole Gluckstern and David John Chávez share their most significant Bay Area theater happenings of 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984280\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1047\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-768x503.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-1536x1005.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Syrian-Armenian-American artist Sona Tatoyan talks about her friend, Turkish political activist Osman Kavala, as renowned oud player Ara Dinkjian accompanies her in ‘AZAD,’ at Golden Thread.\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(David Allen Studio)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The beautiful spectacle of ‘AZAD’ at Golden Thread\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Written and performed by Sona Tatoyan, a Syrian Armenian American theatre-maker and Storyteller, \u003ci>AZAD\u003c/i> defied categorization in its April premiere at Golden Thread. With its compelling personal narrative, it presented like a solo show but relied on a taut ensemble of puppeteers, centenarian Karagöz puppets and a live musician to create an expansive, visionary performance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>AZAD\u003c/em> excavated painful, rigorously researched histories that rarely see the spotlight, putting the audience and performer through an intense emotional wringer that never relied on cliché or manipulation to elicit a response. With atmospheric projections designed by Camilla Tassi, and meticulous scenic design by Marcelo Martínez García, this Jared Mezzocchi-directed piece was a visual and virtuosic standout. —\u003ci>Nicole Gluckstern\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984283\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 960px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-6.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984283\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-6.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-6-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-6-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mona (Lauren Marcus, left) and waitress Edna Louise (Ashley Cowl, center) get reacquainted with Joanne (Shakina) in the musical ‘Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean: A New Musical’ at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley.\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Kevin Berne)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Jimmy Dean’ came back to Mountain View\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>It is insanely hard to write a new hit musical. Just take a peek at the constant stream of revivals that have hit theaters in recent years. That’s what made TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s \u003ci>Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean: A New Musical\u003c/i> such an achievement. A darling of the company’s 2024 New Works Festival, the show premiered this past summer, featuring every component of what makes a musical unforgettable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Start with the insightful book from Ashley Robinson, the playful, fierce music from Dan Gillespie Sells and unbeatable lyrics by Shakina. Add a terrific creative team led by director Giovanna Sardelli, and you’ve got a magical show. As an added bonus, it was thrilling to see an unapologetic transgender narrative, with Shakina stunning as a vision in white. —\u003cem>David John Chávez\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984276\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1065\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984276\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-2.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-2-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-2-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Juicy (Devin A. Cunningham) stares down the ghost of Pap (Ron Chapman) in ‘Fat Ham’ at SF Playhouse.\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Jessica Palopoli)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The Pulitzer-winning ‘Fat Ham’ astounded at SF Playhouse\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>A singular upside of the COVID lockdown was the rare chance to stream innovative performances from around the world. One such toothsome treat was the world premiere of the Pulitzer-winning \u003ci>Fat Ham\u003c/i>, by James Ijames, staged as a digital production by Philadelphia’s Wilma Theater. This first taste whetted my appetite for more. At SF Playhouse, \u003ci>Fat Ham\u003c/i> brought a deeply humorous, deeply human reimagining of \u003ci>Hamlet\u003c/i>, in which a grieving Juicy (Devin Cunningham) contemplated mortality and morality as his mother (Jenn Stephens) and new stepfather-uncle (Ron Chapman) celebrated their hasty nuptials with a backyard barbeque.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Deftly directed by Margo Hall, the actors pushed each punchline and outrageous misfortune to its absolute limit, flipping the existential dread of Denmark’s saddest prince into a flamboyant embrace of life’s possibilities. —\u003ci>Nicole Gluckstern\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984278\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"560\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984278\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-3.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-3-160x112.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-3-768x538.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tshembe (Jeuneé Simon) faces guard Eric (Monique Crawford) as Madame Nielsen (Jacinta Kaumbulu) sits and looks on in Oakland Theater Project’s production of ‘Les Blancs.’\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>A powerful Lorraine Hansberry revival in Oakland\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>If there’s any Bay Area company outgrowing their britches faster than a teenager on a growth spurt, it’s Oakland Theater Project. In their charming space at the Flax Art & Design building, their current production of \u003ci>Cabaret\u003c/i> is sold out for the entire run weeks before closing. Ideally, they’d be able to move into a permanent space worthy of their fierce, bold reputation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Take their fantastic production of \u003ci>Les Blancs\u003c/i>. Though it lacks the name recognition of \u003ci>A Raisin in the Sun\u003c/i>, it carries major weight in the theater world as Lorraine Hansberry’s final work, adapted by her ex-husband Robert Nemiroff. The story is also the only one of Hansberry’s to be set in Africa, using beats, rhythms and dance to signify Black and African cultures. Presenting a clash between white colonialism and Black liberation, the story and production were both memorable and explosive. —\u003ci>David John Chávez\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984281\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1065\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984281\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-4.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-4-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-4-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marga Gomez in ‘The Search for Signs\u003cbr>of Intelligent Life in the Universe,’ the last production at famed Berkeley institution Aurora Theatre before the company ceased operations.\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Kevin Berne)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Marga Gomez helped bid goodnight to Aurora Theatre\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The first play I bought as a teenage theatre nerd, Jane Wagner’s inventive \u003ci>The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life In the Universe\u003c/i> was written to showcase the versatile talents of her wife, Lily Tomlin — a tough act to follow in any era. Thankfully, Aurora Theatre made the inspired move to cast Bay Area powerhouse Marga Gomez in its 2025 revival.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A comedian, MC, actor and seasoned solo show creator/performer, Gomez switches seamlessly between characters, scenarios and timelines without elaborate props or costume changes — making her a stellar choice to fill Tomlin’s cosmic shoes. Adding to the pressure of the performance was the concurrent announcement that Aurora Theatre would cease operations for the foreseeable future. At least Gomez ensured they went out with a (big) bang. \u003ci>—Nicole Gluckstern\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984279\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1116px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1116\" height=\"735\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984279\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-5.jpg 1116w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-5-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-5-768x506.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1116px) 100vw, 1116px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Theoretical physicist Marianne (Vivienne Truong) and beekeeper Roland (George Alexander K.), one of three couples with the same names and dialogue in ‘Constellations’ at the Pear Theatre in Mountain View.\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Reed Flores)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Constellations’ offered a terrific way forward\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>On the surface, there was nothing terribly flashy about Nick Payne’s \u003ci>Constellations\u003c/i> at the Pear Theatre in Palo Alto. A group of actors — George Alexander K., Raven Douglas, Thomas Nguyen, Sahil Singh, Elana Swartz and Vivienne Truong — enter an open space, pair off and begin spilling their guts. The pairings were different at each performance, and at the end of the show, the audience got to make decisions for the next audience coming in the following night. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You’d be forgiven in thinking this sounds gimmicky. But under the direction of Reed Flores, it proved that theater need not have bells and whistles, just a great story and fantastic performances that grip the audience. If Bay Area theater is going to survive, phenomenal shows like this one will need to be at its forefront. —\u003ci>David John Chávez\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984284\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1066\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984284\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-1.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-1-1536x1023.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Katherine Park, Elana Swartz, Carl Lucania and Alejandra Wahl took their ‘Tempest’ to the ocean with Berkeley Shakespeare Company.\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Sara Nicole Mindful)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Fabulous backdrops that reinvigorated the classics\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Theatre-makers love a copyright-free classic, but some productions really push their source material to exciting extremes. This year, standouts included Nate Currier’s first-time adaptation of \u003ci>The Epic of Gilgamesh\u003c/i> at Marin Shakespeare Company, and a site-expansive production of \u003ci>The Tempest\u003c/i> at the windswept Point Montara Lighthouse and Hostel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currier’s \u003ci>Gilgamesh\u003c/i> combined action-hero vigor with bare-bones physical staging, honoring the poetry of the 4,000-year-old original with a modern vernacular — somewhat reminiscent of Maria Dahvana Headley’s “bro”-tinged \u003ci>Beowulf\u003c/i>. Meanwhile, Stuart Bousel’s \u003ci>Tempest\u003c/i>, produced by Berkeley Shakespeare Company, utilized its proximity to the ocean and uniquely intimate interiors to create a truly magical realm for its artists and audiences alike. —\u003ci>Nicole Gluckstern\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984282\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1452px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/24sanfrancisco1-superJumbo.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1452\" height=\"1040\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984282\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/24sanfrancisco1-superJumbo.jpg 1452w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/24sanfrancisco1-superJumbo-160x115.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/24sanfrancisco1-superJumbo-768x550.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1452px) 100vw, 1452px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L–R) Outgoing American Conservatory Theater artistic director Pam MacKinnon and incoming Golden Thread Productions artistic director Nabra Nelson. \u003ccite>(ACT / Golden Thread)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Seismic comings and goings in San Francisco\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Two theater companies are going into the new year with big shifts at the top. Sahar Assaf, who’s made Golden Thread Productions her artistic home for the past four years, is turning over the reins as artistic director to Nabra Nelson, who has a wealth of experience in arts administration. Nelson is a multi-hyphenate artist, having delved into playwriting, dramaturgy, consultant, director and community engagement, among other roles. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Pam MacKinnon concludes her eight years leading American Conservatory Theater at the end of the 2025-2026 season. Soon returning to New York City, she plans to rekindle her freelance directing career. Succeeding longtime A.C.T. leader Carey Perloff, MacKinnon dove deeply into commissions with big names, and oversaw some tough times for the company, including the COVID shutdown and the closure of A.C.T.’s highly regarded MFA program. —\u003ci>David John Chávez\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984293\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1060px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/113301VdVSD-Opening-Night2025-09-05-21_59_03Philip-Pavliger_Web_654x390.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1060\" height=\"632\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984293\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/113301VdVSD-Opening-Night2025-09-05-21_59_03Philip-Pavliger_Web_654x390.jpg 1060w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/113301VdVSD-Opening-Night2025-09-05-21_59_03Philip-Pavliger_Web_654x390-160x95.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/113301VdVSD-Opening-Night2025-09-05-21_59_03Philip-Pavliger_Web_654x390-768x458.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1060px) 100vw, 1060px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Joan Baez joined the circus and starred in ‘The Soiled Dove’ in Alameda. \u003ccite>(Philip Pavliger / Vau de Vire Society)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘The Soiled Dove’ flew high in Alameda\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Is there anything more synonymous with the Bay Area performing arts than circuses and sin? I hope not, because I’m here for all of it. The Vau de Vire Society’s wicked and wonderful Barbary Coast dinner theatre extravaganza, \u003ci>The Soiled Dove\u003c/i>, has been a perennial crowd-pleaser for over 10 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year’s Alameda revival prominently featured legendary singer-songwriter and social activist Joan Baez — whose six-decade career continues to flourish — while the seasoned circus and cabaret performers who make up Vau de Vire’s core company soared. Viva, Vau de Vire! —\u003ci>Nicole Gluckstern\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984277\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 803px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-7.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"803\" height=\"630\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984277\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-7.jpg 803w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-7-160x126.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-7-768x603.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 803px) 100vw, 803px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Magic Theatre’s artistic director Sean San José made a return to the Fort Mason stage in ‘Aztlan’ by Luis Alfaro.\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Jay Yamada)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Life after prison in the poetic ‘Aztlán’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Anytime transcendent poet and playwright Luis Alfaro collaborates with the Magic Theatre, it’s a massive win. This past summer, their pairing yielded the powerful \u003ci>Aztlán\u003c/i>, rooted in Alfaro’s intimate knowledge of the Central Valley. With imagery from Mayan and Mexica folklore, the story of a parolee trying to reinvent his life outside of prison walls was aided by David Arevalo’s costume design, Alejandro Acosta’s sharp lighting design, and dazzling scenic design by Tanya Orellana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beautifully directed by El Teatro Campesino’s Kinan Valdez, Alfaro’s story featured a great cast of Magic regulars. An added bonus? Sean San José’s thrilling return to the stage as an evil-minded deity. —\u003ci>David John Chávez\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "last-seven-days-obsidienne-obsurd-oaklash-oakland",
"title": "Obsidienne Obsurd’s Otherworldly Drag Touches Down in Oakland for One Night",
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"headTitle": "Obsidienne Obsurd’s Otherworldly Drag Touches Down in Oakland for One Night | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Imagine a high-fashion circus inside a galactic wormhole and you have a sense of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/0b.w0rld/?hl=en\">Obsidienne Obsurd\u003c/a>’s drag style. The artist is otherworldly, meticulous and unafraid to go \u003cem>all\u003c/em> the way, even when it comes to exposing their most tender vulnerabilities or risking making a fool of themself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Dec. 5, Obsidienne will bring their most ambitious work yet to the 110-year-old Calvin Simmons Theatre inside Oakland’s Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.gofevo.com/event/Oaklash2\">The Last 7 Days of Obsidienne Obsurd\u003c/a>\u003c/em>. Produced by Oaklash, it’s a one-night-only production that combines lip syncing, theater and chamber music, including a newly commissioned piece by Paul Wiancko of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/kronos-quartet\">Kronos Quartet\u003c/a>, which Obsidienne will perform on viola alongside their classical musician parents, Debra Fong and Christopher Constanza.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elaborate costuming and surrealist stagecraft come together to tell Obsidienne’s story of accepting their trans identity, their struggles with mental illness and family secrets that have been kept in silence for generations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a story of meandering, being lost, being found,” Obsidienne tells KQED during a recent interview. “Part of finding the self is reckoning with the ugly parts and turning that into something beautiful. Because you can’t take it away, you just have to accept it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984107\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984107\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/OBSIDIENNE-OBSURD-at-The-2025-Oaklash-Festival-by-Ian-Castro-Viola-scaled.jpg\" alt='A drag artist plays a viola inside a bar with neon text behind them that says \"Hella Fine.\"' width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/OBSIDIENNE-OBSURD-at-The-2025-Oaklash-Festival-by-Ian-Castro-Viola-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/OBSIDIENNE-OBSURD-at-The-2025-Oaklash-Festival-by-Ian-Castro-Viola-2000x1333.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/OBSIDIENNE-OBSURD-at-The-2025-Oaklash-Festival-by-Ian-Castro-Viola-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/OBSIDIENNE-OBSURD-at-The-2025-Oaklash-Festival-by-Ian-Castro-Viola-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/OBSIDIENNE-OBSURD-at-The-2025-Oaklash-Festival-by-Ian-Castro-Viola-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/OBSIDIENNE-OBSURD-at-The-2025-Oaklash-Festival-by-Ian-Castro-Viola-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Obsidienne Obsurd performs at Oaklash 2025. \u003ccite>(Ian Castro)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Raised in the South Bay by a Chinese American violinist mother and Italian American cellist father, Obsidienne is a classically trained violist who performs with orchestras and ensembles across California. They first tried drag during the pandemic, when the art form went digital. Collectives like Media Meltdown were producing livestreamed shows that challenged performers to become video editors and special effects experts. Obsidienne was hooked after Media Meltdown invited them to perform in a Keanu Reeves-themed show, and soon they were driving to obscure locations with their COVID pod to film elaborate numbers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everyone who was watching me was like, ‘Oh you’re weird. You’re a weirdo. We like it,’” Obsidienne says. “And that was really cool.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before long, Obsidienne honed their signature style of warped, black-and-white makeup; hand-sewn costumes that turned their body into horned and tentacled shapes; performance art-y choreo that sometimes includes hyperventilation and intense eye contact; and song selections that go far outside of the pop-diva canon. [aside postid='arts_13983871']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It flies in the face of long-held stereotypes about what drag can be. A lot of audiences “think that if you are not a cis boy, you should not be doing drag,” Obsidienne says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Obsidienne gives themself permission to embrace being different, and invites audiences to do the same. Recently in West Hollywood’s Abbey, the gay bar that inspired Chappell Roan’s smash hit “Pink Pony Club,” instead of picking something by, say, Sabrina Carpenter or Lady Gaga, Obsidienne lip synced a song by 78-year-old avant-garde musician Laurie Anderson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m going to make you see me, so there’s this sort of delusion that turns into sincerity,” Obsidienne says. “The suspension of disbelief. I try to project a very confident persona that is a projection of all the things in me that scare me about myself, basically.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984109\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984109\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Mama-Celeste-and-OBSIDIENNE-OBSURD-by-Dominic-Saveedra.png\" alt=\"A drag artist in an orange and red feathery outfit poses with another drag artist wearing black-and-white abstract designs. \" width=\"1200\" height=\"799\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Mama-Celeste-and-OBSIDIENNE-OBSURD-by-Dominic-Saveedra.png 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Mama-Celeste-and-OBSIDIENNE-OBSURD-by-Dominic-Saveedra-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Mama-Celeste-and-OBSIDIENNE-OBSURD-by-Dominic-Saveedra-768x511.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oaklash co-founder Mama Celeste with Obsidienne Obsurd. \u003ccite>(Dominic Saavedra)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Obsidienne has found a supportive home at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/oaklash\">Oaklash\u003c/a>, a drag platform that loudly and proudly champions gender diversity, accessibility and racial justice. Each May, Oaklash produces a festival with multiple stages and over 60 local and touring performers. And even after all that, co-founder Mama Celeste says \u003cem>The Last 7 Days of Obsidienne Obsurd\u003c/em> is their most challenging project yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s going to be silly and macabre and loud and colorful and bigger than you can even imagine,” she wrote in a recent email blast, inviting Oaklash fans to dress to the nines for the red carpet outside the show. [aside postid='arts_13983135']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Last 7 Days of Obsidienne Obsurd\u003c/em> features local drag luminaries like Lisa Frankenstein, co-host of the popular party Princess at Oasis; Sassi Fran, a dancer, choreographer and member of the all-Filipino drag group FiliPINX; and Obsidienne’s drag children Lola Ren and Cult Baby. Music in the show pulls from a huge variety of references, including David Bowie, contemporary composers Chen Yi and Kaija Saariaho and even the 12th-century composer, mystic and proto-feminist \u003ca href=\"https://www.bpl.org/blogs/post/hildegard-von-bingen/\">Hildegard Von Bingen\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You can make noise during this performance. You can clap between movements, you don’t have to sit still like a statue,” says Obsidienne. “I think it’s really cool to be able to highlight through this project that classical music is not one thing, it is actually this whole kaleidoscope of things.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklash.com/7days\">The Last 7 Days of Obsidienne Obsurd\u003c/a>’ takes place at Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts (10 10th Street, Oakland) on Dec. 5 at 7 p.m.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"title": "Obsidienne Obsurd’s Otherworldly Drag Touches Down in Oakland | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Imagine a high-fashion circus inside a galactic wormhole and you have a sense of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/0b.w0rld/?hl=en\">Obsidienne Obsurd\u003c/a>’s drag style. The artist is otherworldly, meticulous and unafraid to go \u003cem>all\u003c/em> the way, even when it comes to exposing their most tender vulnerabilities or risking making a fool of themself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Dec. 5, Obsidienne will bring their most ambitious work yet to the 110-year-old Calvin Simmons Theatre inside Oakland’s Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.gofevo.com/event/Oaklash2\">The Last 7 Days of Obsidienne Obsurd\u003c/a>\u003c/em>. Produced by Oaklash, it’s a one-night-only production that combines lip syncing, theater and chamber music, including a newly commissioned piece by Paul Wiancko of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/kronos-quartet\">Kronos Quartet\u003c/a>, which Obsidienne will perform on viola alongside their classical musician parents, Debra Fong and Christopher Constanza.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elaborate costuming and surrealist stagecraft come together to tell Obsidienne’s story of accepting their trans identity, their struggles with mental illness and family secrets that have been kept in silence for generations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a story of meandering, being lost, being found,” Obsidienne tells KQED during a recent interview. “Part of finding the self is reckoning with the ugly parts and turning that into something beautiful. Because you can’t take it away, you just have to accept it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984107\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984107\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/OBSIDIENNE-OBSURD-at-The-2025-Oaklash-Festival-by-Ian-Castro-Viola-scaled.jpg\" alt='A drag artist plays a viola inside a bar with neon text behind them that says \"Hella Fine.\"' width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/OBSIDIENNE-OBSURD-at-The-2025-Oaklash-Festival-by-Ian-Castro-Viola-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/OBSIDIENNE-OBSURD-at-The-2025-Oaklash-Festival-by-Ian-Castro-Viola-2000x1333.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/OBSIDIENNE-OBSURD-at-The-2025-Oaklash-Festival-by-Ian-Castro-Viola-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/OBSIDIENNE-OBSURD-at-The-2025-Oaklash-Festival-by-Ian-Castro-Viola-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/OBSIDIENNE-OBSURD-at-The-2025-Oaklash-Festival-by-Ian-Castro-Viola-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/OBSIDIENNE-OBSURD-at-The-2025-Oaklash-Festival-by-Ian-Castro-Viola-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Obsidienne Obsurd performs at Oaklash 2025. \u003ccite>(Ian Castro)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Raised in the South Bay by a Chinese American violinist mother and Italian American cellist father, Obsidienne is a classically trained violist who performs with orchestras and ensembles across California. They first tried drag during the pandemic, when the art form went digital. Collectives like Media Meltdown were producing livestreamed shows that challenged performers to become video editors and special effects experts. Obsidienne was hooked after Media Meltdown invited them to perform in a Keanu Reeves-themed show, and soon they were driving to obscure locations with their COVID pod to film elaborate numbers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everyone who was watching me was like, ‘Oh you’re weird. You’re a weirdo. We like it,’” Obsidienne says. “And that was really cool.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before long, Obsidienne honed their signature style of warped, black-and-white makeup; hand-sewn costumes that turned their body into horned and tentacled shapes; performance art-y choreo that sometimes includes hyperventilation and intense eye contact; and song selections that go far outside of the pop-diva canon. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It flies in the face of long-held stereotypes about what drag can be. A lot of audiences “think that if you are not a cis boy, you should not be doing drag,” Obsidienne says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Obsidienne gives themself permission to embrace being different, and invites audiences to do the same. Recently in West Hollywood’s Abbey, the gay bar that inspired Chappell Roan’s smash hit “Pink Pony Club,” instead of picking something by, say, Sabrina Carpenter or Lady Gaga, Obsidienne lip synced a song by 78-year-old avant-garde musician Laurie Anderson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m going to make you see me, so there’s this sort of delusion that turns into sincerity,” Obsidienne says. “The suspension of disbelief. I try to project a very confident persona that is a projection of all the things in me that scare me about myself, basically.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984109\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984109\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Mama-Celeste-and-OBSIDIENNE-OBSURD-by-Dominic-Saveedra.png\" alt=\"A drag artist in an orange and red feathery outfit poses with another drag artist wearing black-and-white abstract designs. \" width=\"1200\" height=\"799\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Mama-Celeste-and-OBSIDIENNE-OBSURD-by-Dominic-Saveedra.png 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Mama-Celeste-and-OBSIDIENNE-OBSURD-by-Dominic-Saveedra-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Mama-Celeste-and-OBSIDIENNE-OBSURD-by-Dominic-Saveedra-768x511.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oaklash co-founder Mama Celeste with Obsidienne Obsurd. \u003ccite>(Dominic Saavedra)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Obsidienne has found a supportive home at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/oaklash\">Oaklash\u003c/a>, a drag platform that loudly and proudly champions gender diversity, accessibility and racial justice. Each May, Oaklash produces a festival with multiple stages and over 60 local and touring performers. And even after all that, co-founder Mama Celeste says \u003cem>The Last 7 Days of Obsidienne Obsurd\u003c/em> is their most challenging project yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s going to be silly and macabre and loud and colorful and bigger than you can even imagine,” she wrote in a recent email blast, inviting Oaklash fans to dress to the nines for the red carpet outside the show. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Last 7 Days of Obsidienne Obsurd\u003c/em> features local drag luminaries like Lisa Frankenstein, co-host of the popular party Princess at Oasis; Sassi Fran, a dancer, choreographer and member of the all-Filipino drag group FiliPINX; and Obsidienne’s drag children Lola Ren and Cult Baby. Music in the show pulls from a huge variety of references, including David Bowie, contemporary composers Chen Yi and Kaija Saariaho and even the 12th-century composer, mystic and proto-feminist \u003ca href=\"https://www.bpl.org/blogs/post/hildegard-von-bingen/\">Hildegard Von Bingen\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You can make noise during this performance. You can clap between movements, you don’t have to sit still like a statue,” says Obsidienne. “I think it’s really cool to be able to highlight through this project that classical music is not one thing, it is actually this whole kaleidoscope of things.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklash.com/7days\">The Last 7 Days of Obsidienne Obsurd\u003c/a>’ takes place at Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts (10 10th Street, Oakland) on Dec. 5 at 7 p.m.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "the-ring-sf-opera-2028-casting-dates-wagner",
"title": "Wagner’s Ring Cycle to Return to SF Opera in 2028; Dates and Principal Casting Announced",
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"headTitle": "Wagner’s Ring Cycle to Return to SF Opera in 2028; Dates and Principal Casting Announced | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>It’s official — \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-francisco-opera\">San Francisco Opera\u003c/a> is bringing back \u003cem>The Ring\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Richard Wagner’s monumental four-part, 15-hour opera cycle will return to the War Memorial Opera House in June 2028. Directed by Francesca Zambello and conducted by Eun Sun Kim, the full \u003cem>Ring of the Nibelung\u003c/em> cycle will be performed three complete times — exactly 10 years after \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13835968/how-crazy-do-you-have-to-be-to-sit-through-15-hoursof-opera\">the production was last staged at San Francisco Opera\u003c/a>, in 2018. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The principal cast includes Tamara Wilson making her company debut as Brünnhilde. Brian Mulligan, currently performing as Amfortas in \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13983347/parsifal-sf-opera-review\">Parsifal\u003c/a>\u003c/em> at the War Memorial Opera House, is cast as Wotan. (Mulligan performed as both Donner and Gunther in SF Opera’s 2018 production of the \u003cem>Ring\u003c/em>.) Simon O’Neill, recently seen onstage in San Francisco as Tristan in \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13967202/review-tristan-and-isolde-sf-opera\">Tristan un Isolde\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, will perform the role of Seigfried. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13983651\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Eun_Sun_Kim_Francesca_Zambello_Ring_2028_photo_CodyPickens.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13983651\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Eun_Sun_Kim_Francesca_Zambello_Ring_2028_photo_CodyPickens.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Eun_Sun_Kim_Francesca_Zambello_Ring_2028_photo_CodyPickens-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Eun_Sun_Kim_Francesca_Zambello_Ring_2028_photo_CodyPickens-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Eun_Sun_Kim_Francesca_Zambello_Ring_2028_photo_CodyPickens-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Francisco Opera’s 2028 cycles of Wagner’s ‘Ring’ will be conducted by Eun Sun Kim and directed by Francesca Zambello (L–R). \u003ccite>(Cody Pickens/San Francisco Opera)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This will mark Eun Sun Kim’s first time conducting the full \u003cem>Ring\u003c/em> cycle. As a lead-in, she will conduct its four parts separately: \u003cem>Das Rheingold\u003c/em> in June 2027, \u003cem>Die Walküre\u003c/em> in the fall of 2027, and \u003cem>Siegfried\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Götterdämmerung\u003c/em> in the spring of 2028 before the rotation of full cycles. (Kim has undertaken an initiative to conduct Wagner in each season, \u003ca href=\"https://frontrow.sfopera.com/details/25132\">starting with \u003cem>Lohengrin\u003c/em> in 2023\u003c/a>.) The chorus director will be John Keene.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As in previous stagings of \u003cem>The Ring\u003c/em> in 2011 and 2018, San Francisco Opera plans a Ring Festival with ancillary programming around the performances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The dates of the three \u003cem>Ring\u003c/em> cycles in 2028 are June 13–18, June 20–26 and June 27–July 2. Tickets go on sale Oct. 13, 2026 to Ring Circle members, 2026–27 subscribers and higher-level donors; tickets to the general public go on sale in July 2027. \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfopera.com/operas/ring-cycle/\">Ticket information and more details here\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>It’s official — \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-francisco-opera\">San Francisco Opera\u003c/a> is bringing back \u003cem>The Ring\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Richard Wagner’s monumental four-part, 15-hour opera cycle will return to the War Memorial Opera House in June 2028. Directed by Francesca Zambello and conducted by Eun Sun Kim, the full \u003cem>Ring of the Nibelung\u003c/em> cycle will be performed three complete times — exactly 10 years after \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13835968/how-crazy-do-you-have-to-be-to-sit-through-15-hoursof-opera\">the production was last staged at San Francisco Opera\u003c/a>, in 2018. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The principal cast includes Tamara Wilson making her company debut as Brünnhilde. Brian Mulligan, currently performing as Amfortas in \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13983347/parsifal-sf-opera-review\">Parsifal\u003c/a>\u003c/em> at the War Memorial Opera House, is cast as Wotan. (Mulligan performed as both Donner and Gunther in SF Opera’s 2018 production of the \u003cem>Ring\u003c/em>.) Simon O’Neill, recently seen onstage in San Francisco as Tristan in \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13967202/review-tristan-and-isolde-sf-opera\">Tristan un Isolde\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, will perform the role of Seigfried. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13983651\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Eun_Sun_Kim_Francesca_Zambello_Ring_2028_photo_CodyPickens.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13983651\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Eun_Sun_Kim_Francesca_Zambello_Ring_2028_photo_CodyPickens.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Eun_Sun_Kim_Francesca_Zambello_Ring_2028_photo_CodyPickens-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Eun_Sun_Kim_Francesca_Zambello_Ring_2028_photo_CodyPickens-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Eun_Sun_Kim_Francesca_Zambello_Ring_2028_photo_CodyPickens-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Francisco Opera’s 2028 cycles of Wagner’s ‘Ring’ will be conducted by Eun Sun Kim and directed by Francesca Zambello (L–R). \u003ccite>(Cody Pickens/San Francisco Opera)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This will mark Eun Sun Kim’s first time conducting the full \u003cem>Ring\u003c/em> cycle. As a lead-in, she will conduct its four parts separately: \u003cem>Das Rheingold\u003c/em> in June 2027, \u003cem>Die Walküre\u003c/em> in the fall of 2027, and \u003cem>Siegfried\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Götterdämmerung\u003c/em> in the spring of 2028 before the rotation of full cycles. (Kim has undertaken an initiative to conduct Wagner in each season, \u003ca href=\"https://frontrow.sfopera.com/details/25132\">starting with \u003cem>Lohengrin\u003c/em> in 2023\u003c/a>.) The chorus director will be John Keene.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As in previous stagings of \u003cem>The Ring\u003c/em> in 2011 and 2018, San Francisco Opera plans a Ring Festival with ancillary programming around the performances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The dates of the three \u003cem>Ring\u003c/em> cycles in 2028 are June 13–18, June 20–26 and June 27–July 2. Tickets go on sale Oct. 13, 2026 to Ring Circle members, 2026–27 subscribers and higher-level donors; tickets to the general public go on sale in July 2027. \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfopera.com/operas/ring-cycle/\">Ticket information and more details here\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>It is a minor shame that the tremendous \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a> staging of Richard Wagner’s \u003cem>Parsifal\u003c/em>, currently running at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/war-memorial-opera-house\">War Memorial Opera House\u003c/a>, had but one Sunday matinee performance. I can’t answer the long-running question about \u003cem>Parsifal\u003c/em> being a Christian opera or not, but seeing it this past Sunday returned me to those long hours of my religious upbringing, spent in pews and listening to sermons on compassion, suffering and redemption. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At church, as a child, I couldn’t have been more bored. At the opera house, watching this marvelous production unfold over the course of five hours, I couldn’t have been more transfixed. Under the direction of Matthew Ozawa, whether you’re a diehard Wagnerite or a casual operagoer, this production of \u003cem>Parsifal\u003c/em> is something special; an experience that’ll stop you dead in your tracks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13983393\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Early-rehearsal-photo-of-Brandon-Jovanovich-as-Parsifal-in-San-Francisco-Operas-new-production-of-Parsifal_photo-Cory-Weaver_San-Francisco-Opera-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1708\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13983393\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Early-rehearsal-photo-of-Brandon-Jovanovich-as-Parsifal-in-San-Francisco-Operas-new-production-of-Parsifal_photo-Cory-Weaver_San-Francisco-Opera-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Early-rehearsal-photo-of-Brandon-Jovanovich-as-Parsifal-in-San-Francisco-Operas-new-production-of-Parsifal_photo-Cory-Weaver_San-Francisco-Opera-2000x1334.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Early-rehearsal-photo-of-Brandon-Jovanovich-as-Parsifal-in-San-Francisco-Operas-new-production-of-Parsifal_photo-Cory-Weaver_San-Francisco-Opera-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Early-rehearsal-photo-of-Brandon-Jovanovich-as-Parsifal-in-San-Francisco-Operas-new-production-of-Parsifal_photo-Cory-Weaver_San-Francisco-Opera-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Early-rehearsal-photo-of-Brandon-Jovanovich-as-Parsifal-in-San-Francisco-Operas-new-production-of-Parsifal_photo-Cory-Weaver_San-Francisco-Opera-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Early-rehearsal-photo-of-Brandon-Jovanovich-as-Parsifal-in-San-Francisco-Operas-new-production-of-Parsifal_photo-Cory-Weaver_San-Francisco-Opera-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brandon Jovanovich as Parsifal in San Francisco Opera’s new production of ‘Parsifal’ by Richard Wagner.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The storyline is simple enough. Parsifal, a wide-eyed fool (played expertly by Brandon Jovanovich), encounters the knights of the Holy Grail and finds King Amfortas (a perfectly anguished Brian Mulligan) suffering. Amfortas’ wound has refused to heal after the outlaw Klingsor (a booming Falk Struckmann) stabbed him with the Holy Spear, which he stole when the temptress Kundry (a beguiling Tanja Ariane Baumgartner) seduced Amfortas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Creative use of fog makes Act II a feast for the eyes, along with a parade of nearly three dozen flowermaidens, all vying for Parsifal’s affections. When Kundry tempts Parsifal, he is transformed into a compassionate deep thinker who recovers the spear from Klingsor but is cursed by Kundry to wander, hopelessly, for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13983389\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/C0A2842.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13983389\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/C0A2842.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/C0A2842-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/C0A2842-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/C0A2842-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brandon Jovanovich as Parsifal, at right, in Act II of San Francisco Opera’s production of ‘Parsifal’ by Richard Wagner. \u003ccite>(Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Parsifal\u003c/em> is often characterized as a marathon. But more than four hours in, I didn’t count any newly empty seats around me at the start of Act III, when the welcome return on stage of the knight Gurnemanz (an exceptional Kwangchul Youn) set off the riveting finale in the sanctuary of the Holy Grail.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No aspect of this opera comes up short. Start with the top-notch singing, which is wonderful from the starring roles to the chorus. The dual-turntable set, spinning in opposite directions, is creative and evocative. Under Eun Sun Kim’s baton, the orchestra soars. The casting and costumes are perfect. The lighting, even, subtly provides just the right feeling of the slow passage of time. The whole of it felt new and alive; I kept recalling the set, wardrobe and pacing of Kanye West’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.vibe.com/gallery/25-photos-kanye-wests-yeezus-tour-opener/kanye-west-yeezus-tour-0/\">ambitiously staged Yeezus tour\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13983390\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/O2A2359.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13983390\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/O2A2359.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/O2A2359-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/O2A2359-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/O2A2359-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Act III of San Francisco Opera’s new production of Wagner’s ‘Parsifal.’ \u003ccite>(Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But just like a church service, the richness in \u003cem>Parsifal\u003c/em> is in what’s not there, and what falls to internal contemplation. Is compassion inherently selfish, since it reflects well on one exercising it? Can the poison causing our sorrow ever serve also as the antidote? Can one ever know the true source of salvation, or must it be unintentionally discovered?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sitting with these thoughts, and with the sensory delights of this \u003cem>Parsifal\u003c/em> on stage, let me tell you: Five hours flies right by. \u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Parsifal’ runs for two more performances, on Friday, Nov. 7 and Thursday, Nov. 13, at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco. \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfopera.com/operas/parsifal/\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>It is a minor shame that the tremendous \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a> staging of Richard Wagner’s \u003cem>Parsifal\u003c/em>, currently running at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/war-memorial-opera-house\">War Memorial Opera House\u003c/a>, had but one Sunday matinee performance. I can’t answer the long-running question about \u003cem>Parsifal\u003c/em> being a Christian opera or not, but seeing it this past Sunday returned me to those long hours of my religious upbringing, spent in pews and listening to sermons on compassion, suffering and redemption. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At church, as a child, I couldn’t have been more bored. At the opera house, watching this marvelous production unfold over the course of five hours, I couldn’t have been more transfixed. Under the direction of Matthew Ozawa, whether you’re a diehard Wagnerite or a casual operagoer, this production of \u003cem>Parsifal\u003c/em> is something special; an experience that’ll stop you dead in your tracks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13983393\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Early-rehearsal-photo-of-Brandon-Jovanovich-as-Parsifal-in-San-Francisco-Operas-new-production-of-Parsifal_photo-Cory-Weaver_San-Francisco-Opera-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1708\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13983393\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Early-rehearsal-photo-of-Brandon-Jovanovich-as-Parsifal-in-San-Francisco-Operas-new-production-of-Parsifal_photo-Cory-Weaver_San-Francisco-Opera-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Early-rehearsal-photo-of-Brandon-Jovanovich-as-Parsifal-in-San-Francisco-Operas-new-production-of-Parsifal_photo-Cory-Weaver_San-Francisco-Opera-2000x1334.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Early-rehearsal-photo-of-Brandon-Jovanovich-as-Parsifal-in-San-Francisco-Operas-new-production-of-Parsifal_photo-Cory-Weaver_San-Francisco-Opera-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Early-rehearsal-photo-of-Brandon-Jovanovich-as-Parsifal-in-San-Francisco-Operas-new-production-of-Parsifal_photo-Cory-Weaver_San-Francisco-Opera-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Early-rehearsal-photo-of-Brandon-Jovanovich-as-Parsifal-in-San-Francisco-Operas-new-production-of-Parsifal_photo-Cory-Weaver_San-Francisco-Opera-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Early-rehearsal-photo-of-Brandon-Jovanovich-as-Parsifal-in-San-Francisco-Operas-new-production-of-Parsifal_photo-Cory-Weaver_San-Francisco-Opera-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brandon Jovanovich as Parsifal in San Francisco Opera’s new production of ‘Parsifal’ by Richard Wagner.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The storyline is simple enough. Parsifal, a wide-eyed fool (played expertly by Brandon Jovanovich), encounters the knights of the Holy Grail and finds King Amfortas (a perfectly anguished Brian Mulligan) suffering. Amfortas’ wound has refused to heal after the outlaw Klingsor (a booming Falk Struckmann) stabbed him with the Holy Spear, which he stole when the temptress Kundry (a beguiling Tanja Ariane Baumgartner) seduced Amfortas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Creative use of fog makes Act II a feast for the eyes, along with a parade of nearly three dozen flowermaidens, all vying for Parsifal’s affections. When Kundry tempts Parsifal, he is transformed into a compassionate deep thinker who recovers the spear from Klingsor but is cursed by Kundry to wander, hopelessly, for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13983389\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/C0A2842.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13983389\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/C0A2842.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/C0A2842-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/C0A2842-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/C0A2842-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brandon Jovanovich as Parsifal, at right, in Act II of San Francisco Opera’s production of ‘Parsifal’ by Richard Wagner. \u003ccite>(Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Parsifal\u003c/em> is often characterized as a marathon. But more than four hours in, I didn’t count any newly empty seats around me at the start of Act III, when the welcome return on stage of the knight Gurnemanz (an exceptional Kwangchul Youn) set off the riveting finale in the sanctuary of the Holy Grail.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No aspect of this opera comes up short. Start with the top-notch singing, which is wonderful from the starring roles to the chorus. The dual-turntable set, spinning in opposite directions, is creative and evocative. Under Eun Sun Kim’s baton, the orchestra soars. The casting and costumes are perfect. The lighting, even, subtly provides just the right feeling of the slow passage of time. The whole of it felt new and alive; I kept recalling the set, wardrobe and pacing of Kanye West’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.vibe.com/gallery/25-photos-kanye-wests-yeezus-tour-opener/kanye-west-yeezus-tour-0/\">ambitiously staged Yeezus tour\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13983390\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/O2A2359.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13983390\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/O2A2359.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/O2A2359-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/O2A2359-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/O2A2359-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Act III of San Francisco Opera’s new production of Wagner’s ‘Parsifal.’ \u003ccite>(Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But just like a church service, the richness in \u003cem>Parsifal\u003c/em> is in what’s not there, and what falls to internal contemplation. Is compassion inherently selfish, since it reflects well on one exercising it? Can the poison causing our sorrow ever serve also as the antidote? Can one ever know the true source of salvation, or must it be unintentionally discovered?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sitting with these thoughts, and with the sensory delights of this \u003cem>Parsifal\u003c/em> on stage, let me tell you: Five hours flies right by. \u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Parsifal’ runs for two more performances, on Friday, Nov. 7 and Thursday, Nov. 13, at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco. \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfopera.com/operas/parsifal/\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>A silver microphone hovers behind soundproof studio glass, just above the singer, amplifying her velvet pipes for the album it will soon occupy for posterity. But despite her voice’s celestial sheen, imperfections built from pressures and brutal insecurities derail take after take, and turn her microphone into an unreachable deity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the masterful production of the 13-time Tony-nominated play \u003cem>Stereophonic\u003c/em>, Diana’s unnamed 1970s rock band faces a reckoning while recording a follow-up to their massively successful breakout album. Working long hours within the wood-paneled walls of a recording studio in Sausalito, personal and creative conflicts directly parallel the infamous process of recording Fleetwood Mac’s iconic 1977 album \u003cem>Rumours\u003c/em>. While every guitar lick and rock groove contains self-inflicted wounds and pressure, plenty of pot and cocaine is passed around.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Playwright David Adjmi paints the talented, narcissistic scruff Peter (Denver Milord) as uber-driven for success, his relationship with Diana (Claire DeJean) massively compromised by his constant belittling. When Reg (Christopher Mowod) isn’t handling the bass, he’s undergoing a renaissance of the soul since going sober. And in a common theme, a lack of family support hits tempo-challenged drummer Simon (Cornelius McMoyler) hard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13983275\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/250929_StereophonicTour_Day1-299_F.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13983275\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/250929_StereophonicTour_Day1-299_F.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/250929_StereophonicTour_Day1-299_F-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/250929_StereophonicTour_Day1-299_F-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/250929_StereophonicTour_Day1-299_F-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The First National Touring cast of ‘Stereophonic,’ which is set inside a recording studio modeled after The Plant in Sausalito. \u003ccite>(Julieta Cervantes)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This era of rock (the play spans 1976–77) is an alpha world, which challenges the two women in the band, singers Diana and Holly (Emilie Kouatchou). All of this dysfunction lands in the lap of an unseasoned sound engineer, Grover (Jack Barrett), and his chatty, wide-eyed assistant Charlie (Steven Lee Johnson).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Director Daniel Aukin’s staging oscillates between the high energy of a perfect take and the static dullness of waiting around. Fights about personal relationships and album details get hashed out on the couches and plush pillows of David Zinn’s tremendous scenic design. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Aukin is at his best with \u003cem>Stereophonic\u003c/em>’s pacing. If the play feels slow in moments, it’s in service of experiencing the band’s self-immolation in real time. Realistically, recording studios are sites of mostly waiting around, and for a band like the one in \u003cem>Stereophonic\u003c/em>, sacrificing mental health and all relationships with the real world to achieve musical nirvana on tape always happens gradually.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13983274\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/250929_StereophonicTour_Day1-39_F.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13983274\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/250929_StereophonicTour_Day1-39_F.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/250929_StereophonicTour_Day1-39_F-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/250929_StereophonicTour_Day1-39_F-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/250929_StereophonicTour_Day1-39_F-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L–R) Claire DeJean as Diana, Emilie Kouatchou as Holly and Denver Milord as Peter in ‘Stereophonic,’ running at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Julieta Cervantes)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Early in the play, before we’ve heard any songs, it’s easy to wonder what this all means. The fights, the stresses and the sacrifices have to be for \u003cem>something\u003c/em>. When Diana layers on a bit of a belt in a slower-tempo version of her composition “Bright,” or when the song “Masquerade” finally comes together, just notice the perfect harmony of a band who understands what it takes to craft music at a high level. These are the times when the play soars, built upon the ’70s-styled rock songs of Arcade Fire’s Will Butler.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then there’s \u003cem>Stereophonic\u003c/em>’s technical wizardry. Jiyoun Chang’s lighting design is a setter of moods, pairing beautifully with Ryan Rumery’s snazzy sound design. Working the knobs of the giant mixing console, Grover and Charlie are stoned masters, even while being bossed around into successive all-nighters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_12374448']Here in the Bay Area, there’s something special about seeing \u003cem>Stereophonic\u003c/em> — a co-production between ACT and BroadwaySF — finally performed in its spiritual home. The studio is clearly modeled after the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/12374448/running-the-record-plant-part-1-the-early-years\">Record Plant in Sausalito\u003c/a>, where Fleetwood Mac recorded \u003cem>Rumours\u003c/em>. Band members take breaks to eat at \u003ca href=\"https://www.sausalitohistoricalsociety.com/2015-columns/2015/11/7/juanita-and-her-galley-1\">Juanita’s\u003c/a>, the famed Sausalito restaurant-slash-three ring circus run by \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juanita_Musson\">the region’s most colorful owner and chef\u003c/a>. There’s also a terrific vintage T-shirt (period costumes were designed by Enver Chakartash) from \u003ca href=\"https://rickeysca.com/\">a venerable San Leandro sports bar\u003c/a>, some potent weed from Santa Cruz, and references to Tiburon, Stinson Beach and Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13983272\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/250929_StereophonicTour_Day1-425_F.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13983272\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/250929_StereophonicTour_Day1-425_F.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/250929_StereophonicTour_Day1-425_F-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/250929_StereophonicTour_Day1-425_F-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/250929_StereophonicTour_Day1-425_F-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L–R) Denver Milord as Peter, Christopher Mowod as Reg, Claire DeJean as Diana, and Emilie Kouatchou as Holly in ‘Stereophonic,’ running at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Julieta Cervantes)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Yet nothing speaks to Sausalito like houseboats. When Reg delivers what’s become one of the show’s famous monologues about the thrill of the city’s houseboat community, he manages to pin down just why the band has sacrificed so much. Otis Redding famously \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/7C-VscEQugk?si=_FSRJ1tCqfnrFMoT\">sat on the dock of the Bay\u003c/a> among Sausalito’s houseboats, wasting time, just like the band does. “I want to live in art,” Reg gleefully declares — but to live in art means living within the torture of striving for immortal heroism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That may be Stereophonic’s ultimate lesson: While mere mortals are abundant, our heroes of rock ‘n’ roll stand alone. \u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Stereophonic’ runs through Nov. 23 at the Curran Theatre (445 Geary St.) in San Francisco. \u003ca href=\"https://www.broadwaysf.com/events/stereophonic/\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A silver microphone hovers behind soundproof studio glass, just above the singer, amplifying her velvet pipes for the album it will soon occupy for posterity. But despite her voice’s celestial sheen, imperfections built from pressures and brutal insecurities derail take after take, and turn her microphone into an unreachable deity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the masterful production of the 13-time Tony-nominated play \u003cem>Stereophonic\u003c/em>, Diana’s unnamed 1970s rock band faces a reckoning while recording a follow-up to their massively successful breakout album. Working long hours within the wood-paneled walls of a recording studio in Sausalito, personal and creative conflicts directly parallel the infamous process of recording Fleetwood Mac’s iconic 1977 album \u003cem>Rumours\u003c/em>. While every guitar lick and rock groove contains self-inflicted wounds and pressure, plenty of pot and cocaine is passed around.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Playwright David Adjmi paints the talented, narcissistic scruff Peter (Denver Milord) as uber-driven for success, his relationship with Diana (Claire DeJean) massively compromised by his constant belittling. When Reg (Christopher Mowod) isn’t handling the bass, he’s undergoing a renaissance of the soul since going sober. And in a common theme, a lack of family support hits tempo-challenged drummer Simon (Cornelius McMoyler) hard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13983275\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/250929_StereophonicTour_Day1-299_F.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13983275\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/250929_StereophonicTour_Day1-299_F.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/250929_StereophonicTour_Day1-299_F-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/250929_StereophonicTour_Day1-299_F-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/250929_StereophonicTour_Day1-299_F-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The First National Touring cast of ‘Stereophonic,’ which is set inside a recording studio modeled after The Plant in Sausalito. \u003ccite>(Julieta Cervantes)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This era of rock (the play spans 1976–77) is an alpha world, which challenges the two women in the band, singers Diana and Holly (Emilie Kouatchou). All of this dysfunction lands in the lap of an unseasoned sound engineer, Grover (Jack Barrett), and his chatty, wide-eyed assistant Charlie (Steven Lee Johnson).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Director Daniel Aukin’s staging oscillates between the high energy of a perfect take and the static dullness of waiting around. Fights about personal relationships and album details get hashed out on the couches and plush pillows of David Zinn’s tremendous scenic design. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Aukin is at his best with \u003cem>Stereophonic\u003c/em>’s pacing. If the play feels slow in moments, it’s in service of experiencing the band’s self-immolation in real time. Realistically, recording studios are sites of mostly waiting around, and for a band like the one in \u003cem>Stereophonic\u003c/em>, sacrificing mental health and all relationships with the real world to achieve musical nirvana on tape always happens gradually.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13983274\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/250929_StereophonicTour_Day1-39_F.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13983274\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/250929_StereophonicTour_Day1-39_F.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/250929_StereophonicTour_Day1-39_F-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/250929_StereophonicTour_Day1-39_F-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/250929_StereophonicTour_Day1-39_F-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L–R) Claire DeJean as Diana, Emilie Kouatchou as Holly and Denver Milord as Peter in ‘Stereophonic,’ running at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Julieta Cervantes)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Early in the play, before we’ve heard any songs, it’s easy to wonder what this all means. The fights, the stresses and the sacrifices have to be for \u003cem>something\u003c/em>. When Diana layers on a bit of a belt in a slower-tempo version of her composition “Bright,” or when the song “Masquerade” finally comes together, just notice the perfect harmony of a band who understands what it takes to craft music at a high level. These are the times when the play soars, built upon the ’70s-styled rock songs of Arcade Fire’s Will Butler.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then there’s \u003cem>Stereophonic\u003c/em>’s technical wizardry. Jiyoun Chang’s lighting design is a setter of moods, pairing beautifully with Ryan Rumery’s snazzy sound design. Working the knobs of the giant mixing console, Grover and Charlie are stoned masters, even while being bossed around into successive all-nighters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Here in the Bay Area, there’s something special about seeing \u003cem>Stereophonic\u003c/em> — a co-production between ACT and BroadwaySF — finally performed in its spiritual home. The studio is clearly modeled after the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/12374448/running-the-record-plant-part-1-the-early-years\">Record Plant in Sausalito\u003c/a>, where Fleetwood Mac recorded \u003cem>Rumours\u003c/em>. Band members take breaks to eat at \u003ca href=\"https://www.sausalitohistoricalsociety.com/2015-columns/2015/11/7/juanita-and-her-galley-1\">Juanita’s\u003c/a>, the famed Sausalito restaurant-slash-three ring circus run by \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juanita_Musson\">the region’s most colorful owner and chef\u003c/a>. There’s also a terrific vintage T-shirt (period costumes were designed by Enver Chakartash) from \u003ca href=\"https://rickeysca.com/\">a venerable San Leandro sports bar\u003c/a>, some potent weed from Santa Cruz, and references to Tiburon, Stinson Beach and Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13983272\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/250929_StereophonicTour_Day1-425_F.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13983272\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/250929_StereophonicTour_Day1-425_F.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/250929_StereophonicTour_Day1-425_F-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/250929_StereophonicTour_Day1-425_F-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/250929_StereophonicTour_Day1-425_F-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L–R) Denver Milord as Peter, Christopher Mowod as Reg, Claire DeJean as Diana, and Emilie Kouatchou as Holly in ‘Stereophonic,’ running at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Julieta Cervantes)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Yet nothing speaks to Sausalito like houseboats. When Reg delivers what’s become one of the show’s famous monologues about the thrill of the city’s houseboat community, he manages to pin down just why the band has sacrificed so much. Otis Redding famously \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/7C-VscEQugk?si=_FSRJ1tCqfnrFMoT\">sat on the dock of the Bay\u003c/a> among Sausalito’s houseboats, wasting time, just like the band does. “I want to live in art,” Reg gleefully declares — but to live in art means living within the torture of striving for immortal heroism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That may be Stereophonic’s ultimate lesson: While mere mortals are abundant, our heroes of rock ‘n’ roll stand alone. \u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Stereophonic’ runs through Nov. 23 at the Curran Theatre (445 Geary St.) in San Francisco. \u003ca href=\"https://www.broadwaysf.com/events/stereophonic/\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "in-suffs-a-theatrical-reminder-that-the-fight-for-equality-is-eternal",
"title": "In ‘Suffs,’ a Theatrical Reminder That the Fight for Equality Is Eternal",
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"content": "\u003cp>In its two hours and 30 minutes, \u003cem>Suffs\u003c/em> delivers more than a retelling of the American suffrage movement. Sure, its content might help a student check off a bullet point on a history class syllabus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the musical, which saw its \u003ca href=\"https://www.broadwaysf.com/events/suffs/\">San Francisco premiere this week at the Orpheum Theatre\u003c/a> and runs through Nov. 9, offers something much deeper and more valuable. It brings humanity to the names and faces behind the decades-long suffrage movement. In so doing, it delivers insight into a fight for rights that, unfortunately, resonates a century later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Suffs\u003c/em> first premiered in 2022 off-Broadway, starring Shaina Taub, the creator behind the book, music and lyrics. After making the leap to Broadway, it went on to win two Tony awards, for Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical, in 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982907\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1918px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/9-SUFFS-Tour_Maya-Keleher-as-Alice-Paul_Marya-Grandy-as-Carrie-Chapman-Catt-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982907\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/9-SUFFS-Tour_Maya-Keleher-as-Alice-Paul_Marya-Grandy-as-Carrie-Chapman-Catt-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"two women dressed as suffragettes hold a sign that reads 'vote wilson out'\" width=\"1918\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/9-SUFFS-Tour_Maya-Keleher-as-Alice-Paul_Marya-Grandy-as-Carrie-Chapman-Catt-scaled.jpg 1918w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/9-SUFFS-Tour_Maya-Keleher-as-Alice-Paul_Marya-Grandy-as-Carrie-Chapman-Catt-2000x2669.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/9-SUFFS-Tour_Maya-Keleher-as-Alice-Paul_Marya-Grandy-as-Carrie-Chapman-Catt-160x214.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/9-SUFFS-Tour_Maya-Keleher-as-Alice-Paul_Marya-Grandy-as-Carrie-Chapman-Catt-768x1025.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/9-SUFFS-Tour_Maya-Keleher-as-Alice-Paul_Marya-Grandy-as-Carrie-Chapman-Catt-1151x1536.jpg 1151w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/9-SUFFS-Tour_Maya-Keleher-as-Alice-Paul_Marya-Grandy-as-Carrie-Chapman-Catt-1534x2048.jpg 1534w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1918px) 100vw, 1918px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maya Keleher as Alice Paul and Marya Grandy as Carrie Chapman Catt in ‘Suffs.’ \u003ccite>(Joan Marcus)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In its first run with a touring company, it’s easy to see why. The play follows spunky suffragist Alice Paul (Maya Keleher), fresh out of university and armed with an unrelenting drive to challenge President Woodrow Wilson’s opposition to women’s suffrage. \u003cem>Suffs\u003c/em> documents her determination to secure a constitutional amendment guaranteeing her and her fellow women — well, white women — the right to vote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Joining Paul at the start of her activism are women who would become the core of the National Woman’s Party: Paul’s college friend Lucy Burns (Gwynne Wood), the movement’s prominent public face Inez Milholland (Monica Tulia Ramirez), secretary Doris Stevens (Livvy Marcus), and Polish-American labor organizer Ruza Wenclawska (Joyce Meimei Zheng).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Offering a clear-eyed take on a movement often romanticized as a seamless sisterhood of women who all loved each other (spoiler alert: they didn’t), \u003cem>Suffs\u003c/em> depicts the women’s clashing approaches to activism. Paul’s relentless militancy butts up against veteran suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt’s (Marya Grandy) cautious pragmatism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982893\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/4-SUFFS-Tour_Danyel-Fulton-as-Ida-B.-Wells_Trisha-Jeffrey-as-Mary-Church-Terrell_-Victoria-Pekel-as-Phyllis-Terrell-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982893\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/4-SUFFS-Tour_Danyel-Fulton-as-Ida-B.-Wells_Trisha-Jeffrey-as-Mary-Church-Terrell_-Victoria-Pekel-as-Phyllis-Terrell-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"three women stand on stage in suffagette clothing in a play\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1880\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/4-SUFFS-Tour_Danyel-Fulton-as-Ida-B.-Wells_Trisha-Jeffrey-as-Mary-Church-Terrell_-Victoria-Pekel-as-Phyllis-Terrell-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/4-SUFFS-Tour_Danyel-Fulton-as-Ida-B.-Wells_Trisha-Jeffrey-as-Mary-Church-Terrell_-Victoria-Pekel-as-Phyllis-Terrell-2000x1469.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/4-SUFFS-Tour_Danyel-Fulton-as-Ida-B.-Wells_Trisha-Jeffrey-as-Mary-Church-Terrell_-Victoria-Pekel-as-Phyllis-Terrell-160x118.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/4-SUFFS-Tour_Danyel-Fulton-as-Ida-B.-Wells_Trisha-Jeffrey-as-Mary-Church-Terrell_-Victoria-Pekel-as-Phyllis-Terrell-768x564.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/4-SUFFS-Tour_Danyel-Fulton-as-Ida-B.-Wells_Trisha-Jeffrey-as-Mary-Church-Terrell_-Victoria-Pekel-as-Phyllis-Terrell-1536x1128.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/4-SUFFS-Tour_Danyel-Fulton-as-Ida-B.-Wells_Trisha-Jeffrey-as-Mary-Church-Terrell_-Victoria-Pekel-as-Phyllis-Terrell-2048x1504.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Danyel Fulton as Ida B. Wells, Trisha Jeffrey as Mary Church Terrell and Victoria Pekel as Phyllis Terrell in the first national touring company of ‘Suffs.’ \u003ccite>(Joan Marcus)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At the same time, the show doesn’t shy away from the glaring prejudice faced by Black women and Black Americans as a whole, exposing how the suffrage movement often prioritized white women’s advancement. Through the portrayal of journalist, suffragist and civil rights activist Ida B. Wells (Danyel Fulton), \u003cem>Suffs\u003c/em> emphasizes the innumerable extra challenges she faced while fighting not just for women’s rights, but for the liberation of her people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These contradictions, masked by the illusion of a united front, are humorously captured in moments when the press snaps “solidarity” photos of women barely concealing their disagreements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Suffs\u003c/em> builds to its final act in Tennessee — the last state needed to ratify the 19th Amendment. Though we as the audience know how it ends, tensions still run high as suffragists crowd the statehouse halls, counting on every possible vote to secure their decades-long fight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982908\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/6-SUFFS-Tour_6-Joyce-Meimei-Zheng-as-Ruza-Wenclawska-and-SUFFS-Company-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982908\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/6-SUFFS-Tour_6-Joyce-Meimei-Zheng-as-Ruza-Wenclawska-and-SUFFS-Company-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/6-SUFFS-Tour_6-Joyce-Meimei-Zheng-as-Ruza-Wenclawska-and-SUFFS-Company-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/6-SUFFS-Tour_6-Joyce-Meimei-Zheng-as-Ruza-Wenclawska-and-SUFFS-Company-2000x1333.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/6-SUFFS-Tour_6-Joyce-Meimei-Zheng-as-Ruza-Wenclawska-and-SUFFS-Company-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/6-SUFFS-Tour_6-Joyce-Meimei-Zheng-as-Ruza-Wenclawska-and-SUFFS-Company-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/6-SUFFS-Tour_6-Joyce-Meimei-Zheng-as-Ruza-Wenclawska-and-SUFFS-Company-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/6-SUFFS-Tour_6-Joyce-Meimei-Zheng-as-Ruza-Wenclawska-and-SUFFS-Company-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Joyce Meimei Zheng as Ruza Wenclawska and ‘Suffs’ Company. \u003ccite>(Joan Marcus)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Yet, the story doesn’t end like the fight is over. Yes, Tennessee does secure the votes it needs. And yes, Alice Paul continues to be a key figure in granting women more than just the right to vote. But something about watching \u003cem>Suffs\u003c/em> feels like trying to relieve an itch you can’t seem to reach: there’s no simple, satisfactory resolution; it lingers with you. The ending musical number, “Keep Marching,” acts as a reminder that the struggle for equal rights continues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And so many struggles do continue: Against the backdrop of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12061191/activists-federal-agents-clash-at-coast-guard-base-during-immigration-crackdown\">hundreds of passionate Bay Area residents front and center\u003c/a> at Alameda’s Coast Guard Island protesting the arrival of the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol early Thursday morning, \u003cem>Suffs\u003c/em> felt especially urgent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though set over a century ago, the musical still speaks volumes about what it means to fight for something when it seems like the odds are against you. In today’s political climate, its message feels less like a history lesson, and more like a call to action.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>‘Suffs’ runs through Sunday, Nov. 9, at the Orpheum Theater (1192 Market St., San Francisco). \u003ca href=\"https://www.broadwaysf.com/events/suffs/\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"title": "In ‘Suffs,’ a Theatrical Reminder That the Fight for Equality Is Eternal | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In its two hours and 30 minutes, \u003cem>Suffs\u003c/em> delivers more than a retelling of the American suffrage movement. Sure, its content might help a student check off a bullet point on a history class syllabus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the musical, which saw its \u003ca href=\"https://www.broadwaysf.com/events/suffs/\">San Francisco premiere this week at the Orpheum Theatre\u003c/a> and runs through Nov. 9, offers something much deeper and more valuable. It brings humanity to the names and faces behind the decades-long suffrage movement. In so doing, it delivers insight into a fight for rights that, unfortunately, resonates a century later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Suffs\u003c/em> first premiered in 2022 off-Broadway, starring Shaina Taub, the creator behind the book, music and lyrics. After making the leap to Broadway, it went on to win two Tony awards, for Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical, in 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982907\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1918px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/9-SUFFS-Tour_Maya-Keleher-as-Alice-Paul_Marya-Grandy-as-Carrie-Chapman-Catt-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982907\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/9-SUFFS-Tour_Maya-Keleher-as-Alice-Paul_Marya-Grandy-as-Carrie-Chapman-Catt-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"two women dressed as suffragettes hold a sign that reads 'vote wilson out'\" width=\"1918\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/9-SUFFS-Tour_Maya-Keleher-as-Alice-Paul_Marya-Grandy-as-Carrie-Chapman-Catt-scaled.jpg 1918w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/9-SUFFS-Tour_Maya-Keleher-as-Alice-Paul_Marya-Grandy-as-Carrie-Chapman-Catt-2000x2669.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/9-SUFFS-Tour_Maya-Keleher-as-Alice-Paul_Marya-Grandy-as-Carrie-Chapman-Catt-160x214.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/9-SUFFS-Tour_Maya-Keleher-as-Alice-Paul_Marya-Grandy-as-Carrie-Chapman-Catt-768x1025.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/9-SUFFS-Tour_Maya-Keleher-as-Alice-Paul_Marya-Grandy-as-Carrie-Chapman-Catt-1151x1536.jpg 1151w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/9-SUFFS-Tour_Maya-Keleher-as-Alice-Paul_Marya-Grandy-as-Carrie-Chapman-Catt-1534x2048.jpg 1534w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1918px) 100vw, 1918px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maya Keleher as Alice Paul and Marya Grandy as Carrie Chapman Catt in ‘Suffs.’ \u003ccite>(Joan Marcus)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In its first run with a touring company, it’s easy to see why. The play follows spunky suffragist Alice Paul (Maya Keleher), fresh out of university and armed with an unrelenting drive to challenge President Woodrow Wilson’s opposition to women’s suffrage. \u003cem>Suffs\u003c/em> documents her determination to secure a constitutional amendment guaranteeing her and her fellow women — well, white women — the right to vote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Joining Paul at the start of her activism are women who would become the core of the National Woman’s Party: Paul’s college friend Lucy Burns (Gwynne Wood), the movement’s prominent public face Inez Milholland (Monica Tulia Ramirez), secretary Doris Stevens (Livvy Marcus), and Polish-American labor organizer Ruza Wenclawska (Joyce Meimei Zheng).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Offering a clear-eyed take on a movement often romanticized as a seamless sisterhood of women who all loved each other (spoiler alert: they didn’t), \u003cem>Suffs\u003c/em> depicts the women’s clashing approaches to activism. Paul’s relentless militancy butts up against veteran suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt’s (Marya Grandy) cautious pragmatism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982893\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/4-SUFFS-Tour_Danyel-Fulton-as-Ida-B.-Wells_Trisha-Jeffrey-as-Mary-Church-Terrell_-Victoria-Pekel-as-Phyllis-Terrell-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982893\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/4-SUFFS-Tour_Danyel-Fulton-as-Ida-B.-Wells_Trisha-Jeffrey-as-Mary-Church-Terrell_-Victoria-Pekel-as-Phyllis-Terrell-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"three women stand on stage in suffagette clothing in a play\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1880\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/4-SUFFS-Tour_Danyel-Fulton-as-Ida-B.-Wells_Trisha-Jeffrey-as-Mary-Church-Terrell_-Victoria-Pekel-as-Phyllis-Terrell-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/4-SUFFS-Tour_Danyel-Fulton-as-Ida-B.-Wells_Trisha-Jeffrey-as-Mary-Church-Terrell_-Victoria-Pekel-as-Phyllis-Terrell-2000x1469.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/4-SUFFS-Tour_Danyel-Fulton-as-Ida-B.-Wells_Trisha-Jeffrey-as-Mary-Church-Terrell_-Victoria-Pekel-as-Phyllis-Terrell-160x118.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/4-SUFFS-Tour_Danyel-Fulton-as-Ida-B.-Wells_Trisha-Jeffrey-as-Mary-Church-Terrell_-Victoria-Pekel-as-Phyllis-Terrell-768x564.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/4-SUFFS-Tour_Danyel-Fulton-as-Ida-B.-Wells_Trisha-Jeffrey-as-Mary-Church-Terrell_-Victoria-Pekel-as-Phyllis-Terrell-1536x1128.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/4-SUFFS-Tour_Danyel-Fulton-as-Ida-B.-Wells_Trisha-Jeffrey-as-Mary-Church-Terrell_-Victoria-Pekel-as-Phyllis-Terrell-2048x1504.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Danyel Fulton as Ida B. Wells, Trisha Jeffrey as Mary Church Terrell and Victoria Pekel as Phyllis Terrell in the first national touring company of ‘Suffs.’ \u003ccite>(Joan Marcus)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At the same time, the show doesn’t shy away from the glaring prejudice faced by Black women and Black Americans as a whole, exposing how the suffrage movement often prioritized white women’s advancement. Through the portrayal of journalist, suffragist and civil rights activist Ida B. Wells (Danyel Fulton), \u003cem>Suffs\u003c/em> emphasizes the innumerable extra challenges she faced while fighting not just for women’s rights, but for the liberation of her people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These contradictions, masked by the illusion of a united front, are humorously captured in moments when the press snaps “solidarity” photos of women barely concealing their disagreements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Suffs\u003c/em> builds to its final act in Tennessee — the last state needed to ratify the 19th Amendment. Though we as the audience know how it ends, tensions still run high as suffragists crowd the statehouse halls, counting on every possible vote to secure their decades-long fight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982908\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/6-SUFFS-Tour_6-Joyce-Meimei-Zheng-as-Ruza-Wenclawska-and-SUFFS-Company-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982908\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/6-SUFFS-Tour_6-Joyce-Meimei-Zheng-as-Ruza-Wenclawska-and-SUFFS-Company-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/6-SUFFS-Tour_6-Joyce-Meimei-Zheng-as-Ruza-Wenclawska-and-SUFFS-Company-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/6-SUFFS-Tour_6-Joyce-Meimei-Zheng-as-Ruza-Wenclawska-and-SUFFS-Company-2000x1333.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/6-SUFFS-Tour_6-Joyce-Meimei-Zheng-as-Ruza-Wenclawska-and-SUFFS-Company-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/6-SUFFS-Tour_6-Joyce-Meimei-Zheng-as-Ruza-Wenclawska-and-SUFFS-Company-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/6-SUFFS-Tour_6-Joyce-Meimei-Zheng-as-Ruza-Wenclawska-and-SUFFS-Company-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/6-SUFFS-Tour_6-Joyce-Meimei-Zheng-as-Ruza-Wenclawska-and-SUFFS-Company-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Joyce Meimei Zheng as Ruza Wenclawska and ‘Suffs’ Company. \u003ccite>(Joan Marcus)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Yet, the story doesn’t end like the fight is over. Yes, Tennessee does secure the votes it needs. And yes, Alice Paul continues to be a key figure in granting women more than just the right to vote. But something about watching \u003cem>Suffs\u003c/em> feels like trying to relieve an itch you can’t seem to reach: there’s no simple, satisfactory resolution; it lingers with you. The ending musical number, “Keep Marching,” acts as a reminder that the struggle for equal rights continues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And so many struggles do continue: Against the backdrop of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12061191/activists-federal-agents-clash-at-coast-guard-base-during-immigration-crackdown\">hundreds of passionate Bay Area residents front and center\u003c/a> at Alameda’s Coast Guard Island protesting the arrival of the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol early Thursday morning, \u003cem>Suffs\u003c/em> felt especially urgent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though set over a century ago, the musical still speaks volumes about what it means to fight for something when it seems like the odds are against you. In today’s political climate, its message feels less like a history lesson, and more like a call to action.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>‘Suffs’ runs through Sunday, Nov. 9, at the Orpheum Theater (1192 Market St., San Francisco). \u003ca href=\"https://www.broadwaysf.com/events/suffs/\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "‘Kim’s Convenience’ at ACT: A Funny, Touching Story of an Immigrant Family Business",
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"content": "\u003cp>At just 83 minutes long, \u003cem>Kim’s Convenience\u003c/em> may be short, and set entirely in a small corner store, but it embraces the big stuff: family, regret, forgiveness, the need for belonging. Ultimately, it asks: What is the story of a life? Is it the work we do, the things we accumulate, or the other lives we touch along the way?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Appa (Ins Choi) runs a convenience store, where toiletries and “Canada” T-shirts share space with Korean flags in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood in Toronto. When he’s not launching into tirades about the history of Korea, he bluntly roasts customers and pressures his adult daughter Janet (Kelly Seo) to successfully live up to his high immigrant-parent expectations. (Years prior, his son Jung [Ryan Jinn] chafed under his pressure, cut all ties after a violent fight, and left the house.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13981819\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13981819\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/SPKims-photocall-photobyDahliaKatz-2545.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/SPKims-photocall-photobyDahliaKatz-2545.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/SPKims-photocall-photobyDahliaKatz-2545-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/SPKims-photocall-photobyDahliaKatz-2545-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/SPKims-photocall-photobyDahliaKatz-2545-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Appa (Ins Choi) detains Alex (Brandon McKnight) and Janet (Kelly Seo) in a scene from ‘Kim’s Convenience.’ \u003ccite>(Dahlia Katz)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Adding to the thickness in the air, a Walmart is set to open nearby. A real estate developer offers to buy Appa’s store, where business isn’t exactly brisk. Alex (Brandon McKnight), a childhood friend of Jung who’s now a cop, stops in and is mesmerized by Janet, who is similarly love-stricken. While sparks fly between the two, we learn that Umma (Esther Chung), Appa’s wife, has secretly been meeting with Jung at their local church.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That all of this gets resolved neatly and hilariously over the course of a single day is a testament to Choi’s taut script. As the playwright, Choi based the story on his own immigrant family, and his acting performance as Appa carries extra emotional weight. He also garners the largest howls of laughter, whether explaining to Janet the different types of customers who shoplift, or persistently offering Alex some snacks for the road in an accent so thick that you’ll never think of chocolate-covered peanuts the same way again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13981812\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13981812\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/SPKims-photocall-photobyDahliaKatz-2348.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/SPKims-photocall-photobyDahliaKatz-2348.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/SPKims-photocall-photobyDahliaKatz-2348-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/SPKims-photocall-photobyDahliaKatz-2348-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/SPKims-photocall-photobyDahliaKatz-2348-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Umma (Esther Chung) and Jung (Ryan Jinn) have a heart-to-heart in a scene from ‘Kim’s Convenience.’ \u003ccite>(Dahlia Katz)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Kim’s Convenience\u003c/em> will especially resonate with second-generation audience members, or anyone who’s ever worked behind the counter of a small mom ‘n’ pop retail business. But its themes cut across all ethnic and economic lines, exemplified in a monologue by Appa about a Korean shopkeeper in South Central L.A. during the Rodney King riots, and the unlikely bond between the owner and the Black residents of the neighborhood during a time of high tensions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those of a certain age may remember “\u003ca href=\"https://genius.com/Ice-cube-black-korea-lyrics\">Black Korea\u003c/a>,” the controversial song by Ice Cube recorded after the murder of 15-year-old Latasha Harlins, which called out business owners’ racial profiling and threatened to burn down Korean convenience stores in L.A. Ice Cube eventually apologized for the song, but the dehumanization of immigrants has now been federalized, with ICE’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101910650/ices-budget-just-tripled-whats-next\">massive budget increase\u003c/a> and unprecedented powers to \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2025/09/13/nx-s1-5507125/the-supreme-court-clears-the-way-for-ice-agents-to-treat-race-as-grounds-for-immigration-stops\">racially profile\u003c/a>, detain and deport anyone without oversight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Kim’s Convenience\u003c/em>, meanwhile, played to a rapturous full house. It was enough to make you believe that, despite everything, maybe humanization will win after all.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Kim’s Convenience’ runs through Oct. 19 at the Toni Rembe Theater (415 Geary St,, San Francisco). \u003ca href=\"https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/2025-26-season/kims-convenience/\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>At just 83 minutes long, \u003cem>Kim’s Convenience\u003c/em> may be short, and set entirely in a small corner store, but it embraces the big stuff: family, regret, forgiveness, the need for belonging. Ultimately, it asks: What is the story of a life? Is it the work we do, the things we accumulate, or the other lives we touch along the way?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Appa (Ins Choi) runs a convenience store, where toiletries and “Canada” T-shirts share space with Korean flags in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood in Toronto. When he’s not launching into tirades about the history of Korea, he bluntly roasts customers and pressures his adult daughter Janet (Kelly Seo) to successfully live up to his high immigrant-parent expectations. (Years prior, his son Jung [Ryan Jinn] chafed under his pressure, cut all ties after a violent fight, and left the house.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13981819\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13981819\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/SPKims-photocall-photobyDahliaKatz-2545.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/SPKims-photocall-photobyDahliaKatz-2545.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/SPKims-photocall-photobyDahliaKatz-2545-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/SPKims-photocall-photobyDahliaKatz-2545-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/SPKims-photocall-photobyDahliaKatz-2545-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Appa (Ins Choi) detains Alex (Brandon McKnight) and Janet (Kelly Seo) in a scene from ‘Kim’s Convenience.’ \u003ccite>(Dahlia Katz)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Adding to the thickness in the air, a Walmart is set to open nearby. A real estate developer offers to buy Appa’s store, where business isn’t exactly brisk. Alex (Brandon McKnight), a childhood friend of Jung who’s now a cop, stops in and is mesmerized by Janet, who is similarly love-stricken. While sparks fly between the two, we learn that Umma (Esther Chung), Appa’s wife, has secretly been meeting with Jung at their local church.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That all of this gets resolved neatly and hilariously over the course of a single day is a testament to Choi’s taut script. As the playwright, Choi based the story on his own immigrant family, and his acting performance as Appa carries extra emotional weight. He also garners the largest howls of laughter, whether explaining to Janet the different types of customers who shoplift, or persistently offering Alex some snacks for the road in an accent so thick that you’ll never think of chocolate-covered peanuts the same way again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13981812\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13981812\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/SPKims-photocall-photobyDahliaKatz-2348.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/SPKims-photocall-photobyDahliaKatz-2348.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/SPKims-photocall-photobyDahliaKatz-2348-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/SPKims-photocall-photobyDahliaKatz-2348-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/SPKims-photocall-photobyDahliaKatz-2348-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Umma (Esther Chung) and Jung (Ryan Jinn) have a heart-to-heart in a scene from ‘Kim’s Convenience.’ \u003ccite>(Dahlia Katz)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Kim’s Convenience\u003c/em> will especially resonate with second-generation audience members, or anyone who’s ever worked behind the counter of a small mom ‘n’ pop retail business. But its themes cut across all ethnic and economic lines, exemplified in a monologue by Appa about a Korean shopkeeper in South Central L.A. during the Rodney King riots, and the unlikely bond between the owner and the Black residents of the neighborhood during a time of high tensions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those of a certain age may remember “\u003ca href=\"https://genius.com/Ice-cube-black-korea-lyrics\">Black Korea\u003c/a>,” the controversial song by Ice Cube recorded after the murder of 15-year-old Latasha Harlins, which called out business owners’ racial profiling and threatened to burn down Korean convenience stores in L.A. Ice Cube eventually apologized for the song, but the dehumanization of immigrants has now been federalized, with ICE’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101910650/ices-budget-just-tripled-whats-next\">massive budget increase\u003c/a> and unprecedented powers to \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2025/09/13/nx-s1-5507125/the-supreme-court-clears-the-way-for-ice-agents-to-treat-race-as-grounds-for-immigration-stops\">racially profile\u003c/a>, detain and deport anyone without oversight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Kim’s Convenience\u003c/em>, meanwhile, played to a rapturous full house. It was enough to make you believe that, despite everything, maybe humanization will win after all.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Kim’s Convenience’ runs through Oct. 19 at the Toni Rembe Theater (415 Geary St,, San Francisco). \u003ca href=\"https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/2025-26-season/kims-convenience/\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "review-limp-wrist-on-the-lever-preston-choi-crowded-fire",
"title": "An Escape from Conversion Therapy in ‘Limp Wrist on the Lever’",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11743312/activists-and-suicide-prevention-groups-seek-bans-on-conversion-therapy-for-minors\">Conversion therapy\u003c/a> can easily be classified as one great, big, stupid, dangerous, horrible, cruel idea.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a misguided attempt by Christian fundamentalists and mental health quacks to make young gay kids feel “normal,” dismissing the fact that there is nothing abnormal about waking up with an attraction to the same sex. Outcomes of this anti-mental health initiative \u003ca href=\"https://www.thetrevorproject.org/resources/guide/so-called-conversion-therapy-and-the-lgbtq-youth-mental-health/\">have been proven\u003c/a> to lead to even more serious problems, including addiction and suicide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Crowded Fire Theater’s world premiere of playwright Preston Choi’s \u003cem>Limp Wrist on the Lever\u003c/em>, these ideas dominate the play’s early dialogue, which provides three queer teens some serious purpose. Their mission is to run as far away as possible from their gay conversion camp, a hellhole of homophobic intolerance. Their subsequent challenge is a daunting one due to the group’s lack of survival skills in the wild, a detail the counselor rightly points out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13981471\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/CFT-limp-wrist_River-Bermudez-Sanders-theythem-Charli_linda-maria-giron-theythem-Zo_Photo-by-Cheshire-Isaacs-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13981471\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/CFT-limp-wrist_River-Bermudez-Sanders-theythem-Charli_linda-maria-giron-theythem-Zo_Photo-by-Cheshire-Isaacs-scaled-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/CFT-limp-wrist_River-Bermudez-Sanders-theythem-Charli_linda-maria-giron-theythem-Zo_Photo-by-Cheshire-Isaacs-scaled-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/CFT-limp-wrist_River-Bermudez-Sanders-theythem-Charli_linda-maria-giron-theythem-Zo_Photo-by-Cheshire-Isaacs-scaled-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/CFT-limp-wrist_River-Bermudez-Sanders-theythem-Charli_linda-maria-giron-theythem-Zo_Photo-by-Cheshire-Isaacs-scaled-1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">River Bermudez Sanders (Charli) and linda maria girón (Zo) in ‘Limp Wrist on the Lever.’ \u003ccite>(Cheshire Isaacs)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Crowded Fire has built their well-earned reputation for bold, inspired takes on dark themes that center the marginalized. The problem with this production is that it veers too far into proselytization. The drama and drive is undercut by the play’s inability to provide its characters with immediate purpose and convey a unified critical message.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Preston Choi’s script offers up plenty of masterful dialogue, handled deftly by director Becca Wolff, But there’s too much of it. While the confusion on how to proceed with the escape dominates the trio’s indecisiveness, the wordiness makes for a staging that feels both long and long-winded. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Limp Wrist on the Lever\u003c/em>’s violence is both highly stylized and necessary. There is no turning of the other cheek amongst Zo (linda maria girón), Anita (Ashley Jaye) and Charli (River Bermudez Sanders), who are built for violence based on what they’ve witnessed and experienced. Righteous drivel and Bible verses have been used as cudgels to destroy every ounce of their souls, yet they can retaliate just as forcefully, with counselor Thomas (Kenny Scott) bearing the brunt of the teens’ survival mode.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13981473\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/CFT-limp-wrist_Kenny-Scott-hehim-Thomas_Ashley-Jaye-shethey-Anita-River-Bermudez-Sanders-theythem-Charli_linda-maria-giron-theythem-Zo_Photo-by-Cheshire-Isaacs-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13981473\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/CFT-limp-wrist_Kenny-Scott-hehim-Thomas_Ashley-Jaye-shethey-Anita-River-Bermudez-Sanders-theythem-Charli_linda-maria-giron-theythem-Zo_Photo-by-Cheshire-Isaacs-scaled-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/CFT-limp-wrist_Kenny-Scott-hehim-Thomas_Ashley-Jaye-shethey-Anita-River-Bermudez-Sanders-theythem-Charli_linda-maria-giron-theythem-Zo_Photo-by-Cheshire-Isaacs-scaled-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/CFT-limp-wrist_Kenny-Scott-hehim-Thomas_Ashley-Jaye-shethey-Anita-River-Bermudez-Sanders-theythem-Charli_linda-maria-giron-theythem-Zo_Photo-by-Cheshire-Isaacs-scaled-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/CFT-limp-wrist_Kenny-Scott-hehim-Thomas_Ashley-Jaye-shethey-Anita-River-Bermudez-Sanders-theythem-Charli_linda-maria-giron-theythem-Zo_Photo-by-Cheshire-Isaacs-scaled-1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kenny Scott (Thomas), Ashley Jaye (Anita), River Bermudez Sanders (Charli), and linda maria girón (Zo) in ‘Limp Wrist on the Lever.’ \u003ccite>(Cheshire Isaacs)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The scenic design world of the three teens with visions for escape is a marvel, a symbolic woods informed by shards of rope that suggest something more sinister. Inside these woods is where Wolff’s many choices truly shine, and where the stylistic pas de deux of violence and dim light sharpen the story’s intent. Jenna Lauren Carroll’s scintillating scenic design, along with Ray Oppenheimer’s mutedly brilliant lighting plot and a haunting subwoofer-fueled soundscape from Tab Mattos, neatly layer each aspect of the story with technical brilliance. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the storyline’s leanings that chooses word quantity over quality, Choi’s script does many good things, namely its ability to find humor in something serious. Its quick-witted observations about the pervasiveness and necessity of queer culture are slickly and humorously rattled off by the cast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13252754']Sanders is in constant motion — and constantly changing costume, to boot — with comic timing that’s sharp and sustained. Both Jaye and girón are aggressors with the dialogue, forcing the movement and action that their characters must utilize in order to survive. Scott’s physical commitments, namely his work tied to a chair while being tortured, help unify the play’s world where violence is a necessity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While \u003cem>Limp Wrist on the Lever\u003c/em>’s messaging can be murky, there is much brilliance in its script, in need of tightening though it may be. (The symbolism of a ghost wrapped in a pride flag, for example, is not terribly clear.) Wherever one may fall inside the ultimate throughline of the play, one fact remains clear at its finale: Conversion therapy can easily be classified as one great, big, stupid, dangerous, horrible, cruel idea.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Limp Wrist on the Lever’ runs through Saturday, Oct. 4, at Crowded Fire Theater (1695 18th St., San Francisco). \u003ca href=\"https://www.crowdedfire.org/\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Crowded Fire’s world premiere, though dense and long, takes the Christian practice of ‘reforming’ homosexuality to task.",
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"title": "An Escape from Conversion Therapy in ‘Limp Wrist on the Lever’ | KQED",
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"headline": "An Escape from Conversion Therapy in ‘Limp Wrist on the Lever’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11743312/activists-and-suicide-prevention-groups-seek-bans-on-conversion-therapy-for-minors\">Conversion therapy\u003c/a> can easily be classified as one great, big, stupid, dangerous, horrible, cruel idea.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a misguided attempt by Christian fundamentalists and mental health quacks to make young gay kids feel “normal,” dismissing the fact that there is nothing abnormal about waking up with an attraction to the same sex. Outcomes of this anti-mental health initiative \u003ca href=\"https://www.thetrevorproject.org/resources/guide/so-called-conversion-therapy-and-the-lgbtq-youth-mental-health/\">have been proven\u003c/a> to lead to even more serious problems, including addiction and suicide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Crowded Fire Theater’s world premiere of playwright Preston Choi’s \u003cem>Limp Wrist on the Lever\u003c/em>, these ideas dominate the play’s early dialogue, which provides three queer teens some serious purpose. Their mission is to run as far away as possible from their gay conversion camp, a hellhole of homophobic intolerance. Their subsequent challenge is a daunting one due to the group’s lack of survival skills in the wild, a detail the counselor rightly points out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13981471\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/CFT-limp-wrist_River-Bermudez-Sanders-theythem-Charli_linda-maria-giron-theythem-Zo_Photo-by-Cheshire-Isaacs-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13981471\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/CFT-limp-wrist_River-Bermudez-Sanders-theythem-Charli_linda-maria-giron-theythem-Zo_Photo-by-Cheshire-Isaacs-scaled-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/CFT-limp-wrist_River-Bermudez-Sanders-theythem-Charli_linda-maria-giron-theythem-Zo_Photo-by-Cheshire-Isaacs-scaled-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/CFT-limp-wrist_River-Bermudez-Sanders-theythem-Charli_linda-maria-giron-theythem-Zo_Photo-by-Cheshire-Isaacs-scaled-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/CFT-limp-wrist_River-Bermudez-Sanders-theythem-Charli_linda-maria-giron-theythem-Zo_Photo-by-Cheshire-Isaacs-scaled-1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">River Bermudez Sanders (Charli) and linda maria girón (Zo) in ‘Limp Wrist on the Lever.’ \u003ccite>(Cheshire Isaacs)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Crowded Fire has built their well-earned reputation for bold, inspired takes on dark themes that center the marginalized. The problem with this production is that it veers too far into proselytization. The drama and drive is undercut by the play’s inability to provide its characters with immediate purpose and convey a unified critical message.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Preston Choi’s script offers up plenty of masterful dialogue, handled deftly by director Becca Wolff, But there’s too much of it. While the confusion on how to proceed with the escape dominates the trio’s indecisiveness, the wordiness makes for a staging that feels both long and long-winded. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Limp Wrist on the Lever\u003c/em>’s violence is both highly stylized and necessary. There is no turning of the other cheek amongst Zo (linda maria girón), Anita (Ashley Jaye) and Charli (River Bermudez Sanders), who are built for violence based on what they’ve witnessed and experienced. Righteous drivel and Bible verses have been used as cudgels to destroy every ounce of their souls, yet they can retaliate just as forcefully, with counselor Thomas (Kenny Scott) bearing the brunt of the teens’ survival mode.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13981473\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/CFT-limp-wrist_Kenny-Scott-hehim-Thomas_Ashley-Jaye-shethey-Anita-River-Bermudez-Sanders-theythem-Charli_linda-maria-giron-theythem-Zo_Photo-by-Cheshire-Isaacs-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13981473\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/CFT-limp-wrist_Kenny-Scott-hehim-Thomas_Ashley-Jaye-shethey-Anita-River-Bermudez-Sanders-theythem-Charli_linda-maria-giron-theythem-Zo_Photo-by-Cheshire-Isaacs-scaled-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/CFT-limp-wrist_Kenny-Scott-hehim-Thomas_Ashley-Jaye-shethey-Anita-River-Bermudez-Sanders-theythem-Charli_linda-maria-giron-theythem-Zo_Photo-by-Cheshire-Isaacs-scaled-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/CFT-limp-wrist_Kenny-Scott-hehim-Thomas_Ashley-Jaye-shethey-Anita-River-Bermudez-Sanders-theythem-Charli_linda-maria-giron-theythem-Zo_Photo-by-Cheshire-Isaacs-scaled-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/CFT-limp-wrist_Kenny-Scott-hehim-Thomas_Ashley-Jaye-shethey-Anita-River-Bermudez-Sanders-theythem-Charli_linda-maria-giron-theythem-Zo_Photo-by-Cheshire-Isaacs-scaled-1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kenny Scott (Thomas), Ashley Jaye (Anita), River Bermudez Sanders (Charli), and linda maria girón (Zo) in ‘Limp Wrist on the Lever.’ \u003ccite>(Cheshire Isaacs)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The scenic design world of the three teens with visions for escape is a marvel, a symbolic woods informed by shards of rope that suggest something more sinister. Inside these woods is where Wolff’s many choices truly shine, and where the stylistic pas de deux of violence and dim light sharpen the story’s intent. Jenna Lauren Carroll’s scintillating scenic design, along with Ray Oppenheimer’s mutedly brilliant lighting plot and a haunting subwoofer-fueled soundscape from Tab Mattos, neatly layer each aspect of the story with technical brilliance. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the storyline’s leanings that chooses word quantity over quality, Choi’s script does many good things, namely its ability to find humor in something serious. Its quick-witted observations about the pervasiveness and necessity of queer culture are slickly and humorously rattled off by the cast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Sanders is in constant motion — and constantly changing costume, to boot — with comic timing that’s sharp and sustained. Both Jaye and girón are aggressors with the dialogue, forcing the movement and action that their characters must utilize in order to survive. Scott’s physical commitments, namely his work tied to a chair while being tortured, help unify the play’s world where violence is a necessity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While \u003cem>Limp Wrist on the Lever\u003c/em>’s messaging can be murky, there is much brilliance in its script, in need of tightening though it may be. (The symbolism of a ghost wrapped in a pride flag, for example, is not terribly clear.) Wherever one may fall inside the ultimate throughline of the play, one fact remains clear at its finale: Conversion therapy can easily be classified as one great, big, stupid, dangerous, horrible, cruel idea.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Limp Wrist on the Lever’ runs through Saturday, Oct. 4, at Crowded Fire Theater (1695 18th St., San Francisco). \u003ca href=\"https://www.crowdedfire.org/\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "10-best-bay-area-san-francisco-oakland-san-jose-halloween-events-guide-2025",
"title": "Derby, Disco and Dirty Devils: 11 Bay Area Halloween Events for 2025",
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"headTitle": "Derby, Disco and Dirty Devils: 11 Bay Area Halloween Events for 2025 | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>The Bay Area tends to outdo itself every Halloween, and 2025 offers something for everyone, whether you want to go on your own ghost hunt, \u003cem>boo\u003c/em>-gie down with disco freaks or get spooky with a symphony. Gracious goths, ghostly tour guides and even Rolling Dead skaters are all running wild this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here are 11 unmissable events for Halloween 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980995\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980995\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/UCB-hike.png\" alt=\"A grainy black and white image of UC Berkeley's campanile tower lit up at night, viewed behind trees.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1373\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/UCB-hike.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/UCB-hike-160x110.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/UCB-hike-768x527.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/UCB-hike-1536x1054.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Explore UC Berkeley from a whole new (haunted) perspective on the Berkeley Haunted Hike. \u003ccite>(Berkeley Haunted Hike)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://thehauntedbayberkeleyhauntedhike.fearticket.com/\">Berkeley Haunted Hike\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>UC Berkeley Campus, Berkeley\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Select dates throughout October\u003c/em>[aside postID=news_12056776 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/holt_286_4870-e1758301572353.jpg']Since 2013, filmmaker Ying Liu has been sharing bone-chilling tales of local hauntings via her \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thehauntedbay/\">\u003cem>Haunted Bay\u003c/em>\u003c/a> series. Liu has proven time and again that, for her, no lore is too off-putting, no history is too horrifying, and no location is too dangerous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because Liu is a tireless seeker of the strange, she knows a terrifying thing or two about locations that, to the rest of us, seem perfectly normal — including the grounds of UC Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Liu has assembled a team of likeminded guides and ghost hunters to lead groups on a three-hour hike around the campus that has been known to scare the wits out of people during its second half.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tours include elements of true crime, history and evidence from paranormal investigations, as well as personal anecdotes from the team. Bring your own flashlights (and good luck charms).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980498\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980498\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/ghosts-in-the-post.jpg\" alt=\"Two people stand on a rural road, surrounded by autumnal trees, dressed as traditional ghosts in white sheet. \" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/ghosts-in-the-post.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/ghosts-in-the-post-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/ghosts-in-the-post-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/ghosts-in-the-post-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Want a side of tea with your ghost stories? Check out ‘Ghosts in the Post.’ \u003ccite>(Vuk Saric/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Ghosts in the Post\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.neonraspberry.com/\">Neon Raspberry Art House\u003c/a>, Occidental\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Nov. 2, 6 p.m—8 p.m.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In collaboration with Books & Barns, a volunteer-run organization that showcases writers in rural spaces, the Neon Raspberry art space is hosting a night of haunted readings from classic texts. These are no ordinary readers, however. “Undead mushrooms, very dead authors and beautiful monsters” will all take the podium, apparently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After story time is over, attendees can participate in a lantern-lit procession to \u003ca href=\"https://www.twotreesteahouse.com/pages/the-tea-house\">Two Trees Tea House\u003c/a> where there will be snacks, more ghostly goings-on and, duh, tea.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wondering why the event is called Ghosts in the Post? The organizers will send out curated ghost stories to everyone that requests one via the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/booksandbarns_aliterarything\">Books & Barns Instagram page\u003c/a>. Just send them a private message with your address and prepare for mail that’ll make you pale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13976494\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13976494 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/00-chappell-roan-by-will-heath-nbc-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"A flamboyant singer with cascading red hair performs on stage, wearing striking make-up and pink and white hot pants, top and ribbons.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/00-chappell-roan-by-will-heath-nbc-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/00-chappell-roan-by-will-heath-nbc-800x533.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/00-chappell-roan-by-will-heath-nbc-1020x680.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/00-chappell-roan-by-will-heath-nbc-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/00-chappell-roan-by-will-heath-nbc-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/00-chappell-roan-by-will-heath-nbc-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/00-chappell-roan-by-will-heath-nbc-2048x1365.jpeg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/00-chappell-roan-by-will-heath-nbc-1920x1280.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">We’re not saying that everyone at Discoween is going to be dressed as Chappell Roan, but an awful lot of people at Discoween are probably going to be dressed as Chappell Roan.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sapphic-spooky-showgirl-discoween-tickets-1602582630789\">Discoween\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>El Rio, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Oct. 31, 9 p.m.—2 a.m.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is a portion of the population of San Francisco that is so perpetually ebullient, so utterly fueled by queer joy, that they’ll make even the darkest holiday on the calendar sparkle. That is what Discoween is for. (That is also, as we all know, what El Rio is for.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Organized by All Your Stupid Friends, this Halloween night shindig promises “Sapphic, Spooky, Showgirl” fun, fueled by your favorite pop and dance tunes from across time. There will be a bunch of costume contests, at least 10 people dressed as Chappell Roan, probably at least one impromptu “Thriller” dance routine and, scariest of all, ABBA songs (*shudder*). It’s also only $5 to get in. Go nuts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979700\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979700\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Nightfallfiloli.jpg\" alt=\"A woman wearing a white dress, veil and ghostly make-up stands in a grand hall, lit in red. She is holding dried flowers.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Nightfallfiloli.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Nightfallfiloli-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Nightfallfiloli-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Nightfallfiloli-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘Nightfall at Filoli.’ \u003ccite>(Julia Rose Photography/Courtesy of Filoli Historic House and Garden)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://filoli.org/nightfall/\">Nightfall at Filoli\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Filoli Historic House & Garden, Woodside\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Oct. 3—Nov. 10\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you haven’t yet paid a visit to the\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13979279/giant-trolls-filoli-gardens-thomas-dambo-woodside-eco-art-sculpture\"> enchanting giant trolls\u003c/a> that are currently hanging out on Filoli’s grounds, rejoice! Your slackness has paid off! Because now you get to see Thomas Dambo’s fascinating creatures by moonlight, surrounded by \u003cem>Children of the Corn\u003c/em>-level creepy scarecrows, scores of jack-o’-lanterns and monster-sized banana slugs. (Just go with it…)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What’s more, Filoli’s historic house will be hauntingly decorated. There’s a hay maze to get lost in, and even “a blacklight mushroom forest” (whatever that might entail). If you need further enticement, there will also be tarot readings, live music, games and kid-friendly activities to freak out the whole family. Visitors are encouraged to attend in costume, so get your Miss Havisham gowns ready.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13971723\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 933px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13971723\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/02/wicked.pressimage.jpg\" alt=\"A young woman with green-hued skin looks away as another young woman rests her head on her shoulder\" width=\"933\" height=\"525\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/02/wicked.pressimage.jpg 933w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/02/wicked.pressimage-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/02/wicked.pressimage-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/02/wicked.pressimage-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 933px) 100vw, 933px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in ‘Wicked.’ \u003ccite>(Universal Pictures)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.symphonysanjose.org/attend/2025-2026-season/concerts/symphonic-spooktacular/\">Bewitching Broadway\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>California Theatre, San Jose\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Oct. 25 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 26 at 2:30 p.m.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12039342/travel-through-the-solar-system-at-symphony-san-jose\">Symphony San Jose\u003c/a> conductor \u003ca href=\"https://www.theconductorsinstitute.com/peterjaffe\">Peter Jaffe\u003c/a> leads an evening of enchanting picks from Broadway’s most supernatural moments. Bookended by favorites from \u003cem>Wicked\u003c/em>, the program will include highlights from \u003cem>Sweeney Todd\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Dance of the Vampires\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Phantom of the Opera, Little Shop of Horrors \u003c/em>and many more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jaffe has been known to conduct orchestras in full Halloween attire before, setting the perfect tone for the Bewitching Broadway audience costume contest. Participants in the under-18 category can win four tickets to Legoland, and the winner of the special judges’ prize will get two tickets to an upcoming \u003ca href=\"https://broadwaysanjose.com/\">Broadway San Jose\u003c/a> show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982025\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982025\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/St-Francis.png\" alt=\"A large, grand hotel lit up at night, overlooking San Francisco's Union Square.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1330\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/St-Francis.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/St-Francis-160x106.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/St-Francis-768x511.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/St-Francis-1536x1021.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The storied St. Francis hotel has surprises waiting for you in room 1219.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.marriott.com/offers/haunted-suite-experience-off-185722/sfouw-the-westin-st-francis-san-francisco-on-union-square\">The Haunted Suite\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Westin St. Francis Hotel, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Oct. 1—Nov. 1. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Old hotels often have rooms they caution guests about because of creepy histories or ghostly goings on. By far the most notorious room in Union Square’s landmark \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13953890/st-francis-hotel-san-francisco-history-arbuckle-jolson-crocker-gerald-ford\">St. Francis Hotel\u003c/a> is 1219. This former suite was the place where Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle was accused of assaulting actress Virginia Rappe, resulting in injuries that later caused her death in 1921. (Arbuckle was found not guilty only after three trials.) The room was also where infamous blackface-performer Al Jolson died in 1950.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the month of October, the hotel is leaning all the way into that notoriety with special decorations in the room, including velvet drapes, flickering candlelight and other 1920s accents. The room even comes equipped with a Ouija board and themed tarot deck, in case you wish to chat with Arbuckle and Olson, or divine whether or not you’ll be leaving in the morning. Don’t expect to sleep soundly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13981003\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13981003\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/block-print.jpg\" alt=\"Traditional Mexican print shows a fierce calavera brandishing a knife with a crowd of calaveras behind him.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1257\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/block-print.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/block-print-160x101.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/block-print-768x483.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/block-print-1536x965.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘Calavera Oaxaquena,’ published by Antonio Vanegas Arroyo, circa 1903. \u003ccite>(VCG Wilson/Corbis via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://oaklandlibrary.bibliocommons.com/events/689b781e709d274100369a4b\">Linocut Block Printing with Amor Eterno Arte\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oakland Public Library, Rockridge branch\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Oct. 21, 6 p.m—7:30 p.m\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The artisans of East Oakland tattoo studio and gallery \u003ca href=\"https://amoreternoarte.com/\">Amor Eterno Arte\u003c/a> will be hosting this celebration of Latine printmaking in the run-up to Día de los Muertos. This class will teach attendees (aged 10 and over) the basics of block printing, with all materials provided by Oakland’s Rockridge library.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Participants will make their own prints during the class but — even better — they’ll leave with the skills needed to make their own decorations in good time for Day of the Dead celebrations on Nov. 1 and 2.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979935\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979935\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/BAD-Halloween-derby.png\" alt=\"A roller derby skater wearing face paint, knee and elbow pads and a green and black uniform gestures to the camera while skating.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1330\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/BAD-Halloween-derby.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/BAD-Halloween-derby-160x106.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/BAD-Halloween-derby-768x511.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/BAD-Halloween-derby-1536x1021.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Craving some competitive organized chaos this Halloween? Bay Area Derby has you covered. \u003ccite>(Will Toft/Courtesy of Bay Area Derby)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bay-area-derby-halloween-bout-tickets-1207561281299\">Bay Area Derby Halloween Bout\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Richmond Memorial Auditorium, Richmond\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Oct. 25, 4 p.m—9 p.m.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Roller derby is wild on any given day of the year, but the \u003ca href=\"https://www.bayareaderby.com/about/teams/oakland-outlaws\">Oakland Outlaws\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.bayareaderby.com/about/teams/san-francisco-rolling-dead\">San Francisco Rolling Dead\u003c/a> will be upping the stakes this October in a raucous Halloween Bay Area Derby special. Come see relentless skaters named things like Barbarian Streisand, Sylvia Wrath and Lexistential Dead tearing up the track — and each other — while in costume.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>First whistle is at 6 p.m., and there will be vendors, food offerings and a costume contest to keep you entertained and refreshed before and during. Given that the Rolling Dead consider themselves “vengeful for victory and hungry for brains” and the Outlaws’ motto is “skate fast, hit hard, and win a good-looking trophy,” this promises to be a rager.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13981153\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13981153 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/bat-witch-ghost.png\" alt=\"A chaotic room lit by lasers and spotlights. Bare pipes are visible on the wall. \" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/bat-witch-ghost.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/bat-witch-ghost-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/bat-witch-ghost-768x512.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/bat-witch-ghost-1536x1025.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bat Witch Ghost are haunting YBCA in 2025. \u003ccite>(Bat Witch Ghost)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/batwitchghost/\">Bat Witch Ghost Haunt\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://ybca.org/\">YBCA\u003c/a>, San Francisco\u003cbr>\nOct. 25—Nov. 1\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2024, Aaron Wojack turned the service entrance and garages of his apartment building into “The Corridor of Horror,” a mind-melting DIY haunted house that KQED Arts’ own Sarah Hotchkiss later described as “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13969008/the-best-art-i-didnt-write-about-in-2024\">the most thrilling, scream-filled minutes of my 2024\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The event was such a hit that, this year, Wojack’s vision is hitting the hallowed halls of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/ybca\">YBCA\u003c/a>, after an invitation from the art center’s CEO, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13969404/ybca-new-ceo-mari-robles-headlands\">Mari Robles\u003c/a>. Ten artists will be presenting their own takes on the haunt’s theme, “Forest of the Eye.” An indoor labyrinth will dominate YBCA’s Forum room, while a graveyard featuring a bar, ambient DJs, psychic readers and face painters will be outside. Costumes are encouraged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Adults can attend nighttime shows complete with actors, while families are invited to a to-be-announced number of kid-friendly daytime events.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980364\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980364\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/spooked-live.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1164\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/spooked-live.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/spooked-live-160x93.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/spooked-live-768x447.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/spooked-live-1536x894.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Glynn Washington and friends are taking ‘Spooked’ live. \u003ccite>(KQED/Snap Judgment)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.paramountoakland.org/events/detail/kqed-spooked-live\">‘Spooked’ Live\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Paramount Theater, Oakland\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Oct. 25, 7 p.m.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For mysterious host \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glynn_Washington\">Glynn Washington\u003c/a> and the producers of KQED’s\u003ca href=\"https://spookedpodcast.org/\">\u003cem> Spooked\u003c/em> podcast\u003c/a>, scary stories are for every week of the year, not just Halloween. And as any \u003cem>Spooked\u003c/em> listener could tell you, the most frightening thing of all is that every spine-chilling story featured in the series is true.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Washington will be joined by three storytellers from the \u003cem>Spooked\u003c/em> annals, Tiyi Schippers, Esther Squires and “Hawaii Ghost Guy” \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/hawaiighostguy/?hl=en\">Lopaka Kapanui\u003c/a>. Their tales from beyond the veil will be brought to life with the assistance of animations by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/underpresser/?hl=en\">Joe Presser\u003c/a> and music by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/clayxavier/?hl=en\">Clay Xavier\u003c/a>. There’s no better venue for this than the historic Paramount Theatre — a location renowned for its secret trapdoors and passageways, ghostly lore and rumors of hauntings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Attend in your spookiest Halloween attire for a chance to win the \u003cem>Spooked\u003c/em> \u003cem>Live\u003c/em> best-dressed prize.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13981005\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13981005\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/rocky-horror.jpg\" alt=\"A white man in garish make-up wearing a corset, stockings and garter belt performs on a stage with a strange woman and man posing behind him.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1492\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/rocky-horror.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/rocky-horror-160x119.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/rocky-horror-768x573.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/rocky-horror-1536x1146.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry) in all his glory, ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show.’ \u003ccite>(Getty Images/United Archives)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"http://barelylegal.rhps.org/\">‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ 50th Anniversary Parties\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Various venues, Petaluma, Berkeley, Modesto, San Francisco, San Jose\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Throughout October\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s been half a century since Brad and Janet happened upon the gender-bending Dr. Frank-N-Furter and his mansion of strange seduction in \u003cem>The Rocky Horror Picture Show\u003c/em>. In that time, late night screenings of the lowbrow classic have become raucous parties where audience participation heightens all the saucy action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13982172']Now, thanks to\u003cem> Rocky Horror\u003c/em> fanatics \u003ca href=\"http://barelylegal.rhps.org/about.htm\">Barely Legal\u003c/a>, a run of anniversary screenings are taking over the Bay. Screenings will include an interactive pre-show by the Barely Legal performers, as well as a pack of props to utilize during the movie. Tickets are available at the following links: \u003ca href=\"http://barelylegal.rhps.org/rocky-horror-petaluma.htm\">Phoenix Theater\u003c/a>, Petaluma; \u003ca href=\"https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/45328066/rocky-horror-picture-show-berkeley-the-uc-theatre?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22902075321&gbraid=0AAAAABPNr9sW5xSRsC5VHfBUbQke_FQM4&gclid=Cj0KCQjwzt_FBhCEARIsAJGFWVlsmsMnVlgcEkY1vxVfJ6QBulmdbR7gHFsc3J4P6dY-PmSqnIOVHgcaAqTrEALw_wcB\">UC Theater\u003c/a>, Berkeley; \u003ca href=\"https://prod5.agileticketing.net/websales/pages/info.aspx?evtinfo=216261~4e8b4fa5-aaf4-4669-af20-791dec4fd008&\">State Theater\u003c/a>, Modesto; \u003ca href=\"https://www.broadwaysf.com/events/bsf-rhps-2025/curran-theater/tickets/58E541CC-022A-4CBC-BB75-4E53580B04D9\">The Curran Theater\u003c/a>, San Francisco; \u003ca href=\"https://3belowtheaters.com/rhps/\">3Below Theater\u003c/a>, San Jose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re a movie nerd and want more, please visit our \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13982172/san-francisco-halloween-2025-movie-screenings\">guide to Halloween movie happenings in San Francisco\u003c/a> this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"mceTemp\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The Bay Area tends to outdo itself every Halloween, and 2025 offers something for everyone, whether you want to go on your own ghost hunt, \u003cem>boo\u003c/em>-gie down with disco freaks or get spooky with a symphony. Gracious goths, ghostly tour guides and even Rolling Dead skaters are all running wild this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here are 11 unmissable events for Halloween 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980995\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980995\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/UCB-hike.png\" alt=\"A grainy black and white image of UC Berkeley's campanile tower lit up at night, viewed behind trees.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1373\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/UCB-hike.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/UCB-hike-160x110.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/UCB-hike-768x527.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/UCB-hike-1536x1054.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Explore UC Berkeley from a whole new (haunted) perspective on the Berkeley Haunted Hike. \u003ccite>(Berkeley Haunted Hike)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://thehauntedbayberkeleyhauntedhike.fearticket.com/\">Berkeley Haunted Hike\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>UC Berkeley Campus, Berkeley\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Select dates throughout October\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Since 2013, filmmaker Ying Liu has been sharing bone-chilling tales of local hauntings via her \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thehauntedbay/\">\u003cem>Haunted Bay\u003c/em>\u003c/a> series. Liu has proven time and again that, for her, no lore is too off-putting, no history is too horrifying, and no location is too dangerous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because Liu is a tireless seeker of the strange, she knows a terrifying thing or two about locations that, to the rest of us, seem perfectly normal — including the grounds of UC Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Liu has assembled a team of likeminded guides and ghost hunters to lead groups on a three-hour hike around the campus that has been known to scare the wits out of people during its second half.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tours include elements of true crime, history and evidence from paranormal investigations, as well as personal anecdotes from the team. Bring your own flashlights (and good luck charms).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980498\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980498\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/ghosts-in-the-post.jpg\" alt=\"Two people stand on a rural road, surrounded by autumnal trees, dressed as traditional ghosts in white sheet. \" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/ghosts-in-the-post.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/ghosts-in-the-post-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/ghosts-in-the-post-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/ghosts-in-the-post-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Want a side of tea with your ghost stories? Check out ‘Ghosts in the Post.’ \u003ccite>(Vuk Saric/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Ghosts in the Post\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.neonraspberry.com/\">Neon Raspberry Art House\u003c/a>, Occidental\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Nov. 2, 6 p.m—8 p.m.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In collaboration with Books & Barns, a volunteer-run organization that showcases writers in rural spaces, the Neon Raspberry art space is hosting a night of haunted readings from classic texts. These are no ordinary readers, however. “Undead mushrooms, very dead authors and beautiful monsters” will all take the podium, apparently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After story time is over, attendees can participate in a lantern-lit procession to \u003ca href=\"https://www.twotreesteahouse.com/pages/the-tea-house\">Two Trees Tea House\u003c/a> where there will be snacks, more ghostly goings-on and, duh, tea.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wondering why the event is called Ghosts in the Post? The organizers will send out curated ghost stories to everyone that requests one via the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/booksandbarns_aliterarything\">Books & Barns Instagram page\u003c/a>. Just send them a private message with your address and prepare for mail that’ll make you pale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13976494\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13976494 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/00-chappell-roan-by-will-heath-nbc-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"A flamboyant singer with cascading red hair performs on stage, wearing striking make-up and pink and white hot pants, top and ribbons.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/00-chappell-roan-by-will-heath-nbc-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/00-chappell-roan-by-will-heath-nbc-800x533.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/00-chappell-roan-by-will-heath-nbc-1020x680.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/00-chappell-roan-by-will-heath-nbc-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/00-chappell-roan-by-will-heath-nbc-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/00-chappell-roan-by-will-heath-nbc-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/00-chappell-roan-by-will-heath-nbc-2048x1365.jpeg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/00-chappell-roan-by-will-heath-nbc-1920x1280.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">We’re not saying that everyone at Discoween is going to be dressed as Chappell Roan, but an awful lot of people at Discoween are probably going to be dressed as Chappell Roan.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sapphic-spooky-showgirl-discoween-tickets-1602582630789\">Discoween\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>El Rio, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Oct. 31, 9 p.m.—2 a.m.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is a portion of the population of San Francisco that is so perpetually ebullient, so utterly fueled by queer joy, that they’ll make even the darkest holiday on the calendar sparkle. That is what Discoween is for. (That is also, as we all know, what El Rio is for.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Organized by All Your Stupid Friends, this Halloween night shindig promises “Sapphic, Spooky, Showgirl” fun, fueled by your favorite pop and dance tunes from across time. There will be a bunch of costume contests, at least 10 people dressed as Chappell Roan, probably at least one impromptu “Thriller” dance routine and, scariest of all, ABBA songs (*shudder*). It’s also only $5 to get in. Go nuts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979700\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979700\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Nightfallfiloli.jpg\" alt=\"A woman wearing a white dress, veil and ghostly make-up stands in a grand hall, lit in red. She is holding dried flowers.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Nightfallfiloli.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Nightfallfiloli-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Nightfallfiloli-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Nightfallfiloli-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘Nightfall at Filoli.’ \u003ccite>(Julia Rose Photography/Courtesy of Filoli Historic House and Garden)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://filoli.org/nightfall/\">Nightfall at Filoli\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Filoli Historic House & Garden, Woodside\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Oct. 3—Nov. 10\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you haven’t yet paid a visit to the\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13979279/giant-trolls-filoli-gardens-thomas-dambo-woodside-eco-art-sculpture\"> enchanting giant trolls\u003c/a> that are currently hanging out on Filoli’s grounds, rejoice! Your slackness has paid off! Because now you get to see Thomas Dambo’s fascinating creatures by moonlight, surrounded by \u003cem>Children of the Corn\u003c/em>-level creepy scarecrows, scores of jack-o’-lanterns and monster-sized banana slugs. (Just go with it…)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What’s more, Filoli’s historic house will be hauntingly decorated. There’s a hay maze to get lost in, and even “a blacklight mushroom forest” (whatever that might entail). If you need further enticement, there will also be tarot readings, live music, games and kid-friendly activities to freak out the whole family. Visitors are encouraged to attend in costume, so get your Miss Havisham gowns ready.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13971723\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 933px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13971723\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/02/wicked.pressimage.jpg\" alt=\"A young woman with green-hued skin looks away as another young woman rests her head on her shoulder\" width=\"933\" height=\"525\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/02/wicked.pressimage.jpg 933w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/02/wicked.pressimage-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/02/wicked.pressimage-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/02/wicked.pressimage-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 933px) 100vw, 933px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in ‘Wicked.’ \u003ccite>(Universal Pictures)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.symphonysanjose.org/attend/2025-2026-season/concerts/symphonic-spooktacular/\">Bewitching Broadway\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>California Theatre, San Jose\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Oct. 25 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 26 at 2:30 p.m.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12039342/travel-through-the-solar-system-at-symphony-san-jose\">Symphony San Jose\u003c/a> conductor \u003ca href=\"https://www.theconductorsinstitute.com/peterjaffe\">Peter Jaffe\u003c/a> leads an evening of enchanting picks from Broadway’s most supernatural moments. Bookended by favorites from \u003cem>Wicked\u003c/em>, the program will include highlights from \u003cem>Sweeney Todd\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Dance of the Vampires\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Phantom of the Opera, Little Shop of Horrors \u003c/em>and many more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jaffe has been known to conduct orchestras in full Halloween attire before, setting the perfect tone for the Bewitching Broadway audience costume contest. Participants in the under-18 category can win four tickets to Legoland, and the winner of the special judges’ prize will get two tickets to an upcoming \u003ca href=\"https://broadwaysanjose.com/\">Broadway San Jose\u003c/a> show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982025\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982025\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/St-Francis.png\" alt=\"A large, grand hotel lit up at night, overlooking San Francisco's Union Square.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1330\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/St-Francis.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/St-Francis-160x106.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/St-Francis-768x511.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/St-Francis-1536x1021.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The storied St. Francis hotel has surprises waiting for you in room 1219.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.marriott.com/offers/haunted-suite-experience-off-185722/sfouw-the-westin-st-francis-san-francisco-on-union-square\">The Haunted Suite\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Westin St. Francis Hotel, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Oct. 1—Nov. 1. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Old hotels often have rooms they caution guests about because of creepy histories or ghostly goings on. By far the most notorious room in Union Square’s landmark \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13953890/st-francis-hotel-san-francisco-history-arbuckle-jolson-crocker-gerald-ford\">St. Francis Hotel\u003c/a> is 1219. This former suite was the place where Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle was accused of assaulting actress Virginia Rappe, resulting in injuries that later caused her death in 1921. (Arbuckle was found not guilty only after three trials.) The room was also where infamous blackface-performer Al Jolson died in 1950.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the month of October, the hotel is leaning all the way into that notoriety with special decorations in the room, including velvet drapes, flickering candlelight and other 1920s accents. The room even comes equipped with a Ouija board and themed tarot deck, in case you wish to chat with Arbuckle and Olson, or divine whether or not you’ll be leaving in the morning. Don’t expect to sleep soundly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13981003\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13981003\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/block-print.jpg\" alt=\"Traditional Mexican print shows a fierce calavera brandishing a knife with a crowd of calaveras behind him.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1257\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/block-print.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/block-print-160x101.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/block-print-768x483.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/block-print-1536x965.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘Calavera Oaxaquena,’ published by Antonio Vanegas Arroyo, circa 1903. \u003ccite>(VCG Wilson/Corbis via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://oaklandlibrary.bibliocommons.com/events/689b781e709d274100369a4b\">Linocut Block Printing with Amor Eterno Arte\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oakland Public Library, Rockridge branch\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Oct. 21, 6 p.m—7:30 p.m\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The artisans of East Oakland tattoo studio and gallery \u003ca href=\"https://amoreternoarte.com/\">Amor Eterno Arte\u003c/a> will be hosting this celebration of Latine printmaking in the run-up to Día de los Muertos. This class will teach attendees (aged 10 and over) the basics of block printing, with all materials provided by Oakland’s Rockridge library.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Participants will make their own prints during the class but — even better — they’ll leave with the skills needed to make their own decorations in good time for Day of the Dead celebrations on Nov. 1 and 2.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979935\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979935\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/BAD-Halloween-derby.png\" alt=\"A roller derby skater wearing face paint, knee and elbow pads and a green and black uniform gestures to the camera while skating.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1330\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/BAD-Halloween-derby.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/BAD-Halloween-derby-160x106.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/BAD-Halloween-derby-768x511.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/BAD-Halloween-derby-1536x1021.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Craving some competitive organized chaos this Halloween? Bay Area Derby has you covered. \u003ccite>(Will Toft/Courtesy of Bay Area Derby)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bay-area-derby-halloween-bout-tickets-1207561281299\">Bay Area Derby Halloween Bout\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Richmond Memorial Auditorium, Richmond\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Oct. 25, 4 p.m—9 p.m.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Roller derby is wild on any given day of the year, but the \u003ca href=\"https://www.bayareaderby.com/about/teams/oakland-outlaws\">Oakland Outlaws\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.bayareaderby.com/about/teams/san-francisco-rolling-dead\">San Francisco Rolling Dead\u003c/a> will be upping the stakes this October in a raucous Halloween Bay Area Derby special. Come see relentless skaters named things like Barbarian Streisand, Sylvia Wrath and Lexistential Dead tearing up the track — and each other — while in costume.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>First whistle is at 6 p.m., and there will be vendors, food offerings and a costume contest to keep you entertained and refreshed before and during. Given that the Rolling Dead consider themselves “vengeful for victory and hungry for brains” and the Outlaws’ motto is “skate fast, hit hard, and win a good-looking trophy,” this promises to be a rager.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13981153\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13981153 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/bat-witch-ghost.png\" alt=\"A chaotic room lit by lasers and spotlights. Bare pipes are visible on the wall. \" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/bat-witch-ghost.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/bat-witch-ghost-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/bat-witch-ghost-768x512.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/bat-witch-ghost-1536x1025.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bat Witch Ghost are haunting YBCA in 2025. \u003ccite>(Bat Witch Ghost)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/batwitchghost/\">Bat Witch Ghost Haunt\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://ybca.org/\">YBCA\u003c/a>, San Francisco\u003cbr>\nOct. 25—Nov. 1\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2024, Aaron Wojack turned the service entrance and garages of his apartment building into “The Corridor of Horror,” a mind-melting DIY haunted house that KQED Arts’ own Sarah Hotchkiss later described as “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13969008/the-best-art-i-didnt-write-about-in-2024\">the most thrilling, scream-filled minutes of my 2024\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The event was such a hit that, this year, Wojack’s vision is hitting the hallowed halls of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/ybca\">YBCA\u003c/a>, after an invitation from the art center’s CEO, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13969404/ybca-new-ceo-mari-robles-headlands\">Mari Robles\u003c/a>. Ten artists will be presenting their own takes on the haunt’s theme, “Forest of the Eye.” An indoor labyrinth will dominate YBCA’s Forum room, while a graveyard featuring a bar, ambient DJs, psychic readers and face painters will be outside. Costumes are encouraged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Adults can attend nighttime shows complete with actors, while families are invited to a to-be-announced number of kid-friendly daytime events.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980364\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980364\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/spooked-live.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1164\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/spooked-live.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/spooked-live-160x93.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/spooked-live-768x447.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/spooked-live-1536x894.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Glynn Washington and friends are taking ‘Spooked’ live. \u003ccite>(KQED/Snap Judgment)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.paramountoakland.org/events/detail/kqed-spooked-live\">‘Spooked’ Live\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Paramount Theater, Oakland\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Oct. 25, 7 p.m.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For mysterious host \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glynn_Washington\">Glynn Washington\u003c/a> and the producers of KQED’s\u003ca href=\"https://spookedpodcast.org/\">\u003cem> Spooked\u003c/em> podcast\u003c/a>, scary stories are for every week of the year, not just Halloween. And as any \u003cem>Spooked\u003c/em> listener could tell you, the most frightening thing of all is that every spine-chilling story featured in the series is true.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Washington will be joined by three storytellers from the \u003cem>Spooked\u003c/em> annals, Tiyi Schippers, Esther Squires and “Hawaii Ghost Guy” \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/hawaiighostguy/?hl=en\">Lopaka Kapanui\u003c/a>. Their tales from beyond the veil will be brought to life with the assistance of animations by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/underpresser/?hl=en\">Joe Presser\u003c/a> and music by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/clayxavier/?hl=en\">Clay Xavier\u003c/a>. There’s no better venue for this than the historic Paramount Theatre — a location renowned for its secret trapdoors and passageways, ghostly lore and rumors of hauntings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Attend in your spookiest Halloween attire for a chance to win the \u003cem>Spooked\u003c/em> \u003cem>Live\u003c/em> best-dressed prize.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13981005\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13981005\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/rocky-horror.jpg\" alt=\"A white man in garish make-up wearing a corset, stockings and garter belt performs on a stage with a strange woman and man posing behind him.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1492\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/rocky-horror.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/rocky-horror-160x119.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/rocky-horror-768x573.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/rocky-horror-1536x1146.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry) in all his glory, ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show.’ \u003ccite>(Getty Images/United Archives)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"http://barelylegal.rhps.org/\">‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ 50th Anniversary Parties\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Various venues, Petaluma, Berkeley, Modesto, San Francisco, San Jose\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Throughout October\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s been half a century since Brad and Janet happened upon the gender-bending Dr. Frank-N-Furter and his mansion of strange seduction in \u003cem>The Rocky Horror Picture Show\u003c/em>. In that time, late night screenings of the lowbrow classic have become raucous parties where audience participation heightens all the saucy action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Now, thanks to\u003cem> Rocky Horror\u003c/em> fanatics \u003ca href=\"http://barelylegal.rhps.org/about.htm\">Barely Legal\u003c/a>, a run of anniversary screenings are taking over the Bay. Screenings will include an interactive pre-show by the Barely Legal performers, as well as a pack of props to utilize during the movie. Tickets are available at the following links: \u003ca href=\"http://barelylegal.rhps.org/rocky-horror-petaluma.htm\">Phoenix Theater\u003c/a>, Petaluma; \u003ca href=\"https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/45328066/rocky-horror-picture-show-berkeley-the-uc-theatre?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22902075321&gbraid=0AAAAABPNr9sW5xSRsC5VHfBUbQke_FQM4&gclid=Cj0KCQjwzt_FBhCEARIsAJGFWVlsmsMnVlgcEkY1vxVfJ6QBulmdbR7gHFsc3J4P6dY-PmSqnIOVHgcaAqTrEALw_wcB\">UC Theater\u003c/a>, Berkeley; \u003ca href=\"https://prod5.agileticketing.net/websales/pages/info.aspx?evtinfo=216261~4e8b4fa5-aaf4-4669-af20-791dec4fd008&\">State Theater\u003c/a>, Modesto; \u003ca href=\"https://www.broadwaysf.com/events/bsf-rhps-2025/curran-theater/tickets/58E541CC-022A-4CBC-BB75-4E53580B04D9\">The Curran Theater\u003c/a>, San Francisco; \u003ca href=\"https://3belowtheaters.com/rhps/\">3Below Theater\u003c/a>, San Jose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re a movie nerd and want more, please visit our \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13982172/san-francisco-halloween-2025-movie-screenings\">guide to Halloween movie happenings in San Francisco\u003c/a> this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"mceTemp\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
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"title": "Live from Here Highlights",
"info": "Chris Thile steps to the mic as the host of Live from Here (formerly A Prairie Home Companion), a live public radio variety show. Download Chris’s Song of the Week plus other highlights from the broadcast. Produced by American Public Media.",
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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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"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": 13
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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?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"info": "Presented by KQED, KCRW and KPCC, and created and hosted by award-winning journalist Farai Chideya, Our Body Politic is unapologetically centered on reporting on not just how women of color experience the major political events of today, but how they’re impacting those very issues.",
"airtime": "SAT 6pm-7pm, SUN 1am-2am",
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"order": 15
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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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"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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"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.",
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"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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},
"reveal": {
"id": "reveal",
"title": "Reveal",
"info": "Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.",
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