Monday, May 30, 2011

Two openings this coming week

The summer season in the Bay Area is heating up, so I wanted to share two openings coming up this week form theatre companies that reached out to me. (Did you know that? If you send me your info, I am happy to post about various Bay Area shows going on.)

1. Playfest 2011, produced by Woman's Will at the Phoenix Theatre

WHO: Woman's Will, the area's all-female Shakespeare Company
WHAT: Playfest 2011
WHERE: Phoenix Theatre, 414 Mason Street in San Francisco
WHEN: June 3rd and 4th only, 8PM
HOW MUCH: $30 VIP/$20 regular ***This is a Fundraiser event for the theatre***
WHERE TO PURCHASE: Online here
MORE INFO: Woman's Will website

DESCRIPTION: Woman's Will selected the best plays submitted from across the country. From serious plays contemplating the sacrifices and choices that a young woman must make when considering an abortion to playful plays summarizing what women truly want, Playfest 2011 celebrates subject matter that explores the range and depth of women’s experiences, throws light on the muscular talent of our overlooked female playwrights.

THE LINE-UP:
740 is Blue Ribbon by Nancy Gall Clayton
Blood Sisters by Robin Rice Lustig
1960 by Marilyn Hughes
After the Prologue by Carol S. Lashof
It's Good to Know by Megan Cohen
Counting the Minutes by Evelyn Jean Pine
The Suffrage Play by Woman’s Will

2. Assassins, produced by Ray of Light theatre at the Eureka Theatre

WHO: Ray of Light Theatre
WHAT: Assassins, by Stephen Sondheim
WHERE: Eureka Theatre, 215 jackson Street in San Francisco
WHEN: June 2nd-25th (8PM Thursdays, Fridays, 2PM/8PM Saturdays, 2PM Sundays)
HOW MUCH: $20-$36
WHERE TO PURCHASE: Online here
MORE INFO: Ray of Light website

DESCRIPTION: Well, if you've seen Assassins then you know it's sharp, dark, unexpectedly funny and full of Sondheim's usual haunting music and exquisite lyrics. If you haven't seen it, you may know of it as one of Sondheim's more controversial pieces. In this day and age of heightened political rhetoric and increasing gulf between the haves and have-nots, it's only more relevant and resonant than it was in its debut 20 years ago.

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Sunday, May 08, 2011

San Francisco Special: The Countess Katya Smirnoff-Skyy

San Francisco is the absolute epicenter of the drag theatre universe. (OK, NYC might argue, but I don't have to listen to them.) Taking it to a higher level of theatre and performance art, one such show is opening this coming week and plays for two weeks only.

J. Conrad Frank has been evolving Countess Katya for six years, including monthly stints at Martuni's (every 3rd Sunday at 7 PM), but this show represents a big leap, as a full-length, stand-alone piece.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Katya Takes You Home: Songs and Stories for the Gypsy, Vamp and Vodka Drinker in Your Soul
WHEN: May 12-22, 2011
WHERE:
The Jewish Theatre
470 Florida Street,
San Francisco
WHAT TIME: May 12-14, May 17, May 19-21 @ 8pm, May 22 @ 4pm
HOW MUCH: $30 general admission, $20 students / seniors
HOW TO GET TICKETS: Tickets – starting at $20 – are available now via Brown Paper Tickets and Katyaʼs Web site

THE STORY: Katya tells tales of her well-travelled life, including struggling in Moscow as the daughter of a ballet prima dona, partying down in Ibiza with Ashton Kutcher, and giving show tips in Las Vegas to Tina Turner. It ends, of course, in San Francisco, where the now-fallen Countess has made her home as a Macy's cosmetics counter lady.

MORE INFO: The Countess Katya Smirnoff-Skyy

I'm in Detroit, NYC and Atlanta over the next two weeks (ah, the glamourous life) so unable to attend myself. If you go, enjoy! And come back and tell us all about it.

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