The Lost Church, a small theater at 65 Capp St. that has provided an intimate music and theater experience for six years, came somewhat closer to becoming a legitimate space in June when the Planning Department approved a conditional use permit. “It is a huge step,” said Brett Cline, the director/owner, who has been trying to get the theater fully...
Choreographer Kate Mitchell was, despite herself, horrified when she discovered wrinkles and sagging start to take hold on her skin. But then she pushed back, artistically. Mitchell had photographer Alessandra Mello take close-up photos of her skin and bones, and what emerged was a topography that Mitchell saw repeated in nature. Extrapolating from this connection and developing a collaborative performance, Mitchell created Terrain,...
Think you know the Mission and its history? You might discover something new at the Brava Center for Theater and the Arts when El Son de la Misión re-opens for a two-night on Friday, Nov. 11. The show is a musical and theatrical exploration and expression of the history of the Mission, with a particular focus on activism through the...
Misogyny, gratuitous nudity, exploitation and betrayal might not seem like key ingredients for a comedic piece of musical theater to arrive on the stage of a San Francisco theater, but Showgirls! The Musical is exactly that and relishes its campy, horrific origins. The musical, already a runaway hit in New York, makes its West Coast debut at the Victoria Theater...
After a horrific stint in solitary confinement in Iran, Sara Shourd now has her debut play, “The Box,” at Z Space. It’s playing until July 30, and promises to be an extraordinary, if rattling, experience. Here is a video summary from AJ+ For 410 days, Sarah Shourd was locked up in solitary confinement in Iran. Her experience inspired this play.https://t.co/iyXAKDzIBR —...
Radio, music and critical thinking come live to Stage Werx today, Sunday, June 5 as the radio program Philosophy Talk, “the program that questions everything…except your intelligence,” hosts two live sessions at the theater. We had the opportunity to quiz host Ken Taylor about doing live shows and what’s in store for today. ML: You’re returning to the Mission with this...
The first thing that might come to mind as you’re waiting for the lights to dim at Paul Flores’ one-man show “You’re Gonna Cry,”: What is Flores doing in Union Square performing a show about gentrification in the Mission? Well, in one example of why you might do as the title implies, the sixth-floor black box Phoenix Theater on Mason...
Hair the musical is coming to the Victoria Theatre, but not like you’ve seen it before. “We don’t have giant peace signs everywhere, we’re not passing out flowers, it’s really about the context of the story and the journey of continuing to break this norm,” said Matthew McCoy, founder and artistic director of Bay Area Musicals!, the company behind the...
The “Sheriff’s Wife” is back: Eliana Lopez, wife of former San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, is returning her play What is the Scandal as part of a new Spanish language film and theater project with her two siblings, Alfonso Lopez and Carolina Agudelo Lopez. The family trio, having formed a company called 3Lopez Productions, intends to bring theatrical and cinematic material...
The Brava Theater Center is planning a major renovation and expansion by the end of the year, and has just received a $200,000 grant from the Super Bowl 50 committee that brings it a step closer to reopening its long-shuttered storefronts along 24th Street. “For the Super Bowl Committee to acknowledge … the impact that Brava was having on the community and...
Take one traditional nativity story. Swap Bethlehem for San Francisco, add two parts devil and henchman, one choir, a dash of Latin rhythm, and top with one piñata. Let the mixture mature, then enjoy one saucy, political holiday performance called La Posarela (a mashup of la posada and la pastorela, both traditional nativity stories). Both script writer Carlos Barón, who plays...
Jim Fourniadis got married on a tiny stage in a 60-seat theater, lovingly nicknamed the “parking spot,” in the Dark Room Theater. For 12 years, he ran the Dark Room and brought live theater, comedy, parodies and bad movie nights to Mission Street, while living in the back with some six other theater artists. On Saturday, the show business will...
For two decades, the drumming, dance and theater group Loco Bloco has been providing low-income youth an arts education and a group to belong to, prompting many Loco Bloco participants to refer to it as a “family” that gave them direction and a place to explore their talents. Performers ranging from youngsters to seasoned veterans will take to the stage at...
Brava Theater will host two performances of Gary Soto’s In and Out of Shadows this Sunday, featuring several young actors who have had personal experiences with the themes the musical explores: Being undocumented, living as an immigrant, feeling part of two different worlds. The musical introduces a cast of characters who have arrived in the Bay Area without documentation, drawing on the...
A thick knot of people clustered around one particularly genial man at Mission Bar late Thursday, but not just because he was buying the drinks. Tim League, the center of attention that night, is the founder of Austin’s Alamo Drafthouse, which will open up a new location in the historic New Mission Theater. League had sent out a public invitation via...
