BAYSTAGES | 2012.03 - March

MARCH 2012 I Your Guide to the Best Theatre, Music, Dance and More in the Bay Area!

[THE ARTISTS]

LUCIE ARNAZ KARAN CASEY CHITRESH DAS JOHN DOYLE THE MAGNETIC FIELDS LINDA PURL CATHERINE RUSSELL [THE SHOWS]

ALMOST, MAINE HAMLET CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF MERCHANTS

+

THE CAPITOL STEPS

[THE COVER]

ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATRE

A New Tour Filled With Many Revelations

ALSO: DAILY EVENTS + MUSIC & COMEDY CLUB LISTINGS + VENUE DIRECTORIES + MORE

March 1-3

March 4 & 5

aN EVENING WITh 2-TIME GraMMY NOMINEE

STaGE, ScrEEN & TELEVISION LEGEND...

GrEaTEST hITS & NEW cD rELEaSE

rETurNS TO ThE rrazz rOOM BY pOpuLar DEMaND!

KARYN WHITE

March 6-11

LuLu’S Back IN TOWN!

JANIS PAIGE

LUCIE ARNAZ

LaTIN rOOTS MuSIcaL DIrEcTOr, rON aBEL

4th Annual

iversary

GALA CeLebRATion & benefiT foR ST. Jude ChiLdRen’S hoSpiTAL

Starring An ALL-STAR Cast!

March 13 & 14

LINDA PURL

FrOM NBc TV’S “ThE OFFIcE” aND ShOWTIMES’ “hOMELaND”

GrEaT aMErIcaN SONGBOOk WITh a SpLaSh OF Jazz

March 22-25

LYNDA CARTER ThE WONDEr OF SONG

March 15 - 17

Wednesday • March 21

JODY WATLEY a rETurN TO ELEGaNcE

NaTaLIE DOuGLaS, pETE EScOVEDO, EDWIN haWkINS, TOMMY IGOE, LINDa LaVIN, SharON McNIGhT, DEaNa MarTIN, WILL & aNThONY NuNzIaTa, cEcE pENISTON , BILLY STrITch, MarY WILSON, pIa zaDOra

GraMMY WINNING arTIST

MOTOWN, Jazz, pOp & ME

March 25-27

prINcE aND ThE ShOWBOY: aN EVENING WITh

FAITH PRINCE & JASON GRAAE aLEx rYBEck, MuSIcaL DIrEcTOr

222 Mason Street, San Francisco, CA 94102

March 28-aprIL 1

RUSSELL THOMPKINS, JR & THE NEW STYLISTICS kENNETh r. ThOMpSON, MuSIcaL DIrEcTOr

Grand Piano courtesy of Baldwin

800-380-3095 • www.TheRrazzRoom.com

editor ROBERT SOKOL editor@baystages.com

THE STAGES PLAY | Merchants.............................................................................. 5 NIGHTCLUB | Lucie Arnaz & Linda Purl........................................ 7 MUSIC | American Beauty Project.................................................. 9 PLAY | Almost, Maine.....................................................................11 CLASSIC | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof..................................................13 DANCE | Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater............................17 IRISH | Karan Casey & John Doyle...............................................19 DANCE | Chitresh Das Dance Company.......................................21 SHAKESPEARE | Hamlet..............................................................23 COMEDY | The Capitol Steps........................................................25 MUSIC | The Magnetic Fields........................................................27 BACK I Behind the Scenes with

...............................28

Copyright Š 2010-2012 by Caselli Partners LLC. All rights reserved. Printed in California.

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

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

Information is subject to change without notice.

publisher RON WILLIS publisher@baystages.com design VIA MEDIA design@viamedia.net contributing writers GRIER COOPER ANDREW GILBERT ML HEATH MARGOT MANBURG Will schmid Robert Sokol Elizabeth warnimont Writers may submit resumes and samples to editor@baystages.com for consideration.

contributing photographer STEVEN UNDERHILL Photographers and publicists may submit images to editor@baystages.com for consideration.

cover image hope boykin vernard gilmore image: andrew eccles

All other photos are provided by the artists or venues. Photography credits are noted when provided.

advertising sales RON WILLIS 415.552.8040 advertise@baystages.com Press releases and promotional materials may be sent to:

image: helen warner (the caretaker - jonathan pryce)

thisjustin@baystages.com

THE CARETAKER March 28 to April 22 Curran Theatre 445 Geary Street, SF $31 to $100 | 888.746.1799 shnsf.com

or mailed to:

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Please call our office if you need additional copies of the current or back issues or would like to become a distribution point for BAYSTAGES.

MARCH 2012 |

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REVOLVING

Scottish singer-pianist Emeli Sande plays Café Du Nord (3/2)

Ani DiFranco is at The Fillmore in SF (3/27) and Uptown Theatre in Napa (3/29)

19 Broadway Fairfax 19broadway.com | 415.459.1091 BIMBO’S 365 CLUB North Beach, SF bimbos365club.com | 415.474.0365 BISCUITS & BLUES Union Square, SF biscuitsandblues.com | 415.292.2583 BLANK CLUB San Jose theblankclub.com | 408.292.5265 BLISS BAR Noe Valley, SF blissbarsf.com | 415.826.6200 Bottom of the Hill Potrero Hill, SF bottomofthehill.com | 415.621.4455 BRICK & Mortar MUSIC HALL Mission, SF brickandmortarmusic.com | 415.800.8782 Café du Nord Upper Market, SF cafedunord.com | 415.861.5016 Café ROYALE Tenderloin, SF caferoyale-sf.com | 415.441.4099 club fox Redwood City clubfoxrwc.com | 650.369.7770 ELBO ROOM Mission, SF elbo.com | 415.552.7788 EL RIO Mission, SF elriosf.com | 415.282.3325 FILLMORE Fillmore, SF thefillmore.com | 415.346.6000 Freight & Salvage Berkeley freightandsalvage.org | 510.644.2020

George’s NIGHTCLUB San Rafael georgesnightclub.com | 415.226.0262 Great American Music Hall Tenderloin, SF gamh.com | 888.233.0449 Hemlock Tavern Polk Gulch, SF hemlocktavern.com | No Calls HOTEL UTAH SALOON SOMA, SF hotelutah.com | 415.546.6300 Independent Alamo Square, SF theindependentsf.com | 415.771.1421 jazzschool Berkeley jazzschool.com | 510.845.5373 Johnny Foley’s Union Square, SF johnnyfoleys.com | 415.954.0777 McNEAR’S MYSTIC THEATRE Petaluma mystictheatre.com | 707.765.2121 MEZZANINE SOMA, SF mezzaninesf.com | 415.625.8880 napa valley opera house Napa nvoh.com | 707.226.7372 NEW PARISH Oakland thenewparish.com | 510.444.7474 Rancho Nicasio Marin ranchonicasio.com | 415.662.2219 Regency Ballroom Civic Center, SF theregencyballroom.com | 800.745.3000 Rickshaw Stop Civic Center, SF rickshawstop.com | 415.861.2012

ROCKIT ROOM Richmond, SF rock-it-room.com | 415.387.6343 RRAZZ ROOM Union Square, SF therrazzroom.com | 415. 394.1189 SAVANNAH JAZZ Mission, SF savannajazz.com | 415.624.4549 SHATTUCK DOWN LOW Berkeley shattuckdownlow.com | 510.455.4735 SILO’S Napa silosnapa.com | 707.251.5833 Slim’s SOMA, SF slims-sf.com | No Calls STARRY PLOUGH Berkeley starryploughpub.com | 510.841.1424 THEE PARKSIDE Potrero Hill, SF theeparkside.com | 415.252.1330 UPTOWN THEATRE Napa uptowntheatrenapa.com | 707.259.0123 WARFIELD Downtown, SF thewarfieldtheatre.com | 800.745.3000 YOSHI’S Oakland + Fillmore, SF yoshis.com | 510-238-9200 + 415.655.5600

These venues feature a rapidly changing roster of artists. We advise calling or checking the websites for the latest performance information including minimums and age limits (if any). Please contact daily@baystages.com with additions or corrections.

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images: courtesy photos (roslyn kind, emeli sande, ani difranco)

Roslyn Kind sings at Yoshi’s in San Francisco (3/24)

view from the editor Spring is seed time. The days get a bit longer. The weather gets a bit better. You till, you cultivate, you plant, and then you wait to see what grows.

We’ve definitely been planting things here at BAYSTAGES and we are already seeing growth.

Our print run, distribution and readership continues to increase. Traffic on our website - particularly the curated event database - is also increasing.

Our goal is to continually grow our content in ways that are useful to both the visitor who may not know what to look for, and the resident who may have momentarily forgotten where it was. As an example, the music scene here is so rich and vibrant that we needed to expand our Revolving Stages clubs listing to a full page (look left) and have given Comedy & Improv its own column. We’ve added a new section called Just The Ticket! as a central reference for

the most common online and phone order ticket vendors, and we’ve also inaugurated - with a nod to Larry, Curly and Moe - Who’s on (the) First? for a sampling of the best of the first of next month’s don’t-miss live entertainment offerings.

This is all in addition to what we already hope are handy mini-directories of performing arts venues and centers both in San Francisco and around the Bay Area. We’re always looking for ways to add value to the BAYSTAGES experience, so if you have ideas we want to hear them.

Happy Spring!

ROBERT SOKOL, editor

image: drew altizer photography

Meeting Joey, the wonderfully animated star of War Horse, who stables into the Curran Theatre in August. South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company won a special Tony Award in 2011 for designing him.

MARCH 2012

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CLOSING SHOWS

DAILY The following listings are compiled from submissions to the baystages.com database and are subject to change without notice. Please be sure to verify performance times and dates when making your ticket purchases. Shows with multiple performances are listed below as of their first public performance, with the final performance date noted in the description. CLOSING SHOWS are listed separately in the sidebar columns with the date of the final scheduled performance noted before the title. ONGOING SHOWS offering regularly scheduled performance throughout the month are also listed separately in the sidebar columns. Closing and ongoing shows are not included in the listings that follow.

Randall King in Sam Shepard’s Buried Child at San Jose Stage.

4 | Art

Olinder Theatre | San Jose $20 | 408.288.7820 northsidetheatre.com 1998 Tony winner about art, taste and friendship.

4 | Mamma Mia!

Orpheum Theatre | SF $30-$100 | 888.746.1799 shnsf.com The ABBA-licious musical is back for two weeks of love and pop songs.

4 | Alice’s Adventures

Firehouse Arts Center | Pleasanton $18 | 925.931.4848 firehousearts.org New musical of the classic tale adapted directly from Carroll’s novel.

10 | Becky Shaw

SF Playhouse | SF $30-$50 | 415.677.9596 sfplayhouse.org What do we owe the people we love and strangers who land on our doorstep?

11 | Body Awareness

Aurora Theatre | Berkeley $34-$55 | 510.843.4822 auroratheatre.org A tale about a female couple & the mutability of relationships.

11 | Becoming Britney

11 | Buried Child

San Jose Stage Company | SJ $20-$40 | 408.283.7142 sjstage.com Brilliant play probes deep into the disintegration of the American Dream.

11 | Scorched

American Conservatory Theater | SF $10-$85 | 415.749.2228 act-sf.org Twins are given letters with clues about their family’s mysterious past.

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1 | Allen Toussaint

1 | Aries Spears

1 | Chadwick Stokes

1 | Princess and the Pauper

Yoshi’s | Oakland $30 | 510.238.9200 yoshis.com Post-Mardi Gras party with NOLA’s native son, with rhythm section.

Café Du Nord | SF $17 | 866.468.3399 cafedunord.com With The Shants.

1 | George Thorogood

Uptown Theatre | Napa $45-$55 | 800.745.3000 uptowntheatrenapa.com With his band The Destroyers.

1 | Lena Sunday

George’s Nightclub | San Rafael $12-$15 | 800.380.3095 georgesnightclub.com Jazz at George’s.

1 | Peter Rowan Bluegrass

Osher Marin JCC | San Rafael $20-$25 | 415.444.8000 marinjcc.org With guests The Pine Needles.

1 | Ricardo Lemvo

Yoshi’s | SF $15-$20 | 415.655.5600 yoshis.com With his band Makina Loca.

1 | Karyn White

Rrazz Room | SF $45.50-$55.50 | 800.380.3095 therrazzroom.com Pop/R&B singer/songwriter (Ends 3/3) 1 | SF Symphony

Davies Symphony Hall | SF $15-$145 | 415.864.6000 sfsymphony.org Arabella Steinbacher performing Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto. (Ends 3/3) 1 | University Dance Theater

San Francisco State University | SF $12 | 415.338.2467 creativearts.sfsu.edu Featuring ODC/Dance’s Kimi Okada.

Cobb’s Comedy Club | SF $18.50 | 415.928.4320 cobbscomedyclub.com A principal cast member on Fox’s sketch comedy show Mad TV. (Ends 3/4) Lesher Center | Walnut Creek $14 | 925.943.7469 lesherartscenter.org Imagine meeting someone who looks just like you. (Ends 3/4) 1 | Merchants

EXIT Stage Left | SF $10-$25 | 800.838.3006 theexit.org Sisters seeking financial stability and career satisfaction. (Ends 3/24) 2 | Front Street Band

George’s Nightclub | San Rafael $10-$15 | 800.380.3095 georgesnightclub.com Featuring Stu Allen and guest Rapid Glory.

2 | House of Floyd

Yoshi’s | SF $20-$22 | 415.655.5600 yoshis.com Tribute band performing full-scale Pink Floyd albums.

2 | Junie B. Jones

Wells Fargo Center | Santa Rosa $17 | 707.546.3600 wellsfargocenterarts.org High-energy musical about an outspoken, precocious 1st grader.

2 | Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Uptown Theatre | Napa $40-$50 | 800.745.3000 uptowntheatrenapa.com South African a cappella superstars, featured on Paul Simon’s “Graceland.”

2 | Super Diamond

Bimbo’s 365 Club | SF $22 | 877.435.9849 bimbos365club.com With Mustache Harbor.

image: dave lepori (buried child - randall king)

Retro Dome | San Jose $44 | 408.404.7711 theretrodome.com How does a pop sensation wind up bald and trapped in her own musical?

ABBREVIATIONS: MV-Mill Valley, LF-Lafayette, PA-Palo Alto, RC-Redwood City, SF-San Francisco, SJ-San Jose, SR-Santa Rosa, SU-Sunnvale, WC-Walnut Creek.

by margot manburg In an age where job security is on everybody’s mind but nobody’s lips, Susan Sobeloff’s new play Merchants is a candid look at the achievements and uncertainties of today’s middle class. “We don’t often get to talk about something that’s going on across the country while we’re still going through it.

This play is about us, about the problems hanging over everybody’s heads that nobody wants to talk about,” shares director Stuart Bousel.

A project of Bousel’s No Nude Men Productions, the play depicts the varying reactions people have when facing sadly familiar economic hardships. Yet it is the spirit of relentless optimism and realism these characters maintain while doing whatever it takes to succeed that makes this play so starkly compelling.

The women’s persistence in combating unsavory circumstances gives this play a refreshingly optimistic slant on a thorny situation. “Nobody in this play chooses to lie down and die. They aren’t broken by their poverty. They’re all trying to be the best people they can be. It’s hard and it’s complicated, and this play acknowledges that,” says Bousel. If life truly imitates art more than art imitates life, then Merchants is an important mirror for current times and for modern theatre. merchants March 1 to 24 EXIT Stage Left 156 Eddy Street, SF $15 to $25 | 800.838.3006 theexit.org

image: cody rishell (merchants - maura halloran, ariane owens)

In Merchants, two career-oriented sisters navigate the balance between financial security and personal fulfillment. They contend with business and family ventures, offsetting what they want to do with what needs to be done. One sister copes with pregnancy and unemployment, while the other sister’s side business suddenly provides the only means to pay rent. Such events force the sisters to re-evaluate their career-tied identities and their definitions of

success. As Bousel reveals, “This play deals with the pragmatic and social notions of success, of how and why we define ourselves by our careers and what happens when the economy makes us diverge from the plans and identities we made.”

PLAY

merchants

brokering a new definition of success

MARCH 2012 |

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CLOSING SHOWS

DAILY 2 | Trio Brillante

3 | George Komsky

2 | John Santos Sextet

3 | Jon Nakamatsu

Jeri Lynn Cohen and Patrick Russell in Body Awareness at Aurora Theatre.

Yoshi’s | Oakland $22-$26 | 510.238.9200 yoshis.com Caribe / Brazil with guests Jovino Santos Neto & Anthony Blea. (Ends 3/3)

11 | Tontlawald

2 | this.placed

3 | Ladysmith Black Mambazo

2 | Fiddler on the Roof

3 | Roy Rogers

Old First Church | SF $17 | 415.474.1608 oldfirstconcerts.org Performing Mozart, Françaix and Brahms on clarinet, viola and piano.

EXIT on Taylor | SF $10-$50 | 800.838.3006 theexit.org Retelling of an ancient Estonian tale through movement and song.

11 | All Shook Up

Foothill College | Los Altos Hills $10-$28 | 650.949.7360 foothill.edu Features hit songs made famous by Elvis Presley.

17 | Beyond Therapy

Shelton Theater | SF $20-$40 | 800.838.3006 sheltontheater.org Farce about two New Yorkers seeking stable romantic relations.

17 | References to Dali...

San Francisco State University | SF $5-$12 | 415.338.2467 creativearts.sfsu.edu Jose Rivera’s magical play about love, dreams and the nightmares of war.

17 | Distracted

18 | Geezer

Marsh | SF $25-$50 | 415.282.3055 themarsh.org Geoff Hoyle’s fusion of comedy and physicality about the process of aging.

18 | The Real Americans

Marsh | SF $25-$50 | 415.282.3055 themarsh.org Dan Hoyle’s account of his immersive experience polarized politics.

18 | Mesmeric Revelation...

Berkeley City Club | Berkeley $15-$25 | 800.838.3006 centralworks.org A fiery clash of science and mysticism in world premiereby Aaron Henne.

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142 Throckmorton | Mill Valley $18-$30 | 415.383.9600 142throckmortontheatre.org Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick’s classic Broadway musical. (Ends 3/11) 2 | Legally Blonde

Montgomery Theatre | San Jose $23 | 408.792.4111 cmtsj.org Children’s Musical Theatre San Jose’s production of the musical. (Ends 3/11) 2 | Familiar Strangers

Pear Avenue Theatre | Mountain View $20-$30 | 650.254.1148 thepear.org Play about an Iranian woman and her Americanized daughter. (Ends 3/18) 2 | Cabaret

Larkspur Cafe Theatre | Larkspur $25-$45 | 800.838.3006 cabaretsf.wordpress.com Tony-award-winning musical Cabaret at the Larkspur Cafe Theatre. (Ends 4/15) 3 | Bay Comedy Outlaws

142 Throckmorton | Mill Valley $15-$25 | 415.383.9600 142throckmortontheatre.org Steve Pearl, Michael Meehan, Larry “Bubbles” Brown and Johnny Steele.

3 | Black Brothers

Mildred Owen Hall | Pacifica $20 | 650.355.188 pacificaperformances.org Celtic music by Shay and Michael Black of Ireland’s foremost family of song.

3 | Dave Hollister

Yoshi’s | SF $32-$36 | 415.655.5600 yoshis.com One of the original members of the R&B band Blackstreet.

Napa Valley Opera House | Napa $25-$30 | 707.226.7372 jonnakamatsu.com Acclaimed classical pianist.

Palace of Fine Arts Theater | SF $25-$65 | 866.920.5299 sfjazz.org South African institution sparks a gentle fire to stir passions and lift spirits.

George’s Nightclub | San Rafael $15-$20 | 800.380.3095 georgesnightclub.com With The Delta Rythm Kings.

3 | Shana Morrison

Rancho Nicasio | Nicasio $15 | 415.662.2219 ranchonicasio.commusic.htm With Caledonia.

3 | Sounds from the Bay

Herbst Theatre | SF $29-$49 | 415.392.4400 ncco.org New Century Chamber presents mandolinists Marshall and Lichtenberg.

3 | Vagabond Lovers Club

Café Du Nord | SF $12 | 866.468.3399 cafedunord.com With Slim Jenkins, Beso Negro, and Black Kat Kabaret.

3 | Cinderella

Mountain View Center | MV $10-$20 | 650.903.6000 pytnet.org Rodgers and Hammerstein’s adaptation of the classic tale. (Ends 3/11) 3 | The Drowsy Chaperone

Saratoga Civic Theater | Saratoga $29-$31 | 800.838.3006 wvlo.org West Valley Light Opera presents this musical within a musical. (Ends 3/31) 4 | Contino

Rancho Nicasio | Nicasio FREE | 415.662.2219 ranchonicasio.commusic.htm Rancho debut and CD release party.

imageº: david allen (body awareness - jeri lynn cohen, patrick russell)

Town Hall Theatre | Lafayette $26.50-$29.50 | 925.283.1557 thtc.org Nine-year-old Jesse is “distracted.” Is it ADD, typical acting out, or ???

ODC Theater | SF $20-$24 | 415.863.9834 odctheater.org Nina Haft & Company + Facing East Dance & Music. (Ends 3/4)

Oshman Family JCC | Palo Alto $35-$40 | 800.838.3006 paloaltojcc.org Bay Area native opera tenor will perform arias by Donizetti, Rossini and more.

such devoted back to back “sister” acts

image: william dow photography (lucie arnaz, linda purl)

by will schmid

The 1954 film (and now stage musical) White Christmas includes the song “Sisters,” Irving Berlin’s comic paean to sororal joys and challenges. Though it’s no longer technically accurate, Lucie Arnaz and Linda Purl would happily sing a couple of choruses of “Sisters...In-Law” if such a thing existed. Though Purl’s marriage to Desi Arnaz Jr. did not last, the women’s friendship has remained.

Arnaz grew up on The Lucy Show and Here’s Lucy, had a Broadway hit with They’re Playing Our Song and has maintained an acclaimed nightclub and concert career. Most recently she recorded “Latin Roots,” which pays tribute to her father, Desi Arnaz.

Purl found television success with Happy Days and Matlock. She recently guested on The Office and is on True Blood this summer. She has an active stage career, including the Broadway musical Tom Sawyer, and is now working on her third CD. Professionally the ladies overlap when they can, so it is a missed opportunity that both will be playing the same venue in the same ten-day window and not even see each other!

NIGHTCLUB

LUCIE ARNAZ & LINDA PURL

Ron Abel. “He’s the whole reason we see as much of each other as we do these days,” says Arnaz.

“He’s been Lucie’s musical director forever and I’ve worked with him for many years,” says Purl. “It’s all incredibly incestuous,” laughs Arnaz.

“I think it’s one of the fun things about this 21st century,” Purl offers, “That you make your family as you go. You find your village, you find your people and you go forth.” Adds Arnaz, “It’s like swimming in the right current. You’re not surprised that good people are there with you. It’s just: ‘Oh! I’m in the right vibe now.’”

LUCIE ARNAZ March 6 to 11 LINDA PURL March 13 to 14 The Rrazz Room 222 Mason Street, SF $35 to $45 | 800.380.3095 therrazzroom.com

Another connection for the two is what they laughingly call “joint custody” of composer-arranger MARCH 2012 |

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CLOSING SHOWS

DAILY 4 | Javier Colon

Uptown Theatre | Napa $25 | 800.745.3000 uptowntheatrenapa.com 2011 winner of NBC’s The Voice.

4 | Liz Story

Geoff Hoyle finishes a revival of Geezer at The Marsh in Berkeley.

18 | Dividing the Estate

Douglas Morrisson Theatre | Hayward $10-$28 | 510.881.6777 dmtonline.org Horton Foote shows us a darkly comic portrait of a family divided.

18 | Moon Over Buffalo

Chanticleers Theatre | Castro Valley $13-$18 | 510.733.5483 chanticleers.org Traveling ensemble actors think Frank Capra is coming to see their show!

24 | Glengarry Glen Ross

Actors Theatre of San Francisco $40 | 800.838.3006 actorstheatresf.org Mamet’s scalding comedy about smalltime, cutthroat real estate salesmen.

24 | The Waiting Period

Marsh | SF $35-$50 | 415.282.3055 themarsh.org Copeland’s solo show about depression and the firearm waiting period.

25 | The Kipling Hotel

Marsh | Berkeley $20-$50 | 415.282.3055 themarsh.org Don Reed’s follow-up to his award winning East 14th.

25 | A Doctor In Spite of Himself

Berkeley Repertory Theatre | Berkeley $17-$78 | 510.647.2949 berkeleyrep.org Molière’s classic comedy in a clever and contemporary adaptation.

New Conservatory Theatre Center | SF $25-$36 | 415.861.8972 nctcsf.org US Premiere of play from E.M. Forster’s book about pre-WWI gay love.

31 | Titus Andronicus

La Val’s Subterranean | Berkeley $10-$17 | 510.224.5744 impacttheatre.com Shakespeare’s bloodiest revenge tragedy dishes up white-hot rage.

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4 | Melodiya Ensemble

Old First Church | SF $17 | 415.474.1608 oldfirstconcerts.org Works by Enesco, Hindemith, VillaLobos, Schumann, Brahms and Liszt.

4 | New Century Chamber Orchestra

Osher Marin JCC | San Rafael $29-$49 | 415.444.8000 ncco.org Mandolinists Marshall and Lichtenberg.

Café Du Nord | SF $10-$12 | 866.468.3399 cafedunord.com With Birdhouse, Lauren Shera and Infantree.

6 | Delta Rae

Café Du Nord | SF $10 | 866.468.3399 cafedunord.com

6 | In The Mood

Wells Fargo Center | Santa Rosa $34.50-$49.50 | 707.546.3600 wellsfargocenterarts.org 1940s Big Band, song and swing dance revue.

6 | Mia Doi Todd

Yoshi’s | SF $16 | 415.655.5600 yoshis.com With Bells.

4 | Parker Quartet

6 | Sorry Fugu

4 | Ricardo Scales

6 | Stew

San Francisco State University | SF FREE | 415.338.2467 creativearts.sfsu.edu Featuring works by Debussy, Dutilleux and Schumann.

Yoshi’s | SF $22 | 415.655.5600 yoshis.com Gospel extravaganza with Dorothy Morrison.

4 | Janis Paige

Rrazz Room | SF $35-$45 | 800.380.3095 therrazzroom.com Film, television, Broadway actress, singer, hollywood legend. (Ends 3/5)

San Francisco State University | SF $10-$15 | 415.338.2467 creativearts.sfsu.edu This Word for Word production looks at restaurants and food critics.

Yoshi’s | Oakland $20 | 510.238.9200 yoshis.com With The Negro Problem and Heidi.

6 | Lucie Arnaz

Rrazz Room | SF $45 | 800.380.3095 therrazzroom.com Broadway, musical theatre, actress, singer, producer, cabaret star. (Ends 3/11) 6 | Romeo & Juliet

4 | Marin Symphony

Marin Center | San Rafael $29-$70 | 415.499.6800 marinsymphony.org Concert of Bach and Pärt conducted by Alasdair Neale. (Ends 3/6)

War Memorial Opera House | SF $36-$285 | 415.865.2000 sfballet.org Helgi Tomasson’s critically acclaimed ballet of this timeless Shakespearean masterpiece returns. (Ends 3/11)

4 | Yanked from the Harem

7 | NowCircaThen

5 | 3 Piece & a Biscuit

8 | Chloe Jane Scott

Marines’ Memorial Theatre | SF $39 | 415.771.6900 marineclub.com Pocket Opera production of an updated, English language version of Mozart’s opera. (Ends 3/11) Yoshi’s | SF $20-$25 | 415.655.5600 yoshis.com Tribute to the music of Teena Marie.

Lucie Stern Theater | Palo Alto $29-$49 | 650.463.1960 theatreworks.org TheatreWorks presents the West Coast premiere of a comedy about mismatched historical re-enactors. (Ends 4/1) Amnesia | SF $5 | 866.920.5299 sfjazz.org Scott plays Hubert Laws. Part of SFJAZZ’ Hotplate series.

image: patti meyer (geezer - geoff hoyle)

25 | Maurice

Yoshi’s | Oakland $20 | 510.238.9200 yoshis.com Windham Hill solo piano artist.

5 | Driftwood Singers

catherine russell is grateful for the dead by andrew gilbert

Catherine Russell might hail from jazz royalty, but she was a natural choice as a featured vocalist for the American Beauty Project, an all-star revue recreating the Grateful Dead’s landmark albums “Workingman’s Dead” and “American Beauty” with Jim Lauderdale, Ollabelle, and multi-instrumentalist David Mansfield. Featuring acoustic textures, folky lyrics, and bluegrass cadences, the 1970 sessions departed from the expansive, blues-drenched psychedelia that earned the Dead fame in the 1960s.

As a teenager in the early 1970s, Russell rebelled against her parents and the music that sustained them, lighting out for the West and finding herself as a Deadhead on a commune in Northern California.

Her father was Luis Russell, the Panamanian-born pianist and bandleader who played a central role in Louis Armstrong’s career in the 1930s and ‘40s. Her mother is the bassist, guitarist and vocalist Carline Ray, a Juilliard and Manhattan School of Music grad, who performed with the International Sweethearts of R hyt hm , Ers k ine Hawkins, and Mercer Ellington (and is still playing in her late 80s).

(she contributes a sensuous version of “Crazy Blues” on the Grammy Award-winning Boardwalk Empire soundtrack album). Still, she’s never cut her ties to the world of rock and pop, touring widely with Steely Dan. Now she’s tapping into her other roots, celebrating the band that first set her free.

MUSIC

american beauty project

american beauty project Yoshi’s Jazz Club March 9 1330 Fillmore Street, SF $28 to $32 | 415.655.5600 March 10 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland $32 | 510.238.9200 yoshis.com

image: stefan falke (catherine russell)

Russell aspired to be a rock singer, but ended up acting in B movies and working on Broadway. After a long, circuitous career path including stints with David Bowie, Paul Simon, Jackson Browne, Levon Helm, and Rosanne Cash, she finally returned to the family fold.

In recent years Russell has gained fame with a series of lavishly praised albums featuring her sultry interpretations of double entendre-laden blues, vintage jazz tunes and Tin Pan Alley gems that sound as if they were written just for her

MARCH 2012 |

|9

ONGOING SHOWS

DAILY 8 | Mike Pace

Firehouse Arts Center | Pleasanton $15 | 925.931.4848 firehousearts.org Part of Comedy @ Firehouse Arts series.

8 | Ébène Quartet

Magician Peter Morrison amazes at the Marrakech Magic Theater!

Beach BlanKet Babylon

Club Fugazi I SF $25-$130 I 415.421.4222 beachblanketbabylon.com Long-running revue skewering news and culture with songs and big hats.

Big City Improv

Shelton Theater | SF $20 | 866.468.3399 bigcityimprov.com Four years running. Every scene is based upon audience suggestions.

PETER MORRISON

Marrakech Magic Theater I SF $38 I 877.624.4264 sanfranciscomagictheater.com Morrison demonstrates sleight-of-hand magic and feats of mentalism.

PARTY OF TWO

Shelton Theatre I SF $27-$29 I 800.838.3006 partyof2themusical.com Follow two self-sufficient types from their meeting through their relationship.

Secret Improv Society

Shelton Theater I SF $15 I 866.468.3399 sheltontheater.com Creating characters, stories, and songs on the spot from audience suggestions.

SAM SHEPARD IN REPERTORY

Boxcar Studios & Theater I SF $15-$35 I 415.967.2227 boxcartheatre.org True West, Buried Child, Foor For Love and A Lie of the Mind running all month.

Shopping! The Musical

SUNDAY’S A DRAG

Starlight Room | SF $44.95 | 415.395.8595 harrydenton.com Drag entertainment abounds in Harry Denton’s newly refurbished boite.

10 |

| MARCH 2012

8 | Erica Sunshine Lee

Café Du Nord | SF $12-$15 | 866.468.3399 cafedunord.com With Chi McClean and Windy Hill.

8 | Foreigner

Wells Fargo Center | Santa Rosa $35-$175 | 707.546.3600 wellsfargocenterarts.org Popular rock act brings its hits to the Wells Fargo Center.

8 | International Women’s Day Concert

Yoshi’s | SF $35-$99 | 415.655.5600 yoshis.com Big Brother & The Holding Company, Pamela Parker, Nonstop Bhangra.

8 | Papa’s Garage

George’s Nightclub | San Rafael $10 | 800.380.3095 georgesnightclub.com Where funk and soul meet rock and roll.

8 | Railroad Earth

Uptown Theatre | Napa $37 | 800.745.3000 uptowntheatrenapa.com With The Brothers Comatose.

8 | Patricia Barber

Yoshi’s | Oakland $20-$25 | 510.238.9200 yoshis.com With The Nat King Cole Trio featuring Larry Kohut & Neal Alger. (Ends 3/9) 8 | SF Symphony

Davies Symphony Hall | SF $35-$140 | 415.864.6000 sfsymphony.org Works of 20th Century American composers. (Ends 3/9) 8 | Life Could Be a Dream

Campbell Theatre | Martinez $22-$32 | 925.798.1300 willowstheatre.com Willow’s Theatre presents Roger Bean’s doo-wop musical comedy about the travails of a boy-band. (Ends 3/17)

Evert B. Person Theatre | Rohnert Park $9-$16 | 800.838.3006 sonoma.eduperformingarts Loot, by Joe Orton, is an over the top British whodunit that assaults everything sacrosanct! (Ends 3/17) 8 | Steel Magnolias

Diablo Actors’ Ensemble Theatre | WC $10-$25 | 866.811.4111 diabloactors.com Robert Harling’s acclaimed classic about gossipy southern ladies & the strength beneath their banter (Ends 3/24) 8 | Crimes of the Heart

Hillbarn Theatre | Foster City $36 | 650.349.6411 hillbarntheatre.org Beth Henley’s tragic comedy about a trio of sisters reunited after one shoots her abusive husband. (Ends 3/25) 8 | It’s All The Rage

Marsh | SF $15-$35 | 415.282.3055 themarsh.org Marilyn Pittman’s biting show about about her parents’ murder/suicide. (Ends 4/15) 9 | American Beauty Project

Yoshi’s | SF $28-$32 | 415.655.5600 yoshis.com Grateful Dead tribute featuring Catherine Russell, Ollabelle and Jim Lauderdale.

9 | Billy Gardell

Uptown Theatre | Napa $37-$47 | 800.745.3000 uptowntheatrenapa.com Stand-up artist & star of CBS’s hit comedy series Mike & Molly.

9 | BLVD

George’s Nightclub | San Rafael $15-$20 | 800.380.3095 georgesnightclub.com With guests Thump.

9 | Foreverland

Bimbo’s 365 Club | SF $22 | 877.435.9849 bimbos365club.com 14 piecetribute to Michael Jackson.

With Livewire.

9 | Peninsula Symphony

Fox Theatre | Redwood City $39 | 800.745.3000 peninsulasymphony.org John O’Conor plays Beethoven’s “Emperor.”

image: courtesy photo (peter morrison)

Shelton Theater I SF $27-$29 I 800.838.3006 sheltontheater.com An original musical revue about everyone’s favorite pastime.

Herbst Theatre | SF $38-$60 | 415.392.4400 sfperformances.org Performing Mozart, Borodin and Ravel.

SF Performances presentation.

8 | Loot

love can be (snow) flakey

by elizabeth warnimont There’s a place at the edge, where things almost happen. In John Cariani’s modern romantic comedy, Almost, Maine, the place is an imaginary town at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, where couples find themselves either falling in love or out of love, all teetering at the edge of something, hesitating before taking their crucial next step.

“It’s winter. There’s snow. People are walking around bundled up with, we’ll call it metaphorical armor,” director Danielle Cain offers. “People have to take off their hats and open up their hearts.” Metaphors abound, but while the overt symbolism piles up as the couples’ stories are told, the deliberate triteness wanes. Characters and their situations become more and more real.

Professional actors and teaching staff work side by side with the Napa Valley College students.

Department head Jennifer King explains, “We were developing this mentorship program where students were able to have their own performance after understudying with these incredible actors.” King says the effect on the students was remarkable. “I’d worked with them for a couple of years and their work took such an incredible leap, I knew this was a model I wanted us to continue.” almost, maine March 9 to 25 Napa Valley College Performing Arts Center 2277 Napa Vallejo Highway, Napa $15 to $20 | 707.256.7500 napavalleytheater.org

image: jeff thomas (almost, maine - jessica romero, phillip ferrero)

“From the outside, there’s a sense of ‘oh, that’s corny,’ but the truthfulness of the characters and their genuine longing for connection makes it all work,” Cain explains. “It has sort of a beautiful, romantic power.” A woman who wants to break up with her boyfriend feels she no longer needs all the love he has given her, so she walks in with bags of love that she brings in from her car. Another character with a broken heart opens up to a man who turns out to be a repairman. “There is sort of a fairytale quality, but the playwright makes each situation believable.”

Cariani wrote the play for four actors, two men and two women. Cain, who teaches drama at Sonoma State University, uses 14. “Because we’re doing it at a college, we have all these young actors learning what it’s like to be in a show. I really wanted everyone to be engaged.”

PLAY

ALMOST, maine

MARCH 2012 |

| 11

COMEDY & IMPROV

DAILY 9 | Puremovement

10 | Grisha Goryachev

9 | Schumann Concerto

10 | Jayme Stone

9 | Sioux City Kid

10 | Patsy Cline Tribute

9 | West Coast Ramblers

10 | Peninsula Symphony

9 | A Glass of Cabaret

10 | Playing for Change

9 | Smuin Showcase

10 | SFJAZZ Matinee

9 | Deon Cole

10 | T.C. Boyle’s “Sorry Fugu”

9 | Our Town

10 | Rancho Allstars

Wells Fargo Center | Santa Rosa $20-$30 | 707.546.3600 tickets.wellsfargocenterarts.org Hip-hop star Rennie Harris’ company performs to Harris’ rap.

Danny Bevins cracks wise at Rooster T. Feathers (3/8-10)

12 |

| MARCH 2012

Café Du Nord | SF $10-$12 | 866.468.3399 cafedunord.com With Tiny Television, Erin Brazill and The Brazillionaires.

Rancho Nicasio | Nicasio FREE | 415.662.2219 ranchonicasio.commusic.htm Western swing band.

Silo’s | Napa $30-$35 | 999.999.9999 luckypennynapa.com Celebrate love and the magical beverage that nourishes romance. (Ends 3/10) ODC Theater | SF $28 | 415.863.9834 smuinballet.org An evening of original works by Smuin Ballet artists. (Ends 3/10) Cobb’s Comedy Club | SF $25 | 415.928.4320 cobbscomedyclub.com With Laurie Kilmartin, both Emmywinning writers for Conan. (Ends 3/11) Burbank Auditorium | Santa Rosa $15 | 707.527.4343 santarosa.edutheatrearts Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize winning classic. (Ends 3/18) 9 | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

6th Street Playhouse | Santa Rosa $15-$32 | 707.523.4185 6thstreetplayhouse.com Tennessee Williams’1955 Pulitzer Prize winning drama. (Ends 3/25) 10 | American Beauty Project

Yoshi’s | Oakland $32 | 510.238.9200 yoshis.com A Grateful Dead tribute featuring Catherine Russell, Ollabelle and Jim Lauderdale.

Mildred Owen Hall | Pacifica $20 | 650.355.188 pacificaperformances.org Pacifica Performances presents two-time Juno-winning banjoist Jayme Stone.

Willows Theatre | Concord $25 | 925.798.1300 willowstheatre.com Joni Morris has been playing to sold out crowds with her tribute to Cline.

Flint Center | Cupertino $39 | 800.745.3000 peninsulasymphony.org John O’Conor plays Beethoven’s “Emperor.”

Napa Valley Opera House | Napa $30-$35 | 707.226.7372 nvoh.org Musicians from different cultures uniting to spread peace.

Herbst Theatre | SF $15 | 866.920.5299 sfjazz.org The Marcus Shelby Trio leads a one-hour matinee with live performance and Q&A. Dance Palace | Point Reyes Station $16-$33 | 415.663.1075 dancepalace.org Word for Word turns great literature into great theater.

Rancho Nicasio | Nicasio $12 | 415.662.2219 ranchonicasio.commusic.htm Dance band.

10 | The Red Elvises

Café Du Nord | SF $20 | 866.468.3399 cafedunord.com With The Started-Its.

10 | Toots Thielemans

Herbst Theatre | SF $25-$65 | 866.920.5299 sfjazz.org Acclaimed jazz harmonica player, with Kenny Werner & Oscar Castro-Neves.

image: courtesy photo (danny bevins)

BATS IMPROV Marina, SF improv.org | 415.474.6776 BIG CITY IMPROV Union Square, SF sheltontheater.com | 415.433.1227 BLUE BLANKET IMPROV Half Moon Bay blueblanketimprov.com | 650.726.0770 BUNJO’S COMEDY LOUNGE Dublin bunjoscomedy.com | 925.264.4413 COBB’S COMEDY CLUB North Beach, SF cobbscomedyclub.com | 415.928.4320 COMEDY OFF BROADWAY Oakland coboak.com | 510.214.2626 COMEDYSportz San Jose comedysportzsanjose.com DARK ROOM Mission, SF darkroomsf.com | 415.401.7987 ENDGAMES IMPROV Union Square, SF endgamesimprov.com ENSO Half Moon Bay ensohmb.com | 650.726.1409 HARVEY’S FUNNY TUESDAYS Castro, SF harveyssf.com | 415.431.4278 IMPROV San Jose improv.com | 408.280.7475 MADE UP THEATRE Fremont madeuptheatre.com | 510.573.3633 PUNCHLINE Embarcadero, SF punchlinecomedyclub.com | 415.397.7573 ROOSTER T. FEATHERS Sunnyvale roostertfeathers.com | 408.736.0921 SECRET IMPROV SOCIETY Union Square, SF improvsociety.com STONE SOUP IMPROV Oakland stonesoupimprov.com | 510.380.6808

Herbst Theatre | SF $25-$95 | 415.392.4400 philharmonia.org Cellist Steven Isserlis with The Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra.

Green Room at War Memorial | SF $34 | 415.242.4500 omniconcerts.com Classical and flamenco guitarist performs with Jerome Mouffe.

the williams classic as he intended it by robert sokol

Written in the decade after he took Broadway by storm with The Glass Menagerie and A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams delved deeply into greed, sexual repression and mendacity in his 1955 Pulitzer Prize winner, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

Set on a Mississippi plantation, the play presents the Pollitts, as dysfunctional a family as any Williams ever created in his dozens of plays.

“I’ve seen snippets, like trailers, but not the whole thing,” says Fontaine. “Once I knew I was directing this production I made a conscious decision to not see it. None of the cast are suggesting things from the film should be included - as far as I know,” he laughs, adding that there’s likely going to be an addition to his Netflix queue once the show closes.

The central characters of Brick, Maggie and Big Daddy were originated by Ben Gazzara, Barbara Bel Geddes and Burl Ives, who reprised his role in the 1958 film that starred Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor. The image of Taylor in a white satin slip, clutching a brass bed frame has become an iconic image for a film classic that director Michael Fontaine admits, with some chagrin, that he has not seen.

The version of the play Fontaine is directing comes from a 1974 Broadway revival. “Some of the things that Elia Kazan, the director, had excised in ‘55 to make the play more palatable to the public were restored,” says Fontaine.

“The homosexuality, the difficulties for Brick... scenes were restored...and this was the version that Williams himself approved of.”

CLASSIC

cat on a hot tin roof

image: erik chazankin (cat on a hot tin roof - charles siebert, clint campbell, jenifer coté)

Another facet of the Broadway revival that appears in Santa Rosa is actor Charles Siebert. Then he was son Gooper, and he has now “matured into the Big Daddy Role. He was a regular on Trapper John, MD and many other shows. He retired to this area and expressed interest in the show when we were putting our season together, and we thought: What a wonderful match!” cat on a hot tin roof March 9 to 25 G.K. Hardt Theatre at 6th Street Playhouse 52 West 6th Street, Santa Rosa $15 to $32 | 707.523.4185 6thstreetplayhouse.com

MARCH 2012 |

| 13

DAILY 10 | Youth Music Festival

11 | Shatner’s World

10 | SF Symphony

11 | Pirates Singalong

10 | Pinkalicious

11 | Sacred Profanities

Firehouse Arts Center | Pleasanton $8 | 925.931.4848 firehousearts.org 10th Annual celebration of young musicians.

design publications websites

415.552.8040 780 sutter street san francisco, ca 94109

www.viamedia.net a division of Caselli Partners LLC

Davies Symphony Hall | SF $35-$145 | 415.864.6000 sfsymphony.org Joan La Barbara, Meredith Monk, and Jessye Norman. (Ends 3/14)

Rancho Nicasio | Nicasio FREE | 415.662.2219 ranchonicasio.commusic.htm Alt-Western band.

10 | Julius Caesar

Montalvo Arts Center | Saratoga $30 | 408.961.5858 montalvoarts.org Russian ensemble play the domra, bajan and double-bass balalaika.

Buriel Clay Theater | SF $10-$35 | 800.838.3006 african-americanshakes.org Staging brings the Bard’s play about partisanship close to home. (Ends 4/1) YBCA - Forum Theatre | SF $30-$50 | 866.920.5299 sfjazz.org Master jazz guitarist and vocalist, presented by SFJAZZ. 11 | John Boyajy

Old First Church | SF $17 | 415.474.1608 oldfirstconcerts.org Pianist performs works by Schumann, Haydn, Schönberg and Scarlatti.

11 | Jordan Knight

Yoshi’s | SF $35-$40 | 415.655.5600 yoshis.com With an open dance floor.

11 | Los Tigres Del Norte

11 | Trio Voronezh

12 | George Kahumoku Jr.

Yoshi’s | SF $24 | 415.655.5600 yoshis.com With Dennis Kamakahi, and Uncle Richard Ho’opi’i. Hawai’ian music.

13 | Charles Neville

Yoshi’s | SF $22 | 415.655.5600 yoshis.com With Youssoupha Sidibe & The Mystic Rhythms.

13 | Dramaturgy & Shakespeare

Commonwealth Club of California | SF $20 | 415.597.6700 commonwealthclub.org Dr. Phillippa Kelly, resident dramaturg at California Shakespeare Theatre, on Lear.

Wells Fargo Center | Santa Rosa $45.50-$87.50 | 707.546.3600 tickets.wellsfargocenterarts.org Pioneers of the norteño genre in a rare intimate venue appearance.

13 | George Brooks

11 | Rhythm Sisters String Quartet

13 | Linda Purl

Holy Innocents Church | SF $20 | 415.648.5236 nvcm.org Quartets by Mozart and Dvorak plus a polka thrown in for good measure.

11 | Seoulsonic Tour

Café Du Nord | SF $12 | 866.468.3399 cafedunord.com Korean AltROK: Crying Nut, Yellow Monsters, and 3rd Line Buttterfly .

| MARCH 2012

Presentation Theatre | SF $15-$30 | 800.838.3006 lamplighters.org Everyone is encouraged to sing their favorite Penzance parts!

Front Row Theater | San Ramon $12-$20 | 510.296.4433 bactheatre.org Loads of laughs as a little girl indulges her love for pink. (Ends 3/18)

11 | James “Blood” Ulmer

14 |

Orpheum Theatre | SF $40-$300 | 888.746.1799 shnsf.com Shatner brings his autobiographical oneman show to SF for one night only.

Yoshi’s | Oakland $16-$20 | 510.238.9200 yoshis.com With Kai Eckhardt.

Rrazz Room | SF $35 | 800.380.3095 therrazzroom.com Actress-singer Purl is a an accomplished cabaret performer. (Ends 3/14) 14 | Chuck Loeb

Yoshi’s | Oakland $22 | 510.238.9200 yoshis.com With Mitchell Forman and Lionel Cordew.

14 | Cufflinked

15 | Oleta Adams

14 | Lera Auerbach

15 | SF Symphony

142 Throckmorton | Mill Valley $10-$20 | 415.383.9600 142throckmortontheatre.org Staged reading of a new play by Cary Pepper, part of 142’s Playwrights’ Lab. Herbst Theatre | SF $38-$60 | 415.392.4400 sfperformances.org Composer/pianist Auerbach, with Alisa Weilerstein & Lina Tetriani.

14 | Pamela Z

Meridian Gallery | SF $10 | 415.398.7229 pamelaz.com New solo voice and electronics work by SF-based composer/performer.

14 | The Knux

Café Du Nord | SF $10-$12 | 866.468.3399 cafedunord.com With The Vibrant Sound.

14 | Mingus Dynasty

Yoshi’s | SF $20-$26 | 415.655.5600 yoshis.com Celebration of Charles Mingus’ 90th birthday. (Ends 3/15) 14 | Sam Marlowe

Rrazz Room | SF $49.50 | 800.380.3095 therrazzroom.com Gospel, soul, jazz, British pop singer/ songwriter/pianist (Ends 3/17) Davies Symphony Hall | SF $35-$145 | 415.864.6000 sfsymphony.org Bay Area composers Mason Bates & John Adams. Emanuel Ax on piano. (Ends 3/17) 15 | Brian Posehn

Cobb’s Comedy Club | SF $18.50 | 415.928.4320 cobbscomedyclub.com Comedian/actor/writer Posehn brings his outrages gags to Cobb’s. (Ends 3/18) 15 | ODC/Dance Downtown

YBCA - Novellus Theater | SF $20-$70 | 415.978.2787 odcdance.org Choreographers Brenda Way, KT Nelson and Kimi Okada. (Ends 3/25) 15 | Hamlet

City Lights Theater | San Jose $28 | 408.295.4200 cltc.org Modern-day Hamlet is a contemporary psychological thriller. (Ends 4/15)

Stage Werx 446 | SF $18 | 800.838.3006 catchynametheatre.org Noir existential play subtitled “and the Mean Streets of SF.” (Ends 4/7)

16 | Barry Melton Band

14 | Voyage

16 | Cypress String Quartet

Ashby Stage | Berkeley $20-$30 | 510.841.6500 shotgunplayers.org Tom Stoppard’s riff on pre-revolutionary Russia, the first in a trilogy. (Ends 4/29) 15 | Robert Schwartzman

Café Du Nord | SF $10 | 866.468.3399 cafedunord.com With Relationship and Jamestown Revival.

15 | Nigerian Brothers

Osher Marin JCC | San Rafael $20 | 415.444.8000 marinjcc.org Led by Nigerian bandleader Babá Ken Okulolo.

15 | Eiko & Koma: Fragile

YBCA - Forum Theatre | SF $10 | 415.978.2787 ybca.org Half stage piece, half living installation, with Kronos Quartet. (Ends 3/17)

George’s Nightclub | San Rafael $12-$15 | 800.380.3095 georgesnightclub.com With guest Kathi Mcdonald.

Herbst Theatre | SF $35 | 415.392.4400 cypressquartet.com Call and response program pairs work by Hersant with Haydn and Beethoven.

16 | Greg Adams

Yoshi’s | Oakland $20 | 510.238.9200 yoshis.com With band East Bay Soul.

16 | Jayme Stone

Firehouse Arts Center | Pleasanton $12-$25 | 925.931.4848 firehousearts.org Two time Juno Award-winning banjoist.

16 | Jonah Kim & Robert Koenig

Old First Church | SF $17 | 415.474.1608 oldfirstconcerts.org Cellist and pianist perform Popper, Fauré, Remo Giazotto, Mendelssohn.

CELEBRATE 36TH THE

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8:00 PM

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TICKETS: $25 ADVANCE $30 AT THE DOOR

PALACE OF FINE ARTS 3301 LYON AVENUE SAN FRANCISCO, CA

WWW.SFBATCC.ORG SPONSORED BY

ACTORS’ EQUITY ASSOCIATION MARCH 2012 |

| 15

SAN FRANCISCO VENUES

DAILY 16 | Lone Star Retrobates

Rancho Nicasio | Nicasio $10 | 415.662.2219 ranchonicasio.commusic.htm Swing band debuts at the Rancho.

16 | The Fall Risk

Ute Lemper sings chansons and Weill at the Herbst Theatre (3/31)

16 |

| MARCH 2012

Café Du Nord | SF $17-$20 | 866.468.3399 cafedunord.com Featuring Lucia Comnes, with The Gasmen and The Jaunting Martyrs.

Café Du Nord | SF $12-$15 | 866.468.3399 cafedunord.com With Belle Monroe & Her Brewglass Boys and The Courtney Janes.

17 | St. Patrick’s Day

16 | Double Happiness

17 | Tito Gonzalez

Mountain View Center | MV $46-$53 | 650.903.6000 menloweballet.org Performed by Menlowe Ballet. (Ends 3/17) 16 | A Funny Thing...

Spindrift Theatre | Pacifica $25 | 650.359.8002 pacificaspindriftplayers.org Stephen Sondheim’s hysterical musical farce inspired by Plautus. (Ends 4/15) 16 | Sunset Blvd

Rancho Nicasio | Nicasio $15 | 415.662.2219 ranchonicasio.commusic.htm The Jerry Hannan Band.

Yoshi’s | Oakland $30 | 510.238.9200 yoshis.com A celebration of the music of Arsenio Rodriguez. With his Son de Cuba band.

17 | Santa Rosa Symphony

Wells Fargo Center | Santa Rosa $15-$65 | 707.546.3600 santarosasymphony.com Presenting Set Six, a classical set of predominately Beethoven. (Ends 3/19)

Lesher Center | Walnut Creek $44-$49 | 925.943.7469 ccmt.org Andrew Lloyd Webber’s masterpiece based on Billy Wilder’s film. (Ends 4/15)

18 | Ashu

16 | The Mousetrap

18 | Barbary Coast Burlesque

Altarena Playhouse | Alameda $22 | 510.523.1553 altarena.org Agatha Christie’s infamous “whodunit” running in London since 1952. (Ends 4/22) 17 | Bobbe Norris & Kenny Washington

Mildred Owen Hall | Pacifica $20 | 650.355.188 pacificaperformances.org With The Larry Dunlap Trio, presented by Pacifica Performances.

17 | Capitol Steps

Napa Valley Opera House | Napa $35-$40 | 707.226.7372 nvoh.org Acclaimed political satire group returns.

17 | Marco Stefani

Firehouse Arts Center | Pleasanton $18-$22 | 925.931.4848 firehousearts.org Tenor Stefani is accompanied by pianist Sunny Yoon in this opera recital.

17 | Marshall Tucker Band

Uptown Theatre | Napa $35-$40 | 800.745.3000 uptowntheatrenapa.com With Lansdale Station.

Firehouse Arts Center | Pleasanton $12-$24 | 925.931.4848 firehousearts.org Classical saxophonist.

Yoshi’s | SF $15-$20 | 415.655.5600 yoshis.com Cabaret show created by Bunny Pistol.

18 | Jonathan Poretz

Rrazz Room | SF $29.50 | 800.380.3095 therrazzroom.com Crooner Poretz’s Vegas-style club act.

18 | Leo Kottke

Mountain View Center | MV $33-$63 | 650.903.6000 leokottke.com Master accoustic guitarist in concert.

18 | Little Feat

Uptown Theatre | Napa $35-$40 | 800.745.3000 uptowntheatrenapa.com With special guest The Villains.

18 | Solas

Napa Valley Opera House | Napa $20-$25 | 707.226.7372 nvoh.org US-based Celtic band.

18 | Stephen Hough

Herbst Theatre | SF $39-$48 | 415.392.4400 chambermusicsf.org Performing works by Beethoven, Scriabin, Liszt and his own compositions.

image: lucas allen (ute lemper)

alcove theatre Union Square thealcovetheater.com I 415.383.9600 bill graham auditorium Civic Center apeconcerts.com I No Number Available castro theatre Castro castrotheatre.com I 415.621.6120 exit theatre Tenderloin theexit.org I 415.673.3847 FORT MASON CEnTER Marina fortmason.org I 415.345.7500 herbst theatre Civic Center sfwmpac.org I 415.392.4400 louise m. davies hall Civic Center sfsymphony.org I 415.864.6000 marines’ memorial Union Square marinesmemorialtheatre.org I 415.771.6900 masonic auditorium Nob Hill masonicauditorium.com I 800.745.3000 odc theatre Mission odctheater.org I 415.978.2787 palace of fine arts Marina palaceoffinearts.org I 415.567.6642 shelton theatre Union Square sheltontheater.org I 415.882.9100 stage werx Mission stagewerx.org I No Number Available victoria theatre Mission victoriatheatre.org I 415.863.7576 war memorial opera Civic Center sfwmpac.org I 415.392.4400 yerba buena center SoMa ybca.org I 415.978.2787

17 | St. Patrick’s Day

getting physical on tour by grier cooper

In March 1958, a 27-year-old dancer named Alvin Ailey collected a group of African American dancers at the 92nd Street Y to perform. 54 years later, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has performed more than 200 works by 70 choreographers on six continents. AAADT’s annual visit to the Bay Area promises new work and new directions under the leadership of Robert Battle, who became the company’s third artistic director in July 2011.

dance

alvin ailey american dance theater

“He’s implementing new things into the repertory that will expand the dancers. The choreography that he’s bringing in is pushing the dancers in ways that we haven’t been pushed in a while,” says dancer Glen Allen Sims, who has been with AAADT since 1997. “We have always been known to be very physical athletes and now we have a repertoire that really lends itself to that.”

Three programs, comprised of eight separate works, include Bay Area premieres of Paul Taylor’s Arden Court, a playful piece full of motion, dips and swirls set to a Baroque score and Home, by hiphop choreographer Rennie Harris. “Mr. Battle was very wise in choosing Mr. Harris to be the vehicle to speak to the new generation about HIV. With statistics rising, younger people contracting the virus more, I think it’s important they see it in dance, with something that is street vernacular like hip-hop that is transcending many boundaries today,” says Sims.

image: andrew eccles (urban folk dance - glenn allen sims, vernard gilmore)

“This is the first season that the company is performing Robert Battle’s Takademe, a piece that is near and dear to him. It’s one of the first pieces he choreographed.” There’s also the chance to get pulled onstage during Ohad Naharin’s high-energy audienceparticipation piece Minus 16, set to an eclectic mix of mambo, techno, traditional Israeli music and Dean Martin.

Sims says AAADT has much to offer its dancers. “You never feel as if you are stale as an artist. There’s so much for you to sink your teeth into, both technical aspects and theatrical aspects.

That is what appeals to me. We’re bringing back Mr. Ailey’s Streams, which pays homage to the Graham technique. In any performance you’ll get a full-course meal. You’re going to get your appetizer, your entree, your dessert, plus more. We’re bringing it to the Bay Area this year without a doubt.” alvin ailey american dance theatre March 13 to 16 Zellerbach Hall UC Berkeley $30 to $80 | 510.642.9988 calperformaces.org

MARCH 2012 |

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BAY AREA VENUES

DAILY 18 | The Pirates of Penzance Singalong

Lesher Center | Walnut Creek $20-$35 | 925.943.7469 lamplighters.org Brush up your Gilbert & Sullivan.

18 | Tiny Television

Rancho Nicasio | Nicasio FREE | 415.662.2219 ranchonicasio.commusic.htm Led by Jeremy D’Antonio.

Peter Frampton Comes Alive! at the Marin Center (3/17)

18 |

| MARCH 2012

SF Conservatory of Music | SF $20-$35 | 866.920.5299 sfjazz.org Keyboard wizard performs with John Hébert & Ben Perowsky.

18 | Villa Chamber Orchestra

Old First Church | SF $17 | 415.474.1608 oldfirstconcerts.org Performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 12 and more.

19 | Arnold McCuller

Yoshi’s | SF $22 | 415.655.5600 yoshis.com Long time vocalist for James Taylor, Phil Collins, Lyle Lovett and more.

19 | Earplay

Herbst Theatre | SF $20 | 415.392.4400 earplay.org Chamber ensemble presents their show “everything is open to interpretation.”

19 | Stuff Happens

San Pedro Marketplace | SJ $10 | 800.838.3006 arclightrep.org Reenactment of the Bush Administration decision to go to war in Iraq 19 | Fabulous BUD E. LUV

Rrazz Room | SF $30 | 800.380.3095 therrazzroom.com Las Vegas comedy lounge act is back with his loyal band mates.

20 | Enchantingly Wicked

Herbst Theatre | SF $15-$75 | 415.392.4400 sfgmc.org SF Gay Men’s Chorus with legendary Broadway composer Stephen Schwartz.

21 | 4th Annual RRAZZiversary Gala

Rrazz Room | SF $75-$175 | 800.380.3095 therrazzroom.com A special evening in celebration of the premier nightclub of the West Coast.

Yoshi’s | Oakland $20 | 510.238.9200 yoshis.com Dezron Douglas & Marvin “Smitty” Smith.

21 | Perfume Genius

Café Du Nord | SF $12 | 866.468.3399 cafedunord.com 21 | High

Curran Theatre | SF $30-$200 | 888.746.1799 shnsf.com Kathleen Turner as a nun who sponsors a young drug user. (Ends 3/25) 21 | SF Ballet Program 5

War Memorial Opera House | SF $20-$285 | 415.865.2000 sfballet.org Featuring Tomasson’s “The Fifth Season,” Robbins’ Glass Pieces. (Ends 4/1) 22 | Jackie Greene

Bimbo’s 365 Club | SF $75-$150 | 877.435.9849 bimbos365club.com Benefit for Blue Bear School of Music.

22 | Larry Carlton

Firehouse Arts Center | Pleasanton $35-$45 | 925.931.4848 firehousearts.org Four-time Grammy winning guitar legend.

22 | Left Coast ChamBer

142 Throckmorton Theatre | Mill Valley $25 | 415.383.9600 142throckmortontheatre.org String quartet on “The Shoulders of Giants.”

22 | Noa in Concert

Oshman Family JCC | Palo Alto $65-$75 | 800.838.3006 paloaltojcc.org Israeli recording artist, with Mira Awad.

22 | Owana Salazar

Yoshi’s | SF $22 | 415.655.5600 yoshis.com Slack key artist with Nathan Aweau performing Hawaiian Harmonies.

22 | Zorro

Wells Fargo Center | Santa Rosa $17 | 707.546.3600 tickets.wellsfargocenterarts.org A flurry of a cape, the glint of a sword and a flash of a mask... great family fun.

22 | Chris Botti

Napa Valley Opera House | Napa $75-$85 | 707.226.7372 nvoh.org Botti is the largest-selling American jazz instrumental artist. (Ends 3/23)

image: gregg roth (peter frampton)

142 Throckmorton Mill Valley 142throckmortontheatre.org I 415.383.9600 CAL PERFORMANCES Berkeley calperfs.berkeley.edu I 510.642.9988 EL CAMPANIL THEATRE Antioch elcampaniltheatre.com I 408.864.8816 FIREHOUSE arts center Pleasanton firehousearts.org I 925.931.4848 flint CENTER Cupertino flintcenter.com I 408.864.8816 FOX THEATRE Redwood City foxrwc.com I 650-369-7770 JULIA MORGAN CENTER Berkeley flintcenter.com I 408.864.8816 LESHER CENTER Walnut Creek lesherartscenter.org I 925.943.7469 marin CENTER San Rafael marincenter.org I 415.473.6800 mountain view CENTER Mountain View mvcpa.com I 650.903.6000 PARAMOUNT THEATRE Oakland paramounttheatre.com I 800.745.3000 SAN JOSE CENTER San Jose sanjose.org I 408.792.4111 SPRECKELS ARTS CENTER Rohnert Park spreckelsonline.com I 707.588.3400 STANFORD LIVELY ARTS Palo Alto livelyarts.stanford.edu I 650.725.2787 wells fargo center Santa Rosa wellsfargocenterarts.org I 707.546.3600

18 | Uri Caine Trio

21 | Helen Sung Trio

musical collaboration coming full circle

image: courtesy photo (karan casey, john doyle)

by andrew gilbert

irish

karan casey & JOHN DOYLE

Vocalist Karan Casey and guitarist John Doyle were practically kids when they started performing together in early 1995 as founding members of the popular Irish American roots band Solas.

Within a few years, they were both pursuing solo careers, and they had traveled long creative roads before intersecting again with the acclaimed 2010 collaboration “Exiles Return” (Compass Records).

In the intervening years the Waterford-born Casey emerged as one of Irish music’s most creative singers. Drawn to New York City by her love of jazz, she found her musical identity in traditional Irish music, a treasure trove of songs to which she’s contributed her sharply drawn originals. Hailed by the Wall Street Journal as “One of the true glories of Irish music today,” the Grammy Award-winning Casey has been twice voted “Best Female Folk/ Traditional Singer” by Irish Music Magazine.

In recent years she’s found an ideal foil in Doyle, an expressive singer, skilled songwriter and fierce left-handed guitarist with an orchestral style that combines irresistibly propulsive strumming with dexterous bass lines and harmonically supple chords. Raised in an extended family knit together by their love of traditional Irish music, Doyle started

working professionally at the age of 16 in The Chanting House, a group he formed with vocalist Susan McKeown. By 19, he and McKeown had settled in New York City, where they teamed up with future fiddle star Eileen Ivers.

Since leaving Solas, Doyle has become the most sought after guitarist in Irish music, best known for his potent partnership with fiddle powerhouse Liz Carroll. Lately he’s toured widely with Joan Baez as her guitarist and musical director, but he’s also established himself as a superb vocalist and songwriter in his own right. The collaboration with Casey showcases both sides of Doyle’s art, featuring his superlative work as an accompanist and his ease stepping forward as a frontman.

Karan Casey & John Doyle March 15 | 9:00 pm Brick and Mortar 1710 Mission Street, SF $15 to 20 | 415.800.8782 brickandmortarmusic.com

MARCH 2012 |

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JUST THE TICKET!

DAILY 22 | Eiko & Koma: Regeneration

YBCA - Forum Theatre | SF $25 | 415.978.2787 ybca.org Focal point of their multi-year Retrospective Project. (Ends 3/24) 22 | Lynda Carter

Beauty and the Beast is available from SJTIX for Broadway San Jose (3/6-11) ONLINE/PHONE SALES Brown Paper Tickets brownpapertickets.com I 800.838.3006 City Box Office cityboxoffice.com I 415.392.4400 EventBrite eventbrite.com I 888.541.9753 InTicketing inticketing.com I 866.558.4253 SJTix sjtix.com I 408.792.4111 StubHub stubhub.com I 415.222.8400 TicketFly ticketfly.com I 877.435.9849 TicketMaster ticketmaster.com I 800.745.3000 TicketWeb ticketweb.com I 866.468.3399

Rrazz Room | SF $45-$55 | 800.380.3095 therrazzroom.com Wonder Woman, Lynda Carter is an accomplished singer, as well. (Ends 3/25) 22 | God of Carnage

San Jose Repertory Theatre | San Jose $44-$74 | 408.367.7255 sjrep.com Yasmina Reza’s sharp-edged comedy about parents reacting to their children’s acting out. (Ends 4/15) 23 | Jeb Brady’s Band

Rancho Nicasio | Nicasio FREE | 415.662.2219 ranchonicasio.com R&B and blues band.

23 | Lady Antebellum

HP Pavilion | SJ $36.50-$56.50 | 800.745.3000 hppavilion.com With Darius Rucker & Thompson Square.

23 | Lizz Wright

Herbst Theatre | SF $25-$50 | 866.920.5299 sfjazz.org Sharing the stage with Meklit Hadero.

DISCOUNT SALES

23 | Terry Riley

TixBayArea.COM Online and walk-up same-day, halfprice tickets for theatre, music, dance and more. Full-price advance tickets also available.

23 | Dana Gould

FISHERMAN’S WHARF 2800 Leavenworth Street Thursday to Saturday 11:00 am to 5:00 pm

Goldstar.COM Free and discounted performance and event tickets. Registration required.

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The vendors listed are legitimate, licensed ticket sellers. Please exercise caution when purchasing tickets form second-hand vendors.

20 |

| MARCH 2012

Cobb’s Comedy Club | SF $22.50 | 415.928.4320 cobbscomedyclub.com Writer/producer on The Simpsons, with David Koechner. (Ends 3/25)

Lesher Center | Walnut Creek $14 | 925.943.7469 lesherartscenter.org Center Stage Theatre of Diablo Valley, a youth performing company. (Ends 4/1) 23 | Tennessee Menagerie

6th Street Playhouse | Santa Rosa $10-$25 | 707.523.4185 6thstreetplayhouse.com A visit with the female characters of writer Tennessee Williams. (Ends 4/7) 23 | Don Giovanni

Cinnabar Theater | Petaluma $25-$35 | 707.763.8920 cinnabartheater.org Mozart’s masterpiece about a handsome but reprehensible nobleman who gets burned by his own defiance (Ends 4/15) 23 | Twentieth Century

Ross Valley Players | Ross $17-$25 | 415.456.9555 rossvalleyplayers.com Rapid-fire screwball comedy dazzles with dialogue and romantic plot twists.

(Ends 4/22)

23 | The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later

New Conservatory Theatre Center | SF $25-$45 | 415.861.8972 nctcsf.org Tectonic Theatre Project’s return to Laramie, 10 years after Matthew Shephard’s brutal death. (Ends 4/29) 24 | Diablo Ballet

Napa Valley College | Napa $25-$30 | 707.226.7372 nvoh.org Presenting Dancing Miles: a sizzling dance piece set to the music of jazz legend Miles Davis.

24 | Kevin James & Ray Romano

Flint Center | Cupertino $69.50-$79.50 | 800.745.3000 flintcenter.com TV comedians on stage together.

23 | James Cotton’s Superharp

24 | Lily Tomlin

Yoshi’s | Oakland $28 | 510.238.9200 yoshis.com Featuring Elvin Bishop. (Ends 3/25)

Wells Fargo Center | Santa Rosa $45-$85 | 707.546.3600 tickets.wellsfargocenterarts.org One of American’s foremost comedians brings her wit to the Wells Fargo Center.

23 | The Little Match Girl Passion

24 | Revolver

ODC Theater | SF $35-$50 | 415.863.9834 sflyricopera.org David Lang’s piece based on Hans Christian Andersen’s story. (Ends 3/25)

Rancho Nicasio | Nicasio $12 | 415.662.2219 ranchonicasio.commusic.htm Playing pieces from The Beatles “Revolver.”

image: joan marcus (beauty and the beast - justin glaser)

UNION SQUARE 350 Powell Street Tuesday to Saturday 11:00 am to 5:00 pm

Old First Church | SF $25 | 415.474.1608 oldfirstconcerts.org A benefit for Old First Concerts.

23 | Babes in Arms

revisiting the splendor of the maharajas by grier cooper

image: margo moritz (darbar - labonee mohanta, rina mehta, antara bhardwaj)

The splendor and magnificence of Northern India’s royal courts during the 1700s comes alive in the world premiere of Darbar, a traditional kathak dance drama presented by Chitresh Das Dance Company in partnership with the Asian Art Museum’s special exhibition Maharaja: the Splendor of India’s Royal Courts.

Loosely based on the history of king Wajid Ali Shah, a ruler known for his overt decadence and revival of kathak dance, Darbar, meaning “the court,” portrays the king’s interest in the rich artistic renaissance of the time as well as his ultimate loss of power to the British. “With Darbar I am able to talk about power, about politics and about art through the tradition of kathak,” says world-renowned kathak master Pandit Chitresh Das, who choreographed and composed the work.

“In kathak lies the art of my message, of finding what happened in India in the 1700s and 1800s that is relevant to modern audiences, whether they be in San Francisco or Mumbai.”

Darbar features dancers of the Chitresh Das Dance Company with music by world-class musicians, including vocalist Debashis Sarkar, Jayanta Banerjee (sitar), Ben Kunin (sarod), and Ramesh Misra on sarangi, a rare bowing instrument that mimics the human voice.

Mahraja is on exhibit at the museum through April 8. Organized by the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, it is the first exhibition to explore the era of the maharajas (a Sanskrit word meaning “great kings”) of India, a unique time of artistic patronage and lavish culture. The exhibition features paintings, jewelry, ornate weaponry and royal costumes.

Highlights include the Patiala necklace - part of Cartier’s largest single commission in history - as well as photographs by Man Ray and Cecil Beaton.

dance

chitresh das dance company

“Just as the Maharaja exhibit explores the power and dynamics of the maharajas, so this art [Darbar] reflects that history and brings it alive for the modern day,” says Das. chitresh das dance company March 15 to 18 Asian Art Museum, Samsung Hall 200 Larkin Street, SF $35 to $55 | 800.838.3006 kathak.org

MARCH 2012 |

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SPOTLIGHT

DAILY 24 | Roslyn Kind

25 | Marcus Foster

24 | Legend of Hercules

25 | Vicente Amigo

Yoshi’s | SF $25-$40 | 415.655.5600 yoshis.com In concert at Yoshi’s.

7th Avenue Presbyterian Church | SF $25 | 800.838.3006 sevenperforms.org San Francisco Renaissance Voices features works by Josquin des Prez, Caccini, Vivaldi and Handel.

2 | farewell, fitzgerald

Café Du Nord | SF $10-$12 | 866.468.3399 cafedunord.com With Y La Bamba.

24 | Pirates Singalong

Dance Palace Community Center Point Reyes Station $17-$34 | 415.663.1075 lamplighters.org Everyone is encouraged to sing any or all their favorite Penzance parts!

24 | Thibault Cauvin

Green Room at SF War Memorial | SF $34 | 415.242.4500 omniconcerts.com 25 year old Parisian guitarist brings his talent to San Francisco.

24 | Top Shelf‘s Disco Fever 10 | JULIUS CAESAR

Buriel Clay Theatre | SF $10-$35 | 800.838.3006 african-americanshakes.org Directed by actor and playwright Michael Gene Sullivan. (Ends 4/01)

Firehouse Arts Center | Pleasanton $15-$25 | 925.931.4848 firehousearts.org Celebrating the pop music of the 1970s.

25 | Alas del Tiempo

Brava Theatre | SF $25-$38 | 800.380.3095 brava.org Carolina Lugo & Carolé Acuña’s ballet flamenco show “Wings of Time.”

25 | Dore Coller

Rancho Nicasio | Nicasio FREE | 415.662.2219 ranchonicasio.com With Bermuda Grass.

25 | Eroica Trio

Mt. Tamalpais UMC | Mill Valley $15-$30 | 800.838.3006 chambermusicmillvalley.org Multiple Grammy-nominated and critically acclaimed Eroica Trio performs Ravel and Cassado.

21 | High

Curran Theatre | SF $30-$100 | 888.746.1799 shnsf.com Kathleen Turner as a nun who counsels a teen about drug use. (Ends 3/25)

22 |

| MARCH 2012

25 | Musical Mélange

Mildred Owen Concert Hall | Pacifica $25 | 650.355.188 pacificaperformances.org Pacifica Performances presents The Curios, Golden Bough and Jeremy Cohen.

Herbst Theatre | SF $25-$65 | 866.920.5299 sfjazz.org Spanish flamenco guitarist.

25 | What If?

Oshman Family JCC | Palo Alto $10-$15 | 650.223.8618 paloaltojcc.org A children’s musical directed and written

by Ofra Daniel, with Daniel, Vicki Plaks and Lior Ben-Hur. 25 | Faith Prince & Jason Graae

Rrazz Room | SF $40 | 800.380.3095 therrazzroom.com A delightful evening with two of Broadway’s finest (and funniest) singing their most-requested songs. (Ends 3/27) 26 | Rhino Extravaganza

Eureka Theatre | SF $25 | 800.838.3006 therhino.org Benefit for Theatre Rhinoceros with lots of queer talent. Hosted by Tom Orr. 26 | Anything Goes

Willows Theatre | Concord $26-$36 | 925.798.1300 willowstheatre.com Revival comes to the Willows with Cole Porter’s music and a new book. (Ends 4/28) 27 | Midi Matilda

Café Du Nord | SF $17-$20 | 866.468.3399 cafedunord.com With Peck The Town Crier.

27 | Pierre-Laurent Aimard

Herbst Theatre | SF $38-$68 | 415.392.4400 sfperformances.org Pianist performs Kurtág, Schumann, Liszt and Debussy.

27 | Quincy Troupe

Yoshi’s | SF $18 | 415.655.5600 yoshis.com With The Broun Fellinis.

28 | Aziatix

Café Du Nord | SF $17-$20 | 866.468.3399 cafedunord.com With Russell W.

images: courtesy photo (kurt gravenhorst), l. peter callendar (julius caesar - david moore, tristan cunninghan), courtesy photo (high - kathleen turner)

Theatre on San Pedro Square | SJ $29-$35 | 800.838.3006 tabardtheatre.org Kurt Gravenhorst stars in a solo show about F. Scott Fitzgerald. (Ends 3/4)

24 | The Lumineers

Café Du Nord | SF $12 | 866.468.3399 cafedunord.com With Sam Bradley.

by robert sokol One man’s melancholy may well be another man’s justifiable frustration with a world that is confounding and obstructing him at every turn. So says Kit Wilder, Associate Artistic Director at City Lights Theater, who is taking what he feels is a fresh approach to William Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

“We haven’t done a Shakespeare play in over a decade,” says Wilder, “and I didn’t want to sneak back in with one of the comedies, which I actually think are impossible for modern audiences because it’s sort of like we’re not in on the joke. They are so contemporaneous, so much of his time, and we’re not party to the political ins and outs that he’s commenting on in a comedy.”

Instead, he chose Hamlet, partly because “I have in my corps of actors a young actor who I think is more ready to tackle his first Hamlet than anyone I’ve ever met.” Actor Thomas Gorrebeeck needed little convincing to take on the role.

“Hamlet is first and foremost a political drama. It is also an extremely intimate, extremely detailed portrait of a family. I think something that City Lights really has going for it is the ability to present work in a really intimate fashion. Yes, Hamlet is about a prince and a queen and a usurping king. Hamlet is also the story of a young man not much removed from boyhood who wants to chart his own course and turn his back on the ancestral shoulds that are predetermining his life. hamlet March 15 to April 15 City Lights Theater Company 529 South Second Street, San Jose $25 to $35 | 408.295.4200 cltc.org

image: kit wilder (hamlet - thomas gorrebeeck, tom gough)

Wilder usually delves into a work as if it’s never been done before. “With Shakespeare,” he says, “and certainly with Hamlet, that’s almost impossible.”

His goal then is to present the play “in a way that let’s audience members see it with a clarity that they have not enjoyed or have not been afforded before. I don’t want this to be ‘The Hamlet Show.’ I want the play to be the star of the show. It’s an almost anti-concept, pro-text point of view that allows me and the cast to really illuminate things.”

shakespeare

HAMLET

bringing the text to the forefront

MARCH 2012 |

| 23

WHO’S ON (THE) FIRST?

DAILY 28 | Russell Thompkins Jr

Rrazz Room | SF $42.50-$47.50 | 800.380.3095 therrazzroom.com And The New Stylistics. (Ends 4/1) 28 | The Caretaker

April kicks off with Head for the Hills at Hotel Utah Saloon, among others.

Borromeo String Quartet

Kohn Mansion | Burlingame $15-$45 | 650.762.1130 musicatkohl.org Borromeo has made the perception of chamber music its principal mission.

Fortunate Daughter

StageWerx | SF $20 | 415.517.3581 stagewerx.org Thao Nguyen’s story of a woman torn between her birth and chosen families.

Dan Zemelman

Le Colonial | SF FREE | 415.931.3600 lecolonialsf.com Piano music in an elegant restaurant lounge setting just off Union Square.

Head for the Hills

Hotel Utah Saloon | SF $8 | 415.546.6300 hotelutah.com This acclaimed Colorado quartet has a refreshing take on acoustic music.

Cosi Fan Tutti

Cowell Theater | SF $15-$20 | 415.345.7575 sfcm.edu San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s opera with Giuseppe Finzi, guest conductor.

American Philharmonic

Wells Fargo Center | Santa Rosa $20-$30 | 707.546.3600 wellsfargocenterarts.org Brahms, Strauss, Vaughn Williams conducted with violinist Solenn Segullion.

Zellerbach Hall | Berkeley $35-$250 | 123.456.7890 calperformances.org An evening celebrating the release of his newest solo piano CD, Rio. Dawn Upshaw

Herbst Theatre | SF $25-$68 | 415.392.4400 sfperformances.org Famed soprano sings Purcell, Haydn, Bartók, Debussy, Rodgers and Dennehy.

24 |

| MARCH 2012

Herbst Theatre | SF FREE sfchamberorchestra.org “La Bella Musica” celebrates the music of Rossini, featuring Avi Avital on mandolin.

Curran Theatre | SF $25-$175 | 888.746.1799 shnsf.com Jonathan Pryce leads the cast in a revival of Pinter’s classic. (Ends 4/22)

30 | The Dunwells Firehouse Arts Center | Pleasanton

29 | Ani Difranco

30 | The Kingston Trio

29 | Branford Marsalis

30 | Robert Moses’ Kin

29 | Strunz and Farah

30 | Artichoke

Uptown Theatre | Napa $47.50 | 800.745.3000 uptowntheatrenapa.com With special guest Seth Glier.

Napa Valley Opera House | Napa $60-$65 | 707.226.7372 nvoh.org Renowned saxophonist and composer.

Yoshi’s | Oakland $16-$24 | 510.238.9200 yoshis.com Acoustic guitar from Costa Rica and Iran.

29 | Brandon T. Jackson

Cobb’s Comedy Club | SF $20 | 415.928.4320 cobbscomedyclub.com With actress Tiffany Haddish. (Ends 4/1) 29 | Othello

Marin Theatre Company | Mill Valley $34-$55 | 415.383.9600 marintheatre.org Shakespeare’s, tragic tale of love, deceit, jealousy and murder. (Ends 4/22) 30 | Atlanta Rhythm Section

Yoshi’s | SF $22-$25 | 415.655.5600 yoshis.com Classic Southern Rock.

30 | Chano Domínguez

$12-$18 | 925.931.4848 firehousearts.org Pop rock band from Leeds, England.

142 Throckmorton Theatre | Mill Valley $49-$68 | 415.383.9600 142throckmortontheatre.org With special guest Bob Shane.

YBCA - Novellus Theater | SF $25-$45 | 415.978.2787 robertmoseskin.org 17th Annual Home Season. (Ends 4/1)

Mel Mello Center | Half Moon Bay $20-$30 | 650.569.3266 coastalrep.com Engaging dramatic comedy about family, connection & forgiveness. (Ends 4/21) 30 | Tin Pan Alley Rag

Theatre on San Pedro Square | SJ $29-$35 | 800.838.3006 tabardtheatre.org Musical based upon the music of Scott Joplin & Irving Berlin. (Ends 4/22) 30 | Rumors

Lesher Center | Walnut Creek $38-$43 | 925.943.7469 centerrep.org Neil Simon’s hilarious play. (Ends 4/28) 31 | Antonio Calogero

Mildred Owen Hall | Pacifica $20 | 650.355.188 pacificaperformances.org With Harvey Wainapel in concert.

YBCA - Forum Theatre | SF $30-$50 | 866.920.5299 sfjazz.org Cadiz-born pianist Domínguez celebrates the fusion of jazz and flamenco.

31 | Bill Harley

30 | Janet Packer

31 | The Kingston Trio

Old First Church | SF $17 | 415.474.1608 oldfirstconcerts.org Violinist shares the stage with Geoffrey Burleson on piano.

30 | Linda Imperial Band

Rancho Nicasio | Nicasio $12 | 415.662.2219 ranchonicasio.commusic.htm With special guest David Freiberg.

Firehouse Arts Center | Pleasanton $6-$24 | 925.931.4848 firehousearts.org Guitarist and master storyteller.

Uptown Theatre | Napa $50 | 800.745.3000 uptowntheatrenapa.com With special appearance by Bob Shane.

31 | Ute Lemper

Herbst Theatre | SF $45-$70 | 415.392.4400 sfperformances.org Cabaret superstar performs music of 1920s Europe with the Vogler Quartet.

image: tobin vogesser (head for the hills)

Keith Jarrett

30 | SF Chamber Orchestra

putting the mock in democracy by elizabeth warnimont

Elaina Newport never imagined that the sketch she and her fellow Capitol Hill staffers put together for an office party one year would develop into a full time career. “We thought we would do the show just once.” This year The Capitol Steps, the group Newport cofounded and continues to write material for, celebrates its 30th anniversary of political satire. The group will perform songs-to-thetune-of from their newest CD, “Desperate Housemembers,” but the show is more than just a promotional tour.

COMEDY

the capitol steps

“It’s so much fun to get out there when something has just happened and you’re able to get something the audience connects with,” Newport explains. “Whenever there’s a politician messing up, we’ve got something to write about.”

Often the performers have only a short time to learn new material. “We will hurl something together pretty fast, maybe an hour before a show.” Napa audiences will, for example, witness Joe Biden singing a rock song, Obama singing a show tune “and - you cannot see this on the album - Newt Gingrich doing classical ballet!”

Over the years, The Capitol Steps has added some professionals to the troupe, but most of the group’s experience comes from years of working in politics. “It’s a wide variety. Some had just sung in the shower and that was it,” Newport confesses, whereas others, like the current pianist, have professional music degrees.

According to Newport, since turnover is practically nonexistent, casting auditions are rare, but they are fun. “People from Washington area theatre will come and sing a beautiful song, then I’ll say ‘Okay, now can you sing that like you were Osama bin Laden?’ You find out pretty quickly if someone has no embarrassment threshold whatsoever, or who is willing to put on a dress and sing with an accent.”

image: lawrence luk (elaina newport)

In this election year, Newport’s aim is certainly not to help audiences pick their candidate. Instead, she offers: “Come to the show and figure out who the funniest one is.” the capitol steps March 17 Napa Valley Opera House, 1030 Main Street, Napa $35 to $40 | 707.226.7372 | nvoh.org March 18 Jewish Community Center, 3200 California Street, SF $46 to $55 | 415.292.1233 | jccsf.org MARCH 2012 |

| 25

THEATRE DANCE DANCE MUSIC TOURS THEATRE DANCEMUSIC MUSIC TOU THEATRE TOURS

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SF 24 hours a Union day, 7Square, days a week, and no waiting | MARCH 2012

by ml heath Stephin Merritt is nothing if not ambitious. In his twenty years presiding over The Magnetic Fields, Merritt has exhibited a pop awareness that draws on numerous reference points: from ‘20s café society tunesmiths like Cole Porter to ‘80s synth-pop, his is a sensibility informed as much by Broadway as the Brill Building. While displaying a public persona that’s doleful and deadpan (as seen in the 2010 documentary Strange Powers), on albums like 1999’s classic “69 Love Songs” Merritt has proven himself capable of penning some of the wittiest lyrics to be found in the sometimes fatally earnest world of indie pop.

The Magnetic Fields will be making a rare appearance at Oakland’s Fox Theater, in support of their upcoming new disc, “Love at the Bottom of the Sea,” on Merge Records. It’s the band’s first release since 2010 and songs like the single “Andrew In Drag” mark a return to the synth-based sound of early MagFields albums, after experiments like 2008’s The Jesus And Mary Chain noise-pop tribute “Distortion,” and the acoustic, Judy Collins-inspired folk stylings of their previous disc, “Realism.” the magnetic fields March 24 | 8:00 pm The Fox Theater 1807 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland $35 | 510.548.3010 thefoxoakland.com

image: marcelo krasilcic (the magnetic fields)

A restless and prolific musical conceptualist, Merritt’s handiwork has extended beyond the ‘MagFields’ into other group projects, including The 6ths, Future Bible Heroes and The Gothic Archies.

He has collaborated with Daniel Handler on songs inspired by his Lemony Snicket series of children’s books. His music has graced the soundtracks of such films as the festival favorite Eban And Charley and future Thanksgiving classic Pieces of April. Merritt has even tried his estimable hand at musical theater to no small success, including three productions with Chinese opera director Chen Shi-

Zheng. Most notably, Merritt also contributed songs to 2009’s off-Broadway adaptation of fantasy writer Neil Gaiman’s “Coraline” (which also enjoyed a brief run at the SF Playhouse).

music

the magnetic fields

fishing for “love at the bottom of the sea”

MARCH 2012 |

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BACK The directors and cast of The Light in the Piazza with Concord Mayor Ron Leone at Willows Theatre Company

Khris Lewin, Meredith McDonough and Kevin Rolston at Marin Theatre Company

image: via media

image: via media

The cast of Virago Theatre Company’s A Taste of Honey at Thick House

David Strathairn at A.C.T. headquarters

Geoff Fiorito, Diane Tasca, Michelle Ianiro and Melinda Marks at Bus Barn Stage

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image: via media

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Bailey Hanks is Legally Blonde at the Lesher Center

Jeri Lynn Cohen, Patrick Russell, Amy Resnick and Howard Swain at the Aurora

Our publisher, Ron Willis, receives the GGBA President’s Award

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image: steven underhill

Della Reese at the Rrazz Room

Joan Mankin, Joan Holden and Candacy Taylor at Counter Attack at the Ashby Stage

Ali McGraw talking about Love Story at the Castro

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image: steven underhill

IN PRINT

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SAM SHEPARD IN REPERTORY Through A April pril 2012

True West Buried B i d Child Fool For Love

Through April 7 A collaboratively directed and performed project Through April 7 Directed by Rebecca Longworth Through April 14 Directed by Nick A. Olivero

A Lie of the Mind

Opens March 14 Directed by Susannah Martin

www.boxcartheatre.org Single $25 | Four Show Rep Pass $85 | Previews $15 | Opening Nights $35