BAYSTAGES | 2010.12 - December

DECEMBER 2010 | Celebrating The Performing Arts in San Francisco and Beyond!

[THE COVER]

Margaret gets

CHO-DEPENDENT = NOB HILL MASONIC AUDITORIUM

[THE LATEST]

[THE PERFORMERS]

DAVID CAMPBELL = The Rrazz Room

EDEN ESPINOSA = Davies Symphony Hall

TEMPER TRAP = Mezzanine

[THE SHOWS]

BABES IN ARMS = Eureka Theatre

HOWARD FISHMAN STEPHEN SONDHEIM FRANC D’AMBROSIO ROBBIE WILLIAMS SCOTT ALAN NELLIE McKAY SONY HOLLAND

+

LOS VAN VAN SOULIVE SFGMC

SHREK

= Orpheum Theatre

A CHRISTMAS CAROL = American Conservatory Theater

ALSO: DLST!

| THE NUTCRACKER | HARVEY’S | KUNG PAO KOSHER COMEDY

ans omedi e Castro!

C

y l d th y Frien art of y & Ga In The He a G

y l Week

PM

@ 9 Y A D S TUE EVERY

uests each week!

Featuring Ronn Vigh & special g

* 1 Drink Minimum · Full bar & menu available during the show For the Weekly schedule & More Info: become a fan of "Harveys Funny Tuesdays" on Facebook!

HarveysSF.com

500 Castro St, (@ 18th) · 415431.HARV

editor ROBERT SOKOL editor@baystages.com publisher RON WILLIS publisher@baystages.com design VIA MEDIA design@viamedia.net

Bay Area native and two-time Dancing with the Stars champion Cheryl Burke and Jorge Antonio Ezequiel in

contributing writers ANDREW GILBERT COLM LARKIN STEVE MURRAY DAVE ROBERTS JAMES J. SIEGEL ROBERT SOKOL

FOREVER TANGO December 21, 2010 to January 9, 2011 Marines Memorial Theatre 609 Sutter Street, SF $45 to $100 | 415.771.6900 marinesmemorialtheatre.com

contributing photographers PAT JOHNSON ROBERT SOKOL STEVEN UNDERHILL RON WILLIS advertising sales RON WILLIS SHAUN PERRY 415.552.8040 advertise@baystages.com

THE STAGES DANCE | The Nutcracker....................................................2 TOURING | Shrek................................................................3

distribution JUAN RAMIREZ

COMEDY | Margaret Cho....................................................4 SOUL | Soulive....................................................................5 COMEDY | Kung Pao Kosher Comedy...............................6

Press releases and promotional materials may be sent to:

CABARET | David Campbell...............................................7 PUBLISHING | Stephen Sondheim....................................8

thisjustin@baystages.com

PARODY | Dirty Little Showtunes................................... 10

or mailed to:

INDIE | Temper Trap........................................................ 11

BAY STAGES 780 sutter street san francisco, ca 94109 p: 415.552.8040 f: 415.869.3700

RECORDING | Howard Fishman..................................... 12 DAILY | December Events............................................... 14 FREE | Harvey’s Funny Tuesdays.................................... 15 CLASSICAL | Peter and the Wolf.................................... 17 MUSICAL | Babes In Arms.............................................. 19 LATIN | Los Van Van........................................................ 21 HOLIDAY | A Christmas Carol......................................... 23 CAREER | Franc D’Ambrosio........................................... 25 CHORAL | Home For The Holidays................................. 27

Copyright © 2010 by Caselli Partners LLC. All rights reserved. Printed in California.

Reproduction in whole or in part in any form without written permission is prohibited.

BAY STAGES is published monthly by VIA MEDIA, a division of Caselli Partners LLC. All content not attributed to an author is compiled by BAY STAGES staff from press releases and other sources. No guarantee is given for the validity of this data.

Information is subject to change without notice.

photo: adam larkey

BACK | Behind the Scenes & After the Show............... 28

cover image MARGARET CHO

photo: david kramer

DECEMBER 2010 |

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DANCE

THE NUTCRACKER

by James J. Siegel

photo: erik tomasson

Vanessa Zahorian makes her pointe during The Nutcracker.

The San Francisco Ballet can take a lot of pride and credit for helping to make The Nutcracker one of the greatest of our holiday traditions.

You’ll still get a sword-wielding Mouse King and a Sugar Plum Fairy, but expect this production to be larger than life.

Founding artistic director Willam Farr Christensen staged the U.S. premiere of The Nutcracker here on Christmas Eve, 1944.

In Braylock’s favorite scene, she says it looks like it is snowing on stage. In another, a Christmas tree literally grows 20 feet tall. “It looks unbelievable,” she says. “The audience is zoomed right into Clara’s world.”

For Kimberly Braylock, a member of the corps de ballet, being in San Francisco Ballet’s version of this timeless classic is really an honor. “I think it is splendid,” she said. “We are the original company to perform it here and it’s great to see how it has evolved.”

In a nod to this production’s heritage, the Ballet’s current version is set during the San Francisco World’s Fair of 1915. Images of different San Francisco streets and iconic structures fly by, as the video zooms into the home where the plot unfurls.

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| DECEMBER 2010

THE NUTCRACKER December 9 to 27, 2010 War Memorial Opera House 301 Van Ness Avenue, SF $20 to $249 | 415.865.2000 sfballet.org

“My call time every show is about two hours to curtain. I have a spectacular make-up team. We start with a latex cowl that is the bald head and the famous Shrek ears, then we add pieces for the nose, forehead, cheeks and chin. It fits incredibly well.” Add a 40-pound fat suit, prosthetic hand gloves and boots with three-inch lifts in them and you’ve assembled your basic ogre. Fortunately Petersen has not experienced any wardrobe malfunctions. “I’m not sure what I’d do if any of my face fell off during a show,” he says.

SHREK

by Robert Sokol Eric Peterson moves from Broadway to the national tour of Shrek.

TOURING

As Kermit the Frog or any recent Elphaba can tell you, it’s not easy being green. For Eric Petersen, star of the national tour of Shrek, the cost one is of time.

As if that plus a full performance weren’t enough eight times a week, Petersen and wife, actress Lisa Marie Morabito, just welcomed Sophia Marie to their family during the tour’s recent stop in Chicago, which is Petersen’s hometown.

“I’m balancing it pretty well,” he says for the demands of touring and parenting. “What seems to be helping is that I don’t get too stressed out about the show because I have something at home that is much more important and I don’t get too stressed out about being a dad because my wife is spectacular and takes care of so much.”

photo: joan marcus

The show has undergone several revisions since Broadway. “The whole incredible creative team took the opportunity to say ‘Let’s make this the best it can possibly be.’ That’s not something that happens very often with a show that has already run and is now heading out on tour,” says Petersen.

SHREK December 1, 2010 to January 2, 2011 Orpheum Theatre 1192 Market Street, SF $30 to $99 | 888.746.1799 shnsf.com DECEMBER 2010 |

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COMEDY

MARGARET CHO

by Robert Sokol

There will be some singing, but expect mostly stand-up when Margaret Cho takes the stage at the Masonic. “The singing will be actual singing,” promises Cho. “No lip-syncing!”

The actress and comic made her music debut this year with ChoDependent. The CD pairs her on vocals and lyric-writing with the likes of Fiona Apple, Ani diFranco and Tegan and Sara.

A queen of social media, Cho is talking to the world and doesn’t mind being followed...at least digitally. “I try to tweet as much as I can and connect with people.

I can talk to my friends on Twitter.

For me it’s about maintaining a balance. Being in the world and being in that world.”

On a recent visit with George Lopez, Cho announced that she had stopped smoking pot. “But I started again,” she says, “so it’s not like I quit with any finality, you know, like, without the possibility of ever re-starting,” she says with a giggle.

photo: pixie vision productions

Margaret Cho promises at least a few songs from her new album and no lip-syncing during her upcoming show.

Politics and sexuality pepper Cho’s routines and she’s never been afraid to tell you where she stands. “The Republicans took back a lot of seats,” she says, “but we still want to fight for the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ fight for marriage equality and, on a generational level, for older gays and lesbians such as myself, to definitely be reaching out to the younger generation to make sure that these suicides come to an end. So that’s what I propose to people of my generation in the gay community: that we make a big effort to reach out to teenagers.”

MARGARET CHO December, 4, 2010 | 8:00 pm Nob Hill Masonic Auditorium 1111 California Street, SF $29.50 to $49.50 | 800.745.3000 masonicauditorium.com

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| DECEMBER 2010

The band opens a two-night run at The Independent as part of a national tour celebrating “Rubber Soulive,” a new Beatlecentric album featuring funk-driven arrangements of classics such as “Taxman,” “Eleanor Rigby” and “Revolution.” The great soul jazz saxophonist Karl Denson, who put grit in the acid jazz movement with the Greyboy Allstars before launching Tiny Universe, joins Soulive for these dates.

Featuring guitarist Eric Krasno, and brothers Neal and Alan Evans on organ and drums, respectively, Soulive employs classic organ combo instrumentation, while drawing on new school grooves. “Straight up jazz organ trio has been done,” Neal Evans says. “Hip hop has been a huge part of my musical existence, along with R&B, and soul music and rock.”

SOULIVE December 10 to 11, 2010 | 9:00 pm The Independent 628 Divisadero Street, San Francisco $22 | 415.771.1421 theindependentsf.com

Neal Evans, Eric Krasno and Alan Evans of Soulive.

DECEMBER 2010 |

photo: arthur shim

As rhythm and blues supplanted jazz as AfricanAmerican popular music in the mid-1950s, Hammond B3 organists Jimmy Smith, Wild Bill Davis, Jimmy McGriff, and Dr. Lonnie Smith served as a lifeline tethering bebop to urban nightspots.

Stylistically, Soulive doesn’t hearken back directly to this populist tradition, but the band is filling a similar role, bringing hip hop inflected grooves to the jam band circuit, and inducting a new generation into the pleasures of the B3’s mighty sound.

FUNK

SOULIVE

by Andrew Gilbert

|5

COMEDY photo: kent taylor

Joe Nguyen

Lisa Geduldig

In a tradition handed down for generations, Jews across the United States observe Christmas by gathering to eat in Chinese restaurants.

The origins of this ritual are lost in the mists of time, or maybe on the New Jersey Turnpike, but as a temporary salve to the annual bout of Xmas-inspired alienation, Jews have discovered that nothing beats a bowl of won ton soup.

Over the past two decades the Bay Area Jewish community has added laughter to the recipe for surviving the holiday season. Amidst endless refrains of “Jingle Bell Rock,” the Yulechallenged flock to an evening of Kung Pao Kosher Comedy, an event that brings Borscht Belt humor to San Francisco for Christmas, accompanied by yummy Chinese food.

“People feel alienated,” says standup comic Lisa Geduldig, who launched the Kosher comedy show in 1993. “This has turned into an event where people feel part of something, part of a community.”

photo: dana patrick

Nathan Habib

Wendy Liebman

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KUNG PAO KOSHER COMEDY

by Andrew Gilbert

| DECEMBER 2010

Performed at the New Asia Restaurant in San Francisco’s Chinatown, the Kosher comedy show has evolved into a San Francisco style ecumenical affair, featuring a slate of gay and straight comedians. With two shows a night, an early bird dinner production that includes a seven-course meal and a cocktail show with hors d’oeuvres, the event draws some 2,000 people.

In the early years Geduldig figures that the vast majority were Jewish, but her 1997 booking coup of legendary oneliner comic Henny Youngman attracted a wider audience.

“It’s still predominantly Jewish,” Geduldig says, “but we’ve got people who don’t celebrate Christmas, people in interfaith relationships, people who just like comedy.” While the comedy is kosher, the menu isn’t strictly by the book. (“There’s no pork in the meal,” Geduldig says, “but there’s shrimp because I like it.”)

Even the fortune cookies contain Yiddish proverbs: “A goat has a beard, but that doesn’t make him a rabbi.”

In addition to Geduldig, this year’s program features headliner Wendy Liebman, a savvy comic who’s been a latenight television mainstay for two decades, 21-year-old rising standup star Nathan Habib, and popular San Francisco comic Joe Nguyen.

“Joe is Vietnamese and Jewish and grew up in Georgia,” Geduldig says. “How could you not do comedy? He’s consistently very funny and is a thinking comic, thus making his audience think. But not too much, don’t worry. He’s also one of the nicest comics I’ve had on my stages.”

KUNG PAO KOSHER COMEDY December 23 to 26, 2010 New Asia Restaurant 772 Pacific Avenue, SF $42 & $62 | 925.275.9005 koshercomedy.com

CABARET

DAVID CAMPBELL

by Robert Sokol

David Campbell croons some Broadway tunes from his new CD for one night only.

When he says “ours” he means his homeland of Australia, where he’s been a popular theatre actor and recording artist for well over a decade.

Back on the subject of American politics, he’s also devastated that Australian cable is not feeding his need. “We don’t have MSNBC so I can’t get Rachel Maddow or Olberman. My wife knows I have a crush on Rachel Maddow. I think Rachel’s a-ma-zing.”

Musically, Campbell started out a tousle-haired lad ready to break hearts, singing a mix of pop songs and show tunes.After some theatre time, a new Campbell emerged. One that was smooth, swinging and cabaret-ready.

“One of the guys I really love is Sammy Davis, Jr. Bobby Darin is another,” he says of the role models. “I tend to have a lot of energy when I perforrn and so I gravitate to artists who’ll try all

sorts of different things just to break out of a mold.”

Campbell’s most recent project is On Broadway, with both CD and DVD versions. “We had fun doing it,” he says of the DVD. “It was one of those things where - outside of Julie Andrews standing in front of a red velevet curtain and telling you ‘Broadway’s so important and you know why...’ - we realized nobody every tells you why. They don’t tell you who writes the songs and why did they write them and how does it survive? So we we did a bit of a documentary on the making of the CD.” Campbell is delighted to be returning stateside. “I’m ecstatic!” he says. “This CD was really a passion project and I’m thrilled that now we’re going to get to tour around again.”

DAVID CAMPBELL December 5, 2010 | 7:00 pm The Rrazz Room at Hotel Nikko 222 Mason Street, SF $35 | 415.394.1189 therrazzroom.com

DECEMBER 2010 |

photo: pierre baroni

David Campbell is fascinated with American politics. “They’re so much more interesting than our politics,” he says. “You guys have such interesting characters.

Ours are boring by comparison”

|7

STILL CELE

SONDHEIM GIFTS FOR THE THEATRE LOVER ON YOUR LIST!

SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM Original Broadway Cast

Inspired by a London revue called Moving On devised by David Kernan (one of the talents behind Side by Side by Sondheim in the ‘70s), the limited enagagement of Sondheim on Sondheim combined videotaped interviews with the author and live performances from a cast of eight led by Vanessa Williams, Tom Wopat and the Tony-nominated Barbara Cook. This generous twodisc recording includes over 30 songs - obscure, familar and one newly written for the show - along with over a dozen narrative tracks of Sondheim discussing his work. (psclassics.com)

photo: courrtesy of stephen sondheim

A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC Broadway Revival Cast Catherine Zeta-Jones made her Broadway debut in this revival and won a 2010 Best Actress in a Musical Tony Award. Legendary Angela Lansbury made her fourth Broadway outing in a Sondheim show, and earned her seventh Tony nomination. Both performances are captured on this new two-disc set, which features London’s Alexander Hanson and Ramona Mallory. Sondheim’s lilting waltz-time score is orchestrated here by Jason Carr and includes “Now-Soon-Later,” “A Weekend in the Country,” “Liaisons,” and his most famous and recorded song, “Send in the Clowns.” (psclassics.com)

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| DECEMBER 2010

In Sunday in the Park with George - a song from which gives this book its title - Stephen Sondheim writes for the character of painter George Seurat: “Why do you insist / you must hear the words / when you know I cannot give you words?”

Between the bookend shows are three lyrics-only collaborations (West Side Story, Gypsy and Do I Hear A Waltz?) and eight shows for which he wrote both music and lyrics including hits (Company, Sweeney Todd) and misses (Anyone Can Whistle).

Finishing the Hat refutes that lyric, and mightily. In this richly detailed volume, Sondheim has gathered up the words he had given to his shows from the longunproduced Saturday Night of 1954 through the short-lived Merrily We Roll Along in 1981. (A second volume called Look, I Made A Hat will cover his work from 1984’s George to the present in 2011.)

The book is humorously sub-titled: With Attendant Comments, Principles, Heresies, Grudges, Whines and Anecdotes and Sondheim provides plenty of each. He apportions criticism and praise for colleagues and influencers, and does not hesitate to call himself on the carpet for self-inflicted sins of commission.

Stephen Sondheim in a rare appearance as an actor in the television production of JUNE MOON for PBS in 1974.

In his introduction Sondheim notes: “This book is a contradiction in terms. Theater lyrics are not written to be read but to be sung.” Yet it is in the reading that Sondheim’s love of, respect for, and mastery over language can be truly appreciated. Whether in complex internal rhyming structures or elegantly spare and simple phrasings, the ability to sit and study the words without performed embellishment - and, in some instances, to view drafts and revisions - is an exceptional opportunity to deepen one’s appreciation of Sondheim’s craft. (aaknopf.com)

PUBLISHED

BRATING SONDHEIM

by Robert Sokol

Now in its second edition, Sondheim on Music by Mark Eden Horowitz makes an excellent companion work to the esteemed composer’s book. The music scholar and Library of Congress staffer has conducted an extensive series of interviews with Sondheim about his craft and now includes expanded sections on productions not covered in the previous edition, plus an impeccably detailed discography, updated for all recent recordings, that is sure to please and inspire even the most ardent Sondheim fan. Horowitz skillfully balances his technical content, serving the needs of both the music student and the theatre enthusiast. (rlpgbooks.com)

SONDHEIM! The Birthday Concert Some of the greatest Broadway talents gathered for an evening at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall to wish Stephen Sondheim a very happy birthday. Director Lonny Price, expertly crafts this 116 minute tribute featuring original Sondheim stars like Mandy Patinkin, John McMartin, Joanna Gleason and Chip Zien, singing songs they introduced 20, 30, even 40 years ago. An amazing finale brings Bernadette Peters, Audra McDonald, Patti LuPone, Marin Mazzie, Donna Murphy and Elaine Stritch center stage in a cascade of show-stopping numbers followed by thanks from the visibly moved composer. (image-entertainment.com)

EVENING PRIMROSE Long lost to the public except for museum screenings, this original television musical from 1967 starred Anthony Perkins as a poet retreating from society to live in a department store. Sondheim composed four songs including “I Remember” and “Take Me To The World.” Charmian Carr and Dorothy Strickney costar. (emmytvlegends.org)

DECEMBER 2010 |

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Thirteen years after its first production, New Conservatory Theatre is re-staging Tom Orr’s parody review Dirty Little Showtunes! for its 16th Pride Season.

When Orr originated the showtunes spoof in 1997 he couldn’t have imagined the popular acclaim that has kept the show alive a decade later. The format, borrowed from the very popular Forbidden Broadway, has the lyricist take a popular Broadway song and re-write its lyrics. In Orr’s version, the songs take a decidedly gay satirical twist.

His tunes have been called sophisticated smut and witty adult humor.

Called the Lenny Bruce of musical parody and the love child of Dorothy Parker (renowned wit) and Al Parker (porn superstar), Orr wrote Dirty Little Showtunes! as my way to beat insomnia.

Whenever he was unable to sleep he’d write a parody. Moving to San Francisco he decided to fashion a show out of those “dirty little showtunes” he’d been writing. It was an instant hit.

This new production has a cast of veterans and virgins. David Bicha, Eric Brizee, Trauma Flintstone (aka Joe Wicht) and Orr are back from the original, and they’ve got new recruits in Cameron Cummings and Alpha Mulugeta. Scrumbly Koldewyn is also back as musical director and pianist, and Allen Sawyer, who helmed the original, is directing.

A lot has changed, on and off Broadway, and in the world since the last edition. There are new issues to satirize, new shows to spoof.

Orr has been writing new material over the years, skewering Wicked, The Producers, Hairspray and Grey Gardens.

Gay marriage, Lady Gaga, Sarah Palin, Skype, Grindr, Twitter and Facebook are all hot topics.

“Audiences have high expectations,”

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| DECEMBER 2010

says Orr, “and low standards, or vice versa. Lowest common denominator entertainment in movies and TV has numbed us and dumbed us down, and hopefully DLST! transcends that. I try to make my lyrics interesting, provocative and funny. I want people to think, during the show and for days after. But, above all, I want people to scream with laughter. Life is drama. We need to laugh.”

DIRTY LITTLE SHOWTUNES December 3, 2010 to January 16, 2011 New Conservatory Theatre Center 25 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco $24 to $40 | 415.861.8972 nctcsf.org

David Bicha, Cameron Cummings, Tom Orr, Eric Brizee, Joe Wicht and Alpha Mulugeta are the cast of Dirty Little Showtunes.

photo: lois tema

PARODY

DIRTY LITTLE SHOWTUNES

by Steve Murray

INDIE

TEMPERbyTRAP Colm Larkin

The Temper Trap has gradually built a reputation outside of its native Australia since the 2009 release of debut album Conditions. Having spent the majority of the past year based in London, the four-piece band is coming to San Francisco to headline Live 105’s annual Not So Silent Night party.

After over a year on the road, 2011 will see the Temper Trap return to the studio to record a second album and try to build on the slow-burning success of Conditions. So, this month’s show at Mezzanine might be your last chance to catch the band in a more intimate setting.

U.S. audiences’ initial encounter with Temper Trap was probably through the single “Sweet Disposition” appearing on numerous movie and advertising soundtracks. The song’s epic tone and emotional outpouring has since become the band’s trademark.

Not So Silent Night also features Sleigh Bells, The Limousines, and A Silent Film.

With chiming guitars, driving rhythms and frontman Dougy Mandagi’s soaring vocals, the Temper Trap is naturally at home in a live setting. Given the plentiful comparisons to early U2, it’s not hard to envisage the Australians selling out huge arenas in the near future.

TEMPER TRAP December 9, 2010 | 7:00 pm Not So Silent Night at Mezzanine 444 Jessie Street, San Francisco $25 | 415.625.8880 mezzaninesf.com

photo: glassnote entertainment group

Lorenzo Sillitto and Dougy Mandagi (above), and Toby Dundas and Jonathon Aherne (below) of Temper Trap.

DECEMBER 2010 |

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ROBBIE WILLIAMS In and Out of Consciousnes The enigmatic Mr. W culls the best of his last two decades of selling over 55 million albums.

The two-disc set includes the new single “Shame” and comes on the cusp of the Take That reunion. (robbiewilliams.com)

RECORDING

RECOMMENDED

HOWARD FISHMAN

by Robert Sokol

NELLIE McKAY Home Sweet Mobile Home Sprightly McKay has a home-team advantage producing an all-original set with mother Robin Pappas. Her off-center whimsy and languid vocals make for easy listening across a range of styles, including touches of island rhythms and some blues. (nelliemckay.com)

SONY HOLLAND Sanssouci Bay Area ex-pat jazzer Holland mixes tunes by Rodgers and Wainwright with her husband Jerry’s originals on her newest set. There’s a wonderfully languid quality to her voice, undercut with just a touch of yearning. The no-frills disc puts the focus on the sound and rewards with repeat visits. (sonyholland.com)

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| DECEMBER 2010

“I have a lot of burners on my stove and these three all came to a boil at the same time,” says indie musician Howard Fishman about having simultaneously released three distinctly different CDs. Beyond what he’s calling a standard answer to a now frequently asked question, the singer, composer and bandleader alludes to inviting opportunities to be excited and scared at the same time. “These seem to have come up a lot in my short but interesting

career,” he says, “and I generally go for the thing that scares me.”

With this seemingly Herculean task accomplished, Fishman feels a warm sense of satisfaction. “I kind of like epic stuff,” he says. “I want to go to the three-hour movie or the play that takes all day.” This from the man who celebrated his tenth year in music by performing ten shows at ten different venues on ten consecutive nights in New York.

RECOMMENDED

Singer-songwriter Howard Fishman might be working on one of the 39 songs to be found on his three new CDs.

SCOTT ALAN What I Wanna Be When I Grow Up

photo: jack vartogian

Composer Scott Alan gathers an impressive ensemble of Broadway voice talent for his third collection of original songs.

Christiane Noll and Bobby Steggert lead a baker’s dozen performers in Alan’s heartfelt and honest song cycle. (scottalan.net)

While not thematically linked, Fishman courts a “whole greater than the sum of the parts” appreciation for the project.

Better Get Right is a paean to pre-Katrina New Orleans where Fishman spent some busker years away from New York. No Further Instructions is the soundtrack to the movie in his imagination made from a trip to Eastern Europe with a long-time friend. Then, from another palette entirely, comes

JOHN HEART JACKIE We Are Gold Mounds Jennie Wayne and Peter Murray, the talented Portland pair behind JHJ, have created a wonderfully mellow country-folk collection on their debut release. They write and perform their own material, which wraps warmly around the listener like a favorite sweater. (johnheartjackie.com)

The World Will Be Different, an inward journey through the dissolution of a relationship.

“It’s asking a lot,” Fishman admits, of presenting fans with this much range and volume all at once, “but I’m banking on the fact that there might be people like me out there. It’s not for people who are in a hurry and just want to know which three songs they should listen to.” (howardfishman.com)

MARIA FRIEDMAN The Great British Songbook The London stage star shows some native pride with a selection of Britcomposed treasures. From Lennon and McCartney to Charlie Chaplin, Noel Coward and Anthony Newley, Friedman sings songs that have been hits on both sides of the Pond. (sepiarecords.com) DECEMBER 2010 |

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RECOMMENDED

DAILY 1 | DWEEZIL ZAPPA thewarfieldtheatre.com| 800.745.3000 Dweezil Zappa Plays Zappa - an homage to iconoclastic papa Zappa at The Warfield. ($44.50-$89.50)

THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS Original Off-Broadway Cast

Lyricist Fred Ebb died in 2004 and this is the second work in progress at the time of his death to bow on Broadway. This recording is actually of the Vineyard Theatre cast, most of whom have reunited for the current Broadway production. (jayrecords.com)

2 | AL STEWART yoshis.com | 415.655.5600 “Year of the Cat” and “Time Passages” may have put him at the top of the charts, but it’s Al Stewart’s Uncorked stylings that brings him to Yoshi’s San Francisco. ($25) 2 | GLIDE FUNDRAISER glide.org | 800.745.3000 Bringing Down the House, Glide’s annual comedy showcase and holiday festival, is sure to do just that at The Warfield. ($65-$500) 2 | OBSCURA theexit.org | 415.673.3847 Christian Cagigal’s Obscura brings a darker, more mysterious element to his magic showcase at the Exit Theatre. ($15-$25) 3 | EDDIE MONEY therrazzroom.com | 800.380.3095 Rock ‘n Roll icon Eddie Money brings his unique, passionate style to the Rrazz Room at Hotel Nikko. ($45-$50)

LA CAGE AUX FOLLES Broadway Revival Cast Television icon Kelsey Grammer and Tony-winning London sensation Douglas Hodge are the couple at the heart of this current revival of the Jerry Herman musical. Hodge’s mannered performance is captured well and he is joined by Christine Andreas for a rousing “The Best of Times.” (psclassics.com)

3 | HANDEL’S MESSIAH philharmonia.org | 415.252.1288 The Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra brings this gorgeous, classic seasonal favorite to the Herbst Theatre. ($35-$95) 4 | KLEZMANIA oldfirstconcerts.org | 415.474.1608 Ben Brussell brings his high-energy klezmer jazz ensemble to Old First Church’s Old First Concerts series. ($14-$17) 4 | MAGIC AT THE REX magicattherex.com | 415.273.9790 Join Adam Sachs, Sebastian Boswell III and RJ Owens in the intimate cocktail lounge setting at The Rex Hotel for an evening of up-close and personal entertainment. ($25)

ENTER LAUGHING Off-Broadway Revival Cast A reworking of Stan Daniels and Joseph Stein’s short-lived 1976 show So Long 174th Street, this just-released recording of the 2008 York Theatre cast features Bay Area favorites Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker. (jayrecords.com)

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| DECEMBER 2010

6 | LINDA KOSUT therrazzroom.com | 800.380.3095 Come to The Rrazz Room at Hotel Nikko for Linda Kosut’s unique and intimate

By Any Other Name. ($25) 7 | DOOBIE BROTHERS livenation.com KFOG’s Concert for Kids brings headliners The Doobie Brothers to the Nob Hill Masonic Auditorium for their Benefit for the Marines’ Toys for Tots and the Make It Better Project. ($42-$143) 8 | THE GREENHORNES apeconcerts.com | 510.548.3010 The Ohio-bred Greenhornes bring their no-nonsense, classical rock ‘n roll stylings to The Independent. ($15) 8 | NEIL YOUNG theconcertforucsfbch.com | 415.476.6400 Legend Neil Young headlines The Concert for UCSF Beniof Children’s Hospital at the Nob Hill Masonic Auditorium. ($500) 9 | CHARLIE HUNTER yoshis.com | 510.238.9200 Yoshi’s Oakland brings you the unique jazz style of Charlie Hunter and his custom-made seven and eight-string guitars. ($12-$24) 10 | OAKLAND JAZZ CHOIR oldfirstconcerts.org | 415.474.1608 The thirteen-member Oakland Jazz Choir is one of the only community choirs in the country singing choral jazz. Experience their gifts at Old First Church. ($14-$17) 10 | TURTLE ISLAND QUARTET performances.org | 415.392.4400 San Francisco Performances brings the reknowned Turtle Island Quartet’s stringed prowess to the Herbst Theatre. ($30-$50) 11 | CHAKA KHAN thewarfieldtheatre.com | 800.745.3000 The legendary Chaka Khan and special guest Chrisette Michele rock the Warfield at KBLX’s 2010 Holiday Concert. ($45-$82)

5 | DECK THE HALL sfsymphony.org| 415.864.6000

11 | DAVE KOZ masonicauditorium.com | 415.776.4702

Join the San Francisco Symphony for their joyous 30th Anniversary Concert at Davies Symphony Hall. ($36-$50)

Celebrate with Dave Koz and friends for their smooth jazz Christmas concert at the Nob Hill Masonic Auditorium. ($80-$116)

5 | RAGAZZI BOY’S CHORUS oldfirstconcerts.org | 415.474.1608

11 | NIGHT AT THE BLACK HAWK sfrecoverytheatre.org | 415.643.6011

The Ragazzi Boy’s Chorus brings their reknowned choral gifts to Old First Church. ($14-$17)

San Francisco Recovery Theatre brings Night at the Black Hawk: The Holiday Show to Martuni’s. (Donation suggested.)

HARVEY’S FUNNY TUESDAYS

by James J. Siegel

FREE

Not many things are free, but Harvey’s restaurant in the Castro features stand-up comedy at no charge during Funny Tuesdays.

There is one catch: a one-drink minimum. But according to Ronn Vigh, it’s a small price to pay for the best up-and-coming comedians.

Vigh, a comedian and former Harvey’s waiter, hosts the weekly event. Comedy in the Castro is not new. Josie’s Juice Joint was a mainstay in the area and featured such up-andcoming stars as Margaret Cho and Ellen Degeneres. Funny Tuesdays was an attempt to bring stand-up back to the neighborhood after Josie’s closed in 1999. While Josie’s was known as a gay comedy club, Vigh says Funny Tuesdays isn’t about gay or straight.

“If they are funny and have a point of view then I book them for the show,” he said.

Vigh explained that he books diverse acts and tries not to repeat many comics, which has sent him searching for comedians beyond San Francisco. “Expect to have a good time,” he said “Expect the unexpected.”

Going on its fifth year, Funny Tuesdays has become a community event. Vigh said he sees the same groups of friends each week that come to share a laugh. But none of this would have happened without the support of Steve Porter, Harvey’s manager.

Ronn V igh

harvey’s photo: michael kuehl

“He loves the community,” said Vigh about Porter. “It’s good for the bar and for the community.”

HARVEY’S FUNNY TUESDAYS Weekly | 9:00 pm Harvey’s Bar & Restaurant 500 Castro Street, SF Free | One-Drink Minimum 415.413.4278 harveyssf.com DECEMBER 2010 |

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DAILY 12 | THE BLACK CROWES livenation.com | 999.999.9999

21 | SF GIRLS CHORUS sfgirlschorus.org | 415.863.1752

Come to The Fillmore for a smoking-hot evening with The Black Crowes. ($74.50)

The San Francisco Girls Chorus brings their exhuberant concert Tidings of Great Joy to Davies Symphony Hall. ($28-$65)

12 | JOAN BAEZ www.oebs.org | 800.745.3000

22 | RUSS LORENSON therrazzroom.com | 800.380.3095

The Oakland East Bay Symphony presents Let Us Break Bread Together with Joan Baez at the magnificent Paramount Theatre. ($30-$45)

Enjoy an intimate evening of classical cabaret with Russ Lorenson and Friends at The Rrazz Room at Hotel Nikko. ($30)

13 | WESTWAVE DANCE fortmason.org | 415.345.7500 Fort Mason Center hosts this year’s Westwave Dance choreography festival. ($18-$68) 14 | FAITH WINTHROP therrazzroom.com | 800.380.3095 Faith Winthrop brings her tribute, at the Mercy of Mercer! to The Rrazz Room at Hotel Nikko. ($27.50) 15 | MARIA MULDAUR yoshis.com | 510.238.9200 Yoshi’s Oakland brings us Maria Muldaur’s Christmas show for a sultry evening of holiday bliss. ($12-22) 15 | SMUIN BALLET smuinballet.org |415.495.2234 Enjoy The Christmas Ballet at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. ($20-$62) 16 | ROBBEN FORD yoshis.com | 510.238.9200 Veteran musical giants Robben Ford, Michael Landau, Jimmy Haslip and Gary Novak bring their Renegade Creation collaboration to Yoshi’s Oakland. ($18-$26) 16 | SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK cityboxoffice.com | 415.392.4400 CIIS Public Programs brings the gorgeous sounds of Sweet Honey in the Rock to the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre. ($25-$100) 17 | HIROSHIMA yoshis.com | 415.655.5600 Legendary jazz greats Hiroshima bring their Holiday Show to Yoshi’s San Francisco. ($20-$28) 18 | MUSIC FOR FAMILIES sfsymphony.org | 415.864.6000 San Francisco Symphony brings accessible classics to Davies Symphony Hall for the next generation of music lovers. ($15-$57) 20 | BILLY IDOL livenation.com Rock legend Billy Idol brings his inimitable style to The Fillmore. ($74) 21 | BRASS & ORGAN CHRISTMAS gracecathedral.org | 415.749.6300 Grace Cathedral presents their A Brass and Organ Christmas Concert in their magnificent, accoustically-live Gothic church. ($15-$50)

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| DECEMBER 2010

23 | KIM NALLEY therrazzroom.com | 800.380.3095 Kim Nalley and Tammy Hall present their soulful Gospel Christmas concert at The Rrazz Room at Hotel Nikko. $35) 26 | TOWER OF POWER yoshis.com | 510.238.9200 Yoshi’s Oakland presents the legendary group Tower of Power and their singular brand of soul. ($25-$45) 27 | MORRIS DAY AND THE TIME yoshis.com | 510.238.9200 Pop/funk band Morris Day and the Time bring their Princeinspired charisma to Yoshi’s San Francisco. ($30-$45) 28 | SHEN YUN sfshow.net | 800.363.8212 Experience the spectacular grace and athleticism of Shen Yun Performing Arts dancing at the War Memorial Opera House. ($100-$300) 29 | JOHN OLIVER cobbscomedyclub.com | 415.928.4320 A writer and correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart since 2006, John Oliver puts his wit on display at Cobb’s Comedy Club. ($36-$61) 30 | DIANNE REEVES yoshis.com | 415.655.5600 Four-time Grammy winner Dianne Reeves brings her rich vocal stylings to Yoshi’s San Francisco, including a special New Year’s Eve performance. ($45-$100) 30 | FURTHUR apeconcerts.com | 510.548.3010 Grateful Dead legends Phil Lesh and Bob Weir join Jeff Chimenti, Joe Russo and John Kadlecik at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. ($45) 31 | CHRIS ISAAK livenation.com Reknowned Northern California native Chris Isaak rocks your New Year’s Eve at The Fillmore. ($99) 31 | MARGA GOMEZ therhino.org | 800.838.3006 Theatre Rhinoceros invites you to laugh your way into the new year with Marga Gomez’ New Year’s Eve Spectacular at the Victoria Theatre. ($30-$35)

CLASSICAL

PETER AND THEbyWOLF Dave Roberts

No longer a green girl, Eden Espinosa turns story-teller with the San Francisco Symphony.

What happens when the Wicked Witch of the West meets up with Peter and the Wolf? You can find out when Eden Espinosa is the special guest narrator for the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra’s three performances of Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf.

One of the longest-running Elphabas in Wicked history, Espinosa has performed the role at San Francsico’s Orpheum Theatre, in Los Angeles, and on Broadway. Espinosa also starred on Broadway as Maureen in Rent and the title role in Brooklyn the Musical.

Prokofiev wrote Peter’s music and text in just four days in 1936 as a commission to introduce children to classical music. He combined narration with various instruments to act out specific roles in his tale of a boy who takes on a terroristic wolf.

The classic children’s story has been recorded regularly since its premiere and some of the more notable narrators have included Prokofiev’s wife Lina, Arthur Godfrey, Boris Karloff, Sir John Gielgud,

Sting, Star Trek’s Patrick Stewart and the original James Bond, Sean Connery. On screen it received a kid-friendly Disney adaptation in 1946.

The Youth Orchestra, conducted by Donato Cabrera, will also perform a set of holiday favorites, including selections from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, Leroy Anderson’s A Christmas Festival and a Christmas carol sing-along.

PETER AND THE WOLF December 11, 2010 | 1:00 pm & 4:00 pm Davies Symphony Hall 201 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco $15-$57 | 415.864.6000 sfsymphony.org December 12, 2010 | 3:00 pm Flint Center for the Performing Arts 21250 Stevens Creek Boulevard, Cupertino $15-$48 | 408.864.8816 flintcenter.com DECEMBER 2010 |

| 17

change that was made by John Guare for the 1999 concert version. It’s actually incredibly racy for its time and has a number of political overtones.”

Rodgers and Hart’s Babes in Arms is the original “I’ve got a barn! Let’s put on a show!” musical. Written in 1937, the score contains a wealth of standards including “Where or When,” “My Funny Valentine,”and “The Lady is a Tramp” and it ran for almost 300 performances. A 1939 film - while tossing much of the score - became a hit for Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney, snagging the 19-yearold star an Oscar nod for Best Actor.

Despite these credentials, except for one concert staging in 1999, the show has not been seen on Broadway in over 70 years. This makes it perfect for 42nd Street Moon’s founding charter of presenting “lost” musicals.

With some older shows theres often a difficult or seriously dated book as an obstacle to revival, but director Dyan McBride says this is not the case.

“The book is great,” she says with conviction.

“We’re doing the 1937 version with, I think, one

McBride has had a 15-year relationship with Moon as an actor and director. She also heads the newly formed MoonSchool education department and feels Babes in an apt choice for Moon beyond its legacy and hit-filled score.

MUSICAL

BABES INbyARMS Robert Sokol

“We have a very young company right now, “ she says. “Every character in this show except one is 17 or under. I think the oldest person in the cast is only 26.”

“As an educator, I look at this show and wonder why more high schools don’t produce it. The characters are the right age, it has a really great score, it has so much opportunity for dance, and it has an understandable book with a built in history lesson. It may not be sexy in the way they’ve come to think of sexy, but it’s beautiful and romantic and challenging.”

BABES IN ARMS December 1 to 19, 2010 Eureka Theatre 215 Jackson Street, San Francisco $24 to $44 | 415.255.8207 42ndstmoon.org

photos: davidallenstudio.com

Alexandra Kaprielian, Zak Franczak and Michael Scott Wells in Rodgers & Hart’s Babes in Arms.

DECEMBER 2010 |

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LATIN

LOS VAN VAN

by Andrew Gilbert

Lele Rosales, Yeni Valdes, Mayito Rivera and Roberto Guayacan Fernandez of Los Van Van.

In Cuba, popular music has to pass a stringent test-does it make people want to, no, need to dance? For 40 years, Los Van Van has set the terpsichorean curve, and that’s the secret of the band’s success.

“We have always made music thinking of the dancers,” says bassist/composer Juan Formell, who’s guided the band since its founding in 1969.

“Cubans are such dancers, that I would say they dance before they do anything else.”

In Van Van’s only Bay Area appearance of the year, the 14-piece band performs at Yoshi’s San Francisco this month (the group’s June dates were canceled due to visa problems). Over the years Van Van’s instrumentation and personnel have evolved, but the driving, polyrhythmic songo groove that Formell invented is still the foundation of the group’s music.

While Van Van started as a charanga combo with

flutes and violins as the traditional lead instruments, by the early ‘70s the group had created the hugely influential songo beat by blending the essential Cuban son rhythm with other Afro-Cuban forms. The addition of trombones and synthesizers added punch to Van Van’s surging sound, but the band has never forgotten that its primary mission is to set the dance floor on fire.

LOS VAN VAN December 9 to 12, 2010 Yoshi’s Jazz Club 1330 Fillmore Street, San Francisco $35 to $40 | 415.655.5600 yoshis.com

DECEMBER 2010 |

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Membership in the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce gives you access to exclusive events, programs, marketing tools and invaluable networking opportunities. Chamber members are as diverse as the city itself. Be a part of that diversity. For more information about membership, contact Maureen McEvoy at 415-352-8834 or mmcevoy@sfchamber.com and start connecting today!

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

by Robert Sokol

Never out of print, the novella has been adapted into every possible performance medium.

Ebenezer Scrooge has sung through several musical outings and has even crossed gender lines on more than one occasion.

James Carpenter’s Scrooge experiences the joy of the holidays for the first time.

HOLIDAY

Written by Charles Dickens in 1843, A Christmas Carol has been a part of the holiday season anywhere around the world that Christmas is celebrated from its earliest days.

For 34 years Tiny Tim and the Cratchits have been gathering at San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater. According to ACT representatives, the show has been performed nearly 1,000 times to a collective audience of more than 800,000, and has employed nearly 1,000 actors and 600 backstage staff.

The text currently in use is an adaptation written in 2004 by ACT Artistic Director Carey Perloff and Paul Walsh. James Carpenter is returning to embody Scrooge for a fifth consecutive year and is joined in his ghost-filled journey

by Jack Willis, Steven Anthony Jones, Sharon Lockwood and members of the core company, the A.C.T. Young Conservatory and the entire third-year class of the A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program.

photo: kevin berne

Says Perloff: “Dickens believed that triggering the imagination is the key to triggering change in a person’s heart. Scrooge’s remarkable transformation is brought about by three ghosts.

Dickens realized that if Scrooge’s imagination could be stimulated, it would be possible for him to wake up on Christmas morning an entirely new man. What an incredible endorsement of the power of art.”

A CHRISTMAS CAROL December 2 to 24, 2010 American Conservatory Theater 415 Geary Street, SF $15-$102 | 415.749.2228 act-sf.org DECEMBER 2010 |

| 23

Left your heart in San Francisco? Get it back at..

RECOMMENDED IN DECEMBER

!

2 | THE VELVETEEN RABBIT ybca.org | 415.978.2787 ODC’s annual interpretation of Margery Williams’ classic at Yerba Buena through Dec. 12. ($15-$45)

7 | BEDOUIN SOUNDCLASH slims-sf.com | 888.233.0449 The trio of Canadians return to San Francisco with a fresh line-up and a new record to bring a dose of sunshine to the ever-darkening December days. ($15)

“You will laugh and cry.. A show this nuanced, this layered – and this much fun, Absolutely San Francisco is a show to see again and again.”

- Ed Attanasio, Northside San Francisco

Fridays and Saturdays at 8PM through December 18 The Phoenix Theatre Annex 414 Mason Street, 4th Floor San Francisco

For tickets go to www.absolutelysanfrancisco.com or telephone 1.415.992.8168

D 3- ec.

19

Performances at

3 | CINDERELLA African-AmericanShakes.org Cinderella loses her slipper at the African-American Shakespeare Company through Dec. 19. ($10-$30)

4 | NUTCRACKER AT ZEUM brownpapertickets.com Foehringer Dance Project|SF presents its second annual holiday production through Dec. 19. ($25)

12 | ANAÏS MITCHELL gamh.com | 888.233.0449 Mitchell tells the myth of Orpheus at the Great American Music Hall with songs that evoke our Depression-era past, the current financial disaster and a post-apocalyptic future. ($21)

18 | CYNDI LAUPER theindependentsf.com | 415.771.1421 The Grammy-winning pop-rock diva slips into town for a one-night gig on a bill with The Ferocious Few. ($65)

29. N. San Pedro St.

Downtown San Jose

(800) 838-3006

www.tabardtheatre.org

Tickets: $10-$24 Music by Randy Courts Lyrics by Mark St. Germain & Randy Courts

“a bright and beguiling musical…”

—NY Tribune

24 |

| DECEMBER 2010

10 | CHANTICLEER chanticleer.org | 800.407.1400 The Grammy-winning ensemble gives twelve concerts throughout the Bay Area from Dec. 10 – 22. ($30-$52)

21 | TRICKY theindependentsf.com | 415.771.1421 Back in the heyday of trip-hop, Tricky released his acclaimed debut album, Maxinquaye. His new record Mixed Race marks a welcome return to form for the former Massive Attack rapper, while live he remains as edgy and paranoid as ever. ($30)

Entertainer Franc D’Ambrosio is showing another facet of his talents at SoMa’s ArtHaus Gallery.

The singer-actor, best known as one of the longestreigning stars of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera, recently unmasked himself as a painter of fine canvases.

A unique aspect to D’Ambrosio’s style is that he will spray down canvases with a garden hose in a deconstuctionist approach. “Pollock used to keep adding things until he felt a piece was done. I know something’s done when I have taken enough away.”

The self-taught artist shares: “I began painting exactly the same way I began singing. One day I didn’t do it, and the next day I did. The act of painting rose from a very spiritual time for me, and I cherish this gift. I paint just as I strive to live; fearlessly.”

THE ART OF FRANC D’AMBROSIO Through December 23, 2010 Tuesday to Friday | 11:00 am to 6:00 pm Saturday | 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm ArtHaus Gallery 411 Brannan Street Free | 415.977.0223 arthaus-sf.com

The exhibition of over two dozen canvases reveals an impressionist’s style with two distinct trends. One is called the Diva Series, inspired by D’Ambrosio’s Phantom soprano co-star, Lisa Vroman. Another is called the Prayer Series, achieved by the repetitive writing - sometimes in hundreds of iterations - of various prayers.

DECEMBER 2010 |

photo: via media

The “phantom” painter and one of his may canvases currently on exhibition.

CREATIVE

FRANC D’AMBROSIO

by Robert Sokol

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RECOMMENDED IN DECEMBER

FOR EVERY REAL ESTATE NEED

RENTALS SALES MANAGEMENT RELOCATIONS

1 | TEATRO ZINZANNI love.zinzanni.org | 415.438.2668 Kevin Kent returns to Pier 29 in License to Kiss II, A Sweet Conspiracy through March 6, 2011. ($117-$145)

Robb Fleischer COO / Broker

3 | LISS FAIN DANCE lissfaindance.org | 800.838.3006 Liss Fain Dance presents The False and True Are One at Theater Artaud, on Dec. 3 & 4. ($12.50-$25)

AMERICAN MARKETING SYSTEMS, INC. 415-447-2020 WWW.AMSIRES.COM 2800 VAN NESS AVENUE SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109 If your property is currently listed For Sale or For Lease with another Broker, this is not a solicitation for that listing.

2 | BILL BURR cobbscomedy.com | 415.928.4320 The Chapelle’s Show regular plays Cobbs through Dec. 5 with You People Are All The Same. ($22.50-$25.50)

11 | JOHN WATERS roxie.com | 866.777.8932 John Waters’ live Christmas show, A Sleigh Full Of Smut!, one night only to benefit the Roxie Theatre. ($250)

13 | TERESE GENECCO therrazzroom.com | 800.380.3095 Terese Genecco sings Elvis Presley’s ground-breaking debut album ‘56 live from start to finish. ($25-$35)

26 |

| DECEMBER 2010

8 | SF SYMPHONY sfsymphony.org | 415.864.6000 Michael Tilson Thomas conducts the orchestra in Harmonielehre by John Adams through Dec. 11. ($15-$140)

13 | DEBORAH GIBSON helpisontheway.com | 415.273.1620 Pop singer Gibson & the cast of Shrek perform an AIDS benefit cabaret at the Hard Rock Café. ($35-$65)

If you visit San Francisco’s Castro district on Christmas Eve, don’t be surprised to see a line wrapped around the block for the Castro Theatre.

Thousands of area residents have made the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus’ Home For The Holidays show an annual tradition.

According to Teddy Witherington, executive director of SFGMC, Home For The Holidays was created to foster a spirit of community among individuals who can’t leave San Francisco to return home for the holiday season.

“In our community there are, and were, many of us unable to go home for the holidays,” said Witherington. “This started as a home for those of us who made San Francisco home.”

After 21 years, Witherington added that many people have come to feel that the Chorus is part of their family. With that in mind, this year’s event will be bittersweet, as one of those family members moves on to new endeavors.

even portions of the show where audience members are encouraged to participate.

According to Witherington, audience participation has become a big part of the annual event, especially at the last show on Christmas Eve.

CHORAL

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

by James J. Siegel

So don’t just expect long lines outside the theater on Christmas Eve, but enthusiastic audience members dressed in antlers, Santa hats and sleigh bells ready to sing-in the holiday season.

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS December 16, 2010 | 7:00 pm December 24, 2010 | 5:00, 7:00 & 9:00 pm Castro Theatre 429 Castro Street $20 to $30 | 415.865.2787 sfgmc.org

This Christmas Dr. Kathleen McGuire, SFGMC artistic director for the past 10 years, will conduct her last Home For The Holidays show.

“The last 10 years have been replete with success and triumph,” Witherington said about McGuire’s tenure as artistic director. He added that McGuire took the chorus in new directions, including shows around the Bay Area that raised over half a million dollars for charitable organizations. photo: matthew boyko

McGuire will continue her musical work and charitable efforts, but this time with a new organization. She is currently involved with Singers of the Streets, a choral organization for homeless individuals.

Members of SFGMC plan to sing a farewell song to McGuire during the 9 p.m. performance, the show that will be her last for the chorus. The men will sing “Irish Blessing” to honor McGuire for her work over the past decade.

The chorus members are also set to sing a number of gospel and soul songs for this year’s event, which is called Soulful Celebration. They will also be joined by several special guests at each of their shows including award winning singer-songwriter Kim Kuzma, Karen Hart and drag icon Donna Sachet.

While “soul” is the theme for the night, the chorus will present a variety of holiday music, from religious to spiritual to secular favorites. There are

Dominic Viterbo, a long-time member of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus DECEMBER 2010 |

| 27

BACK Actor/composer Joe Kinosian, artistic director Greg MacKellen, producer Jayson Raitt and actor Adam Overett of Murder for Two

Brian Boitano at ArtHaus Gallery

photo: via media

photo: via media

Courtney Act (Shane Jenek) at the Rrazz Room

Chita Rivera and Shane Jenek at the Venetian Room

Liz Callaway and Alex Rybeck at the Jewish Community Center

photo: via media

photo: via media

photo: via media

Stephen Sondheim at Bookfest 2010

Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp at Bay Area Cabaret

Jennifer Holliday at the Castro Theatre

photo: bookfest 2010

photo: via media

photo: pat johnson

Kyle Harris and Ali Ewoldt of the West Side Story tour

Jai Rodriguez at the Marines Memorial Theatre

Carlos Santana, Michael Morgan and Narada Michael Walden at the Paramount

photo: steven underhill

photo: steven underhill

photo: pat johnson

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