Arts & Culture :: Theater

Back in business: SF Opera, Symphony return with live and drive-in concerts

Back in business: SF Opera, Symphony return with live and drive-in concerts

  • by Philip Campbell
  • May 4, 2021

After more than a year of waiting and worry, the San Francisco Opera and San Francisco Symphony are back to live, in-person performances of 'The Barber of Seville' and Adler Fellows drive-in concerts in Marin, and symphony indoor concerts.

'The Normal Heart' online reading to benefit One Archives Foundation

'The Normal Heart' online reading to benefit One Archives Foundation

  • by Jim Provenzano
  • May 2, 2021

The late playwright and AIDS activist Larry Kramer's 'The Normal Heart' presented a scathing critique of complacency and concern in the early years of the AIDS pandemic. An online staged reading on May 8 will benefit The One Archives in Los Angeles.

'God of Vengeance' - Yiddish Play Features Theater's First Lesbian Kiss

'God of Vengeance' - Yiddish Play Features Theater's First Lesbian Kiss

  • by David-Elijah Nahmod
  • Apr 27, 2021

The 1906 play 'God of Vengeance' caused a sensation. When performed on Broadway in 1923, the cast was arrested on obscenity charges due to its lesbian kiss.Yiddish Theatre Ensemble's new online adaptation begins May 2.

Pining for Curtain Time: 'Feel the Spirit,' 'A Letter to Harvey Milk'

Pining for Curtain Time: 'Feel the Spirit,' 'A Letter to Harvey Milk'

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Apr 20, 2021

The ever-adventurous Shotgun Players offers up an agonizingly of-the-moment, tailored-for-teleconferencing commission by playwright Noelle Viñas, while the online adaptation of the musical 'A Letter to Harvey Milk' also works online.

Mike Nichols: A Life, celebrated in new biography

Mike Nichols: A Life, celebrated in new biography

  • by Brian Bromberger
  • Apr 13, 2021

Written by Mark Harris, the husband of gay playwright Tony Kushner, the new Mike Nichols biography profiles a prickly genius who was a virtuoso observer of others, yet a stranger to himself.

50 years in 50 weeks: May 1, 1971: In all their plumage

50 years in 50 weeks: May 1, 1971: In all their plumage

  • by Jim Provenzano
  • Apr 6, 2021

As we continue to celebrate the Bay Area Reporter's 50th anniversary, each week we'll take a nostalgic look at a highlight from each year's issues. In May 1, 1971 , a plumaged party seemed like a lot of fun.

Curtains up, and out: Theater through the decades

Curtains up, and out: Theater through the decades

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Mar 31, 2021

If you search the word "theater" in the archives of the Bay Area Reporter, you'll discover plenty of features and reviews. A few productions with LGBT themes stand out.

Back to Baton: five decades of opera & symphony stories

Back to Baton: five decades of opera & symphony stories

  • by Philip Campbell
  • Mar 30, 2021

Philip Campbell summates 50 years of the Bay Area Reporter's classical music and opera coverage, noting examples and adding personal remarks to recount his four decades of contribution.

The B.A.R.'s decades of stars

The B.A.R.'s decades of stars

  • by David-Elijah Nahmod
  • Mar 30, 2021

From the beginning, the Bay Area Reporter has covered celebrities, both Broadway and Hollywood stars. many have indeed sat down with us for a chat. There are many such examples in the B.A.R. archives.

Heartfelt, harrowing work: Queer Black theater in the Bay Area

Heartfelt, harrowing work: Queer Black theater in the Bay Area

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Mar 9, 2021

Playwrights, actors and voices in support of the arts, queer Black artists are bringing heartfelt and sometimes harrowing work to the Bay Area and national theater scene in the week ahead with streaming audio and video productions.

All hail the kings: drag show's Zoomin'

All hail the kings: drag show's Zoomin'

  • by David-Elijah Nahmod
  • Feb 16, 2021

Names like Mo B. Dick and Sexy Galexy will grace your computer screens when Drag King Legends takes to Zoom on Feb. 21 at 5pm. Kings with 25 years or more experience will be honored in a show that promises to be informative, exciting, and entertaining.

Just Say Yeston! - musical theatre composer Maury Yeston

Just Say Yeston! - musical theatre composer Maury Yeston

  • by Gregg Shapiro
  • Feb 16, 2021

Maury Yeston, the composer behind Tony Award winners 'Nine,' 'Titanic,' and what has come to be known as the "other" 'Phantom of the Opera,' has two new recordings of his best and rarely heard songs.

Miami rhapsody: Regina King's powerful film adaptation of Kemp Powers' play

Miami rhapsody: Regina King's powerful film adaptation of Kemp Powers' play

  • by Gregg Shapiro
  • Feb 16, 2021

'One Night in Miami...' is a fictional dramatization inspired by true events that bring together four men from different backgrounds whose contributions to Black culture continues to resonate to the present day.

Post-play parley: 'The Catastrophist' and 'Hi, Are You Single?' discuss diseases and disability

Post-play parley: 'The Catastrophist' and 'Hi, Are You Single?' discuss diseases and disability

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Feb 9, 2021

Remember chatting after the curtain call? Marin Theater Company's online staging of Lauren Gunderson's 'The Catastrophist' and "goofy-cute" Ryan J.Haddad's autobiographical 'Hi, Are You Single?' will make you crave a post-performance discussion.