You can't help but focus on actress Jordan Baker's mouth during the first few minutes of "Dana H.", now on stage at Berkeley Repertory. Playwright Lucas Hnath's mother was held captive by a white supremacist kidnappers. How it's told is also disturbing.

Adam Rapp's "The Sound Inside," making its West Coast premiere in a polished Marin Theatre Company production, is neither fish-meta nor foul-Meta. It's shaggy dog-meta; a mind-bending piece about a novelist writing a novel.

The most inclusive showcase of trans, queer, disabled and gender-nonconforming artists is this year online June 16-19, with five programs of recorded performances in music, dance, performance and other genres. Also, it's free!

In TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's new production of the hit musical "Ragtime," actor Leo Ash Evens gained inspiration for his role as a Jewish immigrant from his own family's heritage. He also shared stories from some other iconic roles he's played.

The Cockettes were only around for a few years, beginning in 1969, but left a fabulous legacy in their wake. A new show at Oasis revives their drag fabulism, with some original troupe members, including composer Scrumbly Koldewyn.

Days and nights continue to fill up with festive fun in nightlife, arts and community events. Scroll on, and find your fave form of fun.

With the opening of "Encore" this weekend, San Francisco's stalwart gay stage celebrates its 40th birthday with a roster of dozens of songs from musicals staged at New Conservatory Theatre Center.

San Francisco's Theater Rhinoceros hosts the debut of an altogether different 'Hart to Hart' (not the TV show) project from gay cabaret ace Mark Nadler, a solo show abrim with its own bonanza of queer bonafides.

May the 4th, through 6th and beyond, for this week, bring you arts, nightlife and community events of interest, plus online amusements as well.

On May 8, Rinabeth Apostol will take her last bow as Alison Bechdel in the 42nd Street Moon production of the Tony-winning musical "Fun Home." Just three nights later, she'll be on stage at the Magic Theatre in "Monument, or Four Sisters (A Sloth Play)."

The complexities of the generation gap between gay men who grew up in the AIDS epidemic and those who came-of-age with tenofovir pills are explored in 'PrEp Play, or Blue Parachute,' now in a world premiere at NCTC.

Musician-playwright Rachel Lark's stage musical, 'Coming Soon,' opens at Z Space this week, with sex on its mind, but it's more serious and less schticky than her previous tunes performed at Bawdy Storytelling.

Stories of intergenerational family drama, post-traumatic stress and the ravages of drug addiction are complexly interwoven in playwright Quiara Alegria Hudes' 2012 Pulitzer Prize-winning 'Water By The Spoonful,' now at SF Playhouse.

Rise up, go out and do stuff, be it a play or concert, movie or mojitos in a bar. Going Out, Homing's In brings on the fun.